THE LADS ARE BACK…WHASSUP!

May 13, 2020 Team Soho Advertising, Creative  

As the weeks morph in to each other, we have increasingly seen the same creative used by brands and companies. It is either a Zoom/Microsoft Teams conversation or the everyday person talking in to their camera, showing the world what they’ve been doing during the lockdown in their house.

With that said, it is refreshing to see the classic Budweiser advert remixed for this pandemic period to break the norm. It seems like it’s not only music that can remix a classic from back in the day to fit a current zeitgeist, ads can too. 

So what classic ad would you like to see reworked? For me, they have to remix the Milk Tray ads. Classic.

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WHAT DO YOU MISS THE MOST FROM YOUR DAILY LIFE?

April 30, 2020 Team Soho Advertising, Creative  

It has been about 6 weeks of an enforced lockdown here in the UK and we’re really missing life in two thousand and twenty BC. That is 2020 Before Covid.

Quarantine has our team thinking. In between creative writing and planning, conceptual ad ideas, breakdance battles (via Zoom), learning Groot, online origami lessons and P.E with Joe Wicks as a team (most mornings), what do we miss the most about our former life?

The tube for a start. We found the majority of us are at our most creative whilst observing other commuters and listening to either Stock, Aitken and Waterman classics or 90’s Hip Hop whilst reading the many TCP’s (Tube Car Panels) and mentally critiquing the creative. What else do we miss? Buying a designer coffee first thing in the morning then feeling guilty for never having change for the homeless guy situated near our office; though we’ve all observed he has the latest smart phone, so rack our brains as to where he charges it. 

A few commented on missing the pigeons that religiously congregate between 1 and 2pm for the buffet of left over Tesco Meal Deal sandwiches. In short, it’s the little things we miss and look forward to doing again. 

What about you, what are you really starting to miss now?

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IS THIS THE BEST STREAMING SERVICE!

March 31, 2020 Team Soho Advertising, Creative  

Depending on your entertainment preference, age, tech device owned and other factors, that is most likely to be your statement. With the Corona pandemic shutting down the whole world near enough, once the wellbeing of your loved ones is sorted, the essentials for surviving this is food and toilet paper (see last post). Also high up on the survival list is going to be good entertainment for all the first world countries to see through any boredom. With that in mind, which streaming service is the best? May the battle for the remote commence.

There are too many providers to do a real deep-dive, choice is at a high with still more broadcasters and independent companies looking to launch a video-on-demand subscription service. With brands recognising that the advertising opportunities lay more here than in terrestrial TV, it makes too much sense and just as desirable for them also.

It all comes down to content though, and who has the best. This could be subject to the rose tinted lenses the viewer may be wearing, but once you get past whose licensed content from the TV networks and movie studios you prefer, it then comes down to who has the best original content. That is the game changer.

This brings us to the big four, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Apple TV+. Arguably, Disney+ has the richest franchises with them owning Marvel Studios, Pixar, all their original Disney cartoons and movies as well as the Star Wars franchise. Certainly gives the original content on Netflix a run for its money, though Netflix’s new Party feature which allows you to link up with friends and host long distance movie nights and TV watch parties should help fend off their rivals. But with both Amazon and Apple pumping millions in to their original content, the streaming wars are set to get interesting, with all looking for your subscription money and bingeable consumption. 

It’s a shame all production is at a halt right now, but for understandable reasons. I guess we’ll have to wait till things return to some sort of normality to see who has the best streaming service over the next few years and who will be king by the end of this decade. This is going to be great for consumers, and brands.

 

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CREATING THROUGH CORONA

March 16, 2020 Team Soho Advertising, Creative  

What in hell is going on in the world right now?The Coronavirus has reaped havoc on a world scale that hasn’t been seen in a very long time, if ever. 

The markets have crashed, companies have had millions, if not hundreds of millions wiped off their value, and there has been multiple sporting events cancelled due to the pandemic. One of these has been the English Premier league, who on Friday gone cancelled all games until the 4th April after Arsenal’s head coach was diagnosed with the virus. This follows a shutdown from near enough all of the European leagues as well as the leagues in Asia, America and a few in South America. Not only football, other sports have suspended games and events until further notice. Absolutely crazy.

What we have been told is to wash our hands amongst other bits from Boris Johnson and the World Health Organisation, and those effected should place themselves in a 2 week in-house quarantine, isolating themselves from family and friends. This is all well and good but what about work? 

The creative industry has been deeply affected. Record labels have seen their artists live shows cancelled for the forthcoming months as festivals and organisers take precautions. TV and film have been disrupted just as much, as many productions have shut down temporarily as companies safeguard those employed on projects. A lot of these however are self-employed contractors. Even advertising and online content creators have been hit hard, with a number of them reporting jobs with big brands have been cancelled or postponed for weeks. 

How will the creative industry create its way through this turmoil? Well, social media and group chats are certainly giving it a go with many memes and informative jokes reporting on the state of society as we navigate through this. Only time will tell how the production companies, advertising agencies and content creators get back on their feet. In the meantime we urge all to be safe, responsible, please wash your hands, and ask yourself, how much loo roll do you seriously need?

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