A blog for the New Zealand creative advertising industry, now at www.campaignbrief.com/nz. Email news to: michael@campaignbrief.com

Thursday, September 14, 2006

CONSORTIUM USES RAW MEAT TO EXPLAIN INTERNET SHOPPING SITE


Now people know how internet shopping site ferrit.co.nz works. Plus some other stuff they might not have wanted to know.

Agency: Consortium, Auckland
Creative Team: Douglas Howser and Vincent Del Pino
Director: Steve Saussey
Producer: Claire Richards
Production Company: Film Construction

If this doesn’t play it’s also here: http://www.filmconstruction.com/directors_details.asp?id=7&start=0

28 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

This ad tries very hard to get some cut-through by being quirky, despite essentially having nothing to say.

Good on them for trying hard, but for that very reason it comes across as being try hard.

"Oh, can we squeeze another little quirky thing in here to cover up that this is a straight presenter read saying nothing of interest?"

"Why yes, we can." (bing)

Interesting they cast Andrew Sims as talent though.

5:32 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That last comment is bullshit. I think it's great.

8:16 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The only ad on TV lately I've seen that actually made me laugh.

Quite Napolean Dynamite-ish.

8:48 am NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The last comment is bullshit - it's crap and the whole Ferrit business strategy/model thing is fataly flawed. How long before Telecom tire of pouring money down the drain and finally pull the plug.

9:10 am NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I suddenly can't play any of these YouTubes. Anyone else?

10:53 am NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is great. And you are a retard for thinking it has 'nothing to say'. It explains a hell of a lot about the site where as the previous Saatchi ferrit campaign with those 'getting married?' billboards kind of fell short...

What's your real issue with the ad? That you didn't do it? Or maybe you did the getting married billboard?

It's ads like this that lift the bar creatively for information heavy ads. And miserable pricks like you that you that hold us all back.

12:27 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My problem is with the product rather than the ad.

As I have already said, they've tried hard to get cut-through despite having a product that has very little amazing to offer.

I should have added more explicitly that they've succeeded in getting cut-through, so good on them for that. That's pretty much task number 1 for an ad and the hurdle where about 80% of ads fall.

But the very mediocrity of the product, or perhaps the lack of a strategy which reveals a powerful reason to use it, means the communication becomes more noticable than the product. Which is what makes it look try hard to me.

btw, I don't remember seeing any 'getting married' ad, or anything previously done for Ferrit, which is a comment in itself.

And I don't envy anyone advertising this product, which seems to exist because 'we need something on-line'.

I hope that is clearer.

1:59 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

PS

If you've been held back, I don't think you can blame me.

2:19 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Douglas 'Doogie' Howser and Vince Delpino - the actor who played Doogie's dumb friend on screen.
Appropriate, seeing as they and spokesperson ads both come from 1989.
Can't remember Vince DelPino? Check him out in the Sopranos - he plays Benny Fazio.

2:57 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

this ad is a shitload better than saatchis efforts. until I saw it I didn't know what ferrit was despite seeing all the billboards by saatchi. It's funny, it get's across what ferrit is, job done. the billboard about more time to do the things you love -like your wife is genius. thought I had mis-read it.great client

3:38 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am so tired of the pathetic Ad Hominems on this site. 8:16, attacking a reasoned comment with an unreasoned response is lazy, asinine, weak and a waste of blog space. Why is 5:32’s comment bullshit? Why do you think the Ferrit ad is great?

We are in the business of communication and persuasion, yet most of the commentaries I read here are childish pot-shots made by cowards unwilling to put their names to such fatuous opinion.

I hope our clients aren’t reading this meaningless drivel. It’s an embarrassment to our profession.


Glenn Jameson

7:30 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Toby (aka 1:59 PM NZST)

8:51 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is that same Glenn Jameson who once wrote on a Lib website that he was- Born June 1963 in Waiouru Army camp to an arch-conservative officer and arch-liberal mother; it was like being tucked in to bed at night by Patton and Fonda. I'm a divorced father of two daughters, Camille Ayn and Isabella Sophia. Met my gorgeous lover, Olivia Pierson, at the Valentines Solo Conference 3 years ago. Currently Creative Director of Republik Advertising. Been writing ads for 23 years, in Auckland, Wellington, London, Miami, New York and Chicago. Biggest advertising claim to fame: working on the Budweiser "Whassup" campaign. Biggest Libertarian claim to fame: Number 11 on the Lib list in '96. Favourite quote: "I have gained this by philosophy: that I do, without being commanded, what other men do only from fear of law." - Aristotle? or not?

10:54 am NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is good - not great, but good. Nothing so terribly wrong with that. It tells you stuff you didn't know, gives you reasons to act and does so in a way that does not cause teeth to grate.

What is really interesting is the way Saatchis so publicly failed on this task. That is what I suspect is driving some of the comments here.

8:55 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think you'll find that Ferrit were as guilty of failing the task as Saatchis. If you can't provide a coherant strategy and spot substandard creative work then maybe you shouldn't be a client.

10:15 am NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

10:54 AM NZST - hahahah - sometimes being anonymous is good. GENIUS

11:50 am NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Other guys previously said:

"What is really interesting is the way Saatchis so publicly failed on this task..."

And:

"I think you'll find that Ferrit were as guilty of failing the task as Saatchis. If you can't provide a coherent strategy and spot substandard creative work then maybe you shouldn't be a client."

Probably both are good points - though no NZ agency I know of is in a position to turn away a decent-sized paying client no matter how bad they are.

It's also interesting that nobody here has claimed Ferrit has a good product. "It's shopping on the internet" pretty much sums up its strengths and weaknesses.

If the old adage about 'nothing kills a bad product quicker than good advertising' is true, then we should expect either the demise or rapid reinvention of Ferrit pdq.

"It's shopping on the internet."

Why yes it is. And not much else.

Regards,

Craig

1:52 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey Jameson, you're coming across as a sad bitter old hack, just walk away tiger.

5:34 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey Jameson, if you no like, you go find somewhere else to sound off.

10:48 am NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

He always has been angry.

The man has issues.

What's wrong with being an immigrant?

4:21 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey GJ, if you are all about speaking and writing correctly, how come you put writing "Wasssaauuppp" as your claim to fame?

7:58 am NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

'two ad hominems and a non sequitur'

Jameson you are clearly a frustrated lawyer and looking at the shite that republic is putting out, it's time for a mid-life career change.

Look, we all know you're a very angry old man. I would be too if my big job in the US turned to crap and I couldn't get a gig back in Auckland apart from Republic...ahem.But is coming across as a total cock on the blog really the answer?Walk away while you still have a shred of dignity old timer.

9:10 am NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jesus GJ, go play somewhere else.

1:13 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

sorry jameson, I'm going to have the last word.'sphincter'

1:23 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bloggers: 24
Jameson: 8

3:53 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

ewww Didn't Republik make those horrible Xbox ads?

No wonder you're always pissed GJ.

4:07 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bloggers: 25
Jameson: 8

4:29 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

you guys know that they are putting kava in pills now?

8:12 pm NZST

 

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