Stickers with this proclamation were stuck on teddy bears and chocolates in Auckland's domestic airport as I was waiting to fly to the South Island a couple of weeks ago. "The Kiwi Juice bar" stood a bit further along, claiming to sell traditional Kiwi recipes.
Maori culture is asserted and celebrated to a huge degree in New Zealand - totem poles, museums, dancing and singing demonstrations: Kiwis are very proud of 'their cultural past' and trying desperately to preserve it alongside the more modern Britishesque lifestyle.
Our guide book has several pages dedicated to Katherine Mansfield, simply because she is the only cherished author to have come from New Zealand.
McDonalds have tried to tap into this yearning for cultural identity, with their special edition "Kiwi burger" (additional ingredients egg and beetroot). When I bought one, it came in a special edition box that listed all the things that Kiwis love (I've found a picture here:Kiwi burger box).
This box epitomised for me the way in which New Zealand is trying so very hard to assert its distinctiveness, from the UK in particular.
Of course, New Zealand is a very young country, without a long history or controversial politics to give it the effortless culture of most countries around the world. It also has a very tiny population given its landmass.
Its epic landscapes and extreme sports make it a desireable travel location and it really is a beautiful beautiful place. But culture takes hundreds of years to develop, and other cultures have developed slowly, in near-isolation. Is the New Zealand brand going to become more try-hard than true?
Sunday 28 October 2007
Sunday 9 September 2007
Getting around the kids advertising ban
Since the ban on advertising junk food to kids on TV, advertisers have had to get clever. Luckily for them, children are increasingly spending time on the internet, and no such restrictions occur online (yet).
In terms of TV, adverts promoting the consumption of unhealthy food cannot now be shown on
- children's channels
- children's programmes, and
- programmes that have particular appeal to under 16s
McDonalds has been by far the sneakiest, by advertising their carrot sticks on children's channels. It's entirely against the faith of the ban, but technically following the rules. This ad keeps McDonalds in the minds of the young audience, who are well aware that McDonalds is where they go to eat burgers, not carrots.
Milky Way have at least steered clear of children's programmes with their new ad, that's ostensibly targeting mums.
click here to view Milky Way ad
Mum is the only one to actually eat a Milky Way, which apparently helps her to "lighten up and play" with the children on their pirate ship aka climbing frame. The voiceover also tells us that Milky Ways have "no artificial colours, no artificial flavours and no preservatives" - which should help mum feel better about giving them to her kids, no?
But when it comes down to it, mum hands out Milky Ways to the children, and it's implicit that the chocolate has a magic power which makes their play area real. The pirate theme has a definite appeal for kids, who may not be actively watching Coronation Street, but are still likely to be in the room at 7.30pm.
Companies will always find ways around rules that threaten their revenues, and it's a difficult argument to take sides on, particularly as the confectionery industry has always relied on a majority consumption by children. But aren't these sneaky advertising methods only going to breed distrust in parents and confusion in kids?
In terms of TV, adverts promoting the consumption of unhealthy food cannot now be shown on
- children's channels
- children's programmes, and
- programmes that have particular appeal to under 16s
McDonalds has been by far the sneakiest, by advertising their carrot sticks on children's channels. It's entirely against the faith of the ban, but technically following the rules. This ad keeps McDonalds in the minds of the young audience, who are well aware that McDonalds is where they go to eat burgers, not carrots.
Milky Way have at least steered clear of children's programmes with their new ad, that's ostensibly targeting mums.
click here to view Milky Way ad
Mum is the only one to actually eat a Milky Way, which apparently helps her to "lighten up and play" with the children on their pirate ship aka climbing frame. The voiceover also tells us that Milky Ways have "no artificial colours, no artificial flavours and no preservatives" - which should help mum feel better about giving them to her kids, no?
But when it comes down to it, mum hands out Milky Ways to the children, and it's implicit that the chocolate has a magic power which makes their play area real. The pirate theme has a definite appeal for kids, who may not be actively watching Coronation Street, but are still likely to be in the room at 7.30pm.
Companies will always find ways around rules that threaten their revenues, and it's a difficult argument to take sides on, particularly as the confectionery industry has always relied on a majority consumption by children. But aren't these sneaky advertising methods only going to breed distrust in parents and confusion in kids?
Tuesday 28 August 2007
Ursula & brand identity
I've just finished reading DH Lawrence's The Rainbow.
What struck me is that Ursula thinks she's alone in her desire to rise socially and be independent, but in fact we know that she is the product of several generations of ambition.
Ursula may be only vaguely aware of her ancestral farmworkers, but early on in the book, Lawrence privileges the reader with a development of these characters and their dreams of social success.
Although the initial impetus for ambition has been forgotten by Ursula's generation, and the conceivers of ambition are long dead, it is that seed of ambition that has passed down, and enabledUrsula to go to school, enjoy education, and believe that she can go further.
I'm now going to make a tenuous link to branding.
Corona is a cool beer. I don't know why it's cool, I'm guessing it's something to do with the gimmicky lime you have to poke through the bottle neck. But I wouldn't feel cool putting a lime in a Stella, so it must be something else.
I must have learned it. At some point in my bar/pub experience, I must have sub-consciously grasped that Corona was cool, compared to other beers. And whoever demonstrated to me that Corona was cool, must have learned it from someone else in another bar/pub.
Just like Ursula mistakenly thought her ambition came out of nowhere, Corona's cool factor must have originated somewhere.
Douglas Holt tells the story in his book, How Brands Become Icons.
Corona was a cheap Mexican beer, which became successful when hedonistic US college students went to the beaches of Mexico on vacation. When they returned to college, they drank Corona to remind them of the sun and debauchery they had experienced there. Other college students took on this association of Corona and partying, and so the myth spread.
Holt explains that brands such as Corona, CocaCola or Volkswagen became iconic within our culture by creating myths around their brands that "address the collective anxieties and desires of a nation".
I'd like to suggest, using Ursula as an analogy, that true (brand) identity occurs when history is stripped away, and what is left is an essence that is simply known, but not necessarily understood.
What struck me is that Ursula thinks she's alone in her desire to rise socially and be independent, but in fact we know that she is the product of several generations of ambition.
Ursula may be only vaguely aware of her ancestral farmworkers, but early on in the book, Lawrence privileges the reader with a development of these characters and their dreams of social success.
Although the initial impetus for ambition has been forgotten by Ursula's generation, and the conceivers of ambition are long dead, it is that seed of ambition that has passed down, and enabledUrsula to go to school, enjoy education, and believe that she can go further.
I'm now going to make a tenuous link to branding.
Corona is a cool beer. I don't know why it's cool, I'm guessing it's something to do with the gimmicky lime you have to poke through the bottle neck. But I wouldn't feel cool putting a lime in a Stella, so it must be something else.
I must have learned it. At some point in my bar/pub experience, I must have sub-consciously grasped that Corona was cool, compared to other beers. And whoever demonstrated to me that Corona was cool, must have learned it from someone else in another bar/pub.
Just like Ursula mistakenly thought her ambition came out of nowhere, Corona's cool factor must have originated somewhere.
Douglas Holt tells the story in his book, How Brands Become Icons.
Corona was a cheap Mexican beer, which became successful when hedonistic US college students went to the beaches of Mexico on vacation. When they returned to college, they drank Corona to remind them of the sun and debauchery they had experienced there. Other college students took on this association of Corona and partying, and so the myth spread.
Holt explains that brands such as Corona, CocaCola or Volkswagen became iconic within our culture by creating myths around their brands that "address the collective anxieties and desires of a nation".
I'd like to suggest, using Ursula as an analogy, that true (brand) identity occurs when history is stripped away, and what is left is an essence that is simply known, but not necessarily understood.
Saturday 18 August 2007
Calvinistic L'Oreal
I'm writing about the L'Oreal ads.
You know the ones - "because you're worth it!"
I'm writing about their persuasive technique, which is uncannily similar to the technique used by John Calvin in the 16th century.
Calvin preached about predestination.
According to Calvin, before we are even born, God has chosen some
of us as "the Elect" (destined for Heaven) and the rest of us are
damned (destined for Hell).
There is nothing that we can do about it.
Now you'd think that this would mean everyone would do as they pleased? Why go to church, why not steal, cheat, lie - if it made no difference to your ultimate fate?
But this didn't happen. People in the 16th century were so scared that they might be damned that they led the most pious lifestyles
in order to have been chosen as one of the Elect.
"...in order to have been chosen"! These people wanted to prove to themselves and to those around them that they were one of the Elect by acting as one of the Elect, governed by a deep unspoken fear that they may in fact be damned.
So, how does this relate to L'Oreal?
Well, if you substitute "the Elect" for "worth it", you're there.
Buy L'Oreal "because you're worth it!" ≈ Lead a good life because you're one of "the Elect"
Clever L'Oreal!
They've created a subconscious fear in consumer's minds that they might not be "worth it" and the only way to alleviate that fear and prove they are "worth it" is to buy L'Oreal!
I'm not suggesting for one minute that the creators of the L'Oreal strapline had even heard of Calvin and his teachings.
I'm just pointing to this as a psychological technique, re-discovered by L'Oreal, to which human nature is particularly perceptible.
And the L'Oreal ads keep running, year after year, in the same format, so something must be working for them...
You know the ones - "because you're worth it!"
I'm writing about their persuasive technique, which is uncannily similar to the technique used by John Calvin in the 16th century.
Calvin preached about predestination.
According to Calvin, before we are even born, God has chosen some
of us as "the Elect" (destined for Heaven) and the rest of us are
damned (destined for Hell).
There is nothing that we can do about it.
Now you'd think that this would mean everyone would do as they pleased? Why go to church, why not steal, cheat, lie - if it made no difference to your ultimate fate?
But this didn't happen. People in the 16th century were so scared that they might be damned that they led the most pious lifestyles
in order to have been chosen as one of the Elect.
"...in order to have been chosen"! These people wanted to prove to themselves and to those around them that they were one of the Elect by acting as one of the Elect, governed by a deep unspoken fear that they may in fact be damned.
So, how does this relate to L'Oreal?
Well, if you substitute "the Elect" for "worth it", you're there.
Buy L'Oreal "because you're worth it!" ≈ Lead a good life because you're one of "the Elect"
Clever L'Oreal!
They've created a subconscious fear in consumer's minds that they might not be "worth it" and the only way to alleviate that fear and prove they are "worth it" is to buy L'Oreal!
I'm not suggesting for one minute that the creators of the L'Oreal strapline had even heard of Calvin and his teachings.
I'm just pointing to this as a psychological technique, re-discovered by L'Oreal, to which human nature is particularly perceptible.
And the L'Oreal ads keep running, year after year, in the same format, so something must be working for them...
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