Bullmore.qxd 2/27/2008 14:32 Page 14 CHOPPING BLOCK JEREMY BULLMORE If marketing continues to fly under the radar, it’s going to experience a very unpleasant crash ACK IN 1955, starbursts were a sort of communications prophylactic. The Television Bill had been lengthily and If increasingly savvy Bfiercely debated: it was granted more Parliamentary time than any other Bill of the consumers have become a 20th century. When finally enacted in 1954, it broke the BBC’s broadcasting monopoly and problem, it can only be ‘independent’ television (neither ‘sponsored’ nor ‘commercial’, please note) became a reality. It was because they’ve begun to to be funded entirely by advertising. With one curious exception, the only permitted form of see through our cunning advertising was to be spot advertising – and elaborate measures were built into the Act to tricks: we’re finding it make sure that there was clear and unambiguous distinction between advertisement and harder to get away with programme content. Unlike the US system, there was to be no blurring of authority, no word from things. And that in turn, calls our sponsors. The starburst was a legal requirement – a split second of spiralling graphic that deftly for the invention of new distinguished commercial from programme, and even commercial from commercial. British cunning tricks. So what viewers were left in no doubt that they were watching an advertisement; and, despite its exactly do we mean by proximity, programme content could remain getting in under the radar? entirely uncontaminated. There was a purity about this arrangement, an innocent transparency that disarmed even those into line. There are, it’s true, things called opposed to the introduction of a commercial advertising features – already an oxymoron – but channel. This is what the starburst proclaimed: they’re feeble creatures, most of them, and their ‘You are about to see an advertisement. This has capacity to fool the punters strictly limited. been paid for by the advertiser. The advertiser But over the last ten years or so, things have will say only favourable things about his product. begun to drift a little. Two phrases, in particular, You may expect truth but not necessarily the have entered the marketing lexicon. Consumers whole truth. Do not expect balance or are universally acknowledged to have become objectivity. The fact that this advertisement is ‘increasingly sophisticated’ (or, even worse, carried by London Weekend Television does not ‘savvy’); and a great many practitioners have imply LWT’s endorsement.’ begun to boast of their ability to ‘get in under Fifty years on, though, now without starbursts, the radar’. spot television has more or less retained its A certain coyness surrounds both phrases and fastidious stance. No one is in the slightest doubt it’s easy to see why. If increasingly savvy that money has changed hands; no one confuses a consumers have become a problem, it can only be commercial with programme matter. If a member because they’ve begun to see through our of the public chooses to be seduced by a cunning tricks: we’re finding it harder to get away commercial’s praise for a product, it’s in the full with things. And that, in turn, calls for the knowledge that the praise was self-generated, not invention of new cunning tricks. So what exactly bestowed by any outside authority. do we mean by getting in under the radar? I think And in all this, of course, television has only we mean disguising our advertisements as been following its senior medium, print. Display something else. If not, then what exactly? advertisements have always been unmistakably The increasing reliance of the world’s media on advertisements – and those few that have tried to advertising revenues, and the increasing competi- pose as editorial have been pretty swiftly brought tion between the increasing numbers of different 14 Market Leader Spring 2008 Bullmore.qxd 2/27/2008 14:36 Page 16 CHOPPING BLOCK JEREMY BULLMORE media, makes the maintenance of a scrupulous distinction between advertising and editorial more and more difficult. In other words, the value of Though the recent Nick Davies book, Flat Earth News, has attracted both praise and flak, it’s the placement to the well worth a read. It’s mainly concerned with the decline of rigour in journalism; for example, when product’s company is checked against source, 80% of 2,000 news stories that appeared in the four UK quality dailies were greater when the audience wholly, mainly or partially constructed from is kept in ignorance of the second-hand material – drawn either from news agencies or public relations companies (Davies fact that the placement was calls this ‘churnalism’). The readers of those papers, however savvy bought. You have to feel just they may be, will never be certain if they’re reading an honest reporter’s attempt at the a little uneasy about that, presentation of fact – or a hastily re-worked version of a company’s press release. don’t you? Product placement is another under-the-radar technique. You may guess when you’ve seen your little uneasy about that, don’t you? I daresay that blockbuster film that the car, the mobile phone life peers would value their peerages even more and the brand of champagne in the branded bar highly if their donations to political parties all owe their noble presence to an exchange of remained forever undisclosed. money. But, there again, you may not; and you’ll I have little doubt that there’ll be a lot more certainly not be told. written before very long about ‘under the radar’ I suggested to a film industry person not long marketing activities. It has all the frisson of The ago that it would be altogether more open if Hidden Persuaders, with a lot more substance to movies acknowledged any contributions from back it up. product sponsors in their opening titles: ‘The As it happens, I’m far from certain that huge following companies each contributed $10m harm is being done. If lasting harm does in fact towards the production costs of this film.’ I was materialise, it’s far more likely to be harm to the told that, were this to be the custom, product marketing community than to our increasingly placement would be a great deal more difficult savvy and confident consumers. to negotiate. But a trade that openly prides itself on the skill In other words, the value of the placement to with which it deceives its public is not only the product’s company is greater when the unlikely to come top of anyone’s list of respected audience is kept in ignorance of the fact that occupations; it will also render itself less the placement was bought. You have to feel just a effective.❦ Only the big stories make it WARC Daily News is a free email service from WARC, providing the top stories in full at the start of each working day 16 Market Leader Spring 2008 Viewpoint - Powell.qxd 2/28/2008 11:04 Page 17 VIEWPOINT CHRIS POWELL Marketers need a clear message on the environment SURE WAY to get no action is to give masses of contradictory advice. That's what a welter of well-meaning We all want to be seen to greenish organisations seem to be doing,A often with quite substantial budgets to be virtuous but few of us enable them to do it. Climate change communications is a mess of conflicting mes- like to suffer in a good sages. Are we to stop travelling (except by donkey, horse or foot), to turn off our TVs when cause. We tell market we go to bed, hope that science captures carbon before it leaves the power stations, recycle our researchers that we don’t bottles in Tesco’s car park, eat only organic mind paying more for green vegetables, trade carbon with our neighbour, lag the loft, blame George W Bush, doubt the benefits but only a minority CHRIS science and not worry, or put a Cameroonian POWELL has wind turbine on the roof and sell electricity back of zealots ever really will. to the grid? Or all of these? some advice for To make matters worse, some of the advice is A campaign that delivers clarifying the amateurish and unintelligible. There was quite a heavyweight campaign late last year around the more widespread green conflicting theme that any six year old could do it, featuring, unsurprisingly, a lot of six year olds who went on behaviour is going to need messages on to be photographed in Downing Street. The climate change only thing I got out of this was the clear to be cleverer than that message that I was more stupid than the average six year old and, while that may be true, it was difficult to see how that piece of abuse would On the whole, however, most people in the advance the cause. UK agree there is a problem and that action Where do these people get the money from to is required. mount so many campaigns, which come at us This is a huge advance. The avoidance (or from all different directions? Perhaps the more likely limitation) of global warming government is spraying money around any depends on action now to prevent catastrophe organisation that sounds as though it will do many years in the future. It is akin to the something about climate change, but the prevention of an epidemic, a famously difficult aggregate effect is a cacophony. communications task. Much money and many One piece of very good news, though, is that years of effort had to go in to convincing us that the sheer weight of scientific evidence and, it was worth having a slightly inhibited sex life to gradually, the weight of media opinion has avoid a disease that, at that stage, seemed to be convinced most of us (although not George W having little impact in our milieu but would if we Bush), most of the time, that there is a problem.