How one great ad campaign can inspire another
A big company comes up with a great marketing plan, use it to your advantage.
This week, Age UK launched an ad campaign called ‘no friends’ to highlight loneliness among older people. The ads by J Walter Thompson London display the words “no friends” over images of solitary older people.
They have done this in response to the recent ‘friends’ campaign launched by Facebook which boasted of how their site can help create friendships. It was Facebook’s first TV and outdoor ad campaign and undoubtedly cost a serious amount of money. But, it has been talked about a lot and pretty well received.
So why have Age UK decided to launch this campaign?
Well, this is a great example of one business/charity using the great success of one marketing project and adapting and changing it to market their own business. They’re not merely copying Facebook but utilising the power their ad campaign had by cleverly using it to highlight their own campaign.
In marketing, it’s pretty hard to be 100% original. It’s a good thing to be inspired by other marketing plans and ideas. Obviously, if you simply rip something off, you’re going to get yourself into trouble. But don’t ignore what is going on around you. A good idea is great inspiration for another good idea.
We think Age UK’s bold ‘no friends’ campaign will have huge impact on the marketing and advertising world and will probably inspire another great idea.