Art Director to Debbie - Kate Winslet-esque model from Luton:
'Great, Debs. But could you part your lips a little more and amp up the wistful this time.'
So golden girl is a tourist from the frozen north overwhelmed by the historical ambience of ancient egyptian ruins... Overwhelmed or dumbstruck? Broad appeal - for boys, 'Go to Egypt and you might bump into golden girl and charm the pants off her' - for girls, 'Go to Egypt and you might end up looking as sun-kissed and hot as goleden girl'. Good to see that they've thought this through...
Four of the show’s key figures – Chiles, Bleakley, editor Ian Rumsey and deputy editor Paul Connolly – came from The One Show, but a programme shown at 7pm on BBC1 attracts a very different audience to an ITV breakfast show.
The One Show’s viewers are mostly male and over 50, whereas GMTV’s viewers were mostly young mothers – and the latter do not appreciate the changes.
‘A lot of GMTV viewers didn’t really know who Chiles and Bleakley were before they started on Daybreak,’ says a source.
‘They don’t want a surly man and a young, highly polished woman who’s in the papers with her footballer boyfriend. Equally, the editors are using tricks which work in the evening – the wacky stories, for example – but don’t translate to morning TV.’
MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN
ITV’s enormous investment in Daybreak started with its takeover of GMTV last November. The channel paid £22 million buying the Walt Disney Company’s 25 per cent share of the programme to give it complete control.
Hiring presenters Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley cost a total of £10 million, and bosses Connolly and Rumsey are on six-figure salaries.
The studio alone cost £1 million, while a further £2-3 million was spent on marketing for the new brand. Failing to recoup any of this would be a disaster.
WE'RE IN THE DARK
The plush new studio on London’s South Bank offers a panoramic view of the capital’s skyline, but its biggest selling point has become one of the show’s most spectacular disasters.
When the programme launched on September 6, sunrise was at 6.21am, shortly after its 6am start. But as winter approaches, the sky outside the studio is remaining dark for longer, rendering the view invisible.
ITV have resorted to paying to have St Paul’s Cathedral lit up every morning in a bid to alleviate the gloom.
The decor, too, is cause for complaint, with its minimalist wood-effect floors and walls, purple sofas and an internally-lit circular coffee table disliked by viewers who feel it has a stark, cold feel.
Producers have responded by adding fresh flowers to bring warmth, but to little effect.
A-LIST BUMS ON SEATS
The show has managed to pull in some big-name celebrities, including Tony Blair, Prince Charles and Ben Affleck, yet these interviews have been described as ‘stilted’ and ‘awkward’, with Blair allowed to plug his autobiography without much real questioning.
Producers are under increasing pressure to attract the ‘right’ guests.
One crew member says: ‘We keep being told we need A-list bums on seats, and we’re not coming up with enough.’
According to an ITV insider, executives have now let other programmes, including Loose Women and The Alan Titchmarsh Show, know that Daybreak has first claim on celebrity guests.
Predictably, this news has not been warmly received.
And what could be the nail in the coffin. Hilarious!
THE UKELELE-STRUMMING BOSS
...Known for being a ‘larger-than-life’ character on set is Paul Connolly, the deputy editor who was brought over from the BBC by his close friend Adrian Chiles when he left The One Show.
Connolly, who used to work on Channel 4’s Big Breakfast, is understood to earn a six-figure salary for coming up with Daybreak’s ideas but spends much of his time wandering around the newsroom strumming a ukelele, which he can’t actually play, in an attempt to encourage creativity.
We will have to see if Paul's ukelele works its magic and recatalyzes the Chiles/Bleakley chemistry. I look forward to see how this pans out. We can rely on The Daily Mail to spare no one's blushes if it all goes wrong.
Some malt liquor drinkers were just after cheap booze, as they had been since the Depression, but the majority were college students or nine-to-fivers playing a game of racial masquerade. It wasn't just black people who liked to imagine themselves as Billy Dee Williams or Snoop Dogg.
By drinking a 40, anyone could pretend to be a black outlaw, someone who didn’t have to worry about getting up in the morning, someone who just didn’t give a fuck. In a variant on the minstrel tradition, these drinkers adopted a stereotyped black identity as a form of entertainment and psychic release.
I think it's the first time I've heard an ad used in a sermon on or off Radio 4, but this morning on Thought for the Day, Canon Lucy Winkett of St Paul's Cathedral mused on the importance of the feeling in human life and referred to a new ad promoting John Lewis::
Made by Adam & Eve, it seems as though the ad isn't quite as original as the clients would have liked. According to a report in News of the World, it turns out that it is in fact an updated version of an italian ad.
If Sid Rogers and Harry Budgen's work at Adam & Eve is anything to go by (the ruthless areyoupopular.co.uk and the Phones4u Christmas wrapping paper featuring an Asbo Santa, gangster elves and a suicidal turkey, for example), you'd be forgiven for thinking they are slightly disturbed. In fact, Rogers would rather not talk about his personal life because "it makes people uncomfortable".
But this couldn't be further from the truth, according to Ben Priest, a founder of A&E. "They are the most helpful, no-bullshit team you will ever meet," he says.
Since joining straight from Central Saint Martins, Rogers and Budgen have worked on six TV ads, seven radio ads, three press campaigns, an outdoor campaign and a website, and become "a very important part of the Adam & Eve family".
Because they are prepared to spoil a great service (flickr - the best photography site on the web) with this kind of thing:
Beautiful pictures, minimal design drowned out by stupid animated gif that looks like it was dug up from a dodgy site 10 years ago..... Yahoo you need to hire me!
Here's to freedom - wherever you find it. Jean Paul Sartre (actually Mark Hunter).
On reflection this is unfair. It's a long way from being the worst ad. Perhaps the most gut wrenching, but definitely not the worst.
The 'Live with chivalry' campaign was produced for Chivas by Euro RSCG with the main writing writing credit going to Creative Director, Mark Hunter. This is so artfully close to parody that it almost makes one think that Chris Morris has concocted a CV and is masquerading as an ad man.
I suppose the initial thought, following a brief to make a fusty, old whiskey brand cool and sexy, pivoted around the happenstance that chivas/chivalry sound similar.
Who drinks whiskey?
Blokes drink whiskey, so what we need to do is increase brand awareness among young blokes - internationally, mind - so we'll be doing this without any side.
Right. How do we appeal to these shallow, affluent young men?
Ah, well it just so happens there's a publication which they love - all over the world. GQ magazine. So shoot frat boy types - clean cut and buff - doing kind of things which make young wannabe alpha males feel good about themselves. High production values, of course - premium hair, tailored suits and and a couple of blue collar guys including one ethnic face to make sure we have all bases covered. My tip (and the guys at Johnnie Walker will confirm this) south Asians like whiskey, so next time be sure to get at least one affluent, smiling oriental in there. A global campaign without an asian? Madness.
According to a report in mad.co.uk,
The campaign looks to “the fundamental values of modern men” for inspiration and Pernod Ricard says that it communicates a point of view on life that is original and true to Chivas Regal’s brand heritage.
The campaign targets 25-34 year old males, and seeks to celebrate “the concepts of brotherhood, honour, class and sophistication” rather than materialism.
The brand carried out consumer lifestyle research that showed chivalry is a quality that is highly prized and relevant to the brand’s target audience. 71% of people surveyed believed that they would have a far better quality of life if the people around them adopted the positive values typified in the campaign. Additionally, 95% of all men and women said they found chivalrous qualities attractive in the opposite sex, with British men believing confidence, honour and intelligence are the three prime strengths of the modern man.
Patrick Venning, head of marketing for whiskies at Pernod Ricard UK, says: “The ’Live with Chivalry’ platform will reinforce the exuberant and luxurious essence of the brand, whilst showing the need for us to bring back some positive values into modern life. The advertising campaign is just the beginning of a host of activity for the brand which we believe will create significant awareness and stand out for Chivas Regal, whilst illustrating the brand’s place as a modern, vibrant and relevant choice.“
I love Mr Venning's choice of the word 'exuberant' and 'vibrant'. A real maverick. A non-pareil. Instead of a degree in psychology or an interest in the art of persuasion, my bet is that Mr Venning has heard that it's good to 'emotionalise the brand' - the creatives at RSCG catch his drift and knock up a proposal which hits all the right cliched slick and sexy notes.
Great job!
................. I see from comments on Youtube that the ad was filmed in Argentina. Makes some of the cultural cues a little more intelligible. I also found this, slightly different version. It's a little darker complected and the old guys look like Rat Pack wannabes who appear just as the voiceover eulogises 'here's to the straight-talkers'. We're also treated to some gaucho/Gillette dudes galloping on a beach - racing back to the bar for a slug of the old Regal.
The agency does not, of course, mess with the finale. We're left with James Bond flashing his gnashers as his effete butler looks on.
The thinking being that the mark/punter/consumer thinks to himself: 'I want to be like this guy - a king, a prince. I've have been making the most of myself, I've been selling myself short... what the hell, whiskey isn't such a bad drink...'.
And for any of you cynical enough to think this kind of thing doesn't work, proof positive that the whiskey dollars were well spent. As exuberant and vibrant as the client could wish.
CHIVAS REGAL - LIVE WITH CHIVALRY - GLOBAL CREDITS Project: Live with chivalry Clients: Martin Riley, international marketing director; Sophie Gallois, international brand director, Chivas Regal Brief: Strengthen Chivas Regal's premium positioning in mature and emerging markets Creative agency: Euro RSCG London Writers: Mark Hunter, Brendan Wilkins Art directors: Glenn Gibbins, Rod Kavanagh Planner: Russ Lidstone Media agency: n/s Production companies: RSA, Amarillo Films Directors: Johan Renck, Rob Sanders Editors: The Quarry, Final Cut Post-production: The Mill, The Moving Picture Company Audio Post-production: 750mph, Wave Exposure: TV, cinema, online
THE LOWDOWN
A series of vignettes on the theme of male bonding is featured in a fresh round of global advertising by Chivas Regal, the Pernod Ricard-owned premium Scotch whisky brand.
Using the line "live with chivalry", the campaign, through Euro RSCG London, aims to update the meaning of chivalry by inviting men to become modern "knights".
It extends the long-running theme of Chivas Regal advertising, which links the brand with an exuberant attitude to life.
Chivas Regal, which claims market leadership of its sector, has seen a sales growth of 40 per cent during the past four years.
The new advertising is intended to strengthen the brand's premium positioning in mature and emerging markets. It sets out to show that fulfillment and success comes from more than material wealth and self-interest.
'And the stones spoke to me'... 
