The Motz of Butz: Where the advertising fox and the Easter bunny say good night to each other

I don't like the clever new fox who offers clever prices for products from the Coop range. I couldn't get excited about him. But I did have to smile ironically when he offered fresh, tender chicken meat as a fox of all things. Perhaps there will be juicy goat or hare legs for Easter.

Speaking of rabbits. These are now booming. The white one in the Aldi ad is cute. But all the bunny shapes that don't come in traditional designs are these new, trendy chocolate bunnies with the big Michey Mouse eyes. Hideous creatures. Unfortunately, with exceptions, it is once again the case that everything used to be molded with more love and artistic flair. In my three years of mothballed experience of the communications world, this assertion unfortunately comes up again and again. The great success of the Lindt bunny proves that it pays to hire the best designers and product creators. My theory: The success or failure of advertising figures depends on small details. One of these details is definitely the quality, experience and sensitivity of the artist and animator of a particular advertising figure. If you look, for example, at the facial expressions and gestures of the M&Ms together with the excellent story of the hostage-taking and draw a comparison with the Thomymayosenf tube, then you will hopefully understand what I mean by quality, experience and sensitivity.

Another detail of a successful advertising character is a characteristic role allocation. The voice is also crucial to the character of such creatures. The Coop fox lacks such important details. The voice of the yellow M&M that says, "I think he's eating the Kevin," is perfectly cast. The fox's voice is too puffery. He's supposed to be a wise guy who doesn't like to give away his tips. There are still many character traits missing to land a role alongside Lion King in Hollywood. In contrast to the chocolate sticks for Ferrero product commercials, the fox at least has a chance of a bigger role with a few retouches. One thing is certain: there is a very fine line between top and flop. With all creations, it really depends on how much gut feeling there is in Kermit the frog, Pluto, the Ice Age squirrel, the new Jaguar e-type or the advertising fox and the Easter bunny. It's not possible to scientifically calculate this throw. Anyone who wants to save money and patience in the development of such difficult creatures has already lost anyway and you can wish them good night.

My view is that nature is once again running an excellent advertising campaign at the moment. The bumblebees and bees are queuing up.  

Theophil Butz, graphic designer, advertising agency owner, inspirer and since three years also
Motzer for Advertising Week readers. Please send any relevant information to [email protected]