Freddy Counsell

The Branded Town: Celebration, FL

I am intrigued by Celebration. The town (or ‘Census-Designated Place’ as it is officially known) was developed by the Disney Development Company in the early 1990’s and currently has a population of over 7000 people across a 4,900 acre site. It was built in the image of classical American architecture, in an attempt to encapsulate the picturesque ’American Dream’ suburban lifestyle. 

Having looked at images and videos of the town, I have mixed feelings. The incredibly clean, empty open spaces, along with the ban on any form of branding or advertising (other than Disney, of course) evoke images of Pyongyang, the hollow showcase capital of North Korea. Probably not the first thing Disney would want. 

Reaction amongst residents has also been mixed. Whilst some love the community based living, others describe it as “Creepy” and “Stepford Wife-Like”. The town is also no stranger to rumours… it was once claimed that the Disney corporation pays its residents to walk their dogs and sit on their porches at certain hours during the week: the mental images of Pyongyang return. Despite this, the town was voted “New Community of the Year” in 2001 by the Urban Land Institute and many people view it as a return to small-town values with walkable and safe communities.

In 2010, the Town suffered its first murder in 14 years, with a second death following soon after. The global recession has also had an impact with 106 properties have been sold in 2010, of which, 44 were foreclosures.

Disney is not alone in its attempts to build the complete brand experience. IKEA are also in the process of emulating Disney by building their own London neighbourhood.The new district, Strand East, will include 1,200 homes, of which about 40 percent will have three or more bedrooms. Strand East will also have a 350-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel, 480,000 square feet of offices, shops, cafes, restaurants, a school, a  nursery, and a health-care facility.

Read More:

http://architecture.about.com/od/plannedcities/ss/celebration.htm

http://celebrationtowncenter.com/

http://www.celebration.fl.us/

The Best of the Banned!

Following todays lecture on ethics and advertising, I decided to find some cult adverts, which for one reason or another, fell foul of the consumer and had to pulled from circulation.

(WARNING: SOME EXPLICIT CONTENT FOLLOWS!!)

• Xbox: Life is Short: Among the angry viewers were a pregnant woman and a new mother who objected to the childbirth scene. Another woman who had lost a baby during childbirth said it was an upsetting reminder of her own experience.The ITC was also told by 20 recently bereaved viewers that they found the advert particularly offensive.

• Volkswagen: Bomb Spec: No prizes for seeing where this advert went wrong. 

• Guinness: Made for Sharing: What is being insinuated here? Its what we don’t see that does the damage…

• Skittles: Newlyweds: Okay, so this is actually a spoof advert… but it is pretty funny anyway!

• ZaZoo: Condoms: Children get our unconditional love. Apart from in this case, where the advert insinuates that your children could be you’re biggest mistake.  

Living in the shadow of Old Spice

Since “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” burst onto the advertising radar in 2010, Wieden + Kennedy have brought Old Spice to the forefront of popular culture. The original set of adverts have been labeled an unprecedented success, racking up 34,700,000 views by August 6, 2011. In June 2010 the ad won the Grand Prix for film at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and in July 2010 it won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial. Now, fast forward two years and Wieden + Kennedy have bought us a new Old Spice commercial, complete with a new Old Spice Guy. But How will this compare to a campaign which has had so much success?  

At first glance, all the key components are still intact: muscles, humor, inspirational monologues and an element of surrealism all bought together under the tag-line: “Believe in Your Smelf”. 

One noticeable difference is the dialog between the advert and the target audience. Where as the original ads directed their monologues and the female consumer (“Hello Ladies…”, “Don’t you wish your man could smell like me?”) where as in the most recent ads the audience has become slightly more blurred. There is no longer a clear dialog to a female consumer, instead we are presented with a humorous self-help tape which narrates contemporary ideologies to the protagonist.

One other Key element which I felt was so critical to the success of the previous ads was the linear structure. We would effectively follow the Old Spice Man through a journey of cultural references all in one long tracking shot. This for me was a real strength of the ad, which gave it its quick snappy pace, and drew such wide audiences. This, however, has been replaced by cuts to various locations, from a beach to race-course. 

Is this an attempt to breath new life into a over-used concept? Or is this a refreshment of the modern-day classic ad? Either way, time will ultimately tell if it will be able to emulate its predecessors.

Personal Brand Re-Design

For the last 16 months of so I have been using the rather un-inspiring ‘F.C.’ logo as my ‘brand image’ for any projects which I am involved in. I decided it was time for a change, so during my easter break I have collaborated with graphic designer Jason Bonadie, formally of Pindar Set/Yell Adworks, to update my brand.

The brief was simple: to create a simple, but striking image which could easily be used to brand CV’s, job applications and any other work which I am involved in. I also wanted the logo to include my initals ‘F. P. C.’ as ever since I had been a small child I had been very proud of my initials, scribbling them down on everything I could lay my hands on.

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The Cult of Jaffa: Responding to the consumer

Everybody knows how addictive Jaffa Cakes are - One of those biscuits (or cakes) which you cannot stop eating. ‘The Cult of Jaffa’ re-invents history in a ‘confectionery crusade’ with an entire digital book which covers an alternate world history in which Jaffa Cakes and other biscuits are key protagonists. 

What I particularly found interesting about this campaign was the way that it recognised and built on existing customer perceptions and attitudes towards the product. The Facebook page, which was originally developed by the public, was enhanced under the ‘Cult of Jaffa’ banner and exploded. It currently sports over 250,000 fans to date. 

The campaign also actively encourages users and fans to submit and contribute to the ‘Cult of Jaffa’, which effectively enables the consumers to shape the direction of the campaign. 

A great example of how, with some careful planning, a successful two-way dialog can be struck up between advertising and consumer with positive results.

RedBull: Focus Group Report

For our Red Bull TVC we decided to go with an idea which we felt would continue the traditional animated TVC’s which the brand already use. Our advert focus around our lead character of ‘SuperSlob’ and overweight, unfit superhero who uses Red Bull to give him the energy he needs to conduct his superhero tasks.

After screening two versions of the TVC, here are our findings from the arranged focus groups.