bunk-ass ads

Saw some absolutely horrible advertising today. Work that made me ashamed to be in this industry, that represents the worst elements of sensory pollution erected in the name of capitalism. Normally it doesn't really bother me too much, we routinely come across some really cliche garbage at these meetings, but this was not from one or two misguided creative directors, but from several offices spanning an entire region.... grrrrrrr... The fact that clients actually paid for this work and bought media to display it was the hardest part to accept. The committee went through the motions and unanimously voted most of it in the low 4s and high 3s, which was entirely appropriate, but as it turns out, it seems that the particular nature of the business in some of these markets means that these agencies are not compelled to make their advertising any better. They are autonomous enough and self-insulated from the larger advertising community, and to them the low scores they routinely receive from the GPC are arbitrary numbers assigned to them from a distant, faceless group of executives who have no sympathy for their particular challenges. Sad, really… I did see a few redeeming pieces today, in particular, some fantastic, innovative web work from ARC Chicago, for our Diageo client. Diageo is the larger umbrella company for distilled alcohols like Johnnie Walker Scotch, Gordon’s Gin, and a whole slew of other good quality alcohol. ARC created a website called http://www.thebar.com/, which has an entirely personalized web bartender, who knows your name, knows where you come from, and can converse about thousands of subjects while sharing with you the recipes and mixing techniques for all your favorite cocktails.



The site feels a little animatronic at the moment, in the sense that the web bartender speaks with some very strained pauses in his speech, but the technology and the personality ARC has managed to infuse into this brand via thebar.com is fantastic. This is some of the best web work I’ve seen done by Burnett in the last 6 years, and even though it’s not quite 100%, I personally will be checking out this site during my spare time to pick up a few mixologist tips…

Anyhow – I crashed hard today. The group had a dinner planned at Bangkok’s famed Bed Supper Club, but after making it back to the hotel at 6 pm I passed out and slept for 12 hours. Missed a great dinner at a very luxurious spot, I’m sure, but every now and then your body just refuses to participate in the ongoing assault on its regulatory mechanisms. Hadn’t slept more than 4 hours a night this whole week, and the constant evening cocktails and delayed jetlag finally caught up with me. Oh well. There’s always tomorrow….