21st century Mad Men

Another beautifully crafted series of Mad Men comes to an end. The only series ever created to accurately capture the atmosphere of an agency, albeit one in the 1960s. (And what a stark contrast to the embarrassment of the recent BBC 'comedy' The Persuasionists which unbelievably was written by an adman. Do see Adam Buxton's hilarious apology for the show.)
Back to Mad Men, It is fascinating to speculate what agency creative chief, Don Draper, would make of today's rapidly changing advertising scene. Somehow I can't see him sitting in front of a computer screen all day (and the ubiquitous glass of Scotch would have to go), yet his basic stock in trade of imaginative creative communication remains as valid today. With the advent of many new online marketing techniques, social media and SEO, good creative thinking will still play the definitive role in marketing (and of course TV) success.

Making Social Media Work

Interesting to hear Martin Sorrell say that whilst social media is fine, you still need advertising to drive people to it. It's certainly a powerful (and largely free) adjunct but people still need to know and care about your products in the first place before they follow them on Twitter. Sometimes the excitement of getting 100 Facebook fans seems to outweigh the actual financial benefits this might bring. At mhm grax we believe in including social media in the marketing mix, but not in using it in isolation. Take Stephen Fry - massive Twitter following, but only sustainable through exposure in other media such as TV and radio appearances.

Building site

Construction started on mhm grax new website. Can see why it's called construction -  feels a bit like a builder starting a job then going onto the next one without finishing it. Only in our case, it's because client work has to take precedence, rather than a deliberate ploy. Have to wait for another quiet moment to get the tarpaulins off again...

Something in the air?

If Kraft buy Cadbury will the gorilla hang up his suit and pack away his drum kit? Never really got the connection between chocolate and the largest living primate. It's a great piece of film, but just sticking a brand name at the end of it doesn't make it a reason to buy the product. And post campaign sales, despite all the good PR, were pretty ordinary. Still, maybe the head of Kraft is a Phil Collins fan...