Ding! Ding! Ding! Round 1 goes to…. bMobile?
bMobile is ‘kicking’ up some fun at Digicel’s expense. A bMobile branded street fighter is seen knocking out ‘Redz,’ dressed down to his face paint as Digicel’s ‘Iron Top Up’ character. These two ads came head to head (as it were) in Sunday’s Express, Digicel occupying the back cover, with bMobile almost occupying the inside cover.
If it’s an attempt at a viral campaign, it would be amusing to me to see bMobile’s folks at McCann really step up with some more marketing efforts outside of a press ad.
Blockbuster Value
Digicel had recently mined musical genres as fodder for ad campaigns with their Turn Up De Value Record series, presenting Bollywood fare in Ashwarifree, Pop & Dance with Lady Blah Blah, Hip-hop using J.Free and Funky Free as the James Brown-lookalike funk entry.
Digicel now seems to be turning from music to movies with their Blockbuster Value series. They’ve begun with the ‘kick-up’ genre of movies. I predict we’ll see Western themes, Bond/spy movie themes, another nod to Bollywood, and possibly a Romantic Comedy spoof.
Iron Top Up on TV
Iron Top up on the Web
But Digicel’s Iron Top Up, doesn’t just appear in the Press & on TV, he’s on the web! Currently on Digicel’s Fan Page, submit a photo of yourself dressed as a ‘kick-up’ character to win cash, credit and a free phone. So far, they’ve got roughly 70 entries in the 1st week of the 2-week competition.
Ad vs Ad Wars
But in a more introspective vein, in the ad vs ad wars – who really comes up on top? Is it the consumers, whose cash pays for the marketing? Is it the competitors, who’re vying for market share? Is it the newspapers & magazines, whose booking quota gets filled?
Is anybody looking out for the man in the street by actually providing blockbuster value?
9 June, 2011, 4:16 am
When I was on the client side, I always thought I had won when a competitor responds to my ad. What it said to me is that I’m setting the agenda and they are taking their cue from me. (my brand) So Digicel wins this one for me, they introduced Kungfu into the mix so they own the Kungfu trigger in the mind. Every Bmobile Kungfu reference actually reminds people of Digicel. Digi is setting the agenda and that’s the definition of leadership, dr
20 August, 2011, 3:43 am
100% agree with you – it makes digicel look like they are leading things and bmobile is following if that is seen even a little it may be viewed in that manner to many others.
14 June, 2011, 1:41 pm
You may be right but I think it depends on whether consumers read ( and believe) the copy or just look at the images. If it’s the latter then yes Digicel wins
18 June, 2011, 4:36 pm
Pauline, the way I think it works is more about triggers than the details (copy or image). So even if they don’t read or believe what’s being said, brands put triggers into people’s minds which with time they come to own. The more distinctive or disruptive the trigger the more likely it is to be assigned to a brand. A safe trigger is probably already taken or hard to own. So kungfu is kind of disruptive because it’s not common and it conjures up all kinds of images associated with martial arts. The big issue for me is who sets the agenda. Now that Digicel has moved on to a Bond type figure (The Texters), does Bmobile now answer with one of their own? Digi are acting like leaders and when you act like a leader and deliver like a leader (no dropped callls/better customer service/competitive pricing etc), pretty soon you become the leader.
14 June, 2011, 4:13 pm
I am a loyal bmobile subscriber and I agree that Digicel wins this one, however, if bmobile had responded with a video that’s well done, depicting that Street Fighter scenario as in the press ad, I would have surely been cheering for the green team, without much fervour for who had begun the martial arts concept.
15 June, 2011, 6:25 pm
Hey guys – I’m a big Digicel fan so I’m glad everyone gave the kudos to Digicel for setting the agenda. Digicel’s campaigns tend to be original, and yet not-so-original, but I guess as they say – there’s nothing new under the sun.
15 June, 2011, 7:21 pm
First off, I have a Bmobile, but Digi has really stepped up their game from when they first started, I have to admit Bmobile is seriously trailing in the ad field..
… ’bout McCann, it seems to follow a recent path of directive or responsive marketing which is pretty clear and well alive in American style ads, dat’s cool.
I think Digi hit home with the kung-fu, as it has a nostalgic loyalty to it, whether the Bmobile modern stance on the Street-fighting come-back will catch on is another kettle of tea.
eg. A certain Mario Christmas theme :( BUST, although well portrayed and executed.. so do the general populace relate to these modern gaming references…I dunno.
it’s refreshing to see some face-off creative work in the mix though.. and I hope to see more.
Great job Digi & Bm.
18 June, 2011, 4:44 pm
I love face-offs only if I’m the first out the box. I will not respond to my competitor’s ad by using the same theme. If I think a competitor’s work is good and working, I will challenge my team to come up with something that moves the spotlight to me on my terms and shaped by my brand’s positioning, dr
27 June, 2011, 10:38 pm
I can’t say how much I love this post! hahahaha
30 June, 2011, 1:01 am
No hahahaha Miles…..hy-yaaaaaaaaaaaa!
12 July, 2011, 2:38 pm
http://youtu.be/_SkOEvqBPf4
14 July, 2011, 4:15 am