The Marketing Week – 8/3/2013

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

Three is to exploit the popularity of its moonwalking Shetland pony with the launch of a series of user-generated adverts starring the prancing animal. The brand is picking the videos from its YouTube page which lets users create their own mash-up tool of the pony dancing to anything from Boy band to Bollywood.

Three had not released a major campaign in years but its latest effort has been worth the wait with the advert racking up more than 2 million views in just a few days. Proof then, that the brand’s new strapline “Silly stuff. It matters” is not horseplay.

GOOD WEEK FOR

No More Page Three campaigners

Lego has decided not to renew its two-year partnership giving away free toys with Rupert Murdoch’s paper The Sun. News Int “categorically” denies that the ongoing campaign targeting advertisers to put pressure on the paper to drop its long-standing topless models on page three had anything to do with the decision, campaigners for the cause are claiming it as a victory.

BAD WEEK FOR

Payday loans firms

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Office of Fair Trading found “widespread irresponsible lending” in the payday loans sector in its report and has given firms such as Wonga and QuickQuid 12 weeks to improve, or lose their license to trade. The OFT is also referring the case to the Competition Commission. But what’s bad for the firms that charge eye-watering annual percentage rates (APR) of up to 4,000 per cent can only be good for the consumers potentially ruined by such unscrupulous lending.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Kia came under fire from Northern Irish Unionist MPs over its latest concept car the Provo – a colloquial term for the Provisional IRA.

The Korean car manufacturer became unwittingly embroiled in the firmly entrenched politics of Northern Ireland over the incident and swiftly announced it would not introduce the brand to the UK, after it was unveiled at a motor show this week. Unionist MPs were quick to brand the Provo as offensive to their community and led calls for it to be dropped.

Etihad global campaign takes off

UAE airline Etihad this week launched its first global brand campaign for three years earlier this week in a sign of its ambitions of global dominance.

The campaign, shot on location in the UAE, Thailand, Australia and Czech Republic, uses the tag line ‘The world is our home, you are our guest’.

The activity will roll out internationally and was created by M&C Saatchi, see video:

ONE TO WATCH

German start-up scene

For those in the know, or “digital natives”, Berlin’s thriving tech scene is hardly news. However, earlier this week Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel praised their contribution to the troubled continent’s economic landscape. Speaking at a Techcrunch Europe event she described them in terms that translate as: “The yeast so that Germany grows.”

Both Berlin and London, with its Silicon Roundabout, are widely held as major epicentres of the European tech scene.