DEZOMO|design and brand news for inspiration and business decisions

Coles knows its audiences well and has proved itself a savvy marketer across most platforms, yet ‘Downdown’ is definitely not where advertising should be. Airing of this style of advertising is commonplace in the US and less so in the UK, but only outside of prime-time viewing. Meanwhile in Australia, we don’t even question why advertisers like Harvey Norman produce powerpoint-like ads that bark at us aggressively both visually and aurally, as if to say that research has shown that after a 10-hour day we will respond positively to being communicated to in this way.

This blogger’s view is that advertising can not be deemed to work if it increases sales only. There are other brand issues at stake. Good advertising only works if there is an idea. An idea is only a creative idea if achieves lasting emotional and behavioural positive change. These words need to be thought about closely.

There is no real ‘idea’ in ‘Downdown’. Someone just said, “Lets change the words in ‘Downtown’, slap big, red thumbs on people’s wrists that can also be used instore, use people who look and sound like they’re real staff …what a laugh.” Indeed Coles, but an embarrassing one! If this was intended to be a piss-take, it is not at all clear.

And did Coles do its socio-demographics research to know who its viewers might be before spending up big during Wimbledon this year? I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one with my big red thumb hitting instant MUTE between games.