where is the idea here, standard bank
December 5, 2011
a picture, no matter how ‘adequately crafted and staged’ will never pass for an ad, nor would it be considered interesting just because there’s a brand name and brand promise attached.
The attached example is a combination of some ill-serving tendencies
a) this is the client’s ad
b) the agency was unable to work out a magical expression of a soft promise(perhaps the strategist’s direction was overruled by creatives or vice versa)
c) there was disagreement about the best way to present the increasingly discerning south african populace with an enticement to further in-debt themselves – against the strong admonishment from the national credit agency.
In the end, what preceded the publication of this ‘picture for an ad’ fades in significance against the real issue – this is no ad and posting a Black woman and child in it, adds nothing to the effort.
If the intention is to encourage south africans to borrow – then speak to all south africans. but the coy effort at implying that such ‘loan’ could be used to advance the educational ambitions of a young child – is just a stretch. it is a lame effort at adding an ‘emotional component’ to the work – because this is not an insight nor a human truth.
SBSA is my zero for this week.
