Barclaycard history of payments

Firstly hats off - well produced, pretty funny and moves along at good pace and narrated by the peerless Brian Blessed.

It's ambitious and it takes the brand into the comedy arena. Not sure if that's a good or a bad thing but the thing is......does it work as either an ad or a piece of entertainment? 

 Is the script sharp enough? Is it really the best way to showcase mobile payments? The Jury is out here. 

 Is it a logical extension of their non-corporate smiley bank manager type waterslides ads (which are very good of course?) Does it tie in with their pretty interesting apps and so on?

Yes it does and so we think we should applaud the brand for taking this approach to what has traditionally been an incredibly dull sector. If only to thank them for not adding to  the horror of Halifax and Nat West ads 

We must point out  that this doesn't mean you should get yourself a nice shiny new BarclayCard and spend spend spend - that's never been a good idea at any time in history!

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Sometimes it's just good to watch...

Here's an example of extreme virtuosity surrounded by sponsorship.....

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The King of Shaves but not The King of Comedy

Here we are then...the latest in the King of Shave collection of 'viral' (errrgh!!) shorts in which they use references to real events and use lookalike celebrities to wage their war against the other razor brand...the one who spends millions upon millions in getting us to join its vast  roster of celebrity shavers.

I applaud their strategy, their pluck, their desire to mix it up with a far greater player in the marketing stakes. I love the fact that they use their status as a 'challenger' brand to hammer home their message and the way they champion filmed content but I struggle with the fact that their films just aren't very funny! I want them to be but I don't think this has been written by comedy pros and it shows. Their previous short based on the Kings Speech while clever in its central theme came off like a hackneyed radio ad - it got old very quickly. This is no better once you get past the large razor props it hasn't got much to offer. Even at less than two minutes it drags

I'd love to see them do better in this area as they are such a great brand

Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director   

The Big Shot | 75-77 Margaret Street, London, W1W 8SY

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K-Swiss - A real Big Shot of a site

We don't tend to talk too much about websites on this blog and we should really. good ones are not just repositories of content but add personality to a brand - excite the visitor with different elements, a piece of video here, a product picture there and I think a good product website doesn't need to go ad with gimmicks - it needs to look and play slick, have smooth transitions and allow the user to move from section to section at will without feeling lost and or bored.

The bigger the site the more difficult this is to achieve and especially if its transactional it can easily lose its character and become just a trading post when the experience should stimulate sale and indeed extended sale.

We are very impressed this week with the K-Swiss site - it is quite dauntingly big but very well sectioned and is full of interesting content that does a great deal to not just reflect but also inform the brand. Already fans of the brand we are now pretty keen on a new pair of Kwicky Blade Light running shoes and of course their tennis shoe The Big Shot is certainly worthy of consideration!

KSWISS SITE

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Burger Focus (not a regular feature)

Wimpy - a 70's brand thats never managed to effectively update itself and yet retains a presence on many local high streets and retains an affection among those of us who remember when there was nothing else. Yes, no McDonalds, Burger King, KFC etc just the not quite fast food not quite proper restaurant experience that was quite a thrill for a 70's school child.

We were  dismayed to hear that despite Wimpy managing to hang on gamely in the face of logic that they are to ditch some of their most famous puddings - Knickerbocker Glory and Banana in a boat - very upsetting.

More suspicious is their continued faith in the 'Bender in a Bun',  the most suspicious sausage sandwich in the Fast Food oeuvre.

Can you imagine advertising a wheat filled bun today?

McDonalds - have announced that they are turning to experiential in order to promote their new range of wraps - their USP being that they are wrapped so you can eat them on the move. We applaud their move to a healthier menu but fear that the fall out will include an increase in the pavement drop of crispy chicken, spicy vegetable and we suggest perhaps a tie up with 'Rennies' might work alongside the 'on the street' and TV work?

.....Now this is what we call a wrap!

Burger King -Are going to be selling SPAM! They should have a chat with Wimpy on this one we think. A miniature burger called the BK Shot is to be launched in Japan - of course it is. Regardless of this Burger King are the best at filming content - in the US anyway...

Here's our favourite ever

TBS

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Jeremy Beadle - content curator

A really interesting viewpoint on UGC and the role of media channel as the gatekeeper of this type of content although the stretch to suggest that brands can be the new arbiters of good and bad content bothers me slightly....

http://www.redplanner.co.uk/2011/06/19/what-jeremy-beadle-can-teach-brands-ab...

As does this picture of the late great Beadle!

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Former Head of Adidas Olympic Marketing joins The Big Shot

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Mark Phillips the former Adidas senior marketer to our non-exec board.

Mark has held various key posts including Global Concept Brand manager and Head of Comms for UK, Ireland and Benelux.

He is also a very experienced agency man and former Board Account Director at Euro RSCG and brings a wealth of knowledge and an enthusiasm for content marketing that has already had him whizzing round the office during brainstorms!

We are looking forward to working with him immensely and not just because he gets great deals on Adidas stuff!

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