Hi, I’m Eka Abalaki, the latest intern here at The Dairy! I’m from Georgia, with a motivation to learn and create as much as possible.
Wait, which Georgia I hear you ask?…
Let me explain – there is a Georgia state in the US and a very tiny country called Georgia on the edge of Asia and Europe. I am from the tiny country called Georgia, with very beautiful landscapes and friendly, hospitable people. You should visit and check it out, you will not regret it!
So, very, very far from my home country, I’ve ended up in England in order to learn more and to enjoy my time here. I think my love of the arts and creativity led me to study my MSc in Branding and Advertising at Nottingham Trent University and eventually become an intern at The Dairy.
As I see it, English agencies know how to press the right buttons in order to create emotional attachment for their target audience. In this blog, I’ve decided to summarise two of my favourite Georgian and English Ad campaigns and highlight the differences between them.
Aldi’s ‘Compare’ ad campaign
First the UK ads:-
Aldi’s “Compare” ad campaign
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH3iDzV9Wr0
Aldi’s “compare” ad campaigns have been running on TV for several years, and yet it has not lost its’ charm. Nevertheless, it caused some problems for other companies.
There are key points I want to highlight with Aldi’s approach:
- They are original: Nobody has stolen others advertisements so obviously and sophisticatedly, I think it was a very original approach to an ad.
- They use humour: Everyone knows that humour is a strong weapon for advertisements.
- They have a clear message: “We are cheaper than any other brand”. I think a clear message in advertisements, and for brands in general, is very important to create differentiation between them and their competitors.
Compare The Meerkat ad campaign
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQWghXlLe9M&list=PL13594216AD3DCBA9
This advertising campaign was launched in 2009 and has attracted a lot of attention ever since. Because of its popularity, many follow-up ads have been made, and it seems they are not going to stop.
There are a few points I should mention as to why this campaign became so popular:
- A cute animal that speaks: Imagine 7 years ago having a funny speaking meerkat offering you a service, It would definitely attract customers attention. Especially in the UK, when everybody loves cute animals (although I love them too!)
- Distinctive voice: the voice of the meerkats is so funny and cute it is very difficult to forget it. It is very distinctive and easy to repeat, with a real differentiation from competitors. (People easily remember weird sounds or funny voices, or at least I do!)
- They use Humour: These advertisements use nice and light humour – so they’re like a short comedy sketch each time- it’s genius!
Georgian Ad campaigns:
Bank of Georgia Orange Santa Ad Campaign (see featured image above)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acDxhzgbXCY
It first went out as a trial commercial in 2009 but became so popular, that now we have lots of orange Santa ads on TV for different seasons. In my opinion, there are several reasons why it became so popular.
- Humour: Humour is a key of the advertisement – it exaggerates emotions and highlights the “relationship between the Bank of Georgia and its competitor”
- A Famous song: Each ad uses famous, well-known songs (most of the ad uses the full song – so you also end up with a catchy music break between TV shows)
- Easy dancing pattern: They have a very easy dancing pattern that the audience can copy. (There is a tutorial of each dance online)
I think those three reasons make the advertisements so much fun to watch and to get involved in.
Old Irish Guerilla campaign
Old Irish Guerilla campaign:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N5G-BgLMJQ
Old Irish beer entered the Georgian market very recently. In order to attract attention, they used a Guerilla marketing campaign. Very soon the ad went viral. I think It did very good job for the following reasons:
- Guerilla marketing: In Georgia, Guerilla marketing is rare and new, so I think this attracted customers attention
- Generating Word of Mouth: Guerilla marketing is a very strong tool for spreading the word very fast. The campaign involved a lot of people (performers, outsiders) which helps to spread the advert and brand by WOM
- Creativity: I think the idea was very fresh, authentic and used modern, innovative technology
I hope this has been an interesting blog for you and offered an insight into the differences between UK and Georgian advertising, It is very difficult to draw a conclusive summary from only a few examples. I still think that Georgian agencies need to try to keep up with new trends in the market and make the most of these in order to be more successful. I would encourage you to have a look for more advertisements from the UK and Georgia and make your own decision based on further comparisons. As I always say, there’s no accounting for taste…