THE KING OF CONTROVERSY OLIVIERO TOSCANI

9. 3. 2023 | 9 min read The series of advertising creators, which we are presenting to mark the sixth anniversary of AKTV, presents important authors in the advertising sphere. Today, you will read about an inspiring creative who was not afraid to break boundaries and enriched the advertising field with many non-advertising topics. It’s Oliviero Toscani.

SHOCK THERAPY ADVERTISING. WHEN DID IT WORK AND WHEN DID THE CREATIVES GO TOO FAR?

2. 3. 2023 | 14 min read Capturing the attention of the TV viewer is still one of the goals of marketers around the world. This field is becoming more and more complex as the market is filling up with all kinds of campaigns, so the consumer will appreciate those that are original, innovative and imaginative. But there is an old recipe that is still guaranteed to work - shock therapy. However, ad writers who manage to shock might still not pat themselves on the back after all. Marketing history is full of examples where not only did the desired effect not occur, but the response was strictly negative. Shock marketing is a category that, by its very nature, teeters on the edge. But we know of a number of campaigns that are universally considered good practice.

THE GREATS OF TELEVISION ADVERTISING OR HOW LEGENDS MADE AND BROKE THE RULES

28. 2. 2023 | 7 min read Many factors influence the world of television advertising. Whether it is the evolution of society, the era, technological possibilities or the specific mentality of consumers in different countries, the human factor is also inevitable. The way in which media promotion is done is also influenced by the creators.

THE SUPER BOWL PHENOMENON AND HOW THE SPORTING EVENT OF THE YEAR ELEVATED TELEVISION ADVERTISING TO A PRESTIGIOUS DISCIPLINE

1. 2. 2023 | 19 min read In just a few day, nearly 100 million Americans will be in front of their TV screens. The Super Bowl finals are just around the corner. However, it’s not a purely sporting event, as it might seem. The eyes of marketing experts from all over the world will be on the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, watching closely the commercials that are regularly broadcast during half-time. It’s practically the most expensive advertising slot ever, and it’s here that marketing trends are set for years to come. How is it possible that the Super Bowl is such a phenomenon? And how does it help form the current shape of what we consider to be truly quality television advertising? THE PURE ESSENCE OF AMERICA For Czechs, the whole concept of the Super Bowl may seem almost exotic, as we are not exactly used to such sporting events in this country. In a local context, the finals of the Czech First League, the top Czech competition, should function exactly like the Super Bowl. However, nothing like this is happening, we do not celebrate this event so massively. So how is the Super Bowl different? The answer may lie in the fact that the playoffs themselves are much less related to American football than it might seem to an outsider at first glance.

THE ECONOMIC CRISIS AS A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY? 2023 DOESN’T HAVE TO CRIPPLE COMPANIES, BRAND LOYALTY AND A TOUCH OF EMPATHY ARE THE KEYS TO SUCCESS

5. 1. 2023 | 12 min read Analysts around the world predict a challenging year for business. According to them, the past year was essentially a warm-up and the cost of living crisis will only become fully apparent in the coming months. This will undoubtedly be a challenge for marketers in all sectors, but there are also words of comfort and encouragement that we can add - while the world faced an unprecedented situation during the pandemic, the cost of living crisis is not something we have no historical experience of. There was a similar situation in 2008, and it provided a lot of lesson that we can apply now. Marketing and advertising experts even claim that the crisis is an opportunity to make an established brand even stronger. The key to this is strategies that do not abandon marketing in favor of a short-term performance boost.

THE GLOBAL TV GROUP GUIDELINE: LESSONS FOR ADVERTISING IN A RECESSION

5. 1. 2023 | 1 min read Around the world there is no escaping the talk of a looming recession, and marketers everywhere are facing pressures to reduce advertising costs. However, research consistently shows – and experts continue to advise – that cutting ad spend comes at a high cost to brand health and long term business results.

MARK RITSON: HOW BRANDS CAN SURVIVE THE RECESSION AND EMERGE STRONGER

4. 1. 2023 | 3 min read One of the most comprehensive studies on recessions shows that only 9 percent of companies emerge from a recession in better shape than they entered it. What does this mean for marketers, and how should they behave during a recession to get their company out of it in the best shape possible? Mark Ritson, professor of marketing, and Jon Evans, Chief Customer Officer of System1, talked about this during the "Ritson on recession" webinar.

CHRISTMAS ADS 2022: HOW BRANDS ARE CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAY SEASON

16. 12. 2022 | 12 min read Every year, Christmas comes early for brands as they race to debut their holiday ads before the peak shopping period begins. 2022 is no different, and advertisers have officially started stepping into Christmas by bringing a bit of festive cheer to screens.

TYPICALLY CZECH CHRISTMAS. IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC, HOLIDAY ADVERTISING IS HANDLED DIFFERENTLY, THE CREATORS ARE NOT AFRAID OF CONTROVERSIAL HUMOUR OR SERIOUS MESSAGES

8. 12. 2022 | 16 min read Czech Christmas ads are a category in themselves. It’s quite possible that abroad they would look in disbelief and awe at, for example, a Kofola pig, while for us the ad is the epitome of Christmas spirit. Of course, Czechs are no strangers to classically emotional and serious spots, and even excel at them. But the big domestic specificity is the fact that the most memorable advertising achievements are largely humorous pieces. Even so, they combine what we always look forward to at Christmas. The two categories then complement each other beautifully on the screen, creating a commercial mix that suggests that Christmas really is just around the corner! THE UNDYING LEGEND: KOFOLA - THE GOLDEN PIGGY Even Czechs have their own advertising that de facto heralds Christmas. Just as the UK has their John Lewis, we have our wild boar, but it lacks something to the golden one. The legendary Christmas advert doesn't seem to have aged at all since 2003, when it first appeared on TV screens. Unlike John Lewis, who year after year comes up with new original spots exquisitely rich in narrative, this domestic gem has made do with a few basic remasters and adaptations over nearly twenty years. The spot brilliantly combines honoring popular Christmas traditions with typical Czech situational humor. The main role here is played by the superstition of the golden pig that appears to those who fast on Christmas Eve. The popular catchphrase "No, I don't have to, I can see it already." is proof that this superstition can take on a whole new dimension when you go into the woods. This year, however, the re-launch of the ad will have a sad touch - on 1 November, its author Robert Peňažka died after a long illness. But for this achievement alone he will certainly never be forgotten, even though he himself admitted that no one expected the ad to become such a success. "With Kofola, the intention was not to create a legendary campaign at all, but to come up with a good Christmas campaign. That's the main ingredient. If you do it right, it will pay off and it has a chance to become a legend," he recalled in 2020. Well, in this case, he succeeded brilliantly.

CZECHS MOST OFTEN REMEMBER ADS ON TV, FOLLOWED BY YOUTUBE AND FACEBOOK

22. 11. 2022 | 5 min read TV campaigns lead in recall among czech viewers and internet users. Compared to the same spots played in TV archives, on YouTube and Facebook, Czechs recall them best, according to the Track the Success study conducted by the Association of Commercial Television (AKTV) in cooperation with Eye Square.

CHALLENGE EVEN FOR THE BEST MARKETERS. WHY DOES A GOOD TV AD NEED TO GRAB THE VIEWER’S ATTENTION?

14. 11. 2022 | 19 min read Does it ever happen to you that while watching a commercial break on TV, an ad sticks in your mind so much that you have to think about it the next day? Or that you completely forget the “skip-ad” button when watching an ad before an online video? That is exactly the kind of situation where the real marketing experts rub their hands with satisfaction. They have just managed to grab your attention, which is an extremely difficult discipline that challenges even the most renowned brands. Is there any manual on how to tackle it with honour and create an ad that will become a viral hit?

THE MYTH OF “UNNECESSARY” MARKETING. WHY DOES IT PAY FOR COMPANIES TO INVEST IN PROMOTION IN TIMES OF ECONOMIC RECESSION?

27. 10. 2022 | 17 min read When the harsh reality of an economic recession hits companies, most of them tend to respond somewhat schematically according to the established rules of business logic. However, the more statistical data we have, the more clearly we see that these rules may not be as logical as they may appear at first sight. While in a worsening economic climate CEOs are cutting what they consider “unnecessary” costs - with advertising and marketing traditionally being the first to be cut - marketing experts advise exactly the opposite approach. Experts agree that you can advertise your services and products happily during a boom, but you absolutely must advertise during a recession. Why don’t companies realise this? INFLATION DOES NOT HAVE TO BURY MARKETING COMPLETELY We can draw useful data from an examination of the market response to the economic recession of the early 1980s. Just like today, it was triggered by the global energy crisis - at that time it was caused by the Iranian Revolution. As a result of that geopolitical upheaval, the price of oil began to soar. Later, this period became known in history as the ‘oil shocks’ that drove already high inflation in the Western world into double digits. Historians agree that this was the biggest economic crisis since the Second World War.

HOW TO DO ‘GREEN’ ADVERTISING? AUTHENTICITY AND A PROACTIVE APPROACH WIN WITH CONSUMERS, HYPOCRITES ARE PUNISHED

3. 10. 2022 | 19 min read We are living in a time of climate crisis and there is no point in turning a blind eye to it any longer. This is how one could sum up the efforts of many global companies that are giving more and more space to the environmental protection and sustainability in their advertising and marketing campaigns. It is clear that specific actions remain the responsibility of each of us, but these authorities can contribute to a complicated and heated public debate with their attitude and opinion. However, marketers should keep one thing in mind - the “preach water and drink wine”approach is becoming even more fatal in this peculiar discipline. Examples of good practice from abroad will give you a clue as to how to master this difficult task. ADVERTISING REVOLUTION IN the shades of GREEN At the turn of October and November last year, Glasgow, Scotland, hosted the 26th annual UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP26. It is traditionally considered one of the world's most important forums for discussion on climate, nature and landscape issues. To mark the occasion, the British media company Sky Media has decided to adjust its broadcasting schedule, including its commercial breaks. The reason was to sufficiently emphasise the course of the forum and the importance of the issues discussed for the TV audience. Viewers had the opportunity to watch the first ever ‘green’commercial break in British television history on Sky Media portfolio stations.

HBBTV SYMPOSIUM 2022 TO FOCUS ON TARGETED ADVERTISING, DVB-I AND NEW HBBTV SERVICES

29. 9. 2022 | 3 min read The HbbTV Association, a global initiative dedicated to providing open standards for advanced interactive TV services through broadcast and broadband networks to connected TV sets and set-top boxes, is pleased to announce the conference programme of the HbbTV Symposium and Awards 2022. The annual key summit of the connected TV industry will take place on November 9-10 in Prague, co-hosted with the Czech Association of Commercial Television (AKTV).

WHY ADVERTISING ON TV IS STILL THE BEST WAY TO BUILD A BRAND

7. 9. 2022 | 7 min read TV advertising has been around since the late 1940s and it's still one of the most effective ways to build a brand. Despite the growth of digital advertising, TV spending is estimated to reach $77.5 billion by 2024. Why is TV advertising so successful? We'll break down the many reasons in this article. Targeting With TV Is More Effective Than Ever TV advertising reaches a large audience with minimal effort. In the U.S., there are over 118 million households with a TV, and the average person watches over 4 hours of TV each day. This gives advertisers a lot of opportunities to reach their target market.

WHEN MUSIC IS THE LAST STEP TO PERFECTION: THE WORLD’S TOP 10 ADS THAT BET ON THE POWER MUSIC

6. 9. 2022 | 12 min read Although it may seem at first glance that visual play the primary role in TV advertising, this is not so true. By the very nature of television as an audiovisual medium, it is obvious that the audio component has a firm and irreplaceable place in advertising. Music is one of the essential ingredients for success. This is something that many advertisements constantly convince us of, and which we are unable to put out of our minds for a long time afterwards. Sometimes commercials even even herald new music trends, sometimes they are the birth of global superstars. The following ten examples show the creative possibilities of working with music in advertising. All of them are united by the fact that they have an unquestionable place in the golden fund of television advertising. UNITED AIRLINES - RHAPSODY IN BLUE (1995; 2013) Opinions on air travel vary - some love planes, others have an unimaginable horror of them. But whichever one of these two groups you belong to, you can't deny this mode of transport a certain poetry and harmony that takes hold of you when you look out of the boarding window. Since the 1990s, United Airlines has been relying on this aspect of travel, urging its customers to „fly towards the friendly skies”. The campaign, which first drew attention to the fact that flying is actually a matter of customer comfort, has to some extent set the course for the airline industry. It's no wonder that United Airlines revived it a few years ago to the same success, banking mainly on the nostalgia of those who remember the original iteration. But time-tested things are not to be changed, which is why the original musical identity has been retained. Indeed, United Airlines is already so closely associated with American composer George Gershwin's symphony Rhapsody In Blue that it can hardly be claimed by anyone else - despite the fact that since the composer's death, the time limit for retaining the original copyright has passed. For it is hard to argue that the combination of Gershwin and planes criss-crossing the blue sky is not a visual symphony in itself.

SERIOUSLY FUNNY: CAN HUMOUR HELP BRANDS THROUGH AN ECONOMIC CRISIS?

9. 8. 2022 | 8 min read Loren Cook and Bronwyn Sweeney are Creative Directors at MullenLowe and certified funny people (according to them). They share their thoughts on why, in the darkest of times, brands should keep looking on the bright side of life.

BACK 2 SCHOOL! HOW DOES THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR START IN THE WORLD OF (NOT ONLY) TV ADVERTISING?

1. 8. 2022 | 16 min read The summer holidays have once again swung into their second half practically in the blink of an eye. With their inevitable end, it’s time to once again take charge of the responsibilities that many will find unavoidable in September. This is a reality for school children and students in particular, but for the younger ones it also affects their parents. All of this is a signal to advertising campaigners, for whom the Back 2 school season is one of the most exposed times of the year. Not participating is essentially a sin that shall be punished. Nor is participating poorly an entirely profitable strategy. What do the successful television commercials that have helped shape the phenomenon tell us about Back 2 school marketing?