3 Review(s)

Advertising can be great. Great advertising, that is. Brands can live or die on the power of their advertising and the advertiser’s role is to build better mousetraps. But why do we love certain brands - the ones that feel like ours - and passionately or indifferently reject the rest? What do our brands say about us? And why do we feel so compelled to use digital brands to say even more? Advertising has always been the hard sell and subtle hustle that piques our interest and gets us thinking, I WANT that - but in a world that now moves with binary speed, the Brand Game is taking ever-new and remarkable turns in its pursuit of better and faster mice. The Better Mousetrap gives readers an accessible, provocative and insightful glimpse into the brand and advertising strategies of some of the world’s leading companies. From Google to the BBC, Apple to Nike, McDonald’s to Cadbury, Simon Pont provides expert critique on how and why certain brands succeed in a world being redefined by digital media. The Better Mousetrap is an inspirational handbook addressing original thinking and fascinating new perspectives on brands, advertising and media in the 21st century. About the Author Simon Pont is a writer, commentator and brand builder. His agency career includes being part of Saatchi & Saatchi and Naked Communications, the pioneers of communications planning. Hollywood movie studios, Icelandic investment banks, British chocolate bars and Middle Eastern airlines figure amongst his time on the inside of Adland. Simon is Chief Strategy Officer at agency network Vizeum and an EACA Effies judge. Table of Contents PART I: IN SEARCH OF BRAND CHARISMA Introduction Brands: thorny, gnarly, ever-so-twisty The brand organic Brands must behave, must woo  ‘Same difference’: the counterpoint brand Reframing: originality and busting it up Brand duality: consider your brand’s Batman ‘Lose the nipples’: what’s in a logo? ‘Back in the day’: nostalgia brands and the retro sell ‘Yours digitally’: brand charisma’s second coming Sub-brand splendour Drop the ‘The’: what’s in a name? Gross assumptions, crumby conventions and the Churchillian view You are your own mousetrap. PART II: IN PURSUIT OF THE ACCELERATED CONSUMER Introduction We are ALL consumers In strangers we trust The age of the accelerated consumer The brand communication model: a bit like a time-travelling DeLorean Allow me to proposition you Through a glass clearly Colour me happy! Curve, contour and come-on: how persuasive is sexual persuasion? Truth, lies and advertising Irrational reasoning, magpie desire and the watch from outer space ‘With great power...’: advertising to our inner superhero The big H Buying wine, getting her to drink it and other Adland misdemeanours. PART III: DAWN OF A MEDIA DEMOCRACY Introduction ‘Digital’: what it is, what it isn’t Web 3.0: regime change Transmedia... in a Tube card Is social media just a bit antisocial? A pop culture where everyone’s invited The second fundamental: avoid launching ghost ships Mobile: the new dependency Teen alienation is so analogue Efficiency and effectiveness: fish with feet sidestep moving trees Shifting icons Ed Burns, Tribeca and the film-making revolution The fabric of things.