The Times: Ballet
When discussing advertising, an uncontrollable “good cop, bad cop” tends to emerge. The potential in campaigns is always self-evident (after all, the marketing execs at Ogilvy, DDB, or wherever else, can’t be complete idiots, despite what our blog often commenting to the contrary).
So swinging back on forth on this piece like a pendulum, the first impact here is – why exactly is the ballerina reading the paper? And then, my inner journalist is suitably unimpressed with this express-and-therefore-condensed-and-therefore-substandard news that seems to be offered through this campaign.
But, switching hats for a mere moment, it doesn’t take a genius to understand the need to offer mini-news to a global population that is too pre-occupied with themselves than to spend time actually reading. News is becoming limited to the online domain, and the power of print is slowly declining. In a time where demand for industry juggernauts like the New York Times is rapidly falling, an attitude of ‘no news is better than bad news’ might not be the best option. I also love the way that reading the paper is incorporated into her routine, almost as though the news must be a part of everyday life.
Living through a global crisis on this scale, it is essential for people to remain connected through the news – even if it is offered in a “short and sharp” fashion. This can’t be criticised considering how many other publications go in the opposite direction, offering technical prose and alienating readers with every unnecessary adjective. Whether you are in South Africa or South Hampton, knowledge is always power (and really, a ballerina may be petite like the Times, but she is one powerful athlete).
But, they picked a ballerina because her line of work is infinitely more attractive than that of your average tradesman. It is advertising after all – we’re all narcissists here. So who’s complaining about that?
Advertising Agency: Ogilvy Cape Town, South Africa
Executive Creative Director: Chris Gotz
Creative Director / Copywriter: Gordon Ray
Art Director: Jamie Mietz
Photographer: Guy Neveling
Retouchers: Paul Vermeulen, Pieter de Vos
Via: Bestadsontv
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“Living through a global crisis on this scale,”
What global crisis? You mean the financial mess the Fed and government caused with their funny-money? With neo-Keynesian Paul Krugman on their pages, I kind of doubt that the NY Times has a handle on the problem, much less the solution to it.
Or is there another global crisis I don’t know about?
Comment by macsnafu — 30 January, 2009 @ 2:27 am
And you suggest my politics are coming through…
I was merely making the point that staying informed is more and more important in times like these, yes, times of a global crisis – which, for those who are affected, doesn’t seem worth joking about.
But thank you for your thoughts – I had hoped we would look to the “Fed and government” for a handle + a solution, rather than the mass media.
Comment by Tash Kassam — 30 January, 2009 @ 8:35 am
[...] in a select six words is quite a feat – but I’m not sure if it’s pointing to the minimalist, bite-sized news that I have complained about recently. Perhaps it is simply identifying that the Gazette tells the whole story, but I’m not [...]
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