What's so romantic about Tony Kaye?

The notion of 'expression' best defines the difference between art and advertising.

Advertising is about selling an idea. Expression on the part of someone else.
Art is about creating individual experiences and responses. Expression of the self.

Tony Kaye is a rare bean that is responsible for a substantial amount of creative work in each discipline. Most notably to us advertisers as the director of Dunlop's 'Unexpected' (1994) and Volvo's 'Twister' (1996) commercials. His aesthetics in either discipline could be deemed surrealistic, yet Kaye's work, knowingly or not, rings truer to the ideals of the Romantic movement that occurred during the 18th century.

The era of Romanticism threw all rules upheld by the art world i.e. proportional figures, straight out of the window. It caused perceptions of art to change and the social value of art suddenly rose as people treated it as the most important knowledge generating device. The ideal of individual self-fulfillment is inscribed in Romantic philosophy making a clear distinction between art and advertising, where creativity is compromised in expressive freedom by the client or the marketplace. Even so, Nick Studzinski, Creative Director at Publicis claims that there are two types of creativity with the advertising industry: One follows the tradition of patronage-led art which works more narrowly within the limitation set by client and marketplace. The other gives the creative director a much freer hand at developing the concept and visuals, and it's this bracket that Kaye falls under.
  Joan Gibbons captures a clear example of Kaye's artistic freedom in Art & Advertising. She comments on Kaye's 1999 ad for the Vauxhall Astra, where, mimicking a union gathering, babies make demands for better conditions:

"See his  In the interests of authenticity, Kaye insisted on the actual presence of 800 babies, having trenches built for parents/nannies to hold the babies in place. Consequently he is able to produce a rare type of advertising that clearly draws its creativity from individual vision and from the ability to activate the imagination of the viewer in a way that had on notable occasions invoked the grander narratives of our culture rather than the everyday concerns of consumerism."

 There seem to be four central motifs upheld within Romanticism:  

• Expanding the bounds of experience
• Man vs. Nature 
• Unpredictability of life 
• Loss of innocence

All three paradigms are noticably challenged in Kaye's work. His 1996 'Twister' commercial is based upon the reliability of the Volvo to overcome the ravages of a tornado. A calm, documentary-style commentary accompanies the visuals which portrays a view of mankind superiority to nature - a concept very much explored in the Romantic era. Unpredictability of life is also addressed by way of a natural disaster, yet the influence of this motif is nowhere more apparent than in 'Unexpected'. The commercial is characterised by it's trippy visuals (created by laying artificial colour over black and white footage) and the equally hypnotic soundtrack (Velvet Underground - Venus in Furs) expanding the bounds of experince through a sensory overload. Images of dead vegetation further display Kaye's Romantic influences through a loss of innocence. This particular Romantic theme is central to the storyline of Kaye's feature film, American History X, in which a jailed neo-Naxi convicted of racially-incited murder can only watch as his brother begins to follow in his same treacherous footsteps.



The examples given above show how the central values of Romantic art weave throughout Tony Kaye's work, both as an advertiser and an artist. Yet whether this is a direct and knowing link is not entirely apparent. What is clear however is that almost every art movement involves themes that are universal and can be applied in almost any discipline. The surrealist fixation on the human subconscious for example, has cross-disciplinary ties with Freud's psychological theories. So indeed, Tony Kaye is a Romantic, just as much so as Sigmund Freud is a Surrealist.

Pot Noodle Sticky Rib - Strategic Case Study

'Rib it up'  -  Pot Noodle Sticky Rib flavour  -  Mother, London 2009



The variation in purchase decisions of fast-food/'cheap nibble' products is typically considered to not involve much thought, but instead be decided on the individual's opinion and feeling about the brand (low thinking/high feeling). This is different to the decision to purchase a car for example, where feeling plays a part, but is ultimately decided by logical reasoning (high thinking/low feeling) i.e. is the car in my price range? Is it eco-friendly? Will it protect my children if I crash? Is the boot space sufficient? Will it struggle to get across the muddy farmland where I live etc.

Pot Noodle falls under the cheap nibble category. Priced at less than £1, there's no financial burden placed on the consumer so the purchase decision is made in a split-second of seeing the product. In that split-second, the consumer gains an overall positive or negative emotion about the product which is defined as a 'soma' (The Advertised Mind, Eric Du Plessis). This soma is massively aided by the way in which the product is advertised.

DDB global (Doyle Dane Bernbach) define their strategy by breaking down the benefits of the product into four groups: practical, social, sensory and ego satisfaction (Creative Strategy in Advertising, Jewler & Drewniany). In doing so, the agency explores both the rational and emotional rewards the consumer can receive from the product.

Mother's 'Rib it up' spot for Pot Noodle is a tounge-in-cheek take on the U.K's chav-tastic youth and the associated music and visual culture. The commercial appears as a deliberately tacky low-budget garage music video, sporting all the stereotypical adornments i.e. Burberry cap, various bling, shiny tracksuits, blonde groupies with their hoods up, electronically filtered vocals, a shirtless bloke pumping iron etc.



The ridiculously fast tempo of the song, quick MC'ing and vibrant colours give the sensation that a lot happens in a Pot Noodle in a very short amount of time. This suggests that even though you simply add water, there's still a multitude of flavours. The practical benefit of Pot Noodle therefore seems to be that it is quick.
   The social benefit is that you spend less time faffing around with dinner on a Friday night and get out with your mates sooner.
   The sensory benefit (taste) is implied when the music breaks down and we hear the beautifully crafted vocals, "oooooooooh, with the flavour all over my lips". It's the cute blonde who sings these lyrics so the sexual connotations are obvious. But there could be a deeper meaning for the chaotic song having a moment of clarity - in that amoung all the crap that goes into a Pot Noodle, there are moments where you realise that there is in fact a distinctive flavour. And quite a tasty one at that.
   As for the massage to the consumers's ego, I doubt anyone in their right mind would want to identify themselves as part of the culture in the commercial, but the consumer might identify themselves in the type of humor. It could also have implications as to the dynamic pace and energy of youth culture, suggesting that by spending too much time having a proper dinner on a Fri/Sat night, you're missing out on experiences with your mates. The ego-satisfaction therefore, is that Pot Noodle eaters are conscious of the experiences available around them and don't want to miss any of them by eating a nicer meal.

Marks in Time - The History of M&S

A couple of weeks back we visited the M&S archives at Leeds University. It would of been a wise idea to of completed this task shortly after the visit, however, I can't help but make an easy situation infinitely more difficult, so drawing from a few notes and a rusty memory, here goes...

1. Marks & Spencer hold five core business principles. These are: quality, service, innovation, trust and value.

2. In any advertising for M&S, one, if not many of the core principles are to be translated across to the audience. It is the strategic approach of the advertising that controls how the message reaches the consumer. For example, in the 1960's commercial St Michael on Holiday, the location is very stylish and the house featured has very modern furnishings - a far cry from a run-of-the-mill family home - which portrays M&S as an innovative brand. The luxurious location further implies the quality of the clothing whilst the happy, smiling family who're wearing the garments allow to audience to trust what they see. How could this innocent looking family possibly being lying to us? Regardless of the wealthy appearance of the commercial, the general public were aware at the time of M&S' reasonable prices which gives a feeling of value for money.

Contemporary TV ads

1. Rupert Everett, Rachel (S Club 7), Des Lynam, Martine McCutcheon, Gordon Ramsay and Helen Mirren all star in M&S' 2004 Christmas commercial. M&S regards itself as a down-to-earth brand that has started from the bottom-up. Each one of these famous faces has not only started at the bottom and worked very hard to achieve success that is appreciated by many, but all are very honest characters who you could happily have round for a dinner-party. Except Ramsey maybe. Everett is male pillar of art/culture and passion, Ramsey is a strong-willed sign of masculinity who appeals to the perfectionist in us of all. McCutcheon is a symbol of a self-respecting female being comfortable with who she is. Mirren is an example of an independant woman driven by ambition. And good ol' Des will always be there to tell you the footy results.


2. The location for M&S' '07 Autumn range is on board the very swanky Orient Express. This instantly brings to mind striking visions of the Flying Scotsman tearing through the country, renowned for its beautiful heritage and admired by all. This references the proud history of M&S and links to the benefits of wearing their Autumn range - people will be in awe of you. The rustic Oak interior of the carriages, which pepper the commercial bring about a sense of tradition and reflection. As winter draws closer, people begin to reflect over the past year, so this gives the audience a chance to reflect upon the heritage of M&S. The colours also follow the Autumn theme, matching the clothing range, as well as suggesting other traits of Autumn, such as rich and hearty food: Steak & Ale pie, winter vegetables etc. all of which M&S also offer.


3. The 'Your M&S' ads started featuring celebrity models of all ages and types in 2005.


4. It was indeed the luscious, oozy, gooey, softly-trickling warm Chocolate Pudding which featured in the first 'Your M&S' ad. New factories had to be built to cope with the demand for this particular choccy pud-pud as sales increased by 3000%.


5. To celebrate 125 years of the M&S brand, RKCR's TV spot shows Twiggy - M&S' eldest (and some would argue, still the most gorgeous) face - taking us through a time-line of the brand. From the Penny Bazaar stalls, to the creation of microwavable meals, the pioneering of sell-by dates and fitted bras, all the way through to their current emphasis on tackling climate change. Twiggy has been their right from the first advertisment, so she represents an eternal symbol of the brand's longevity. She remains attractive to this day, just as M&S core principles remain the same to this day. She makes a sweeping statement that bolsters M&S' value of innovation: 
 
"They've changed the way we eat, they've changed the way we dress, they're changing the way we treat out planet".  

Sweeping though the statement may seem, the earlier mentions of microwaveable meals and fitted bras support the first two claims. This leads us to believe that M&S are doing everything they can to reduce their carbon footprint, therefore consolidating another of their core values: trust.
"No-one goes further to bring you the best possible food", links to the value of service. This leaves only the principles of quality and value remaining, both of which are cleaned up in the campaign's endline: 'Quality worth every penny'.

Does my bank account look funny to you?

Now, I understand the vulnerability in expressing my views about things created by agencies who, in a year or so, I may want to work for, therefore I shall choose my words very carefully.

My bank account is not funny.

And I’m certainly not laughing at its balance.

So I simply don’t understand the current eagerness to bring humor into ad campaigns for financial institutions, namely Nationwide’s ‘Little Britain sketches’ and Halifax’s ‘Halifax FM’. Especially when the humor is just plain not funny.




I dont mean to be glum. Maybe the banks want to give us all a break from the constant economic doom and gloom that has plagued the media for the last couple of years. But surely I’m not wrong in thinking that when everyone is counting their pennies, they’re more likely to appreciate a bit of reassurance from their bank telling them that their hard earned cash is taken seriously.

I’m a Nationwide account holder. And I found Little Britain funny. But it’s had it’s day. I remember Trevor Beattie saying in a talk he gave to our course something along the lines of:

‘…ads are mortal creatures. They have their day, then they die, ceasing to work. As what worked then, worked, because it was then. Not now.’

Or something like that.



Little Britain is funny. But it was funnier a few years ago. So why bring it into a campaign now? Especially when advertising is supposedly built on ‘originality’ and ‘innovation’. And if I was a Halifax customer I’d be asking why my bank’s employees seem to be spending more time pissing around making radio shows than looking after my money…

On the flipside, Natwest seem to have nailed it with their ‘Customer Charter’ campaign. It’s not exactly entertaining, but it tells me what they’re currently doing to benefit me and my money, which is financially entertaining. Ambitious, uplifting music also accompanies the TV commercial, which not only sheds some light on our economic situation, but makes a welcome change from that soul-destroying ‘yeaaah, yeaaah, yeaaah’ sample in the Halifax FM ad.



This year on my course we’re focussing on strategy, so as yet, who am I really to judge the strategic approach in these ads? James Boulton, divisional director of customer strategy and marketing at Nationwide comments, “The new TV ads are iconic, full of humour and are a natural foil for the common sense approach Nationwide has to financial services”. As a customer with both Natwest and Nationwide, my consumer viewpoint matters more than my creative one. And, I’m sorry to say James, that my current view as a consumer is that Natwest are doing their job, whilst Nationwide are too busy watching Little Britain re-runs.

See the ads below:

Halifax ‘Halifax FM’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swC4UfWcNrY
Nationwide ‘Little Britain’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKK7aGNF-M8
Natwest ‘Customer Charter’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMc3ckjYJx4

Puma - 'After Hours Athletes'

Normally I’d find myself saying, those guys at Nike or Adidas have done it again.
Never have I found myself telling someone ‘You need to check the new Puma ad’.

Until now.

Puma have probably known for some time that the althetic draws of their footwear simply can’t compete with that of Nike or Adidas. Yet their casual footwear holds an aura of style on the increasing number of 20-somethings that seem to be sporting them.

Realising this, they’ve put together an amazing celebration of the ‘After Hours Athletes’. Anyone who says there’s not an ounce of competitiveness inside them is a liar. Competition is by no means a bad thing - how boring would the world be without it?

There’s an athlete inside all of us, as a description of the ad states, “even if the only time we run is to catch a cab home”. Think about it, the least competitive person in the world will still be eager to reach the front of the kebab shop queue at the end of the night.

This beautifully shot selection of scenes shines an innocence on the concept of ‘competition’. The penultimate shot, when the guy shoots a casual overhead shot at the garbage truck, sums it all up for me. It comes across as though it’s the potential match-winner in a high profile basketball game.

He misses.

It happens, so what?

He’ll just pick it up and put it in the next bin, just like a basketballer will score the next match winner.
Although competition can sometimes be harmful, it is nevertheless a wonderful thing which brings people together.

Top marks to Puma for reminding us all.