Copy of Veet 'Goodbye Bush' newspaper ad
(88k, JPG format)
Copy of Veet 'Goodbye Bush' ad in context of newspaper (Daily Telegraph)
(1m, Acrobat (.pdf) format)
Veet ad goes worldwide
A quarter-page topical ad that ran for just one day has proven the power of newspapers.
The Veet ‘Goodbye Bush’ ad ran in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph and Melbourne’s Herald Sun in time with coverage of President Barack Obama’s inauguration and the farewell of George W. Bush.
The ad has gained worldwide acclaim after it was spread virally and is also now running in newspapers in New Zealand and Canada.
The ad has taken on a life of its own; being scanned and sent around the world by both the general public and ad industry. The ad and associated tweets and commentary are popping up extensively on twitter, digg, flickr, numerous blogs and via emails. Googling ‘Veet Bush’ had yielded more than 76,400 results.
“This is a great example of a one-off topical newspaper ad that can evolve virally across a global audience,” The Newspaper Works CEO Tony Hale said.
“It powerfully demonstrates that because newspapers are the best source of news and information, a small topical ad placed in the right editorial context can generate interest and discussion way beyond the cost of the space.”
Nikki Maclennan of AdNews commented, "Topical ads highlight one of the most important elements of advertising: relevance. They combine precision planning with a great, and usually simple, creative idea." She goes on to say, "The industry should make more use of the calendar to plan these tactical ads. A lot of things happen at the same every year, and are easily 'hijackable'."
We agree, and for anyone looking to create their own topical ad masterpiece, go through our content calendar for key dates of 2009.
The ad was created by Euro RSCG. Executive Creative Director was Rowan Dean,copywriter John Gault and art director Patrycja Lukjanow and media agency was OMD.
