Adwomen

New AdWomen blog

2009-02-12T10:01:00.004+01:00

Since now, you will be able to follow AdWomen in the new blog.

New image, new blog but the same philosophy.

You are welcome to the new www.adwomen.org
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Women buy the 50% of cars

2009-02-10T09:27:00.005+01:00

Despite the fact that cars are not men only-area any longer, marketers keep ignoring women at car dealers and they turn to men. That may be the reason why 77% of women prefer to go to a dealer accompanied by a man, in spite of being perfectly capable to do it alone.

The following are a couple of advices for car brands which are targeting women:

Women buy from a person who they trust, so it’s especially important to create a good relationship between salesman and a client.
She is the one who is going to make a decision: buy or not to buy, so make her feels as a client. Concentrate on communicating to her, and not to her men.
54% of women in USA base their purchase decision on information found out in the Internet. 40% of European women do the same. Think of women at the time of developing your website.
Women like to share experiences. If they have a good experience, they will tell it to their friends. If they don’t or if they have a negative one… they will do the same.

What kind of cars do women like?
According to some European reports, as an investigation by AutoScout24´s, women pay attention to design, security and price and they prefer cars with five doors, so they can park and move easily in the city jungle.

Spot Nissan

A report by LineaDirecta points out the importance of having a CD player, cup holders and a space to leave things as a handbag.

Only for women
Volvo has been the first, and the only one until now, to create a prototype of a car designed especially for women, by a group of 5 women. After 15 months of an intensive work and opinions given by company’s specialists and employees, Volvo launched the prototype during the International Motor Show of Ginebra in 2004.

This model allows women to forget about car’s maintenance. The car itself lets the driver know that it needs checking. What shall I do with my bag? This won’t be a problem no more, because Volvo YCC has a separate space for the woman’s bag reserved between the front seats. You can also find handy pigeon-holes saved for keys, coins or a mobile phone. Moreover it is very easy to park because it calculates the space left and helps the driver to move the steering wheel.

Although the prototype was a success, the Swedish brand declared that YCC was a concept car and was never planned to be on sale. However, some of the features have been put into production in other Volvo models.

Examples of strategies to women
Other car producers, that use to identify their brands with men, adapted their strategies to women.

GOODYEAR
In 2008 this brand included in the communication strategy a promotion for women: they offered prizes as beauty products, spa visits and discounts. According to Daniel Papa, Bussiness Development Manager, the brand wants that women feel comfortable when visiting dealer canters.

HONDA
In Argentina, this brand organized a special activity thought to improve drivers´ technique and motorcycles´ knowledge and skills.

Moreover, Honda sponsors different women’s competitions, as Surfing or Trial.

FORD
Ford approaches women by sponsoring Nike 5K Women Race, a competition dedicated to women and aimed to celebrate the International Women´ Day.

Women’s economic independence means the incorporation of women into sectors considered as masculine. The automotive sector is one of them, and now it has to develop new strategies directed to women.

VOLKSWAGEN
In China, Volkswagen is one of the sponsors of Table-Tennis Women Championship. This sport has been strategically chosen, as the vast majority of Chinese society and mass media follow it.

Also in the Internet
In the Internet we can find webs directed exclusively to women and dedicated to cars, car maintenance… Here and here are some examples:

And what do you think?
Women can’t park, “it had to be a woman”… Fortunately the situation is changing, and we are gaining the control of the roads. We do not only occupy the co-driver’s seat or choose the colour of our man’s car, but we buy and drive cars. Don’t forget it! Dealers and repair shops can’t keep on smelling of masculinity, and marketing strategists must begin to think of women as a real target.

Men’s kingdom is falling apart!

What kind of car are you looking for? Would you buy the Volvo YCC? What would you like car dealers to offer you?

Sources: Mujeres&Cia, Supermotor, Tribe, Terra.

How Nescafé convinced women

2009-02-09T10:52:00.004+01:00

It’s 1949. Nescafe launches a new product: an instant coffee. The product’s advantage is clear: the instant coffee dissolves in hot water within just three minutes. Indeed, pre-tests show pleased potential consumers.

With its first campaign, Nescafé commits a mistake in communication to women
However, at the time of introducing the product into US market, sales results are disappointing. Nestlé begins a research:”Why don’t you buy an instant coffee? I don’t like the taste”

Nescafé wanted to go further and made a casual focus, on two groups of housewives. Each group was given a shopping list. The lists were identical expect for one detail: one contained Nescafé instant coffee and the other one, a grind coffee. Each group was asked to describe the type of woman who has written the shopping list. The group whose list contained Nescafé, described the woman as lazy, unorganised, careless, spendthrift, bad wife and mother.

Nescafé found out what the real reason was—why consumers didn’t buy Nescafe’s new product: women felt that if they reduce time that they use to dedicate for preparing coffee every day, their families might consider them lazy housewives. In 50´s, Nescafe’s advantages have been seen as something negative.

Women—the new target
Then, what could Nescafé do? The brand launched a new advertising campaign. The slogan: “The instant coffee will allow you to dedicate more time for more important things!” helped to change the opinion of American housewives.

And, what were those more important things? Looking after family, of course.

Instant coffee was discovered in 1901 by Satori Kato, an American chemist with Japanese origins. The invention caused a controversy. Many experts, especially Italian ones, were convinced that a good cup of coffee can only be made by highly qualified baristas.

This and the housewives resistance meant a great challenge for product’s sales. Nescafé had to point out product’s advantages without going against the women’s need to be recognized as dedicated housewives.

Nescafé was not selling a product, but an illusion of what it could do for its user. The brand began a campaign, which included previously mentioned slogan and introduced the product into the diary routine of women. It referred to relatives living far away and was aimed to cause the bad conscious: ¨it’s a long time since you’ve written them a single letter¨. It was said, that with the instant coffee, now there was no excuse for not writing. Housewives could do it perfectly, just if they decided to save some time prepareing an instant coffee.

These brilliant campaigns succeed in 50´s and it works nowadays.

Nescafé changes along with women.
Nowadays, women don’t need to be said that they should save time. Women want to save time, and not only because of their families. They want some extra time to look after themselves, and to…save time, after all!

In 80´s, Nescafé aimed its campaign to a more independent woman:

In last years, Nescafe’s campaigns are aimed not only to women. The brand has used the concept of friendship:

Current Nescafe’s ads are funny and sensual:

In difficult times, Nescafé made women buy a product that seemed to jeopardize
their image of dedicated housewives. The brand had enough empathy to understand the women’s background and adjust the product into their reality.

Nescafé managed to adapt its campaigns to different moments in women’s lives, since 1949 to nowadays, when the brand shows an independent and self-confident woman.

That’s without doubt a great strategy.
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Sources: FAO, University of Sydney, Nestlé, Jon Williamson

Keri Smith: Living out Loud

2009-02-05T17:36:00.005+01:00

How do you imagine it is?

When a colleague of mine lent me the book, and she asked me this question, I knew the book would not be the typical book of a renowned professional, who share his/her experiences.

Keri Smith, the author, with all her experience and knowledge, could have written something like a creativity guide. However, when I have the book in my hands I find a cover that could have been a face of a fairytale: with an irregular and colourful typography.
Precisely the childhood is the backbone of the book—this stage of life when your mind is free of prejudices and conventions, when everyone is who they want to be and dream of what they’ll become in the future. It’s a time when you do what you want without thinking about consequences. A time when creativity flows free. That’s why Keri suggests us some games to unblock our mind, invites us to let our imagination fly and do things that we left behind, and never tried to do them again.

Leaving routine, making up, going deep inside of our minds and letting us go. Sometimes with friends, sometimes alone, we have to learn how to dream again. Trusting that we can do it and that we can be whoever we want to be. We only have to propose it to ourselves.
Living out loud is a game, a game where we are the main characters and where creativity slides down among dreams, wishes, crazy ideas and a lot, but a really big ¨lot¨, of optimism.
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Interview with Emma Hill

2009-02-04T18:05:00.009+01:00

Hereby we inaugurate a series of interviews with some great personalities, girls only!
who will share with us their point of view on advertising & women.

We start up with the reproduction of an interview made by ihaveanidea. Thank you!

Ladies, gentlemen…let’s switch on the microphones!
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The following interview was made by ihaveanidea to Emma Hill, Creative Director at DDBO Melbourne:

ihaveanidea: Well we always like to start at the beginning. So how did you become interested in this crazy field we call advertising? I understand your foray into the business was not exactly “average.”

Emma: It all began on a small non-tropical island called Tasmania, at the bottom of Australia. At my school in Year 10, we were all given an A-Z book of jobs from which we had to decide what we wanted to do as work experience. I skipped over “Anal Prober” and “Barbarian” and landed on “Copywriter.” All the skills you needed were listed, and they seemed to match mine, so I stopped there, shut the book and said I wanted to spend my week in an ad agency. Never have wondered what might have been listed under “D”.

ihaveanidea: Ah, a pity. You missed out on "Darth Vader understudy" which might've been cool. So once your mind was set, how did you go about making that happen? Would a high school student even know about putting a portfolio together?

Emma: Surprisingly, BBDO has an office in Hobart. Is there nowhere the might of the BBDO network does not infiltrate? Anyways, BBDO Hobart had a CD that I asked to meet. I had a folio full of ideas I did on work experience, poems I’d written and ideas that now, when I think about them, make me feel very, very embarrassed.

He told me the old “there’s nothing doing in the creative department at the moment”, but his advice was just to get a foot in the door. And they happened to need a receptionist.

A week later I was working on the BBDO switchboard during the day, and every shit brief no one else wanted at night when I got home.

ihaveanidea: Sounds very superhero-ish. Was this a secret identity of yours, or did your co-workers know you were actively pursuing a creative job?

Emma: Oh, they knew, but the new receptionist working on the 10X2 press ads for the local used car yard wasn’t very threatening to them, I don’t think.

ihaveanidea: So at one point did they realize you were far better at creating ads than forwarding phone calls?

Emma: All the best 10X2’s in the world didn’t really help to be honest. After reception, the agency moved me to media. Then two years later, to account service. After another two years as a suit, I entered a National Radio Writers competition for first year creative’s – which I kinda lied about being – and won. The day after that, BBDO offered me a job in creative.

It was a long road, but now I can write ads, sell them to a client and book them.

ihaveanidea: And not only that, you can tell others how to do their own ads now. How was the journey from copywriter in Hobart to Creative Director in Melbourne?

Emma: It felt rough and rugged at the time, but looking back, it was pretty amazing really. I landed here in Melbourne and was lucky enough to be teamed up with the quirkiest, most interesting senior art director I’ve ever known. Tony Rogers. He taught me to look at the world from a crazy side as well as the strict and responsible answering the brief side.

We had a lot of ideas get through early, so got momentum really quickly as a team. We made a lot of TV for big brands, solved some big problems and won a few pitches. Then I was appointed Creative Director on a fashion retail account, which had massive concept turn over. We made telly spots every three weeks for different products. It was great fun, very frantic and a great way to get a grip on CD’ing.

After that, I was made Deputy CD of the department, then CD of the whole joint. Now, I’m CD of a group, which I much prefer. It means I get home before 2 AM.

ihaveanidea: Your career is rather unique in that, unlike many other esteemed CDs who moved from agency to agency and country to country, you've stayed in one place for many years and grew alongside it. What's your secret? What keeps you grounded in one place while other creatives wander the earth?

Emma: There’s no secret to why I’ve stayed in the one shop, although Clemenger Melbourne is actually more like a department store than a shop. I’ve been pretty open about the fact that as long as Clemenger kept evolving, doing great work and hanging on to what is probably one of the best client lists in the country, leaving would mean trying to find an agency that either had all that, or didn’t, and then spend five years trying to get it up to the level of this one.

People may read that and think I’m maybe lazy, but I think the opposite applies.
Plenty of people are asked to leave an agency after two or three years cause they get dangerously comfortable. I’ve worked my butt off to be here, and to stay here.

And just as importantly, love keeps me here too. He’s very worth staying put for.

ihaveanidea: But if you could ply your trade in any other part of the globe, where would you go? Or is Australia just too magical to leave?

Emma: I did always want to work in New York. I snuck off all espionage style one year, took my book over, spoke to some head hunters and actually got a couple of offers, which I was really considering. The only problem was these offers were made to me on September 10, 2001. The town kinda shut down the day after.

That said, Australia is a fun market. Approval levels are mammoth, though. They tend to go on for miles. Some of the clients can be quite conservative. But there are also great clients, great budgets, and great ideas here. Australia has a super knack of laughing at itself. I think you’d put our style somewhere between the wit of the UK and the quirk of the US.

ihaveanidea: You're an extremely successful CD in a world where it seems tougher for a female to reach the top. There are lots of press release style statements about how the Old Boys Club of this business is no more, but what are your thoughts?"

Emma: I think boys clubs in advertising are unavoidable, simply because there are more men at the top, working very closely together, under very stressful circumstances. So they tend to stick together through all that. It’s kind of a shame it’s got a negative label.

Personally, I’ve never been shut out of the tree house, or told I can’t be in the gang. I thank my parents. I grew up with two sisters, but we went to a co-ed school from kinder to year 12. I’ve always felt as comfortable hanging out with guys as much as girls. I can skip really well, but I can also kick a football.

I think the way Neil French said what he said was bullshit, but I think he also had a point. It’s very hard to do both. I believe in order to be brilliant in advertising, it needs your full attention. If a women in advertising decides she wants to go be brilliant at something else, like being a mum, so what? If there were awards for breast feeding, maybe it would seen as a more worthwhile thing to go and do.

ihaveanidea: I’ve read somewhere that you’re not a big fan of researching creativity, somewhat infamously declaring that a focus group “should only last 32 seconds: 30 to watch the ad and two seconds to react.” Are you still of that mindset?

Emma: Ahhh jeez. Yes, I did say that once, and research says, I’ll never live it down. I said it after sitting behind one-way glass way too may times, watching way too many groups rock up angry and tired after work, pull an idea apart limb by limb, eat free biscuits, get $50 in an envelope and leave. But their first reactions feel like their most honest to me. And if that’s that they hate it then fair enough. I can accept that.

But sometimes, their first reactions are really positive and natural – like laughing, chuckling, smiling etc. It’s just that then, when they’re asked the inevitable, “what don’t you like about this idea?” kind of questions, they seem to get all negative on purpose, because they feel like that’s what they’re being paid for, and I get frustrated, because that’s not how they view ideas at home.

I like researchers. Some of my best friends are researchers. (Actually that’s a lie.)

ihaveanidea: You have an incredible record of championing young talent; you've participated in our Portfolio Night, you lecture at AWARD School, and of course you're a judge in this year's YGAward. What sorts of trends are you noticing with each batch of young creatives that you meet each year? Is technology making them better? Are they losing certain skills that were crucial years ago?

Emma: At the risk of sounding old and grumpy, what amazes me about “young talent” I meet looking for work in the industry, is actually how “talented” they believe they are, without much to back it up.

I’ve meet a lot of guys who are extremely confident, who seem to just expect to walk into a job like that (snaps fingers). And then when you offer feedback, or some dead briefs to work on to show their stuff, maybe help beef up their folios, you never hear from them again. It’s quite crap and disappointing.

That being said, it means the really talented, really passionate, really persistent young talent really stands out. They are generally the ones with excellent ways of looking at the world, what technology can do, and are open to hearing feedback and then doing something with it. Those are the guys that don’t make me grumpy at all.

And are probably already working here.

ihaveanidea: Since I'm assuming it will be the most passionate juniors entering the YGAward, can we expect you to judge the work as harshly and critically as you would the work on a Cannes or Clios judging panel? Don't sugarcoat anything, give to to 'em straight!

Emma: Absolutely. It’s called Young Guns. You don’t just get a prize for being the ‘young’ part.

Interview by: Brett McKenzie, Chief Writer of ihaveanidea
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Paper creativity

2009-02-03T13:42:00.006+01:00

Although it seems incredible, this fantastic illustration is made with paper, yes, paper!

Yulia Brodskaya is the author and apart from paper graphics, she surprises with great typographies and graphic designs.

Without doubts, this is an example of creativity to follow. It demonstrates that the creativity may be hidden in the mere materials, and what brings this creativity to life is an idea what do you want to do with them. A simple paper can become a great piece of art.

Yulia Brodskaya

She was born in Russia, where she started her career designing contemporary office decoration for Moscow based companies. At the same time she was studying for the first degree in Graphic Design.

Since 2004 she combined career of an illustrator with a freelance graphic designer work. She won 1st prize in the Russian Conceptual Packaging Design Competition and she is a member of the International Society of Typographic Designers since 2006.
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Real beauty?

2009-02-02T13:56:00.002+01:00

As we mentioned before, male and especially female consumers do not like adverts showing perfect models.

FWT-Crew reacted actively by creating an ad busting action. They converted an advert of CDs, launched in Berlin, into a social claim.

The action consists of overlaying the image with stickers of Adobe Photoshop’s interface panels. It makes the message change absolutely. In this form the advert doesn’t sell CDs any more, but it makes people wonder about the real beauty of the pop stars, and about how it is used in advertising.

This ad busting is full of irony and creativity and makes people stop and think about the issue.

FTW-Crew (Mr. Tailon, Baveux Prod., Kone & Epoxy) is a group of street artist who use public space in order to bring to life all kind of social topics and make a social change.

Sources: Barcelona´s Chiringuito, Brand Infection, Cool hunting.

Absolut

2009-01-29T17:55:00.002+01:00

Agency: Chiat Day
Advertiser: V&S
Creative Director: Gerry Graf
Creative Director: Rob Smiley
Art Director: Pam Fujimoto y Phil Covitz
Copywriter: Brandon Davis
Photographer: Vincent Dixon
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Moms are the only ones who will keep on shopping during the crisis

2009-01-29T17:42:00.004+01:00

Every year moms spend $2.1 trillions in the US, with projection of reaching $3 trillions by 2012, informs Maria Bailey, CEO at BSM Media.

This Group growths and is loyal to products and services. Now more than ever it’s important to understand this group, which is the one that will keep on shopping despite the crisis.

Mothers control 85% of household spending and 70% of them feel that companies don’t know how to talk to them.

Following data is also meaningful:

90% of mothers use the same products at home and the office
88% of mothers feel entirely responsible for the household budget
For the first time in history the market comprises four generations of mothers

Sara Moore and Betsy Westhoff, the founders of MomWise spoke to mothers around the World and they reached the following conclusions about how to get with marketing to moms. Here comes a brief manual:

Understand their priorities
Satisfying family´s needs is the priority for moms. Little rewards will come later on.

Economic home
81% of mothers have cut back eating out and 72% have reduced out-of-house entertainment. This means that mothers now interact with brands in a different way, so companies should think how mothers could enjoy their products without leaving home.

Celebrate savings
Sales work, but lately everything pretends to be a bargain. It’s a high time to convert shopping experience into something positive, and not try to save on quality or service.

Help her
Facing the crisis, in order to cut some spending, mothers will undertake new tasks at home: manicures, hair coloring… This means that brands should try to simplify their products.

Ecology
Moms want both: economic and eco-friendly products. They won’t pay extra to be green any more.

However, Lisa Druxman, Mompreneur´s columnist, stands out the importance of realizing that not all moms are the same. She describes three moms´ generations: baby boom moms, Gen X moms and Millennium moms.

One of the most important common characteristics of all moms is the amazing power of word of mouth. As points out BSM Media, mothers love to talk, compare and share. Once you win one mom’s trust, you can be sure that she will talk about the brand all around. But it works the other way round as well: once you disappoint her with the product, she won’t hesitate to do a black PR.

This segment is the only one that, despite the crisis, will keep shopping. After all, children have to eat, wear clothes, go to school… The only thing that has changed is the way they buy, and here is the gap for marketing. Understanding mothers is the only way for companies to insert their product into mom’s basket.

What other factor marketers should take into consideration when talking to mothers?

Source: AdAge, Marketing Moms, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Istock.
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Mango knows how to get along with women

2009-01-29T09:04:00.002+01:00

Mango fashion brand is present in all the continents and chooses the best way to get along well with women of each continent.

Smart, in vogue and inexpensive. Mango has set up its stores in the world’s most important cities, selling elegance and simple clothes that women like.

Apart from its clothes, Mango takes care about its marketing strategy in order to approach more efficiently the women’s world and create a “World of Mango”.

Women Designers
Designers and famous actresses are who create exclusive collections for Mango. Penélope and Mónica Cruz, Sandrina Fasoli, Elizabeth hurley and Adam Lippes are some of them.

MangoShop
The Mango’s online store is design with all details. Lucid conditions, phone service, different way of payment, refund… everything is very clear, and clothes can be chosen by categories: style, garment, price or size.

In addition, for each garment you can find advices on how to match clothes perfectly.
Online discounts are significant.

Online and offline fashion shows
Shows where new Mango collections are launched always become big events. Every time the scenery is carefully designed. The events are always attended by famous people, like Naty Abascal, Alejandra Prat or Dakota Johnson.

Brand’s clients can follow Mango’s fashion shows via the Internet.

Shopping Nights and Shopping Events
Mango closes its stores in order to offer to its guests a relaxing night with discount shopping, good live music, beauty and fashion advices, special cocktails, snacks, fashion magazines…

Sponsorship and collaboration.
Another way of approaching its target is sponsorship and collaboration.

Mango is one of the sponsors of ARCOMadrid. This way, Mango is associates itself with art, vanguard and international undertakings. In order to make the best of the sponsorship, Mango creates the Mango Performing, where shows with the participation of international artists take place.

As a sign of solidarity, Mango collaborates with Fero Fundation during the World Day Against Breast Cancer. Mango and Cruz sisters have created a limited edition of t-shirt. The entire profit will donated to the foundation.

Mango Fashion Awards
“The button” are the International awards organized by Mango. They help promoting young fashion designers internationally.

Blog
What more, Mango has a blog where it publishes news related to the brand.

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Summing up, Mango knows female world perfectly and approaches its female target in the best way possible: being present in the entire world of beauty, but without forcing the image of a plastic woman.

Mango proposes something for the body and something for the spirit and sense of solidarity.

Mango’s strategy is global and it has the same structure everywhere it goes, but always taking cultural factors into the consideration. London, Paris, New York, Norway, Dubai, Madrid, Athens, Munich, Warsaw, Singapore, Toronto, Riga, Prague…are some example of cities where Mango celebrates its events.

Without doubts, if Mango keeps its strategy, its clothes are going to stay in vogue.
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Area of Creativity is controlled by men

2009-01-27T09:55:00.003+01:00

Grupo Consultores has just published the Yearbook of Best Spanish Advertising Agencies and Kika Samblás, the general director of the group, has been interview by Mujeres y Cia.
Kika says that the number of creative women in agencies is increasing:

"In advertising there are many women, but they mostly work in account departments or are dealing with clients. Every time more women are directors, but in creative departments men are still a majority in Spain, as well as all over the world. There are women that are very good as creatives, but they are very few of them. In the world of advertising women will find many opportunities, and they are equally valued for their skills, but the real challenge is to stand out in the area of creativity"

As a consumer, women are an interesting target for advertisers, because of their relatively recent incorporation into the labour world. According to Samblás, advertisers pay more attention to age categories than to genders.

Kika Samblás states that there are still some brands that use stereotyped language, because there are still many housewives that do not work professionally. However, this trend is changing, and the brands that do not use stereotypes are the ones that are possibly going to succeed.

Summarizing, Kika points out three most important landmarks:

Turning to the global advertising solutions used in the past and integration with the specialized solutions used nowadays
Younger teams working in the agencies
Adaptation to the digital world

Source: Mujeres y Cia.
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Orange campaigns: created by women

2009-01-23T12:36:00.002+01:00

Everybody for free

For its latest campaigns Orange has chosen Comunica +A agency, which creative team is made up in majority by women.

Full credits
Agency: Comunica+A
Advertiser: Orange
Product: Oferta comercial
Brand: Orange
Sector: Telecomunicaciones
Consumer contacts: Marcos Martínez de la Escalera y Miguel López Hidalgo
Creative director: Paula Dicenta
Copy: Eva Pastor
General Account Director: Marta González
Account Director: Marta Plaza
Producer company: Ferragut
Piece: Spot TV 30

What’s curious, the only men in this work group is responsible for contacts with the client— a job that is usually done by women. Orange and Comunica +A switched a common division of roles.

This spot was launched in summer of 2008 and was filmed in Bolonia´s beaches (Cadiz) during three days. 400 extras, 20 models and a helicopter were needed. Spot’s music is a rock version of a popular song “Un elefante se balanceaba”.

Fusion

Full credits
Agency: Comunica + A
Advertiser: Orange
Product: Fusión de Orange
Client contacts: Marcos Martínez de la Escalera y Vanessa Barreiro
Creative Director: Paula Dicenta
Art: Antonio Díaz
Copy: Sonia Gómez
Copy: Fernando de Miguel
General Account Director: Cedric Bertin
Account Director: Enrique Rot
Producer company: Coolshot Films
Producer: Plácido Castaño
Postproduction: Infinia
Piece: Spot “Fusión” (40” y 30”)

This spot was filmed in Quisco and Laguna Verde beaches and in Intercomunal Park (Chile).

Here creative director and copy are both women, although in full credits appear some new names. This proves that women are not only able to create brilliant advertising campaigns, but they are considered good creatives as well.

I wonder now: do you notice any female influence watching these spots?
It’s difficult to prove if a man could have created a similar concept. However, it’s visible that this spots reinforces the idea of friendship and community and these ideas are usually valued higher by women than by men.

Fuente: MiraLoQueVeo, Anuncios.com
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Letter to a female creative

2009-01-22T13:19:00.004+01:00

............................................................................................................
Dear Miss Ford:
Your letter of recent date has been received in the Inking and Painting Department for reply.Women do not do any of the creative work in connection with preparing the cartoons for the screen, as that work is performed entirely by young men.

For this reason girls are not considered for the training school. The only work open to women consists of tracing the characters on clear celluloid sheets with India ink and filling in the tracing on the reverse side with point according to drections.

In order to apply for a position as “Inker” or “Painter” it is necessary that one appear at the Studio, bringing samples of pen and ink and water color work. It would not be advisable to come to Hollywood with the above specifically in view, as there are really very few openings in comparison with the number of girls who apply. Yours very truly,
...............................................................................................................................................................

This letter, sent by Disney in response to a job inquiry made by one woman who applied for a creative position, is dated 1938.

Fortunately, 21 years later, a letter like this one wouldn’t have a chance to be written. In 1959 in USA came to life a new law, stating that no candidate can be rejected because of his sex.

This letter approaches us the reality of those years, and makes us feel fortunate, considering legal advances and social awareness that we have developed since that time.

Source: Creative Skirts.
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Has household products´ advertising changed?

2009-01-22T09:13:00.010+01:00

Detergents, electrical appliances… over decades household products have filled advert space at TV, radio and newspapers.

According to Andalusia Audiovisual Council’s report, cleaning products´ advertisements represent 4,53% of the total of broadcasted adverts. The same report shows, that 79% of adverts reproduce both female and male stereotypes.

Argentinian Bussiness University´s Design and Comunication Institute´s report says that housewives are represented in cleaning products, hygiene, and beauty advertisements.

Does it mean that modern household products´ ads keep the same line as the past ones?

Not so long ago women were the only ones in charge of house works. Husband was bringing money home and woman was waiting for him at home with washed and ironed clothes and the dinner ready.

Adverts of detergents and electrical appliances were reflecting this status quo. Women were the target and advertisers talked to them directly. They had to use that specific detergent and washing machine if they wanted their men to be happy, and in order to be considered a good mother.

Nowadays in many houses the above family model is followed, although a modern woman is not longer a full-time house wife. The trend is that she dedicates herself to a professional work and mostly combines it with domestic tasks. The husband is often involved in some house works.

However, levels of this involvement are not equal and women continue spending more time doing these chores.

A recent report of Whirpool american fundation, based on more than 7000 women interviewed in France, German, Italy, UK and Spain says that half of incomings at 86% of surveyed women state that looking after family is their responsibility.
This may be the reason why household products´ ads keep on having women as their primary target. Although, there is an increasing number of brands that try to integrate men in their communication.

It is clear that housewife role model is changing, but has household products´ advertising change as well?

If we consider the target, we could say no: women are still the target. The only difference is that woman is no longer a simple housewife, but a businesswoman. Let’s see some examples:

COLON..................................................................ARIEL

Despite the time passing by, the detergent keeps on “empowering” women. In the first ad the woman is a mother that cares about her family. In the second one, the woman seems independent and powerful.

LAVADORAS BRU..................LAVADORAS WHIRPOOL

These washing machines adverts show two different types of women. The first print gives a great importance to the marriage ceremony and compares it with the moment of purchase. The second one presents a woman who knows caring about her best clothes.
We can notice some differences at Tv spots too:

WIPP EXPRESS

WIPP EXPRESS

ASPES

WHIRPOOL

There is no doubt that women are the target... always?
PUNTOMATIC

This campaign is an exception among hundreds of adverts which seem to be a copy of the ones broadcasted many years ago. I am referring to these ads in which mother struggles to clean her children’s clothes. Almost nothing has changed in these types of spots.

I wonder if advertising simply reproduces stereotypes and sexist patterns or is it a reflection of the reality…?
.

Barack Obama about women

2009-01-20T17:09:00.003+01:00

"We assume that women are the backbone of our families, but we often ignore the fact that women are the backbone of our middle class."

In these words the new president of the USA has referred to women during "Women for Obama" event, in July of 2008 in New York.

Historically in the USA there are more women voters than the men ones. Obama is aware of this fact and he decided to run for feminine votes. How? Surrounding himself with women: his wife Michelle, Hillary Clinton, Eva Longoria, Oprah Winfrey and his sister.

The strategy was aimed to indentify Barack with women's values. During different events "Women for Obama", women were directing their speeches and actions to women.

Obama's sister declared in Mexico that Obama is a "dedicated feminist." His family background has also been very useful for the strategy. His sister talked about how he brought her up and about how is he presently bringing up their two daughters.

Meanwhile, Michelle travelled around the country looking for women in strategic places: hairdressing salons, nurseries, art galleries, etc.

Oprah Winfrey expressed publically her support and the actress Eva Longoria encouraged women to vote for Obama by highlighting his acts of defense of women's rights, “including reproductive freedom”.

The union with Hillary Clinton was not accidental, as he was concious that many white women supported her on her way to the White House. During the event "Women for Obama" in New York, the two politicians aimed their speeches to women representing working class.

Obama´s call centres were very well organized and the women where the ones to call women.

The candidate also reserved a separate space for women in the Internet: at Women for Obama they can find everything about the candidate.

And the strategy has succeed: 56% of voting women has chosen Barack Obama.

The president elect has sorround himself with women: Hillary Clinton, Janet Napolitano, Susan Rice and Lisa Jackson will form a part of his government.

It´s an another step towards change.

Source: Antonio Gutierrez´s Blog, El Economista, Las noticias de México, BBC.

Women do not want perfect models in adverts

2009-01-19T17:00:00.005+01:00

A research carried out by Ben Barry, researcher at Cambridge University, shows that women do not feel identified with very slim, young and white models.

The research includes a sample of 2000 women from the UK, US, China, India, Canada, Brazil, Kenya and Jordan, shows a change in women’s attitude towards beauty.

Ben Barry proved that women consumers respond more favourably to brands whose models are of their age, size and background. People do want to see someone who represents them in all these three factors.

Apart from women under 25 years old and Chinese female consumers, most of surveyed persons feel positive towards models that bear a resemblance.

"The women want models who look like they were part of the fashion industry but who at the same time look like themselves. It makes them feel that they are being included in the industry and that they are considered beautiful”, says Barry.

Latest campaigns of some brands, as Dove or Nivea, used these concepts.

However, luxury brands use the image of a perfect woman in their advertisements.
Despite Barry’s conclusions, there are some experts who prefer to be cautious with the results.

Paddy Barwise, professor of marketing at London Business School, thinks that there is a big gap between what women say and what they do at point of sale.

Will Ben Barry’s conclusions be taken into consideration in the next campaigns?

Source: MarketingDirecto, The Guardian, WARC

Edesa gets along with housewives of 25-65 years old

2009-01-19T10:44:00.003+01:00

A report prepared by Milward Brown consulting reveals that Edesa´s last campaign, “Edesa Kitchen Dance”, increased brand visibility and reached the memory index of 64%.
Pop

And you, who are you? The campaign’s slogan reflects brands intentions: represent itself through music and dance, which is a way of personal expression. Four styles make up the campaign: pop, romantic, sport and metallic.

Romantic

Sport

Metallic

Each video targets specific kind of person and the brand wants to update the collections from time to time.

What decides that the campaign gets along with its target: women?

As we can see in the credits of the campaign (at the bottom of the text) the influence of feminine thinking in the creative process was very little, so it seems that Wonderland’s contributors put themselves mentally in housewives´ position.

House works are usually tedious and boring, and modern housewives rarely spend their entire time on cleaning and cooking. Maybe relating electrical appliances to an atmosphere of fun and relax is what made this spot connect with the new type of housewives?

Nowadays house is no longer just and only a space to live, but it’s a place where to have a good time. Edesa knew perfectly how to make the best profit of this aspect and how to present it in the campaign.

Edesa makes a step forward, and this way obliges other brands to approach women in a similar way- taking into consideration new ways of doing things.

An interesting report by Sarah Moore and Betsy Westhoff explains that the marketing which helps consumers understand how to enjoy brands at home is the one that will focus the attention.

However Edesa should rethink if its target public keep on being only women or could it be singles as well.
Full Credits

Advertiser: Fagor electrodomésticos
Product: relanzamiento Edesa
Agency: Wonderland
Creative Director: Santiago López
Art Director: Esteve Bou Nolla
Agency Producer: Gustavo González
Production company: Lee Films
Producer: Yago Carvajal
Piece: spots TV 20" y 10"
Title: "Romantic", "Metallic, "Sport", "Pop"

Source: MarketingNews, Anuncios.com.

Axe and its… sexist advertising?

2009-01-16T09:19:00.005+01:00

Is this spot sexist or does it really denigrate women?

Perchero

Full Credits
Agency: Vegaolmosponce
Advertiser: Unilever
Product: desodorante
Brand:
Sector: Perfumería, cosmética e higiene
Piece: Spot Tv 20"
Title: "Perchero"

Yes? No? In 2003 this campaign titled “Show them the way” was reported 153 times becoming the most reported campaign of the year.

Since several years brand , which belongs to Unilever, stands out for its controversial adverts.

The General Association of Consumers (ASGECO) made a formal complaint against this campaign as denigrating woman. In this case the association also reported the ridiculous and stereotyped role of men.

It’s not the first time when campaigns of are being reported. Throughout past years almost every ad campaign have been criticized and reported.

In 2004, according to Sexist Advertising Observatory, “Show them the way” campaign continued being reported (also that year it become the most reported campaign).

In 2007, Radio and Television Discrimination Observatory (read the report) chose the Spot “Church” the most representative example of use of the negative women stereotypes in spots.

Church

Full Credits
Brand:
Product: Jabón
Agency: Properú
Company: Unilever

According to the observatory, women’s desire to get married and lack of this will among men are two stereotypes shown in the spot that reassert the inequality between women and men and the devaluation of female features.

In India, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting banned the “Chocolate” because it was “indecent and vulgar”.

Chocolate

Full Credits
Brand:
Product: Desodorante
Agency: Lowe
Company: Unilever

Different women’s associations have reported Lynx (the variant of in those countries) campaigns launched in New Zeland and England. In these cases, the reason was ¨the usage of stereotypes that denigrate women¨.

However, not everything around is negative. In 2006 the brand won Gran Effie in Argentine for the creative effectiveness. It also got the gold award for the spot “Shower”.

Full Credits
Agency: Vegaolmosponce
Advertiser: Unilever
Product: Desodorante
Brand:
Sector: Perfumería, cosmética e higiene
Piece: Spot TV 20"

The following year, won the Big Award for integration at Cannes Festival for its “Choque” campaign.

Full Credits
Agency: Vegaolmosponce
Advertiser: Unilever
Product: Desodorante
Brand:
Sector: Perfumería, cosmética e higiene
Piece: Spot TV 20"
Title: "Choques"

The Graphics designers were the followings:

This campaign caused 10% of the brand consumption increase.

In 2007, Argentinean Planning Association held the Creative Approach Awards and won the Gran Prix.

Other campaigns of the brand were also highly controversial: Click, Metamorphosis, Academias o Bom Chicka Wah Wah.

The last news referring to the brand says that the famous Effect is real.

Real or not, it is obvious that managed to distinguish itself from the competition. For some people its manners are not very orthodox, others find spots funny.

In reality, what we might criticize, are the graphic ads of “Choque” only, because there indeed women are represented as a sexual object.

Apart from that, the rest of campaigns play the normal game of seduction between women and men, and this is why the product is attractive.

Both men and women, especially the youth, like to play ¨the cat and mouse¨ and shows this aspect from the point of view of its target: men. From this point of view, young men wish to have a good time with beautiful women. exaggerates this game to make it funny and eye-catching.

In fact, we don’t really think the campaigns depreciate women image. We believe that in many cases the men are the ones who are being denigrated.

Despite this, in our opinion, we should watch these campaigns as a parody of a seduction game and not as a sexist usage of the men and women image.

Source: MarketingNews, AdAge, ABC, Infobaeprofesional, Anuncios.com

Best and Worse spots showing actual women role Awards

2009-01-14T12:40:00.013+01:00

Last December, Peru hosted FemTv and SapoTv Awards. These awards prize the best and the worse spots aimed at women by FemTV- a group of associations in favour of women rights.

The Winner of FemTV 2008 was Visa:

Credits
Brand: Vea Visa Card
Product: Credit Car
Agency: Publicis
Company: Peruvian Supermarkets, Banco Internacional del Perú, S.A.A

The Winner of SapoTV 2008 was Saga Falabella:

Credits Brand: Saga Falabella
Product: Store
Agency: Circus
Company: Saga Falabella

Axe, Unique, Natura, Nivea or Brahma were some of the brands nominated for the awards.

Fem TV
All the spots nominated for Fem TV awards show an economically independent women who is a family lover but at the same time likes looking after herself.

Thus, what is the difference between the nominated spots and the winner?
Vea Visa Card represents a woman capable of combining work and family without giving up looking after herself. The role represented in the spot is the ideal of an actual woman although in real life it is not always easy to work and have fun with a family at same time.

Sapo TV
Although among Sapo Tv there were some Axe spots, FemTV Group chose Saga Falabella supermarket as a winner.

According to the spot directors, it captures woman as a hysterical consumer and a person that succumbs to sexuality. This makes spot embarrass not only women but men as well.

This year the awards prized by the jury have been the same as spots chosen by the audience. This fact makes us think that the winner spot has been fairly chosen… or not?

Click her to watch all the nominated spots.

Which spots should have won, in your opinion?

Source: La Primera newspaper

2009: European Year of Creativity and Innovation

2009-01-13T13:11:00.003+01:00

“Imagine. Create. Innovate.”

This is the slogan which European Union has chosen to promote this New Year: the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. (Can read the European Parliament resolution here).

According to Jan Figel, the Education Commissioner, there has never been better time for Europe to be flexible.

Imagine, create and innovate is what AdWomen wants to promote and we begin the year with the biggest energy ever! In this blog every day you will find the most interesting advertising works created by/for women and the most relevant studies related to women in advertising.

Your participation is more than welcome in AdWomen. Opinions, news, works… All these together will help us approach the female side of advertising.

Happy New Creativity Year with AdWomen

Source: European Union

She Says comes again with its Xmas Bash! (London, 19th of December)

2008-12-16T16:58:00.002+01:00

After a busy year, She Says invites its members, and anybody who want to join the club, for the Xmas party. The ¨sisters¨ want to celebrate a hectic year with a drink, some seasonal nibbles and a big pat on the back. Boys are allowed! ;)

Female leadership

2008-12-15T12:28:00.000+01:00

Farah Ramzan Golant is one of those women who leave no one indifferent. She was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and today she is the Executive Director of Abbott Mead Vickers in London, where she works for brands as Sainsbury's, General Electric, British Telecom, Mars y The Economist. She was awarded in Cannes in 2006 for the spot "Noitulove" made for the Guinness beer. If you want to know more about a woman that is in charge of one of the world’s most important advertising agencies, see the article published by The Independent.

The 5 most sexist advertisements of 2008

2008-12-15T12:24:00.001+01:00

Alex Leo is a columnist in a daily newspaper, The Huffington Post, and the editor of 236.com, (where she’s paid to behave as a kid). In this week publication she presents 5 most sexist ads of 2008. What’s curious, the brands represent strategic advertising sectors. Watching ads of this kind, I keep on asking myself: where is the common sense of the advertising agencies...?

Who has pushed the trigger?

2008-12-10T14:09:00.003+01:00

I´ll do my best to be down to earth and reasonable. Wode de Boudicca has launched a new perfume. The bottle is of the shape of the spray can, and in the moment of application it is first blue and then becomes transparent, as we can see in the spot. What worries me, is the graphic expression. Creatives, artists and fans of vanguard: I beg your pardon, but what I see here is a woman bleeding to death after being shot. A terrible connotation.

Woman as an object

2008-12-09T13:59:00.002+01:00

It seems absurd, but unfortunately it's real. Instead of feeling embarrassed when watching this photo, that illustrates Marc Jacobs brand, the protagonists of the campaign seem to be proud of participating in such an undertaking.

The author of this very creativity is the photographer Juergen Teller. The model is Victoria Beckham, who doesn't need a presentation. This primitive lack of delicacy caused an instant controversy in the advertising industry. But the polemic reached the boiling point when the protagonists have published their statements in The New York Times. The pictures speak by themselves.

The winner of The Golden Stiletto Awards 2008

2008-12-05T13:31:00.006+01:00

The Golden Stiletto Awards 2008 - the award for the best digital advertising campaigns created by the young female professionals from Great Britain.

Agency: Dare
Creative Director: Flo
Creative Team: Yasmin Quemard, Andy Amadeo and Simon Burnett
Account Director: Ash Amrite

Summary by the creative team: ¨This is a brand with a unique music heritage, but it's not necessarily the music player of choice. To reawaken the brand, it developed a new strapline: Music.Like.No.Other. A bold TV commercial was soon to follow. The client wanted an innovative online idea to sit alongside it.

The Sony Walkman project is all about online music collaboration. The sounds can be as diverse and dynamic as you like. You can be a performer, a creator, a co-creator… it's music the way you like it.

Opening up the process of making music to everyone was exciting and scary at the same time.¨

Web site: www.walkmanproject.com

* Information provided by She Says.

For mothers, by mothers and about mothers

2008-12-04T11:05:00.003+01:00

The advertainment is home for good. The brands Suave and Sprint have united their efforts and produce together the online series "In the Motherhood" where mothers are the main protagonists and much more.

Through the web page we can follow chapters, watch the making of, and all the details of the production. But there is much more to be seen: the mothers themselves are the ones to write the script, vote the best plots and participate in the shootings.

There is no product placement and the plot is not being influenced to seem as an advert. It’s a pure entertainment sponsored by two brands that bet on women as consumers and opinion leaders. Highly recommendable for those who search for an entertainment or a marketing tool.

Episode 1:

Golden Stiletto Awards 2008

2008-12-02T11:41:00.007+01:00

I had the pleasure of being invited to the celebration of the Golden Stiletto Awards, which recognizes the best digital advertising campaigns created by the young female professionals from Great Britain.

The event was celebrated on the 19th of November, in Canon Getty Images Gallery, in the London city centre, where the top females of British advertising industry, members of She Says community meet every month to share their experience and help people to either get started or work their way up. The meetings have a loyal public and every time more new participants.

This brilliant initiative has been brought to life by Laura Jordan Bambach, Head of Art in Glue London and Alessandra Lariu, Group Creative Director at McCann NYC. This time girls met to reveal who is the great winner of the golden stiletto shoe.

From the beginning the atmosphere was informal, lively and very feminine. In fact, the security staff on the gate and the waiter were the only men around. During the welcome cocktail and then throughout the entire gala hundred or so female voices, laughs and whispers reverberated in the ambiance. As there were mostly young creative women, the spirit of female creativity was in the air.

Jury members have described the level of participating works as very high. From the 28 campaigns competing the jury have chosen the top 5. While the finalists were presenting their campaigns, the public was reacting spontaneously.

The award winner, Yasmin Quemard from Dare Digital, showed her surprise and enthusiasm at the same time. As she said, she didn’t really expect to win, and was really happy that she managed to bring the Sony Walkman Project to life. As she remarked, it was a product of teamwork (creative team: Yasmin Quemard, Andy Amadeo and Simon Burnett).

It was really exciting to meet all these young creatives, to watch the fruits of their efforts and share their enthusiasm. Many of them were there, because they are convinced that it’s really worth to do what inspires you. And they find an inspiration in events like that. Well done sisters!

The judges:

Lee Wright- MD, Dare
Larissa Vince- Acting Deputy Editor, Campaign
Christine Turner- Creative Digital Head, Lowe London
Alessandra Lariu- Group Creative Director, McCann NYC
Laura Jordan Bambach- Head of Art, Glue London

More information.

20 yars of Dim Up

2008-11-28T11:08:00.002+01:00

It has been already 20 years since Dim revolutionised the entire market with its seamless stockings. To celebrate the anniversary the company has asked the French agency Publicis to prepare a commemorative campaign. For this purpose they created a separated web page that presents the history of stockings and its advertising throughout last decades.

Moreover Dim (that now belongs to DB Apparel) has published billboard and magazine advertisements. The company has celebrated its anniversary during the party that took place in Madrid, with a presence of celebrities and a catwalk show.

Woman in the Advertising Industry

2008-11-27T10:42:00.005+01:00

Some days ago I read a really interesting survey: "La mujer en el sector publicitario. Categorías, especializaciones y conflicto trabajo-familia en las agencias españolas" (¨Woman in the Advertising Industry. Categories, Specializations and Job-Home Conflict in Spanish Advertising Agencies¨), conducted by Grupo Investigador Comunicación y Sociedad del Conocimiento (The Communication and the Society of Knowledge Investigation Group) from the University of Alicante, under the supervision of Marta Martín Llaguno.

The survey was done in 2004 and 2005 with the participation of 36 biggest Spanish advertising agencies, members of Asociación Española de Agencias de Publicidad (The Spanish Advertising Agencies Association), that divide between themselves about 80% of Spanish advertising cake.

The survey was published by AEAP and it’s available in Spanish on their web page.

It’s fundamental for anyone who wants to understand the functioning of Spanish (and not only Spanish…) market.

The good ideas are always smart

2008-11-18T14:22:00.000+01:00

Lifting up the women’s skirt in the first shot is offensive and vulgar. But the Epuron spot, created by the agency Nordpol from Hamburg is a beautiful idea that justifies the scene and focuses the attention of spectators. Brilliant.

Agency: Nordpol (Hamburg - Germany)
Production: Paranoid Projects
Advertiser: Epuron/BMU

Natural born blogger

2008-11-17T12:17:00.001+01:00

Debbie Weil is a blogger and social assessor of some of the most significant world enterprises (many of them are listed in the Global 100 and Forbes 500). She gives speeches during conferences in different countries all over the world. She teaches the great companies how to develop their own blog, and make the best profit of this most democratic tool ever known in the history of communication.

Apart from her blog-oriented job, Debbie has got her own blog where she publishes very interesting information and a wide scope of marketing case studies. It’s really worth to visit: http://www.debbieweil.com.

Offenders & defenders

2008-11-12T12:21:00.001+01:00

About Face is an organization from San Francisco (California) that has got one goal: to defend women and teenagers from the advertising harassment. On their web page we may find a shortlist of offenders and defenders of women in advertisements. Through the means of the web we may participate in the activity of the organization as well.

It is very combative in its character and has gained this way a respect and authority among creatives and advertisers. To be included in the TOP 10 WOMEN OFFENDERS means troubles and is not very recommendable for any brand.

Here we go again!

2008-11-12T11:44:00.003+01:00

Can anybody tell me what is so appealing about this add that it deserved to be published? Christina Aguilera is wearing sexy nurse clothes in order to sell some trainers…? No main story, no text, no concept. Pure provocation without any sence of responsibility. The author agency of this masterpiece is Agenda Inc. with offices in San Francisco and Paris. The advert is from 2005.

From: Adpulp

Creative games or creation of new values?

2008-11-12T10:55:00.003+01:00

While searching for the fresh perspectives on a women’s role in advertising we have found this document:

It’s elaborated by the Ministry of Work and Welfare (the Spanish one) in the cooperation with the Secretary of Equality and Women’s Institute in Spain.

Even though it’s brief and too overloaded with graphics, it analyzes quite well the advertising profile when it comes to seducing consumers.

What it says, is that the health is nowadays a consumer’s good and thanks to great variety of ¨easy and instant-use¨ products one can face all kinds of situations.

What’s curious, this scheme works the same with men (with the exception of well known advertising protagonists: femme fatal, Lolita, woman-sexual gratis that comes with a product).

I think that this document should pass through advertising agencies so that we could rise the awareness, that what we do is not just a mere creative game but a problem that needs to be solved. It’s a high time to start looking for new values and new creative formulas. We have to create responsible habits and to avoid hurting people’s feelings.

It is really a great challenge for the advertising of this century.

Feminine creativity without limit

2008-11-11T12:54:00.005+01:00

Anyone can have fresh ideas! But one Irish girl made them come true. One day she just grabbed the camera and she has recorded herself dancing. After few time almost 3 millions of people have watched her dancing. From that moment on starts her amazing adventure with advertising, viral marketing, glamour and creativity:

Part One:

Part Two:

Seducing the boys club

2008-10-31T12:21:00.001+01:00

Do you want to be a woman at the top of advertising?

If the answer is yes, you have to read this book:

Source: www.seducingtheboysclub.com

Who dominate-Who is dominated

2008-10-30T11:51:00.006+01:00

There are two worlds of bottom smacking, the world of BDSM and the world of ketchup bottles. The company, Dressing for Pleasure, a specialist in fetishwear and all things S&M related, married these two worlds by putting stickers of enticing rear ends on the bottoms of ketchup bottles. Thus inviting bar patrons to explore a completely different appetite while addressing their hunger.

The chosen stickers are these:

I think this controversial advert discriminate against women. From my point of view, it is directed only to men, heterosexual or homosexual, in their role of the one who dominate, so women only is represented as the one who is dominated.

This discrimination is subtle because there is a man's backside (anyway, there wouldn't be equity), so someone can argue the opposite. But I think this is the role of women that is offered. Moreover the only one who hits is a man's hand.

By the way, I haven't been able to find out the names of the creative team, because they aren't in the technical data. The campaign is made by JWT agency.

Source: Ads of the world

Men's things

2008-10-29T12:18:00.008+01:00

Some months ago, I was in a grocery store in Edinburgh and one female friend said to me: "Look to that packaging". They were some chocolate bars that she usually bought and the text said 'It's not for girls'.

That diferenciation by the gender atractted my attention and I asked by myself why they had chosen that communication estrategy. Today I have decided to research. Yorkie, the brand, belongs to Nestlé and they explain the campaign like this:

YORKIE - 'IT'S NOT FOR GIRLS'

In 2001 the Yorkie "It’s Not for Girls" campaign was launched because, in today’s society, there aren’t many things that a man can look at and say that’s for him.

The 'Not For Girls' campaign theme for Yorkie uses humour, which resonates with today’s British male and simply states that Yorkie is positioning itself as a chocolate bar for men who need a satisfying hunger buster. With five solid chunks of chocolate, it’s a man sized eat!

Although I haven't try that brand, I feel that I'm also the target of chocolatine bars. Although, personally, I'm faithful to Snickers chocolatine bars, which communication I think it isn't directed either to me.

I don't ask for the chocolatine bars communication direct for me or for the rest of girls, because I think they wouldn't get either right with that diferenciation... Anyway, targets (or no-targets) do what they want.

Source: Nestlé UK

Your saliva is also important!

2008-10-28T10:26:00.004+01:00

To carry on with the 'revolutionary' topics that I started yesterday, I let you one campaign that I have seen in the last days and I like it. That is the campaign of Saatchi & Saatchi Southeast Asia Regional from Bangkok, Thailand, to Amnesty International. Two female art directors, Brandy Vu and Linda Pham, have participated in it.

I like that they have used the colour to encourage to the public to collaborate through sending their letters. Instead of mentioning the culpability, and make the spectactor feel attacked, or intead of showing shocking or negative images, here they show in a kindly way that you can help much only putting a stamp and sending a letter, and that is something that doesn't require any effort. I think is a very right campaign and it uses a very interesting tone to this kind of campaigns.

Creative team

Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Southeast Asia Regional/Bangkok, Thailand
Executive Creative Directors: Steve Hough, Andy Greenaway
Creative Directors: Sumesh Peringeth, Joel Clement
Art Directors: Sumesh Peringeth, Brandy Vu, Linda Pham
Copywriters: Steve Hough, Joel Clement
Illustrator: Tran Thanh Truc
Photographer: Pier Laurenza, Teo Studio
Published: 15 March 2008

Source: Ads of the world

A sexist or revolutionary ass?

2008-10-27T10:59:00.009+01:00

This is the advert to relaunch, surprisingly, 'L'Unità', the historic Italian newspaper founded in 1924 by the Marxist philosopher and theoretical Antonio Gramsci. This newspaper was the official organ of the Italian Comunist Party (PCI).

Copy: new, free, mini, beautiful, strong, independent, couragerous, surprisingly, revolutionary, intelligent, generous, essential, indomitable.

The campaign has been created by the controversial Oliviero Toscani to illustrate the transformation process of 'L'Unità', Italian left-wing symbol newspaper, which has reduced its format (it will be tabloid) and it will have a new design.

Always that female body is used gratuitously to sell a product, that advert is considered sexist. However, Concita de Gregorio, first woman to be at the top of the newspaper in its 84 years of history, doesn't feel that this advert was sexist.

Concita de Gregorio

According to her: "I don't think it's right to use a woman image to sell, for example, cars. But in this case, I think it's perfect. Since two months, this newspaper is controlled by the body and the head of a woman, me, so in this case I think is pertinent to use a woman's image."

Toscani also rejects the acussations of sexism. "The miniskirt was revolutionary and, as the format of 'L'Unità' was going to be reducted, I thought that this image combines very well these two concepts".

"The photo is like her (Concita de Gregorio): solid, present... It isn't the image of a woman in seduction position, but it's the image of ordering", he said.

At the moment, the controversy is there and there are views to suit all tastes. What do you think?

Source: El Mundo

3iying, only women in advertising!

2008-10-24T10:47:00.001+02:00

Finally advertising is starting to realize the power of women. An example is 3iying, an all-girl advertising agency and specialized in marketing for girls.

3iying, pronounced “three-eye-ying”, was set up in New York by the versatile Heidi Dangelmaier. Heidi has a broad experience as an expert in the female market. Among her merits, she led Sega’s first initiatives to make videogames for girls and she has worked for clients as Barbie and Metlife focused in the female audience.

3iying emerged with the idea of contributing to end with “the gap between what girls want and what the marketing community is giving them”. Their communication talks to girls ranging in age from 15 to 25.

Their web: http://www.3iying.com/

Copys for female teens

2008-10-23T09:53:00.003+02:00

The Indonesian agency Lowe Jakarta has used copys full of lyricism in its campaign for Rexona, some copys with a sensibility not very common in the texts of men-targeted deodorants.

They aren't only focused on the other sex, but also they talk about friendship, as one of their worries. This is the vision that a completely women's creative team, except for his Executive Creative Director, has offered about female teen's motivations.

I would like to enhance some values showed in this campaign, created in the biggest Muslim nation of the world. They could perfectly work in places as France, Australia or The United States. Many times we think the West and the East are very different, but, as we see, the common people's motivations can be more similar that we usually think.

"32,
33,
34,
35!
Those are the amount of Annie’s freckles whom I’ve just met. A strange coincidence indeed… those are also the amount of her ex-boyfriends.
Dare to be closer. Rexona Teens."

"I have never seen eyes as beautiful as his. I noticed his pupils enlarging, the moment I held out my hand. I know now, that he likes me too.
Dare to be closer. Rexona Teens."

"I'm Malicca. She said. Her ear resembles a question mark. Somehow I knew that she will be a good friend and help me find the answers in my life.
Dare to be closer. Rexona Teens."

Creative team
Advertising Agency: Lowe Jakarta, Indonesia
Executive Creative Director: Din Sumedi
Creative Director: Hanny Shinta
Art Director: Stephani Pribangun
Copywriter: Wury Handayani
Photographer: Mike Ting
Retoucher: Abun
Agency Producer: Haning Mila
Published: August 2008

Source: Ads of the world

Gold for borning female in India

2008-10-22T10:59:00.007+02:00

I have read one copy that gave me goosebumps. This ad has been Gold Lion in the press segment at Cannes International Advertising Festival in 2008. The advert tries to make aware against female foeticide in India. The campaign was realized by the Indian Contract Advertising Pvt. Ltd. agency for the non-government organization Aadhar, which fights against this curse.

The strength of the ad is in its forceful, clear, direct, overwhelming copy. Also, it is shocking because this is something more than advertising. For the poor families of India to have a daughter becomes a serious problem, due to the dowry that the woman is used to pay to her husband. In the second country with more population of the world, the abortion is legal since 1971. However, knowing the sex of the baby before being born is banned to prevent the frequent selective aborts.

The ad starts with the copy “How to carry on the family name”. Then, it describes how to abort step by step. The final step is: “After three months, try again for a boy”.

In opinion of the Press Lions jury president, Craig Davis: “It’s wonderful that good work is coming out of places that were earlier not performing so well at Cannes. India is one of them. An entry like Aadhar ‘anti-female foeticide’ has beautiful copy”.

From here, our congratulations to India and specially to the female copywriter Anshumani Khanna. We hope, more than never, that this copy will be not only powerful, but also effective.

Creative team
Type of Entry: Newspaper
Category: Public Awareness Messages
Title: FAMILY NAME
Advertiser/Client: AADHAR
Product/Service: ANTI FEMALE FOETICIDE
Entrant Company, City: CONTRACT INDIA, Mumbai
Country: INDIA
Advertising Agency, City: CONTRACT INDIA, Mumbai
Country: INDIA
Executive Creative Director: Ravi Deshpande
Creative Director: Raghu Bhat/Manish Bhatt
Copywriter: Anshumani Khanna
Art Director: Manan Mistry/Vimal Singh
Typographer: Manan Mistry

Source: www.funonthenet.in
Source: http://theinspirationroom.com
Source: Desire creative

4 women, 32 men, the Golden Drum jury

2008-10-21T09:29:00.003+02:00

Yesterday, I wrote about the female presence in the Grand Prix of Golden Drum Advertising Festival. Today, I'm going to talk about the female presence in the jury of this Festival. The data are also negative for women. Of the 36 members of the jury, only 4 were women. As a small acknowledge to the girls that got 'slip in' this, for the moment, 'boy's club', here are their names.

In TV, Press, Outdoor and Radio Jury, 9 men, 1 woman:

Suna Tancig

Co-founder and Creative Director, Original, Slovenia

In Ad Campaigns Jury, 6 men, 0 women.

In Interacive Jury, 3 men, 0 women.

In Media Drum Jury, 4 men, 2 women:

Anna Lubowska

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mediaedge:cia CEE, Poland

Susanne Koll

CEE Regional Director, Omnicom Media Group, UK

In TV & Film Promo Jury, 3 men, 1 woman:

Miša Molk

Executive Project Manager, TV Slovenia, Slovenia

In Design & Art Direction and Portoroz Piran Poster Jury, 4 men, 0 women.

In Open Ad Golden Drum Ideas Jury, 3 men, 0 women.

Source: Golden Drum

Girls don't play the drum

2008-10-20T10:49:00.003+02:00

The Saatchi & Saatchi Bucharest's campaign for Proctect & Gamble has been Grand Prix in Press category in the Golden Drum Awards, recently celebrated in Slovenia.

I have chosen this campaign because it's one Grand Prix that has a woman creative among its creative team. This year, there hasn't been almost female presence in the Grand Prix of this festival and in this campaign there is only one, the art director Daniela Nedelschi.

We hope this situation will change soon.

1961 Man, Woman and Boy

Year/ID: 2008 / B07008
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Bucharest
Awards: Shortlist
Golden Drum Grand Prix

Registrant: SAATCHI & SAATCHI ROMANIA
Advertising agency:Saatchi & Saatchi Bucharest
Advertiser: Procter & Gamble
Creative director: Nick Hine
Art Director: Daniela Nedelschi, Jorg Riommi, Arturo Vittorioso
Copywriter: Jorg Riommi, Arturo Vittorioso
Photographer/Illustrator: Carioca

Source: Golden Drum

Eider Suso

2008-10-17T10:57:00.004+02:00

I encourage to you to see Eider Suso's work. She is an art director and an illustrator, who has received many awards and has beautiful works.

Eider has worked in Ogilvy & Mather NY, Euro RSCG NY, Villar Rosas in Barcelona and Lowe New York among others. Now she is working as a freelance among Barcelona, Brooklyn and Shanghai.

As some pictures are worth a thousand words, I let you some of her works:

Advertising:

Illustration:

One of the maps of her world

Cover for Wine magazine, NYC September 2007

30th bday invite

Information booklet for an NGO in Wukro

Invitation for the Halloween party at Lowe

Eider Suso's website: www.eidersuso.com

Censure for A Nymphomaniac Diary

2008-10-16T10:37:00.006+02:00

The poster of the Spanish 'Diario de una ninfómana' ('A Nymphomaniac Diary') film has been censured in Madrid and in Cadena Cope radio channel.

The poster wasn't accepted by the dealer company of advertising for public transport interchanges and shelters of Madrid.

On the other hand, Cadena Cope radio channel said that “the campaign is of doubtful legality and gratuitously provocative”, according to the explanation of the film's director, Christian Molina, and they added that the film “wasn't for their target, reason why they refused to show it”.

Some people offered to Molina to change the poster, but he refused: “I sent one cut, another one in blank, because this is unjust, illogical and unreal. It seems to me of Dictator Franco's times, retrograde and subhuman: I thought that there was freedom of expression in this country”.

The French Valèrie Tasso, author of the homonymous and autobiographical book, added “If the film had been called “An assassin diary” wouldn't have been any problem”. She added, “I'm shocked because in 2008, in Spain, 'censors' like these exist ”.

Trailer of the film:

The director of the film, Christian Molina, remembered that the trailer of the film has the official certificate of the Ministry of Culture only for older than 13 years. “However, if we went to different kiosks of the Community of Madrid, we can see how the children have access to pornographic material”.

Personally, I'm surprised because they have censured a poster like this when there are thousand examples of same or more provocative posters. And in this case the poster only reflects the history of the film. What is what bothers so much to them?

Web of the film: : http://diarioninfomana.com/

Sources: Iberarte y 20 minutos

By the way, it remembers to me the poster of Whore (Yo, puta) film of 2004...

Lady, choose your Perfect Man!

2008-10-15T18:39:00.008+02:00

NZ Website for Ladies Redefines the Perfect Man.
Hint: He Fairly Vibrates With Energy.

New Zealand's Flossie.com, a new network of female-focused websites, and agency TBWA/Whybin created a "Man Vending Machine" to drum up some publicity.

Installed on a busy street, the "machine" allowed passersby the chance to pick their ideal mate from a range of types and, with a push of a button, make a live, single male appear. Pushing the button for "Perfect Man," however, yielded something not so live -- and quite cylindrical and battery-powered.

Posted by Matthew Creamer on 10.14.08 @ 04:56 PM

See for yourself here:

Source: Advertising Age

Men also can

2008-10-15T18:07:00.006+02:00

The Ministry of Equality has given the “Crea Igualdad” ("Create Equality") Award to the advertising campaign 'Ellos también pueden' ('Men also can') for the laundry detergent Puntomatic. Shackleton agency executes the spot. It has received the prize because of its explicit call to the egalitarian distribution of tasks at home.

Source: AmecoPress Information for Equality

On how marketing and advertising affect equality between women and men

2008-10-15T17:56:00.009+02:00

The Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality of the European Union present the report On how marketing and advertising affect equality between women and men (2008/2038(INI) on 29-5-2008. This report shows the role that advertising plays consolidating and feeding sexist stereotypes and negative effects on the Equality.

Source: On how marketing and advertising affect equality between women and men (2008/2038(INI))

She says

2008-10-15T17:41:00.004+02:00

They wondered the same question than many of us, the women creative: "Why are there hardly any females in the creative department of most digital ad agencies?"
But, instead of folding their arms, they decided to do something. They created 'She says' and now they organize events where the most famous women of advertising industry share their ideas and help the new generation of women creative to renew the current panorama.

The events of She Says are “funny, free and are designed to help you to begin your creative career in digital advertising”.

Have a look: www.shesays.org.uk

You mean a woman can open it?

2008-10-15T17:26:00.002+02:00

1953

The book "You Mean A Woman Can Open It?: The Woman’s Place In The Classic Age Of Advertising" talks about how advertising showed women in its beginnings.

Discovering how advertising showed women not too many years ago scares. And probably that was an extended image and it was seen as "normal". That shows an idea of how some of the current sexist ads will be perceived in the future.

1921

The 30s

1946

1952

1953

1961

1970

Source: Daily Mail

The Minister of Equality against sexist advertising

2008-10-15T16:11:00.005+02:00

In a commercial break of the Ministry of Economy and Treasury of the Government of Spain, a female psychologist recommends to a male patient to leave his work and forgets his wife because “she absorbs all their positive energy ”.

The masculine voice answers: “To leave my Puri? But are you crazy? If my Puri is the greatest! It´s clear that you haven't try my Puri's croquettes! ” Then, one third voice adds the slogan of the campaign: “If your life is as you choose, wouldn't your investment have to be the same? Buy Treasury Bills”.

On 29 of September, María Jesús Sainz, Popular Party senator and second vice-president of the Commission of Equality in the Senate, accused to the Government to make “sexist” publicity in this campaign for radio.

The minister of Equality, Bibiana Aído, declared that she would execute “the necessary steps to retire immediately the “spot” ”.

Source: http://www.facua.org/es/noticia.php?Id=3481&IdAmbito=22

The sex of the brain

2008-10-15T13:36:00.004+02:00

The interview of Eduard Punset to Louann Brizendine, neurobiologist and author of "The female brain", was very interesting. She talked about the differences between the brains of men and women.

She explained, for example, that boys and girls tend to play in a different way, independently of the culture where they live or of the education they receive. Boys normally play abrupt games and fight, while girls play fantasy games and they assign roles. So although you try to educate them with toys without sex marks, that tendency usually prevails.

Media saturate us with images that urge women to be attractive, but these circuits to express sexuality are natural in the feminine brain, especially before the ovulation. Everywhere, young girls do what they consider adequate inside its culture to attract to the opposite sex.

This open a huge discussion about the differences between men and women. If we apply that to advertising, we raise: If men and women have different brains, do they create different?

This is very useful for creatives. If we knew better how women and men think and which are their motivations, we would know better how to talk to them.

Read the complete interview: http://www.eduardpunset.es/charlascon_detalle.php?id=25

Louann Brizendine's web: http://www.louannbrizendine.com/

Anti-advertising

2008-10-15T13:26:00.005+02:00

"Garanta que el cabello sea la segunda cosa que el va a reparar en usted"

This copy in Portuguese for Pantene shampoo means "Make sure your hair is the second thing that he is going to notice in you".

It's incredible that they try to sell something to women with this message!

Advertising Agency: MatosGrey, São Paulo, Brazil
Creative Directors: Silvio Matos, Leandro Castilho
Art Director: Guy Costa
Copywriter: Silvio Matos
Photographer: Marlos Bakker
Published: April 2008

Women triumph in the Alternative Nobel

2008-10-15T13:11:00.004+02:00

2008 Right Livelihood Awards honour champions of independent journalism, peace-building and social justice. These are the winners:

Amy Goodman (USA), founder and award-winning host of Democracy Now!, a daily grassroots, global tv/radio news hour, is honoured "for developing an innovative model of truly independent political journalism that brings to millions of people the alternative voices that are often excluded by the mainstream media."

Monika Hauser (Germany), gynaecologist and founder of medica mondiale, receives an Award "for her tireless commitment to working with women who have experienced the most horrific sexualised violence in some of the most dangerous countries in the world, and campaigning for them to receive social recognition and compensation."

Asha Hagi (Somalia). The Jury honours Asha Hagi "for continuing to lead at great personal risk the female participation in the peace and reconciliation process in her war-ravaged country."

Krishnammal and Sankaralingam Jagannathan, and their organisation LAFTI (Land for the Tillers' Freedom) (India), who receive an Award "for two long lifetimes of work dedicated to realising in practice the Gandhian vision of social justice and sustainable human development, for which they have been referred to as 'India's soul'."

Web de Right Livelihood Award: http://www.rightlivelihood.org/

Colleen De Courcy, only for Adidas

2008-10-15T12:58:00.003+02:00

TBWA has created Riot, a digital agency to take care of Adidas exclusively. Colleen De Courcy, the global digital creative director of TBWA, will move from New York to Amsterdam to be in charge of Adidas. This year she was Cyber Lions President.

The network has created Riot, a special digital agency for the global digital communication of the sport brand. From Holland, it will try to get the best digital talent of TBWA in the world. Chris Mendola, founder of 180 Amsterdam, will share the leadership of the agency with De Courcy. This network, also pertaining to Omnicom, will supply talent to Riot, among others.

Source: Adlatina

http://www.adlatina.com/notas/noticia.php?id_noticia=29287

To be a leader... and a woman

2008-10-15T12:13:00.005+02:00

Analía Remedi, CEO of Hewlett-Packard for Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, analyzed the feminine leadership in the event of Human Resources, Human Capital Forum 2008, celebrated in Argentina. “Reading newspaper headlines, I was surprised by seeing in reiterated opportunities 'A woman at the top of…' - she reflected- How is this? A woman who leads a company is something to write as news, but not when the leader is a man?”.

Remedi doesn't think that there is a “feminine leadership”, but she differentiated innate characteristics from each gender. According to her, women are “intuitive, owners of a developed emotional intelligence, capable to be related more in an horizontal than in a vertical way, good in communication, productive, with capacity to assume many tasks simultaneously, enthusiastic and grateful for what they do”.

Also she indicated some aspects she considers we have to take care when women occupy management positions. In particular, she talked about the risks generated when emotivity interfires in the decision making, besides their “intransferable” social role.

Remedi advised to companies that looked for “a well-balanced center” and supported diversity. She considers that “a diverse work team can analyze companies and market problems with more accuracy and dynamic”.

In addition, she proposed the implementation of life balance programs. She mentioned some of the examples put in practice in HP. They are related to the work based on objectives. They let more flexible schedules: tele or homeworking, part-time on Fridays, and 10 days paternity licenses, among others.

Source: Adlatina

http://www.adlatina.com/notas/noticia.php?id_noticia=29256

The creativity is contagious

2008-10-15T11:39:00.007+02:00

The book 'La creatividad es contagiosa' ('The creativity is contagious') by Hilda Cañeque, talks about how to apply creativity to work. The main target are directors, businessmen and businesswomen, but also it's very useful for account executives, planners and creatives

In this book, the author defines the creative process and the fundamental rules to promote it. To love yourself and to practice continuosly have a decisive role. Then, she considers the attitudes and personnal and organizational mechanisms in order to produce innovation and change. Later, she develops some essential creative competences, above all for this uncertainty time.

Hilda Cañeque has played a great role because of her contribution in creativity, game and leadership fields. She is lecturer, director and coordinator of workshops and business consultant. Also, she has written another five books about topics of her speciality.

La creatividad es contagiosa. Alta creatividad. Guía teórico-práctica para producir la innovación y el cambio - Hilda Cañeque - Buenos Aires: Pearson, 2008 (278 pages with examples and bibliography).

Source: Adlatina

http://www.adlatina.com/notas/noticia.php?id_noticia=29270

Página web de la autora: Hilda Cañeque

Health only for women

2008-10-15T11:27:00.002+02:00

In the United States, CARE Media introduces Women’s HealthCARE Television Network, specialized in women's health. Women’s HealthCARE TV will cover topics such as urinary disorders, mammograms, heart disease, infertility, pregnancy issues by trimester, and sexually transmitted diseases such as HPV.

Women’s HealthCARE TV will be broadcast via broadband across 32” flat-screen, high-definition monitors in OB/GYN offices across the entire United States.

American Advertisers will be offered both segment adjacency and category exclusivity

Roll-out begins October 1, 2008 in 100 beta sites. Throughout the remainder of 2008, subscribing offices will receive installation with the expectation of 1,000 offices enlisted by January 1, 2009. Expansion will continue throughout 2009 with growth expectations reaching 2,500 offices by the end of Q4 2009.

60 women, 60 lives

2008-10-15T11:03:00.004+02:00

Antena.Nova, Spanish Antena 3's DTT channel, started showing the docu-series 'Sólo ellas' ('Only women') the last 22 of September. They are produced by Coeficiente and they will be broadcast from Monday to Sunday

This new space presents sixty women very different to each other. They will talk about sixty lives, about sixty views of their labour situation, about men, about sex, about friendship, about feminine clichés, in a word, about what supposes to be a woman on 21st Century

I think it can contribute an interesting view about "real women". We usually complain because they haven't presence in media. This program can be very useful to discover the true worries of today's Spanish woman. We will pay attention!

Source: El Publicista

Source: Formula TV

http://www.elpublicista.es/frontend/elpublicista/noticia.php?id_noticia=4363#
http://www.formulatv.com/1,20080921,8864,1.html

Against online sexual explotation

2008-10-15T10:25:00.005+02:00

The New Yorker agency Merkley + Partners has created a new campaign for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The campaign target are the girls between 12 and 14 years old. It consists of two TV spots, a graphical campaign and a commercial break in radio. The work lets girls know that what they post online is not as private as they think.

The creative team is led by Jean Batthany, as the Creative Group Head, and its formed by two female copywriters of the four that there are and by a female art director of the two there are.

Executive Creative Directors: Andy Hirsch & Randy Saitta
Creative Group Head: Jean Batthany
Director: Sam Jones
Producer: Chris Decker
Copywriters: Joe Esposito, Heather English, Beth Wetzel & John Caravello
Art Director: Danny Nathan, Becky Kerrs
Photographer: Christian Whitkin
Account Director: Jennifer Getschmann
Account Executive: Rebecca Zemon
Brand Strategy Director: Stacey Lesser

See the entire campaign: http://www.adcouncilcreative.org/awardwinners.asp?awardwinner=3

Only two women in Hispanic Awards

2008-10-15T10:00:00.005+02:00

In this last edition of 2008, of the twelve members of the Hispanic Creative Advertising Awards jury, only two were women: Patricia Romero, National manager-multicultural marketing of Hyundai Motor America, and Ariana Storlaz, Associate digital planning director-direct and digital marketing of Vidal Partnership.

Patricia Romero and Ariana Storlaz.

The tenth edition of the Hispanic Creative Advertising Awards was celebrated in Los Angeles on 12 of September. It is organized by the sector magazine Advertising Age in cooperation with the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies. These prizes are a great showcase for the Hispanic talent and they ackonwledge the best creative works directed at Hispanic public.

Source: Advertising Age

http://adage.com/hispanicawards08/

Beauty is a women's thing?

2008-10-15T09:37:00.007+02:00

The creative team of this spot of Nivea is a faithful reflex of what is happening in advertising sector.

There are more and more feminine names in creative positions, as it's the case of this spot of Nivea, made by a female copywriter and a female art director. The advertisers and the agencies are beginning to value that the people that is going to talk to women were other women, in order to get a communication that connects more with them.

However, it's curious that the one that makes the final decision, the three creative executive directors, continue being men, which means that the last filter goes through their glance.

Changes happen slowly.

Agency: TBWA\Spain
Advertiser: Nivea
Product: Anti-wrinkle cream
Brand: Nivea
Sector: Perfumery, cosmetic and hygiene
Creative executive directors: Juan Sánchez, Guillermo Ginés and Sergio Cuervo
Copywriter: Miriam García
Art director: Pilar Morán
Piece: Spot TV 30"
Title: “Give more”

Source: Anuncios

http://www.anuncios.com/VerPiezas/nacional/nuevos-anuncios/1028297011901/nivea.1.html

The 'sisters' come into 'brothers' land

2008-10-15T09:17:00.006+02:00

Some of the 'sisters' from Brothers & Sisters London agency have been the ones in charge of the creativity of this spot for Sky Television. They announce the emission of the U.S. Open and the wrestling program Unforgiven with an humoristic gag.

The British agency has let in the hands of its feminine team the announcement of programs which target is traditionally associated to men. According to its words, Brothers & Sisters are a “creative agency made up of brothers and systers who love to work together.” I like its philosophy.

Agency: Brothers and sisters Londres
Advertiser: Sky Television
Product: Televisión por satélite
Brand: Sky Television
Sector: Telecomunicaciones
Creative: Lisa Jeliffe y Kirsten Rutherford
Producer company: Brothers and Sisters London
Director: Mark Harris
Producer: Pat Stimpson
Director of photography: Allan Stewart
Postproduction: MPC
Piece: Spot TV 30"
Title: 'Europe United'

Web: Brothers & Sisters London

Wonderbra, charge with Dita Von Teese!

2008-10-14T19:13:00.003+02:00

Wonderbra wants to carry on giving something to talk with its new marketing viral campaign “The science of sexy”. The burlesque star Dita Von Teese is the main character of this video, which presents a new underclothes line with retro style, designed by herself. This collection will be on sale on 23 of September in all Europe.

In the video, Von Teese interprets a scientist who discovers the gene of sensuality. After this, she will become into a spectacular singer, who will attract to all the men of her laboratory.

To resort to sexual attraction to sell a bra that enhance breast is, at least, coherent, although I think that true target of Wonderbra is not going to feel precisely identified with Von Teese. It's one of those virals that likes more to men than to women.

If it is for women, it has to be pink

2008-10-13T10:57:00.004+02:00

That must think the majority of creative when they have to direct at women. The latest is the new launching of Coca-Cola: Tab Fabulous, a new drink, low in calories and in a pink bottle, to attract the feminine public.

The new drink of Coca-Cola has 3 kilocalories by each 100 milliliters, contains taurine and a high caffein content. Tab Fabulous will be exclusively distributed in the night channel, in a crystal bottle of pink colour of 200 milliliters, designed especially for this launching.

It seems to me that communication falls constantly in the cliché when it has to talk to women. As a woman, I don't feel attracted because one drink was pink and I'm tired of the “low in calories” only for female public.

Maybe the product was successful, after all pink acts as an identifying factor, but which I raise is if communication will be able to go beyond the “pink factor” to go to women.

Personally, in a drink, which I like is the flavor and, if it is an energetic drink, as it's the case, I hope that it had effects to "revitalize". If it is pink, at the most, it looks peculiar to me. Doesn't it to a man?

Spain will be the first European country to launch the drink. It has been commercialized in the United States and in Canada. There will be different parties to support the launching. This product has been successful in another countries, so only time will say if the resource to the "pink products" carries on effective to go to women.

See more: http://www.tabfabulous.es/

Esther Lee will not finish the year in Euro RSCG

2008-10-13T10:37:00.003+02:00

Esther Lee will leave the agency belonging to Havas Group before the beginning of 2009, after a year as a CEO and global president of brands in the New York office. Neither Euro RSCG nor Lee have made declarations on the matter. It hasn't been spreaded if it is going to be a replacement.

Before arriving at Euro RSCG, Lee had worked in Coca-Cola as a global creative director during five years. Also, she worked in JWT and Deutsch, and she had her own agency, DiNoto Lee.

Here I am

2008-10-13T09:12:00.003+02:00

I like the way Nike Women has used to direct to young sportwomen with its campaign “Here I am”.

The latest has been the launching of five animation videos created by Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam. These videos tell the life of five women who overcame different difficulties to arrive at the top of the sport. They are: the tennis player Maria Sharapova, the jumper Simona the Mantia, the triathlete Nicola Spirig, the athlete Nicola Sanders and the judoka Delphine Delsalle.

The great success of the campaign is to take one of the most important elements of the sport spirit, the overcoming, to the feminine land. Nike counts histories of five women who faced problems which they, as sportwomen, had throughout their career.

The five videos use different styles for the animation and they are part of Nike Women's multimedia campaign for Europe. In addition, the campaign includes exhibitions in Nike's shops, online advertising and graphics.

They can be seen in the new Nike Women's Web: www.nike.com/nikewomen, as well as in social networks, plasma screens of gymnasiums and students clubs of Europe. According to The Guardian, it's possible that they are going to be used in television campaign.

Women don't feel understood by companies

2008-10-10T14:08:00.006+02:00

In Spain, 90% of women consider that companies don't communicate with them in an efficient way and 85% of them points out that many companies don't bear them in mind as a target, because they only talk to men. These are some of the conclusions of the research “Empresa, Mujeres y Comunicación” ("Bussiness, Women and Communication"), made by Actitud de Comunicación between women from 29 to 49 years old, middle class, workers and that live with another people.

90% of the women asked says that they don't feel identified at all with the messages that companies transmit, because they consider that these messages are based only in things as cleaning, family, house and esthetic, and 85% of them point out as values which they feel identified with, intelligent, independence, capacity to decide and proffesional aspects.

Also, there is a high percentage of women (85%) that demand to the sectors focused only on men that also communicate with them. They mention as the more frequent automotive, financial products, insurances, computers and products related to leisure time, sports and travels.

The objective of the research is analyze woman's perception of the communication that is directed to her. Women take a lot of purchase decisions and companies starts to be worried about the way they are directing to them.

Because of the results of the research, I think it is going to be necessary overcome the old stereotypes about women, think about their current aspirations and include in the communication new values in agreement with the role that is playing woman in the society right now.

Against the sexist advertising

2008-10-10T13:47:00.003+02:00

AGAINST SEXIST ADVERTISING. The 14th of September was "The Woman's Image International Day", as a symbol of rejection and repulsion, mainly, to the sexist advertising.

The sexist advertising reproduces gender roles and stereotypes that insist in showing women as housewives and as mothers as their only function, at the same time that sells a female image as sexual object.

The fact that one international day has been dedicated to this topic is one more sign of the increasing concern about the way women are represented in communication.

The male universe of beer

2008-10-10T13:07:00.007+02:00

The Australian agency Clemenger BBDO has entrusted its female creative team with the advertising campaign of one product as traditionally masculine as beer.

As any spot of this kind of product aren't missing spectacular blondes, the idyllic environments and the typical drinker.

A different view of the product, that shows that we, the girls, don't only understand the male universe, but also we can give a new dimension to this universe.

Team: Emma Hill/ Cameron Hoelter
Agency: Clemenger BBDO

The Body Shop against domestic violence

2008-10-10T12:25:00.010+02:00

The Body Shop has created a “For me, for you” Special Edition Shea Lip Care Duo as part of its campaign to fight against domestic violence.

They are two labial Stick that are bought together. The idea is that one is for the consumer and the other one is for giving to her better friend.

With the purchase of this product, the consumer helps to the fight against domestic violence, because all the proceeds from the sale will go directly to the Commission for the Investigation of the Bad Treatments to Women.

A recent study ordered by The Body Shop in eleven countries revealed that 59% of the women said that they would ask for help to a friend if they would suffer domestic violence, whereas only 21% of the women would feel safe asking for help to the official authorities.

The Body Shop will have leaflets in its shops with more information on this subject.

It is possible to consult more information of this campaign in the Web:

http://www.stopviolenceinthehome.com/
http://www.stopdomesticviolencenow.com/

Rethink 2008: Mary Lou Quilan and Gemma Cernuda demand the feminine view in communication

2008-10-09T16:35:00.008+02:00

The last edition of the International Forum Rethink the basis of communication, celebrated on 5th and 6th of March in Barcelona, had a clear feminine character. According to the data presented in the contest, the feminine segment decides the 80% of the purchases in the world-wide market. This is a number that didn't go unnoticed for the proffesionals of the sector, who are more and more interested in this public.

The great names of the appointment were the American Mary Lou Quilan, founder of the agency specialized in feminine marketing Just Ask a Woman and author of the best-seller of the same name, and Gemma Cernuda of the agency from Barcelona Peix & Co, new communication company “in feminine”.

Genma Cernuda set out the details of her book '24h/7d', which tries to explain the feminine behaviour in the society of the present communication, by means of literary appointments of great writers and philosophers. In addition, she presented her innovating system to classify brans by values.

Para cerrar el evento, Mary Lou Quilan, consultora de marcas internacionales como Avon, Ikea y Yahoo, propuso colocar a una mujer delante de la cámara para conocer sus inquietudes y necesidades antes de empezar a crear estrategias.

To close the event, Mary Lou Quilan, consultant of international brands as Avon, Ikea and Yahoo, proposed to put a woman in front of the camera to know her restlessness and needs before beginning to create strategies.

In order to see all the communications of Rethink 2008 and to know the latest news in feminine marketing, you can unload them here:

http://www.rethink.es/rethink2008/index.html

In order to accede to the videos you only have to give your email and it isn't necessary to pay for that reason.

MANIFESTO

2008-10-07T12:52:00.009+02:00

“If the great advance in the XX century has been the incorporation of women to society, the greatest advance will be in the XXI century with the incorporation of her thinking”

Welcome women and men to Adwomen. This blog is about the role of women in advertising, women as a professional, as a consumer, as a generator of opinion or as a creator of new communication codes.

And why a blog about women as creators and receptors of advertising messages?

Because in Cannes Festival over 70% of the categories contested are traditionally ‘female’, but 77% of the jury members are male.

Because women buy 85% of all the stuff that is sold around the world, but the majority of women confess that they don’t feel understood by advertising.

And because it isn’t intelligent that market pushed the main target of their business into the background.

We want to know if the tone, the codes and the creativity made by us, the women, contribute with novelties to the advertising culture.

In Adwomen, you can know the most distinguished creative women of the world, their work and their views about the role that we play in the sector. Also, you will discover all the novelties in the advertising industry related to female world: new products, strategies to differentiate, books about this topic and the latest news about the women intervention in the most important advertising festival around the world.

Adwomen is a space to debate, to know ant to promote the work of women professionals in the sector. We will show the most important creativity made by women, while we let in your hands determinate if there is a female factor in the creativity and, if there is, identify their peculiarities and differences with regard to male creativity.

Adwomen, the female side of advertising.