Pigs Don't Fly

+ Cookies De La Creme

2010-03-11T08:40:00.003+11:00

Well, today it was announced that Cookies 'n' Cream was the winning flavour of the Flavour Crusaders competition I was in and will be on shelves shortly. Unfortunately I didn't win the overall prize money as well.

Despite this, I can definitely say I picked up a few things here and there and managed to learn something along the way. No doubt I'll share some of this with you all at some point.

Anyway, mostly just wanted to say thanks to those who voted.

+ It's A Long Way From The Top

2010-03-09T13:39:00.003+11:00

One of the things you pick up doing a business degree is how fucking awesome Google are. Used in nearly every human resource example possible, Google are constantly highlighted as the number one employer of choice. Pretty much of all time.

So when you're told someone will be in touch from Google and you don't hear back after three weeks, even with a follow up email, it's a little disappointing. Especially when it comes from a brand you love.

It's not enough to make me jump to Bing by any means, but a taint in a brand you love hurts the most.

And on a complete side note, the fact I applied for a gig in their Sydney office, told my best mate about it, he applied, he's pretty much interviewed immediately, my application seems to get lost in bureaucracy, he soon after lands the gig and moves to Sydney next weekend has absolutely nothing to do with the bitterness of this post. ;]

+ Have You Heard The Wispa?

2010-03-04T17:57:00.004+11:00

Ahh, advertising. Despite what university textbooks and agency websites tell me, sometimes you don't need strategy. Or even creative.

Running the most basic ad in a newspaper and some good shelf space is sometimes enough.

And that's exactly what Coles have done to promote the new Wispa chocolate bar they've imported exclusively from Cadbury UK.

At the end of the day, a good product is a good product, and it's certainly done a good job infiltrating my friendship circles. And it might even be enough to get me to shop at Coles occasionally.

+ The Bear Basics

2010-03-02T12:00:00.005+11:00

Perhaps one of the finer moments during my internship was something I picked up on while working on a current user generated content campaign.

One video submission from a consumer featured a bear on the tee he was wearing. Seemingly harmless, this was approved and uploaded to the website, with consideration to then appear on national television.

Upon browsing the latest approved uploads that day, I quickly notified my boss that the bear was actually Pedobear, a popular icon commonly associated with paedophilia. The video was immediately removed.

Just another day as an intern in adland.

+ A Last Resort

2010-02-25T15:06:00.005+11:00

I think it's a tell of a struggling medium when it advertises the fact you can advertise with them. I imagine their advertising revenue can't be too successful if they have no ads to place in that media space.

You see it all the time on websites with banner ads suggesting one could "advertise here". It's also pretty popular on the inside of trains. And I realised today, that radio has been doing it for a while with a pretty heavy push lately.

Is this the sign of a dying medium, or at least a profitable one?

And how long until we see a major television networks running similar ads?

+ The Swine Database

2010-02-19T17:01:00.003+11:00

My final project as an intern at George Patterson Y&R was to do a presentation on the world of advertising through the eyes of a 20 year old.

And the first thing I did, was to go through the database that is nearly two and a half years of my own opinion. You would not believe how useful it was.

Although I've had some complete rubbish posts in the past, fuck I've written some good stuff if I can say so myself. And fuck it feels good to read a joke you wrote two years ago and still laugh at it.

Good times.

+ The Question Is Answered

2010-02-18T10:39:00.003+11:00

No one could answer my question as to what the letters B&T, the trade press publication, stood for. So I went straight to the top and asked...

And who said investigative journalism was dead?

+ Information Is A Spam Filter

2010-02-15T15:47:00.004+11:00

You know what the best thing about being in a relationship is? You don't get those annoying "Meet single 18 year old girls" ads on Facebook.

Upon this realisation, it reminded me of an argument I once had with a tutor. The class discussion was about database marketing, and her advice to students was to never sign up to any competition because your details will be used to spam you.

Perhaps it's the naive utopian young marketer still yet to be beaten out of me by the industry, but isn't the more knowledge a brand has about you the better?

Of course there will be brands who sell this information on to others. But ideally, brands can use this to reduce the amount of spam you're receiving, not increase it. Ads become more targeted, personalised and therefore more relevant.

At the end of the day, ads are inevitable. And I personally would prefer brands to know as much as possible about me to make these ads as useful and value providing as they can be. And by definition, they no longer become spam.

+ What Is Pigs Don't Fly?

2010-02-10T22:11:00.006+11:00

In a few words, Zac Martin writes what he likes here at Pigs Don't Fly. Generally speaking, this is a marketing blog about everything and anything to do with advertising, Generation Y or new media.

+ Nominated for Media and Marketing Blog of the Year in Mumbrella's Reader Choice Awards (2009)
+ Ranked #21 in the Top Australian Marketing Pioneer Blogs
+ Appeared in Marketing Magazine and B&T Magazine

If you're not already bored, you can subscribe here.

+ Jetstar In The Negative

2010-02-08T16:34:00.004+11:00

I've just spent the last four days flying around Australia hitting every capital city.

One thing I noticed, is that all of Australia does some terrible advertising, not just in this state.

But the other, after seeing it far too many times, was how awesome the Jetstar logo is. Take a look at the negative space between the T and the star...

Reminds me of the FedEx logo. Great stuff.

Nothing to do with what I normally write about but I'm tired and it's my blog and I think it's rad. That is all.

+ The Happiness Virus

2010-02-02T08:58:00.003+11:00

I'm sure you've all seen this piece by now...

Here's one somewhat negative review. And here's another.

Now I love a good opinion piece. I write them often. And I'm fairly certain that's how I fool most of you into reading this blog occasionally.

But I have to respectfully say these guys are wrong.

This is a fucking awesome viral by Coca Cola. And I can call it that because that was its intention and that's what it achieved. Yes it is probably fake and over acted, and yes it doesn't follow what some would dub the conventions of creating a viral... but it went viral. And in a big way.

The only people who are going to watch that and leave disappointed work in this industry I love called advertising.

But what really gets me excited in the pants about this is its branding. This is not just a piece of entertaining content that someone's slapped a logo on the end of (check out that link, would love to get your thoughts on that too). The video is about the product. And not just product placement. Even the current brand personality of happiness comes across.

I'm just gonna put it out there, but this is the perfect piece of branded content.

+ The Internet Is A Playground

2010-01-28T14:50:00.006+11:00

No, that's not just the name of David Thorne's new book that I just ordered.

I think it's also something brands need to realise before they come out to play. Because no matter how many "social media etiquette" rules you follow, at the end of the day there's always going to be a bully or a troll or a mob ready to push you off the monkey bars.

But I think it's important to note that this doesn’t just happen to brands in this space, but people too. It's almost inevitable, no matter who you are. So if it does happen, get back on your feet and give it another go. Although you can listen to advice from your parents (or the “social media experts”), at the end of the day sometimes it is going to happen anyway.

Probably best you don't listen to my Dad's advice though, which was when I got in a fight to always punch the bully back. Consumers may not like that.

+ Wrong Tone

2010-01-25T16:17:00.004+11:00

Are advertisers seriously still giving away ringtones as prizes?

I'm not even exaggerating when I say that every single mobile phone today has an option to make your own ringtone. From your own iTunes collection. For free.

Giving away codes to download them was lame five years ago. Move on peeps.

And even get me started on brands creating their own Crazy Frog style remixes.

+ No News Is No News

2010-01-21T09:22:00.006+11:00

One of the issues in not watching television, as my favourite co worker Stan points out, is that you miss ads. Which is fucking awesome for the most part except that people often talk about them. On more than one occasion I've been caught out where friends have turned to me as the one studying advertising and I've not had a clue as to what they're talking about.

Ads, it would seem, remain a popular conversation topic. Music is another, which despite the fact I don't listen to radio, strangely hasn't affected me. The biggest issue that I am suffering from, is news.

With the massive decrease in the consumption of traditional media, myself and many of my friends tend to be less informed about news and current affairs.

And the only real reason this has become an issue is because it's a popular conversation topic among peers that I can't always join in on. But other than that, is this a big deal?

For the most part, news programs have become commercial, vested interest vehicles of entertainment anyway. And as tragic as it was, is the death of four teenagers in a car accident really something that I should be concerned about?

Instead, democratically, the most important and the most interesting news finds its way to me. This means I receive a lot less unimportant news, yet the big stories, like an natural disaster leaving many in need of aid, are made aware to me through platforms like Twitter. The jet skiing squirrel does not (I use Digg for that).

Overlooking the fact I work (using the word lightly) in advertising, is it an issue that the next generation will be less informed about many of the ultimately pointless day to day news?

+ Yeah, Let's Pay For A Sarcasm Emoticon

2010-01-17T22:22:00.002+11:00

So someone, somewhere, somehow had a brilliant idea. That sentence, unlike the title of this post, was not sarcastic.

The idea was to introduce a mainstream emoticon for the emotion of sarcasm. It's call the SarcMark and it looks like this... .

I mean, overlooking the great choice of name that will surely be adopted into the masses (), a problem exists. You have to pay to use it. $1.99 will let you download software that lets you use it with a keyboard short cut as you would with any other emoticon.

A great idea was surely just killed. Yes they'll probably make a small bag of money but no it won't go mainstream if you have to pay for it. Not even the micro transaction concept can save it.

And if there's one thing you don't want from a new emoticon, it's people not knowing what it is or what it conveys.

Oh well, I wish the creators the best of luck.

+ It's My First Week

2010-01-15T17:12:00.006+11:00

So that finishes my first week at George Patterson Y&R. I'm not sure what I was expecting but I think the word "traditional" came to mind. Possibly in the way you'd look at an accounting firm.

Oh how wrong I was. I've already learnt so much, and it's only just the beginning.

+ The Call Is Answered

2010-01-11T10:29:00.004+11:00

A couple of months ago I put out the call that I wanted to do an internship. Well, George Patterson Y&R answered, and as of tomorrow I'll be there four days a week until I'm back at uni for my final year in March.

A young guy stepping into the oldest advertising agency in Australia... I think I'm going to learn a lot. I have no idea what I'm in for, but I'm pretty damn excited.

And perhaps the best part, I'll be going in on my first day with a Mohawk.

+ Just Me

2010-01-04T21:23:00.002+11:00

People often criticise myself and this blog because it's incredibly bias. "But you're just one person" or "You can't base anything off a sample size of one" are often comments that people like yourself leave.

Well... no shit. But that's all I've got. Every day I attempt to write about an industry I have very little experience in and certainly no money to fund some kind of research. So if you're expecting anything more than an arrogant young blogger's opinion, you're better off reading something else.

Don't get me wrong, I love comments that criticise, object, question and sometimes ground me. Often I change my opinion because of them. But just a heads up, there are plenty of more experienced bloggers out there, many of whom research a topic before they write about it. ;]

+ Reducing That Half

2010-01-02T14:18:00.003+11:00

John Wanamaker, who ever he was, supposedly said, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is, I don’t know which half."

As much as I hate to play to the whole "social media is a revolution" idea, I think in 2010 and beyond we'll start to see this wasted half reduced dramatically. Although I don't know if you would class the spend under "advertising".

The reason we haven't seen any kind of revolution yet is because no one is using it in any kind of revolutionary way. When we move beyond Facebook Fan Pages as the core of strategy, combined with increased accountability on agencies, we're going to start seeing some pretty amazing stuff.

The Utopian in me can't wait for a time when I'm discussing a night out with my mates on Facebook and and my favourite beer brand joins the conversation with information on the nearest and cheapest location to buy a six pack. Or a theatre, knowing my favourite movie, checks my calendar to see if I'm free and then informs me they're showing a screening. And my favourite candy brand is in on it too. How about a retailer makes a recommendation on what to buy my Dad for Father's Day based on his Amazon browsing habits, or even his Twitter usage. The examples are endless.

Obviously, we're not gonna be at this stage for a long time. And I'm not even sure how to get there. But at some point we'll start using this abundance of information, deal with the privacy issues and eventually develop the right technology to start reducing that wasted half of advertising.

But in the mean time, the least I can hope for is that Coles will stop wasting their half on me.

+ Subscribe To Pigs Don't Fly

2009-12-31T12:56:00.004+11:00

What better way to finish the year than with a placeholder.

I'll be using this post later on to direct people to subscribe to Pigs Don't Fly by RSS or Email.

Happy New Year.

+ The Wool Is Worth It

2009-12-30T21:17:00.005+11:00

I shop at Woolworths. And I will always shop at Woolworths. It's not that I have a logical reason to although I'd guess it's because my Dad did his weekly shop at Woolworths while I was growing up.

And I never plan to step foot into a Coles store, not even for specials. Assuming I always live in an area where there's a Woolworths close by, I'm a life long customer of the Fresh Food People.

So Coles, I'm giving you the heads up right now that any marketing dollars you spend on me over the next 50 years are wasted. But with your junk mail drops and interruptive traditional media spend, you continue flush money down the drain. Shame.

+ Spider Man Reveals Foe's Identity

2009-12-27T14:56:00.011+11:00

I'm sure you're all familiar with the story of the guy who tried to pay his phone bill with a picture of a spider. It quickly went viral and if you suss out the rest of David Thorne's page, you'll find much more hilarious content. He was also the same guy behind this McDonald's hoax letter.

Personally I find his work pretty damn hilarious. The emails back and forth are no more harmful than the prank calls we hear every day on radio, although I'm not sure where the line is when it comes to pretending to be a brand. I'm certain the Brand Manager had a blast the day that letter went viral.

I bring this up because of David's latest email exchange; hilarity ensues. The interesting thing about this however, is that Simon's Twitter account was quickly discovered. Needless to say, Simon received a fair amount of abuse, most of which was anonymous. Simon then took it upon himself to respond to blog posts, comments and even write a post of his own. And while it probably wasn't David's intention to have Simon's personal account identified, suddenly this "harmless" prank became somewhat more serious. Simon's online persona and his offline world very quickly collided, and much more became at stake.

I think we're going to see this happen more often, definitely something to be cautious about.

Also, how good is the title of this post?

+ Liking The Blue Bird

2009-12-20T15:25:00.005+11:00

Question; do you favourite tweets?

If so, why? Personally I tend to favourite a tweet that I want to save for later use. It might have a link or something of interest that I don't have time to look at, or it's on my iPhone and want to check it out when I get home.

I don't believe it is used as a recognition tool or similar to the way you mike 'Like' someone's status on Facebook, but rather a book marking tool. I'm told there are websites where you check out who has favourited which of your tweets, but being unofficial I can't really see that being its purpose.

What do you favourite and why do you do it?

+ I've Sneakily Turned This Into An Ad

2009-12-16T16:50:00.005+11:00

I've always found it interesting the degree to which marketing bloggers and people on Twitter promote the campaigns they're working on.

I guess I've kind of come to expect it simply given the industry they work in. And I'm certain this is not a new concept, only replacing a group email to family and friends to give a campaign a bit of a kick start.

But it does raise some questions about honesty and transparency. Especially when it goes beyond blogs and Twitter and into much more personal networks like Facebook. As a marketer or an advertiser, should I be pumping my work through something like a status update, even more so when it doesn't look like "work"?

I've been thinking about it because over the next few months I'll be using a lot of my social networks to get people to Vote for Zac and Cookies 'n' Cream as the next SupaShake flavour. As you can see I've put a banner to your right and I'll be promoting it quite heavily through Twitter and Facebook until February.

I think it's a bit different because this is somewhat of a competition not just a campaign I'm running, but still raises some questions. One of them may be, how many of you will get tired of me talking about it over the next few months?

+ The Man Behind The Blog

2009-12-14T13:53:00.009+11:00

When you're sitting behind a computer screen, you can be anyone you want; yourself, a character, an unintentional character or no one. It's why there's so many problems with the Anonymous. I tend to find the person behind a blog just as interesting at times as the content. That's why when it comes to writing this blog I try to ensure the online me is as close as possible to the offline me.

I was speaking to a friend recently who said she had finally gotten around to meeting a blogger she been reading for a long time. Unfortunately, the person she met was not the person she'd come to know online over the past few years. The personalities were very different.

I'd like to think I'm fairly true to myself here, although I don't think I'm as arrogant in real life. I'm much more "average" when I'm kicking it offline.

But it's an interesting area. Does it matter that the person behind a blog, Twitter account or even a YouTube channel is hiding behind a character? Or is it preferable that they be who they want? Or is acting as someone else not an issue at all?

I think it will increasingly raise issues as more and more of the online world converges with the offline at events and social outings like New Media Beers (Friday 29th Jan, 7.00pm, The Cabinet, 11 Rainbow Alley #NMBMelb).