My turn for Adwatch today. As usual, it has been inexplicably sub-edited in places, making it read worse as far as I can see.
And I wan't very nice, which always gets our new biz director in a bit of a fluster.
The print version is here (click to see big)...
And this is what I wrote originally...
An Adwatch review in August is like the summer TV schedule: not much on.
Maybe that’s why Cash4gold stood out, its arrival in the UK making a big impact (a cool 44% awareness, matching that of long term, heavy weight advertiser, B&Q) as they look to become the UK’s biggest direct response advertiser.
Cash4gold launched in the US, where it has some 800,000 customers, just 2 years ago. And the UK is mirroring the US template (quite literally in fact): the same stock shots, sales man’s patter and customer testimonials, with the talking heads simply reshot using Brits. Beyond this, there is really little to say creatively. They are what they are: “a dinosaur of a DRTV ad” according to one DM insider.
So a couple of broader questions raised by Cash4gold’s arrival, and its chosen style of advertising, are maybe more interesting to consider.
Clearly there is a belief that activity of this kind works. But it ‘works’ in the same way that clicks on line work: it’s all down to measurability. And no matter how minimal the response, advocates see this as preferable to the less tangible (even if actually more significant) impact of other forms of communication. But then, as John Banham said when Chair of the CBI: “We are in danger of valuing most highly those things we can measure most accurately, which means we are often precisely wrong rather than approximately right”.
And even if Cash4gold is working, who does it work for exactly?
Which raises a second question: is this kind of activity ‘right’ in the first place. A rhetorical question, obviously: in a free market democracy, Cash4gold are legally allowed to trade and advertise…and individuals to make use of their service. But, subjectively, should the marketing community endorse activity of this kind?
Maybe I’m being unfairly judgemental. For all I know, Cash4gold’s motives are as pure as their bullion, a credible and much appreciated service. Or they could be preying cynically on the disadvantaged at a time of financial hardship, looking to make a quick buck from the misfortune of others. They have arrived on these shores in the depths of recession after all. I can’t say, because I don’t know the facts.
But either way, I’m not sure this low rent approach to advertising helps their case, regardless of how much they genuinely want to help or how ‘effective’ at lead generation it might be.
