AdNausea

Now… I am usually against animals used to sell things. I hate the Taco Bell dog, don’t like the Cottonelle puppy, or the bears for that other brand either. But when I saw that R&R Partners put chinchillas as the main attraction in this new advertisement for Las Vegas… I had to give it a chance. You see, I have two chinchillas at home and I really love them (kung-fu training and spear sharpening included), so I thought this may be the one to change my mind.

How wrong I was. Watch it and see…

Part 1

Part 2

Here are my problems with this:

1. Unless I’m mistaken, part 1 celebrates this day because the Chinchillas were defeated. Part 2 celebrates because Chinchillas saved the village from bad guys. Isn’t this contradictory? Am I missing the point?

2. They couldn’t get better looking fake chinchillas? They look more like a cross between a groundhog and a mouse than they do chinchillas.

3. I don’t like that it’s called Chinchilli Day. It annoys me, I think.

4. Yes, I get it. Vegas is making the point that even if you make up a fake holiday, you should take some extra time off to go visit the City of Sin, but therein lies the problem - Something cute and fuzzy should not be associated with Vegas. Vegas should go back to the adults only entertainment.

Remember the days of “What happens in Vegas…”?

or…

These aren’t even the best ones. I can’t find them. But what happened to the day of “go to Vegas, do things you wouldn’t normally do.” I don’t like the direction this is going in.

On the other hand, after looking up R&R Partners, looks like they do a lot of work for Las Vegas and tourism. And the work is very good. They do a bunch of non-traditional stuff (like joining up with dry cleaners to sell Utah Opera seats) and turns out, they also did a few of those commercials that I know and love (look at their website for more - they’re great). Also, my favorite of favorites! They did this huge image of a Maxim cover, actually seen from outer space, in the Nevada deserts somewhere. See that little thing down there at the bottom? That’s a car.

So why the sudden downturn in commercial creativity? Chinchilla muppets? Really? Or am I the only one turned off by this. Those commercials don’t make me want to go to Vegas, because I know it’s making hundreds of children want to go, too. They’ll all be screaming “Chinchillis mommy! Chinchillis!” Yuck.

So today is a big day (as far as I’m hearing) for some big companies. Not only does Marvel now belong to Disney, for the sharp price tag of $4 billion (in cash and stocks) but IKEA has made the grave misstep of doing the most horrible, unthinkable thing ever - no. They didn’t fire the little children that make their furniture. No, they didn’t get rid of their meatballs. They… changed their font. <Gasp!>

Now, when I heard this news this morning (I do not have the catalog delivered) at first, my thought was “Woop-tee-do!” But now, after reading some blogs and news articles, I’m wondering if maybe the hoop-la is justified.

For over 60 years, Swedish company IKEA has used (in it’s catalogs, billboards, web, print and signage) a custom made version of the font Futura. They have recently switched fonts and the latest catalog, that arrived for most, last night, shows the new changes. People couldn’t believe their eyes! A new font? Now, I would understand this uproar a bit more if the fonts were completely different. Yes, IKEA furniture is based on clean, simple and well-structured lines, functional and geometric. And it made sense that their font choice reflects the same. So yes, if they had switched to Times New Roman, Georgia or Curlz, I would have understood more. But they didn’t. They didn’t even step outside the realm of sans-serif. They chose Verdana. Samples of each font are below, I’ll let you guess which is which.

Here are both sides of the story. First, the outraged people: (Like one gentleman who started a petition with already 700 signatures, but with twitter blowing up on this, shown below, it will rise fast, I guess). People who respect IKEA for their sense of design are usually some kind of designer themselves - creative, detail oriented and most importantly - most know their fonts. So to switch from a pretty classy font, custom made and used for 60 years to a font that is free from Microsoft - that any schmuck with a rich text email box or Word can access… well, that seems like a slap in the face.

Another argument is the fact that Verdana was designed for web use. It is meant to be viewed at book print size, in black and white and lots of it. If this gets blown up to the size of a headline (or god forbid, the famous IKEA billboards) you start to see the imperfections - the ample amount of space, the lack of rhythm. It just wasn’t meant to be viewed at that large of a scale.

Now, IKEA has yet to release an offical press statement, but of course, the people in charge of this decision probably had no idea the backlash they would get. Supposedly, they chose this font because it’s more effecient and economically smarter. Read: cheaper. Which is funny, because most of the stuff at the store is hella expensive. Why cheapen your brand, I say?

Another reason they changed is that this font was extensively developed - which means they can print materials with this font in multiple different languages and keep the same font. This point I understand.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. On one hand it’s just a frickin’ font - and a very similar one at that. On the other… I really hate Verdana.

Here’s what others are saying (via source):

“Ikea, stop the Verdana madness!” - Tokyo’s Oliver Reichenstein

“Words can’t describe my disgust,” - Ben Cristensen of Melbourne.

“Horrific,” - Christian Hughes in Dublin.

Typophile, an online forum dedicated to the magical world of fonts, ended its first post on this subject with the words, “It’s a sad day.”

Now, I don’t follow sports much. And I don’t really follow celebrity gossip. But I know lots of people do and this is a perfect example of something that most people don’t think has anything to do with advertising.

Michael Vick, former quarterback for the Atlanta so-and-so’s. He had endorsements that netted him $4 million + a year (including AirTran Airways and Nike) but is probably more famous now for his conviction of being a key person involved with a dogfighting ring. Which did, in fact, take place on his Atlanta property. He, of course, left the team he played for and has since served some prison time (not nearly enough, if you have seen the pictures of the poor puppies involved). And recently he has been restated into the NFL, although no one is sure where, exactly, he’ll play. Understandably he’s kind of a leper to a team’s public image right now. As well as for endorsements.

So how does this tie in with advertising and marketing? Easy. Michael Vick is a brand. Yes, exactly like those brands you see in the grocery store, on the car dealer lot, in television commercials. Tylenol, Jiffy, Saab, Fed-Ex, Re/Max, you name it. Brand names. Just because Vick is a person does not mean he isn’t a brand. Before this scandal, his brand, his name, was associated with amazing football skills, ambition, victory, etc. And his stint in dog-fighting has greatly damaged that brand – because now he’s more associated with prison sentences, lawbreaking, animal abuse and basically, being a criminal. This is hard for a lot of teams (and potential endorsing companies) to swallow – who wants to be linked to someone who is looked down on or who is the subject of quite a bit of controversy?

Interestingly (I hadn’t hear this), Vick has made statements hinting that he might do work on behalf of PETA (animal rights group) and has aligned himself with this group to make up for his wrongs. This might not be such a smart move, as it is pretty transparent. But it is an example of how he’s trying to fix his brand image. Marc Bluestein, president, Aquarius Sports Group says that “Critics will say, “The only reason he’s doing this is because people told him he should do this.”

It may not all be bad news, though, because his image might possibly be able to be saved. Here are what a few sports marketing experts had to say about Vick’s image: (more here )

Ben Sturner, CEO, Leverage Agency: It’s not a lost cause. I mean, look at Kobe Bryant. Kobe comes to mind right away as someone who’s had a tarnished image and is resurrected. A lot of it depends on what happens on the field.

David Schwab, vp, Octagon Sports Marketing’s First Call and managing director of athletes and personalities: It’s a two-part answer: There’s a consumer and a brand answer. I think for the majority of consumers it can be rehabilitated over time. I think there is a hardcore pet lover for whom the issue will never be won over.

Patrick McGee, CEO, ProVentures Group and one of Vick’s former reps at Octagon: I don’t think his image can go further down, so it certainly will be rehabilitated to some degree if he has the right road going forward. As far as sponsors, I think it’s unlikely for major brands, but it’s not impossible that he’ll get an endorsement again.

Who do you think would be interested in sponsoring him now? And why? Dog food companies? Humane Societies? Prison programs? What are your thoughts?

Just as I’m getting ready to go to a movie, I discover that one of my favorite movie time snacks – Raisinets – (made by Nestle) is getting an awesome new extension! Raisins are all good for you, everyone knows, but what’s better? Cranberries, that’s right. And what tastes better on everything? Chocolate, that’s right. Hence – Cranberry Raisinets! Now, here are few interesting things about this new Nestle product and it’s debut:

• First, these are targeting healthy women on the go. Women who want something that tastes good and is good for them (Cranberries for a long time now, have been harked as a superfruit for all the health benefits they provide). That makes sense.

• Apparently there are web-isdoes (Done by OgilvyInteractive; Dailey does the rest of the campaign) at Raisinets.com that chronicles the arrival of the new snack. Bitchy raisin snacks come up with snarky comments about the newcomer “Raisinet with a juicy walk” and say that “I heard through

  the grapevine that she hits the chocolate hard.” I look forward to watching these.

• Print ads will run in Woman’s Day (starting with September’s issue) that will feature advice from busy women, about how to juggle the priorities of your day, etc. Feel like that fits in pretty well.

• Nestle is also running “The Crandulgence Life-in-Balance” sweepstakes, offering a three-night getaway for two to somewhere in Arizona.

 Original article here.

I am definitely one for advertisements that break through boundaries and bring the message they hark to people in a way that is innovative, creative and unexpected. So of course, the joint effort between CBS and PepsiCo would strike my fancy – and probably yours, too.

First the background information: CBS (the television network) has joined with PepsiCo for a one-off collaboration (although an upfront collaboration is in the works between the two for future projects, including the next Super Bowl which CBS will air) to promote CBS’s fall line-up (Including How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, CSI: Los Angeles, Accidentally on Purpose… etc) and Pepsi Max for men. A normal television commercial will probably be seen as will a normal print ad in magazines. But for the lucky Entertainment Weekly subscribers in Los Angeles and New York City, something new is in the works.

A video ad that will run in a print magazine. Yes, CBS is inserting paper-thin video players (interactive, by touch) into copies of the Sept. 18^th issue of Entertainment Weekly to promote the “Monday to the Max” comedies on Sept. 21^st. When people flip through the pages of this magazine, they’ll come across the ad with a small screen that will flicker and load a video. You can select which segments you want to watch – montages from Big Bang, Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother. There’ll be an ad for Pepsi Max and sneak previews of CBS dramas.

This interesting promotion (the first I’ve heard of – a video player in a magzine?) is a great experiment and a step out of the box – and this isn’t CBS’s first step into creative and clever ways to reach viewers where they least expect it.

In 2006 CBS printed promotional messages for shows on eggs in grocery stores (Asking buyers to “Crack the case on CBS” for CSI) as well as ads on meat wrappers at the butcher counter in delis and supermarkets. One of my favorites, though, is for the now-canceled vampire show Moonlight – Ads placed on the frozen food aisle doors that appeared when the door fogged over.

I am really glad to see a company this mainstream stepping outside of it’s normal boundaries and hopefully will continue to see more, because companies are going to need it. Traditional advertising no longer gets the job done.

Original story and more info Here.

Now, I’m not the most enthusiastic and optimistic about my career future. I understand that even after the job market starts picking up again in a year (two years? Ten years?) there will be a flood of prospective people (creative and in my field, and otherwise) starved for the money and experience advertising agencies can offer. The problem is that there are only going to be a small amount of positions. While some companies are shrinking and finding themselves more efficient, when the market picks back up, not all of those cut positions are going to be opened again. AND – with all the new students in school right now, they’ll only be joining the thousands that will be going after the same position I will be, in my city alone. It’s a very daunting thought. The longer you’ve been out of school, the more experience you’re expected to have, and gods help you if you didn’t get that experience (like me). Now, my education and the trends I went to school with are way outdated and it shows. All of these things pile up to make quite the pessimistic outlook on life in general, my career future in specific. But I read something today that I can’t decide if it terrifies me or inspires me.

At the beginning of her article, Kelly Eidson describes leaving an internship in NYC and while updating her resume, notices that she is “bleeding Texas” (having grown up there, gotten degrees there, volunteered there, etc.) and hears from an employer that staying in one place too long is… simply put… certain death if you’re trying to find a job. It’s basically a rut. Here’s what she decides to do:

“Now I’m betting it all and traveling around the country looking for the next step. I’m doing informational interviews, calling on contacts and pounding the pavement. In the last 12 days I’ve hit seven cities and heard tons of advice. I don’t have an address any more—just my suitcase, an air mattress and a laptop… This won’t be forever; when I find a good offer, I’ll settle down and stay…

Next stop on my tour is New York. I’ll have Texas over my left shoulder, and though I’ll miss it, I won’t be looking back.”

My first thought was, “What? In this economic climate? Why would you do this?” But after thinking about it for a second, why not? Read her full article here and tell me what you think. Stupid? Risky? Effective? Something you’d consider?

This is going to be a mix and match post with some interesting news in the advertising world!

• So, it looks like Vince Shlomi has been arrested for getting into a fist fight with a prostitute last week. Don’t know who that is? You sure do - he’s ShamWow’s spokesperson! Did you get that, camera guy? The charges have since been dropped, but it still looks like his future with this product might a little uncertain right now. Although, the company can always choose to go in a different direction and have fun with this - “ShamWow cleans up water, coke, grapejuice and hooker blood! Just watch it disappear!” Of course, you’d need a very concise disclaimer stating that ShamWow does not condone hooker beating behavior. (The mugshot is courtesy of The Smoking Gun , where you can read the whole story, as well.)

• Next, sadly, JWT Chicago is closing its doors. They aren’t the first and they definitely won’t be the last, but it’s quite an eye-opener. Two years ago, in 2007, the Chicago office lost it’s biggest account, Kraft, when they moved eight of their major brands (including Oscar Mayer, Ritz and Kraft Singles)to other smaller agencies. This was probably the beginning of the end for this office. The office closing will affect bout 50 staffers and will be completed within 60 days. The office first opened in 1891.

• This new PSA is airing in the UK before R-Rated movies and circulating the web in America, via YouTube. Actress Kiera Knightly and director Joe Wright (who worked together on Atonement) donated their time, free of charge, to make this 2 minute long commercial raising awareness for domestic violence on behalf of Women’s Aid. I respect both of them for doing it pro-bono and the quality is obviously higher than that of other PSAs. You can tell they took a cinematic style on the idea and I think it pays off greatly.

•  What an unusual marketing effort from dog food company Cesar’s. BBDO San Francisco created a newspaper, meant solely for your little lap dog, titled the West Highland Herald . Now your faithful, little dog can enjoy a newspaper while you do the same on a Sunday morning (or any day).  The paper, as you’ll see, features articles about how having an owner will increase a dog’s life, crazy catnip pyramid schemes and probably my favorite - a dog, Fritz, who is 2 years old and is outraged at his owner for posting belittling pictures of him online as a puppy. This proves to be an interesting read for anyone who has the joy of a dog in their life. (And hey, at least someone is still reading newspapers, right?)

• In the same vein as the domestic abuse commercial, this is an Australlian anti-smoking PSA. I’ll not explain the ad, but will say this: Apparently, the commercial has provoked many people to complain to the Department of Health and they are a bit outraged. Isn’t the point of a good advertisement (or movie, or book or whatever) to make someone FEEL something? You feel scared and heart broken after this commercial and that will make you think twice about lighting up again. That’s the damn point. The only thing I do question in this, as do quite a few other people, is whether the child is acting or not. To me, he seems a bit young to get the finer points of how to act realistically and I’m hoping they didn’t just dump him in the middle of all of these people on the set and let him react naturally. Either way, I feel like it’s a powerful ad.

But not that naughty.

I am a big fan of candy bars. I am also a big fan of candy bar advertising - everything from Cadbury’s short film commercials to Twix commercials asking if you need a moment. You know what I like just as much as candy bar commercials? Chocolatey sexual inuendos and hazelnut double entrendes. So, it seems fit that I’d love Fling, the newest candy brand from Mars (who’s last new brand was Twix, revealed nearly 20 years ago.)

BBDO New York is on this project like you wouldn’t believe - the first commercial (viewed here) makes me smile at it’s simplicity. It’s sexy and funny. And, as you’ll see soon enough, Fling has print ads toting phrases like “Your boyfriend doesn’t have to know,” “It isn’t cheating if you don’t feel guilty” and “Pleasure yourself.” How awesome is that?

Mars has revealed Fling to be a low-calorie (170 calories per stick), low-cost (79 cents each) chocolate truffle bar in three delicious flavors (dark, hazelnut and milk chocolate), meant for women to enjoy. It appeals to single women, unhappy women, young teenagers who want to be single, unhappy women. And yes, it’s a bit reminiscent of Tab - the soda that re-vamped itself as a pink, bubbly low-calorie, women-only trend drink.  Apparently it was introduced in Australia with this original packaging, simple and elegant with the tag line “Chocolate with no strings attached” which is a nice direction to run with it, I think.

But it came to America with a few small changes in design and it’s marketing position. The original wasn’t girly enough, so I introduce bright, hot pink packaging! It also features shimmering pink “mica” dust on each candy bar (which are like twix in that they are 5 inches long and there are two “fingers” per wrapper.)  And the new slogan on the wrapper is “Naughty, but not that naughty.”

I absolutely love the description of the candy (which also lets you know how girly it is) because it uses words like “delicate, subtle, enrobed and shimmering.”  Now, this bar is only available in California for the time being (and Australia, where it debuted and I don’t think I’ll get a chance to visit either of them) so I can’t testify to the quality of the chocolate or the taste of it. I can say that so far, I like their advertising and can’t wait to see what else they come out with. It’s a pun, but it has to be said - I hope the name doesn’t hint at how long the candy bar will be popular - let’s hope it’s not just a fling. Ha ha.

I have fallen in love with a new radio commercial I discovered and just found out there are television commercials. Everybody knows all about Chuck Norris and his vast collection of jokes (if you WoW, then you definitely know them) and we all laugh at them, at least once. “Superman wears Chuck Norris under-oos.” Stuff like that. Well, here’s something better.

According to Dos Equis (doo-sek-ees) the most interesting man in the world, it appears, is not Chuck Norris. It’s a rugged, beautiful man, played and voiced (in radio commercials) by Jonathan Goldsmith. The radio commercials are freaking awesome - featuring funny quotes about the most interesting man in the world, who is never given a name. Here are a few of the lines from these commercials.

Even his parrot’s advice is insightful.

If there were an interesting gland, his would be larger than most men’s entire lower intestines.

His shirts never wrinkle.

He is left-handed. And right-handed.

Even if he forgets to put postage on his mail, it gets there.

He once knew a call was a wrong number, even though the person on the other end wouldn’t admit it.

You can see his charisma from space.

His blood smells like cologne.

When he orders a salad, he gets the dressing right there on top of the salad, where it belongs…where there is no turning back.

He once had an awkward moment, just to see how it feels.

The announcer reads off a few of these lines with perfect timing and at the end, MIM (most interesting man) says, “I don’t always drink beer. But when I do, I prefer Dos Equis. Stay thirsty my friends.” It’s that simple. And this is an idea that can transfer to commercials, print and an immersive and amazing website (staythirstymyfriends.com) where you can play games, learn how to say funny lines in different languages, complete quizzes, etc. It’s pretty fun, indeed.

The television commercials area all over the YouTubes, so you can look up those, but they aren’t nearly as good as the radio commercials in my opinion. The thing that is so innovative about this, is that it’s a hark to advertising ideas past. A long, long time ago, in a land with older advertising and lots of print ads, lots of products were creating this same thing… “icons.” People and cartoons that represented everything the company stood for and engulfed and embodied that. Like…

The Pillsbury Doughboy

Ronald McDonald

The Energizer Bunny

Betty Crocker

The Marlboro Man

The Man in the Hathaway Shirt

The Schweppes Man (Commander Whitehead)

There’s a reason these campaigns have been so successful, and it’s been a LONG time since the last successful icon, in my opinion. I think MIM is well on it’s way to joining the ranks. Have you heard these? Do you like them, hate them, spoof them? Leave comments or email me your spoof videos or links and we can all enjoy!

Goodby Silverstein & Partners have done it again! Well, I guess their Comcast genius came after this one I’m going to talk about, but you get the point. I am late in the game stumbling across this website for Frito-Lay chips and dips (and the post leading me to it). But better late than never, especially in this case.

GS&P have created a website (probably a couple months back) for the company Frito-Lay. This website came out and lead up to the “Made for Each Other” campaign. Both the commercials I’ve seen as well as the website have absolutely beautiful and eye-catching animation and illustration. The music fits perfectly and the commercials look like the very beginning to a trailer to a movie you wouldn’t mind seeing.

On the website, a multitude of peculiar characters await you - interact with them, try to match them with their soulmate. Explore enough and you’re going to find easter eggs and small mini games as well. Now go ahead and click here to visit it and while you’re waiting for it to load (it does take a long time) watch the commercials below. They’re fun. And tell me what you think - have you seen the website yet? What do you think?
>> LOVE SOCKETS, Animation by Blacklist, Melodium, Cobra Creative: