Nando's ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c0TllqjwX8&feature=fvst

Who will ever forget the night Ard Matthews slipped up in front of the entire nation as he butchered our national anthem? I know I won’t.

The Springboks are easily one of the most influential collection of people in South Africa. Like Rugby or not these over-sized, often unattractive men are the heartbeats of our nation and continue to unite us as a country with every victory they achieve. How can we forget the heroes of 1995 and the legends of 2007? These men have a powerful influence on our country. Before their departure for the Rugby World Cup in 2011 the beloved “Bokke” were honoured at a capping ceremony in Johannesburg. As part of the celebration, the lead singer of the once popular band Just Jinjer was scheduled to sing the national anthem, Nkosi Sikelelie iAfrika. A small part of me laughed as I wrote “honoured” early on because Ard Matthews did anything but. He somehow managed to forget the words and made a complete fool of himself in front of millions of viewers.

Anyway, back to the ad. Is it effective? Absolutely. This ad was released shortly after the Ard Matthews disaster so the timing was perfect. The headline is clearly having a go at the once respected musician. By having a go at Mr Matthews the ad creates humour out of a potentially ‘touchy’ subject. Screwing up the national anthem in front of not only the Springboks ,but the entire nation is by no means a “forgive and forget” moment. This ad is refreshing in a sense that they’ve taken this potentially sensitive topic, turned it on its head and created humour out of it. South Africans tend to take themselves too seriously sometimes as we let little things offend and upset us. The body copy at the bottom re-enforces the support that Nando’s has for the Springboks. While they poke fun at Ard Matthews they still maintain a feel of patriotism which I believe works in their favour as they win over the hearts of many South Africans, firstly with their humour and secondly with the somewhat serious body copy at the end. They push the idea quite far out there but then they bring it back quite nicely at the end. The ad has a good balance of seriousness and fun which I think we, as the potential target market can appreciate.

McCafe Print ad

An effective ad or an even bigger reason to stay away from Maccy D’s?

As I stumbled upon this ad I couldn’t help but ask myself two questions. Firstly what on earth is that horrible looking image? And secondly, what the hell has McDonald’s   got to do with it? Is it a burger? I should hope not, although I wouldn’t be surprised. After tilting my head in every direction my neck would allow and squinting my eyes  for a few minutes, the proverbial light bulb switched on and I clicked. The image portrayed in the ad is in fact a coffee bean. Had it not been for the “McCafe” text and the natural associations one makes with a café and coffee who knows how long my poor mind would have been baffled for.  Is this ad an effective one?  Let’s see shall we.

McCafé first opened in Australia in 1994. It has a matured market in Europe and has recently been introduced into the U.S. and in Asia, McCafé is available in Singapore and Hong Kong and soon, Malaysia!

I think it’s safe to say that Mcafe is gradually on the rise as it attempts to spin off from the well-known and established McDonalds brand.  The McDonalds brand is widely recognized all over the world, when one sees that big yellow M you cannot help but think of big Mac’s, quarter pounders, supersized fries and heart attacks. Majority of people who indulge in the occasional quarter pounder and fries are: let’s put this lightly, slightly horizontally challenged. Ah what the hell these people are fat. If I were a stereotypical McDonalds ‘fatty’ and I had to see this ad the last thing that would be on my mind would be a nice warm cup of coffee.  My eyes would go straight to that big yellow M and my tummy would begin to crave those delicious fries and quarter pounder I know and love.  If the intention of this ad was to encourage regular McDonalds eating fatties to make use of the McCafe’s offerings I believe it has failed. These fatties don’t want coffee and apple pies , they want the same big Mac they eaten for the last 20 years.

If the intention of this ad was to convert the stereotypical coffee drinker to make use of the McCafe’s services they may as well have fallen flat on their face because they have failed miserably. There are two types of people in this world. Those that love McDonalds. And those who can’t stand it. If you are one of the latter and you stumbled upon this ad I don’t care how much you love coffee, your eyes will immediately be drawn to that infamous big yellow M and you will slowly swallow your vomit and move on.  

So I beg the question is this an effective print ad? No, its crap.

Introduction

Some people can sing. Some can run fast. Some have an exceptional knack for numbers. Some are good public speakers. Some can draw wonderful things. Some can build beautiful buildings. Others can write. I like to consider myself one of these people. This blog will allow me the opportunity to express myself in ways that only writing can. My name is Guy Muller, this is me, and this is my blog.