Media&Marketing:The use of celebrities in Irish advertising campaigns isn't very common. But it seems to have paid off for fast-food chain McDonalds, which signed up multiple Eurovision winner Johnny Logan to promote its Eurosaver menu. The PR effort behind the ad campaign has garnered an award for Gibney Communications.
It's 27 years since Logan first stepped onto the Eurovision stage in his white suit singing What's Another Year. Chart hits have been few and far between in the last decade but the singer is enjoying his time in the spotlight again, even turning up to the Mansion House with managing director Ita Gibney to pick up the agency's award at the annual Awards for Excellence in Public Relations.
The ad was created by Cawley Nea and its sister agency Tequila and booked by Mediaworks. McDonalds had never used a celebrity in its Irish advertising before, though in the US Justin Timberlake has been helping to shift Big Macs since 2003. Of course Timberlake is the essence of cool for teenagers. Logan most definitely was not, however.
So what was the idea behind picking him to front the campaign?
McDonalds' Eurosaver menu price plan targets teenagers. According to Alan Kelly, creative director in Cawley Nea, because angst is a big part of teen life, the agency's brief has been to position Eurosaver as something for teenagers to look forward to in the midst of their tormented lives.
The idea to use Logan in the McDonalds ads for Ireland came from Kevin Keenan, a 32-year-old ad agency executive, in a brainstorming session with some colleagues. Keenan recalled that as a teenager in 1980s Ireland, about the only thing he had to look forward to was Logan winning the Eurovision for Ireland. From there, the idea grew to recreate Logan as an icon of hope for today's anguished teenagers.
While many of today's teenagers didn't know who Logan is, the marketing team in McDonald's bought into their agency's idea with three TV ads as well as radio and outdoor executions and even a Bebo website. The fact that Logan is so uncool makes the ads curiously appealing. There was a fine line to be drawn between making Logan part of the joke but not the joke, however.
That's where the PR strategy played a role. As Gibneys explained to the judges in its entry document: "While Johnny Logan was a national figure, his popularity had waned over the past number of decades so there was some doubt as to whether media and the public, in particular the teen market, would be interested in Johnny Logan's return to Irish screens. This presented a key challenge to the success of the campaign."
Gibneys devised a two-phased media campaign. Phase one was supporting the first airing of the TV commercials targeting national press and radio.
Gibneys refused interview requests with Logan in order to secure high-profile interviews further into the campaign. Phase two saw Logan appearing on The Late Late Show, Ireland AM and garnering the lead cover story slot in the Sunday Independent Life magazine. Measuring its PR strategy, Gibneys estimated the editorial value of the generated coverage to be worth €1.4 million, which seems a bit on the high end.
Alan Kelly of Cawley Nea, who wrote the TV ads with this colleague Martin Cowman, admits there are good and bad points for using celebrities in ad campaigns. "But if the message is relevant and makes sense, even in a crazy way, it will work. Kitsch can be cool," said Kelly.
The award to Gibneys was among 11 presented to the PR industry. Other winners included Financial Dynamics; Weber Shandwick; Amicus O'Herlihy Communications; Fleishman-Hillard International Communications; Pembroke Communications; MRPA Kinman Communications and Wilson Hartnell Public Relations.
Consumer code
Warning notices are about to become more prominent in advertising for financial products as the Financial Regulator puts pressure on lenders, investment companies and intermediaries to comply with the new Consumer Protection Code. The code had a soft launch in August 2006 but from July 1st the regulator is insisting that its advertising rules be strictly adhered to.
Financial ads are now accountable to two different bodies. While the regulator will monitor the ads to check terms and conditions obey their rules, the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland will continue to ensure the ads are tasteful and decent.
Some of the 41 rules in the new code include the stipulation that all ads must contain the proper regulatory disclosure. This means the full legal name of regulated entity, and trading name if applicable, along with the tag, "ABC regulated by the Financial Regulator".
Paul McDonnell, regulation and EU affairs manager in the Irish Insurance Federation, argues that the requirement to identify the regulatory status of the advertiser is superfluous, as any company operating in Ireland in the business of selling financial products will be answerable to the code.
According to its 2005 report published last July, the regulator's office has an annual budget of €40 million. The financial services industry contributes a sizeable €21 million towards the running of the office each year.
Jill Forde in the regulator's press office says their annual report will show that upwards of 60 financial ads were acted on by the regulator in 2006. These were ads where the regulator considered claims to be misleading, the voiceover setting out the terms and conditions were rushed or there was an issue with regulatory disclosures.
In most cases the regulator had the ad changed or pulled but there was no financial penalty imposed even though the code does have provision for fines of up to €5 million provided the size of the fine doesn't put the provider out of business.
Autism awareness
Have you noticed the recent press and bus shelter ad campaign for autism awareness Don't Leave Them Behind and wondered who was behind it? The campaign, promoting special ABA schools for children with autism, is the work of a charity www.autismawareness.net, set up by a group of individuals in the marketing and advertising industry. Gregory Craig, of the charity says: "We intended to ensure that once election day was over and a government was being formed that these children's voices would be heard at the negotiating table." The new programme for government includes a commitment to fund 12 ABA schools currently established in Ireland.
Craig said the campaign will continue into the autumn as a further 12 schools are looking for State funding.
siobhan@businessplus.ie
