Manchester’s £600k Christmas spend

Baffled as usual says..“ Does anyone apart from Dinosaur get to pitch for this stuff anymore? its all very lego like what Chris came up with a few years ago. ”

johnthebrief says..“ Don't get me started on the council's attitude to car parking. It's my personal hobby horse and I sound like a broken record. The council are supposed to champion the city, not try to stifle it. EDITORIAL COMMENT: now, now John, you're not allowed to be personal in your abuse.”

Lou says..“ I am not a fan of the ad. And as for parking. It is a complete nightmare! And the Visitmanchester website transfers you to the NCP site. ggrrr”

Anonymous says..“ Interesting article, i take it ManCon didn't get any of the advertising spend! You are so right about the town hall's attitude to parking, I listened to Gordo once in the Circle on one of the debates. He said that a wallet getting out of a car is worth ten times the wallet of someone getting off public transport. So, where do the fat wallets go? Why, The Trafford Center of course. They don't have those little creeps in Uniforms delighting in writing tickets for the slightest infringement any time up to midnight. They are like flies around te Northern Quarter at 11.00 pm on a Friday night. Nope, me, my missus and my pals get out of Manchester as fast as possible after finishing work and don't come back in to shop. How can all you traders not be setting the councillors cars on fire in that street by the side of the Town Hall they privatised for themselves so they can park all day?”

Big Hairy Bloke says..“ Its good to see us selling Manchester, but where are these ads going? And why drive people to the visit manchester website? Its a shocker. I have just checked it out, its as dry as my undies in the desert. Top Tip: Go and browse the jewellery shops in Rusholme, it says, then get a nice kebab. Top Blinking Tip!! The curry mile? The team at Marketing Manchester may be good at some stuff, but online they don't know their arse from their elbow.Who thought that bit of the campaign up? Not sure about that TV ad either, all a bit arty farty, take a tip from Liverpool One and The Trafford Centre, spend less on creative and more on media boyos. But, I will give my final considered opinion once it gets going.”

ManFan says..“ Hairy, just been to the Visit Manchester website and I have to agree with you. I am a retailer in the city and most of the stuff on there is out of date. Northern Quarter? Soup Kitchen and that now shocking Market restaurant is being pushed, it changed hands twelve months ago. Not good. I like the ad by the way.”

tblzebra says..“ The website needs a major overhaul. Plus WHY on earth is the Rocky Horror Show listed under Gay & Lesbian events?”

Anonymous says..“ I'd like to learn where these middle aged women with loaded wallets ??? shop.... in the Trafford Centre?. Actually I shop in London travel by taxi or tube.... ”

m says..“ Watch the video without any sound and it’s pretty cool. With a well chosen soundtrack it’d be one of those interesting ads that grabs your attention but you don’t know what it’s about until the end. It’s 100 times better than the usual ‘Visit [enter city]’ ad campaigns. The voiceover drags it back down to provincial standards though. Do you really need to bleat on about trams and parking? Salford Shopping City has parking spaces too you know. Without the sound the add simply says ‘Here’s Manchester. Discover it.’ What more do you need?”

Sara J says..“ I don't live in the middle of nowhere, I'm not out in the country, but my last train home is 6.30pm and they don't run Sundays at all. If I catch the bus it stops about 20 min walk from my house and in winter, in the dark, down a country lane, with bags of shopping is just not going happen. I've started doing most of my shopping on line wherever I can now and just pick up the odd item in my lunch break. Free car parking or a park and ride scheme would be well received. P.S. I tried Market Restaurant a while back too and was very disappointed.”

SJ says..“ The parking issue in Manchester is real. And it the centre seems to be getting shabby - and I don't mean shabby-chic (or whatever the marketing bods say). King Street & St Ann's Square are looking decidedly ropey. Note to council - get rid of the clutter or 'street furniture' and get some elegance back. Had to do some work in Liverpool recently - and city centre shopping there was FAR better than home. Felt sad, but it was true.”

Anonymous says..“ It must be time to resurrect to McEnroes. 'See what Manchester's made of' has got to be the worst slogan ever. The TV advert fails miserably to entice. This rant is mostly full of complaints about car parking - that's how good the slogan is.”

Anonymous says..“ shouldn't it be: ' see of what Manchester is made' !!!”

Martin Bryant says..“ With reference to the people criticising the Visit Manchester website: There is a banner in the centre of the front page pointing people to the Christmas section of the site which is brand new and well worth visiting. http://christmas.visitmanchester.com is the direct URL. It allows you to create and share a 'playlist' of the shops, hotels and attractions you would like to visit. As for the rest of the site? Look out for a complete overhaul in the Spring!”

cant wait says..“ Thanks Martin, I have just come back from the shops with a new count down clock and it is set up on my desk and ticking as we speak as all of us in the office wait with anticipation...it's so exciting!!!”

johnthebrief says..“ Oh Jonathan, you're such a spoilsport. OK, a sanisitised version. City centre parking is controlled by Councillor Neil Swannick, and anyone looking at the result might reasonably conclude that he is not competent for the role. Witness his hare-brained scheme to restrict evening and weekend parking more than is alreadythe case, that disappeared under a tidal wave of public outrage. Or perhaps consider the wholesale imposition of double yellow lines where they are not necessary. If the council took a rational view of parking as something necessary to the economic good of the city, rather than solely as a source of revenue, the benefits to all of us would be manifest. ”

MAnion says..“ I think it's simple and effective as an ad.”

The Lampshade with Attitude says..“ Martin, I think the point is that if people don't see it automatically, it's failed. Good ambient campaign but sending the punters to the current site is a waste. Also, is it right that your site, paid for with taxpayers money, should be competing with the likes of Mancon and Manchester.com and City Life? I have to tell you that the city is well served with sites that have to work hard at bringing in revenue to fund themselves and will always be a tad more interesting as there jobs are on the line if it doesn't work. Andrew Stokes is doing a great job of selling Manchester but it's all a bit narcassistic going into publishing with my tax dosh.”

Hmmmmm says..“ Hmm, remember that failed congestion charge ad, that got pulled from the telly this time last year. Well, is it me or is the combination of telly ad, public transport, Amaze pr agency and the city centre all too reminiscent of the partnership involved in the flop? Is this what's happened to the credits at ITV for the slots that weren't used when the ad got pulled. Maybe that's why it doesn't mention car parking. Or am I too cynical? ”

charley says..“ Seen the paper marketing as far away as Hull. Off peak (between 9.30am - midday) trains are packed coming into town, people are being left behind on platforms at weekends, particularly at places like Atherton, Walkden, Mills Hill, Rochdale. If only RustyRail (aka northern) could get some proper longer trains? Who'd do their Xmas shopping at the Dump? (Traffic Centre) I'd prefer Pendleton Precinct/Salford Shopping City!!”