EasyJet Advert targets Ryanair

EasyJet and Ryanair once again face each other in an advertising clash. This is not the first time that one of the airline's advert features the other company. This is what EasyJet did in its last campaign as it was promoting the fact that they fly to major airports whereas the others fly to smaller out of town airports!

The outdoor advert featured the tagline 'Who loves flying you to the place you actually booked?', obviously implying that Ryanair flies to airports some distance from the supposed destination city (sometime the airport can be as far outside the city as two hours bus ride). Under the Ryanair section the advert reported that 'Barcelona = Girona, Paris = Beauvais, Milan = Bergamo, Venice = Treviso'. In comparison to this, under EasyJet section, the same advert reported that they fly to 'Barcelona = Barcelona, Paris = Paris, Milan = Milan, Venice = Venice'.

Ryanair filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority claiming that Beauvais, Bergamo and Treviso had been officially designated as airports for their corresponding cities by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The budget carrier said also that the way they advertise the destination is faithful to the destination...in fact they report Girona as 'Girona (Barcelona)', rather than 'Barcelona (Girona)'.

The ASA took note of the complaint and agreed with Ryanairn on the basis that it was true that IATA had designated the airports for Paris, Milan and Venice respectively, and advised easyJet to seek copy advice from CAP for future campaigns.

EasyJet UK general manager Paul Simmons said he was "disappointed" by the ruling. He said: "It is a well-know fact that easyJet flies to major airports whereas Ryanair serves out-of-town airfields which can be a two hour bus ride away from your destination."

Milka to attract Dairy Milk...will it end up as the battle between Kraft and Cadbury?

Kraft...after it managed to acquire Cadbury it decided to go head to head with it's flagship brand...Dairy Milk. In this regard, Kraft is gearing up for a UK roll-out of its flagship Milka chocolate brand in the UK

Kraft will launch Milka with a TV campaign, created by Ogilvy, on April 19th. Shooting for the spots are expected to start next week. The activity will include multi variate advertising including adverts in the press to promote the six different Milka variants and highlight the fact that they are made with Alpine milk.

Currently Dairy Milk is market leader in the UK, with sales of £371m last year, (nearly twice as much as its nearest competitor Mars' Galaxy which made £192m last year).

Will this start causing distress already between these two confectionery brands?

Henry Scandal has its repercussions

Everybody must have heard about the probably even watched Henry's (French Footballer) latest goal. Unfortunately for Henry he did not use his foot to put the ball in the net but used a "helping hand". As could have been expected, this goal lead to a huge wave of negative publicity against the French international player especially for his unprofessional behaviour.

What was the result of this negative publicity?

Apart from leading the same Henry to consider quitting Football, it left it's repercussions on brands which he used to represent. One of these brands is Gillette. The Sun (British Tabloid Newspaper) managed to notice something. Gillette had an advert on their website showing Federer, Tiger Woods and Henry all holding a symbol of their sport in their hand. It is useless to say that Henry was holding a Football in his hand.

However Gillette had to intervene and edit a little bit the advert on their French site. As can be seen from the following video (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/video/article300101.ece?vxSiteId=6247211d-66e0-4454-b73a-3f1610efa39a&vxChannel=Football&vxClipId=1347_SUN40364&vxBitrate=300 ), in the French version of the advert the Football was removed from Henry's hand. The disappearance of the ball could be seen as an attempt to save Henry further embarrassment after his scandalous lack of sportsmanship last week.

His double handball helped him set up France's goal which sent them to next year's World Cup at the expense of the Republic of Ireland.

Gillette in reply to this claim denied they changed Henry's picture in response to the recent scandal. They insisted Henry was not pictured with the ball in his hand on the French website

The shaving firm's spokesman James Nunn said: "We have spoken to the French Gillette team and they are not aware of any recent changes that have been made to their website."

Will this have further repercussions?

Marmite opens it's first branded shop in London

Unilever, the multinational FMCG group is trying to make the best out of it's marmite brand and after having undertaken various product extensions to it by introducing Marmite-flavoured rice cakes and breadsticks, it has now decided to trial it's first Marmite branded shop.

The shop opened this week on Regent Street and will be open seven days a week. The store stocks more than 100 Marmite-inspired products, some of which will be sold exclusively through the shop. It is surprising that the shop, apart from selling the famous jars of marmite and other marmite based food products, it will also be selling clothes, artwork and Christmas boxes.

This idea has been on Unilever's to-do-list from last year as the company wished to take a share of the lucrative and under served breakfast market. The tea & toast bar aims to promote itself through its social networking website such as Twitter.

So if you're in Regent Street it might be a good idea to drop...even if you don't like marmite as it sells other non food items...let us know what you think about the new shop.

Specsavers vs ASDA...who is the real specsaver?

A few weeks ago I posted an article relating to issue with patents and another article about Pimms and Sainsbury clash...apparently these are not the only clashes around. A issue has arisen between ASDA and Specsavers.

The issue arose due to the use by ASDA of a similar logo to the one used by Specsavers (see logos below). Specsavers have been using the logo for quite some time and hence said that the new logo being used by ASDA is misleading customers. Moreover, ASDA has been using a slogan which add a further link to Specsavers as it says 'Be a real spec saver at Asda'.

According to Specsavers this was done on purpose and Specsavers filed a court order for ASDA to stop using the logo and slogan. Given the hot issue, the judge agreed to treat the case urgently, ruling there was enough evidence that Specsavers' reputation was threatened by Asda Optician's marketing campaign, which was launched last month.

In response to this, Asda yesterday agreed to stop using the slogan after this week but will continue to use the logo. Do you think that ASDA will win this case or will Specsavers manage to beat the giant?

Marketing Stunts...do they always work?

It is said that guerilla marketing or marketing stunts are the best way to attract attention and get free press coverage. However is the result always desirable for the company...apparently not, or at least this was the case of Tele2.

A publicity stunt involving a fake meteorite strike in Latvia has totally backfired with Tele2 (a Swedish telecoms company) possibly losing a government contract. Tele2 admitted that the meteorite crash has been staged in the Latvian countryside and the hoax claimed that this strike caused a 10 metre wide crater. This stunt has alerted the Latvian emergency services who went rushing to the scene together with scientist only to find that this was all a stunt.

All this saga was recorded and posted on YouTube, with the video registering more than 400,000 views. Tele2 said that the stunt was part of a wider marketing campaign that is due to be revealed later on this year. However this has not gone down well with the Latvian Government. The interior minister has told that it is not acceptable for a company to promote itself using public fund, especially in a period when Latvia has been very hard hit by the economic downturn registering a very high rate of unemployment and the biggest fall in GDP in the European Union. In an attempt to save its face, Tele2 has reportedly said that it will reimburse the government over any expenses incurred by the stunt.

Will this be enough to save it from losing all contracts in the country? We'll wait and see...

Advertising Standards Authority rule against Bet365

How many times have you read or watched an advert promoting free bets? The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has now taken action.

The ASA has pulled two press ads featured in the Racing Post for igaming site Bet365.com, after it received complaints that the ads were misleading. The complaint read that the advert did not clarify that the free bet was not free at all. In fact to get the maximum advertised free bet of £200 the punter had to part with £900 of his own money. Bet365 replied by saying that the advert stated that the offer was subject to terms and conditions.

Bet365 said that the terms were too complex to be included in the ads but were readily available on its website. It felt the magazine’s readership were an educated betting audience and would automatically understand the terms of the free bets. The ASA took noticed of the fact that consumers were required to spend £900 to obtain the full £200 of free bets, with a minimum spend of £25 to receive a bet worth £25.

The ASA considered that these conditions were very important and that if publish they would have influenced consumers’ understanding of the offer and because the information had not been included in the ads they were likely to mislead.

The ASA has ruled that the ads must not appear again in their current form. Will this revolutionise the igaming adverts?

Woolworths set for revival

I was reading an interesting article on the big brands which went bust during the credit crunch over the past year. I remember it all started with the fall of the banks and Woolworths. It was headline news everywhere, the big and long surviving brand lost it's battle...however the economy is recovering and new stores are opening again...it was here that I read that even Woolworth's is being reopened (in it's brick and mortar format) and it seeks to relaunch under the new name 'Alworths'. Could this be the proof of the end of the recession?

The idea is the brainchild of former Woolworths commercial director Tony Page, former UBS banker Gareth Thomas and former Woolworths store development manager Andy Latham.The Independent claims the plan is set for the launch of 50 stores, which will be Woolworths in all but name.

However problems started to merge as Page will not be involved in the new launch and is now threatening legal action against Latham who is set to launch the store on his own. According to the Indipendent, Alworths stores are set to open in Didcot in Oxfordshire, Faversham in Kent and Wokingham in Berkshire. The new chain will not be able to sell Woolworths' former own-brand products which have been bought by various chains including Argos (which bought Chad Valley toy range) and Shop Direct (which bought the Ladybird childrenswear brand).

Taxi's go 2.0

The new Taxi Service is called greentomatocars (http://twitter.com/greentomatocars) and the company claims to be the first private hire service in the UK to take Taxi bookings via Twitter. The company's green credentials are based on using what it claims to be the greenest car on the market - the Toyota Prius.

Bookings can be made by sending a direct or private message to greentomatocars with the details of the journey required. The company will then Tweet back, containing a unique booking reference confirming and hence confirming the booking.



The company is trying to build a community about it...a way of increasing word of mouth about it's service riding the wave of it's green credentials. Visitors can participate in an online conversation around environmental issues. Asked about why Twitter, founder Tom Pakenham, said: "Twitter has become such a phenomenon and with so many people in London using it, we are delighted to be able to use Twitter to build a closer relationship with our customers and make booking a car simpler and easier than ever."





This is not the only booking service via Twitter, last week, a Twitter-based hotel booking engine launched called Inoqo. This booking engine enables customers to book and check-in within 48 hours and take advantage of special deals.

Tesco Model found to be an illigal immigrant

Fatou Cham, a checkout girl (checkout number 6, Tesco, east London) was picked by Tesco to model for a glossy advertising blitz however she was later exposed as being an illegal immigrant.

Ms. Cham came to the UK from Gambia in 1998 on a student visa (studying banking, economics and finance at London Metropolitan University) however stayed after it expired in 2001.

Ms. Cham was chosen to model for the Florence and Fred clothing range by Tesco from a pool of hundreds of hopefuls for an ad campaign used in women's magazines. The advert showed Ms Cham modelling in a blue dress with the words below the image saying "Designed by F&F. Priced by Tesco. "

Immigration officers questioned her at her home in East Ham, east London, on Monday. She was quoted to say that she was excited to be chosen for the Tesco campaign and had hoped it would bring her other opportunities. However everything went wrong.

How do you think this might affect Tesco's image?

First Direct Embraces Web 2.0

Speaking about digital advertising and Web 2.0, First Direct seems to have embraced this concept to the full. In fact the brand, has decided to launch a campaign that will include both positive and negative consumer comments about its service and brand.

The press, outdoor and digital campaign will use a selection of comments about First Direct made on blogs and forums from all parts of the net. It is setting up a new microsite, Firstdirect.com/live, that will serve as an aggregator of all mentions of the brand (both positive and negative) that would allow the users to form their own opinion about the brand.

It's all about being open with one's own customers and try to make advertising more credible and more impartial. According to Natalie Cowen (Marketing Communication Manager of First Direct) ‘It's a very open and transparent way of demonstrating why we're the number-one bank for customer satisfaction...It's a campaign not many brands, let alone banks, would be able to launch.'

The bank has been report that it will be reducing its use of conventional advertising and turn more toward online advertising and speak direct to its users via Web 2.0 application such as blogs, forums and social networking sites.

Employees criticise customers on Facebook

Brands invest hefty sums of money in PR to try to improve their image in the eyes of the consumer and make them shop more however DSGi, the parent company of PC World and Currys, was surprised to learn what was going on, on Facebook.

A Facebook group named DSGi Employees appeared on Facebook and it had quite opend conversations between DSGi staff with contemptuous comments about the chain's customers. In this group the employees provide ample criticism towards customers, with discussions ranging from 'Chatting up customers....' to 'Arsehole customers!', 'Really Stupid Customers!' and 'Some customers are really really stupid.....'. The group itself points out that it isn't a group for those who love and adore DSGi, just one for people who work/have worked for the same company. The group ask visitors to bear in mind that this is an UNOFFICIAL Dixons Stores Group plc, Discussion forum/Community, any views/opinions expressed on this page by either the group creator or it's members are those of the individuals only and not of DSGi plc or any of its affiliates."

Similar staff mutterings on Facebook have resulted in employee discipline, including Virgin Atlantic, which launched an 'investigation' after staff were found badmouthing their customers last year. In July, Primark promised to probe its staff after several employees posted "malicious" Facebook comments about customers, calling them fat, pikeys, and twats.In January, Waitrose and Tesco also launched investigations following the revelation that some employees had posted abusive comments about customers on various Facebook groups.

I believe this event further proves the need for companies to monitor forums and social media as it must make sure that such occurrences are minimised and promptly tackled. How much do you believe such comments left by employees of these companies leave would have on you if you were a customer of these companies?

Look beyond the wrapper...Maoam story

I was reading some articles on the net and came across a very interesting article...have you ever come across the sweet label Maoam? If yes you should read the following article:-

The Haribo brand did not go down well to a shopper who noticed that the wrapper illustrations appeared to depict pieces of fruit engaged in sexual activity. The complaint was made public by various media including The SUN and The Daily Mail. Mr. Simon Simpkins from West Yorks said he had a "heated exchange" with the shop manager when he saw Maoam's wrappers.

All Maoam wrappers feature a lime character close to, or holding, different items of fruit depending on the sweet's flavour. Mr. Simpkins went for the lemon flavour, however when he looked at the wrapper, the image was quite interesting...but at the same time shocking. He said: "The lemon and lime are locked in what appears to be a carnal encounter. The lime, who I assume to be the gentleman in this coupling, has a particularly lurid expression on his face."

Honestly by analysing the wrappers and try to look at them in different light you might say that Mr. Simpkins is actually right. Have a look at the cherry flavour packaging which is even funnier. It features Mr Lime "tasting" a cherry while another one watches.

According to Haribo the wrapper design was introduced in 2002 and was an attempt to make the wrappers "more lively". It denied there were any sexual connotations intended in the illustrations. Haribo did also confirm that they received the complaint from Mr. Simpkins and published the email.

After having read all this what do you think? Do you think that brands use these imagery as subliminal cues or do people try to interpret images in their way?

Microsoft accused of discriminating in advertising

It's unbelievable but some companies still find it difficult to include people from different cultures in their marketing material. The last company to fall pray of this potentially discriminating activity is Microsoft, the software giant. It was found that an image was edited and swapped with a white man's photo on its Polish website.

The image appeared in its original form on Microsoft's US website and in an edited format on the polish site. Microsoft has apologised for the incident and taken the offending image down. Microsoft admitted the mistake and reiterated that diversity and inclusion are core values and business imperatives of Microsoft. It apologiesed for any offence caused.

TalkTalk uses innovative promotions...what about put pocketers!

I'm back...I was in London for a wee time and could not update the blog unfortunately as it was really difficult to find free Wifi spots! However I came across this article and thought it was a good example of a proactive company using innovative solutions!

TalkTalk undertakes another guerrilla marketing campaign...and what a campaign. The company has decided to start distributing money between now and the end of August in areas of central London and on the Tube network. You might think how will this money be distributed...and this is the innovative part!

TalkTalk has employed a team of 20 ex-pickpoketers to actually start "put pocketing". The company has confirmed that lucky recipients of put pocketed cash will receive a branded card along with the cash.The campaign is being promoted with posters at relevant locations proclaiming "Rejoice!

The campaign however has met with a mixed response from those who like the idea of finding a fiver in their trousers, to those who have been victims of bag snatching and other street crimes questioning the sense of such a campaign. However this is what make the campaign successful...it makes people talk about the company. TalkTalk has also anticipated such fears and informed Metropolitan Police about this campaign. Apart from this the put pocketers have been given ID in case they do get caught in the act. Have a look at this Talk Talk Video that shows some of these stunts...what's your opinion on it?

Best Buy offering Unbelievable prices during the recession.

About two weeks ago I have told you about the launch of Palm Pre and the Pricing mistake that Best Buy did (issued it at a fantastic price of $99). Did you think this was going to be the last mistake done as they would pay extra attention from now on? Unfortunately this was not the case...

Best Buy is apparently trying it's best to try to help customers through through the recession, but no one could have imaged that they could go as far as offering a 52-inch TV for just $9.99! It happened on Wednesday however as usual it was too good to be true.

As soon as the people noticed the price Bloggers and Twitterers lit up the Internet with posts about the offer, some insisting Best Buy must honor it, others making jokes. However the decision of the retailer this time, unlike with the Palm Pre mistake was not to honor the $9.99 price posted Wednesday morning on its Web site for a 52-inch Samsung flat-screen TV but to refund those that bought it. The price was then adjusted by early afternoon to $1,799.99, almost half off the original $3,399.99 price.

Obvious such repeated mistake left it's mark on the share price as it fell 27 cents to close at $36.50 Wednesday. Do you think they should at least subscribe to their own newsletter maybe in this way they can check their own best offers?

Absolute Vodka goes Rock

Absolute Vodka, the Pernod Ricard brand, will launch a limited edition bottle...it will dressed in leather and studs and will go rock "Absolute Rock Edition"

The New Absolute Bottle

As can be seen from the picture above, the exclusive bottle will celebrate rock and the company aims at creating initiative that support the Absolute's new bottle jacket. The latest bottle will launch in Selfridges in early September 2009 and will be sold at £19.99. Following the exclusive launch, the bottle will be rolled out to other retailers at the beginning of October.

As part of this campaign Absolute will create a digital activities on it website that will focus on delivering humorous insights into a rock band's, the person behind the band and lifestyle. As with other big marketing activities, such as the launch of Eminem new album, Absolute will be present in key areas of London, especially those areas that capture the vibrant UK rock scene. This will enable the brand to reinforce it connection to the lifestyle and increase the experiential power of it campaign through gigs and rock concerts.

Marketing Blunders

McDonald's Tainted MP3 Players

In Japan, where technology frenzy is common place and where even virtual pets have their own MP3 players; McDonald's ran a contest in which customers were eligible to win their very own MP3 device.

After distributing around 10,000 gadgets, customers discovered that each MP3 came loaded with 10 free songs and a trojan malware, capable of communicating user logins and passwords. A software patch was dispersed and a recall was instituted, thereby ending McDonald's worst campaign.

Icy Response to Snapple (Natural Juice Company)

Snapple decided it was time to do something big…as big as attempting to overtake the Guinness World Record for the largest ice lollipop, made out of the company's tasty kiwi-strawberry drink. The company however had a serious flaw in it plans…the record breaking attempt took place mid-June. Immediately upon unloading, the melted juice poured from the truck, creating a syrupy tidal wave which became a major headache for cleanup crews.

LifeLock CEO Tempts Fate

The personal fraud protection company LifeLock guarantees the security of your identity under their employ. So much so that, in a nationwide ad, CEO Todd Davis posts his personal social security number on the side of a van — daring identity thieves to give it a shot. Turns out, they did.

No fewer than 25 motivated thieves stole Davis' social security number — with one successfully receiving a $500 loan. LifeLock maintains its diligence, claiming that for a nationwide ad, only one case of stolen identity isn't too bad. It doesn't advise posting your mom's maiden name on your car, however.

General Motors Inspires Amateur Filmmaking

Three years ago, General Motors did its own marketing blunder too…it tried to tap in the young drivers market by tapping into the YouTube craze. GM launched a website allowing users to create their own commercial about the Chevy SUV and upload it for public view.

That was a good idea however GM forgot one thing…monitor what was being uploaded. GM hadn't realized that it bore favorable connotations, and participants started producing short films about global warming, the war in Iraq, or negative attacks against the auto's quality. The problem was that it took the company one month to realize this!

KFC Underestimate Fan Frenzy

Companies use giveaways as a way to increase popularity and visibility for their products…so what could go wrong? KFC started it own promotion by giving away free KFC meals…a good idea you might say but…

After Oprah announced a KFC giveaway on her much-watched program, the food chain couldn't keep up with the lines of customers…this stampede gave way to a flood of protests which obviously back fired…so be careful as promotions might be too successful which becomes a problem when you can’t keep up with the demand.

Zombie Invasion Credited to Dr. Pepper

It's hard to dislike a treasure hunt, unless the “X” spot lies somewhere over a historical landmark. An international campaign from Dr. Pepper's then-owner Cadbury Schweppes hid coins within 23 American cities to promote the soft drinks’ "23 flavors."But the agency in charge of Boston's location selected the Granary Burying Ground; a historical landmark.

The result:- A flood of shovels tried to find the coin but Cadbury Schweppes ended the contest. However the graveyard had to be closed to prevent a zombie outbreak.

It's important to know your product well...surely ASDA missed this point this time last week.

ASDA, Walmart's arm in the UK, felt it was in the forefront to score a PR coup when it went trumpeting the arrival of "Britain's cheapest bike" in its stores. For £70, customers could walk away with a brand new adult's mountain bike. A total bargain! ASDA might have though how could this go wrong!

However they did not consider everything. Although the price was surely a killer, not everything was perfect. They did not take care of all details and someone actually noticed this. The offer actually turned into a PR disaster, when late last week the supermarket was forced to pull a TV advert, which was created by Fallon London, for the bicycles after viewers noticed they had been built so badly that they were dangerous.

The Problem Bike - British Eagle Verona Model

Mark Brown, director of the Association of Cycle Traders, was the one who noticed the mistake. Actually the the front forks of the men's bike in the advert faced the wrong way. The meant that the bicycle would not steer correctly and the brakes would not work properly, thus representing a health hazard for the users. The ASDA bikes come in parts, meaning customers have to attach the pedals, front wheel, handlebars and saddle themselves.

Brown commented on the advert on the Guardian Website and said that "Not even ASDA know how to set up their own bikes. This is indicative of the problems which arise from what we in the bike industry call 'flat-pack bikes'. However, unlike flat-pack furniture this could seriously damage your health."

ASDA spokesperson admitted the mistake and said that "As soon as we spotted the error, we put the brakes on the TV ad and pulled it". ASDA is working on a new ad which will replace the problematic one and this will be launched in the coming weeks. Hopefully this time they leave the bike's assembly in expert hands!

ASDA in the meantime thanked thousands of customers that have already bought one one these bikes and who have managed to correctly follow the instructions on how to assemble the bike, better than ASDA."

Sexual Connotation in adverts...does it really pay off?

There is a new soft drink advert going round online and it's now being banned from YouTube. It is being claimed by many that that the promotional video is taken from a banned German advertising campaign for Sprite.

The TV ad opens with a shot from behind of a girl performing oral sex on man. While she's at it, she starting thinking and then she stops to say she would like a Sprite whereupon the ad cuts to a side-on shot of her sucking the bottle before it is explodes over her face. The ad uses the Sprite endline of 'Obey your thirst'.

The ad was quickly pulled from YouTube at the beginning of the week, with the site initially blaming copyright infringement. I managed to find a copy for you on this site as a person managed to download it and post a copy online (http://asheq.co.uk/2009/07/22/sucking-sprite-off).

Eventually director of the advert Max Issacson came forward and admitted the ad was actually intended as an experiment to see how many people would be fooled into thinking it was real.

This advert was not the first advert of its type, Perrier had made a very similar ad back in 1976 and it is basically exactly the same as the Sprite one, but without the blow job. This goes to say that the idea is not new...however what do you think such ads pay?




In my opinion, they are very valuable if one wants to produce a lot of PR however one must be really careful with the potential damage that this could cause to the brand.