Eye Spy: Brikmakers
I’m a bit late with Eye Spy this week – been flat-out with CB Awards entries and haven’t had a chance to see much (that’s why I didn’t take the All Bran Challenge and promise to be regular!).
But I did see this Brikmakers TVC a couple of weeks ago. I only saw it once but it has stuck in my mind ever since.
On one level bricks must surely be one of the most boring products inthe world to advertise. I mean, how excited can you get about a brick?But then, they are the most obvious external feature of a house, andpeople get VERY excited about their new homes.
I like the subtlety of this ad and the way it drew me in. Rather than cliché scenarios of people gazing lovingly at their walls,it uses mood and tone to convey the message.
The littlecut-out, silhouette house had me intrigued from the outset, and the gorgeouslandscape settings kept my interest throughout. It’s all very visual,as are bricks ultimately.
The voice-over is a bit annoying if not irrelevant. Do we still need to be told bricks are made from clay? Do we care if it’s WA clay? I suppose it was a ‘mandatory’ on the brief and had to be included. At least it’s kept to the last half of the ad and by then the splendidcinematography and atmospheric music have made their impact. It’s just a pity it couldn’t have been a little shorter.
Given what has come before it, the end frame seems clumsy, sort of typically ‘bricky’. It’s theend-frame that has been turned into some posters around the town with ‘real’3D bricks stuck on.
I presume part of the task for the campaign was to create awareness ofthe Brikmakers logo as a new brand, hence the posters, but I think this is one of the veryfew cases where they would have been better as stills from theTVC.
The images really are worth seeing more of. 4/5 (maybe 3.5 because of the voice-over).
Martin Trevaskis
23 Comments
Martin,
The marketing manager for Brikmakers is one of your ex-students from ECU!
I think it is an awesome job of re-branding a product with a complete name and logo change (originally Blokpave) against its competitor of Midland Brick whose campaigns are laughable.
Martin,
Anyone can see the ad on the Sauce website. Lovely job from Zags, as ever.
But please…
“Our bricks are made from a diverse selection of clays, sourced here in Western Australia. So when you use them to build your home, you’ll build a home with the beauty and colour of our landscape. Brikmakers. Made in WA, Made from WA”
The writer must be redder than one of Brikmakers finest
“Diverse”?”Selection”? “Sourced”? Each of those words in a publicly broadcast ad deserves a full point deduction – and they’re all in the same sentence.
3.5 it ain’t. Unless you were giving art direction 6.5 to start with
I think the whole point of the ad is that the bricks are made from local materials which reflect the colors of the W.A landscape. It is very nicely shot, do we know who was responsible for the pics?
Client: Sam Buckridge and Samantha Iceton
Agency: MF
Creative Team: Julia E-Bott and Guy Howlett
Account Director: Sue Stirling
Director: Sauce Films – Mark Zagar
6.00.
CB have quite rightly refrained from mentioning agencies and creatives in this exercise but 12.02 has given us a clue where to find out more
Think Market force were involved some how.
I like the billboards – real sand and real (fake) bricks – the 3D aspect brings it to life and makes it stand out more.
“”Diverse”?”Selection”? “Sourced”? Each of those words in a publicly broadcast ad deserves a full point deduction – and they’re all in the same sentence.”
For someone nitpicking on words – you don’t seem to have many of your own to back up the issue you have with them…
As another poster has mentioned before me, the whole theme for the ad (and dare I say the campaign) was ‘made in WA, made from WA’ – certainly very topical, what with all the ‘buy local’ initiatives and media coverage at the moment. Given that it was the focal point, I would have found it strange if the voice-over didn’t mention that fact. Also, nice way to tie the imagery to the concept for those who may not be as astute as those reading Campaign Brief 😉
Yep – I understand the point of the ad and I’m not saying there shouldn’t be a voice-over at all. Just that with such fabulous imagery and beaut music it could have been a little shorter. Maybe just the last few words: “Brikmakers. Made in WA. Made from WA.”
12:02 (AM? Jeez!), by your argument – deducting a point for each ‘offensive’ word – this ad would only score 2/5 at best. I think that’s a bit harsh; it’s better than that. Even with the VO, there’s a lot to like about this spot.
We can always press the mute button and just enjoy the images.
Zagar huh? I might have guessed. He shoots WA landscapes better than anyone ever has.
Martin Trevaskis
No disrespect to Mark Zagar’s work, as he does do fantastic stuff. However I feel there would be quite a few DP’s who disagree with your last comment Martin. Allan Myles did an amazing job on Westscheme in Kununnara, I have seen some incredible images from Richard Malins of the Bungle Bungles, the Pinnacles to name a few icons, and Torstein Dyrting has some great images of the southern regions. The difference is Mark has been given an opportunity to shoot some locations that the other guys have not. That does not make him the best in landscapes!
Well that’s a very good point “Anonymous”. But then again, maybe Mark has been given the opportunities because he does such a great job with them.
Anyway, as someone of your experience on that side of the business knows, my opinion counts for three-fifths of five-eigths on stuff like this (on most stuff actually).
It’s the creatives and agency producers who really matter, and I’m sure they have their own, much better founded views.
All the best,
Martin Trevaskis
Martin,
Can you elaborate on why you chose to feature the likeable TV for this, rather than the rather workmanlike dull and uninspired outdoor? I only ask because on two previous occasions (RAC and ECU) you have deliberately selected the weakest part of the campaign mix (the outdoor) overlooking much better work in the campaign mix? Just wondering in the interests of objectivity and fairness to everything that appears in this excellent section.
No particular rhyme or reason to it 1:27, it’s just what catches my eye.
The ECU posters are quite prominent around where I live – which is close to ECU’s Mt Lawley campus – and the RAC campaign seems to have a big press and outdoor media budget behind it, so it’s not surprising that I noticed them.
I am trying to cover a spread of media and hope to have some radio (hmm…that could be tricky) and online stuff in the course of the year.
The broad idea is just to highlight work that isn’t likely to get a vote in Creative Circle (the section in the magazine where the best work in town gets praised by creatives) but which is notable nevertheless. It could be from a prominent local brand, something new, whatever.
Of course, you’re hinting in your very subtle way that I’m favouring Marketforce over 303 and The Brand Agency.
Well, I gave 303’s Water Corporation poster at the Mt Lawley subway a good rap couple of weeks ago (Jan 19 – the week after ECU). 4/5 and the lack dissenting comments suggests most people think it was pretty solid work too.
But more importantly, it’s early days; this is only the 5th Eye Spy so far. We’ve got the rest of the year ahead of us – plenty of time to find some Marketforce work to shit-can. I’ll do my best for you.
Now, on the first one (Rick Hart, Jan. 5) Junk Waffle 2010 asked: “Sweet, can I write an article?”
I’m happy for anyone to submit a piece for this – but not anonymously. You have to put your name (real name) to it.
Have a good weekend.
Martin Trevaskis
1.27 I spy with my little eye something beginning with b or maybe it’s 3
I bet you’re happy you started doing Eye Spy Martin….
Keep it up Martin and keep it impartial as you have been doing thus far.As you pointed out from day one it’s about what catches your eye be it the good the bad or the downright ugly.
8.31 Can you tell us if any of the design/creatives people work with the art directors in creating the brand or was is built by the team you’ve mentioned.
Who came up with the new name?
Martin,
Maybe this section is best served by focussing on work that is not obviously from bigger agencies where the whole issue of bias rears its head. (We have that discussion on every other thread and after every issue of CB is published.) I would prefer to see you cover things like that horrendous black real estate outdoor at Shenton Park with the obscene little man who thinks he’s James Bond and talks in riddles. Stuff we can really get our teeth into
8.46
Part of the writer’s craft is to take the functional b2b language of the client and turn it into the popular language of the consumer. Part of the account person’s craft is to make sure the client allows the writer to do this at some point prior to the ad airing. That’s why they come to us in the first place. If you can’t understand why the tonality of “diverse” “selection” and “sourced” in the same sentence is wrong for a consumer-facing ad you’re either not good enough at your job or too apathetic to do it properly. Simple as that that.
Hey can anyone answer Feb 5 10.01PM question?
Somebody at MF should know at the very least.
Yes the brand was created by the design team who worked very closely with the creative team (Guy Howlett and Julia). Sue Stirling was the one-man account service team that rolled out the brand. Planners involved were Derry and Sandra Brewer. Carrie Retallick did design, John Pallet designed the logo and Len Buckridge came up with the name.
I’m not sure what the ad says to the public.? Nice pictures…funny cardboard cutouts….but so what does it mean.? Sounds like a Industry body to me, not a seperate company.
And why would I choose these guys over Midland Brick? it’s a category ad. Something you can afford to do when you are number one – a waste of money when you are number two. You have to fight to find a reason for purchase and this doesn’t give me one.