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.
Delhi will host its biggest sporting event yet, the 2010 Commonwealth Games, in October, but nothing seems to be going right. With news channels ferociously digging up every real or potential issue related to the Games—from exposes about corruption within the Indian Olympic Association to the city’s unpreparedness for the mega event—Delhi citizens are braving a series of anxiety attacks. Enter the tycoon Subrata Roy Sahara of Sahara Samay, a national news network, who wrote what he called an “Emotional Appeal,” carried on the front page of a leading daily.
Sahara, who’s synonymous with the Sahara brand, charges that while the media “has done its duty,” his fellow news networks and media owners have also “overdone it,” causing “absolute negativity” among Indians and leading to bad PR for India. He asks the media to withhold further negative coverage until after the Games, “for the pride of our beloved country.” It could be argued that his patriotic-sounding appeal is an effort to cover up his network’s inability to come up with an expose to match that of his competitors. But either way, through this well-managed PR exercise, Sahara succeeded in building his own reputation as well as that of his news channel. Sahara Samay comes off looking mature and nationalistic by choosing to allay public anxiety at a time when other brands have been fueling it.
Subaru hits an emotional chord (with some at a dealer meeting even reportedly tearing up) in a commercial that aptly addresses the profound anxiety felt by parents as their children get behind the wheel. A concerned but proud dad softly cautions his daughter, an adorable 6-year-old: “Leave your phone in your purse. I don’t want you texting, OK? … Call me—but not when you’re driving.” The daughter driving away is a teen—but, of course, still the little girl in her father’s eyes.
When we discussed Oprah’s efforts to tackle distracted driving, we asked how brands could appropriately address the issue and help to improve road safety. Subaru subtly speaks to concerns about teen drivers texting—a problem that has even spawned mobile monitoring software—rather than further heightening anxiety (as we’ve seen with spots from Liberty Mutual).
Moreover, the tone is spot-on. It may help that both girls are real-life daughters to the actor here, Andy Lyons, adding to the authenticity. Subaru successfully projects a real understanding of parental anxiety—both that which stems from today’s road dangers and the more timeless “anxiety of handing over the keys for the first time,” as Lyons put it—to help convey its trustworthiness and reliability.
After completing a major renovation that includes new food and retail facilities, Sydney Airport is appealing to Australians to get to the international terminal early to shop and eat. But rather than simply spotlight the offerings, the airport puts anxiety at the center of a campaign that positions the terminal as an antidote to the tongue-in-cheek ailment PFT (Pre-Flight Tension). Explains a YouTube page: “If you’ve ever flown overseas, you may have noticed a change in your normal behaviour. You might have seemed a little more anxious. You might have experienced sudden mood swings. You might have even found yourself sweating and, in some cases, swearing profusely.”
One spot shows a hilariously near-hysterical wife and her husband as they prepare to leave the house, almost forget their tickets and arrive at “final call” for their flight. Spouses of both genders should readily identify. Another spot shows a sufferer of “obsessive passport disorder” at the airport who frantically searches for his passport, finds it, then forgets where he’s put it, setting off more frantic searching—a little too much anxiety and not enough humor here. The ads direct people to easepft.com.au.
Any traveler will surely engage with the premise, but the campaign risks hitting a bit close to home for the more seriously anxious, and travelers don’t find out what’s actually in the new terminal until a second phase of the campaign launches.
In writing about the “Cathy” comic strip coming to an end, The New York Times includes a typical panel, showing the perennially anxious Cathy holding her “trophy swimsuit,” an item far smaller than her actual frame. Body-consciousness and anxiety tend to go hand in hand, and two recent ad efforts triggered accusations of helping to feed that anxiety. Ann Taylor’s Loft brand was criticized for Photoshopping models’ waistlines beyond recognition. Then some in the blogosphere cried foul over outdoor ads in New York that featured a stack of Snack Factory’s Pretzel Crisps and the headline “You can never be too thin.” Several critics took on the ads themselves with guerilla-style postings.
Are people simply overreacting? Loft shouldn’t get a pass for shrinking its models. But I’m inclined to cut the Snack Factory some slack—after all, they’re advertising pretzels, not diet pills or a weight-loss shake. But others may feel different, and in an age of hyper-sensitivity, marketers must think of every which way their advertising (even the most seemingly innocuous) might be interpreted.
I’m not saying ads should be vanilla; provocation can be great. But marketers must be prepared to face the consequences, especially given how easily they can be magnified by the megaphone of social media. As we advised in our Social Media Checklist, assume your brand will be embarrassed at some point and have a plan to deal with worst-case scenarios. The Loft later scored some points by showcasing five staffers of various heights and sizes wearing its new pants. And Snack Factory replaced the headline with “Tastes as good as skinny feels.” What do you think? Were these adequate responses?
A recent poll in Brazil in advance of the October presidential elections shows how fast the country has developed since it last elected a president four years ago. Back then, people were most concerned about employment, hunger and corruption. Today Brazil is economically stable and growing fast, facing the global economic slowdown crisis without major impacts. Many people who were struggling are now paying attention to higher-level needs. So today they are most concerned about health, education and safety, according to recent research from Ibope Intelligence and the Todos Pela Educacao (All for Education) institute, which asked Brazilians what areas the next president needs to focus on.
Health is the greatest concern for 63 percent of respondents, 20 percent above 2006 levels. And while only 15 percent cited education four years ago, it scored 28 percent in this poll. Other areas of concern are safety (39 percent), drugs (26 percent) and salary (16 percent).
The three presidential candidates are on top of these issues. Health has been a favorite platform for Jose Serra, who instituted key improvements when he served as Health Minister. Education, a big issue for women, is a cause embraced by Marina Silva (herself illiterate until age 16, and proof of how education can change a life). Advancing these areas will be crucial for sustainable growth—we’ll see who presents the best proposals as the campaign advances.
Citizens can research the candidates, and find out more about the deputies, senators and governors who are also on the ballot, at eleicoes2010.jus.br. The site is part of a new Federal Electoral Board campaign, “You can choose your destiny,” which includes TV commercials that cleverly use Visual Fluency to help voters understand election basics.
As a clean and efficient city with an ultra-modern sewage system, Singapore is not a place you would associate with flooding. But one freaky Wednesday morning in June, an intense and prolonged rain caused knee-high flooding in several parts of the island, including the tourist haven Orchard Road. Shops were flooded, buses were stuck on the road, and cars were floating in apartment buildings’ basement parking areas.
In a display of quick thinking amid anxiety, NTUC Income—a once stodgy state-owned insurance company—ran print ads the very next day. One headline assured readers that “We won’t leave you high and dry. Even when you’re waist-deep in water,” while copy in another ad promised that “you won’t have to worry about footing the bill, when you set foot on dry ground again.”
The resulting buzz has been phenomenal. But more than being clever advertising, this is a great example of how a speedy response is the best one in the real-time world we live in (especially for an insurance brand)—and that pre-empting anxiety is just as effective a strategy as responding to it.
Playing off an anxiety-provoking crisis is a tricky act for a marketer to carry off. Last week we spotlighted how the U.K.’s Nectar is managing this in the wake of the country’s austerity measures, and we looked at how Dawn detergent may see a boost from the BP spill (messaging spotlights how it’s used to clean oil from wildlife). Now two marketers have come under fire for making light of BP’s tainted image.
The effort from Spirit Airlines, a discount carrier that has run cheeky promotions in the past, is insensitive but deliberately so. To promote discounts to Spirit’s coastal destinations, the airline’s home page showed a series of tan, oil-marinated bikini-clad women with copy urging travelers: “Check out the oil on our beaches.” Their sunscreen? A green and yellow bottle of “Best Protection.” Not surprisingly, the reaction has been negative, with people calling the campaign “tasteless” and “offensive.”
Meanwhile, a New Orleans tourism campaign attempted to use anti-BP humor to allay tourist fears about the nearing Gulf spill. TV and print ads used the slogan “This isn’t the first time New Orleans survived the British” with an image of the French Quarter statue of Andrew Jackson, which marks his Battle of New Orleans victory over the British during the War of 1812. BP itself had supplied the funds for the $5 million campaign, part of a larger donation to the state of Louisiana.
“We thought, with all the grief, we would try to turn things a bit lighter and more tongue in cheek,” the president of the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau explained to The Telegraph. But the ad was pulled after The Guardian noted that BP had in effect funded the “anti-British” campaign. Again we see BP making an effort, but no one seems willing to take it seriously, even a recipient of its funds. It’s too bad the slogan was retired—it might be the only amusing (and hopeful) message to emerge from the entire mess thus far.
It was only a matter of time before a marketer coopted the quintessentially British “Keep Calm and Carry On” slogan—originally a World War II propaganda poster (designed in case of Nazi invasion), rediscovered by a bookstore owner 10 years ago and seen everywhere (on posters, mugs, T-shirts, screensavers, etc.) in the U.K. during the downturn. “The words are … particularly positive, reassuring, in a period of uncertainty, anxiety, even perhaps of cynicism,” a London School of Economics social psychologist told The Guardian last year in explaining its popularity.
Things are looking even worse for the U.K. today. The government’s austerity measures, announced Tuesday, were met with headlines like “Pain now, more pain later.” Nectar, a loyalty card, launched a print campaign timed to coincide with the announcement, telling Brits to “Keep Calm and Carry One.” Nectar’s signature purple replaces the usual red background, and an image of the card stands in for the crown. Web copy reads: “Don’t be disheartened by the Budget news! Times may be tough, but using your Nectar card is a savvy way to collect points and spend them on great rewards.”
Using bad news for a brand’s advantage is risky and tough to pull off, but now seems like just the right time for Nectar to leverage this pop-culture phenomenon.
Dulux Paints recently ran a full-page ad in a national daily here indicating a fall in outbound tourism from India thanks to its “Colours of the World” range—they bring the mood and feel of Rome, New York, London and Paris to your home, so you never need to leave. The pitch cleverly appeals to anxious consumers who are cocooning; while spending more time at home, where they feel safe and secure, they still want a taste of adventure within the comfort of their four walls. The ad also comes at a time when a small but growing number of wealthy young travelers are becoming more adventurous and interested in other cultures than older Indians (a trend recently covered byTime). Those who are curious about the wider world but still somewhat fearful of the unknown can get a safe taste of it with an adventurous paint color.
Dulux’s initiative has nicely tapped into these needs, in addition to proving that paint doesn’t have to be boring—a lesson that other products traditionally not associated with adventure/discovery can perhaps learn from.
In his speech last night, President Obama made it plain that BP is responsible for “the worst environmental disaster America has ever seen … one we will be fighting for months and even years.” The words came a week after Obama called on BP to suspend ad spending and dividend payments until the company has fully paid for the cleanup. While the oil giant has agreed to set aside $20 billion for cleanup and claims, the company’s PR team might consider Obama’s advertising suggestion as advice well taken. The catastrophe has laid waste to BP’s carefully constructed “green” image; now its communication efforts are only throwing salt on the wound.
A 60-second spot shows CEO Tony Hayward announcing that BP has taken responsibility for the cleanup, along with pictures of crews mustering on beaches, lowering booms and bathing birds. And while the commercial avoids images of the actual slick, it has inevitably generated angry response videos. BP’s YouTube post of the spot has generated an overwhelming 12,000 or so “dislikes” vs. about 1,100 “likes” (the company disabled YouTube’s comments function). The message is too little too late, and BP’s website covering its cleanup efforts feels far less like a genuine attempt at transparency than a calculated PR move. After all, this is the company that bought the search term “oil spill” from Google in an attempt to get control of its image.
Other oil companies will have to be careful not to be pulled into BP’s quagmire. Perhaps Hippocrates is a good place to start: First, do no harm.
Delhi will host its biggest sporting event yet, the 2010 Commonwealth Games, in October, but nothing seems to be going right. With news channels ferociously digging up every real or potential issue related to the Games—from exposes about corruption within the Indian Olympic Association to the city’s unpreparedness for the mega event—Delhi citizens are braving a series of anxiety attacks. Enter the tycoon Subrata Roy Sahara of Sahara Samay, a national news network, who wrote what he called an “Emotional Appeal,” carried on the front page of a leading daily.
Dulux Paints recently ran a full-page ad in a national daily here indicating a fall in outbound tourism from India thanks to its “Colours of the World” range—they bring the mood and feel of Rome, New York, London and Paris to your home, so you never need to leave. The pitch cleverly appeals to anxious consumers who are cocooning; while spending more time at home, where they feel safe and secure, they still want a taste of adventure within the comfort of their four walls. The ad also comes at a time when a small but growing number of wealthy young travelers are becoming more adventurous and interested in other cultures than older Indians (a trend recently covered by 
