Thursday, September 4, 2008
Kansas State Fair campaign
Greetings all: As promised, I am posting the response from a State Fair official to my email in which I expressed concern over the content and tone of the 2008 Kansas State Fair pr campaign. They indicate it "isn't intended to be inappropriate," and frankly my students' papers aren't "intended to be Fs" -- am interested in your responses. Instead of taking up the entirety of this page, am including the text of the email response in the first comment to this post.
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Following is the email response from the KS State Fair official:
Thank you for your feedback. We shared your thoughts with our marketing agency and they, too, appreciated the feedback. They asked me to forward some additional information that they and us think would be helpful:
LIKE ANYTHING, THIS NEEDS TO BE PUT IN CONTEXT
* This campaign launched prior to the 2007 State Fair. The radio and TV spots are the same as ran last year, just updated with current dates and concert information. The print pieces last year featured hogs, this year’s bunnies. Last year there was some initial criticism of the campaign when the headlines were announced in the newspaper but without the corresponding visuals.
* Once people saw the visuals, they were like, oh, I get it. And they liked what they saw.
* The radio and TV intro spots feature the bunnies and their fun headline. For the 2007 fair, the 288 radio spots ran August 20 to Sept. 9. The 1,408 TV spots provided a 90 percent reach. And the viewers loved the creative and described it as "cute" and "charming." * Over the 10 days at the 2007 Kansas State Fair, we heard only positive feedback.
TRY AS WE MIGHT, WE CAN'T PLEASE ALL THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME
* There will always be some people who don't like the creative. Always.
* We just need to ensure that the majority of our target audiences like and respond to it.
REACHING OUT TO A YOUNGER DEMOGRAPHIC
* It is vital to target today's younger generations. We have to attract today's Gen Y youth (born 1976-2000) so they'll come back as young adults, then as parents with the next generations of fairgoers in tow.
* We reach our younger target demographic through edgier headlines, bold colors, and interesting type treatments - plus a deeper exploration of what teenagers and young adults are really seeking at the fair.
* Much of the fair experience involves all the different types of people you see there, from bikers to farmers. And teenagers go to the fair (and other events) to hook up with friends and to check out other teens. There is a huge social aspect to the Fair.
* A quote from the recent advertising publication "Take a Stand for Your Brand" further solidifies the importance of creative that reaches out to its target market. A West Coast agency was presenting a new campaign to their computer gaming clients, and they were quoted as saying, "We're quite certain you're not going to like the work we're about to show you. We don't even like it all that much ourselves. But according to the extensive account planning research we've done, your audience - 12-year-old kids - will love it."
HUMOR GETS YOU NOTICED - AND REMEMBERED
* In social interactions, one of the easiest ways to put people at ease is to use humor. It shows you're human, don't take yourself too seriously and increases your likeability. The same goes with institutions like the Fair.
* The "It's a Wild Ride, Baby" campaign has used humor from Day One. It leaves the viewer thinking, this is a fun, rather wacky, one-of-a-kind experience - and I want to be part of it.
* Humor isn't just being silly. It displays your intelligence and insight - and credits the audience for "getting it," too. You're all laughing - together.
* Humor gives you an edge over competition that looks boring, uptight and rigid in comparison.
* Many if not most of the today's most memorable advertising uses quirky humor. It's a strategy that attracts customers. People like to be entertained but not sold to. They'll pay more attention to a clever, humorous commercial - which then opens them to being positively influenced. Someone who had never thought about going to the fair could see the commercial and think, hey, I need to check this out.
REMEMBER WHAT WE'RE MARKETING
* This campaign is not intended to be inappropriate. It is simply a fun and creative way to appeal to all audiences, but especially younger people.
* The fair is a riot of sounds, smells, visuals and experiences. There's nothing like it. Marketing for the fair should be equally distinctive.
LOW BUDGETS DEMAND GREATER RETURN
* Our creative has to work hard. We don't have the luxury of a heavy media buy. That means our spots have to jump out and grab you each and every time.
Again, we do appreciate your feedback. It will definitely be a part of the process as we plan for 2009.
The debater in me always wins. I wasn't going to post anything about this because I just posted about Carl's stuff and I should put myself on a blog-budget. I just can't see bad arguments and move on though, it's not possible.
This response is a well thought out defense of the use of edgy humor in advertising. Obviously nothing in the e-mail justifies an inappropriate ad though.
"This campaign is not intended to be inappropriate."
So if it is demonstrated that the ad is inappropriate and not just "funny" or "quirky" or "edgy" then the campaign should obviously be abandoned.
Is there any defense of the portrayal of women as passive sexual objects? No. Is there any acknowledgment of that at all? No.
Is there any defense of the "borderline" pedophilia? Absolutely not. Is it easy to read those lines in the radio spot as pedophilia? I think so.
Bracket questions of whether this campaign is actually funny or rather just obnoxious. It is clearly also offensive and inappropriate. There is no excuse for that.
I keep losing the html on the link I'm trying to post here.
Anyway, here's a link to a story about the owner of the ad agency that produced the offending material.
http://www.gretemangroup.com/articles/sonia_busjournal.html
Perhaps someone should contact her about this "passive sexual objects" issue?
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