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.
“Live fast, save young”—that’s the motto UBank preaches to Australian Millennials in its latest campaign geared at urging them to acquire smart financial habits early in life while promoting its USaver account. (This updates the campaign we wrote about a year ago.) Instead of celebrating the lavish trappings of stardom, UBank cleverly debunks the myth of “easy money and success” that so many young people ascribe to. The spots use catchy graphics and quick cuts to outline how two celebs transformed their 15 minutes of fame into business empires.
“Actress” cheekily asks viewers how they think today’s “it” girl, who seems to have had fame handed to her, got to the top. She “went to film school by day and worked tables by night, saving up all her tips for a film camera”; then, when the public was ready to give her the boot, the actress was ready to start a production company. “Now she’s in the mags, the perfume aisle and the boardroom, making Hollywood work for her.” Finally, viewers are reminded that, “When you see her on the red carpet rocking the free bling and the goodie bag, remember, she’s earned it.”
Considering that nearly 40 percent of young Australians feel their generation was dealt an unfair hand by the downturn, the messaging feels right for an unwaveringly optimistic (though sometimes childish) cohort that’s coming of age in uncertain economic times. It’s assuring to hear that hard work and determination can still pay off, especially if financial planning is approached like a marathon, not a sprint.
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.
While it’s clear that not enough Americans are anxious about their health and motivated to improve it, they are likely concerned about the health of loved ones. For its 2010 Effie Award-winning campaign, the regional health insurance company Anthem created a “Health Footprint”—a score similar to a carbon footprint—designed to measure “your positive influence on others.” The message was that people’s actions have an effect on their social network; the bigger your Health Footprint, the greater your positive influence on others.
Believe it or not, studies suggest many of us can blame friends, family and co-workers for extra inches around the waistline. A 2007 study found that a person’s chances of becoming obese skyrocket if a friend becomes obese; conversely, “thinness is contagious.” Anthem’s TV commercials illustrate the concept—for example, a boy is seen imitating his dad’s good habits—and invite viewers to calculate their health footprint online and share their score with their virtual social networks. The microsite includes health and fitness tips.
The idea seemed to hit a nerve. Anthem’s microsite got 79,000-plus visits, more than double the goal. And 75 percent of those who started calculating their health footprint completed the process. By tapping into a social phenomenon, Anthem was able to engage consumers by helping them see how they can make a difference in the lives of loved ones, a message both empowering and inspiring.
In our Recession Handbook, we advised marketers to “Inspire rather than empathize with consumers” in tough times, fueling hope and optimism rather than resentment. Kia Canada’s new “Drive Change” campaign provides a nice example. An initial spot told viewers that “drive” is “the urge to push on, a force that makes us think big no matter how small we start. It’s our inner fight to do what’s right, and it’s in us all.”
Then Kia put its words—“A vehicle can be a vehicle of change too”—into action with two minute-long spots that show a Kia team making over rundown spaces in just a day. In “Change Court” (below), a parking lot at a youth shelter is turned into a basketball court complete with mural, and “Change Garden” shows a junkyard at a community housing development morphing into a sustainable garden. Kia vehicles are parked in and around the spaces being renovated, integrated somewhat organically into the settings.
The ads do a nice job of showcasing the product and the CSR initiative concurrently. And they cleverly tap into the satisfaction we get from Extreme Makeover-type shows—watching a scene of disrepair being turned into one of renewal, we feel that with some basic skills and determination, we too can make this happen.
Marriage can be a great source of anxiety for young Indians, whose marital fate is often out of their own hands, arranged through the parents’ network, a priest or ads in local newspapers. The anxiety is that much more intense for educated, independent-minded women who don’t want to compromise on their beliefs and lifestyle but may be rushed to commit to someone they hardly know. (Our sister site has written about one Indian brand’s response to the modern woman’s wariness of arranged marriage.)
Earlier this year Times of India, a leading national daily, introduced the Times Equality Matrimonials to its Sunday supplement of matrimonial classifieds. “This space rejects the conventional thinking of a woman playing second fiddle to her husband and regards marriage as a true partnership placing both people are on an equal footing,” The Times declares. It even ran an Equality Marriage Manifesto. Separate ads target women (“Does hello to marriage mean goodbye to life as you know it?”) and men (“Do you want someone you can dictate to, or someone you can ask for advice?”).
The Times approach is likely to generate goodwill among its target consumer whether or not they place an ad (indeed, even if they’re already married). This is a great example of how a very old product or service can tap into current truths or anxieties to come across as very contemporary and strengthen bonds with younger generations.
“If Spain wins the World Cup, we’ll have to rethink our GDP growth forecast.” Those were the words of the minister of industry a few days before the World Cup final; going by the same rule, losing could lead to a slight decrease. The idea is simple: If I wake up happy and in a good mood, I might go out for lunch, get a fancier wine for dinner and book my vacation with a bit more enthusiasm. And if 40 million people wake up optimistic and confident, that could make a difference for the national economy.
Ironically, it was the Dutch bank ABN AMRO that researched the topic (after the 2006 World Cup) and released the study “Soccernomics,” which puts the economic effect of winning the World Cup at an additional 0.7 percent year-over-year growth for the winner; the loser is forecast to see a negative impact of 0.3 percent.
The economic effect in Spain remains to be seen, but the country certainly forgot about recession and unemployment for a few days. People focused on what they have in common rather that what differentiates them, and embraced the colors of our flag, finally getting over the bitter memories of dictatorship that it carried. What else can brands do beyond the typical endorsement or congratulatory note to ride out the wave of positive public sentiment following a win?
At a time when manufacturing jobs in the U.S. are declining drastically and iconic domestic brands like Chrysler have been struggling to survive, many Americans are anxious about the economic realities of a post-recession era, a digital age and a flatter world. With Apple and Google as today’s venerated brands, the skilled blue-collar worker has clearly lost his place at the heart of the economy.
Using slogans like “Everybody’s work is equally important,” Levi’s is tapping into this sentiment and adding an optimistic spin. A press release cites “a new generation of ‘real workers’ … who see challenges around them and are inspired to drive positive, meaningful change.” Ads focus on the company’s donations to the struggling Rust Belt town of Braddock, Pa., and feature its citizens. But some commenters on YouTube and elsewhere gripe that Levi’s isn’t actually bringing jobs to the town and its clothes aren’t domestically produced.
By contrast, a campaign from Chrysler’s Jeep Grand Cherokee is a paean to the idea of “made in America.” A voiceover talks about a nation of builders and craftsmen—“men and women for whom straight stitches and clean welds were matters of personal pride”—as we see images of America’s proud industrial past. Viewers are reassured that “This was once a country where people made things, beautiful things. And so it is again.” (Cue the latest Grand Cherokee.) The tagline: “The things we make, make us.” This campaign seems more likely to connect than Levi’s pitch, which seems to beg the question of where blue-collar hope will come from, at least for towns beyond Braddock.
When JWT conducted its first AnxietyIndex study in Argentina, in January, the country registered as No. 4 in the world in terms of anxiety. The two key drivers of anxiety here are the state of the economy and the cost of living. With the tagline “Vamos a reirnos mas” (“We’re going to laugh more”), the Cadbury gum brand Beldent is adopting a hope-fueled approach to this mind-set, a strategy we advocated in our Recession Handbook.
In a recent commercial, we’re told the population is growing; and as we see footage of a huge, festive parade, the spot lists some ways this is a good thing—more men who hoist you up on their shoulders at concerts, more blondes on roller skates, etc. Beldent is trying to build an ideology for the brand around empowering people to have fun and take the good things from life. In an anxious country, this is a good example of the idea that brands are better served by feeding optimism than resentment.
In an arid, hot region, the prospect of a warmer globe is frightening, and our latest AnxietyIndex survey in the UAE found the impact of global warming is now among the drivers of anxiety here. But despite several educational initiatives from the government, consumers haven’t become significantly more green. There’s plenty of room for improvement: The World Resources Institute puts the UAE second only to Qatar in its ranking of countries by per-capita carbon emissions, reflecting years of an oil-rich economy growing at a very fast pace.
The World Wildlife Fund and the Emirates Wildlife Society are behind a visually compelling TV campaign to raise awareness about the link between the UAE’s carbon footprint and consumer behavior. A 2-minute-plus spot encourages people to “be wise about what you buy,” largely by purchasing more local products. “Choosing imported beef, for example, results in a cascade of environmental costs,” the narrator warns, then outlines what some of those are. The ad uses Visual Fluency (one of our trends for 2010) to draw viewers in, with animated newspaper cutouts illustrating the points.
The campaign seems like a good way to start dialing up existing anxiety and motivate behavioral change. It will be interesting to see whether local brands, which haven’t engaged in any real green initiatives so far, take up the cause.
Australia’s “No Leave, No Life” campaign aims to drive domestic tourism by emphasizing that it’s healthy to take advantage of vacation days (there’s been a trend toward stockpiling annual leave) and that traveling domestically helps to stimulate our economy. “A little bit of leave,” one poster says, “not only helps us out, it gives you the chance to recharge the batteries and reunite with friends and family.” Touring Australia is positioned as a means to “really win the work/life battle.” The work ran in outdoor and print, and the initial outdoor media seemed to follow people on their route to work.
Since the campaign leverages a confrontational tone and a negative insight centering on the overwhelming “work/life battle” we all face, the most likely response is arguably heightened anxiety. Many commuters may be left feeling that they in fact have “no life,” especially given that achieving a work-life balance requires an overall approach—it’s a lifestyle, not a matter of simply taking three or four days off out of 365.
What this campaign does execute well, however, is the digital strategy. A series of Webisodes where actor/TV presenter Ernie Dingo surprises nominated “hard workers” by taking them away for a break effectively communicates how Australian holidays are both inspiring and accessible.
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