There are some heavyweight campaigns around at the moment, by my, oh my are they dull. As if us poor beleaguered Brits haven't had enough of being told we're broke and we can't go to Majorca, it looks like we're in for yet another summer of 'stay at home' sales promotions. Has nobody noticed that this theme has been well and truly thrashed to within an inch of its useful life? I thought the essence of a good offer is novelty - but 'great days out in the UK' - groanorama... it's a contradiction in terms at the best of times. (Why can't we have 'Win your MP's Expenses for a Year'?) And, to rub salt into the wounds of the ever more-time pressed consumer, there's the new model Dickensian workhouse sales promotion mechanic: save the packaging, get your computer online, log on, set up your account, create a password, collect more packaging, find the codes, log on, forget your password, enter your codes, see what you can't yet claim... yawn... sorry... if you've ever had the misfortune to be made to attend one of my lectures, and somehow have stayed awake, you'll know I say there's one small word that means more to the success of SP than any other: EASE. (Ask any salesman.) And you'll recognise that what I've just been describing ISN'T IT. So... not only have we got DULL... we've also got DIFFICULT. Just why are some of the country's top brands doing dull & difficult? (Take a look in-store at Andrex, Ribena, Shreddies, Walkers, Warburtons and others.) Is it time to mourn the passing of the entertainer, the passing of the salesman?
