UFO Info Week-End

The rumour is that O&M was the victim of drugs smugglers who

The rumour is that O&M was the victim of drugs smugglers who address packages to fictitious people at real companies, which are then intercepted by a post-office plant. The finance director, Peter Walker, quickly alerted the authorities. Japan’s Levi’s incumbent, McCann Erickson, can be consoled with the thought that it is probably not the last international giant to lose out to Great Pulteney Street, Soho.It seemed like Christmas all over again at Ogilvy & Mather last week when the postroom opened a package addressed to an unknown employee and found 6.5kg of cannabis. Hudson wrote most of the Boddington’s press and TV work and some of the deeply underground- style Levi’s press ads.Hudson’s old agency, Bartle Bogle Hegarty, is hitting the sushi bars to celebrate after picking up pounds 10m of Levi’s business in Japan. BBH is increasing its grip on the global voice of Levi’s after the Claymation commercial became the first Levi’s ad to be shown in every territory around the world. One of them, Hub, is about to suggest using the image of the junkie from the “Just Say No” campaign next to a Lemonhead bottle The ad will read “Smackhead” and “Lemonhead”. Nice …
Adland’s Mr Funky, Tom Hudson, is quitting his job as copywriter at Leagas Delaney for the creative director’s post at BST-BDDP.

One or two creative hot shops have been briefed to come up with more ideas along these lines. As one creative director says, “If Brussels is going to ban us, what have we got to lose?”

When it comes to banned advertising, Hooch wannabe Lemonhead has played up its outlaw reputation by sending out imitation prostitute telephone cards with lines such as “Take It Whole” and “Gives Good Lemon”. Surely this is asking for trouble from the anti- smoking lobby? With spirits advertisers overturning their own ban on TV advertising, and producers of alcoholic lemonades squirming under media scrutiny, it looks as though advertisers have suddenly had enough: tobacco and spirits firms expect Europe to clamp down on their right to sell, so are making one last push. There was much head-scratching in Soho this week after Hamlet announced its return to cinema advertising, through its agency CDP, after a seven-year absence. They care about who should be playing, which team’s going to win – that’s what the ads are trying to get across.”. We talked about football as if it were the latest video game: ‘Forget simulation, go for stimulation’, ‘3D European Football.

So Realistic it’s Real’, and ‘No accessories needed’.”Then the FA talked to us about women. We targeted the female ads exclusively at the glamourous style magazines, partly because their readers are most likely to buy tickets, but also because we knew they would get us the most media exposure – as they have.”These are football fans who happen to be women, and they want to be taken seriously. The Euro 96 campaign is about finding different voices for the FA. To begin with we did the children’s press, the Beano and the Dandy. We even went to Wembley with a photographer for a friendly, to try some reportage shots. But you need a bit of a performance, and a normal person in front of the camera can end up looking blank We just didn’t have the time or the money. We did all the ad shots in just five hours – we could only do that using professionals.”We didn’t need to test them.

As soon as they knew it was an ad for the FA, they were all putting forward their ideas about Venables and what he should do.”It wasn’t women at first. It’s important to have that sort of integrity, so when we went to the casting agencies we were specific: we were looking for striking models, but they had to be fans who went to games.”We discussed using ‘real people’ with the FA. We don’t patronise them.”The client felt very strongly that the models had to be genuine football fans That was something we believed in. The FA is breaking that image; the way they film the FA Cup draw is now much more lively They invite real fans along The campaign follows on from that. In the past, you’ve heard fans complaining that the FA could be stuffy. He said.’ In the second, the model asks: ‘How can I lie back and think of England, when Venables hasn’t finalised the team?’ It’s the same with the girl fancying Italians – you think she’s going to say it’s because they’ve got great legs.”Humour was the key – especially with the FA’s being seen as slightly aloof from the terraces. We wanted to acknowledge that female fans can be as passionate, and boring, about football as men.