Puzzle Solvers

Honda's UK work has been exceptional in the last few years, specifically the amazing Cog commercial.

Wieden & Kennedy's latest Honda work didn't do it for me. I really wanted to like it but it just didn't connect with me. The commercial is too long and, frankly, I couldn't give a hoot about all these engineers. If you want to solve puzzle, let people participate. Everybody is up for a good trivia quiz or a puzzle to be solved. But nobody wants to watch others solve puzzles. (Deep Announcer Voice: "Coming soon on Fox Reality - Puzzle Solvers. See Raymond Smith solve a 25,000 piece puzzle.")

But it could work really well in the interactive space: Introduce the puzzle idea through video and then let people focus on the companion unit, allowing them to solve their own puzzles. Since Honda is a brand for the people, an interactive solutions feels closer to the brand and the engagement interests people have online.

Polish the gravestones

TVWeek is reporting that the "seventh-season premiere of Fox’s “American Idol” was its lowest-rated in four years.
“Idol” fell from last year’s series-high premiere perch, yet was once again a ratings titan that readily blew away all competitors Tuesday night, as well as all other network premieres from earlier this season.
“Idol” received a 13.8 rating among adults 18 to 49, according to preliminary Nielsen data.
That’s down 13% from last year’s 15.8 and down 10% from 2006’s 15.3.
Among total viewers, “Idol” was seen by an average of 33.2 million, down 11% from last year."

Given the fact, that TV afficionados touted American Idol as the miracle medicine for their hemorrhaging ratings, this doesn't fare good for the TV world. Plenty cheap explantations out there (Primary Season, warmer than usual weather, the bar had $1 special, I had to wash my hair) but the real culprit is the decline of TV as the mass gathering place. The only bastion remaining is the Super Bowl. And I expect those ratings to get bigger and bigger. People long for these moments and brands are willing to pay top dollars for them.

Besides the Super Bowl, I wonder if my daughter will ever experience these water cooler moments again.

: hemorrhaging

TV in need of help

"TV is not dead, but if you're going to do TV, you have to create stuff that people seek out. Just because you buy 30 seconds doesn't mean you'll have an impact. You have to do something remarkable with it."—David Lubars, Creative Director, BBDO

What are we seeing here? A $40 billion industry filtering the current marketing climate to save their own skin. So what industry do you suppose spends more than any other in the U.S. on TV advertising?

Automakers remain the biggest ad spenders, accounting for nearly 12% of expenditures, according to TNS. Especially the Big 3 continue to spend heavy on TV. Effective? Don't think so. Likeable? Maybe. Helping sales? Mhhhhhmmmmm.