The Australian Advertising and Marketing Column April 3-9 2003 -- Oatley Park Defenders

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Date Posted: 16:53:03 04/07/03 Mon
Author: Leanne Hart
Subject: The Australian Advertising and Marketing Column April 3-9 2003

Below is copy of article which sums up the attitude of Orange/Hutchinson. Published in Australian Media Section April 3-9 2003 by Stephen Brook.

ORANGE AD MISDIALS WITH ITS BEAUTY QUEEN TODDLERS

The images of the sexualised toddler beauty queens are compelling. Surely they are not kids? The pint sized beauty queens look more like pretty robots, with dresses down to their ankles, the tresses, and the smiles cemented on to their faces as they parade up and down the stage. What are they advertising? Orange mobile phones.

These images come from the superior of two 30-second ads from Orange's new campaign. (Its much less compelling associate ad has circus animals performing loathsome acts for people).

After the painted babies up come two captions: Agree. Disagree. they are accompanied by two orange squares (presumably for you to vote in). Next is a caption saying "Let's Talk, and the Orange logo.

"The campaign idea is based on the insight that now move than ever it is important for us to talk," Euro RSCG Partnership strategic planning director Matt Donovan says in a statement. "Talking resolves differences and leads to understanding. It brings us closer together. Orange mobile enables us to talk and is at the centre of the debates that people are having right now."

Hmmmmmm. What is there to talk about concerning these toddler mannequins? They made me feel creepy. All I could think of was JonBenet Ramsey, the six-year-old beauty queen mysteriously killed inside her family home in Colorado in 1996.

Does Orange want us to talk about its brand or talk about these painted dolls and their creepy mothers? And who would really agree with these beauty parades? All I wanted to talk about was JonBenet and whether they ever caught the killer. (Answer: negative.) But I declined to phone any of my mates about it.

I was more interested in talking about the four 15-second companion ads, which went through the Orange offers whith such lines as "you shouldn't have to wait until after 7pm to make cheap phone calls on your mobile. Followed by the "Agree. Disagree. Now Talk."

After two years of ads with Adam Gilchrist and Australian cricketers, Euro RSCG Partnership and Orange felt it was time to reflect the challenger status of the brand. Implication:the cricketers did not do that. The new ads are stylistically similar to the brilliant Whybin TBWA job for Sleepmaker, where you wonder why on earth they are showing us a granny dancing with pom-poms at the football stadium. But Sleepmaker's connection with the better night's sleep idea was brilliant. All Orange is left with is a disconnect, if you pardon the pun.

One other point. The night I saw this ad it screened during the local news, which reported that police had forcibly dragged mum and dad members of the Oatley West Primary School Parents and Citizens Association off a mobile phone tower construction site near the Sydney primary school. It was an Orange mobile phone tower. Anyone want to talk about that?
brooksd@theaustralian.com.au

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[> Getting it wrong -- Michael, 11:12:11 04/09/03 Wed

I have been involved in market research and Orange have got the message wrong. No body I know can understand it.

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