Draft Chicago creative chief Lor Gold and his counterpart at Wunderman New York, Joel Sobelson, expounded in recent DM News issues on what U.S. agencies and marketers should do to win more Lions Direct awards.
So here's what reader Jeremy Thompson, marketing director at the American Association for Cancer Research in Philadelphia, said about winning awards in a contest dominated by European agencies:
“As a Briton and longtime U.S. resident, I must agree with Lor Gold and Joel Sobelson, at least in part. When examining U.S. sales approaches, I invariably find pieces are shockingly direct — usually on price (try to be more subtle, please) or gushingly emotional, even after years of living here.
“Pay attention to social scientists such as Kate Fox (who wrote a fascinating book called 'Watching the English') early in the creative process to avoid the subliminal pratfalls, if you want to win awards across the pond. U.S. teams certainly have the talent, but need to do much more in-depth research.”
Then there was this e-mail from “Maxi”: “Why only three Lions??” Maxi wrote. “Very simple, no creativity and insulting the consumer's intelligence, not pressing the right buttons. Have you looked at European advertising?”
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