Wine on a Plane

How many times have you enjoyed a new brand of wine and then never drank it again 'cos you've forgotten what it was?

I was on a Qantas flight the other day, drinking some luke warm wine from a lovely plastic cup. Yet somehow it still tasted pretty good.

Mawsons have come up with a nice little idea which let's people rip off a small tag from the label so they can remember what brand it is next time they're in the bottle shop.

There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of innovation in the wine industry. There was a lot of resistance to the screw top cap by the wine makers, but it's been pretty quickly embraced by consumers.

So whilst this idea by Mawson's doesn't have much 'wine snobbiness' about it, it will probably sell a lot more bottles of plonk for them.

Pricelessness has it's Price

Mastercard did a great job with their first tactical ad when we won the Ashes.

Then things started to do downhill when this appeared a couple of days later. And somehow the agency managed to convince them that because the idea is so ordinary, that it will take not one, but two full page ads in the SMH to work!






Then it got even worse. In this one, they haven't even used the glue that that whole idea is built around.

And it just looks crap. If you're gonna advertise a premium card, at least make it look like a premium ad. This just ain't attractive.

And is it really gonna make me change my credit card?



There must be something in the research that says it's ok to bag the living crap out of the poms when we're kicking their arse.

I reckon there's a difference between doing it to your pommy mates down the pub and having some corporate third party shoving it in their face.

They might want to remember that there's an awful lot of them living here, and a lot travelling around buying the paper every day (there's not a whole lot of choice here in Sydney, remember).

So whilst these ads might get Mastercard another 100 new users, they're probably pissing off another 10,000 current users.

Bootscooting Dennis

Take one of Australia's greatest fast bowlers. A man who struck fear into opposing batsmen.

A man who thundered in with long hair, the crowd behind him.... chanting...."Lillleeeeee, Lillleeeee....."

It was 1977, a golden age of cricket, almost 30 years ago.

So what more logical choice for an endorser could there be for Steel Blue, the most comfortable boot you can buy.

Boots you can walk around in.

Maybe dig for coal.

Walk nex to a mountain stream. Chop wood.

Because when it comes to being comfortable in the outback, it's good to know that Dennis Lillee was paid a sum of money to promote a boot he has absolutely nothing to do with....





Steel Blue's first choice of Zoolander doing Blue Steel was unavailable

This is Australia

Part of the reason The Snowman, from my last post, seems so mystical is because Christmas time in Australia has nothing to do with snow. I don't think I've ever seen a snowman.

For me, it's all about firing up the barbie in 40 degree heat and drinking beers.

There's been no better ad that typifies how different things are in Australia at Christmas time versus Europe than the Coke one from 1998. Features Gangjagang, incidently the very first CD I ever bought (it was either that or Genesis, Abacab).

I know this ad's not a Christmas ad, but it captures that feeling of heat and thirst and being with mates as you kick back over Christmas (even though I just spent Christmas Day in sub-zero temperatures in Melbourne yesterday!).

It's a classic problem/solution ad that also delivers the emotional benefit so well.

If they ran that ad today, straight off the rack, Coke might even go some way to delivering a relevant message for once to anyone of the age of 30. Like they do in Africa.

More Barry Dawson - The Cougar

Like Warney to the MCG, Barry Dawson is by far the biggest bringer of people to The Jason Recliner. My post on these ads a month ago is still bringin' em in.

I had a link to all the ads on YouTube, but they got taken down. But at least you can see now them at the Barry Dawson web site.

It's a great site, too bad you can't find the bloody thing. When you type in "Barry Dawson Cougar" into Google, The Jason Recliner comes up fourth. The official site is nowhere to be seen. It's clearly adopted Barry Dawson's ancient art of invisibleness.

Even when you type "Cougar Bourbon" into Google, the art of invisibleness is again mastered.

There's also a Myspace site

Surely whoever did this, assuming it was George Patts Y&R, can get the thing up near the top of Google somehow. It looks like they've got a winner on their hands.

And if anyone from Fosters reads this, they can thank me for sending all this traffic to their sites by sending me a Boony doll.



Barry Dawson kicks back in his own version of The Jason Recliner

Cazaly & The Snowman

Sometimes you hear a piece of music that just blows you away. And then you get some visuals which take it to a new level.

Kinda like hearing "Up There Cazly" for the first time and watching Jezza take that screamer in the film clip.

I'd never seen The Snowman before until I saw it over at Doug's. Thanks Doug. The first song in this is just amazing.

Merry Christmas from The Jason Recliner

One More Moment of Pricelessness

Another Ashes celebration, from Tuesday's Sydney Morning Herald.

Not sure if Mastercard ripped off the bit of homemade viral that popped up a few days ago, but it was an ad waiting to happen.

They wimped out on not using the word 'pom' though, which was given the all clear today by the Advertising Standards Board.

It would nice to have the budget to blow on a full page newspaper ad for what's a one-off. Suppose that's what you can do when you've got a long term campaignable idea.

Thunderbird 5

Apparently I have been tagged. Thank you Katie for this privilege. This means I have to reveal 5 things about me which most people don't know about.

I've already read through the lists of Seb, Gavin, and an Angry Man.

Given this is a marketing blog I've tried to at least keep some of it somehow related, but I must warn you that it might not all be pretty.....



1. I have never been with a man
In my 16 years of marketing and countless companies, I have never once worked on a product where the primary target market has been male.

2. I don't want to know about women
When I started at J&J working on feminine hygiene, the first qual research report I read was all about discharge (I told you this might not be pretty). I had to leave that job after a year. The woman's body was losing all of it's wonderful mystery and becoming some kind of machine!

3. I know how to get the dirt
I can reveal that there is no difference between the formula of Cold Power and Dynamo except for the fragrance.

4. I am a rock god
I have an albums worth of material, including the classic hits 'Nude Nude Nude' and 'Come to the Middle'. Anyone who grew up near Fern Tree Gully will understand this song. You can listen to them (and again I warn you in advance) here.....

5. I have felt like the England Cricket Team
Years ago, I played cricket against both Rodney Hogg and Graham Yallop, who played for a couple of different teams in the Ringwood District Cricket Association in Melbourne. They were both about 40 at the time. Hoggy nearly knocked my head off and Yallop made a ton.



Apparently I now have to select 5 people to pass this same request onto. I'm not even sure I know 5 other bloggers. So....

Stan Lee at Brand DNA. An astute observer of the world but the world of Stan remains a secret to us all.

Kirsty.... Spreading a little aussie sunshine from a Parisian winter.

Doug.... Planning for fun. As is should be. There's a lot of seriousness going around in this online planning world.

Track n Kern...the first blog to link to the Jason Recliner!

Rach from Syd-a-nee....I liked Angry Man's idea of randomness, so picked a random blog from the Australian Index

Tonk a Pom

As Australia continues to thump England in the Ashes, it's impressive how the Aussie players always maintain such a diplomatic stance in interviews.

They've clearly been coached well in media relations - nothing of any interest is ever said and the players somehow manage to find nice things to say about England (excluding Fletcher) straight after kicking their butts on the park. It's cliche heaven.

So it's surprising that the players agents have allowed them to feature in Ford's Tonk a Pom. The Aussies are coached so hard not to gloat in the media, and next thing there's Michael Hussey tonking a pom. Sticking the boot in.

Something about it is just wrong.




Personally I would just prefer to thump them, say all the right things, and then party like there's no tomorrow. But maybe that's just my way of winning. And from what I've seen it's the way Ponting and his players think as well.

Australians love winners. We love beating England. We love it no matter what the sport is. But when the players start gloating about how good they are it generally doesn't sit too comfortably with the Aussie public.

Perhaps Ford have researched their target market and found out that the Tonk a Pom attitude is exactly the way to act. And after seeing lots of brainless yobbo's carrying on at the cricket it wouldn't surprise me.

It's possibly the same target market as Bundaberg Rum. Years ago I went for a job as a Brand Manager on Bundy Rum. When the recruiter said I would have to spend a lot of time drinking with the target market in places like Gympie and Rockhampton, I breathed a giant sigh of relief when I didn't get the job.

Bloody Australia

I can't think of a more lovely person to stand on one of our beaches and swear at me than Lara Bingle...




Apparently it was a bit of a dud when the Japanese didn't quite understand the bloody tagline. Luckily the Chaser team came up with a couple of decent alternatives which they researched around Sydney.....

Bouncing Balls Resurrection

I found this guy on YouTube who had all these great ads which I've linked from my site, including ones for Barry "The Cougar" Dawson (who is far and away the biggest drawcard to this website via Google).

Anyway, my YouTube buddy has taken all his ads down, so unfortunately...in case anyone missed it..... I'm going to have to re-post this ad....

I Feel Pretty

I've been talking about sponsorship lately.

The use of celebrities isn't really sponsorship - it's more endorsement - but it kinda falls under the same roof. Ultimately it's about using the vehicle of a celebrity or an event to drive the equity and the sales of a brand.

I like this ad for Nike, featuring supergrunter Maria Sharapova. It really captures the whole "Just Do It" positioning, probably better than any other Nike ad I've seen.



I'm looking for an ad which uses an endorser but has missed the mark somewhat. Can't find one...that will have to wait for another day.

In the meantime, this sketch involving turtles from Shaun Micallef will have to do.

Another Priceless Ashes Moment

Out of the Bix FMCG

There's some smart marketers at Sanitarium. They don't sponsor sports teams and big events, and spend all the big bucks that go with it.

They go for the strategy of sponsoring individual athletes rather than the team.

It looks like they individually sponsor Brett Lee and Tim Cahill. Brett Lee is a major spokesperson for the brand and does heaps of ad hoc stuff at events, online, and of course stars in quite a few TV ads.

Then on top of this, they provide the 'Official Breakfast Cereal of the Australian cricket team'.

Same goes for the Australian football (soccer) team.

So as a punter, it all just blends in. It looks like Weetbix and Sanitarium is an official sponsor of the Australian cricket team.

Fact is they're probably only paying a fraction of the cost versus the mob who are.

Anyway, here's a nice bit of viral from YouTube. Probably done for about $5k on a handycam.....



Not forgetting a few years ago when every sixth pack of Weetbix became Brett-bix. This is out of the bix, oops - box, thinking for FMCG. These guys are good!


Sanitarium is toying with the idea of MontyBix for the English market

4 Losers in a Room

Pretty crap prize if you ask me.

Anyway, I thought everyone else gets to have it as well?

Kodak's Road to Nowhere

Everyone knows Kodak are really struggling, and they're not doing themselves any favours.

I saw this ad in the latest Marketing Magazine. The visual actually got my attention. Going up Kilimanjaro on an escalator makes a lot of sense to me.

Then the ad just gets into drivel mode. Lots of useless words that don't offer me any reason to use Kodak in a business environment.

Then at the end of it, they've got the cheek (or stupidity) to ask people to call them. It's pretty easy to see with this kind of attitude why they're on a road to nowhere.

David Ogilvy said it best in 1963 in Confessions of an Adman.....

"The consumer isn't a moron. She is your wife. You insult her intelligence if you assume that a mere slogan and a few vapid adjectives will persuade her to buy anything."

A Healthe Sponsorship

I am thrilled the A-League is up and running, and football is finally building some kind of currency in this country up against the rugby boofheads.

And I finally have a team to support in sydney - Sydney FC, who now appear to running a lot more smoothly over the last month. Not sure how much of this has to do with the fact that an ex-adman - Tim Parker - stepped aside as head honcho, has to do with it.

From what I've seen, leaders of ad agencies often aren't the best equipped people to be running businesses, but that's another story. Not that running an ad agency would be easy I reckon, but I digress.

I've been to about 10 games over the last 18 months. I watch Sydney games on TV. I'm probably what you'd call a pretty decent supporter, without being fanatical. The type of person a sponsor of Sydney FC would probably expect to have an impact on.

Anyway, Sydney FC's main sponsor is a company called Healthe. Good on 'em....they took a punt on being key sponsor of a new club in a new league.

But to be honest, I still don't know what Healthe actually do or offer. All I've seen is their logo on the shirts and some signs around the ground.

When I go to their web site, I still don't really know what they're trying to sell.

When I go to the ground, there's a whole of activation activities from a lot of brands. But not Healthe.

When I go to the Sydney FC web site, there's not even a link to the Healthe web site.

To me it looks like Healthe had the money to cover the sponsorship, but not the money to do the over and above stuff which gets the punters involved in the brand over the course of the season.

Key point: Budget not just for Sponsorship, but for proper activation of the sponsorship.