The comeback of Postman Pat

After not seeing or hearing anything of my favourite postman since the good old days of watching cartoons, I spotted him delivering 'no monthly bills' to Freeview customers on the new Freeview advert. Not content with starring in just one, I then see him sitting on his specs (and demonstrating the need for 2 pairs as he wreaks havoc on the village) in a Specsavers advert for 2 for 1 glasses. I for one have responded much more positively to these usually annoying kind of adverts due to the inclusion of Postman Pat and, more importantly, his endorsement of the products. 

There's something in the water

An advert for V Water (water with vitamins and minerals, with different combinations to suit your different moods) that I saw for the first time last night at the cinema, despite it being first released in June 2007.

A great line-drawing animation, simple yet successful. Shows a day in the life of a 'man' (for lack of a better word) where any problem that arises is simply rectified to make 'his' day ultimately better (no seats on the bus and the bus is transformed into a double decker, a small house stretched into a big house). The audience is really drawn into the advert, wanting to know what the product is which could have such a profound effect on their lives (and mental wellbeing)! Not too keen on the product itself, but the animation in this advert is neat, imaginative and inspirational.

If only life really was this easy to change!

Smoke, and your body takes a beating.

NHS Trust (Birmingham) has launched a new viral ad aimed at hard-to-reach smokers, with some hard-hitting imagery to shock the audience into quitting. The video shows a man smoking a cigarette being beaten up by an invisible assailant. However, how effective will it be? After all, its not the first time shock tactics have been used to try and get people to quit. 

The video will be shown on mobile screens which will tour parts of Birmingham, on stands where testing for patients' lung ages and carbon monoxide levels will also be available. As well as this, the ad is also being launched virally, on websites such as YouTube, in order to reach a wider audience and exploit the networking effects on the internet. 

The campaign is being run by the Dr Foster agency, who take the opinion that because people are aware that smoking is bad for them due to constant advertising stating this, it has become old news. This advert is their attempt to give a new perspective to smokers in order to try and induce change.

When I saw the video, I was shocked at the content of it. For the majority of the minute and 4 seconds, the main was being beaten up with shocking results, and this made for really uncomfortable viewing, particularly as the assailant was invisible. Whilst the beating up part of the video could be much shortened to make the same point, I think it was a genius move making it so long, as it forces the viewer to really take into account the damage that is being done to their body due to smoking. The violence of the beating also reinforces the damage that is being done. If I smoked, I think that this advert would definitely force me to think twice before lighting up (although this may be a slightly biased comment as I already have the anti-smoking mentality anyway). 

Smoke, and your body takes a beating. Fight back. Quit now.