It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

     December just began, but I feel like I've been in the Christmas spirit since October...that's what the advertisers want. I've fallen into their trap! It's dark down here. Companies pushed up the dates of their holiday campaigns this year because of the economy, but this doesn't really make me want to buy more presents for people (I have however had the urge to buy a lot of presents for myself lately...but that's just because I'm selfish). When I see Christmas ads starting to appear in October, I think "it's way too early for this. Let me at least get through Thanksgiving." And after seeing ads celebrating Santa and his elves and reindeer and every other Christmas icon since October, by the time November rolls around I'm sick of Santa and his fucking elves and Rudolph's deformed nose and don't want to go buy anything. I sadly have a feeling this trend will continue; we've already seen in happen with Black Friday. I think I started seeing spots advertising deals in the second week of November. Brands want to be the first to publicize their deals to grab attention away from consumers, I get it, but starting the cycle of holiday ads in October just takes away from the special creative work you can only do this time of year. Next year hopefully Santa will slow his roll and leave his sleigh in the North Pole until after Thanksgiving. 

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Read All About It...Just not on The Daily

     The Daily, the iPad-only newspaper, will be no more at the end of this month. What started out as an intriguing idea has turned out to be a flop. At first I wondered why no advertisers would be interested in supporting the publication, but after thinking about it for a few minutes those reasons became clearer than an iPad's retina display...on which you will no longer be able to read The Daily. Why would an advertiser support an iPad only app when they can give money to a more reputable news source that is available no matter the tablet platform. It's almost essential now for a major publication to have an accompanying app, and I'm sure agencies recommended going with those first over the new startup only available to Apple users. iPad users seemed to be the only targeting for the paper as well. It didn't have any sort of unique identity that advertisers could see as specifically relevant to their customer base. Finally, I think the failure of The Daily demonstrates that print advertising is still powerful. People still like to pick up a hard copy of their favorite magazine and flip through the glossy pages. The advertising industry and its clients aren't completely ready to abandon the medium. It will be interesting to see if a new, only-digital paper pops up again at some point in the future, I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea, but hopefully it will work out the issues this magazine had and be a more appealing vehicle for advertisers.

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Dumb Ways to Die...Smart Advertising

     Well, that was gruesome and adorable. This video to promote safety on Metro rails in Melbourne, is such a great, effective, and now viral video. It already has over 30 million views...and how could it not? IT IS SO CUTE. That all caps was completely necessary. Yes, the entire thing consists of little blobs getting mutilated, but it is still CUTE. The mixture of the not so pleasant message with sweet animation and a soft, melodic song is genius. The song itself is so catchy I'm still singing it days after seeing this video. Watching these little nuggets get murdered is the most enjoyable thing I've seen in a while. 

     The brand is going to continue to capitalize on the success of the ad. You can now buy the song on iTunes, in its original form or the karaoke version (I'll stick to "No Scrubs" for my karaoke needs), they've based their website on the video, and an iPhone game will be released soon. It also runs in traditional media as well, as TV and radio spots. This is a simple idea with perfect execution that can be translated to all mediums. Perfect. I could say more, but instead I'll just leave you with this... 

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What's In a Name? CASH!

     Jason Sadler sounds like any other typical guy, right? Now what if his name were Jason Nike? Jason Oreo? Jason Panasonic? Ok, I'll stop now, but I'm sure those peaked your interest way more than the original name. In one of the strangest media buys I've ever seen, Jason has started a website auctioning off his last name to a brand for an entire year. His new brand inspired moniker will come up on his driver's license, his social media channels, and whenever he introduces himself. Currently, the highest bid is $34,500, placed by an earphone manufacturer. WHY?! What is this going to do for your brand? This will probably garner a little press after the auction ends on December 12, but afterwards I cannot see anything coming out of this. It's completely pointless, and I can't believe this guy is totally willing to give up his identity to a company that he might not even use. But don't worry, good old Jason has morals. He won't take bids from organizations pertaining to religion, politics, or porn.

     I'm trying to decide if this is worse than people getting brands tattoos on their body. I mean, nothing is worse than the picture above, but is someone's physical identity more or less important than a name? Either way, I don't think these stunts do anything for a company or brand...but what do I know, this Jason guy is currently $34,500 richer than me.

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No Mushrooms, Please

     A new Twitter campaign from Mellow Mushroom has everyone talking...and possibly calling the cops. The idea is extremely simple: If you follow Mellow Mushroom on Twitter, there's a possibility a giant, scary looking yellow blob that kind of resembles a mushroom will follow you. Word of mouth for the execution is spreading really quickly, and I've seen several articles about it on websites not focused on advertising. I just don't get it. The idea is funny, but it doesn't tie into any bigger thought. And it definitely doesn't make me want to order a pizza. It makes me want to change my phone number and delete my Twitter account. I see it as a cool way to get followers, but at the end of the day Twitter followers aren't going to necessarily translate into customers. For me this falls short. I'll stick to Domino's. 

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Instajam

Instagram Music Video

     Above is a link to a music video made entirely of Instagram photos. The video is creative and at times really beautiful, and this is coming from someone who is sick of seeing a ton of filtered photos everywhere. Facebook and Twitter are the big dogs when it comes to social media, but I think Instagram is at times overlooked and is constantly gaining popularity and cultural clout. Instagram as a brand has a personality, a reputation, and although that might not be favorable to some people, it's more than can be said for other social media sites. I think as time goes on people will begin to use Instagram in much more innovative and interesting ways, hopefully some of them the result of advertising. I could easily see the above music video as an advertisement for the site itself, or for several other products. Clients can create photo contests or custom filters, but I think that's just the beginning. We can use the photos people upload to gain insights into how they use other products. We can find stories and interesting people to sell brands. I don't even use Instagram but am still excited to see how it grows as an advertising vehicle, just like its predecessor Facebook and now Twitter. A photo is more personal than a status or a tweet, and I think there is ample opportunity to use that to our advantage. In the future I foresee Instagram being even bigger than it already is, and capitalizing on that to create some very interesting ad campaigns. 

God Bless 7-Eleven

     Originally, I wasn't too compelled by 7-Eleven's "7-Election" campaign, but after reading a little more about it I thought it at least warranted a blog post. This season was inundated with campaigns trying to play off the election, but all of them had the same concept: vote red or blue. Nothing really stood out. With the 7-Election campaign, at least a customer had to make a purchase to actually cast a vote, instead of just clicking a button online. However, the concept is not what I find extremely interesting, it's the results. 

     Unbeknownst to me, the convenience store has run the campaign for the past three elections...and every time it has accurately predicted the outcome. Here are the results from all 7-Elections: 

     Not only that, the company ran the same campaign in the Philippines in 2010, and accurately predicted the winner of their election out of ten potential candidates. To me, that's impressive. The idea of the campaign isn't extremely original, but the accuracy is intriguing. I wonder how long their streak will last until they fail to predict the election...guess we'll have to wait until 2016 to find out. 

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Weathering the Storm

     American Apparel is known for being controversial in its advertising, but this definitely pushes the limits a little too far. While Hurricane Sandy was busy ravishing the Northeast, the clothing store thought it was a good idea to offer discounts on its stupid overpriced hipster clothes. The store received a ton of backlash because of this campaign, and rightfully so. One of the many reasons this was ignorant is because the hurricane knocked out power and access to the Internet for hours or days for thousands of people, rendering their online sale completely and totally useless. Also, I don't think many people were bored during the storm, they were busy staying safe and making sure their loved ones were safe. I think a way more effective solution, and this is if marketers should even be trying to gain attention in the time of a natural disaster, is if American Apparel had donated some trendy hipster coats made out of hemp or whatever material is deemed cool today or some other form of clothing to the many individuals who were affected by the storm. It should be obvious to not make light of a serious situation, but American Apparel was probably too busy listening to that band they like and being original and ironic to ever learn that lesson. 

Snickers Makes Me Snicker

     Halloween is right around the corner, which means it's time for me to pull out a bed sheet, cut out some eyeholes, and scam some people out of some candy. With the sheet over my head, I can pass as a 6'2 middle schooler...maybe. What was I supposed to be talking about? Oh yeah, advertising. So for the past few years, Snickers has been my favorite when it comes to Halloween advertising. Their spots are genuinely funny, and I appreciate that even though the commercial is seasonal it still ties in to the overall big idea of the brand: hunger is bad. I think some brands view seasonal advertising as a completely different entity, but I'm glad Snickers uses the holiday to further what the brand is known for.

     This commercial came out two years ago, and I still remember it. More importantly, it still makes me laugh. The mix of weird and creepy result in a great Halloween spot for the candy company. 

     This year, Snickers released a new commercial, and I think its even better than the Scary Lady ad. It captures that same weird tone and sense of humor and delivers a familiar idea in a fresh new way.

     These ads can certainly stand alone, but also seamlessly integrate into the work Snickers puts out all year long. When I think about it, that can be hard to do, because "It's Halloween, buy this candy!" is obviously the first thought the commercial has to convey, but these spots do a great job balancing that message with Snickers' branding. I'll definitely be buying them this year, and then lying to trick-or-treaters and saying I'm out of candy so I can eat them all myself. Suckers. 

Brooklyn Nets: Slam Dunk or...Whatever a Bad Thing in Basketball Is?

     A year or two ago if someone asked me my thoughts on the Brooklyn Nets, the first words out of my mouth would be, "What are they again? Basketball, hockey, soccer?" I feel that's valid, as I have no knowledge of sports and all of those do incorporate nets... I think. Now, in 2012, if someone asked me my thoughts on the Brooklyn Nets, I would tell them the branding of the basketball team is fantastic. That's right, it's so good I even know what sport is involved!

Brooklyn Nets Intro Video

     I think the video above is the ultimate brand statement and a great culmination of the new image of the Nets. It's classy, sophisticated, but still has that Brooklyn grit and edge. The use of black and white imagery is a callback to all their other brand elements, and the song proves this team is a testament to Brooklyn and what the city can achieve.

     The team underwent a complete image overhaul, and I think the new logo is a definite improvement. The simple typography is modern and elegant, and with the explosion of bright, garish colors used by most sports team, I love the black and white. The endorsement from Jay-Z adds a hip personality to the team (the only thing that could make it cooler is if his wife endorsed it too), and is a lot of the reason why this rebrand is receiving so much press. However, after looking at several other executions, I think the brand certainly deserves the spotlight.

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Why Do You Like This?!

     The above spot from T-Mobile is my roommate's favorite TV comercial. Yes, you read that right. The ad, which consists of nothing but a knock off of "One, Two, Buckle my Shoe" read by a character who's a knock off of the Mac guy, is someone's favorite advertisement. We've had ta few discussions about this, and it usually ends in me being enraged and her laughing at how mad I get. I guess as someone who studies creative advertising it just scares me that something so uninspired can appeal to someone. My roommate is smart, her brain functions at full capacity, but she still enjoys this. She could recall that the brand was T-Mobile, and can even quote the rhyme now...I normally leave the room when this happens. Is it really this easy to please the general public? There is no way this would even be acknowledged in one of my portfolio classes. I'd probably get kicked out of the program for even suggesting such a terrible idea. It has no originality and no big idea. Mediocre is one of the many ways I could describe this commercial (most of the other ways contain expletives). I'm extremely happy I've received an education that teaches me how bad this is. This spot is a bad one off I hope fades into obscurity soon. T-Mobile, can you hear me now? Do better next time! 

Grey Poupon Brightening Up Its Advertising

    

      I don't think anyone has thought about the brand Grey Poupon in a long time. I remember some commercials in the 90s caught on...but since then Poupon has faded into the background of the crowded and fiercely competitive condiment market. Those condiments can be vicious. Anyway, with the launch of a new digital campaign and website, the brand is attempting to make a comeback and regain its relevance. That's so mayo.

     The digital campaign takes place on Facebook, as Grey Poupon has now made their fan page exclusive. Before a user can like the page, their profile is scanned to determine if they are refined enough to appreciate the luxury the brand tries to convey.  The execution risks losing likes, but it certainly drives home the main idea of the campaign. I'm definitely not interested in mustard of any kind, but I still want to try and join just to see if they'll let me... Ke$ha is one of my likes so I'm guessing they won't. This garnered some buzz and got Grey Poupon on people's minds for the first time in a while, so overall I think it's a success.

     Another interesting move from the brand is their website, which is now located entirely on Pinterest. I'm torn about this decision. Pinterest is all about aspiration, and if Grey Poupon's main message is wealth and luxury, that is certainly aspirational. The design and iconography are great, but overall I think this might be a misstep. The brand needs to constantly update the site with content to keep it fresh on the minds of Pinterest users, and considering the main audience that uses Pinterest, I don't think they're too concerned with what mustard they use...unless it's deciding what mustard to use at their wedding.

     Overall I think the campaign is a great foray into the digital world, but the Facebook execution outshines the website.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/business/media/grey-poupon-mustard-ups-the-ante-on-its-highbrow-image.html