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Why not get the public to make our next advert?

Not being from an advertising background that’s rarely a question I get asked or indeed ask, but it is one that comes up in Soho brainstorms almost as often as “Maybe we should get an island in Second Life?” did last year.

Nigel Hollis has a great overview of some US campaigns that have tried the UGC advert tack with varying results:

Over the last year, pundits have been very eager to tell us that CGM is the future of advertising. Where, I wonder, does their conviction come from? Some may point to Dove’s viral ad “Evolution,” which took the Film Lion at Cannes this year. That may be one exceptional example, but what proof do we have that CGC produces a decent return on investment for brands in general? Maybe the 78 percent of marketers in the PRWeek/MS&L survey who are not eager to involve consumers in shaping their marketing programs actually have an eye on getting a return for their investment rather than the latest media fad.

I’m sure Mr Hollis doesn’t mean don’t involve people at all, as in don’t listen to them… after he works for a market research company. Think he just means don’t let them in to the ad planning meeting.

The post also points to a New York Times article on the subject and another which features this grim effort for Heinz ketchup. Note the two star rating from viewers on YouTube…

Antony Mayfield

2 responses to “Why not get the public to make our next advert?”

  1. Nicola Avatar
    Nicola

    I like the view from Richard Spalding (Kontrabarnd) who argues that user-generated advertising is a lazy way to market a brand. He articulately puts it..

    “I want clever, well-paid ad creatives sweating over a brief to produce interesting and engaging content. Is the ad industry now being run by bland brand managers obsessed with creating UGC? Are our children going to be inundated with dull UGC ads as brands scramble to show them that they’re cool? Children are always going to be subjected to ads, but how are they ever going to respect brands that don’t at least try to make challenging and creative advertising?”

    More here…
    http://www.nma.co.uk/Articles/32085/User-generated+content+is+a+lazy+way+to+market+a+brand.html

  2. Nigel Hollis Avatar
    Nigel Hollis

    Mr. Hollis here – sounds awfully formal, don’t you think? I just wanted to confirm that I am all for getting consumer feedback on ads, right from the early stages of idea development through to finished film, but when it comes to asking them to develop creative I think that’s best left to the professionals, as the quote provided by Nicola suggests.
    Cheers,
    Nigel

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