Some people hate them…some people love them!

Here’s the Commonwealth Bank’s newest TV ad…this time, its with a boxing Kangaroo and featuring Australia’s Tempany Deckert. What do you think?

Obelisk @ Night 1
Originally uploaded by Snelvis

According to Tourism New South Wales about 95 per cent of the state’s business visitors spend most or all of their time in Sydney. This fact is not easy to forget, when you consider Newcastle is New South Wales (NSW) second city and the sixth largest in Australia.

Internationally, NSW has been successful in attracting over 65 per cent of all Australian-based Asia Pacific regional headquarters or operations – that’s well over 600 companies. Unfortunately, very few have located their headquarters in Newcastle.

Courtesy of the Australia Bureau of Statistics, over half of Australia’s 500 leading companies have called NSW home including companies like WestPac, Commonwealth Bank, St George Bank, Macquarie Bank, AMP, Woolworths, Seven Network, Boral, CSR, Harvey Norman, PBL, Leighton, Qantas, Lend Lease, Fairfax, and Westfield. Again, very few have seen the benefits of locating their major operations or headquarters to Newcastle.

Whilst Newcastle is struggling to project an attractive new image, Sydney our nearest and biggest competitor has been named the world’s best city by the Anholt City Brands Index, followed by London, Paris, Rome and New York. Paul Keating even said, “If you are not living in Sydney you are simply camping out"

It is no exaggeration to say that Sydney is as close to having a ‘perfect city brand’ as any city can have.

Like Sydney, increasingly more and more cities around the world are using branding, positioning themselves more effectively to compete globally for their fair share of the world’s consumers, tourists, businesses, investment, capital, respect and attention.

Rather than being classed as a campsite, Newcastle’s future success relies on it becoming a strong compelling brand. I can only hope our political masters see the potential of branding my adopted city.

Give me the job…I’ll do it.

Surprise…surprise!

The brains trust at the Bank of Queensland (BoQ) and its agency Clemenger Harvie Edge are making the most out of the Commonwealth Bank’s problematic ‘Determined to be different’ advertising campaign.

Spending its moeny wisely, BoQ took out full page ads in some of last weekend newpapers. Much less than the $60m Comm Bank spent on its TVC.

If I were BoQ, I’d be planning a few TVC’s attacking the Commonwealth Bank’s current TVC campaign. 

And frankly…why not?

They could use John Singleton’s quote in The Australian – "They had to go all the way to America for this?"

"Mate, there are lots of really bad agencies in Australia. You don’t have to go to America to get shit."

For more in information on the Commonwealth Bank’s campaign, I recommend you visit Campaign Brief >>>>

There’s more…the Commonwealth Bank and/or its agency have released a series of interviews with the characters in their new TV Campaign (see below).

Also, our very own Aussie advertising icon John Singleton has been quoted in The Australian newspaper:

"In this climate where people are struggling, interest rates are up, there is a credit crunch on, there is half a crash, you have people hiring Yanks to treat the Commonwealth Bank like a joke," Mr Singleton said.

"It is absolutely unforgiveable.

I really like this Singo one:

"They had to go all the way to America for this?"

"Mate, there are lots of really bad agencies in Australia. You don’t have to go to America to get shit."

"It is the worst thing I have seen in a long, long time, and I have seen a lot of crap. It is up there with the worst I have ever seen."

Are we being set-up for a really bad Borat Joke?

Lets wait and see…but first check out the Agency interviews:)