Advertising is dead, Long live advertising.

Advertising is dead, Long live advertising book by Tom Himpe at Naked Communications.  I got Q&A session to share with you guys about his book and advertising. If you are the one who’s looking for great advertising cases, don’t miss this book. The collection of many great ad campaigns with practical theories lays in this book.
1. Why did you name this book, Advertising is dead, Long live advertising?

Because I think there is a lot of doomthinking about the industry. People have often talked about the death of traditional advertising. But there are many kinds of new opportunities, and agencies and brands which are able to embrace these new forms of advertising will realise communication has never been more interesting and promising.

2. What was your inspiration for writing this book?

There were lots of theory books on the changing face of advertising, but these books showed little about the actual campaigns that were happening in the marketplace. Most books who show us advertising campaigns are all about traditional ways of advertising (such as print, outdoor, television). With all the crazy stuff going on in the marketplace, I found that it was time to compile a book with all unconventional, off-beat campaigns from the last years. So I did just that.

3. There are many non-traditional creative campaigns in your book. What is
your most favorite case? Why?

Some of my favorites are:
- Xerox (on page 203). They enabled consumers to print artwork of a famous artist at the National Portrait Gallery in London on Xerox printers.
- Hewlett-Packard, HYPE Gallery (on page 187). HP gave creative people an empty gallery to print and project their artwork. All artwork was also put online and was sold to the public afterwards.
- The Meow Mix cat restaurant (on page 179). Meow Mix set up a temporary restaurant for cat owners and their pets, to have a dinner together.

I love these three campaigns because they all offer something valuable and relevant to consumers. They don’t just bore them with messages, they actually offer relevant experiences with an added value for the consumer. And that’s what brands should be doing today.

4. At the end of the book, you have “practical advices” section.  What are
the barriers for making today’s ideas practical?

2 things:
- Guts and courage. Many marketing and advertising are risk-averse and prefer playing it safe.
- Knowledge. There is a lot of misunderstanding and lack of knowledge about unconentional advertising practices.

5. Being a strategic planner and writing a book, how are the two encouraged
each other?

Writing the book has helped me to take a step back and take a broader view on what I do and what is happening in the market. I hope to be able to do it again shortly, with another subject.

6. How do you find or create inspiration for today’s planning job?

The internet is a main inspiration for me. The most interesting stuff today takes place online. I find the most innovative things online. And the most crazy stuff. It is an endless source of inspiration.

7. Last question, Is TV dead? if yes, will you revive it? if no, will it?

Television is not dead. But the format of traditional TV advertising, the 30-second spot, is. That is a big difference. There are plenty of new ways to use television as an advertising channel, such as sponsoring, branded content, product placement, and so on. I think the traditional 30 second spot is in decline, and although it still exists and will continue to exist for some time, it has lost much of its power.

If you have any comments or feedbacks, you can send him an email at  tomh(at)nakedcomms.com