SERIES 3, EPISODE 3
A STUDY GUIDE BY ANNE CHESHER
http://www.metromagazine.com.au
ISBN: 978-1-74295-368-7 http://www.theeducationshop.com.au EPISODE 3 INTRODUCTION
Gruen Planet – a show about advertising, PR, marketing, spin and everything else they use to make us buy stuff we don’t need. In this new series, Gruen Planet will run an X-ray across the world and unpick the stories that affect us all. Does the most awarded ad on the planet actually work? Is Apple’s formulaic marketing now working against it? Why would a network refuse to run a specific ad? Does a pope need a publicist? How do you sell the footy finals?
Each week, host Wil Anderson will be joined by regulars Todd Sampson and Russel Howcroft, along with some of Australia’s smartest communications experts. They will take us inside the persuasion business and explain why the world appears not as it really is, but as others want us to see it.
Episode 3 Guest Panellists are:
CAROLYN MILLER: Communications Strategist
BRAM WILLIAMS: Archibald / Williams
SCREEN EDUCATION ©ATOM 2013 2 CURRICULUM
Gruen Planet has cross-curricula application across several Australian Curriculum subject areas. In particular, Gruen Planet has application as a learning resource in English, Media Studies, Commerce, Economics, Political Studies, Cultural Studies, and Civics and Citizenship.
Gruen Planet subject matter and pitch is appropriate for Secondary School students Years 8–10 and Senior Secondary Years 11–12.
As a classroom resource or as a reference for individual learning assignments, Gruen Planet offers a variety of contemporary topics affecting our society that deal with ethics, morality, values and culture.
SERIES SYNOPSIS
Everyone is on the sell. Tyrants. Sports stars. Actors. Criminals. Politicians. Deities. Charities. Entire nations. They’re all trying to persuade us to think, buy or do things that we weren’t thinking, buying or doing yesterday. Host Wil Anderson is joined by regulars Todd Sampson and Russel Howcroft, along with some of world’s smartest communications experts. They take us inside the persuasion business and explain why the world appears not as it really is, but as others want us to see it – why everything is spin, branding, advertising and image control.
The panellists dissect each week’s events as they unfold. Whether it is a million dollars spent on an advertising campaign or a hundred dollars spent on a haircut or a tie, Gruen Planet is there to decode what is going on for the audience and point out the many strategies brands and organisations use to influence us. Like its parent show, The Gruen Transfer, Gruen Planet offers up and dissects a feast of messaging brilliance and bunkum from over the years and around the world.
SCREEN EDUCATION ©ATOM 2013 3 HOST
Wil Anderson
Wil is a stand-up comedian first and foremost, touring Australia and the world at every opportunity and perform- ing more than a hundred shows a year. His stand-up is a densely written, high-speed ride through one of the most wonderful comedic imaginations in the world. Politics, pop and the banal come together in a Wil Anderson routine, always delivered with more conviction and enthusiasm than any man’s vocal cords can take.
Over the last four years, Wil spent a lot of time north of In addition to his Gruen commitments in 2012, Wil was the equator, performing live in London, Edinburgh, Ireland, busy touring his hit live show Wilarious to sold-out venues Montreal and Los Angeles. around Australia, earning rave reviews and winning his third consecutive Bulmer’s People’s Choice Award at the Since 2008, Wil has hosted ABC TV’s highest rating pro- Melbourne Comedy Festival, not to mention being named gram, The Gruen Transfer series – a role that saw him nomi- one of comedy’s hottest acts by none other than John nated for a Gold Logie in 2010. The program has spawned Cleese, proving that this world-class comedian is definitely spin-offs Gruen Nation, Gruen Sweat and Gruen Planet. In at the top of his game. 2013, Wil returned to host a series each of Gruen Nation and Gruen Planet. Wil started 2013 doing live shows in Vancouver, Minneapolis and Denver before returning home with his new stand up show, GoodWil, debuting at the Adelaide Fringe Festival and occupying the prestigious Princess Theatre during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival before returning to live dates in North America and the UK.
SCREEN EDUCATION ©ATOM 2013 4 REGULAR PANEL
Todd Sampson
The eclectic life of Todd Sampson began on Cape Breton Russel Howcroft Island, off the north-east coast of Canada. He grew up in modest circumstances; his father was a factory worker Through his appearances on Gruen Planet, Russel has be- for Coca-Cola and his mother a checkout girl for KFC. come the very public face of brand marketing and advertis- Although neither of them had any formal education, Todd ing in Australia. In fact, according to media mogul Harold entered university at sixteen on a full scholarship, studying Mitchell, Russel Howcroft has become a brand himself. biology and economics and then went on to complete an Mitchell awarded Russel a much-coveted Charlie Award on MBA by age twenty-four. the basis of personal brand creation. And while Russel was pleased to be recognised in such a fashion, his mum was Todd is the national CEO of Leo Burnett Sydney, one of the particularly pleased, as she is a huge Harold fan! world’s leading communication companies – it was recently ranked as the seventh most creative company in the world. Russel has recently joined Network Ten as one of its He is the co-creator of the Earth Hour initiative, one of the most senior executives. Prior to this role, Russel was largest environmental movements in history, reaching more Chief Executive Officer Australia/New Zealand at Young than 1.4 billion people in more than 5500 cities. & Rubicam Brands. He fell in love with the advertising in- dustry after doing a week’s work experience at advertising The Financial Review and News Limited ranked him as one agency McCann Erickson while part-way through a mar- of the most influential executives in Australia. He has won keting degree at Chisholm Institute (now part of Monash CEO of the Year twice and has featured on the cover of University). His father had started working in advertising at BRW magazine. the ripe old age of forty-five after a career as a cartoonist and businessman, and he suggested that his son give it a Todd is undoubtedly one of Australia’s freshest and most go. Russel, who hated university, managed to extend his interesting TV personalities, with a unique ability to com- work experience into an eighteen-month job. bine intelligent insight with humility. As well as appear- ing in the Gruen series, Todd is also a regular guest on In his early twenties, Russel headed to London and spent the Network 10 news show The Project and has featured five years working at Lowe Howard-Spink, one of Britain’s on CNN, Sky News and the ABC’s Q&A program. He is top creative agencies. His major account was Heineken currently starring in the groundbreaking documentary beer, and his work on that account was considered one of Redesign My Brain on ABC, which explores our ability to Britain’s best ad campaigns of its time. dramatically improve it using science. Russel returned to Melbourne in 1995 and co-founded Outside of work, Todd is an adventurer and has climbed to Leonardi Brandhouse. He spent the next eleven years run- the top of Mount Everest, unguided. ning his own agencies with various partners, before joining George Patterson Y&R, Australia’s oldest agency brand, in 2006. The group included The Campaign Palace, VML, IdeaWorks and Brand Asset Consulting.
Russel is also the former Chairman of the Advertising Federation of Australia and has been a regular com- mentator on radio in Melbourne. Russel’s other passion is reflected in his position on the board of the Melbourne Football Club.
SCREEN EDUCATION ©ATOM 2013 5 GUEST PANEL
Bram Williams
Bram Williams has developed communication strategies for all kinds of brands in all kinds of media. He began in radio with Triple J, switching to advertising in 1993. After Planning Director stints at McCann-Erickson and Euro RSCG (creating campaigns for Bacardi, Levi’s, Coca-Cola, General Motors and Volvo), he was head of strategy at Saatchi & Saatchi Australia (Toyota, Tooheys and Sony). In 2009, Bram was founding Strategic Partner of Archibald Ingall Stretton, New York. He returned to Australia and with Stuart Archibald founded Archibald / Williams in 2012. Bram has lectured in planning for the AFA; authored a monthly AdNews column and been a returning panellist on ABC TV’s The Gruen Transfer. EPISODE STRUCTURE Carolyn Miller Each episode of Gruen Planet comprises Carolyn is a freelance communications strategist who has of segments which run back-to-back been working in the advertising industry for over fifteen years, at ad agencies including Moon Communications, to make up the show. Shaping the DDB and Euro RSCG. She has worked on a variety of content into these segments enables the clients including Dettol, Mortein, Jaguar, Westfield, HTC, producers to focus on different elements Nurofen and is also a non-executive director of the board for Family Planning NSW. of various marketing campaigns while maintaining a consistent show structure throughout the series.
SCREEN EDUCATION ©ATOM 2013 6 How Do You Sell EPISODE 3 AFL and NRL Grand Final In this episode of Gruen Planet, you can almost smell, almost touch, almost taste the Rugby League and Aussie What Would Kim Jong-un Do? Rules Grand Finals. Yet, even though the two codes have fan bases of similar If he wanted to make footy sexier … size, and even though the two grand finals will be among the most watched programs on TV this year, only one of them seems to appeal to marketers. Why? Spin Cycle
Also, our screens are being bombarded 3. NSW Government replacing the term ‘coal with Defence Force job ads. The ADF seam gas’ with ‘natural gas from coal seams’ is one of the biggest advertisers in 2. Target’s ‘50 Shades of Grey’ Lingerie Line the country, spending $40 million a year to attract recruits. What are the 1. Spanish town whose council is trying to guilt challenges of selling a job that might people into picking up their dog’s poo by involve you being shot? And how hard is sending it back to them via courier it to convince women to join when sex scandals clog the headlines? The Pitch Brief: A campaign aimed at refugees to make Australia look like a terrible place to live MONOLOGUE Pitch agencies: RMIT and UTS Vodafone Ad Target Market: Defence Jobs Hello Kitty Beer Norwegian Tiles Ad Worst Celebrity Endorsement Of All Time Bob Dylan Victoria’s Secret Ad
SCREEN EDUCATION ©ATOM 2013 7 STUDENT TASKS How Do You Sell
Task 3 Monologue Russel proposes that musicians Tim Rogers and Paul Kelly Task 1 and the band Hunters and Collectors represent ‘every- thing that people love about the game’ (AFL). What is your Wil shares with us the fact that Vodafone has lost 1.5 mil- impression of these performers and do you agree with lion customers since 2011. However, Vodafone is on the Russel? Why or why not? comeback trail with a bold new ad campaign about redis- covering innocence. Task 4 a) What type of company is Vodafone? Carolyn suggests that Tim Rogers is a hit with bogans. Describe who bogans are by making a list of ten traits a b) Why did they lose so many customers? bogan might have. c) What is Vodafone doing to win back its share of the market? What Would Kim Jong-Un Do?
Task 2 Task 5
In Japan, the Hello Kitty icon is very popular. Explain what/ Wil asks the crucial question: What would Kim Jong-Un do who Hello Kitty is and suggest why this animation is so if he wanted to make footy sexier? Why is this comment successful at selling a range of products. Name five of humorous? these successful Hello Kitty products. Task 6
What is Wil implying when he says that Kim Jung-Un would ‘insist all games were played in empty stadiums, entirely for the benefit of himself’?
SCREEN EDUCATION ©ATOM 2013 8 Spin Cycle The Pitch
Task 7 Task 9
Wil opens this segment with reference to the New South Wil describes this week’s episode The Pitch. ‘We’re asking Wales government’s action to replace the term ‘coal seam the next generation of ad geniuses to take on a real-world gas’ in all official documents with the friendlier ‘natural brief. Competing tonight are advertising students from gas from coal seams’. He says ‘I am sure the government RMIT in Melbourne, and UTS in Sydney. The challenge would call this natural bovine bio extracts, but I call this in the week that Operation Sovereign Borders launched bullshit.’ Rewrite this comment in your own words but – it’s clear the boat issue isn’t going away, even if it now maintain Wil’s apparent political sarcasm in this statement. happens in secret. The Federal Government runs ads in overseas countries trying to put refugees, people already Task 8 trapped in terrible situations, off the idea of coming here. We’ve asked our young ad folk to do the same thing, Why do some people call the department store Target ‘Tar- but do it more effectively. Can they pull it off?’ Suggest Jay’? What is the implication here about the Target brand an advertising approach that would support Operation name? Sovereign Borders.
Task 10
What are the organisations RMIT and UTS? Go to their website and find a course offered in each institution relating to:
a) Media b) Communications c) Marketing d) Advertising
SCREEN EDUCATION ©ATOM 2013 9 Target Market
Task 11
The Panel discusses how the army can recruit young people for Defence jobs when it is a facing negative public image due to a press-reported internal culture of sexual misbehaviour. Todd says ‘…if you think about it, if killing someone or being killed or use of chemical weapons, or mass damage or injury doesn’t put them off, I am sure a scandal is not really going to put them off. If you put it in context – I mean they are marketing to 17–24-year-olds – that’s pretty much the core market, generally 17–24-year- old males. And when you think about that, it is interesting. We know that their prefrontal cortex doesn’t even fully de- velop until they are 25, so they’re getting them early.’ What Worst Celebrity Endorsement Of All Time is your opinion about this issue? Task 13 Task 12
Wil categorises the Defence job web videos into two broad In this episode, the Worst Celebrity Endorsement Of All categories: adrenalised adventure or lifestyle choices. Write Time ad is the Bob Dylan Victoria’s Secret commercial. Why three attractive features of both of these categories that does Wil call this commercial pretentious? might appeal to the Defence force target market. Task 14 Explain how the success of this campaign is measured through these statistics. Who was Victoria’s Secret hoping to target in the produc- tion of this commercial? How was Bob Dylan directed to fulfil this objective?
Let’s Wrap
Design a thirty-second television advertisement for the Defence Force that does NOT rely on adrenalised adven- ture or lifestyle choices.
SCREEN EDUCATION ©ATOM 2013 10 REFERENCES
Gruen Planet GRUEN SOCIAL MEDIA http://www.abc.net.au/tv/gruenplanet/
The Pitch facebook.com/gruenhq
Inside the Pitch webisodes http://www.abc.net.au/tv/gruenplanet/thepitch.htm twitter.com/GruenHQ
Watch Gruen Planet on ABC Iview http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/panel
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/curriculum.html
SCREEN EDUCATION ©ATOM 2013 11 This study guide was produced by ATOM. (© ATOM 2013) ISBN: 978-1-74295-368-7 [email protected] For more information on SCREEN EDUCATION magazine, or to download other study guides for assessment, visit