Google ReBrief: The Idea Is Still King

Advertising is an interesting and exciting industry for many reasons. It is an industry that is on the very forefront of technology, yet one that can and still is, learning so many lessons from the past. One of the (few) things I really remember from uni was that a the idea should be able to work across any media, "content is king" in the words of Amil Gargano, creative on Volvo's Drive It Like You Hate It campaign.

Google's ReBrief puts this theory to the test, taking some of the most iconic adverts from 40 years ago and attempting to recreate them in a digital world through Google's display ads. The stuff of advertiser's wet dreams.



It is truly fascinating to watch and listen to those behind Coke, Volvo, Alka-Seltzer and Avis' most famous ads. Some of the most iconic adverts ever. As I started saying, there are still so many lessons to be learnt from the past in advertising, which is why the words and experiences of the greats such as David Ogilvy, Bill Bernbach and John Hegarty are still as valuable today as they've always been. At it's very basic level, advertising has always about connecting to people, and over the last 40 years or so, people haven't really changed that much.



It is also quite humbling to see very intelligent and creative people completely baffled by the simple technology that we take forgranted. But they don't shy away from it, they embrace it and thrive upon the challenge and opportunities. And they really prove that not understanding new technology is not an excuse, it always has been and always will be about the idea. Sure how you execute it is vital, but a great idea is a great idea. End of.

TOUCH(points)DOWN!

The Superbowl is not only the big show of the world's (actually, just America's) favourite sport, but it is also the big show for advertising. With advertising rates, reportaetly, reach a crazy $100,000 a second, it is only the big boys that can afford to play this game. And boy did they step up to the mark (is that a baseball reference? sorry). Here's a few of my favourites from this year.

Volkswagen



Chrysler



Coca-Cola





Pepsi



Chevy



Brisk

It's Christmas. It's Coca-Cola time.

"I hate advertising", "advertising doesn't affect me". Yeah bullshit. These are the sort of statements I hear from friends when talking about advertising. Bullshit. Sure, I hate a lot of it, and a lot of it washes straight over me, but that's because, by definition, it's not good. The Coca-Cola Christmas adverts are probably one of the most influential and culturally significant adverts ever made. "You know it's Christmas time when you see the Coke advert". That's huge. Santa is red because of Coca-Cola for crying out loud! That's now even more huge!

Here's the latest Christmas ad from Coca-Cola, and after the huge build up I've given it, I'm undecided. It's not bad by any means, but I think it's really difficult to make Christmas modern and still nice and Christmas-sy. But it's a very good effort. I'm sure I will come to like it, purely because it's Christmas. It's Coca-Cola time.