Australia’s largest telecommunications company, Telstra, have recently approved a TV advertisement which is sure to end up on next years worst advertisement list.
The advertisement is promoting the Telstra 1234 phone service, where you can get everything you need. Apparently someone in an expensive marketing company decided that the best way to communicate that involved a female washing clothes in a laundromat.
The female opens up the washing machine or clothes dryer to find a talking sock. If you’ve currently got a picture of your 4 year old nephew or niece with their arm in a sock, making a mouth with their fingers and thumb – you would be dead on the money. The sock then proceeds to tell the female about the service and at the end picks up a pair of the females lacey underwear1 another sock and makes a comment about finding a room; not what I’d personally consider all that appropriate for a Telstra advertisement. Of course the advertisement wouldn’t be complete without the talking sock bashing its head into the side of the washing machine/dryer and babbling a little more about something useless.
In short, I can’t tell you a lot about the Telstra 1234 service because the television advertisement was so poor. If Telstra are looking to engage the Australian public anytime in the near future to inform them about a new service; I’d advise that they do not use the same company or division that produced the current Telstra 1234 advertisement.
I find the ad quite funny. And from what I can see its doing its job. You remember the ad, and the service its promoting.
Any publicity is good publicity.
theskaz,
You’re right, I do remember that ad – however I’m remembering it for the wrong reason. Some might argue that if I remember it at all, that its served its purpose; however I don’t prescribe to that at all.
If I came away remembering the advertisement and had a clear picture in my mind of what I should expect from it – then it would have been a successful campaign in my opinion.
Al.
theskaz is spot on…did the job an ad is supposed to, the laugh is a bonus.
The other one in the Antique store is a lot funnier, which is why I was searching for it to download and stumbled across this site.
Al
I am one of the people in ‘expensive marketing companies’ and I thought the ad was pretty good given that a service like 1234 would be pretty hard to make interesting. The sock doesn’t find ‘lacey underwear’, he finds a frilly pink sock, which he proclaims to be in love with. When the girl snatches it away, he cries out in despair. So, on this one, I’m siding with rYan.
I personally love the series of ads, and just for the record he picks up a pink sock with a lace top. Makes sence that he’s a sock too no doesn’t it.
Regards
Benny
I don’t doubt that it would have probably been a difficult item to work up concepts for; I just feel that it could have been done better.
I think my biggest gripe with the advertising was that the service wasn’t described in enough detail or communicated clearly enough.
It might just be me, but I felt that I was paying far too much attention to the actual advertisement and not enough time listening to the voice over telling me about the service. If I happened to have the TV muted and saw the advertisement, I’d have absolutely no idea what it was trying to communicate to me.
Regarding the sock and the
underwearsock, well that makes a whole lot more sense. Does that make the concept for the advertisement better on the whole, I don’t think so but it certainly clears up that particular point!Al.
Yes not a bad ad, too bad they’re promoting an expensive service that is already by law provided by them for free ie the 12455 and 1223 call assistance numbers. In my opinion it is shameful marketing trying to get people to use a paid service when a free one is available but not promoted. Come on ACCC.
That ad is very good. Anyone who thinks that it’s bad (i.e. the writer of the page) is a total dunderhead. You remember this ad, which means you remember the service it is promoting, so therefore, it is a very good ad. As the the babbling sock, it makes the ad funny. Who wants to watch a boring ad?
Answer: The writer of this page