Alex Woodruff Biz Buzz

I see the always campaign from the States has now overspilled to the UK. MTV watchers are now being reminded every 5 minutes to “have a happy period”. Now I’m not one to judge how it must feel, as a woman, to be told to get on with life or, as is the case, [...]

Indeed what does interest car drivers? Probably a question they ask themselves a lot at Ford.
Of course we need to ask which car drivers. The old sexist joke is that some women are more interested in the colour of the car than what’s under the bonnet. Unlike ‘real’ men - who drive a hunky Ford [...]

How far can product testimonials go? The credit card from Usher? Beef steaks from Donald Trump? Yes, it’s true.

Save me. Product managers will try anything these days.

In 2003 Honda ran this campaign in English magazines. It was the latest in a string of strange executions clearly aimed at showing how creative they are, how car makers can sometimes think outside the box, how dreaming can also be part and parcel of the automotive business.

I will give them 10 out of 10 [...]

I once had a boss who said never do advertising unless you have news for the customer. Not sure I totally agreed with him, but I guess having something interesting to tell people is always useful in advertising. It’s even more useful if you can pull in their emotions.
When German mobile company D2 became Vodafone, [...]

One of my favourite campaigns of all time. Sadly they didn’t have digital cameras when it came out, but I did get the mug…
This execution adheres to the art of using surprise to gain customer desire. Dogs never feature in catfood advertising. Unless they are so driven by jealousy that they would actually prefer to [...]

Surprises may be a good way to gain Desire in the AIDA process, but not if they’re as boring as this example. According to my slogan checklist, a good slogan should never make you say “so what?” or “huh?”. Which this did.

Oh, what a tease you are
This bright and cheerful face caught my eye [...]

A guessing game for German beer enthusiasts - name the brand:

Well, let’s try guessing. It’s pure, the brewing water is sourced from nature, it’s refreshing, clear - as it says in the slogan: “fresh beer indulgence”. With rich green colours and a gurgling stream, this really does tick off all the right boxes. Congratulations - [...]

The Maggi mnemonic
Nestlé subsidiary Maggi has been building a mnemonic - or brand property - for years. It’s a very simple device that focusses your interest specifically on their product, in keeping with the AIDA process. A spoon:
The intriguing thing about this everyday kitchen implement is that when you realise you watching or reading [...]

Tony the Tiger, one of my favourites as a kid. A testimonial without the dangers of celebrity slip-ups.

Tiger testimonial
The wonderful thing about this endorser is he moves with the times, he’s adaptable. And he’s cheap! Why spend millions on expensive stuck-up headline grabbers when you can have someone like Tony endorsing your product for [...]