ThinkNoLimit Marketing Coaching

The art of hardness ! Maybe I'm too conservative but I think Viagra should not advertise. First, it's a prescription drug and advertising will motivate consumers to buy the drug via illegal sources without doctor's prescription. It could be quite dangerous. Second, Viagra is the market-first drug for impotence, clinically proven effective, fast and without any major side effect. Its fame has been effectively built into the mind of consumers through PR. Third, it's not very tasteful to advertise a drug for impotence. Like in this ad, it uses cucumber and banana as the analogy. Too explicit, it can be bad taste. Too subtle, it may not be able to sell. So why advertise ?

Mobile email is about reading and replying emails anytime anywhere. Business on the move, mobile office, whatever you want to call it. In this ad, a comparison is illustrated : working at the office vs meeting up friends BUT still having to reply emails ! Is this something you are aspired to ? To me it is quite rude having to attend to emails all the time when you gather up with your friends at night. If I were your friend, I would just send you back to the office ! I feel that this ad fails to relate to a more appealing situation of how mobile email can be used.

A picture speaks a thousand words. A brilliant ad can be as simple as this. This creative idea is called "alternative use". This watch is for yachting. It's tough and reliable for all weathers. Of course, it's not just for the yachtsmen. It is the projected image that aspires. As an old school marketer, I would add a bit of information about the USPs of the watch to tell consumers more though.

Just dug out this one from a bunch of old CNY ads. It is completely the same as the Maggi sauce campaign that has been around for quite some time. The messages and visuals are similar. The idea is the same. They are in the same category of FMCG for cooking. So I have to say this idea twin is unforgivable. Obviously the marketers at Swanson were unaware of the Maggi sauce campaign. Otherwise, they wouldn't have approved the ad above. And this is exactly my problem. The Maggi sauce campaign had quite high exposures with print ads and POSM posted everywhere. You just wouldn't miss it if you ever paid a little attention to the happenings in the market. Sigh.

Hello Kitty promotion again. Would consumers be bored by it ? First time you created the buzz, second time it's still hot but how about repeating the same promotion ten times or twenty times ? It will lose its attraction one day and you will end up with tens of thousands of Hello Kitty in your warehouse, with media monies spent and sales unmoved. I visited McDonald's a few days ago and it seems there aren't many people redeeming the toys. There is simply no winning formula that would make you win forever. BTW, where are uncle Ronald and his gang ? They are supposed to be the icon characters of McDonald's and now that they are replaced by Hello Kitty. Isn't that strange ?

Looking at this ad, you can tell why Haagen Dazs is the leader in the premium ice-cream segment. In fact if I'm not wrong, Dreyers was the first premium ice-cream in Hong Kong but is now caught up by Haagen Dazs by far. Haagzen Daz is a sensual enjoyment in terms of positioning. What is Dreyers ? Very vague in our mind. In this ad, it attempts to define its positioning with occasion and location. occasion : boss is on leave for partying. Location : the office. Yes, we may party when our boss is on leave. But can we associate ice-cream with that ? While ice-cream can possibly be positioned as a reward for celebration and sharing when good things happen, it's just that this ad runs into an relevance issue, picking the wrong occasion and location. I also dislike the art direction of the illustration. Not really premium enough for a premium ice-cream.

Guess Yakult isn't as popular as before. There are simply so many products coming with lactic bacteria and saying they are good for intestinal health. In the past, Yakult means intestinal health for the whole family especially for kids. This TVC is an attempt to give it some more new benefits, beauty and anti-ageing. Creative wise, it goes along the same line of humour and fun but the message is different from the past, targeting at the young adult segment. We can see the objective is obviously to expand usage by giving new reasons for consumption. As a consumer, I just feel that it is not the Yakult we used to know anymore. The intestinal health positioning is so deep-rooted in our mind. If it is to go into the beauty and anti-ageing arena, I think product extension could be the way to go.