Bayer

So it's suddenly talking to old people like they were actually not old, saying like, "Hey, you could still go skateboarding, but you know better. You wouldn't." And then the whole thing is going Supradyn's full of all these vitamins and minerals and revitalizing [inaudible 00:13:58], so you'll be full of energy and vitamin B to give you extra brain power, so you feel up for anything, even if you're wise enough to know better. So it's talking to old people in a language that doesn't patronize them. It says, "Guys, go for it. You can bungie jump, you can sky dive, you can do whatever you like. But you know what? We know, and you know, that you're not gonna do that, 'cause you're far too clever. [7400]
So it was just taking a different tack. Instead of showing the usual shot of an old man on the golf course with his wife, both grinning at the camera and going ... It's patronizing and it's horrible, and I think you must never patronize any target market. That was just one that springs to mind. [7401]
Well, it depends on different agencies, but here it kind of tends to be like one or two. I mean this campaign, for example, I came up with the idea, and Dave is normally creative director but he's also by my partner. I said, "Dave, you like? I dig it." He goes, "Yeah, I dig it too." Cool, it's working. You need the team to mock it up and make it look nice, and soon as the client says, like goes, "This is the campaign," not, "Do you like it?" "This is it." So we were the decision makers, 'cause we knew it was right, and they agreed with us, and away we went. [7403],[7402],[7396]
This one particularly, extremely, extremely anti-risk tolerant that you won't have any idea how badly they ... They're just conservative deluxe. This ad was very risky. Like I'll show you pictures. It's gonna be good to this microphone. But very anti-risk tolerant. This is extremely risky. When you'll see them, you'll see- [7381]
Well they approved it, but at least it speaks the right language. The visual language is completely risky, but the actual [inaudible 00:17:37] is quite safe. I'm not sure that's a great example for you [inaudible 00:17:41]. [7382]
The brief was long and involved. I mean it started off about six months ago on a totally different tack. It was first, "Sell vitamins to old people. They're natural." And then that led down the obvious route that you can imagine, which was completely patronizing. It's like, "Hey, old fogey, you've got pricky legs, get up and do something." But that was that type of thing. Moving right the way through, you know, that thing of first base thinking, and then looking at what other people have done, and then, " How can I raise the bar?" And then no one's ever done something like this before where they could say, "Go for it. Do it. We know you can." [7397]
So it was talking to old people almost as if they were teenagers, and making them feel good about themselves. So it was a long process, and there was a lot of backwards and forwards between creative, client service, client, and client service coming to the party and presenting some ... We had some really ballsy work before, it was totally awful for strat. But I mean, everyone played a part. I mean, you can start to think that creative is the be all and end all, but it's not like that at all. I mean you need really good people behind you, because I'd hate to have to do the leg work and the admin and contact reports and, what else do they? Costings and meetings and all this other crap they have to set up. It would kill me, dead. [7404],[7385]
But yeah, so if you've got a team like that behind you. Some client service actually do appalling, but that's neither here nor there. But this team's good. If you've got a team that's doing all that for you, and backing you up, it frees you to go and leave your desk at 11 o'clock. [inaudible 00:20:14] hit the pub or the toilet or the shire or the traffic, wherever you like, and do what you do best. But without backup team doing the admin and the crap, you can't do it. [7405],[7386]
Budget's always a problem, guaranteed. I mean there's no such thing as a good budget, because if you've got a two million buck budget, you're gonna run a three million buck ad. If you've got a three million buck budget, you're gonna run a four million buck ad. You always wanna do something better and bigger, and it's just one of those things. And by the same token, print ad, everything looks much better as a double-page spread, full color. Usually the client can only afford a single page spread. I mean that's just basic economics of life. [7407]
Yeah, I know. Budgets are always tight [7408]
. And then timing, timing's timing. This is a deadline industry. There's no such thing as the deadline's too tight. I mean, I've got jobs coming in you need to be out the next day. [inaudible 00:21:34] comes in every Wednesday, has to be out every Wednesday night. It's just a fact of life. It's how it is. [7383]
This one is fairly good. We spoke about this earlier, but I mean, relationships are based on trust. That's all it is. If they know you, and they like you, things are gonna go swimmingly, even if the work's a little bit wacky or a little bit edgy. I mean if the work's shit, it's shit, and they're gonna tell you, no matter how good the relationship is. And even if it's a new client, like brand new, if you can go in there, and if you answer their objectives, they're gonna be happy. [7387]
But if you answer their objectives with something that doesn't float their boat, or is quite boring, is kinda like "me too," they're gonna be like, "whatever." But if you answer their objectives and you actually show like a passion and a keenness, and then the ad could be wrong or it could be too wacky, too wild, if you show like a keenness and a, "Wow, this is so great, I'm really loving it and having fun with your brand," that's knocked down half the walls already, you're in there. [7388],[7398]
So generally speaking most clients we have really good relations with. Sometimes, there are agendas involved behind your back. You don't know about them. I mean some clients, like [inaudible 00:22:53]'s global, so ... For example, Nestle, just an example, has to work with us. There's no choice. Nestle chocolate is JWT. For all I know, maybe the Nestle client is bonking the guy from [inaudible 00:23:11], and she desperately wants to move the [inaudible 00:23:14], but she can't because it's dictated that it shall be here. So she could do everything in her power to stymie every effort, so everything you did will never be good enough, and the relationship will sour because of that. But that's totally out of your control, so there's nothing you can do about that. All you've gotta do is do really good work, do the best work you can and then let the results speak for you, in which case it will shut her up. [7399],[7406],[7380]
This one? It's fine. It doesn't matter, this project, any project, this particular ... I don't know what the others ... If, "I'll fucking kill them. James." No. Everyone here ... I think that you've probably heard from most of the people here, everyone here gets on pretty well. We're a pretty close group. Everyone is mates, we drink together, we jaunt together. No one here's particularly polite to you, you know what I mean? It's like, "Hey, fuck you, fuck you." It's all good, clean fun. It's like some dodgy cop show almost. [7391],[7390],[7389]
Incredibly I think everyone here pulls together. I mean sometimes there's fights between, or tension between, creative and client service, or creative and strat, if we don't agree on stuff. But generally, things happen much better if everyone just realizes the common enemy is the job and time, not the client and each other. [7393],[7394]
ncredibly I think everyone here pulls together. I mean sometimes there's fights between, or tension between, creative and client service, or creative and strat, if we don't agree on stuff. But generally, things happen much better if everyone just realizes the common enemy is the job and time, not the client and each other. [7392]
Bayer, they happen to be particularly good, luckily. I mean they just are. Diane, she's fantastic. [7395]
It doesn't really come into it, because the strat was all over the show originally, and then kind of, creative wrote their own strat after chatting to client service ... I spoke to my mother about this because she's the target market and like, how do you talk to people? So the strat kind of was written by the creative, and we decided that's how we were gonna do it. Sometimes it happens like that, creative write the strat. Sometimes strat writes the strat. Strat never write the creative. [7384]
Current project. Current project I'm not to sure about, 'cause I do not understand the mindsets of a 50 year old. I'm stalled in the process, the concepts is completely the opposite to what I am. [7610]
Yeah. Well, no. Well, the concept we came up with. Well, not 'we' actually, exactly. It was handed down from Proactiv, basically, to relieve this issue. [7619]
The client does not have enough budget to do what they want to do, I believe. [7621]
It's a multivitamin for over 50 year olds. Then general issue with the consumer is that at 50, they feel like nobody in their advertising world is speaking to them anymore. The 50 year olds believe that after they turn 46 it's like we treat them as if they've lost their sense of humor. [7611]
It's weird, I don't understand the mindset. Our concept goes along the lines of what the slogan line is, not that you would, but it's good to know that you still could. I'm 23, I can and I know I still can. So, I don't understand the whole not having to prove anything. [7622],[7623]
So, they're feeling a bit misplaced and they don't know where they are, and yet these people are the CEO's, they're the guys driving the Porsche outside and having yachts. So, the problem with it is that everybody treats them as 80 year olds instead of 50 year olds. So, that's the first problem. You can't really show an 80 year old and tell them 50+ is for you, when you actually want to talk to 50 year olds. It's weird, I don't understand the mindset. Our concept goes along the lines of what the slogan line is, not that you would, but it's good to know that you still could. I'm 23, I can and I know I still can. So, I don't understand the whole not having to prove anything. [7612],[7613]
It had been through the process a couple of times and came to a point where it was either mutilated, completely and going on route, or go with this. I mean, it's been discussed for weeks nonstop. So, that's it. [7618]
The copy line, really. The "Not that you would, but it's good to know you still could." I mean, that was handed straight to us, basically. 'Cause it had done the rounds, so that was the line and we were gonna go with it. [7617]
I mean, it's a very old relationship. I think it's probably one of the negatives about it. It's a positive and a negative. I don't really know the client too well. Met them once and nice guy. It should be good, hopefully. We're presenting later today or tomorrow. Can't remember. [7620]
The client service on this project is... I don't even think I know the client services for this project. No, I do. Very good. [7614]
Understood everything. [7615]
The strats also on the menu. They are with us and we are with them. We understand where they are. [7616]
Reference Tags
[7400] Empathetic disposition,[7401] Empathetic disposition,[7403] Organizational encouragement,[7402] Promote autonomy & sense of ownership,[7396] Win-win conflict about ideas,[7381] Risk compensation,[7382] Risk compensation,[7397] Win-win conflict about ideas,[7404] Organizational encouragement,[7385] Trust,[7405] Organizational encouragement,[7386] Trust,[7407] Lack of resources,[7408] Lack of resources,[7383] Planning fallacy,[7387] Trust,[7388] Trust,[7398] Win-win conflict about ideas,[7399] Believes one has a hopeful path,[7406] Internal changes/challenges,[7380] Man blaming woman,[7391] Organizing effectively,[7390] Quick resolution of relationship conflict,[7389] Trust,[7393] Quick resolution of relationship conflict,[7394] Trust,[7392] Organizing effectively,[7395] Trust,[7384] Subjective validation,[7610] Self-relevance effect,[7619] Insufficient Feedback,[7621] Lack of resources,[7611] Implicit stereotypes,[7622] Alignment,[7623] Communication issues,[7612] Implicit stereotypes,[7613] Self-relevance effect,[7618] Believes one has a hopeful path,[7617] Compromising conflict about ideas,[7620] Communication issues,[7614] Trust,[7615] Trust,[7616] Trust