if only it were this easy ?

if only it were this easy – where you just turn a brand name into part of the vocabulary and then calls this mish-mash an ad. i wonder whether this is laziness on the part of the agency & client or G-d forbid, pure lack of imagination …i am certain the intentions were good – but the opportunity to say something relevant, differentiated and compelling is forever lost.

Judge for yourself

brands for specific nations – does this work ?

i  marvel when i travel through countries and airports and see how advertising messages either stay the same or in an attempt to be locally relevant, they swing to the extreme end of the pendulum. in recent times airports out of south africa have become more than just fleeting images on my travel landscape , and as a consumer of images, i have been paying attention to the nuances, the textures and tonality of some advertising messages. many have nothing new to say or show , however some brands really s-t–r-e-t-c-h either thier desire to be relevant or their imagination in a questionable manner…..

this attached ad got me thinking – largely because it is a bad piece of work, a shody attempt at advertising. what truly got me interested was trying to lock-down the reason why the brand owner thought that obviously identifying with Nigerians would be a useful thing or g-d forbid, a USP ?

do not get me wrong, i am not chastising the choice of nigerians as a consumer grop, far from it, i am questioning the intelligence (or lack thereof) of trying to turn an ordinary energy drink into a national engine-driver ? i see nothing unique, nothing fresh, nothing clever but wasted space and a lost opportunity for this brand to have said something credible and differentiated.

how can boost even attempt to lay claim to nigerians as a consumer category, when any brand which does business in that country could do the same? more pressingly why be reductionist about a nation that is as diverse as it is complex. before you order that i be taken to the mountain top to be crucified, understand my probe. i am not demonising boost for  its  choice of consumer group, i am challenging the brand on its over-stated claim that it energises nigerians. if this is an attempt at boasting about boost’s market leadership, then a different message built on a foundation of a solid creative concept would have worked better in elevating boost.

Some thoughts:

do not spend money doing what everyone else can do

credible uniqueness is balancing a brand promise you can fulfill with something new

if you have no idea, do not waste money on a poor piece of communication

do not be visible at any cost — most times bad ads do more damage to your brand than you being absent for a while
Namaste …