I was in the glorious environs of Finsbury Park Station this morning – surrounded by the lovely waft of carbide and a suspicious, lumpy puddle by some benches – when I was pulled into a world of wonderful, beer-based, prosaic copy:
(sorry, re-sizing the images hasn’t helped – click on the right-hand image to read the copy better)
I’ve spoken of the London Pride ads before. I think they’re the dog’s wotsits. They restore my faith in the power of long copy, in a world full of banal (or just shite) long copy ads.
In this instance, I like the way I’m drawn into a subtle game of guess-the-book-title, almost without realising it. The ad could just have easily named the London-based books; Sherlock Holmes, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan.
It doesn’t though, it gives teasing clues (not too hard, but not too easy) as to those books mentioned, to draw the audience into a game – a test of intelligence – and where else would you want to waste some time / play a quick game, other than when waiting for a train to arrive?
We all like to be proved intelligent (in this case, by guessing the right book title), and feel rewarded in the process, and this ad plays on that… but in a relevant, London-based way.
By the time you’ve got past the book guessing game, you’re well into the flow of the copy and you might as well read to the end – which ties everything up neatly, about the brand and its heritage (plus the endline, which seals it).
What I like most about the London Pride ads, is that they’re a step up from the long copy Jack Daniels ads which, frankly, are getting a bit tired now.
Where the Jack Daniels ads are starting to sound disingenuous – like Amanda Holden clapping a crying child – and like marketing tosh, the London Pride ads seem fresh, vibrant, and don’t take themselves too seriously (in many ways they seem to parody the JD ads, while still getting the brand’s heritage in): they’re totally ‘on brand’.
I like the London Pride ads. I really like them. I hope they keep producing more for this campaign. Here’s another, below:
So, it’s a warm day and I fancy a pint – guess what I’ll have…
They’re flowery yet tongue-in-cheek.