The Wisdom of Sir John Of Hegarty
(Thanks to the Escape Pod Blog for the clip. See? I told you it was worth reading.)
It’s a fascinating interview and he seems like very good company, but there’s one thing I didn’t quite get: he says (and I fully agree) it’s a fact that the products the advertising industry makes have been getting worse and seems unable to understand why (see 4:27 onwards).
But isn’t this Sir John’s most recent ad?
I’m not trying to say he’s blind or a hypocrite, but I would have thought that the relative failure and low quality of this ad, by a great creative for a great brand, would have enlightened him somewhat.
It’s damn hard making good ads, let alone great ones, and for reasons I’ve gone into so many times, the situation is definitely deteriorating, but Sir John is right there in the epicentre of it all. He can explain why Levi’s became so dismal they chose to resign it, he can tell us why BBH haven’t won a TV Pencil for several years, and he can talk us through the creative process behind the recent BBH KFC ad I saw on a phone box, which had the headline ‘Ice, Ice, Maybe, but GOOD NEWS!’ then a picture of a Snack Box above the price, £1.99.
Don’t get me wrong: I fully believe that BBH is still one of the best agencies in town, but the bar has been getting so low we’ve had to dig a hole for it.
And if advertising genius Sir John Hegarty is just throwing his hands up and despairing of the situation then what hope do the rest of us have?
The BA commercial is bad. It looks like a bank commercial aired in my country…. but who am I to say – “the bar has been getting so low we’ve had to dig a hole for it”, and if you do… you will find me on the bottom of it…
The Work, The Work, The Work bit was quite BBDO, I thought it’s the “zig-zag” thing that BBH owns 🙂
Seriously, if this great man is out of optimism what is left for us is to end up in a ditch covered in petrol on fire
I suppose if he already had the answer we wouldn’t have the problem in the first place. Intriguing, though, that he seems to have absolutely nothing to suggest.
what’s wrong with that ad?
It’s boring, forgettable, could be for a million companies in a million categories, it shows that – Gosh! – British Airways staff bring you stuff (unlike other airlines) and, oddly, can give you directions when you’re on a plane, and even though there’s a 0.0000000122336% chance that all the shots aren’t set up (look at the man in a costume), it all looks set up, and therefore a mendacious attempt to convince us that BA does what every other airline in the world does. And it’s boring. And it’s boring. And it obviously cost a fair bit. And it’s boring.
He certainly gives great interview doesn’t he? I worked there and his presence nowadays is rather more recessive than comes across here. Shame, in some ways. That kind of charisma is rare in our business. As they say, ‘when he’s in the room, he’s in the fucking room’. His soundbites on collaboration vs consensus are particularly pertinent. God I love that word. Personally, I think BBH has just had a good 2 months creatively after a completely shit 2 years.
Alas, two good months creatively now means you are one of the top three agencies in the country.
I put it down to a low quality of client. They simply do not want a good ad. They specifically demand shit ads. They pay the money so they get what they ask for.
You HAVE to look at YouTube because you HAVE to have reference or the client will NOT buy it. Everything has to be like something else these days because no client in the right mind will buy something brand new that he doesn’t know what it will look like. No Creative Director either com to think of it.
I was rather hoping two good days might be enough.
I’ll research it.
upgrade to british airways.
that’s good.
If you got a call from a headhunter today which London agency would you like it to be about?
Higg’s Bosun what the fuck are you doing here – people have been looking for you everywhere.
G-L: great endline, shite ad.
I’m hiding. Those idiots don’t realise that if they find me the universe disproves itself.
That black sheep though. A bit obvious isn’t it? Ironically.
My agency will have a fly in a jar marked ointment for a logo. That’s much better.
You are absolutely right ben, i am mostly in awe of the ads you put up here, i mean also the ones you criticize about. because advertising in your side of the world is so much better, so much more experimental. but this ad did nothing for me.
You don’t get suits like Tim Lindsay either (he’s 55 and still looks 35, the lucky cunt)who have the power and presence to give the client what they didn’t know what they wanted, either. BBH is also one of the most process driven shops in the UK, due to their frustration 20 years or so ago, from failing to bed down crappy retail clients like Asda or WH Smith.
When you run an agency like I do, you quickly realise that it’s not about how original the idea is…
It’s about how quickly and cost-effectively you can get your client’s brand onto facebook.
i know that if i were sir hegarty i’d be over in that vineyard systematically working my way through the product.
I really like the BA commercial
Why?
It’s not all doom and gloom this week.
DDB managed to get this one away:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwxTf7NGVXg&feature=player_embedded
The Met Police (AMV?) ad in the Standard last night was a cracker (sorry – too stupid to post a link).
And Thursday nights on 5 are lots more fun all of a sudden.
That BA commercial is the first ad I’ve ever seen that seems to want to win hearts and minds for when its staff next went on strike.
Planners.
That’s where I place the blame.
Nice tenses, there anonymouse. You moron.
“Why are you looking at YouTube. Its been done!” says Hegarty in that interview.
Well one quick look on youtube under ‘hiphop farmers’, would have shown it had already been fucking done in the states for milk..,
Indeed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwB4DbKWrhU
harvey nichols.
i don’t get it.
is it that you avoid the walk of shame because you can stop off at HN on the way home in the morning ?
or is it because you will only buy classy stuff from there so even when you are doing the walk of shame you don’t look like you’re doing the walk of shame.
if it’s the latter, i think a make up brand has more right to do this “viral” than HN.
does it stand up to the print they have done in the past? no
as for the milk rap thing. much better than the yeo thing.
much better.
they got the tone just right.
sorry yeo, i will still buy you.
yeah anonymouse you tenselexic
that Harvey Nichols thing got a little grunt out of me at the end, but it had nothing to do with the humour.
Yup. HN makes no sense.
I like the HN ad in so far as direction etc HOWEVER it makes no sense. You dont ‘avoid’ the walk of shame by wearing HN clothes, you just look good doing it. BUT the walk of shame has nothing to do with the clothes you are wearing, its the very fact that you are a slut coming home at 7am from the night before.
Advertising is NOT the only indsutry that thinks it can be more successful by producing a lesser product (as Hegarty makes out). Airlines, clothing stores, have all got shitter over the last 20 years in quality and service in a bid to make money. Sainsburys used to be much better…but makes more money now than it did 10 years ago.,,,Ryanair never used to make you pay for the bogs..etc etc
i like the idea of the BA ad. BA cabin crew are good. and what else are you going to say? but the faux real execution thing isn’t working.
ben, i know i’m a worn out record at this point but i think the problem is that UK advertising stopped being identifiably British. It used to reflect the culture. and therefore was unique.
now a lot of it feels like middle class feel good fog. i have to go all the way back to Mother’s monkey reunion tea ad for an example of how it used to be.
bit late on this… so when a product becomes worse in one thing theres something it gets better at. matter of priorities, surely? and whether those match the priorities others got. or the actual needs. its like cars becoming bigger and faster and shit. wrong direction.
harvey nichols. clothes you wont feel ashamed of in the morning. when youre sober. makes sense somehow. ons. bit boring though. i like that they didnt come up with typical christmas stuff. they could have shown women in reindeer dresses tho. and as the commentary has stated eslewhere: why did they use that model type at the end. to contrast the others? they should have stuck with the clothes.
reindeer dresses = silly (christmas party) clothes. #blamenotsirjohnswine
Are you referring to Harvey Nichols making no sense?! It’s pretty frickin’ simple, isn’t it? If you can’t get that, then you are in the wrong business.
Ye Gods.
Buy a nice frock in Harvey Nicholls and you can sneak home at 7 in the morning having been banged senseless after the office party and not look like a tart.
What’s difficult about that fercrissakes?
I’m in the wrong business. Do explain.
Of course the ad makes sense. Buy a fancy dress and it will make you complexion and hair look lovely and it will make you walk upright. And you won’t want a kebab either.
Oh hang on. It doesn’t make sense after all. Sorry.
I think the HN issue here is that the end girl is hot and the other girls deliberately less so and that somewhat confuses the issue: what difference do the clothes make?
I don’t think this confusion will stop lots of men giving it awards.