The Tastic ad with the Daschund
Can the ASA really take complaints about this one seriously? 2 Feb 2004
SABC's 3Bee Loyalty Campaign
I was already getting irritated with the distracting banners SABC3 continually run across the screen when programming is running late, and now we also have some little character bouncing around ... 2 Feb 2004
Fast foods and obesity
Fast food consumption went up in the nineties in line with the increase in obesity and diabetes. 1 Feb 2004
Job offers and rejections
What if a company advertises for a position, you apply, they show great interest, but then suddenly they stop and go quiet? Is this not poor professional conduct? 28 Jan 2004
Healthcare Advertising - you should be paying attention
As a highly-specialised form of advertising, why does healthcare advertising and the important role it plays in educating and influencing remain the poor cousin of mainstream advertising? 20 Jan 2004
IEC not in touch with SA roots
Is local not lekker for IEC after ten years of democracy? There is an IEC re-registor advert running on radio which encourages people to vote. The peculiar thing is the voice is that of American R&B singer. 16 Jan 2004
Open markets in SA
Are you happy with this monopoly system driving the country's economy, or do we need open markets? We should vote for politicians who will give competition a run in this country. 15 Jan 2004
Bank on South Africa
FNB have a new campaign promoting South Africa with reasons to bank on our country. 13 Jan 2004
Do these 'feel-good' ads really inspire goodwill?
The latest Shell ad lauds Shell's Public Affairs manager for his involvement in developmental and educational projects in Southern Africa. 8 Jan 2004
TV slots and dodgy advertising
What must be arguably THE WORST ad on TV at the moment!! There is an ad that I have seen a few times now on the telly. It is for some funny sweet manufacturer and involves two minutes or so of a kid dressed up as a ringmaster droning on about various examples of sweets. 4 Jan 2004
The new Cell-C campaign
Am I the only one out there who thinks that NO-ONE talks like they do in these ads? Not even the age group projected in the campaign knows what's going on! 16 Dec 2003
Xmas parties - Drinking & driving
I have been in the industry for quite a while and the amount of drinking at industry functions, followed by inebriated people driving home, has never ceased to amaze me. Media owners, clients, agencies etc. invite their guests to come have a good time with them (which more often than not means having loads to drink), but don't seem to care how these valued guests get home. 1 Dec 2003
What's up with retail ads in general?
Sure, you get some good ads - retail - but why are most so crap, that they totally put you off a product. 18 Nov 2003
Original ideas
Is it really true that great minds think alike or is it just that great ideas are adopted over and over again. 10 Nov 2003
Viral marketing examples
There has been a recent debate on what exactly is Viral Marketing. Here is an open forum to list all creative examples of Viral Marketing that you have come accross, not only in the online world. 9 Nov 2003
New DROS commercial - completely inappropriate voice-over
Has anybody seen the new Dros Restaurants commercial in which the people (and the restaurant chain) are portrayed as fiercely patriotic South Africans? 6 Nov 2003
Holding advertising accountable
If advertising is to be seen as an investment and not an expense, surely agencies should do more to show evidence of the link between their work and their client's business imperatives. 16 Oct 2003
''Account managers have become highly paid messengers''
''They do not contribute strategically to my brand, they do not understand the media options and their strengths, they do not provide good service and they defend expensive advertising proposals made by the ad agency without considering alternative solutions.'' 9 Oct 2003
ThisDay launched on 7 October - will it survive?
It is a national daily at R3.00/issue. Will advertisers support it? How does the first few issues look? The focus is quality news with daily copy from the London Times and New York Times. Sharing African focused content with the Nigerian This Day should also raise the quality and reduce costs. 9 Oct 2003
Is advertising becoming more of a science than an art?
With more and more people from a non-art and -design background such as social and cultural sciences being employed in the advertising industry, has advertising become more of a science using experiments and cultural/social research to observe and scrutinise a target audience's interests, as opposed to witty, snappy, memorable copylines and imagery? 6 Oct 2003
Shouldn't the Loeries be a non-profit organization?
Where does all the money go? Should it be used for development projects or helping deserving winners with entry fees for international awards instead of going into the MFSA's coffers? 3 Oct 2003
Marketing software ideas
If you were given the opportunity to create a product, without any limitations, that would help you in your marketing efforts, what would you envision? 26 Sep 2003
Agency pitches
As a smaller agency, how does one get to hear of work out for pitch, or indeed new clients looking for world class agency's to handle their accounts. 26 Sep 2003
Plagiarism again
So far the industry has been rather quiet on the fact that Cynthia Vongai has been accused of plagiarising off the net. 24 Sep 2003
Bad Planning
"Why, am I as an avid English Football fan who is, let's face it, in all likelihood English speaking, subjected to ads at half-time promoting sokkie treffers and Bok jol? What are these idiots thinking?" 22 Sep 2003
Media Accountability: Public Interest or Self-Ideological Interest
The mainstream media in our country, more than any other time before the early 90s, has assumed a very unhealthy robust attitude that has relegated its role to pushing more business and upper-class interest to boost sales – NOT the public interest. 16 Sep 2003
Personal brand identity
Although we may be branding experts, the advertising and marketing world can be a difficult place for the individual to discover who he/she really is. - Sid Peimer 15 Sep 2003
Research on industrial theatre as an industry
Is industrial theatre an industry or not, and how big is its market? 3 Sep 2003
Freelancing & 'intellectual property'
How do creatives, without the benefit of agency backing, 'protect' their creative from shady clients? 28 Aug 2003
