The Optimist

As the term 'green shoots' becomes as ubiquitous in the press now as the term 'credit crunch' was a year ago, the housebuilder, Miller Homes, has decided to step up its marketing activity by producing its first ever television ad entitled "The Optimist".

The ad promotes the company's shared ownership scheme and although the proposition is nothing new or unique in itself, the execution is a cut above previous attempts by housebuilders to market themselves on television.

In announcing the advert, the company's blog stated "Now is the time for optimism and confidence in the UK property market and what better way to demonstrate this than by putting our money where our mouth is with the launch of our first ever TV campaign."

Ignoring the folly of launching this campaign on the brink of silly season in a marketing medium that is in terminal decline, one has to commend Miller for their bravery. Until marketers start talking positively about the property market again, how can we expect the public to do so?