Ready, steady….Samsung flop!

Posted in Latest News, Nicky's Blog by Nicky on September 29th, 2009

Ready, steady……Samsung flop! I was really excited about the second episode as there was a fantastic opportunity for the candidates to really showcase their skills. Having been there myself I wanted them to do well but unfortunately it was not to be. There was so much wrong with this task for both teams.
I was surprised to see how reluctant both Aoiffe and Lucinda were to push themselves forward for this task as they both would have been the most experienced. They had a great brand, an excellent product and a fantastic chance to do a really innovative billboard campaign! I personally would have jumped at this opportunity!
 
The girls started off well with Sam, (after last week’s shenanigans) surprisingly having a good idea! She was very positive and her energy was high, but she has to tone it down! Once you start having faith in her the singing and theatrics begin, which overshadow any business skills she actually might have. Aoiffe of course was quick to point out what an attention seeker Sam was, but at least Sam tried. I have seen nothing but negativity from Aoiffe, herself and Geraldine clashed throughout the task but I thought Geraldine dealt with the confrontation very professionally. The relay idea had potential but could have been developed further and been more innovative, it came across as being very safe. I know from last year how the time constraints can impact on you, and how the pressure can cause you to forget the little things, but it is so important to have a time line from the beginning of the task to avoid missing the smaller details i.e. casting times?! Attention to detail is key in these tasks and the aforementioned errors should never have happened! Meeting the photographer without confirming whether or not they had a picture of the phone? Black phone on a black background? This is all common sense and the fact that they could not recognise the significance of this is worrying to say the least. In order to learn you sometimes have to make mistakes, I know this too well, so I think Lucinda has good potential and led team well, but she needs to tweak the small things, sit back and think the task through in detail.
 
 The boys, what can I say, they were all over the place from the beginning! Not to have a concept by day 2 is shocking! How can you get anywhere when you don’t even know the destination! Booking models, venues etc… when no campaign was agreed was simply ludicrous. Communication between the team was poor, while the idea was boring and weak! Chú Chulainn ignored direction given from Samsung and I found it totally hilarious to see how surprised they all were by the negative feedback they received! They looked like they were selling a camera! “Live Enjoy Dream” L.E.D!!!!…..each week is more frustrating!!!
 
I thought that Bill went too easy on both teams this week and although the girls won they made fundamental mistakes which Bill should have been less lenient about. Surprise surprise the “boys of bad business-men past” lost and thankfully Donal went! He is full of hot air, lacks basic business acumen and in all honesty seems clueless to the “real world”. I was glad to see him go! I am still anxiously waiting for the tide to turn and to see some genuine contenders. In relation to the group so far, I doubt Bill looks in the mirror and thinks “They’re terrific!!”