Old Spice created a really funny TV spot, with extended variations for its site and YouTube channel. Then they responded to the ensuing buzz with over 200 custom video answers to tweets and Facebook comments. Axe, which has a history of integrated campaigns, also created a funny TV spot, but didn’t generate the same buzz. So at the moment, it’s Old Spice that’s enjoying the sweet smell of success. But which campaign is really better? Keep reading →
July 9, 2010
Technology is the new creativity.
There will always be a market for products that “advertise well”. A cloth that cleans any spill? A grill that cooks anything better and easier? Sham-Wows and George Foreman Grills were both money machines. There’s a bigger market for products that advertise well and work even better. Whether it’s the Wii, the Prius or the iPad. Things really get interesting in services, where the “product” and the “advertising” often can’t be separated. Keep reading →
May 4, 2010
Lloyd Blankfein and Tiger Woods.
What do a Jewish banker and a Black athlete have in common? They both make great stories if you like stereotypes. There’s nothing like a little racial profiling to make complicated stories simple. Keep reading →
March 26, 2010
Transparent beats opaque like scissors cuts paper.
When you’re in a Microsoft Word document and want to create a new one, the menu item you want is named Project Gallery. I never remember that. I go up there looking for the New Document or Create Document item. It gets me every time. Then I skip around a bit, and eventually open Project Gallery when my memory and that item’s position at the top of the menu bar cue me. Amazon.com, on the other hand has some pretty sweet names, and I bet you never even noticed. Keep reading →
March 1, 2010
Advertising? There’s an app for that.
On a diet? SpecialK has a planning application with four themes and myriad variations. Off a diet? Domino’s has a pizza builder that takes you from crust to toppings. With matching visual previews to whet your appetite. Stocking up? Kraft has a shopping list mobile app that comes along on your smartphone. Wondering if you’re spending too much on food? Mint.com lets you make a budget, and much more, with a multi-app site that’s better in many ways than Quicken. (Intuit liked it so much they bought it a few months back.)
January 15, 2010
The secret life of brands.
On Madmen last season, an account director told a client that their sales growth was coming from “the negro market”. The client, a maker of television sets, was neither surprised by this information, nor inclined to follow the agency’s seemingly logical recommendation that they market to African-American buyers. Acknowledging who really buys their TVs would be bad for their brand image and, presumably, sales. Or so they think. While the example wouldn’t be acceptable now, this type of secret dissonance between how brands represent themselves and market reality is often where the best marketing/advertising ideas are hiding. Take Domino’s, for example. Keep reading →
January 7, 2010
Paying for content, cable TV style.
The New York Times needs to get paid for the content they provide online, just like they do in print. Giving it away in exchange for page views and ad revenue doesn’t add up. Not only is it a money-losing proposition, it undercuts the value of the great reporters, experts, essayists and editors who make the Times unique. The dilemma for the Times is that by charging for online access they risk losing traffic, and ad dollars.
October 9, 2009
The biggest ideas are experiences.
Searching on Google. Shopping on Amazon. Connecting on Facebook. The biggest ideas for brands online are experiences. For example, great as the Mac vs. PC television spots are, on the Mac section of the Apple site, little Bill and little Steve are an afterthought.
