News April 2009
VW ad banned before watershed
Volkswagen’s ‘Bourne and Matrix’ inspired ad has been banned pre-water shed after more than 1,000 people complained to the advertising watchdog.The VW campaign is shown as four TV ads and a cinema ad. It shows a Volkswagen designer fighting and trying to outrun clones of himself on the shop floor of the car factory.The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received 1,066 complaints about the level of violence in the ads. The ad is the fifth most complained about ad in the ASA’s history.VW has said the ads are “metaphorical rather than real”. The most graphic versions of the ad were restricted to post-7.30pm slots.
One edited version had been shown earlier. The full-length ad had not been shown before 11pm.The ASA ruled against two versions of the TV ad that showed particularly graphic images, including fight scenes using car parts.
Comparethemarket uses Twitter to invite public to star in adsComparethemarket.com is taking its ad campaign a step further by using the Twitter account of its mascot, the Russian meerkat Aleksandr Orlov, to invite users to appear in testimonial ads on his website. Orlov, the cravat-wearing owner of Comparethemeerkat.com — a site for comparing meerkats, yesterday asked Twitter users if they would like to appear on a testimonial page on his website.Users were told they may appear on his website if they provide their full name, a photo and a quote about ‘how they like Comparethemeerkat.com’, before midday today, April 1. Orlov wrote on his Twitter page: ‘Would you like to appear on my new comparethemeerkat.com website? I am make testimonial page where peoples can say how they like the business. If you are interest, tell me yes and I will tell you more!”Thanking for interest! I need 3 things: a quote about how you like comparethemeerkat.com, full name and picture of your face (via The Twitpic). If I get these things before middle of day on Wednesday April 1st you maybe feature on website! Many thanks for helps.’Sergei has ask me to say that your comments, full name and face may appear on comparethemeerkat.com but won’t be used for any other purpose. Please be noting that comments will be publish on website at my discretion.’This latest Twitter activity follows Orlov’s TV ad, created by VCCP, which features the meerkat begging consumers to stop visiting his site when they are looking for great deals on car insurance.The Russian meerkat has over 10,000 followers on Twitter and is also a member of Facebook.
Google to fund ‘awesome’ start-ups
Google is launching a venture capital fund to help find and develop ‘young companies with truly awesome potential’.Google Ventures will focus on identifying ‘exceptional start-ups’ in consumer internet, software, clean tech and boi tech. The company has not yet revelaed how much money it plans to commit to the initiative, but it is thought to be in excess of £70 million a year.‘Economically times are tough, but great idea come when they will,’ Google Ventures managing partners Rich Miner and Bill Maris wtore in a joint post on the Google blog. ‘If anything, we think the current downturn in the ideas times to invest in nascent company that have the chance to be the next big thing, and we’ll be working hard to find them.’Google Ventures claims it will blend the best of top-tier venture capital firms with Google’s ‘unique technical expertise and brand.’ It will offer money ranging from ‘seed funding to tens of millions of dollars, depending on the stage of the opportunity and the company’s need for capital.’Google has invested in a number of start-ups over recent years including through its philanthropic arm, Google.org.
Simpsons spoof viral of Adidas ad airs on TVA
Simpsons spoof viral of the Adidas “house party” ad launched on UK TV this week, after Adidas decided to run its own spot alongside the take-off. The viral, promoting Sky1’s 20-year partnership with The Simpsons, features clips of the cartoon characters partying to the song Begin by Madcon, which is used in the original ad. The spoof was created in-house.Shots of the Simpsons playing instruments, dancing and swimming, bear striking similarities to the shots from the original spot, in which celebrities including David Beckham, Missy Elliott and Katie Perry celebrate at a raucous house party. Since the spoof gained a significant online following, Adidas has decided to partner with Sky requesting that it run the spoof on TV alongside its original “house party” spot, which was created by Sid Lee.
The double ad broke during Sky1’s showing of 24 this week, and it is understood that Sky will run the pair of ads again this weekend.
Cross-border Seatbelts Campaign Wins
Ogilvy Award Ireland’s cross-border Seatbelts’ campaign has won the David Ogilvy Gold Award from the Advertising Research Foundation in New York for a best practice case study.The Gold accolade was received in New York last night by Lyle Bailie International, the Belfast advertising agency responsible for the winning effectiveness case study plus all the shock road safety ads seen in Ireland, North and South.Named after the global advertising legend David Ogilvy, the Gold in the International category recognises the role of high-quality research evidence. The Seatbelts’ ad campaign was jointly run by DOE in Northern Ireland, the Road Safety Authority in the Republic of Ireland and sponsored by AXA Insurance.Northern Ireland’s seatbelt wearing rose from the UK’s worst to the UK’s highest as a result of the campaign, as well as producing an economic payback of £15.75 for every £1 invested (or €15.75 for every €1 invested). According to David Lyle, chief executive, “That’s why we know that research-led advertising is a critical part of recovery out of global recession.”In October 2008 the case study also won IAPI Effectiveness Silver and Bronze Awards in Dublin.
Business News Benefits From Higher Internet Usage
According to the latest Joint National Internet Research (JNIR) report, online business news has experienced a surge in popularity. The survey showed that 17% of Ireland’s now 1 .9 million internet users went online for business news in the last six months of 2008, a jump of 6% from the last report, which covered the second half of 2007. The number of adults who go online daily has risen by 29% from 770,000 to 990,000.38% of users are going online for general news and current affairs, an increase of 5%. Social networking usage has also surged ahead, with 28% of those online using them, or a rise of 9%.There has also been a 5% increase in the number of people going online for work related research and for government services.Travel information remains a key reason people go online, cited by more than half of all users. Meanwhile, the number of adults living in households with broadband access has risen from 1.1 million in July to December 2007 to 1.56 million in July to December 2008, a leap of 39%.The survey also showed increases in the number of people reading blogs (7%) and watching TV online (10%). House searches were down 2% at 11%.Online sales appear to be holding up, although there are shifts within this category, as spending on flights has gone down 3%, and hotel bookings are down 1%, while people are buying more clothes and books online.
