As If We Don't Have Enough Leftovers...

Christmas/New Years always seems to be filled with leftovers. Even in advertising. Like the alcohol spots that only run at Christmas time for Disaronno and others, and the resolution inspired commercials for nicorette and such.

I realize these companies spend a great deal of their advertising budget in one lump sum during Dec/Jan and don't run spots otherwise but that doesn't mean they should keep re-using the same spots year in and year out.

Sadly, these lame commercials will probably stick around due to the "economic downturn". (I love how that's the new catch phrase, ready-made explanation for every failure or shortcoming in business right now...)

Raising the Dead

I understand that it's for something deemed to be a good cause, but this reanimation of John Lennon is disturbing.



Maybe we can look forward to Che Guevara shilling Project RED ipods while he's helping clothing wholesalers millions off of hippie kids at music festivals across North America.

Advertising Smokes

Cigarette companies can't even sponsor events anymore. How times have changed.

AdAge: There are jobs in AD

This article found on adage.com says that there are still jobs in the biz and how to go about finding them.

http://adage.com/talentworks/article.php?article_id=133481

Living Well With Montel

Montel Williams is back! He is now hosting an infomercial based upon his old talk show format. Here are some excerpts from a New York Times article about it:

Mr. Williams had gathered a live audience, self-help experts and people who had dealt with problems like the death of a daughter, and he stood before them, gesticulating, tearing up and nodding thoughtfully.

After almost an hour of discussing the problem of depression, Mr. Williams presented the guests with the answer to their problems: a set of books he had written. In other episodes, he suggested solving various issues by buying a debt-relief kit, a rotisserie grill or a blender. For this was not a television show. It was an infomercial, “Living Well With Montel,” and Mr. Williams is being paid depending on how well the products sell.

The company’s formula is to introduce a problem and then offer a solution, Mr. Mirchandani said. For example, in one episode, Mr. Williams identifies childhood obesity as a problem, then offers his solution: a $199 blender that can make healthy soups and smoothies.

In an interview, Mr. Williams said combining a talk-show format with sales was a logical extension of product placement, in which advertisers pay producers or networks to feature their merchandise, like a Coca-Cola cup seen on Fox’s “American Idol.” It is meant to advertise products subtly, even if viewers skip traditional commercials.

“Every single television program is trying to figure out a way to do integrated advertising,” Mr. Williams, 52, said. “There may be those that throw stones, but then I say, ‘Hold up a mirror.’ ” He added that “even the soap operas have integrated cans, keys, cars.”


Could this be the future of the infommercial?

Indy Shmindy

This has become a trend for advertisers. They have been taking no name indy musicians as a way of promoting their brand. If the band makes it big, such as Feist, the brand will turn over higher profits.



Other such companies, like PS3, have being promoting lesser known bands in hopes of making money. Any thoughts?

Does Anyone Get The Point Of This Commercial?

This ad makes no sense whatsoever, but maybe it's just a cultural thing... It features Brad Pitt and was directed by Wes Anderson. It was created for a Japanese cell company called SoftBank. They can afford Brad Pitt so they must be doing ok as a company...

Who is PETA's target audience?

I guess it serves me right for not "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" but Kim Kardashian's sister Khloe has posed naked for PETA. Just out of curiosity, does anyone find these ads effective? PETA's been beating this dead horse for how many years or is it decades now.

And besides, why is this even an issue anymore? When was the last time you saw someone under the age of fifty actually wearing a fur coat. People just don't wear fur these days. I just don't see why the animal rights militants over at PETA even waste their time on such a non-issue as wearing fur.

Ahh, discovery!

I saw this commercial for Sirius satellite radio the other day and thought it was pretty cool. It draws you in with the question "What's going on here? Where's this going?"
Plus, the music builds really well too. It's a pretty sweet ad that doesn't hammer away with any branding message. Very subtle, yet memorable.

Cool Guerrilla Marketing

There's a story on the Ad Week website showcasing some of the great guerrilla marketing efforts for 2008. It's a pretty interesting story if anyone wants to read it.
http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3ie8946cda1b3f6da2519ca08857010ae6?pn=1

Here's one of the cool examples for those who don't want to read it all:

On most days, the six-mile Portoliner Monorail on Japan's island city of Kobe is packed full of people. But between April 14 and May 8, the tiny elevated trains were packed with something else: decorating ideas for people's living rooms.

To commemorate the opening of its new Port Island store, home-furnishings chain Ikea took over an entire train, redecorating the cars with couches, curtains and wallpaper. Many items bore actual sales tags complete with names and prices, so if a passenger saw a color or style she liked, she could easily order it at the store or online.

"The train design showed a unique way to live in an Ikea décor of comfort and everyday living," said a company rep. More to the point, said John Margolis, co-author of Guerrilla Marketing for Dummies, it was guerrilla in its "purest form:" The Swedish chain was "putting the products out there, letting customers touch and feel the brand. Short of going into the stores, this literally gives consumers a chance to sit on the couch."

Margolis added that Ikea's choice of the diminutive train cars underscored the chain's positioning of being the brand of choice for decorating tiny living spaces. "They're showing how to maximize a small space through the use of [decorative] materials," he said.

Ikea's Japanese marketers could not be reached for comment, so there's no telling what kind of ROI the store got from (much less what it paid for) the three-week stint, but according to Chicago-based freelance designer and event marketer Steve Dennis, this kind of guerrilla installation stands to be far more successful in a socially demure atmosphere like the one in Japan. "In New York City, an Ikea train would be torn up, which would misrepresent the brand," he said. Still, Dennis added, "I think an Ikea-themed bus or water taxi would work here." Hmmmm . . . Note to headquarters.

Ok, this isn't really an ad in that it wasn't paid for by any of Nikon's competitors, but I thought it would be appropriate nonetheless. This video is a film clip from the movie "The Downfall", a film about Adolf Hitler, with inserted text regarding a new camera Nikon has just released, the D3x. I think this video is hilarious, and wish it was possible for advertisers to make commercials as close to the edge as this is. Obviously if this was ever aired it would get pulled immediately. But with over 100,000 views in two days, at least some people like it...

Don't Call It A Comeback...

I was reading a story on the NY Times website about how the economic downturn has led to a resurgence in popularity for coupons. A lot of companies aren't using traditional print mediums though; choosing to use online methods to their advantage instead. This causes consumers to spend more time with the brands and coupons can also be tailored to suit specific consumers.

Here are some excerpts:
The Lucky Brand of apparel sold by Liz Claiborne is offering coupons on a humorous holiday Web site (luckybuckoff.com). The more skillfully computer users play a game, the larger the discount they earn on coupons redeemable at stores or on the regular Lucky Web site (luckybrandjeans.com). The discount, 20 percent off for every player, can be raised to 25 or 30 percent.

New technologies are also helping to renew interest in coupons, especially for younger consumers. There are scores of Web sites where coupons can be obtained by clicking rather than clipping; among them are coupons.com, couponcabin.com, couponcode.com, couponmom.com, 8coupons.com, fatwallet.com and shortcuts.com. Many also deliver coupons by e-mail messages.

In 2007, according to the Coupon Council of the Promotion Marketing Association, 89 percent of the population said they used coupons, compared with 86 percent in 2006. “I’ve looked at some data that show 94 percent say they’re using coupons in 2008,”said Charles Brown, co-chairman of the council and vice president for marketing services at NCH Marketing Services in Deerfield, Ill., a unit of Valassis Communications.
Last year was the first time since 1992 that redemption rates for coupons did not decline from the previous year.

Great hockey ads

These ads are constructed to get fans involved in NHL All Star balloting. Funny, and they take the piss out of negative political advertising.

The difference between marketing, PR, advertising, and branding

Ha ha ha ha ha...

I thought this was cute and somewhat accurate.

But, seriously, I'm a great lover, I'm a great lover, I'm a great lover...

Resealable Pop Can Advertising

Ok, so I thought this idea was awesome even though I enjoy flat soft drinks. This guy invented a way to make soda cans resealable so they maintain their carbonation and flavour. Also, the seal has advertising on it that is hidden until the can is re-sealed. I like it. I am never surprised anymore by the places people think of to place ads.
Check out the full article here:
http://www.coolbusinessideas.com/archives/soda_can_advertising.html

My friend Annie

I was having a relaxing homework evening at my good friend Annie's house when I asked her what commercials she had seen recently that she likes. She thought for a second, then said "The Dyson Vacuum commercials". Surprised, I asked why. Her answer was one that I would only expect from a girl... or maybe Braden. She said "Because he's a dreamy older man with a sexy, soothing voice." She then said something else that, for her sake, I will not publish online (but if you don't tell Annie I'll tell you if you ask me). Is this what the advertising world has come to? The woman's equivalent of a bikini clad beer girl is a vacuum pitching Clooney wanna be? Interesting. Well, it worked for Annie... I think she just threw out her old vacuum too...

Just in case anyone wants to see what Annie's taste in men is, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_xVWN1Wm_A

This Post Will Offend At Least One Person...

The following print ads were created by BBDO Dusseldorf for Pepsi Max (Only 1 calorie!) The lonely little calorie is commiting suicide because he's so sad. I find these bizarrely awesome and hilarious in my own "desensitized to violence" way. Of course, bloggers have been all over the fact that these are insensitive to the issue of suicide and they will likely be pulled... so check these ads out here, because you probably won't be seeing them in any magazines at the local newsstand.

In Hindsight, I Find These Even Funnier Now...

These Ameriquest ads are 3 years old, but they're still funny and kind of ironic with their tagline of "Don't Judge Too Quickly. We Won't". The fact that the company made their money by financing loans and mortgages for people with poor credit is rather telling of what led to the US lending crash. They were dissolved by Citigroup in 2007, and unfortunately weren't around to end up like all the other bottom feeding lenders that fell from grace this year.

Advertising Is A Bunch of Hot Air!!

I found this story on the NY Times website. A new marketing ploy in Chicago... Heated bus shelters paid for by Stove Top Stuffing. The tagline on their ad reads" Cold, provided by winter. Warmth, provided by us." Evidently, it's supposed to create an experiential interaction with the brand. I guess we missed the boat here in Winnipeg; the city could be making money by having advertisers pay for the right to bring heated bus shelters to the public.

What happens to brand Liberal?

My dad was telling me that the Liberals (and to a lesser extent the NDP) would never enter a coalition with the Bloc. "They can't enter into an agreement with a separatist party?" Well, I guess they can. This is a very bold, and unusual move on the part of the three opposition parties. The Liberals are Canada's national governing party - but this time they are allowing what are effectively two protest parties to share in the governing of the nation. The coalition agreement will feature a Liberal prime minster and finance minister, and that six of the 24 cabinet positions will be filled by the NDP. Wow.

I never thought all this minority government tomfoolery would garner this result. I know Stephen Harper is a smug, shifty iron-fisted autocrat, but I think even he has to appreciate (secretly) the masterful political coup that the Liberals have managed to pull off.

Will this coalition have far-reaching effects in future elections? I guess we'll have to wait until next week, or the next time our national politicians fevered egos force Canadians to vote in another $300 million fiasco.