While the attendences of international one-day and test-match fixtures was as high as ever, the ordinary county cricket scene in England was not well supported. The profile of cricket followers was older than that of its much bigger rival, soccer. The brief from England and Wales Cricket Board Limited was for the direct-response advertising to help whip up some appeal across a broader age range, while still fulfilling its primary role of pulling in response for tickets.

The solution

The agency, Bates Communications, decided to take an irreverent, humorous approach to the forthcoming test series between Australia and England. The picture and copy (in Figure 13. 12) refer to the fact that some of the original white settlers in Australia were convicted British criminals carrying out penal service. The campaign attracted good publicity, with the Daily Mirror describing it as a ‘provocative’ campaign, and also attracting quotes from Australian cricketers.

Figure 13. 12

Questions
1. From the brief, and referring to the classical direct marketing ‘rules’ in the chapter, critically analyse the off-the-page advert. In what ways does it differ from a classical direct-response advert?

2. Given the brief, produce your own version of the advert.

Transcribed Image Text:

THE AUSSIES ARE BACK. KO County CERTIFIED ENGLAND V AUSTRALIA Come and cheer on England next summer, and hopefully give Australia a long and painful trip down under again. Simply call THE OFFICIAL ASHES HOTLINE to book your tickets for any of the six Cornhill Insurance Test Matches. The first Test starts 5th June at Edgbaston, then 19th June at Lord's", 3rd July at Old Trafford, 24th July at Headingley, 7th August at Trent Bridge, then 21st August at The Foster's Oval. Let's take no prisoners. CORNHILL Insurance Call 0990 33 88 33 for tickets With our RAINCHECK scheme advance ticket purchasers will get a full refund, if 10 overs or less are bowled in the day because of bad weather. There will be a 50% refund if more than 10 but less than 25 overs are bowled in the day. Application forms only are available for this test.