Search results matching tag 'David Beckham'

Marketing Agencies - Scientists or Artists? By Scott Knox, Managing Director of the MCCA (part 1)

2294184 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:42:00 GMT

We recently ran an event entitled “Marketing Agencies - Scientists or Artists?” which looked at a selection of case studies of brilliant marketing ideas created for top UK brands that were never commissioned, and discussed why these and other projects didn’t see the light of day.

It can be frustrating for an agency that’s confident they’ve nailed the brief to be knocked back. So the event looked at why this happens. Is it because clients are playing it too safe? Or is it in fact, that marketing agencies are not doing a good enough job of selling their ideas? I’ve talked in the past about the fact that a recession is the ideal time for creativity to prosper. We’ve got some brilliant creative in the UK so it is frankly infuriating that some brands are turning out some of the most, what I like to call ‘magnolia and westlife’ marketing I’ve seen in years. By this I mean bland. Very, very bland.

Take a brand like Gillette. A brand that has money to spend on marketing. Why oh why do they decide to churn out the same old clichéd ads year after year. Surely the image of David Beckham sweeping his hand over his freshly shaved face is going to be more effective for women than it will for men? Why can’t Gillette make the leap and do some creative marketing? Rewind 10 years – did we think Lynx could ever produce brilliant ads? Probably not. But they did and I’d bet my right arm that blokes like to see gorgeous women on the screen rather than millionaire sports men smiling back smugly at them.

Game, Set and Match

2248082 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:25:00 GMT

Congrats to Roger Federer on winning the Wimbledon men’s singles crown on Sunday. That this is his 15^th Grand Slam title is a remarkable achievement. I swear the man is a tennis machine. And he’s only 27! Quite astounding.

Of course conspicuously absent from Federer’s epic final against the über cool Andy Roddick was that other Andy – as in Murray. Just prior to Andy M’s semi-final loss on Friday, the amusingly banal Andy Murray-o-Meter (tracking the burning issue ‘Is Andy Murray a Brit or a Scot?’), had peaked at a ‘yes’ vote of 86%. I checked this morning and see it’s down to 77%. My bet’s on a further slide south over coming days. We Brits are an unforgiving lot, no?

Yet again, after all the acres of press coverage and gargantuan hype, Mr Murray failed to deliver a Grand Slam victory for Team GB. Not his fault – the guy did his best but was beaten on the day by a better player (Roddick). So is Andy Murray the nation’s next planet-conquering sporting brand in the making? I think not. As the always insightful Mark Ritson observed in Marketing recently, ‘the harsh reality is that Murray is a fine tennis player, but a hopeless prospect as the next Beckham, no matter how advanced the brand strategy applied to his future career.’

So best of British – and Scottish! – to you, Andy Murray. But to paraphrase Monty Python in The Life of Brian, I suggest we all remember that you’re not a sports brand messiah, you’re just a very moody and petulant boy who does a fine job swinging a tennis racquet.

Oh, and the day after Michael Jackson’s three-ring circus send off (sorry, Memorial Service), in Los Angeles, this exclusive report just in: He’s still dead, folks. I just love our ‘sleb-obsessed culture, don’t you?

Are you suffering from 'celebrity fatigue'?

2308643 — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:57:16 GMT

A report out today from Datamonitor says that consumers fed up with celebrity marketing campaigns and are suffering from 'celebrity fatigue'.

It says that one of the problems is that celebrities are endorsing too many different products. It cites David Beckham as one of the worst offenders as he sticks his name to anything from Sharpie pens to Emporio Armani pants.

Have you had enough?

[Poll]

Tabloid stars

255762 — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:26:46 GMT

Sometimes you can not beat the front page of a British tabloid. Today's frontpage of The Sun with its David Beckham headline is one such example and the Daily Mirror with its take on the BBC story is another.

It appears to sum up Beckham's expression perfectly, but really what did he expect? I'm sure it can't be all that bad can it?

The Sun's BBC headline isn't bad either, but I think the subs at the Daily Mirror beat them on this one with their take on the BBC phone scandal.

Still branding it like Beckham

255762 — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 07:33:58 GMT

David Beckham's arrival in the states is already causing a stir as Adidas rides the publicity wave with its latest ad spot starring the star. And here's the full video.

The ad, which Brand Republic reported on Monday, will air in 13 parts on TV and online. It comes ahead of his arrival next month at Major League Soccer side Los Angeles Galaxy.

It was shot in Madrid, during Beckham's finals days with Real, with rising NFL star Reggie Bush, a running back for the New Orleans Saints, visiting Becks as they trade tips and take turns at each other's sport - much in the same way Becks and Jonny Wilkinson did three years back.

The clips are also available in podcast from the Futbol meets Football website.

In the later clips, Bush tutors Beckham on kicking, throwing and catching an American football. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player shows he has the makings of a placekicker or punter, but he heaves a wounded duck when attempting to throw a pass. "You sure you're right-handed?" Bush jokes.

It's a huge deal not only for Becks, whose skills on the field seem in fine form on recent England and Real outings, but for the US with MLS and Galaxy relying on him to bring American mainstream attention to its fastest growing sport.