I would like to take this free moment before my pre-emergency-christmas-shopping and getting-ready-to-leave-for-the-family-reunion-in-a-panic, half-ready-drove-madly-forgot-to-leave-food-for-the-cats-again classic holiday fun to wish all of the AdKrispies fans a HAPPY HOLIDAY and a FANTASTIC NEW YEAR.
I hope 2007 brings you peace, love and understanding. See you next year.
Here's a little holiday fun, courtesy of our friends at Saturday Night Live: SNL - Digital Short - A Special Christmas Box (uncensored version).
Spotted on Tokyomango, here's a 90's ad featuring Arnold Schwarzenneger advertising an energy drink called "Arinamin V" in Japan. The clip itself is a treasure of weirdness when you don't understand japanase, but fortunately, our friend Lisa at Tokyomango took the care to explain:
"Schwarzenegger wins a bunch of money at a strictly business mahjongg game that he and his business partners are hosting. (He was supposed to let the client win.) His partner, the guy on the right, freaks out, saying "No no no, you're not supposed to win!" As expected, the defeated (and humiliated) client says: "Mr. Inoue, I'm sorry, but we'll have to retract from the previous agreement." Arnold hides behind the wall, and emerges saying "Daijou-V!" And the chorus starts chanting the same thing. (Daijobu means "it's all good" in Japanese.) All of a sudden, everything is all good. The businessmen shred the papers, forget the formalities, and have a blast. Arnold has saved the day without using superpowers or politics."
Wow. I could never have guessed. (Thanks, Tokyomango!)
CHECK OUT THIS CRAZY GOOD, slap-your-forehead-cuz-you-aint-worth-shit campaign for booksplus. I think they nailed the one universal message that says it all. I am in awe. I'm going to practice my advertising swing right now. (Thanks, BoingBoing!)
Gaming juggernaut Ubisoft and Montreal agency Revolver 3 have put together this series of entertaining viral videos for the upcoming launch of Rayman: Raving Rabbis Rabbids. One part cute, one part fun and one part disturbing. Watch.
Incredible production by director Ivan Zacharias and legendary house The Millin London. From CGindia blog : "Bringing the Vaseline brand into the 21st century, Ivan has used a mix of live action and animation to create this beautiful film about how amazing our skin is."(Thanks, LLamamelola!)
A brilliant rebuttle campaign for Greenpeace, whom are often portrayed by the media as being disruptive and a bit extreme in their attempts to thwart environmental wrongdoings -- with the results that public opinion fails to see that all these efforts are for the greater good. I guess this is a great kick in most of our collective non-greenpeace-effort-conscious asses (can I say "ass" on the internet? Haha.) Agency unknown - please post credits in the comments and I will add them. (Thanks, AdsOfTheWorld!)
Great idea, brings out this "interior smile". The art direction is a little blotchy to my taste, but hey - maybe I'm getting old. Creative team: Marcelo Przedzmirski and Rodolfo Amaral from agency CCZ Eletrica, Brazil. (Thanks, Twenty-Four!)
Thursday, December 14, 2006 by
David Claude, under
Actually, I'm trying to finish the pre-christmas work marathon in one piece. Your regular AdKrispies content and schedule will be on a lighter schedule for now, and will (hopefully) be back in regular strength next year.
In the meanwhile, if there is content you'd like to have posted, write me at latenightdave@hotmail.com
Today is the live launch of the France 24website, the internet ambassador of persistent worldwide information channel France 24 - aimed at concurrencing CNN on worldwide news. To celebrate the event, you may watch the channel exclusively on the website today.
French President Jacques Chirac saluted the launch of France 24 yesterday, saying that "France should have its own regard on the world, and broadcast it", while affirming that the channel would be totally independent. France 24 will be broadcasted on cable, satellite, but also ADSL in Europe, Near-Orient and Middle-Orient, Africa, New York and Washington.
Finally, someone did something about the CNN monopoly. Considering the much awaited need for a second (and probably less biased) worldwide information channel, I think this launch will be a complete success.
Solid webfilm for Adidas by agency 180 Amsterdam and production company Nexus productions London. "What is football to me?" Just good stuff, my friends, juuuust goooood stuff. (Thanks, AdCritic!)
And just for kicks, here's a previous commercial from 180 Amsterdam and animation house 1st Avenue Machine, which I thought was just awesome.
Much respect goes to Beethoven for coming up with such a fantastic tune to put inside ads. That guy truly was a visionnary /sarcasm.
Hello dear loyal readership! I'm super busy these days, so I'm sorry if I'm not regular in getting you your daily bowl of AdKrispies office breakfast fun dot com. Please enjoy the archives in the meanwhile.Thanks for listening. Now, on with today's special.
"Who wants a world where sugar is forbidden?" Certainly not me. Fun work from Publicis Conseil.
I didn't think someone would ever go ahead and make the sugar issue something debatable. Wasted advertising money?
One of the first things I see from commercial creativity (tm! Quick note here: guys, why did you go and trademark your "commercial creativity" activities? Won't you agree that a new notion becomes more credible and accepted once it's democratized and everyone can use it?)agencySid Lee in Montreal, for Orkus Skate Park.
In case you're not from Montreal, and don't know what you're looking at: this is a boardwalk cleaning machine, slurping up a skater. Funnay. (Thanks, Marketing Alternatif!)
Check out the web site for the new Volvo C30. Someone out there (in the corporate person of Euro RSCG 4D Amsterdam, congrats!) found the recipe for the perfect entertaining web site experience. My kinda crazy.
And the new TV spots are just excellent. In the cinema section, you can actually download them for your Ipod or PSP - and rate them! Wow. With their "What do you think?" line, Volvo rejoins this club of announcers who finally opened up their eyes on the whole word-of-mouth marketing craze these days, and put some more power in the hands the consumer. So to speak. And it's working! Proof is, I'm talking about it.
"Dear announcers: when planning your TV spots, stop wasting your budget on traditional media placement and leaving crumbs for creativity. Start thinking web placement and sharing. How good is that? Call Volvo. They know. Regards, AdKrispies."
Et voila.
This whole Volvo ordeal is so interesting, it actually restored 15 lost minutes of my life gone while watching 90210 episodes, back then.
Earlier today, I was talking about Sony which started to roll down the "consumer experience" road with their marketing approach. I was hoping to see if they would act consistently on this decision.
Well, it appears they are. In concert with different recognized british art insitutions such as BALTIC, the V&A, the ENO, Sadler's Wells and the BFI, they have put together The PlayStation Season, a series of interactive artistic performance installations.
As they describe it on their site, "The PlayStation Season will create unique content that explores the PlayStation brand and its available platforms (PS2, PS3, and PSP). The contents produced across this programme of events will offer experiences beyond just being spectators, and or geographical boundaries. The content derived from these programmes of events is to be consumed and shared and passed on. In each execution there is not a static art exhibition experience. The audience will be encouraged to participate (for positive outcomes) - haha, funny they mention - in the exhibits. In many cases, audience participation is integral to the display."
This further reinforces their "Live in your world, play in ours" ideology, and their latest "play b3yond" PS3 capitalization. Check out their first installation, titled "Volume", which is made of a series of vertical light columns that interact with visitors' movements, producing a display of light, colors and sound.
Reports the CoolHunter: "The collaboration is between lighting designers United Visual Artists (UVA) and Robert Del Naja (aka 3D) of Massive Attack and his long-term co-writer Neil Davidge (as part of their music production company, one point six)."
An actual chauffeur is waiting inside an airport for an incredibly large number of guests, thus proving that the VW van has vast interior space. Simple and undoubtedly remarkable guerilla idea for Volkswagen from Ogilvy, South Africa.(Thanks, AD Goodness!)
Powerful campaignfor FCB (Futból Club Barcelona) from agency Contrapunto Madrid(I'm starting to like this agency a lot -I'm not saying too loud, though, I don't wanna make the folks at McKinney+Silver jealous :), presenting us their other important goal.
The copy reads: "Barça's most difficult game is about to begin". Smart.(Thanks, Twenty-Four!)
Tuesday, November 28, 2006 by
David Claude, under
adkrispies
I havent had as much time as I'd like to post on AdKrispies these days, I'm busy as hell (assuming hell is a busy place). If you're a creative living inside a creative agency in this very creative time of year, you know what I'm talking about.
So help me. SEND ME STUFF! SEND ME STUFF! There are somany people from agencies all over the world reading this blog, I can't believe no one is going to decide to unfreeze their nuts, and actually send me something they're proud of, and that they want the world to see inside an authentic, unauthorized, can't-bill-the-client media source.
We'll be happy to have you featured on AdKrispies, and you'll be happy you actually did something about it. For real. Yay.
In the meanwhile, to each one of my 50,000 dedicated viewers, thanks for watching AdKrispies :-).
I'm not an art critic -- I usually trust my emotions and not my brains, when I consider art. I cannot explain why some of the things I like, I like. Or if I do, the words won't truly translate what I feel. And this is especially true when I look at the Bathwater collection: The Art of James Brathwaite. Disarming simplicity through naive drawings that tickles your Brain Organ of Oddity Perception (the BOOP.) You know that little twitch in your brain that goes on whenever you look at something paradoxal, weird, or otherwise unreasonable by normal standards? I like that little organ. It's the organ that makes me appreciate circus acts, freak shows or morbid yet artful depictions. When I see these, *boop*. Same thing happens when I mix a balsamic vinegar with olive oil, and dip cheese bread in that. *boop*.
James Brathwaite's art has that effect on me. I look at it. *boop* goes on. I like his semi-narrative, naive illustration style. I like the strange correlations he creates, and trying to figure out the crazy idea behind each illustration. I like art that speaks. And his art really has the gift of gab.
As reported on his site, James is a "semi-hairless ape, who currently lives in his cave in Montreal". His illustrations have been featured in many magazines including Dose, Warrior magazine, Maisonneuve, thefanzine.com and he's currently working on a book of medical inaccuracies -- I like the idea, coming from his style I'm sure it'll be great -- as well as an animated short about John Lennon.
I'm not going to ramble on my moments of booping, as reading this might actually make you go *boop*. But I suggest you experience it yourself.
"Feeling is what makes us human", is the message conveyed by this entertaining ad from Y&R Brands Singapore. Seems like Sony is currently focusing its marketing efforts towards brand experience. Smart move. Now let's see if they're able to render this concept intelligently :) More consumer-2-consumer activity coming up for Sony? Who knows.
You know what Zune is. You have seen, heard or even felt it one way or another. Maybe you've even bought the little thing. Or consider buying it for this upcoming Xmas (or whatever you're celebrating at that time). And you probably hate Microsoft for coming up with something that looks and sounds probably more democratic than the iPod. And you're disappointed at Apple. Because has Apple made a big mistake with their iPod marketing: they have built a sect.
First, they have gathered everyone under their "Think Different" ideology, and had them buy their product because of that ideology and all the difference it brought in the world, and the world thought that it was a good thing. And it was.
Then, they have regrouped all their activities under the appealing iTunes, so that people would be better served under one functional, low-cost, low-piracy, high-selection system-of-purchase with, of course, limited usage licenses.What? Okay, maybe. But what if...? Oh never mind. It's Apple. They're good people.
But then, they started spreading their iPod categories into different sub-categories. Which now meant you had to choose between a) just listening to music, b) music and videos, c) the low-cost, less feature Shuffle option, and d) The iPod Nano. "Ooo. I wanna change. I wanna buy a new version of my iPod", you think. "But wait. Can't I have all these things in just one gizmo? Sony is doing it, and everybody else is! It looks...different...better", say you. "No!", say the Apple Sect leaders. That's not the same!We invented difference!Don't try to change things! Think Different (tm) !
But you're already starting to feel a bit queasy. There's that cool Sony PSP, that actually offers more features than the iPod, at a lower price. There are loads or cheaper mp3 players, that actually play mp3s too. Basically, all you wanted was music, right? But also, you have cell phones with mp3 players, and now, this strange Zune thing? You want out of the sect. You want to see what's out there. But getting out of the "Sect of Thinking Differently" is hard: sect members are definitive: "iPod is the coolest". If you don't own an iPod, you're not among the cool anymore. You're not using the Best Technology Available(Apple Sect Bible, chapter3, chant 2: iPod is the best technology available) Plus, it shows you're not part of those who "think differently".
"Be-like-us. Think differently. Be-like-us. Think differently", they all chant.
This hurts and shames you. And it makes your parting from the iPod sect the harder. Seeing they have gained back ground on your disappointment, the Apple Sect leaders try an even stronger solution. A solution that worked great back in 1998: color. They market an iPod with backlitcolor screens.
"Everybody will want one!", they say. They have this cool ad featuring people dancing with their color iPods, producing wild streams of color. "Color is freedom!", "Color is difference!", "everyone should go for color!" The "Sect of Thinking Differently" chants louder.
Old trick. You've heard it all before: looks arent' everything, it's what's inside that counts. You want a product that lets you discover what difference is. You want a product that doesn't constrain you, but allows you to break boundaries. And you don't want to be the property of a brand image anymore. You want your freedom.
Zune has heard you. And to prove you they understand, they decided to democratize their marketing: they're not proposing a distinctive brand image or communication, but simply gave power to the people. Zune is a lot of things: it's not one thing. Zune is a tool of discovery.
With Zune Arts, they propel this fresh idea to the iPod universe, which stands befuddled.
Most people will say "Damn Microsoft! We think your product might actually be cool! But we hate you! WE WANT TO HATE YOU! Must...resist...Zune... ".
And so a new PC vs Mac epic has begun. But maybe this time, the "light" side is not who you think it is anymore. Unless you're thinking differently.
Here are a few of Zune's latest commercials. Enjoy.
Montreal Agency Diesel is getting a facelift. Or a rebirth. You may now behold Sid Lee commercial creativy (tm).
Commercial creativity. Now that sounds like a very bright and very intelligent notion, if you stop and consider it for a moment. Creativity applied to all levels of the commercial structure. A creative approach to commerce. Whichever way you look at it, there's definitely a fresh sound to this proposition. The basic act of commerce in itself implies an exchange, a conversation between a seller, and a potential buyer. But it also implies conversations between buyers, in consideration of the general "marketplace", in the forecast of their act of buying. This sounds a lot like a medieval town fair? It is. It has always been. The problem is that, for awhile, the advertising industry sort of lost touch with that notion. With the uprising of new mediums (internet, guerilla and street events alike) and new media sources, the industry is coming to realize the power of word-of-mouth marketing, and is trying to make use of it - but then, few are the agencies who successfully gathered the many creative marketing activities generating word-of-mouth, and joined them together as one.precise.notion. With its "Commercial Creativity", Sid Lee just entered this very small, and very exclusive club.
Sid Lee produced a (publicly available) manifesto titled "Building Strong Brands by Leveraging Conversational Capital", which is actually a dictat about the commercial power of word-of-mouth, as the result of many communicationally creative activities around a brand. It also defines how the notion of commercial creativity begins at the root of one's commercial activity: building "strong" products before building strong brands. "SIDLEE believes that word-of-mouth marketing begins long before any communication efforts can be considered; it actually originates at the product and experience-inception phase of the process", says Sid Lee in its manifesto. Wow. We've all seen it coming, now somebody actually did something about it. First. First, because you can be sure there will be nexts. Soon.
In addition to its new proposition, Sid Lee is also building the Sid Lee Collective, a creative laboratory or incubator or sorts - destined to promote Sid Lee's many experimental creative projects in their development of their Commercial Creativity (tm) notion.
In parallel to the worldwide scene, I think our Montreal advertising industry was in dire need of being conscientised to the new word-of-mouth marketing reality, and the concretisation of such a modern approach by one of our own agencies. This will provoke a huge snowball, folks, I'm telling you.
Fantastic production values on this ad for Melbourne city, featuring a man and his imaginary guide going through a romp in Melbourne. By George Patterson Y&R Melbourne, with director Steve Rogers and production house Revolver Films. (Thanks, Best Ads On Tv!)
"HappyfamilygoHappymart". MTV UK's latest in-house trip to promote their most excellent existence. Crazy as always. You gotta love 'em. Produced by Colonel Blimp/Independent Films, Sydney.(Thanks, Best Ads On TV!)
"I am just so super-quick". WOW! A South African commerical for Pronto condoms.
For those of you on whom the irony might be lost, you must know that this spot refers to Jacob Zuma, the next would-be African president and highly debated political figure in the African media. This man whom, while being tried of rape and unprotected sex with his HIV-infected accuser, claimed to the court that he took a shower afterwards to cut the risk of contracting HIV.
A brilliant and compelling animated short by director Sejong Park, Birthday Boy presents the korean war, viewed from the perspective of a young boy named Manuk, as he is playing in the streets of his local town. This short was nominated for an Oscar in 2005, and was awarded at SIGGRAPH 2004 and BAFTA in 2005. (Thanks, Llamame Lola!)
Finally, the big day is here. At last, many store campers who have been out in the wild, unhospitable streets of many North American cities will get their magic toy-toy: The Playstation 3. You can't do anything but be amazed at how powerful video games have become on the entertainment market, since only 20 years : an exponential uprising that's actually beating Hollywood, and rivaling the adult film industry - (sadly) two of the biggest luxury good consumer hogs.
Sony reportedly put on a big show in San Francisco, with a series of events leading to the first sale at midnight sharp, PST. From Gamespot: "At 8:15 p.m., a San Francisco Police Department SUV pulled up in front of the store on the partially blocked Fourth Street, sirens blaring. An officer jumped out, ostensibly due to a noise complaint, and ordered the DJ outside to stop spinning old-school hip-hop at high volume. Once the beats had receded, two SFPD motorcycle patrolmen pulled up Minna Street, followed by a trio of black SUVs. The PS3 cometh!
Sony puts on a big show for the PS3's "arrival." Download on Gamespot.
The three SUVs screeched to a halt in near unison, blocking the width of Fourth Street. A dozen-odd security guards in crisp suits piled out, talking into palm-held microphones like those used by the US Secret Service. But while they looked like the president's bodyguards, the phalanx of agents weren't protecting a head of state. Instead they fanned out to protect the arrival of a large silver semi truck, which pulled up inside the protected perimeter.
And you can guess what's in there. That was only the start of what I think will be the biggest premiere of any tech gadget launched since the telephone.
Down below you will see two delicious TV spots in the christmas tale spirit for Fido, a cellphone service here in Canada. Of course with no supers and the awesome production values, there's no way anyone could ever remember what the commercial was exactly advertising. But heeeeey Fido - who cares about the message if you're lookin' good! This is not advertising, folks, this is Hollywood. Here, brands are like cheap starlettes: if you can't say anything brilliant, better make sure you look real good.
Well this morning, this got me started. Are you ready for a very interesting marketing tale? Here we go. From a media point of view, the measure of advertising efficiency with classic notions like reach and frequency is a reality that I believe is nowadays incomplete. "But frequent, mass exposure of a cool TV ad is good for the brand!" Sure, but how effective is it for the product? And at what price? Does the mere spiritual notion of brand power really have any value anymore? How powerful is the message anymore, compared to the medium? In the current 21st century media context, in addition to reach and frequency of a broadcasted TV advertisement, you should also be able to measure consumer-to-consumer interaction. Your TV message should indeed not be just a message, an end in itself: it should become a medium: atradable advertisting product. Conversation currency. Something people can share, like here on blogs, by emails, newsletters, anything to get the ad moving from person to person, and generating conversation, or exchange. Simple exposure is nothing. Talked about exposure, is everything.
The mere fact that I'm posting these Fido ads on AdKrispies is a better thing for the Fido brand, than just me, looking at them on TV. Because I'm talking about them with you, and generating a broader exchange about Fido. Because I generate viewership of the brand's ad, from a free medium. And because I just generate interest about the brand! So why not make a good communication strategy a better (and cheaper) one, by concentrating media efforts on the internet, this wonderful exchange tool? Are we not there yet? Do media strategists think nothing is built in order to effectively reach a precise target audience, in a precise country, for TV ads put on the internet? And maybe spark more effective results than their estimated GRPs which cost millions to buy, for half the exposure the internet can get? Hey, if your ad is real creative and looks good, it will be seen. If you can find a way to help people share it, it will be shared. If you think it's not that interesting and people won't really share it, well from the start, why pay thousands to even have an ad made?
Which brings us back to what sparked my plug, the "hollywood star" comparison: So you're a brand and you don't have anything brilliant to say. You then make sure you look real good.
But unlike a hollywood star, you should also make sure everybody can come to you, take you out and get to know you personally.
Hey, I'm just thinking out loud.
These short, entertaining movies were thought of by BOS advertising here in Montreal, and produced by the most excellent Jet Films production house.French version available only. So sorry for the rest of you.
Worth the Painis the wwwebsite presenting the 2006 International Young Guns Creative Competition, a contest which pits young creatives under 30 worldwide, as they try to find a winning idea on a given brief.
This year, PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) was the sponsoring organization invited to submit a brief for all entrants to torture their minds on.
There are two types of awards: the student awards, and the pro awards. The potential of exposure for winners in both categories is very interesting: For students,3 month paid placement in a Leo Burnett Worldwide office and US$5,000.For pros (from the YG Awards official site):"As an YGAward Winner and Finalist your work will be showcased on our site, appear in the YGAward annual and form the YG Traveling Exhibition (Sydney, Auckland, Singapore, Honk Kong, Johannesburg, London, New York, and LA). It is “Worth the Pain” to get your talent seen all over the world by your peers, creative directors and potential employers."
Of course we've all tried it once, after hearing this legend of wonder in our school days - hardboiling an egg in the microwave produces cheap yet fun entertainment. But now that we're all grown up, what if we're in a rush, and truly want something delicously atomized to fill in the early morning void of our hungry stomachs?
Well folks, someone thought about you. Here's the world's first microwave hard egg cooker. Says TokyoMango: "The device actually fits 3 mid-sized eggs, which are placed on an aluminum tray. Put 130cc of water in the yellow part, insert the tray, place the eggs on it, close the lid (the white part), and pop it in the microwave. 8 minutes in a 500W microwave gets you soft-boiled, 10 minutes gets you hard-boiled."
I can't even remember what's the exact wattage of my microwave , yet in any case, 10 minutes of egg cooking sounds like, whichever kind and nourishing soul our egg had initially, will be gone forever. Atomic eating! Yay. (Thanks Boing Boing!)
You work in an agency which does Pharma? You actually work on a pharmaceutical account? Or maybe you just enjoy pharmaceutical products? Check out this ad for Leiras, a pharmaceutical company in Finland producing the "Pamol" painkiller - for serious headaches. This is lightyears ahead of any Tv pharma ad I've seen in the last years. You cannot do anything but salute Finland and Leiras for their very open creative policy on pharma advertising. The commercial was created by agency Bob Helsinki, and directed by Thomas Jonsgarden (from Flodellfilm in Stockholm).(Thanks Annick from Moskito!)
You probably don't know that, but the much-awaited Playstation 3 launch in Japan was held on Nov. 11. (ours is next friday, Nov. 17). Sony had been deploying incredible efforts before, including these very short ads, which might appear quite odd to the untrained western eye - but the fans (and everyone who can read japanese) know their very unique particularity. Just look carefully, and think "launch date".
(If you didn't figure it out, you can see 11/11 (the launch date) in each of the commercials.)
Now, check out what is a Sony Playstation 3 video game console launch in Japan.
Here's the latest Coca-Cola spot from agency Mother, produced by Looking Glass Films. It features "Santa delivering the gift of Coca-Cola to a girl every year from the 1930's to the present day". Very heartwarming. And that's one well-preserved 76 year-old woman.
Pancrom is a digital studio in Brazil that deals with printing, color correction and retouching services. The copy reads: "Color faithfulness only at Pancrom". You couldn't possibly have more vivid art direction, and a more vivid message. Great concept, agency unknown. Credits please! (Thanks, TwentyFour!)
Intelligent and remarkable guerilla operation for Accessorize, a worldwide fashion accessory boutique chain, created by Saatchi and Saatchi. The featured example is in the streets of Geneva, Switzerlan (you can also notice the price tag on the necklaces: you'll actually find that item in the stores). (Thanks, Marketing Alternatif!)
Coolz0r will probably kill me for taking two of his post ideas onto AdKrispies, but I couldn't pass by this excellent ad for Time Magazine without the need for comment (see below):
This "cover" campaign has been a long runner advertising platform for Time, and it's not hard to find out why: two words and a picture are enough to raise questions. With such an ad, Time magazine doesn't define itself as a source of information on current events, it defines itself as THE source of information to find out the TRUTH. "Know WHY". There could be a thousand reasons why, all of which could be biased by many outstanding factors. There could be a thousand other realities claiming their right to be the TRUTH. But the core idea behind Time magazine's positioning is not to present you current events in a general, cover-everything-objectively-making-sure-we-inform-well, greyish manner. Time takes position behind one aspect of an event. And Time presents the TRUTH on that aspect. Bold and highly debatable approach? Yes. Powerful marketing? Yes. Both are what Time magazine was built upon: communicate powerful facts that generate powerful debate.
Logitech recently launched a viral campaign to promote their webcams. The campaign features funny sitcom shorts about couple relationships and work reality - all tied up with webcam sauce. While I salute the idea of going viral, I feel like it's an incomplete effort. I fell on Part Two ("Our Secret") of the videos on the Adverblog blog, and at the end of that video Logitech invited me to watch Part One ("Working Late") on their website at http://logitech.com/quickcam. Part Two was funny enough to have me want to check Part One out, so I actually headed there. Well (as you will see if you click), instead of the promised video, I'm greeted with a full page, full corporate-format selling pitch on the Logitech Quickcams. Can't find a single link to the video. Wow. Not.
If you're going to do viral, assume the decision - don't just throw some bucks into it as a sideshow. Make sure your content is consistent, and that people will experience something authentic and captivating from start to end. For example, instead of sending people to their corporate website, Logitech could've created a page called "Only The Webcam Knows" on which people can post their funny little webcam secrets (rated All Audiences, of course), and also see the Logitech shorts - which they could then send to 5 of their friends. Much better word-of-mouth follow-through.
Anyways, I'm just rambling - here are both videos. Interesting enough to share with friends? You be the judge. (Thanks, Adverblog!)
As demonstrated by some recent studies and observations, there is an increasingly important number of men affected by infertility. A percentage of these men may have been exposed to certain drugs or chemical substances that gradually decreased their ability to procreate. This commercial is part of Greenpeace's latest efforts in France to promote awareness of this truly sensitive issue. You might also want to see the website www.vigitox.com for more information. (Thanks, SendToFriend!)
The super says : "Some chemical substances may reduce male fertility".
Watch the ad first, then read the commentary. You need the full surprise effect.
Nice isn't it? An excellent ad from agency Duval Guillaume Brussels for the Minderheden Forum (Minority Forum), an organization devoted to the integration of minorities inside communities. This spot outlines the fact that ethnic minorities often deploy commendable efforts to integrate themselves to their society of adoption, but often face prejudices and incomprehension. (Thanks, Best Ads On TV!)
Someone in this YouTube movie's comments said: "I guess that what they want to say is "Share what you like with others". Well, dear friends, this is a classic case where the form vastly overshadows the function.
In other news, here's BBDO Germany bashing on backseats in their latest commercial for the Mercedes SMART. Another semi-expensive commercial designed to entertain the consumer, and provide a semi-valuable excuse for the SMART's absence of backseats. (Thanks, Advertising for Peanuts!)
Dominos Pizza have this history of sometimes hitting our funny bones, sometimes not. In this case, you be the judge. Here's a spot from JWT New York, directed by the Perlorian Brothers, titled "Nana". Enjoy. (Thanks, Advertising for Peanuts!)
Seth Godin is a reknowned speaker. He was called "the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age" by Business Week. He has written quite a few bestsellers as well, among others: Purple Cow, a book about how companies can transform themselves by becoming more remarkable, and Unleashing The IdeaVirus, which is about proving that consumer-to-consumer (or word-of-mouth) interactions provide the best form of marketing for a brand or product.
Seth Godin brings refreshment and innovative solutions to the rapidly decaying world of advertising, marketing and branding. What's more, he has this innate talent at presenting such solutions in vivid terms, entertaining examples and easy-to-understand metaphors. He is the living example of intelligent mass-communication.
Every business offering a product or service should read his books. Every agency creative or exec should have one of these babies resting on their office shelves. It will change the way you see communications as a whole.
Before you run to your local library, here's a video titled "All Marketers Are Liars", featuring Seth's presentation to Google. Also, check out Seth's blog on TypePad.
Stickers remindful of "live report" television screen captions have been sticked to taxi windows, remind everyone that BBC covers the world as it happens. That's genius. Credits please? (Thanks, Marketing Alternatif!)
I'm a freelancer and free thinker in the field of marketing and communications, trying to continually expand the known universe in my little mind -- and yours.
