advertising and literature
Although this is a fine opportunity to let you know that my novel Instinct is out tomorrow (consider the cover price to be some kind of payment for all the times you’ve read this blog; that way the book is sort of free), this post is really about another ad/lit clusterfuck.
The Meerkat has released a book, and it’s selling like cakes that are so hot they’d burn right though your stomach lining to the centre of the earth. Sales of 100,000 would be a great success for a novel, or any book for that matter. This book could well reach half a million by Christmas.
Now, I quite like the ads, but I’m somewhat surprised at the number of people who want to buy the autobiography of a fictional meerkat. I guess no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the British public, but this is a hit beyond even the less intelligent of these isles.
And I take my hat right off to that. Three cheers to everyone behind it.
And a few questions: how involved were the agency? Who gets the profits? Who wrote the book? Is this all helping Compare the Market, or has everyone forgotten about all that?
If anyone from VCCP can add some insight, please do so in the comments section.
Inquiring minds want to know.
UPDATE: All is here.
There was a piece explaining who rakes off what from this grisly spectacle in the Guardian yesterday. Can’t be arsed to put the link, soz.
Congratulations Ben–I look forward to reading your book. Also, fun overlay there with the .whois subdomain. Well done.
One of the reviews on Amazon reads thus: “Complete with beautiful historical images this book is a must read for everyone.” That Vranakis chap is very eloquent.
According to Amazon it’s a toss up between finding out about giant killer wasps and making it in advertising. I choose giant killer wasps.
Good choice (sorry Simon).
I bought the Meerkat ‘autobiography’ as a thank you gift for a friend who is ludicrously anthropomorphic about animals (and I think you know who I mean). It was cheap (on amazon), cheerful and went down a treat. Simples.
Thank you for the acknowledgement in your book. I am entirely proud of you.
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Why not buy both? Hey, it’s Christmas.
Hmmmm….surely this flies in the face of your earlier rant against brand stories and whether anyone wants to read/engage/consume brand content…? If it’s good, they’ll read, watch, consume it. If it’s not, they won’t. It seems this does have something that captures the public’s imagination. And I would hope/expect this to have a strong and positive effect on the brand’s ability to be top of mind in the minds of the public -something that a parity service like this – price comparison – is all about.
Lastly, and this is meant with respect as I love the blog, be careful you don’t get too london ad wankery about the public. Dodgy ad tie ups (like this book) and crap ads (like that adi one) is one thing to critique…but dismissing the audience as plebs and/or chavs is verging on the ignorant and arrogant. You’re paid a lot of money to empathise with the audience – it’s what made the great practitioners of yesteryear – Webster et al – so good. They connected. Even the posh ones.
They walked in the audience’s shoes. If you want to know why no great work is emerging from the UK, maybe that lack of empathy within the soho bubble is a big part of it.
Stephen: that book isn’t the brand story. I’ll admit that it’s content people want to engage with, but it’s a couple of million miles from the story of Compare The Market.
And I don’t really hate chavs and plebs. I sometimes exaggerate for comic effect.