Powerful video about change, created by a Chicago student for the American Association of Retired Persons's U@50 challenge (it placed 2nd! I'd like to see what came first...). It was based on "Recrear", a message created by agency Savaglio\TBWA that won a silver lion in 2006.

But that's besides the point: the adaptation is simply outstanding. Well chosen, and well done my Windy City friend -- you chose the right vehicle to get a powerful message across.

Enjoy. (Thanks, Virginie!)

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This year again, I fail at honoring the great tradition of pre-Xmas "instant success" book launches, as I have no "instant marketing success" books to launch. I'm not even sure there's a tradition about that, but I do remark that these books tend to emerge towards the holidays because they're having a hard time selling otherwise. Oh, the irony.

But all is not lost. At least I've decided to write 10 soulful tips in honor of the great marketing minds of our time who've "summed it all up" in-between 250 pages of grey gooish matter. I give you my "10 Tips For Complete, Guaranteed Advertising Failure in 2009". Complete with caps on every letter.

If you have ideas to add to the list, feel free to comment away!

10) Rely Only On Traditional Media

Mess communications are truly fantastic. There's nothing like overpaying an agency's media department to fill every living space with your uber-cool message, built from the test results you wanted to hear, targeting precise age groups and demographics with relevant consumer insight people can identify with. Once you get those TV spots and billboard ads rolling and the GRPs start flying, you'll really by able to link all that exposure with actual sale results. Who needs micro-sites, social media or that gorilla marketing thing ? It's much funner to send your favorite marketing execs out supervising film shoots in South Africa.

9) Cut back on Budget and Tell Your Agency To Come Up With Great Viral

Face it: Times are tough. The powers that be cut back half your cookies for the year: exit those cool TV ads, exit South Africa. What do you do? Tap the power of the Interwebs™ and mandate your agency to create the next round-the-earth viral. Everyone knows virality is not an effect, it's a method: with budget under $5,000, your agency will work all its contacts and resources available to come up with the next recipe for creating BUZZ™. Boy will they be crazy excited for this shot at your company's new "creativity first" philosophy. After all, they wouldn't just leave all that money for some guy in his basement who's read all about your brand.

8) While You're At It, Generally Cut Back Your Advertising Spending Because The Economy Sucks, And Expect The Same Results

What do you do when the consumer loses his buying power? Cut back on the ads! Never mind rethinking your advertising strategy, people are fighting over milk and eggs and their local superstore. Time to give space to your competitors and safely retract yourself in the comfort of retail strategies, heck, your Sales department will come up with something brilliant. Give the Marketing department a break, these two can't work together anyways. But, no compromises! You want results and you want them yesterday.

7) Use web banners to keep that click-through rate high

Feel free to spend all online advertising money in web banners to bring consumers on your site! God knows if they didn't find anything fun in there the first time, they'll rush back now. Nevermind interactive content, CTR is everything: it confirms that your consumer has no idea where he's going on the web, randomly clicking fun-looking leaderboards. It confirms that, for really really sure, people browsing online for digital camera reviews really do get influenced by your latest "no hidden fees" cellphone rants. It confirms that CTR is Da Shit™ for determining whether that three-month micro-site campaign you're launching really works after two weeks.

6) Keep Fluffing Your Brand, That's What Gets People Buying Your Product

Nothing gets in the way of a good awareness ad. This page, this magazine spread, this awesome 30-seconds TV spot will really get people throwing themselves into stores. Never mind reviewing or changing your product - don't fix what's not broken. Your are the iPod of your category and you know it. When stores backorder on your product, people line up in sleeping bags waiting for the next shipment, just because of the sheer power of "those cool ads". Washing machines have never been so hawt. What's that thing about product experience? What's that about product innovation? That's for monkeys, 'cause when monkeys innovate, you really notice.

5) Keep Your Advertising Money In One Agency: All Your Friends Are There, They Know Your Brand And It's Been Going Great Since The Last 20 Years

Friendship in business is a businessperson's best friend. And this especially applies in advertising, where stability and tradition are symbols of success. You would trade your 20 years of marriage for that hot new account exec, but sure as hell you wouldn't dare cheating on your agency. They will have your head. After all, it is written in the much respected Book Of Advertising Agency Laws that "Thou shalt not change your mind, ever, ever, you client you. Even if we don't deliver as much, and are desperately trying to prove we haven't lost our touch".

4) Force your agency into creating advertising they're not comfortable with.

You've always liked horses. And when time comes to fly one, you won't let anyone show you how.
You have numbers. You have research. You have years of marketing the same old product. You have people paid full time to make things work. And then you have that good old ad agency, ready to abide by your will when you raise the old' pinkay. You control everything. Nothing wrong in being master and commander of your ship. Let agencies know who's da boss, nevermind that they have the cumulated experience of people who themselves gathered years of advertising experience with all brands and products, that they're writing funnies about marketing on blogs, and that their other "crazy" clients are letting them do audacious stuff. You're the one who's paying, you're the one who's deciding. The client is always right.

3) Don't be Generous to your Consumers: if you give a Thumb, they take the Hand

Don't give free stuff. Don't throw parties. Don't do special sales. Don't create fun community events. Don't go crazy and let your consumer play with your brand. Don't touch social media. You're not a person, you're a company. Don't let consumers change your product. Actually, don't produce (or think about producing) new products. Being nice to consumers or otherwise putting a little magic in their lives WILL. GET. YOU. IN. TROUBLE. You don't want legal walking all over you. You don't want your bosses going crazy because you had an idea. If you're going to make a difference this year, you're going to make sure nobody's watching you.

2) Wait Before Resorting to Emergent Media Ideas: Your business leaders are "Not There Yet", And Being Safe Will Save Your Company.

Was the light bulb invented in the context of an economic crisis? Nope. You would remember. Experimentation and innovation in media have brought nothing but mere flashes, and you're not one to flash too often. You have a big ship to steer, and big ships move slowly. When your agency comes up with new media solutions, always wait two years by default to make sure it's not a passing fad. Let me remind you that advertising is a symbol of stability, and that consumers rarely change their minds or their habits. People could think you've gone daft if you come up with a blog about your product. But if you think you could take the risk of considering such solutions, run it through a 12-person committee first. No sudden moves, no sudden moves.

1) Advertise.

An announcer should never talk normally. As we said before, you're not a person. You are a company. You always must use generic slogans, puns, delicately crafted visuals and finicky presentations. You should always test everything you say, generously invest in the same media buys year after year and not go all YouTubey or risk ending up on one of those crazy bloggers' filthy web page. Keep pumping cash in those GRPs, and don't forget the fundamental, universal law of advertising: If you say it, then it must be true.

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Sony recently ported their sucessful Bravia creative platform (remember the balls! THE BALLS!) to their Walkman brand, highlighting a new range of products coming out. Featuring a unified signature ("Music. Like No Other"), their latest spot Music Pieces brings together a "special orchestra" that features large groups of people playing the same instrument, playing each part of a different song to improvise one big piece. Some kind of an orchestral beat box, if you want. This concept symbolises the new Sony Walkman Project, which aims at bringing people online to play one small part of a track, then mixing these parts together to create four music pieces by four composers around the world.

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Dear loyal readers,

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Check out Nike latest viral video for its new line on Meta7 shoes. As reported on ElectroPlankton, "Illustrator Paul Huang teamed up with animators Chris Riehl and Sean Starkweather to deliver a surrealist cell shaded fantasy. The story revolves around an anthropomorphized circle, square and triangle who escape their oppressive lives to be transformed into something better thru an encounter with the Meta7 shoe. "

(Thanks, ElectroPlankton!)

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I'll bet they can't! But then again, some people have a lot of talents on hand. Hahaha, on hand. Get it? Wheee, good times.

(Ahh, it used to be champagne, women and awards. Now it's beer, the old lady and youtube).

Great visual work for Volkswagen by the good people at Grabarz & Partner Werbeagentur, Hamburg, Germany. Production company: Deli pictures postproduction. Personally, I would've pushed this further to have the hands to something that's more in relation to the car universe - right now the concept feels a bit gratuitous, a bit slapped over the brand, a bit borrowed-from-other-interests-to-promote-my-own. You get my point.

(Thanks Luc, at leblogdelagence!)




Feel a bit disappointed by the ending? It's okay, same here. To relieve you and make you happy again, check out this other beautiful thing entirely done by hand. You will thank me.

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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!)

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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!)

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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!)

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"Happy family go Happymart". 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!)

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Worth the Pain is 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."

Wow indeed. And the results are in! Download the PDF of the 2006 winners by clicking here.

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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!)

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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.

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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.

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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!)

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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!)

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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.

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You have to recognize the fun idea behind this poster ad for Eau de Fcuk, the latest fragrance from the world-loved brit brand. (Thanks, Coolz0r!)

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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.

Seems like announcers are slowly getting out of the cold on the fact that its worth investing money in word-of-mouth marketing, yet don't totally grasp how it works. Don't think people will watch one funny lil' movie, then head to your webpage to read your corporate blabber about Quickcams, and go "WOW! I really want to know more about that Quickcam! Actually, I NEED ONE!". *buzzer* Wrong way, josé. People will head to your website looking for the other promised movie, and if they can't find it, or that no content there keeps their interest, that interest goes from 100% to 0% faster than you can say "erectile dysfunction".

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!)

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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".

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