When I was invited onto this blog tour and read they synopsis of this book it really interested me, as I studied Graphic Design at university and copywriting was one skill I never got to grips with. I constantly see adverts that I think ‘I wish I thought of that’ and asked Joan to give me her top 5 ads she wish she had thought up and campaigns she was proud to have worked on herself.
Five ads I wish I’d done and a few I’m glad I did.
If an ad’s not memorable, forget it. It’s not always the slogan that sticks in your mind – think Cadbury’s gorilla. Here are just some of the ads I wish I’d done.
1. The one with the kittens piling out of a pack of biscuits. If you like cats, you’ll love it. If you prefer dogs, there’s one with puppies. Congrats to the creative team for coming up with the idea and good on McVitie’s for buying it. Have no clue what the slogan is or even if they have one but thanks to ridiculously cute cats, the brand is on my shopping list. Job done.
2. The late, great David Abbott wrote one of the best campaigns ever for The Economist. Big, red, in-your-face posters with beautifully crafted lines, each one a master-class in copywriting.
“I never read The Economist.” Management trainee. Aged 42
The lines were smart. You had to work at them. Not hard but when you got them, you gave yourself a pat on the back, convinced you were suddenly bright enough to be an Economist reader. Clever stuff.
3. Beanz Meanz Heinz. Cheesy but easy-peasy to remember with product and brand name inextricably linked in three words. Written almost fifty years ago in 1967 by adman Maurice Drake, slogans don’t come much better.
4. I wonder how many men have forgotten the ‘Hello Boys’ poster. Not many, I bet. In 1997 the line, accompanied by a close-up of Eva Herzigova wearing a big grin and a black Wonderbra adorned poster sites across the UK. Developed by Trevor Beattie, it was iconic, groundbreaking and most importantly, it got talked about. And we all know there’s no better advertising than word of mouth.
5. ‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’ slips off the tongue so easily it’s passed into everyday language. Whenever I hear it, I picture that poor collie, sheared in error, by a short-sighted shepherd. The expression of shame and embarrassment on that dog’s face would put a Botoxed actress to shame. And, if you’ve never seen it, you know where to go.
I’ve been lucky enough to work on brands with long-established slogans like ‘All Because the Lady Loves Milk Tray’, and ‘The Milky Bars Are On Me!’ But what I loved was the opportunity to initiate something new.
Here are a few of my favourites:
First one without words. If you’re familiar with Absolut vodka you’ll know the bottle has no label instead the name is printed directly onto the glass. There’s an old saying in Adland: Less is more. I hit on the idea of simply printing the bottle on acetate to demonstrate the purity the product is famed for. The resulting ad:‘Absolut x-ray’ was shown by British Design and Art Direction during the 1995 Festival of Excellence Exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery. You can see it at www.joan-ellis.com.
Talking cats are all over the internet. But back in 1990 no-one had taught them to speak. My art-director and I changed all that with an award-winning campaign for Spiller’s Purrfect cat food, casting a couple of moggies as John-Cat-Wayne and Humphrey-Cat-Bogart. It was long before lip-syncing but thanks to the linguistic talents of actor, Enn Rietel the cats were word perfect. Discover what cats really want to say to their owners on my blog: www.joan-ellis.com
Usually ads are designed to attract mass audiences. Not this one. It was written to one person, the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the mid 90s, Gordon Brown. The Budget was looming and Greenpeace wanted him to put money aside for a green fuel fund. The next day a full-page ad appeared in his paper of choice the Guardian. He couldn’t miss it. Above a shot of his face was a halo, above that the line:
Think of the mileage you’ll get from a Green Fuel Fund, Mr Brown.
He never did get back to me but the ad was nominated for a Campaign Press Award.
Thank you for this Guest post Joan, I hope you all check out my review which will be available later today 🙂
About the Author
Advertising copywriter, comedy writer, performer, lecturer – Joan Ellis has been them all. With a full-time job in a top London advertising agency and a new baby, she did what any right-minded woman would’ve done and set up a comedy club. She even appeared on the same bill as Jo Brand. Once.
A career highlight was casting a black and white moggie as Humphrey Bogart for her award-winning cat food commercial. Other great performers who brought her words to life include Penelope Keith and Harry Enfield.
As a lecturer, Joan taught comedian Noel Fielding all he knows about advertising before encouraging him to showcase his creative talents on a wider stage.
Working for The Press Association, she tutored Wordsworth’s great-grandson in the art of copywriting: Buy a host of golden daffodils and get a blue one, free!<
Suffering from swine flu and sweating like a pig, she moved from London to the Isle of Wight where she lives on cream teas with her beloved husband, daughter and two cats.
Joan On Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoanSusanEllis
Joan’s website: www.joan-ellis.com
About the Book – ‘I am Ella. Buy me.’ Written by Joan Ellis
Based on Joan’s own experiences in top London advertising agencies, this funny, fast-paced tale is set against a backdrop of Thatcher’s Britain where money trumped morals and lust was a must. ‘I am a ginger tom. I am a boy racer. I am a housewife. I am a pain in the arse.’ Working in Soho’s mad, bad Adland in the sexist 80s, Ella David is a rare beast – a woman in a man’s world. When her lothario boss, Peter Richards, bored with his ball-clicker, demands something or someone new to play with, Ella finds herself battling more than just fat thighs. Faced with losing her job or sleeping with him, Ella turns to her friend, Adam Hart the one constant bright spot in her life. Can love help her go from a girl in the firing line to a woman calling the shots?
Thank you to Leah at Girls Love to Read for organising and letting me take part in this blog tour.
