By: Peter K

Peter K — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 13:42:16 +0000

Here’s a funny thing. When I was reading the Daily Telegraph Olympics supplement just now, I noticed the slew of ads from sponsors P&G. My memory of Stuart’s blog, fuzzed by the previous evening’s Prosecco, made me think you were writing about P&G, and I was going to write “See what you mean!”. But you weren’t, so I can’t. But do look at the collection of sponsor ads for P&G. They are an unintentionally hilarious throwback to 1950s style celebrity endorsement, with fantastically complex endorsements that either require a dictionary – “For unbeatably smooth skin I count on the UK’s best epilator”…or have so many qualifiers that you have to laugh: “Mark Cavendish, World Champion Cyclist, is 100% cool, 100% confident and up to 100% flake free (the asterisk refers to “removes up to 100% visible flakes seen at 2ft with regular use”). This one somewhat confusing against the headline “It’s not just what we wash out, it’s what we wash in”. Or try the “Hours and Hours of training and I’m staying ahead of Frizz”, with a picture of Victoria Pendleton, seemingly cycling towards her wedding or similar. P&G even blow their very clever “Proud Sponsor of Mums” line with a picture of a child in a 2012 vest, when the copy is about distinctly unchildish Paula Radcliffe…The overall impression is an unfocused, confused, very expensive campaign. Oh..and the Olympic sponsor logos are different in each ad.

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By: Peter K