This piece in Creative Review I found on my RSS trawl got my goat this morning. Why is the magazine celebrating an urban spam campaign for Kellogg’s by JWT. For this campaign they employ an artist to draw a cereal bowl on a pavement in London and fill it with leaves.
Sure it might look pretty but just because someone knows how to use some chalk, it doesn’t mean they can hit us with marketing messages anywhere they please. Please – we don’t need another ad on our walk through the park. Creative Review shouldn’t be supporting this activity.
Oh – and on a side note – what is it with the photography that covers this sort of activity. There’s always a picture of a couple of people taking notice of the guerilla stunt. It’s clear that the shot has been set up so the agency can release it to a non-subjective press and show that their stunt works – but it’s even more obvious that the people posing are the account managers and other agency staff. No?
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It’s good work, beautifully produced. The brand is appropriate and the ‘joke’ and use of existing environment is fun and appropriate.
An Ad agency and a brand are behind it, so what?
I get the ‘Urbam Spam’ point of view – indeed, I’ve personally tried to steer my own work towards a more ‘utilitarian’ approach over the past few years, but come on, sometimes we need to relax.
I don’t ask to see Faile wheat-posters all over the place but I still enjoy them – and you better believe there’s a commercial point behind the work.
December 19th, 2008 at 11:05 am
I agree. This sort of crap is slowly but surely infecting our cities, and no-one seems that bothered – indeed, they’re hyping it up! Russel Davies has some great stuff to say about this disturbing trend:
http://russelldavies.typepad.com/planning/2008/08/eat-eck.html
December 19th, 2008 at 11:35 am
As an addition: I was speaking to a group of students at NYU a week ago. I talk about my day job, where I think it’s all going and host a brainstorming workshop thing.
I’d automatically assumed this young group of people would actively dislike disruptive advertising. I was surprised that great majority felt no animosity towards advertising at all. Yup even The Dreaded DM/Junk Mail stuff.
1 out of the 30 students expressed slight annoyance to billboards but this was more to do with how they looked than their function/ visual impact on the street.
December 19th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Just wait… the “parkies” will soon be setting up a rate card for pavement space in London parks.
How do you know the guys in photo are agency-types? Granted they’re all wearing black…
December 20th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I sense a certain issue with Occupational Health and Safety.
I’m going to guess the black clothes wearing pram pusher is in fact an agency account director – she’s pushing the pram on the street so as not to intefere with the ad. Well done.
December 22nd, 2008 at 2:08 pm
If this technique were used to get an important piece of information thru to people I’d be impressed… but kellogs crunchy nut??? Give me a break. Funny, the girl in the pram is not impressed and she’s probably an ideal target!
December 24th, 2008 at 1:56 am