JWT’s AnxietyIndex is designed as a place to discuss how brands and consumers are responding to the global recession. With daily content updates, AnxietyIndex.com includes contributions from around JWT’s network, offering a truly global perspective.
Lurpak has been setting the bar for food advertising in the U.K. for some time. The premium butter brand is a champion of real cooking, using extreme close-ups and unusual perspectives of hero ingredients together with charming voiceovers delivered in Rutger Hauer’s distinctive, sultry tones to build an inimitable advertising style. But while its “Saturday Breakfasts,” “Kitchen Odyssey” and “Bake Club” campaigns have left us salivating, these days the sight of a chunky dollop of butter sizzling in a saucepan may prove off-putting for those anxious about calories and cholesterol.
With health and wellness continuing to preoccupy consumers everywhere, Lurpak has introduced a Lightest variant to its portfolio, and celebrates the color and variety of healthy ingredients in the “Wonderful and Wise” launch campaign. Print and outdoor feature a rainbow of dozens of types of fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and grains, and a well-executed interactive online version includes food facts, recipes and an ingredient of the week. Aiming to banish the sad, dull image of healthy food, the campaign sums it up in the TV ad with the line “Healthy doesn’t have to taste humdrum.”
This Lightest variant isn’t Lurpak’s first foray into reduced fat butter—they already have a Lighter version on the shelf. But where Lurpak Lighter offered a cynical commentary on the dieting world in the 2007 “Fads” commercial (“It’s not rocket science; just eat a little less fat. … Relax, Waist Watchers. Who’s for an extra helping of common sense?”), the brand now seems to acknowledge that healthy eating is a permanent part of consumer lifestyles, and it isn’t something to be anxious about.
One particularly sad truth of the recession is a sharp decline in charitable giving. From 2007, voluntary income among the U.K.’s top 1,000 charities has fallen by more than a fifth, according to The Charities Foundation. One major reason is a decrease in regular giving by direct debit as people struggle to justify the monthly expenditure. In response to these changing habits, JWT London teamed up with supermarket chain Budgens to pilot a new fundraising mechanism that aims to make charitable giving habitual again, by turning it into an impulse purchase.
Engraved wooden blocks branded HOPE sit on store shelves and can be scanned at the checkout along with the rest of a consumer’s shopping. A £1 donation is then automatically sent to the Alzheimer’s Society, the first charity to sign up for the initiative. The block is subsequently returned to the shelf. The aim is to target consumers when they are spending money but at the same time make the process continuous, as much a part of their everyday lives as the weekly grocery shop. The initiative is being trialed in two London stores with a view to expand if it proves successful. Here’s hoping HOPE catches on.
Piazza Italia, a low-budget apparel chain, is celebrating people Italians can be proud of. With the new tagline “Sponsor for the common people,” Piazza Italia leverages the economic and political situation here: Italians have continuously been submerged by corruption scandals in all the topics we love and fear the most: politics, soccer championship, taxes, pensions. … The campaign is for the ones who had the courage to say no to corruption, for the ones who wake up every day to do their job without falling into the temptation of easy money.
In its first TV commercial, the brand features close-ups of various everyday folks. A voiceover says: “We don’t sign autographs. We wait in line. We don’t have a foreign bank account. We don’t have the leather chair or long life pension. We are the ones who take the field every day without taking a bow, the ones without powers but with big responsibilities. The ones who dream, who get indignant but never throw in the towel. Somebody says we are nobody. The truth is that we are mostly everyone. We are the ones who make true miracles.” In addition, a print campaign portrays the role models Italians should look to, like soccer player Fabio Pisacane, whose refusal to accept €50.000 to fix a game started a judicial inquiry into illegal betting (“calcioscommesse”) on soccer games.
The cost of living is high (and a leading cause of anxiety in the U.K., according to our AnxietyIndex data) and money is tight, real estate sales are lower than ever, sellers are reluctant to move, and home loans hard to come by. There has never been a harder time for first-time buyers in the U.K. So what’s the result?
Life Livers: A generation has emerged that has completely given up on the idea of buying until much later in life. There in no graspable reason to save anymore, so we’re seeing an attitude shift that is inadvertently encouraging the idea of not worrying about saving but just renting (or living with the parents) and enjoying your 20s and 30s: go on more holidays and keep on partying, buying more clothes and tech, and worry about the rest later. (For instance, a third of young adults surveyed by house-builder Taylor Wimpey said they would not give up going on holiday while saving for a down payment.)
I predict a big shift in 10-15 years when this generation is still renting and the realization kicks in. How can brands both capture this spending and help these consumers plan for the future?
This new commercial for Fiat’s Panda is an Italian-themed mash-up of Chrysler’s Jeep Grand Cherokee spot from 2010 and its recent Super Bowl ads, “It’s Halftime in America” and “Imported From Detroit” (same company, same philosophy). Much like the U.S. commercials, it reassures Italians that we have the skills and drive to exit the crisis and that with pride and hard work, we will make it. “We can choose which Italy we want to be,” says the voiceover. “Now is the time to decide. Whether to be ourselves or to accept the views imposed on us. Now is the moment to start anew.”
Observing that the ad reflects the “austerity zeitgeist,” Reuters notes that it’s set at a Fiat factory near Naples where the automaker recently moved production of the Panda from a Poland plant. The spot uses the phrase “The things we make, make us,” the tagline from the Grand Cherokee spots, and concludes, “This is the Italy we like” as the Panda drives into the middle of a scenic old village square.
After Fiat’s struggle with labor unions and Italy’s struggle with the economy, and with a new technocratic government that’s trying to turn a crisis into an opportunity, the spot shows an Italy that’s ready for a change. What Italy do we want to be?
This year there’s a definite air of nostalgia to the Oscars, with a majority of Best Picture nominees peering into the time tunnel: War Horse (World War I), The Artist (Old Hollywood), Midnight in Paris (1920s Paris) and so on. The Oscars are often cited as a cultural barometer of sorts, so what does this say about our mindset? JWT London asked a panel of British film viewers why we plunder our past so readily.
Participants (35 percent) were most likely to believe it’s a response to the times. The past offers escapism at a time when we’re buffeted by a harsh economy, global unrest and the spectre of terrorism. This is closely aligned to a feeling of “reassurance and comfort,” suggested by 32 percent. And 34 percent think it’s a response to cinema’s focus on technical fireworks: More than a whirlwind of special effects and explosions filmed in IMAX, 3D or even 4D, people are looking for an old-fashioned storyline.
There’s certainly nostalgia for the cinematic past. When asked to name the greatest era in cinema history, 78 percent pointed to a period before the turn of the century, and a majority (66 percent) believe today’s Hollywood A-listers don’t have the star quality they used to. Significant percentages would also like film-going to resurrect relics from the past like usherettes bearing treats (40 percent), a short feature before the film (35 percent) and the intermission (28 percent). Fewer than 3 percent choose downloading or streaming as their favorite way to watch films.
This reflects a wider appetite for all things retro, like classic TV (72 percent) and retro recipes (54 percent). Most people believe things used to be simpler (84 percent) or even better (51 percent). Even 50 percent of those aged 18-39 wish things “could be how they were in the old days.” Today’s unprecedented pace of change means we constantly need to learn new ways to live, which can be overwhelming. Looking to the past is a form of escapism and a reaction to the complexity of modern life. Nostalgia is a way to tap into familiarity, which builds emotional connections and warmth.
Our latest AnxietyIndex study, conducted in the wake of the U.K. riots last month, added a focus on how British adults feel about the mayhem, its causes and possible solutions. Some Britons have become more fearful as a result of the riots, especially the younger generation: While 17 percent of people over 35 said they feel less safe on the streets where they live, 41 percent of 18-34-year-old respondents feel less safe. Many in this cohort are also less forgiving of the young rioters than older generations, with 43 percent saying the punishments of those convicted were not harsh enough vs. 34 percent overall. And just 28 percent said they worry for other young people, compared with more than half of the over-50s.
“Young people are fed up with the marginal few who participated in the riots undermining their voice in society,” says Tony Quinn, head of planning at JWT London. “Youth are usually the drivers of social change, but protests are now being overshadowed by violence.”
The survey, which polled 290 British adults, also pointed to an opportunity for brands to serve as part of the solution. More than two-thirds of young people say they feel more positively toward the brands that helped with the cleanup, and many also feel that brands could play a role by sponsoring youth initiatives, facilities and programs, providing training opportunities and facilitating the involvement of young people in their communities. For more on the findings, download the full report here.
Retailers, very familiar with the economic crisis that continues to grip Western economies, must tread lightly with pitches aimed at getting people to spend money. A tactful “we understand your pain” approach can go a long way in creating brand loyalty.
Spanish retailer Mango is offering shoppers a way to update their wardrobes at a discount, ensuring their closets remain up to date without spending a lot of money. The company’s Mango for Mango program allows customers who sign up for a loyalty card to return used clothes purchased from any of its stores for up to one year after the initial purchase date and in exchange get a new article of clothing at a 20 percent discount. (Shoppers who had loyalty cards prior to January 2011 are entitled to a 25 percent discount.) The Web component includes a virtual closet which helps shoppers keep track of their purchases. For now, the program is only in place in Mango’s Spain stores.
Not only does this initiative give Mango customers a way to refresh their wardrobes, but also allows them the flexibility to try new fashion with the knowledge that when they tire of one thing, they can try something new. It’s a take on Non-Commitment Culture, one our 10 Trends for 2011. So far, more than 40,000 customers have signed on to the program, according to Mango, which is also donating 1 percent of each purchase within the program to the Vicente Ferrer Foundation in India, which builds homes in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
In a time when buying new clothing may be seen as an unnecessary expenditure (after all, most people have a closet full of clothes) Mango gives women an easy way to justify a new item or two: They can wear it now, and exchange it later, ensuring that they are always in fashion. And always shopping at Mango.Photo Credits: http://shop.mango.com/
The Fiddler on the Roof and the rest of us have wondered about all the things we’d enjoy in life “If I were a rich man.” Sometimes we also wonder what we’re giving up, especially now in times of crisis, when we sacrifice luxuries and even the taste and quality of our food to save money. Campofrío, a deli brand, uses this idea to show that it’s silly worrying about calories and life in general.
Taking a cue from Budweiser’s talking frogs, this spot shows a young toad catching flies while an older one dismisses the food, explaining he’s a reincarnated human. But he’s not too gung ho on that experience: “You need to learn English so you don’t become a loser, control your calories, triglycerides …” The younger one, though, breaks into song, imagining what he’d do “If I were a human”—move to Vegas, become the driver of the Swedish women’s beach volleyball team, “buy a Chihuahua, a waterbed and a mega ham platter.”
Then the frog is hit by a truck and reincarnated as a handsome office worker who enjoys some Campofrío ham. The voiceover: “You never know what you’ll become in the next life. So take good advantage of this one.” (An English transcription is included in the description section of the YouTube video.) The insight is a smart one—most of us are too wound up to relax and enjoy life, and we’re unlikely to get another chance to do it better, so don’t pass up small pleasures.
In 2009, at the beginning of the financial crisis, brands such as Ikea and Telefonica emphasized the importance of solidarity in overcoming the slump. But it’s been two years and Spain is still in free fall, with no signs of imminent recovery from its biggest crisis in recent decades. Unemployment is at 22 percent and growing. Millward Brown’s “Consumer Perspectives June 2011” sees a real deterioration of the domestic economy.
The airbags of the crisis have been families, which are absorbing the laid-off and young people without job opportunities, but household savings are shrinking. This is forcing people to cut back on social activities, such as going down to the nearest bar with friends, a Spanish social custom. In response, Mahou, Spain’s leading beer, has launched a timely campaign reinforcing the values of friendship and generosity and the idea that friendship is shown in difficult times.
A TV spot explains that Javier lost his job six months ago when his company shut down, and now he’s avoiding the bar—“he felt ashamed that we might end up paying for him.” But, says the voiceover, “If one of us is missing, it’s not the same. So we decided to stop paying for his beers and simply do what Javi would do for any friend.” The guys each pour some of their own Mahou into a glass for their buddy. The tagline is “All or none.”
I don’t know whether this is a nice message or a depressing one—can we live on generosity and solidarity alone?
Retailers, very familiar with the economic crisis that continues to grip Western economies, must tread lightly with pitches aimed at getting people to spend money. A tactful “we understand your pain” approach can go a long way in creating brand loyalty.
