Berkeley Homes' recent foray into TV advertising has caused quite a stir. Bryant Homes has just put its £5m advertising account with M&C Saatchi. Is this the start of something big?
Just recently whenever homebuilding folk have been in a room together the words TV advertising have often been overheard. What is all the more remarkable is that these words have been given equal status with generally recognised hot subjects like 101 things to do with a difficult planner, the cost of Part L and just where is the market headed?

This renewed interest has been fueled by Berkeley Homes' first foray into the media with a beautifully crafted lifestyle type campaign - "My Berkeley is...". I personally loved it and I particularly liked the way that the message was integrated into Berkeley Homes' other media activities.

The other thing I liked is that I genuinely felt that the campaign reflected what I could expect from the Berkeley brand.

While some cynics suggest that the timing of the Berkeley campaign had more to do with the company's year end than brand development, I for one dismiss such tittle tattle as mere jealousy on the part of homebuilders who either think TV is a waste of money or who do not have the money to invest in TV in the first place.

I emphasise the word invest because I believe that TV must be seen as an investment in either sales now or future sales through brand development. It is far too expensive a media for the average homebuilder to consider as a "toe in the water" exercise.

Some pundits suggested that Berkeley's was the first homebuilder TV campaign since Barratt's in the 1980s.

Not so. Bryant has been on TV during the last few years and I do remember seeing a Redrow ad that ended in those immortal words "They don't make 'em like they used to - Redrow make 'em better!" (Not the most creative of campaigns but don't knock it - it must be five years ago and I still remember it!)

And to suggest that Barratt only went on TV in the 1980s suggests that some journalists have been taking an extended holiday during the past 10 years. For most years in the 1990s you could almost set your watch to Barratt's TV activities. Three or four times per year, regular as clockwork timed to coincide with the heavy selling periods of early new year, spring, early summer and autumn.

I know that some knock the Barratt style as being a bit downmarket, every development with chopper cover, £99 down and move in for first time buyers and part exchange in seven days for the rest. But for consistency of execution it has no equal in our market - Barratt owns a market position that many builders would be delighted to own.

What I have also admired is the sheer economy of the campaign. It seems to me that some of the footage has been repackaged and used over and over again, year after year - I swear that in one late 1990s ad the first time buyers were clutching wooden tennis rackets.

So, far from being a 1980s phenomenon Barratt has been spending £1m-2m or more on the TV for years and its recent results would suggest it has achieved a fair return on its TV investment.

Putting a house on the TV is not easy. Put a camera, art director, producer and gaffer boy in front of it and...nothing - it doesn't move, growl, grunt or smile at you. You may as well show a still picture.

By contrast take a car, better still take it to a winding road in Tuscany ("it'll look gorgeous in the sunset"), the hills of South Africa ("the light's so much better there luv") or the Mojave desert in California ("freedom, the open road, the all American dream"). Yes in my car days I had some wonderful travel opportunities suggested by my agency creative teams.

And then there's always the celebrity route. We could put the recent Citroen Xsara ad in reverse. The one where Claudia Schiffer comes down the stairs in various states of undress, leaves the house, climbs seductively into the car and throws her panties out of the window.

In the homebuilder version she'd get out of a really boring car, enter her drop dead gorgeous three bed semi (the house equivalent of the Xsara in the ad) go up the stairs and throw her knickers out of the master bedroom window (complete with spacious ensuite and fitted wardrobes).

I have just read that Bryant has placed its TV advertising with M&C Saatchi whose MD says: "Bryant Homes means business and intends to shake things up. Our campaign will reflect the company's new dynamic approach". I can't wait to see what marketing director Lorraine Morrissey and team get up to. I wish them well.

There is one type of message, big in car advertising, which I have yet to see in any housebuilder's TV ad - the feature and benefit message.

We have seen brand building ads from Berkeley and offer lead ads from Barratt but to my knowledge no homebuilder has emphasised specifications on TV.

Many car ads talk about sliding sunroofs, air conditioning (this year's hot favourite) and a host of other features all designed to make our driving experience easier. Fiat for example has spent a fair part of its £34.5m ad spend this year to teach us about that "special girlie button".

When are we going to see a TV ad that says something like "all our new homes come with showers fitted as standard because we know how you want to live your life".

Unfortunately in the real world beyond the Postman Pat fairy tale, the glamorous brand builder and the offer lead approach, there are lot of builders who still couldn't run with this claim. One day perhaps.