I MAY CRITIC THESE ADSđ¤ˇââď¸
Working in an advertising agency opened my eyes to the world of wrongs being right, rejects and dejects being acceptable and most importantly how the dummest things make the greatest sense. The question is How would you know?
Well, you will just know.
It was David Ogilvy that said if you want to recognize a BIG IDEA, ask yourself:
Did it make me gasp when I first saw it?
Do I wish I had thought of it myself?
Is it unique?
Does it fit the strategy in perfection?
Could it be used for 30 years?
These points are indeed right and it brings me to my days (still in those days) of learning copywriting. My creative director used to say one thing and one thing alone; âitâs a million Noâs till you get just one Yesâ. A million NOâs till a YES? I wouldnât lie that wrecked my heart but I knew that if I wanted to graduate from being a mere writer to being a junior copywriter I had to work my way through the test.
He gave me 15 brands for which I was to create 5 radio commercials and 5 print ads each, he also told me to review a musical album and write an article on Donald trump. All of these were to be submitted 4 days after he gave me this task. I was stoked, especially when he said âif you are able to do this you have gotten the job, we donât really need much talkingâ.
I stood up and just said thank you sir. He doubted me, I could see it in the way he looked at me but he didnât know I had the passion for this.
I got 15 brands, I scripted radio commercials and did as many print ads on as many A4 papers available.
What am I trying to say? The ideas I had werenât the best but I was taking a step to improve my quack self.
Applying Ogilvyâs method, I now realize that a lot of things I came up with didnât even form an atom of BIG IDEA.
I knew I had to read more, watch as many ads as possible, Cannes lion website became my hiding place, I started hunting for the big idea in any commercial or campaign I saw because I just had to âKNOW HOW TOâ create one.
Of recent I saw an ad that put me off and using OGILVYS judgement, it scored a 4 out of 10.
The idea would not be able to sell a long time because it wasnât big. The rationale was obviously to come out big but I didnât buy into it.

The brand is H2oh; Obviously a sparkling flavored water. H2oh is a carbonated drink that has been in the market for some years and all of a sudden they remembered the platform called advertising/ marketing communication . From the first day I saw it I thought; âWaters gonna be jealous??????????????â
Why would water be jealous, I mean you call your brand H2oh.
I began to think logically that at a point I thought I was being too âtoo logicalâ, but then I asked people at random what they thought about the tagline or copy; some said it was cool, cheeky,nice, creative, dope idea while others asked the same question I asked; âwhy would and why should water be jealousâ.
The first question is; did this make me gasp? No it didnât,it just made me ponder on the theme and ask myself why? A big idea would just click right in without any questions from a majority.
The second says do I wish I thought of it; No I do not wish I had thought of it. I mean kudos to the person who thought of it, great line but just for the wrong brand maybe if they were advertising a new way through which the fish could live on land then you can come out with the statement: WATERS GONNA BE JEALOUS, but not for a supposedly youthful or yuppie brand. I mean see what coke, Fanta, Pepsi, 7up, even Mountain Dew have done in the past and now. Not in one way have they ever demeaned water because itâs a core ingredient.
The third question says is it unique; Yes the phrase is unique but doesnât blend with the brand, therefore making it not unique. Clearly the phrase is figurative but I have taken it literally and of course if I were loyal to the brand I would continue to purchase, but what if there were potential buyers who are logical thinkers like me? They wouldnât consider H2oh over water rather itâd be Water, coke, Pepsi, Mirinda, Fanta, sprite, 7up, teem, water again, then H2ohđ¤ˇââď¸. They would purchase in that order.
The fourth question says does it fit the strategy to perfection?? This question can be answered by the Creatives behind the work but My guess is their plan of action was to spark a kind of feeling amongst youths and I guess they did that with the TVC and Social media engagementđ¤ˇââď¸. I would leave this for you to ponder on (and the creatives behind this work), but for the final question which says could it last 30 years? I would also leave that for you to answer. If I were to tackle the executions (print ads & TVC), youâd probably think I am a potential haterđ¤đ.

In all, what do we know? There was a brief, options pitched to the client who then finally went with WATERâS GONNA BE JEALOUS (Except it was an in-house creativeđ¤đđżââď¸).
Well Global director of creative content lab at INTEL; Yogiraj Graham has said that brand should own their creative process, maybe H2oh did maybe they didnât. All I know is the customer is always right therefore the Advertiser is always rightđ¤ˇââď¸ .
They pay for itđ¤ˇââď¸đđżââď¸đđżââď¸đđżââď¸.
#WATCHOUT for my next write up: âSHAME ON THESE COPYCATS IN THE AD INDUSTRYâ
