As I write to you my fellow readers, I am currently holding an icepack on my ankle. Due to one night of absolutely hilarity in the beautiful city of Amsterdam I have been limping around in a pain that I cannot describe for nearly a month. However, the only plus side of this and the fact that I am still continuing my search for a career in Advertising is that I get to see a number of adverts currently being played out on TV and other forms of media. The advert that I have chosen for my ‘Ad of the Week’ is one that showcases the ‘goodness of fit’ between a client and a creative agency.
John Lewis & Adam&EveDDB
Each year, the launch of John Lewis’ Christmas TV ad is almost like a national event. Last year told the story of a boy and Monty the Penguin which gathered 24 million clicks on Youtube, and during last year recorded over 930,000 tweets in relation to #MontyThePenguin. However, John Lewis and their creative agency Adam&EveDDB don’t just save their ad magic for the holiday season. the 2010 ad ‘Woman’ and ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ spots just show how effective their campaign can truly be.
It is also clear that there is a good fit between both the agency and client. Their four steps are truly wonderful. For those who are not aware of the four steps of creating an effective campaign, have a look below:
- Creative Brilliance
- Qualitative and Quantitative Research
- Execution
- Performance Evaluation
A number of Ad-men have stated that to fully understand the client, they should buy their products and see what subjective feelings they get. Ogilvy did this during a time he had the Sears account whereby he only shopped at Sears and it is evident that this practice is also in place with regard to these John Lewis adverts. Why you ask? Take for instance the ‘Woman’ advert of 2010, it instilled the products on show by John Lewis, it targeted the right audience- ‘well off middle classes’- and of course, showcased that emotive side to the company. This is a company which instead of using the term employees, embraces the idea of a partnership whereby people who work within the company are also stakeholders. It is evident that Adam&EveDDB have tapped into the vision of what John Lewis want and have created something that isn’t the conventional way of advertising. To use the words of the current chief of TBWA Jean Marie Dru, they are using what is known as ‘Disruption Theory,’ and simply they are reusing the same formula for their adverts. To quote David Ogily: “If you are lucky enough to write a good advertisement, repeat it until it stops pulling.” Simple as that.
The art of Disruption Theory- TBWA
‘Tiny Dancer’
From the positive vibes that have been said with regard to my ‘Ad of the Week,’ it is evident that Advertising has a new star. The amusingly passionate ballerina who careens around her home who puts all her family’s possessions in jeopardy. The hero of the ad, ‘the dancer’ is fantastic, throwing herself into the role with serious facial expressions and ballet moves to the sound of the 1970s hit ‘Tiny Dancer’ by Elton John. The advert showcases the many possibilities of damage possible in a comedic way. Every child has done something that has either damaged something within the house or in my case:
- Nearly set the house on fire
- dropped a massive tin of paint onto a Persian carpet
- or open up an old antique clock and take out all the components just because I wanted to understand how it worked…
well.. you get the jist…
But while the advert is heartwarming and features a great song to go by, it reminds the audience that John Lewis Home Insurance can offer peace of mind. It also showcases the John Lewis brand itself by showcasing to the audience that John Lewis offers home insurance, and so far the exposure shows how successful it is. The fact that people are tweeting, Campaign magazine writing about it and all the clicks that John Lewis are receiving from Youtube just show how successful a campaign it is:
Can this Advert confound the Price-Driven Insurance Market?
Although this advert by Adam&EveDDB is nothing short of good advertising, the question remains… ‘Will it be able to confound the price-driven insurance market?’ Although the advert is entertaining and can work on many emotive levels, did it also make you think: ‘you know what, next time I will go for John Lewis Home Insurance.’
While John Lewis have a distinctive and dominant position in the retail world, they are the ‘go-to’ store for Britain’s upwardly mobile middle to upper classes, the problem consists around the insurance market. Insurance on a whole is an over-supplied and cut-throat market with the majority of the audience/consumer looking for the cheapest price. By going onto Comparethemarket.com or Go compare, will produce a staggering list of cheaper alternatives. My interpretation of the ‘Tiny Dancer’ advert is that it is creating that form of awareness that John Lewis offers insurance. The problem is that it is too brand-centric, there were no forms of information of cheaper quotes in comparison to lets say Endsleigh insurance or other insurance providers. Maybe there is such a thing as a ‘John Lewis Bubble’, much like users of Apple computers, whereby an advert creates happy, loyal customers who will just smile and switch their allegiance to the brand they are in a relationship with… Much like a religious group/cult.
Concluding Remarks
It is safe to say that John Lewis and their creative agency Adam&EveDDB have a fantastic relationship on show. Their adverts since 2010 have shown exemplary work of creative brilliance, great research, fantastic execution and evaluation. The advert on show recently has added to the sheer brilliance of sending a message across to consumers. In my opinion, if this advert can convert the brand appeal, brand strength in to an over-supplied, price-driven market and prosper, then truly they will have created the winning formula in home insurance advertising.
Shahini On Advertising 