Adam&Eve DDB- John Lewis

I have recently studied the work of a branding agency based and founded in London called adam&eveDDB. It was created in 2008 by 3 men Doyle, Dane and Bernbach and is owned by Omnicon group inc, one of the biggest advertising holding companies in the world. The original company the men started was in Manhattan 1949 with a few offices in other countries. 

Today it has grown to win many awards for its board communication skills and creativity. One of my personal favourites is how they communicate the John Lewis brand for its many different departments.  A good example of their success with John Lewis would be the Andy Awards, where they took home 4 golds for the christmas advert. This advert was such a success as it touched the heart of the public to see the imagination of christmas through a child's eyes. 

click here  to watch the ad'

This is a picture below from the John Lewis insurance advert featuring the song Tiny Dancer by Elton John. It uses the idea of kids being accident prone to advertise the insurance for every day life not just theft, fires or any of the usual focuses. Parents can relate this to their own lives creating an automatic relationship between the brand and the target audience. It also makes the usually boring and expensive topic of insurance fun and this is what grasps the audience. It also doesn't pester you with facts and figures it just says 'it it matters to you, it matters to us' which shows they directly care about 'you' as an individual.

click here to watch the ad'

113 years of Marmite

Marmite has been around for 113 years so they must have done something right! It was born in Burton-On-Trent, Staffordshire and was shipped off throughout both world wars to the soldiers as a source of nutrition. Over time you can see how their advertising has adapted to the current trends of today. Firstly allot of the ads' were based around its health-giving properties listing the vitamins to attract house wives and also pregnant women as it was good for their babies. 

The story behind the shape of the jar was new to me till today. It originates from the French cooking pot called a Marmite hence the jar looking like a stewing pot. You can also see in this ad' it looks like the woman is cooking from it which reminds me of the huge cauldron-like ones they used for school dinners.

However now the marmite adverts are based around the 'love it or hate it' phrase which has been proven true for many years. New twists using modern advertising techniques have started to be used like the one on the right. This is relating socks and sandals to marmite as they are something else people either love or hate but also plays on the humour people see in the fashion choice. They use this to promote their new squeeze bottle using new technology to make the image seem like its drawn with marmite. This gives people the impression its so easy to use, you can draw with it.

'Inside Out' pre-premiere advertising

Inside out is the newest disney animation about the different emotions you have in your head and how they effect you. These bin posters were put up in America prior to the film being released to boost its popularity and inform the public of the release date. Overall i find the posters very effective and find the colours would be drawing to the public eye. The colours match the personality the character plays in the film and is also shown through the statement and body language of the character in the picture.
Red is anger with fire coming out of his head to resemble the phrase 'hot headed' and along with his facial expression, body language and exclamation in his speech i feel they have voiced this well. Disgust is green linking to someone being green with envy or sickness. The disgust is shown through her facial expression and the colloquial terms of 'eww' and 'gross' commonly used by kids to show they don't like something. Finally Sadness is blue like the rain and she is hunched over with big sad eyes to show her emotion. She also uses the common phrase 'down in the dumps' cleverly relating the word 'dumps' to the bin she's on. Overall i think it is a clever way to communicate the film to the public especially with the witty typography using it's comical voice directed at its young audience.

Kids with technology

Recent studies have showed that children under the age of 2 can identify electronic devices and can use them effectively. In a short amount of time these toddlers can learn to unlock the smart phone and distinguish between different apps correctly. Child experts quoted that "this can slow your child's development as in their first 2 years they are supposed to be discovering the world around them and developing their senses naturally, not in front of a screen". However some feel technology can stimulate the child's brain and improve motor skills. Studies also show in 2015 over 70% of the 11-12 year old population have mobile phones. In 2000 only 30-40% of the overall UK adult population owned a phone/shared one with a partner. The overall phone ownership in the UK is 

now 96%!

I personally love my phone and understand the 'i can't live without it' phrase. However i feel the kids of 2015 are trying to grow up too fast due to them being exposed to social media too early through smart phones and other devices. They are exposed to the stereotypes of the media such as models/celebs that are unnaturally skinny and flawless and these are the people they look up to. This causes them spend their time obsessing over their appearance and trying to change themselves by keeping up with social media from the young age of 10. However this is before they have had time to figure out who they are naturally which can cause them to become insecure if they are not as 'pretty' or 'skinny' as another girl. The same goes for boys feeling they are not as handsome or muscly as models and sports icons again, triggering insecurity. All of this shows how technology advancements really can have an impact on the world and how media communication can influence peoples behaviour.

Music artists promoting through brands, good or bad?

I was drawn in by a current broadcast on Radio 1 discussing music artists having their songs used by brands on TV and Radio adverts. They was questioning whether it gives the artist/group an unprofessional look to be associated, or become more known through a brand rather than on their own. The main example they used for this was the 2015 Asda advert using the song 'Oh My Love' by 'The Score'. After the song was released on the advert it became the top shazamed song on the app and top shazamed song from an advert of all time! The artists spoke with Radio 1 saying 'we are happy with the press the song got and it would have taken off eventually 

its own, but we just took the opportunity ASDA gave us". I personally think the group have done nothing against their reputation by using the song on the advert. I love the song, and think it was a clever way to make it known and get it in the charts. 

PETA animal ethics campaign

This advertisement caught my eye with the gruesome imagery of the lamb. At first glance it gave me the impression that it would be something against using animal products and the ethical rights of living creatures. The poster is for a campaign by PETA, an Australian company that fight for the ethical rights of animals featuring a guitar player Jona Weinhofen. Jona himself is against animal cruelty and him and his band have taken part in other campaigns to support similar causes. I find the overall aesthetics of the poster effective as it has the look of a fashion poster with a stereotypical attractive male however instead of him being the drawing attraction, its the injured lamb. The typography also uses synthetic personalisation to address the reader in almost an accusing way saying 'here's the rest of your coat' the word 'your' makes the reader feel responsible for the state of the lamb in the picture. The body language of the model also makes it look like he is handing back the property of the reader again playing on the innate guilt of the reader.  This gives a negative impression on companies that use animal products and the agriculture that farms them further diminishing the expensive, sophisticated connotations related to having real fur. This also sends effective ethical messages to the younger generation that its not 'cool' or 'sexy' to be wearing animal fur. Overall in my opinion the ad' serves its purpose effectively giving off negative connotations about fur but interestingly, through the aesthetics of a fashion ad'.