After DFR loss GPY&R, Melbourne seeks new business via long-copy ad in the Financial Review
December 9 2013, 10:51 am | | 64 Comments
After the loss on Thursday of major client Defence Force Recruiting GPY&R, Melbourne ran this long-copy advertisement in today’s Financial Review.
64 Comments
Yeah maybe check for typos before you rush one of these out next time.
Maybe they dumped you because your pitch documents were full of typos.
Exactly my point
Sounds like they’re trying to pick someone up but still not over the ex.
Writing is shocking, as is the typesetting.
Very surprising own goal.
It’s got nothing on Don Draper’s letter to Lucky Strike.
This ad is poorly written, is loaded with mistakes, reeks of desperation and lacks any grace. I actually felt sorry for them losing the account because I am pretty sure it would have been a genius in procurement that made the big decision but on this evidence maybe it was time
That’s ballsy, glad to see an agency that backs itself and doesn’t take bad news lying down.
Rare in this business.
It’s also really badly written.
Not exactly military precision in rushing that out the door.
Sorry to burst the bubble of industry sycophants who lauded the Defence Force recruiting campaign so gushingly at the time and see this a gross injustice, but it was an ART WANK, as I said so emphatically at the time.
Did it actually achieve any of its objectives (apart from winning irrelevant ad industry awards)? It was sub-AWARD School, and giving it awards only further underlined how delusional most people in the the advertising business are about the purpose of what we do.
Perhaps the new agency will introduce persuasive, intelligent argument as a tool, instead of humans arranged into ship shapes.
…for knocking the blog down to a depressing new low.
Bad luck GPY&R. You’ll be back.
To send a poorly written, art directed and full of typos squalid missive such as this to the ‘Business Community’ at large. Ouch.
Old CD Guy. It’s a democracy. You’ve got every right to not like an ad.
But judging years of work on one piece alone?
That’s pretty bad, even for a disgruntled troll such as yourself.
Old CD Guy please. The target audience for the most part is young morons. Persuasive, intelligence argument blah blah – the fact is ship shapes work.
The recruitment success numbers (over 90%) do the real talking.
It great to see an agency that backs itself and is proud to say it.
Suggest they may have been better off placing a positions vacant ad for a proof reader. Or even better: not placing an ad at all.
Was this drunkenly written after the Christmas party and sent straight to the Fin Review?
Great stuff, with my stupid arse agency had the plums to do something like that.
I couldn’t give a toss about a typo, I love the fact they are getting their message out there. GPYR are a class agency, and this shows their intention to stay one.
Hell yes! More of this from agency land and we just might shake off our rep as faceless yes men.
Love it! Takes balls to do that.
GPY&R are a great agency. What they consistently do for all their clients, big and small is no easy thing. They are confident, they are classy. This ad just confirms it.
I really hope to see great innovative work for a new big client soon!
All you guys notice is a typo? Big whoop. The point of the ad is made loud and clear.
I for one wish i worked in agency with this much class.
Great to see you come out swinging GPY&R. Wouldn’t expect anything less!
Coulson rebuilt Patts after the Fosters loss, and it is a much more modern innovation driven agency now. My bet is he and his team will do exactly the same again.
Clients come, clients go. Great agencies stay great.
Defence now join a long list of clients who shined for a moment while they were at GPYR. Just look at Medibank and Cadbury.
Taking a look at their web site, i’d happily work there tomorrow based on the award winning clients they still have.
The writers at Patts obviously don’t know the difference between a hyphen and en/em dash either…
Thank God we didn’t let Nigel do his ad…
Who wrote it?
Respect.
Great to see you guys backing yourselves.
‘You’re only one phone call away from disaster’.
Guys guys. Why all the rough comments? Don’t rag on creative work on a creative blog! We’ll all lose our jobs to mean circumstances at some stage, that’s just the industry.
Let’s all just smoke a doobie and move on.
Predictable idea, poorly written and structured, with bad type, a cheap library shot, lacking sources for their claims and an astonishing typo.
@oldcdguy. You seem to be referring to one Navy campaign. One campaign that yes won many awards. But you do realize they did a lot of other stuff for all the other services. Radio, tv, content, interactive, direct, promo etc. All really smart for the problem they were solving but not all of it award winning. Actually it probably was. As you were.
Where are the typos? (genuine question)
The short answer to your question is; yes, it did.
It actually smashed all targets by 90%. So get back into your dark, lonely corner and make some more banner ads will you.
Confused, you’re obviously in the digital department (or digtal as its spelt in this advertisement).
Apart from the appalling achivement typo and the hyphen mentioned by Eek in the above comments, Vacancy in the sub-head should be all lower case, as should marketing director in the second last para. It should also be government-led (with a hyphen).
Predictable idea, poorly written and structured, with bad type, a cheap library shot, lacking sources for their claims and an astonishing typo.
Ok bottom feeders, while you think you’re making some sort of huge point ragging on a typo (who hasn’t made one), GPY&R are talking to your clients, and very soon you will again find yourself without your sad little 55k job, jealously blogging from your mums house, about the award winning work they are doing on your former client.
This is a very clever way of turning bad news around, will rally the staff, will firm up existing clients and will get the attention of other peoples clients in the right way.
Good to see an agency that doesn’t take bad news lying down.
Why would a client leave an agency that delivered them record results???
Our business truly has gone to pot.
I did like the ad buy the way. Shows courage.
Some of these comments show the depth the low life trolls in our business are willing to sink to.
A very good agency looses it’s biggest client in an undeserving way, many people now undeservingly face retrenchment just before christmas, and your first thought is for opportunistic gutter comments about a typo??
Seriously, what kind of person thinks to do something like that???
Shame on you, you bring our business to a new low.
Exactly what most agencies don’t have the balls to do.
I love the public honesty, and respect the confidence at GPY&R.
Most agencies just lie about the impact and pretend it didn’t happen.
You have got to respect them for the way they go about this business.
You muck raking sad little losers.
Have some freak’n dignity.
When an agency looses a major client and people stand to loose their jobs, show some respect and keep you nasty little troll fingers off the keyboard.
Well done GPY&R, wish my agency handler bad news in this positive manner.
Please know that the industry respects you guys and this ad.
We the majority of decent people in advertising are glad to see you responding so honestly and quickly.
Love the fighting spirit, great stuff guys!
Nice, I like it.
So much cooler than the standard “it won’t effect our business” approach most agencies take.
Got to respect the honesty.
Most people already recognize GPY&R as one of the best shops in the business, this ad makes me want to work there (not that they will be hiring for a little while).
Good on you Patts.
Meanwhile, every one of my clients has asked me if I have seen the GPY&R ad in the FIN. Trust me, I tried to bag it, but they all love it, so I ad to smile and nod.
Well played GPY&R.
So much cooler than the standard “it won’t effect our business” approach most agencies take.
Most people already recognize GPY&R as one of the best shops in the business, this ad makes me want to work there (not that they will be hiring for a little while).
Good on you Patts.
I think we found our writer.
Whist I appreciate the attitude, if anyone let something like that slide through for a client they’d be in all sorts of trouble.
How exactly did that get through? They’re supposed to be at the top of their game and that’s the result? Poorly set, poorly written and poorly proofed.
I’ll give them a tick for the idea, but I’m not sure their quality control process is that reliable.
I thought it was a great read.
As someone who has written hundreds on long copy ads, it is well written and well set. It was easy to spot on the page and had a classic appearance. And most importantly it’s content was very good.
Anyone actually read the version in the actual newspaper. No typo.
This must have been sent to Lynchy before it went to print, probably to give him an early heads up.
You are all getting worked up over nothing.
Old school writer who doesn’t know the difference between it’s and its.
These Patts comments are so easy to spot – all riddled with typos.
http://youtu.be/768h3Tz4Qik
Because if it’s your name it should begin with a capital E.
As a client I liked it (and then again I am the target market unlike most who have commented)
I was with it, up until…
‘Another agency won.
Congratulations and best of luck.
You’ll need it. You have big shoes to fill’.
Never let anger over ride your dignity.
Yes, I did read the copy that was published in AFR, and yes it DID have the typos in it. No, Lynchy did not get the earlier, unedited version.
I’ll bet my $5 that the fuckers who’ve taken time out in their day to bag GPYR, with their insidious comments, aren’t worth a pinch of salt to the industry. Seriously, if you want to have your day in the sun, you weedy little pigs, write a good ad or come up with an idea. You bag others, because you are, by all definitions, nothing.
Be sure that GPYR will out live you.
ps, why are young aussie creatives such carrnts?
GPYR have balls and will bounce back.
When they do, I’ll be hitting them up for a job.
To the haters. Amazing how typos can upset so many.
It stinks of jealousy. Sad.
typos upset people because they are inexcusable in work coming from a so called communications business. As for Roxburgh’s mad spray, GPYR are a husk of the place it once was and that slide has been so dramatic I wouldn’t be too sure about it outliving anyone.. keep your $5