Moonchild's Weblog

vodacom shows heart

mazaza — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 06:19:43 +0000

happy happy new year dear readers..i wish each one of you only life’s best and the courage to keep connecting, conversing and creating.

for my first submission, i present this heart-warming ad from vodacom – not so much for the photography but for the ‘intention’ of asking each one of us to extend ourselves in service to others. it is said, you don’t give until you give of yourself…what a wonderful challenge this is.

and who among us would dare follow our hearts, abandon worry and just leap into service of others, trusting that once we leap the net will appear…

Namaste

KFC offends – nothing good about that !

mazaza — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:40:55 +0000

this image, attached, is a good example of Marketing to Black consumers gone HORRIBLY WRONG! To imply that people buy KFC so they can have a cultural practice (dowry) handled by a chicken-paddling franchise, smacks of disrespect of the highest order. Yes, many black people are poor and stretched to the very end of their rands and cents – but that does not give KFC or anyone, the right to diminish and belittle a way of life they are ‘too lofty’ to understand.

a crude and sad reminder of how as a country, we are still two nations – separated by stereotypes and prejudice.

i am too angry to write anymore, so why not judge for yourselves.

where is the idea here, standard bank

mazaza — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:11:16 +0000

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.

brand collaborations – who wins ?

mazaza — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 05:24:04 +0000

if in life there are upgrades and downgrades, then one can’t help but wonder what happens in the world of brands, especially in instances when high-brow brands go mainstream. we’ve had kate moss for topshop, stella mccartney for gap, stella mccartney for adidas, Jill Sander for UNIQLO, Lanvin for H&M, recently Versace for H&M and now we hear rumblings about a possible TOM FORD collaboration with the Swedish label. read on : http://www.timeslive.co.za/lifestyle/2011/11/17/hm-wants-tom-ford-collaboration?

i think it is great for H&M to have such ‘pulling power’ and for consumers who benefit from the liberalisation of ‘top-end’. the question i have is what is in it for the luxury brands ? surely no right thinking person would persue a down-grade strategy unless of course they believe the massification of their brands gives them reach, which gives them volume, which gives them more ka-tching !!! is that really what it comes down to ?

i wonder what WAGS & Housewives of wherever, feel about this ?

Whatever you do this week, put your heart into it…

a partnership only among equals, is this bank over-claiming ?

mazaza — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 05:38:23 +0000

i have always believed that a partnership- in its truest form – is only possible among equals. you want what i have and i want what you have in equal measure. so when i saw this billboard i wondered if indeed this image was a good and/or best illustration of a partnership, when the power variable is evident and strong. the driver is the white dude who plays and the assistant is the black dude as caddy.

at risk of attracting the wrath of a million reasonably employed black folks who serve as caddies – the point is not about caddy as a profession -rather that there is an unequal relationship between the player and the caddy. caddy hands over equipment and may on occasion offer tit-bits of advice and/or counsel but the dude who makes the difference is the player. so when a bank claims ‘partnership’ yet has its customer lagging behind, burdened with life’s challenges as caddies often are with golf bags, i wonder whether the marketer realized the shortcomings of this execution ? unless the marketer was honest enough to show that as bank, they take the big prize and lead the way, my needs as consumer not withstanding. No wonder consumer protection fora give banks a hard time…

What’s your view ?

Have a productive day

the unpardonable reflections of sexism

mazaza — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 05:57:28 +0000

perhaps nations and peoples have differing filtering systems when it comes to matters of sexism and other forms of gender-skewed prejudices…however, i hope a time will come when there will a universal agreement on what self-determining people (men and women) reject as reflections of the despicable…

you decide…

converse.connect.create

where is the idea here MINI ?

mazaza — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:36:18 +0000

this is laziness at its best…in fact, if they had the left the saying as is (one size fits all) – it would have worked much better than this mediocre shambles.

creativity should be about originality not adaptation or emulation..

agree, disagree, let me know …

Namaste

can supermodels run the world ?

mazaza — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 05:47:10 +0000

i am not certain whether giselle should be elated at the elevation in stature or the Brazilian she-President offended at her reduction – because suggesting any comparison is a disservice to both, for two entirely different reasons. when you compare apples and pears, the outcome is never correct. if this were a boxing ring, in one corner you’d have a very sexist piece of advertising in brazil - being defended by a person who benefits from the industry and clearly is not interested in, or aware of, the gender-politics of the work. in the other corner, the voice of reason from the President questioning the correctness of this message. granted, brazil has the reputation (desired or earned, you decide) of having women who are body conscious and bootylicious (as the Beyonce song goes) – only to0 happy to prance around with next to nothing on the beaches of Rio or Floripa. that is not under debate here- what is being debated is why an ad that places women back in the ‘performative role’ and presents them as nothing but manipulative sex-kittens should be heralded as an expression of women’s freedom.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2096771,00.html?xid=newsletter

you decide….

what is too far or too much for brands ?

mazaza — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 12:13:25 +0000

just as i got over the idea of a kanye west fashion show, with the correct in-season drapes and colours, mind you – i read with interest about christopher bailey’s antics at burberry. releasing a single to launch a body range. is this a glorified jingle or a track worth a 99p itunes download ?

http://blogs.ft.com/material-world/2011/10/10/burberry-releases-single/#axzz1awbY34Fo

but then again if artists can become singers, actors become teachers, boxers become coaches, justin t an actor,jamie foxx an all rounder, terence howard a musician, who is to draw the line ? and at what ? why don’t you decide …

may yours be a productive and creatively elevating week…

really now, stella artois ?

mazaza — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:02:18 +0000

this is lame, tired and frankly the best indicator of either creative laziness, lack of client imagination of both – but to simply slap on an image, rework its contours and call it a ‘she’ does not advertising make.

is it really because this advertiser thinks its target market is filled with over-grown teenage boys who salivate at the thought of a leggy-she, prancing around half-nude, with sweat dripping off her glistening tan-bed enhanced shoulders ? really ? or i am the only one imagining that men are a lot more intelligent that this?

would love to hear what menfolk say to this….

Namaste