Cadbury’s current ads have something its ‘Gorilla’ lacked – legs
Mark RitsonMost marketers seek ads that deliver instant, one-off success, but the ideal campaign is an idea that runs indefinitely while only the execution changes.
Mark Ritson – Brand Communications
And the winner of campaign of the year is…
Mark RitsonGreat diagnosis, smart insight, clever use of media and inventive execution, Sheba’s ‘4am Stories’ is a masterclass in simple but highly effective marketing.
Christmas advertising is drowning in marketers’ fake tears
Mark RitsonChristmas 2021 is shaping up to be an exercise in hyper-emotional brand bullshit, with Coca-Cola even choosing to edit itself out of its own campaign. But don’t worry, the holidays are still coming.
Ritson’s 10 marketing hacks to help small businesses go big
Charlotte RogersFrom a new recipe for pic n’ mix comms, to making extreme choices, Mark Ritson shares his marketing twists that can help SMEs get big brand outcomes.
P&G and Coke’s pandemic performances prove it: You don’t cut ad spend in a crisis
Mark RitsonProcter & Gamble doubled down on marketing when Covid hit, while Coca-Cola went dark. The former’s revenues surged, the latter’s dwindled, and Ehrenberg-Bass data now proves if you stop advertising you lose sales.
Amazon is the perfect example of why big brands need to advertise
Mark RitsonAmazon now tops the global ad spend charts, despite founder Jeff Bezos’s original scepticism towards advertising – not surprising, since it’s crucial for defending market share.
TikTok is nothing new – to marketers, it’s just another ad platform
Mark RitsonAlthough its strapline, ‘Don’t Make Ads, Make TikToks’, touts it as revolutionary, TikTok will soon reveal itself to be another ‘traditional’ ad business, as its own media strategy makes clear.
The ad industry’s ‘dirty dozen’ must rescue us from this shambolic Covid comms strategy
Mark RitsonThe government’s message on controlling coronavirus while leaving lockdown is fatally unclear, and only expert intervention can avoid a disastrous failure.
All the generic coronavirus ads are a waste of time and budget
Mark RitsonThere’s probably no reason to ditch your old creative because of coronavirus, but if you do, your new ad needs to be distinctive and avoid the bland clichés brands are currently churning out.
Direct Line understands the power of characters in unlocking branded recall
Mark RitsonDirect Line has replaced one of the most effective brand campaigns of recent years with a new approach that promises similar success, all thanks to the team’s understanding of distinctive brand assets.
Commercial TV’s decline is faster than we thought, but no one knows what’s next
Mark RitsonThere is a growing sense that reaching giant audiences to build brands in the decade ahead is going to be more difficult.
Tourism Australia was onto a winner until tragedy intervened
Mark RitsonThe ‘Matesong’ campaign is a wonderfully executed piece of advertising but Australia’s bushfire crisis has sadly changed the country’s image – perhaps forever.
Tide’s award-winning Super Bowl ad is the best of marketing and creativity
Mark RitsonProcter & Gamble’s US Tide brand delivered a perfect brief and chose a brilliant piece of creative by Saatchi & Saatchi, making it a deserved Grand Effie winner.
Accept it, people hate ads – yes, all of them
Mark RitsonMarketers delude themselves into believing consumers like ads, but by accepting they don’t you’ll better understand how to make an effective one.
Even at $5m each, Super Bowl ads make sense – here’s why
Mark RitsonThose who highlight what digital media you could buy for the same price as a Super Bowl ad miss the point – they offer unrivalled effectiveness among the largest of audiences.