In war, it is not always the number of your soldiers that decides the ultimate outcome, but where you place them.
A clear analogy for comms strategy if, like me, you've read The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. Several times. Apparently not everyone is an ancient history geek.
But maybe you caught the graphic novel and film 300.
Briefly: Xerxes' army of a million men invades Greece; it's stopped by the Spartan king and his bodyguard at the narrow mountain pass of Thermopylae.
Their stand takes all the heart out of the Persians, who are comprehensively defeated next time they meet the Greeks.
Some marketers are brave and cunning like King Leonidas and his men. Others employ overwhelming brute force.
Sky live in the latter camp.
Currently, I am bombarded by Sky's HD package offer. Banners. Shopping centre stands. Ads. Bus sides. Inserts. Direct mail.
"Our arrows will block out the sun." boasts the Persian general to his Spartan counterpart. The actual Sky line is "Movies are more magical in high definition".
This, to use a technical cineaste term is ... bollocks. Movies are more magical in the cinema. Full stop.
Sky's ill-conceived line is accompanied by a couple of characters from family flick "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa". And offer copy.
This campaign is not offer-led. It's all offer; nothing more or less. Which is fine. You might argue that an offer with mass appeal demands a mass marketing approach.
I kinda buy the argument. Certainly, in traditional ATL media, a single, all-things-to-all-people message makes sense.
What about direct mail?
Well, the advertiser goes to the effort of recognising that I live in a flat. But this means I have to chat up four other residents to get a dish fitted. Yeah, right, that's going to happen.
And in the opening para you get legalese like ... "we can fit it for free* (subject to survey)". Oh dear.
The more you read, the more complicated it becomes as Sky try to flog you more channels, more movies and broadband.
But what about me? I am addressed as "The Occupier", which pretty much sums up Sky's take on insight.
Client and agency may well be happy that this campaign is "working".
I just question whether it could have worked so much better with some Spartan brain to direct its Persian brawn.
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