(Re: ‘Picture perfect’, a story in the Feb. 28 special report on Effectiveness in Newspaper Advertising.)

It is right there for all to see. Right across the country. Words right out of their own minds. Zak (‘holy shit’) Mroueh, associate creative director at TAXI Advertising in Toronto; Trevor (‘junkyard’) McConnell of Palmer Jarvis DDB in Vancouver; John (‘giant clam’) Farquhar of Young & Rubicam; Ian (‘one idea’) Grais of Rethink, and Michael (‘tight…times’) McLaughlin of BBDO.

In all their talk, as quoted in a recent article by David Todd about ‘fresh ways of saying’, their admission that ‘newspapers are regarded as the junkyard of the ad business and their whining about poor colour reproduction and tight turnaround constraints, there is not one brand-oriented thought among them.

Not Salon, not Selective

and not Colour Shield.

The ad for Salon Selectives Colour Shield shampoo touted as an ad that ‘really pops’ which accompanied the article is a prime example of the generic thinking of which all ad agencies are best at and guilty of (I know, two ending prepositions. Poetic licence; used for emphasis). What a terrible way to treat a great brand idea. Such a waste of space! All this ad does is make a terrible metaphor out of a generic feature/benefit.

Trust a young male award-winning copywriter to come up with this one. Gets across the ‘locks in’ part but totally ignores the brand. What’s the connection to the brand? This ad works with any brand. What is it about the ‘selective’ ability, ‘salon’ milieu and ‘colour shield’ attributes of this product’s positioning that entitles it to exclusive ownership of the creative idea? That’s what is missing from this kind of thinking, notwithstanding whatever value there might be in the metaphor.

Key Problem

The key problem is that Mroueh started the idea process searching, in his own words, for ‘a fresh way of saying’ that a hair care product locks in colour. He should have started by searching for the way in which to leverage the brand to the notion of ‘locking’. That’s why it’s called brand marketing! The way was staring him in the face. It’s the name of the brand. There’s a ton of potential being ignored here simply because of the approach to the brand. It doesn’t come last as a sort of grateful recipient of creative ability, it comes first. The thinking should have been, how can I make this brand the exclusive owner of a locking type of idea?

Creative Arrogance

This ad also reflects the arrogance of the idea. It places the creativity above the brand. The brand is just the excuse for the writer/director to showcase how clever he is. And we’re supposed to admire the fact that it is clear, simple and uses virtually no copy! All the right generics and no brand integration, let alone positioning. Probably win an award.

Tery Poole

President

Poole-Adamson Research Consultants

Toronto, Ont.

tpoole@mail.interlog.com

The Garden promotes two creative directors

ACDs Lindsay Eady and Francheska Galloway-Davis have taken over responsibility for day-to-day creative leadership at The Garden after being promoted to creative director roles.

The pair will also help develop the agency’s creative talent, formalizing mentorship and leadership activities they have been doing since joining the agency four and three years ago, respectively. In addition to creating the agency’s internship program, the pair have worked on campaigns for Coinsquare, FitTrack and “The Coke Challenge” campaign for DanceSafe.

Eady and Galloway-Davis will continue to report to The Garden’s co-founder and chief creative officer Shane Ogilvie, who is stepping back from daily creative duties to a more high-level strategic role, allowing him to focus on client relationships and business growth.

Naked Creative Consultancy names new creative and strategy leadership

Toronto’s Naked Creative Consultancy has hired Yasmin Sahni as its new creative director. She is taking over creative leadership from David Kenyon, who has been in the role for 10 years and is moving into a new role as director of strategy, leading the discipline at the agency.

Sahni is coming off of three years as VP and ECD at GTB’s Toronto office, where she managed all the retail, social and service creative for Ford Canada. She previously managed both Vice Media and Vice’s in-house ad agency Virtue.

Peter Shier, president of Naked, says Sahni’s hiring adds to its creative bench and capabilities, as well as a track record of mentorship, a priority for the company. Meanwhile, Kenyon’s move to the strategy side, he says, makes sense because of his deep knowledge of its clients, which have included Ancestry and The Globe and Mail.

Digital Ethos opens a Toronto office

U.K. digital agency Digital Ethos is pursuing new growth opportunities in North America by opening a new office in Toronto.

Though it didn’t disclose them, the agency has begun serving a number of North American clients, and CEO/founder Luke Tobin says the “time was right to invest in a more formal and actual presence in the area.” whose services include design, SEO, pay-per-click, social media, influencer and PR,

This year, the agency’s growth has also allowed it to open an office in Hamburg, Germany, though it also has remote staff working in countries around the world.

Moray Hickes was the company’s first North American hire as VP of sales, tasked with business development in the region.