Hill+Knowlton Strategies

In the end, we all become Zombies. So here are a few faces you might recognize. Happy Halloween all.

Here at the agency, we’re proud to have a client that believes. Matt points out another major brand going after the Undead demo. It’s a bit of brand fun that should hold us until xmas.

Cross posted on Brand Street

The problem with leaving two weeks between Web Curios, webmongs, is that I completely forget what’s happened in the world since the last one, leaving me rather shy of material for the (admittedly second-rate) opening paragraphs. I know, for example, that this week’s been particularly good for The Man (you don’t want to know why I am so aware of that, trust me), that a very rich, very stupid man was going to leave his job and then decided not to and that this inexplicably dominated the news agenda for 72 hours, that we are effectively going to have a really, really unpleasant decade (it’s true – even The Man Who Knows Gordon Best said so), and that Mexico is probably the most frightening country on earth right now (don’t click on those words unless you have a strong stomach – some very, very graphic photojournalism that way lies). Oh, and the entire nation appears to be gripped, once again, by a second-rate karaoke show and what appears to be a showcase of the very worst human beings on the planet (in fairness, though, my esteemed colleague Dave is doing a rather nice episode-by-episode blog of that).

[A brief aside - can someone explain to me, please, what the appeal of the X-Factor is? I am genuinely baffled as to why millions of people seem to find entertainment in watching music that was mediocre to start with being sung appreciably less well by people with less talent than the original artists, many of whom have fairly obvious and somewhat troubling personality disorders, on a set that looks as though it was designed by the same people who designed the wrappers for Quality Street chocolates, presided over by a group of people who, as a result of consistent public attention and adulation, are now of the mistaken belief that what they do matters and should be the subject of public debate, all in order to basically inflate the already gargantuan income of a man who's almost singlehandedly responsible for everything that is wrong with the last decade of this country's musical output? (I wonder if he and The Man are friends?) WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU ALL ARE YOU ALL IDIOTS WHY CAN YOU NOT SEE THAT I AM RIGHT AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH. Feel free to respond in the comments if you have any arguments that might persuade me that the IQ of the majority of the UK population is in double rather than treble figures, and that that is borne out by the its televisual habits]

*Ahem*

Of course, though, that all pales into insignificance compared to stuff that people have done on the internet. Here is some of it.

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The month of October seems to have been dominated by one glorious and commonly over-used word – momentum. Momentum, whether you seize it or lose it, seems to have become the defining concept of our times. We all indulge in the belief that we are getting somewhere or sinking fast depending on our ability to harness this unstoppable and impelling force.

Cutting through the miasma of the current pre-Christmas doom and gloom in the economy, Britain’s GDP actually grew by a healthy 0.8% in the past quarter. Government ministers were quick to point to the confidence and momentum they’ve installed in the markets and that public sector cuts will lead to a quicker recovery than predicted.

On the other side of the pond however, the President incumbent, whose supporters presented him as the apotheosis of rational twenty-first century politics just two years ago, have walked into a perfect storm. As this week’s Economist asks questioningly, ‘How did it come to this?’  The President’s performance this week on the Daily Show was lethargic and although the charm was still there, the momentum and political capital installed in Mr Obama seems to have dissipated despite a number of ground-breaking reforms in the economy and healthcare.

October 2010’s key message seems to be clear – carpe diem, or more relevant for our times seize the momentum.

Happy Thursday folks, and welcome back to my advertising review of the week.

I’m returned from  my lovely sunny holiday in the South of France to freezing cold rainy weather.  So what better to cheer me up than gorgeous children in luxury coats – the new Children’s campaign from Burberry.  A splicing of film and illustration animation with a cool soundtrack.  Fabulous clothes of course – not that I am biased (I do work with Burberry) – but how enchanting are those beautiful children in their little trench coats?

Outside of kids fashion, it’s all about technology this week, as the electrical specialists gear up for their busiest time of year, and I’m very excited by the jaw dropping audacity of the Curry’s PC World Star Wars’ ad by M&C Saatchi.  We see R2D2 and C3PO stumble into a store, get into all sorts of mischief playing with the electricals, and stumble off again.  It raised so many questions for me – were the robot costumes re-created, or the originals, who did the voices, why would George Lucas let it happen.  mmm perhaps money helped?  Or was it the couple of ‘ads within ads’ for Star Wars film and computer game?  Outstanding stuff.  I have since found out that C-3PO was played again by actor Anthony Daniels.

So that ad aired first during X Factor, and guess what, Sony’s new ‘VAT off’ ad will air during this weekend’s X Factor, rapidly turning into the UK’s equivalent of Superbowl.  There are definitely some big budget ads on show at the moment, and Sony’s ad stars Sir Derek Jacobi as Scrooge, who is miserable until he finds out about Sony’s amazing VAT off deal, and is a whole two  minutes long.   Well sorry to spoil it for you, but I’ve never watched such over-produced, over-acted, blatant product advertising guff.  Where’s the story, the magic, the wow factor?  Sorry Sony,  great idea to offer VAT back, great idea to get Derek Jacobi, great PR this week, and good use of the X Factor.  But then it all falls down.  Anyway watch and decide for yourselves.  I believe this was made by True Worldwide.

That’s it for this week!

Week Four and the obligatory Dragon’s Den task for the candidates. This week featured some memorable moments, not least the brilliantly sulky depature of Mount Fuji-haired Melissa. She was undoubtedly useless, but for her mouth alone she’ll definitely be missed.

Hands-up who got fired this week?

Like Melissa on You’re Fired last night, this week’s awards have undergone a makeover with the notable introduction of a couple of pics on the advice of H&K’s resident digital gurus. Hoepfully they brighten things up but if you prefer the plain text version then you can catch it here as well.

The Frontrunners – it’s still got to be Jamie and Stella, despite little wobbles for them both this week. Stella’s still quietly effective, whilst Jamie’s smug face only dimished slightly as he breezed the boardroom.

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It does get better. It’s true, it does and I know.  I remember being bullied at school for not having the Somerset accent that everyone else had and for being ‘different’. I didn’t know for sure then but when I look back I guess I did know I was gay at a fairly young age and clearly this made me a target with the lads at school.  It was horrible, I hated it but luckily for me I did think it would get better… and it did. I’m now happily living with my partner in Spain and have the support of family, friends and even here at H&K who encourage a diverse workforce and a implement a robust policy on harassment based on your sexual orientation.

So it has been heart-warming to see so many amazing videos being posted as part of the It Gets Better campaign on social media networks such as Facebook and YouTube from people in authority trying to instil a air of calm and refection during a time of deep soul searching in the USA with regard to how it views its youth as they grow and find out about themselves and where they fit in society.  From the moment the news broke of Tyler Clementi terrible suicide in the United States following his horrific ‘outing’ by fellow students the issues facing young people, not only in the US but all over the globe has been highlighted in quite startling clarity.

Raymond Chase (19yrs old), Asher Brown (13yrs old), Billy Lucas (15yrs old) and Seth Walsh (13yrs old) all took their own lives due to not being able to cope with the pressures of growing up in a society that does not appear to protect and support their own.  They ALL should still be alive today growing and contributing to society and with the love and protection of their friends and family.

I was lucky I guess, I knew it would get better. It was tough, but it did. My advice to all of those who might see this who are feeling terrible, exposed and frightened is that you should watch these videos. Take strength from them and ask for support.  I wish this campaign huge success and would love to see it becoming more global as these issues are not exclusive to the USA.  For those of you worried or seeking help and support in the UK I would suggest you call the London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard on 020 7837 7324. Below are a few of the videos I found powerful, moving and worthy of being mentioned. Oh and mine!

Joel Burns – Fort Worth City Councilman reaches out to GLBT teens with a personal story and a message of hope. For more information, or to stand with Joel today, go to http://www.joelburns.com It’s a bit long but well worth watching to the end!

A fantastic video by Google employees in California telling their stories

President Barack Obama shares his message of hope and support for LGBT youth who are struggling with being bullied.

… and me, doing my small bit to let kids out there know that however tough it seems right now. It does get better!

It’s week three and we’re well into it now – ‘We’re in tough economic times’, ‘I’m not after no cautious Carols’, ‘It’s my turn to be an utterly useless and hilarious PM’ etc etc etc. Week three is usually the start of the long, deadly slow process of weeding out those candidates who are sort of ok but ultimately never going to win. And this week it was Shibby the Surgeon’s turn, although how Sandeesh is still there I really can’t explain – over to you on that one Professor Hawking.

Outfit of the week – Laura was close with her bizarrely high-topped blouse. Did she even have a neck under there? Was it reported missing, last seen in a Selfridges dressing room? However, Liz wins it this week based on her outrageous collar – so wide even a Jumbo Jet couldn’t beat its wingspan.

The ‘I must be good at this one, it’s my dayjob’ award – oh dear Melissa. A ‘food business manager’ without a clue what people eat. But hey, she got round it. How? By inventing something “new and out of the box” apparently – because there aren’t enough breaded products in the world already. And because her new sans-box wonder was last seen in 1986 according to a cake shop owner customer of hers.

PR Watch – whisper it, but he’s actually starting to look half-decent. Yes, Alex pulled it out of the bag this week for his less than impressive PM, Melissa, with some contract-saving sums. Probably best he wasn’t leading the sales pitch though – his head wagged faster than a dog following a bouncy ball as he read from his hastily prepared script.

Star of the show – no contest this one, it’s the hotel chef. First, he had to sit through the most unprofessional pitch seen in London since, well, Chris’ effort last week. And then he landed the week’s killer line when presented with slightly fewer baked bready products than he was hoping for – “16 bread roles?! What am I supposed to do with that?”. Absolutely brilliant. Hire him Lord Sugar. Hire him now.

Persona non gratis – she’s alive! Paloma finally stepped it up this week and it turns out she’s from the Southern Hemisphere (genuinely I had no idea, she’s been so quiet!). She’s also a loud Southernarian as it turns out – the new dark horse? Hmmm, maybe not, just a very, very noisy one.

As for the other mute-oids, Sandeesh is still sticking strictly to her guns. Highlights of the week? Err, her mouse-like sales technique maybe. Oh no wait, she did come up with a great rant on the complexities of breadonomics in the factory at one point. A pat on the back for Christopher though. Damn good on the production line – praise from Nick Hewer? Surely not!

Health & Safety hair alert – Melissa again, who debuted a flick back of blonde hair the size and shape of Mount Fuji, only Mount Fuji bent over backwards in a hurricane.

TheBrand – outrageous in week one, quiet in week two, almost invisible in week three, where the hell has he gone? Please, please come back. Mind you, he did declare at one point that “I’m an amazing salesman and an amazing pitcher” – says the bloke who yelled at people when they didn’t buy his sawdust sausages in week one.

The Baggs award – speaking of TheBrand 1.0, Melissa has clearly been talking to him on sales techniques – “You’re gonna buy it, and you aren’t leaving until you do. Sock it sock it sock it to them guys.”

And finally – there were so many good lines this week, Chef included, but these two really stood out for me. First Shibby, who in a desperate attempt to save his skin came up with this cracker to Sandeesh, “You could have walked around with your top off and still not sold anything”.

But the winner was PR Alex who stood up to Melissa by waiting until she’d stormed off and then delivering his coup de grace, “I got an A* in my GCSE maths by the way”. Like a boy in short trousers being pelted by his sister with a peashooter. Fantastic.

This is to be the worst of times in the hope of a return to the best of times. The long awaited Comprehensive Spending Review was as brutal as the Coalition Government had prepared us for: £83 billion worth of cuts.

 Let the John Redwoods of this life point out that in cash terms public spending is still rising. Over the next four years it won’t feel like that with an estimated half a million public sector jobs to go.

The Chancellor – with business backing – claims that this is the medicine Britain needs. Labour have bet their economic credibility on the cuts being too fast and too deep and halting the recovery. Outwith that domestic political split, there is another context in which this should all be seen and another voice heard.

This week, Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, warned that a failure to agree a common path globally on how economies are re-balanced could lead to a decline in world output and a 1930s style global depression.

George Osborne’s plans must be seen in this context. The UK economy does not function on its own and whether this plan works or not will as much be influenced by global pressures as domestic concerns.

The USA, which is still pursuing the path of stimulus, is in direct opposition to China on currency policy and that disagreement is replicated all over the globe.

This is a roller coaster ride on a sharp downward incline with no one really certain when the car will start to lift again.

If global conditions do not improve, the UK will not be able to expect the level of growth which will make up for the cuts in government spending to re-build the economy, or bring in the necessary revenues to cut borrowing.

What can be said for definite then?

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This Wednesday (20 October), the UK will see one of the most significant reductions in public spending announced in recent memory in the Comprehensive Spending Review. Motivated by a massive budget deficit and an ideological desire to see the powers of state reigned in.

The flip side of this is the Government’s plan to replace the sprawling tentacles of the state with ‘The Big Society’. In contrast to the Comprehensive Spending Review, it is not a subject the Government feels comfortable talking about. As demonstrated recently by Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

Nevertheless, the Big Society poses an opportunity for businesses to amplify their Corporate Responsibility activity, gain recognition from Government and deliver profit.

The reasons for this are as follows:

1. The Big Society’s ambiguity means it is open to interpretation, and therefore enables businesses to shape what the ‘Big Society’ looks like.

2. Good Corporate Responsibility can deliver a business end as well as a social end. M&S’ Plan A was a forerunner, other examples include the Co-operative Group and the Big Issue, ethical business models tied to profit, epitomising the role Cameron sees businesses playing in society, delivering a public service, meeting a societal need, not because it justifies the less ethical parts of their business, but because it is good over the long term.

3. Fiscal consolidation gives the private sector an opportunity to deliver public services at a profit. According to The Times radical welfare proposals suggest leading banks may be asked to invest in schemes designed to help children from poor backgrounds. Profit would be generated by savings in the cost of benefit claims and dealing with crime. At the very least there is significant potential for job creation as highlighted by the recent PwC report.

4. The Big Society agenda is not going anywhere. David Cameron has claimed ownership of the Big Society agenda. At Conference he claimed he was going on about it years before the cuts, but Ed Miliband, the new Labour leader made ‘the Good Society’ a tenet of his Conference speech too.

5. The Government will support organisations and programmes seen to deliver the Big Society as they will save them spending money.

6. Traditional Corporate Responsibility markets are increasingly saturated. Financial capability is one example where this is true. Businesses need to figure out where there is a need; an unfashionable cause can prove more compelling a proposition and provide greater opportunity for exposure. Aviva’s (client) Railway Children campaign is a great example.

7. Corporate Responsibility is too often viewed internally and consequently externally as a communications exercise.

8. Economic imperatives determine that organisations provide funding and work with charitable or public sector partners already. Where these partnerships deliver a societal need over the long term they can be considered as contributing to the Big Society. As highlighted on the Today programme many schemes already exist, Vision Housing for example, provides housing for newly released prisoners in South London reducing re-offending rates significantly and therefore making a huge saving to the public purse in the long run.

9. Delivering a societal good positions organisations favourably with consumers and their employees.

10. Big business offers unique assets: buying power, geographical reach and expertise.   

Those who understand the above and communicate their activity in the language of the Big Society will have a competitive advantage.

If you want to know how your business can take advantage, get in touch.

Small print: The views expressed below are not necessarily the views of H&K. Feel free to blame me personally.

So, it’s Tuesday. I’m trying to embrace Tuesdays – it’s not easy. So time to spread some positive energy with things we like.

Pass the Kleenex

Awesome thing #1: Songs that make us cry. Ok, maybe not the most intuitive way to spread positive energy but that’s how we roll. Last week Chris Evans (whose show is most definitely an awesome thing – just not when Richard Madeley stands in) had Barry Manilow’s I Made It Through The Rain as a tearjerker – hmm, not so much but it got us thinking. There are songs that make us cry pretty much whenever such as Stevie Wonder’s Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer (in tears within 20 seconds) and of course  Johnny Cash’s Hurt (which makes me wait in the cold instead of the coffeeshop). And then there are those that are of the moment – the current moment is No Regrets by Tom Rush. *sobs quietly* Feel free to share your tunes of desolation and despair with us.

Whoa

Awesome thing #2:  The blippy unicorn. I know this is old but after that start, we need something super-good. Keep clicking on the unicorn. If everyone watched this regularly, the world would be a better place. Fact. If I had a unicorn, I’d call it Trevor.

Damn right it's better than yours

Awesome thing #3: Milkshakes. Possibly not quite so awesome if you’re lactose-intolerant, but since the days of Bod (who knew the frog was called Alberto?), strawberry is my flavour of choice, with chocolate a close second.  In our occasional guide to the culinary delights of Soho, we’d like to recommend the ones from Byron and those from Milkbar – where the coffee is also good and the hot chocolate rocks – but that deserves a whole separate post.