Welcome to the Meta Goo

Mark Zuckerberg somehow reminds me of DATA in Star Trek the Next Generation. That slightly-too-precise walk? That measured, almost-synthesised speech pattern? The enthusiastically grey wardrobe? He probably has his socks folded away in alphabetical order. Maybe he wants to be an android? Remember he wanted us to live in the Metaverse with him – eek!
Now he’s architecting another world of algorithmic grey goo – that includes advertising. By 2026, he plans to pump it into every Meta ad. The promise is seductive for SME’s and small brands: save time and money, gain flawless targeting, enjoy optimised CPC/CPV, and churn out slick, scalable creatives. Of course it’s appealing. It will probably work to certain degree for those brands who have little time or money for marketing or advertising.
But what about larger brands? What happens if every brand uses the same AI tools, ticks the same boxes, and generates near-identical images? What makes YOUR brand different? Meta’s AI hands you the “perfect” ad. It hands your competitor the exact same one. Suddenly, your unique message dissolves into a sea of sameness. Your brand vanishes. Yes, you’ll get technically perfect, emotionally barren ads – joyless, toneless, and culturally vacant. What’s your edge over your competitors – Budget?
Maybe I’m wrong, but I expect that Zuckerberg doesn’t hold human creativity in much regard. I wonder what he would feel staring at Michelangelo’s David or the Sistine Chapel: Would he see human genius? Or just inefficient data, thinking “Our AI renders faster with 98.7% anatomical accuracy compared with Michelangelo’s 96.4%.” Or sitting in the Louvre “The brush strokes on the Mona Lisa are inaccurate by a factor of 0.85%. AI has an accuracy on the human form of 99.9%.”
AI is undeniably here to stay; it has transformed marketing forever. But it is not the holy grail. The most successful brands of the next decade won’t be those that reject AI outright, nor those that surrender to it completely. They’ll be the ones who use AI to amplify their humanity.
John Hegarty’s wisdom strikes a chord: “A brand isn’t a logo. It’s the sum of every interaction a customer has with you.” That’s what Meta’s ad generator could destroy: your brand story, your humanity, your reason to exist beyond conversion metrics.
In a world that is starting to drown in AI generated ad sludge, the challenge now is to fight to tell human stories. And more than ever embrace imperfection and authenticity. Thoughts?
(Note: Image generated in Midjourney / Photoshop) hashtag#ai hashtag#generativeai hashtag#meta hashtag#aiinfo hashtag#artdirector hashtag#irishadvertising hashtag#advertising

Don’t be a tool: pick the right one

Some data advice from Sir John Hegarty
You can’t eat soup with a fork. You shouldn’t hammer in a screw. And those who bring a knife to a gunfight find themselves at a severe disadvantage. Selecting the wrong tool for the job usually delivers poor results. It’s perilous too. There’s a section on the subject to be found in a safety handbook produced by the US Navy. It cautions against things like using a chair where a ladder is necessary, or a knife when you need a screwdriver. There’s more jeopardy associated with these things at sea – but this sort of thing is still cavalier on land. The physical examples are absurd. But in the digital sphere, we’re a lot more lenient when it comes to selecting the incorrect tackle. The worst offenders are those who obsess over the power of data – specifically, its ability to predict and measure things that were unmeasurable before. Research and evidence are fundamentally important, but we’re so enchanted with the capabilities of data that it’s started to feel like we can’t come to a decision without the reassurance of a stat. This is a problem – an emphasis on what’s been prevent the imagining of what might be. Data never invented anythingAmidst all the talk of data-driven businesses, the greatest commercial achievements of recent decades have had surprisingly little to do with it. Consider the most successful product from the (until recently) biggest company in the world – Apple’s iPhone. The story of its conception involved a handful of envelope-pushing tech executives drawing on their knowledge of the consumer, and the creative capacity of their development teams. Data took a back seat to human insight. This is the case with almost every brilliant product that we deem indispensable in 2024. James Dyson’s bagless vacuum cleaner, Elon Musk’s car company, Bill Bowerman’s running shoe. These contributions to our civilisation came from imagination. Data informs, creativity inspiresThe same is true in marketing and brand-building. Data becomes useful to businesses when it exposes a truth. As I’ve often said, when an idea possesses that quality, it becomes powerful. Uncovering a fact might spark the creative engine, but that isn’t enough. It takes empathy, intuition and perseverance to bring off a campaign around it. The great brand campaigns of the last twenty years are all built around truth, whether that authenticity is drawn from a data point or not matters less than most digital zealots would have us believe. A debate is raging when it comes to how AI will impact creativity and business. More tools don’t always result in better outcomes, but as they proliferate the best entrepreneurs – like the best carpenters – will know which ones to pick up, and which ones to leave on the bench.

Aimed at the stars

Faced with the threat from it’s online competitors, Click&Go Holidays identified a critical disparity. While rivals boasted expansive online reach and ample budgets, their failure to deliver on promised customer service and comprehensive holiday offerings left dissatisfied customers in their wake. 

Moreover, their actions tarnished the online travel industry’s reputation, prompting a necessary intervention. In contrast, Click&Go proudly upheld its status as Ireland’s favoured online travel company, backed by an exceptional Trustpilot rating.

To highlight this advantage, we devised a campaign leveraging the company’s 5-star Trustpilot rating. Through visually striking, impactful creatives, the campaign not only reassured Click&Go’s clientele but also sowed seeds of doubt among those considering other online platforms for holiday bookings.

The creative executions allowed us to showcase aspirational locations, and are flexible enough to work across all the different types of holidays that Click&Go offer.

This campaign marked a notable departure for us due to budget constraints, making traditional photography and stock images impractical options. In response, we generated these visuals initially within Mid Journey, refining them further in Adobe Photoshop using the software’s dedicated Generative AI plugin.

The campaign is due to run during Q1 and will be on all of Clic&Go’s social media channels as well as online display and VOD.

How an Iconic car ad inspired me

Way back when I was student I was struggling to put a portfolio together with good ideas. Good advice was hard to find and at the time there wasn’t much on the way of books or reference material to inspire you. Then I saw this ad.

A younger generation might not quite get it as it is in the context of the early 90’s. But here’s a link to Steve Hudson the art director on it who explains the story behind it.

https://thepowerofadvertising.com/portfolio/audi-no1

Audi ‘No.1’ – 1 Silver British Arrow, 3 D&AD Wood pencils

CREDITS

Creative – Steve Hudson & Victoria Fallon

Director – Frank Budgen

Editor – Peter Goddard

Production Company – Paul Weiland Film Company

Creative director – John Hegarty

Lead Account manager – Simon Sherwood

Account manager – Jonathan Mildenhall

Junior account manager – Richard Exon

Planner – Contact me

Agency – BBH London

Client – Audi

Audi ad ‘Hans Helga’ BBH London

Digital Out of Home – Are we being creative enough?

If you ask any creative they would say Outdoor, as I still call it or Out Of Home (OOH) as it is now called, is one of their favourite mediums. You’ll see any creative go weak at the knees at the prospect of creating an outdoor campaign. Why? Well this is high impact format that challenges us to think clearly, simply and distinctly. To convey a message that has to engage and be memorable in a few brief seconds. It often said in the business that if your idea works in outdoor it will work in any other medium.

OOH is evolving, it now embraces technology, hence the term Digital Out Of Home (DOOH). It is no longer just the static medium it once was. Technology has given it new life. For good or bad this has presented us with new and exciting challenges. I believe this brings us opportunities to create new and brilliant creative work and I also believe that the full potential of medium has not been fully realised in this market.

I’m sometimes disappointed to see DOOH sites regurgitating the print version of ads on digital screens or using 10 second cut downs of a TV ad that been retrofitted onto a DPOD.

By using DOOH like this, it feels like it is being used as an afterthought just to fill a space or to backup a campaign that was designed for other media. Surely we can do much better than wasting money and wasting opportunities for brands to have greater engagement and impact with their audiences?

DOOH now utilises a whole range of technologies, it’s a very rich medium. It can use motion tracking, heat sensing, facial and voice recognition, AI, AR, VR, video streaming and contactless payments. It can use real time data such as weather, time, traffic and shopping transactions. Messages can be updated in real time and geo-targeted. Or it can can display using something as simple as the humble gif. It’s integration with mobile give us countless opportunities to engage with audiences from sharing photos, dispensing products and vouchers to live streaming.

There are some great examples of creative and innovative DOOH from around the world, from the very simple to the more complex. Some of these use existing technology while others have had the tech specially created for them. This trend has been reflected in the past couple years at the Cannes Lions were it has its very own innovation category.

DOOH definitely involves more work than traditional OHH, particular on the technical side. I would not expect every person to be a technologist, but it always pays to keep your finger in the pulse with latest goings on in technology. It might be an obvious thing to say, It’s like any creative process, enjoy the challenge, have fun doing it, learn on the way and you won’t go far wrong.

My tips for working in DOOH.

The most important thing is still the idea:

No matter how good the technology is, if you do not have a good idea, it’s not going to work. It’s all well and good announcing you are first to market with new technology but if your idea is not engaging with your audience with a relevant message you are polishing a turd.

Research the technology:

You are not expected to know the exact detail of every piece of technology that available in DOOH. But keeping your finger on the pulse and researching what’s out there and helps you stay informed about what you can and cannot do. Collaborating with technologists, media specialists and outdoor suppliers at the earliest opportunity is very important. It will help them feel as part owners of the execution and get them excited about the project. There are people you can talk to in JCDecaux, PML and Exterion Media who all want to help. They all want good work on their showreels too. This will also reassure the client that you have done your homework and you know what you are talking about.

Stress test it over and over again:

We can sometimes get over enthusiastic about a piece of technology and loose the run of ourselves particularly when we get bogged down at ideation stage. I often find when tapping to the minds of technical people their enthusiasm naturally runs away with them and they go in to ‘nerd’ mode. It’s important to stop, check and remember to put yourself in to the shoes of who your talking too. The last thing on people’s mind as they go about their lives is your ad. Stress test the technology, and ask yourself will it engage your audience? If you are asking them to download an app – will they? Be your own worst critic. If it doesn’t work, make it simpler or bin it.

Location Location:

DOOH sites are now in a variety of locations, from roadsides to inside shopping malls. It’s vitally important to know where the location of your sites are and what your audience will be doing in those locations. There’s no point asking your audience to engage their mobile phones on a site next to major road.

Invent it yourself (or get someone too)

Sometimes you maybe fortunate to come up with an idea that involves creating a piece of technology that doesn’t yet exist. There is no harm pushing the boundaries of what can be done. With risk comes reward. The idea might be quite nebulous in your head, but this were research comes in again and finding the right people that will help it come to fruition. It’s the nature of tech people to love a challenge and they will generally pulls out all the stops to create something groundbreaking. At worst they’ll be honest and say they can’t make it happen. At least you’ll know where you stand before presenting it to the client. Take look in the area of tech start-ups and university labs, you might find the answer in the basement of Trinity College.

Examples of DOOH

Apotek Hjartat Blowing in the wind

HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/264556996

Women’s Aid #lookatme campaign

https://vimeo.com/122550922

British Airways – Magic of Flying

https://vimeo.com/122826929

Jetstar Dream Holiday Eye Tracking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=52&v=ppC6Qh4CT4A

Mega shark attack at Southern Cross Station

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjoMM7NvFog

Coca Cola – Bringing India & Pakistan Together

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts_4vOUDImE

Norwegian Centre against Racism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijUYmOWlTZI

Netflix gifs Campaign

I love how clever and simple this campaign for Netflix is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBy2Tz_pmKA

SWEDEN. WHERE GREAT HAPPENS (SOMETIMES)

There’s a wonderful attitude that permeates Swedish culture where there is a deep respect and enthusiasm for people who are bold and creative. Whether that is in engineering, science or the arts.

But they don’t seem to shout about it. They just seem to quietly get on with it and go off and create stuff and yet be hugely successful at it.

We can see this reflected in how much the Swedes have influenced the rest of the world. Of course, there was ABBA and where would we be without IKEA? Or premier car brands like Volvo and SAAB. H&M, handy for those Hawaiian shirts. Countless Nordic Noir TV shows like The Bridge and Wallander.

This quiet success appears to be happening in the advertising industry in Sweden, particularly in the last 10 years. Since I’ve been in the digital side of the business I have become very aware of their work. They were early adopters of digital and have constantly produced world class ground breaking work using technology to tell engaging brand stories.

We now see several Swedish agencies opening networks around the globe. All this from a relatively small market of 10 million people. Just this week arguably Sweden’s most creative agency Forsman Bordenfors has merged with KBS creating a new worldwide agency network.

Last week IAPI hosted Åkestam Holst, Magnus Jakobsson, one of Sweden’s most awarded Creative Directors and Karl Wikstrom, Senior Strategy Director. They talked about their working methods and spotlighted some of their most innovative campaigns. Interestingly none of the examples they presented were in traditional mediums and all of them used original thinking combined with innovative technology.

They spoke openly about their agency’s working model and how they believe they create such great work by investing in great people.

Three key rules for Åkestam Holst:

  • Have no hierarchies
  • Invite every creative to every brief
  • Apply next level niceness

These three beliefs lead to a workplace where everybody has an opportunity to contribute, a great idea can develop from anywhere and people have the freedom to fail. With equality, humility and hard work – anything is possible.

They talked about their 10 principles and used example campaigns to highlight how they put them to good use.

  • It’s a cliche but be brave.
  • Tell the stories no-one else is telling.
  • Attempt the unattempted – just because.
  • Don’t think campaigns. Think creative eco-systems.
  • Let people be themselves.
  • Listen to science but don’t let science run the show.
  • Smash taboos.
  • Create the safety to be brave.
  • Think of technology as a medium.
  • Create long ideas for a global audience.

HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/267985113 Reporters without billboards

HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/264641574 IKEA where life happens

HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/277079056 Social Beer

HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/264609191 Human Metal

HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/264644915   Voice of Change

HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/264643780   IKEA Pee Ad

HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/193364630   SAS we are Travellers

HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/264644904   Audio Safety code

HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/264607412   Apotek Hjartat Coughing Billboard

HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/264556996   Apotek Hjartat Blowing in the wind

They rounded off their presentation highlighting how Åkestam Holst aim to create genuinely exciting ideas, that are well executed, cleverly distributed and tell a bigger story. To them, that’s creating good. If you take a chance on brave and bold ideas some will succeed, some will fail, but that’s why they say “Sweden is Where Great Happens (Sometimes…)”

Of course with typical modesty they then challenged us to go out there and beat Sweden at Cannes next year.

Lycka till.

John Martin

 

Rise of the Bots

Being Human

At the start of the new year I thought it would be a good idea to have a look at recent and interesting developments, particularly in area of AI.

If you have been following the TV series Westworld, in one particular episode, two of the main characters are in deep conversation about the original concept behind the Westworld theme park. From the parks foundation,  the developers tried to find out how to get the Hosts (Robots) to come across as being ‘more human’,  in order to offer a better experience for the guests. Of course they found the best way was for them to learn was to interact with humans.

The hosts were then programmed to learn all the nuances, flaws, doubts, and emotions that make up being human. It wasn’t just about replicating human intelligence but human unintelligence. This in turn made them appear more human,  so over time the guests at the park couldn’t tell the difference between the humans and the hosts. Hence the hosts had passed the Turing Test.

The Turing Test

The Turing Test is named after the mathematician Alan Turing and is a test for behavioural intelligence in a computer, requiring that a human being should be unable to distinguish the machine from another human being by using the replies to questions put to both.

turing

In a way what is happening in the world of Westworld is happening right now – we’re not actually building sentient robots yet, but it’s getting there.

Little Critters

This year in particular we have seen the rise of the ‘Bot’ or ‘Chatbot’. These little critters are popping up rapidly on the messenger apps like Facebook Messenger, Kik, Wechat and Slack. They are being churned out at a rate of knots by over excited developers with over 11,000 out there and rising.

Nearly all the messenger apps are starting to invest heavily in the development of chatbots and are actively encouraging and challenging developers to take on chatbot projects and build their own. To make life easier for developers they are even offering ready made templates to get them started. The enthusiasm has been infectious and some brands have already been early adopters of the technology and have started to communicate and sell products and services to their customers via a chatbot.

Exciting times

dancing-bender-2

So why get all excited about chatbots? Well with more and more people using messaging apps than ever before, from a marketing point of view this is game changer. Anyone on a messenger app can now have a one on one conversation with a product, service or brand that uses a bot. With up to 2.5 billion people using messenger apps and growing it’s a massive audience and younger audiences are using message apps more than social media.

There are now bots for news, games, weather, fashion, booking holidays, financial advice and shopping. There’s even an influencer bot – so the human influencers had better watch out! There’s even a bot that can be your friend in case you have no human friends, the less said about that one the better.

Bots are not just being developed for messenger apps but for Smart Devices such as Google Assistant,  Apple Siri and Amazon Echo. Where the conversations are not limited to text but in audio and using voice recognition. Mark Zuckerberg recently showcased Facebook’s Jarvis project in his own home. Google setup ‘Google Brain’ 5 years ago and are actively pursuing an AI agenda,  particularly applying from what they have learnt from the development of Google Translate. Audi and Honda are also in the early stages of developing a bot for your car, or rather your car is a bot – think Knight Rider!

It’s trial and error and developers will admit they are on a very steep learning curve about getting the user experience right. In a lot of cases the conversations usually are basic, linear and structured with a very obvious list of pre-programmed questions and answers. That maybe the fault of some of the template options available. There are some bots out there were more thought has gone into giving them a bit of personality and therefore the conversation with humans appears more natural. Just interacting with a bot you get a good idea where this technology is going.

The challenge from a brand point of view,  is to create bots that will engage with customers on a conversational level, to be more of helpful and natural rather than trying to ‘robotically’ sell to you. This may sound easy, but it can be quite a challenge for creatives and developers to get the balance right in the brand bot / human relationship to create a good user experience.

However like Westworld, bot developers will tell you their long term plan is to have bots learn from interacting with humans (machine learning) and therefore appear more human and therefore create a better user experience.

Such is the rate of development, within 5 years you could chat with a messenger bot like you would with anyone of your friends or family, it will have a conversation with you based on your relationship with it. That conversation would have all the bonding, banter, slang, humour, and nuances that are involved in any dialogue between two people who know each other.

How people may feel about this kind of relationship and how it could be misused remains to be seen.

giphy

The development and application of this technology appear to be limitless and will have implications across business, politics and society. Experts have been talking about the fourth, (or fifth) industrial revolution, or the third wave of globalisation.

Maybe it’s ironic that the first AI to pass the Turing Test will be from a messenger app bot or from a smart device and not a supercomputer or Android. It looks like 2017 could be the year we see the rise of the bots.

Is Virtual Reality about to become a reality for brands?

In the early 90’s there was a lot of the hype about Virtual Reality, what it could do and what it could be used for. Even Hollywood got in on the act, anyone remember The Lawnmower Man? A virtual reality experiment alters a simple gardener and turns him into a megalomaniac who wants to rule cyberspace and take over the world. Needless-to-say it was rubbish.

The Lawnmower Man (Trailer)

Some of the thinking behind the VR at the time was along the right track, but the technology just wasn’t up to the task and it simply faded away in to the realms of enthusiasts and developers.

However in the past couple of years VR has made a come back with some major players invested in its development – even some megalomaniacs.

 

The one most people have heard of and talking about is the Oculus Rift, which Facebook bought for a tidy for 2 billion dollars and made a 21-year-old developer very rich. The Oculus is also the most high profile headset in terms of projects that have showcased the capabilities of VR.But there are others in the mix; Sony’s Project Morpheus, which is heavily aligned with gaming technology, as is Microsoft’s HoloLens, which also uses augmented reality.

 

Other mobile manufacturers are not letting themselves get left behind, HTC are about to launch their own headset called Vive in April.A more interesting headset is the FoveVR, which has interactive eye tracking, this results more responsive controls, smoother movement and realistic depth of field, which allegedly makes VR experience even more realistic.

You can see the full list of top headsets here

At the moment VR’s strengths seems to lie in the entertainment business, particularly in gaming and experiential videos. Existing games like Call of Duty, Halo and even Minecraft have beta versions utilising the Oculus Rift.

One example of what’s being achieved in gaming is Alien Isolation, which The Oculus Rift utilises the gaming environment brilliantly. Here’s the YouTube game reviewer Storpey’s experience of it – his reactions are worth a look.

Alien Isolation with Oculus Rift

There are also dozens games that have being made just for VR such as the impressive Back to Dinosaur Island for the Oculus Rift and Samsung GearVR.

Back to Dinosaur Island on Oculus Rift DK2

This amazing immersive experience on the Oculus Rift brings Van Gogh paintings to life in 3D.

The Night Cafe – An Immersive VR Tribute to Vincent van Gogh

A lot of the work done on these devices is still at the development and experimental stage. There are some obstacles getting in the way of it reaching out to a larger audience, something that brands will want to see VR overcome if they are to utilise it.

The cost is one, at the top end of VR experience it’s been estimated that video content on a device such as the Oculus Rift can work out as expensive as a full production TV ad.

That didn’t stop brands such as Destination British Columbia spending over half million dollars on two VR video experiences or Mountain Dew associating itself with VR with their own immersive experience just because they loved the idea of it.

Agencies have also tried to overcome the problem of costs by producing the work in-house.

 

However there are cheaper and more accessible alternatives for VR fans in the market place. The highly rated Samsung’s Gear VR seems a steal at $80, however you will also need some hefty processing power on your computer to operate it and that doesn’t come cheap.Alternatively with Google Cardboard you can get the headset for as little as $20 or you could make your own for free, the quality isn’t as good as the Oculus but it’s still a pretty good VR experience.

We are still a long away from immersive VR being one click away as there are the issues of limited of storage on mobile devices and the speed limit of the networks.

Despite this it has not stopped some brands from dipping their toe in the water trying VR technology and have tried various ways of getting around those obstacles with some really good executions.

British Columbia advertisement

There is a huge opportunity for brands to stand out if they become early adopters of VR. Especially if they use it to it’s full potential, offering their audience relevant and engaging executions. That’s the reality at the moment for brands that are thinking about using VR.

Case Studies

Topshop – London Fashion Week

To celebrate London Fashion Week last year, Topshop hosted a competition that invited participants to win virtual front row seats at Fashion Week and experience what it would be like to be Anna Wintour. The winners viewed the show streamed live via the Oculus Rift while sitting in the window of the Oxford Street branch of Topshop.

The Topshop Virtual Reality Experience

Topshop Fashion Week Oculus Rift Teaser

Marriott – NY City Hall Get Teleported

To promote the exotic locations of their Hotels using #getteleported The Marriot created a VR Holiday Teleporter using Oculus Rift. In one event they targeted newlyweds outside New York City Hall and offered them a virtual honeymoon experience at a Marriot resort. The experience was recorded and then newlyweds could share their VR holiday experience via social media.

A Virtual Honeymoon to London and Hawaii

Marriott Hotels’ Virtual Travel Experience (Behind the Scenes)

Mountain Dew

Mountain Dew wanted to take a leaf out of Red Bulls book and ramp up their use of technology to appeal to their millennial audience.

At key extreme sports events such as snowboarding, skateboarding and driving they offered users the complete 360 VR experience of the sport in Mountain Dew branded booths using the Oculus Rift.

Mountain Dew VR

Destination BC -The Wild Within

Provisional Tourism of British Columbia wanted to create a unique experience for visitors to their tourist offices and visitor centers around the US and Canada. By using a VR headset users can experience 360 atmospheric and immersive videos of the landscape and wildlife of British Columbia that would appeal to tourists. The experience was also available on their website for users who had their own compatible VR headset.

The Wild Within 360 Wildlife Video

The Wild Within 360 Hiking Video

Volvo XC90 Virtual Test

This is one of my favourites as it is a nice combination of DM and technology using the simplest of the current VR devices available.

When Volvo wanted to promote its XC90 SUV at last year’s Los Angeles Auto Show, a direct mail piece was sent out to potential customers featuring a branded folder containing the details about the car, along with a branded flat-packed Google Cardboard VR headset.

The customers were instructed on how download the specially built app and how to assemble the cardboard headset on to their mobile phone.

By holding up a phone to the device customers were able to take a virtual test drive and check out the car’s interior.

Volvo XC90 – Test Drive Volvo Virtual Reality

Volvo XC90 Google Cardboard