Shit Idea
July 24, 2013 4 Comments
Following on from yesterday’s post, here’s a campaign that encapsulates everything rubbish about advertising today. It was the ad that got Charlie Brooker’s goat and you can see why. Reality checks were clearly not conducted in the creation of this nadir of modern marketing. It’s not a spoof, I promise. This bog roll brand really did want to know how you wipe your arse. Actually, they wanted more than that – they wanted to spark a national debate around how we all wipe our arses.
It’s a grim, ridiculous idea, made even worse by the incongruously upbeat execution. Watching the montage of cheery people tell us whether they ‘scrunch’ or ‘fold’ is surreal enough, but things get nightmarishly uncomfortable at the 15 second mark when an attractive girl gets all seductive about it. You’re not imparting sexy bedroom secrets love, you’re telling us how you wipe your arse!
To give this car crash substance, they’ve applied the must-have modern stamp of credibility, the hashtag. So, do you #ScrunchorFold? Will you continue this great debate down the pub with your mates? Tweet live from the bog tomorrow morning? And get involved at andrex.co.uk? Or do you, like me, want Andrex to #GetAGrip?
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But who’ll get the blame, creatives, planners or client?
Hi Brian. I dunno. One thing I would say though is that 89% of ads aren’t remembered positively or negatively. So while this is daft, at least people remember and talk about it. If I were JWT/Andrex, I’d capitalise on that, try and turn it into a positive. If they’re willing to laugh at themselves a bit, they could have a new Ambassador’s Reception on their hands.
You’re right. Although I find it amazing that the idea has seen the light of day. Someone somewhere along the line must have questioned whether people really are interested in discussing how they wipe their backsides. If it becomes a new Ambassador’s Party, it will be by accident not design.
Thanks for sharing it, enjoyed your write up.
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