RE-CASTING ROLES WHEN IN ENTERTAINMENT

Can low involvement brands create entertainment like cool fashion & tech brands?

Did a presentation to a bunch of friends on brand entertainment and the question was ah but only cool brands can do stuff like you are showing us for example technology and fashion but what about brands that are just low involvement by definition. So my answer was: I think any brand can make entertainment as long as it finds cultural truths that are relevant. Consumers then don't buy a product benefit but a share of the story that the brand created through the entertainment - a cultrual benefit proposition if you like. Ah and guess who made the above example ... yep it is them again Fallon US the ones who did the BMW films.

I recieved this unusual c.v. now that's what I call a c.v.

The rest of his c.v. is here: http://organic-frog.blogspot.com/ I wish I had the budget to hire him.

Speaking of ICON Creation

CP has created a campaign that invited people to go into research groups about 'what fast means to you' and sent them DM afterwards with a customised 'fast' which drove them online where you could customise a VW and of-course the t.v. followed with looking after your 'fast' executions. Apparantly sales were 80% above expected. I love the fact that VW has won a direct Lions award for this. Isn't it interesting that an ad agency won a dm award? Or is it an ad agency -:)?

BLOODY BRILLIANT

The is a great example of how timing as well as iconography can make an already brilliant advert even more brilliant. The poster appeared on the M4 on the morning of England v Sweden in the world cup as well as Sven's announcement that Rooney will be in the starting line up. This one ad made it to the front cover of no less than 4 national UK dailies. Well done w+k more here.

Courage is the vital ingredient

"I am glad we had the courage to say yes – with VW we’ve created something that didn’t previously exist anywhere in the world” - Kirsten Brochner Owner and operator of Park hotel that was transformed into Hotel FOX - the VW hotel in Copenhagen. It is throughly annoying and navel gazing of ad folk to keep talking about nothing except how wonderful and creative we think we are. I think we should shift the conversation to how brave we are. Withought courage and a series of people client, partners, planners, creatives making brave decisions along the way original creative won't happen. If we are so creative how come the world is full of shit boring ads. VW & the owners of the Hotel Fox property took a big leap of faith, 300 million impressions later did their courage pay? Definately. I think it was Bernbach who once said: 'The future belongs to the brave'. Amen.

Bonding.

Stuck on the tube today. Trying to breathe inside the the equivalent of a human straw. The driver apologetically announced that we have to 'de-train' - London underground jargon for emptying a train of its hot and sweaty passengers onto rat infested tracks and walking for half a mile till the station. Morning rush hour and people are hot and nervous. Is it another bomb attack is it something equally sinister? No, just bits fell off the train ahead causing our train to get stuck for two hours. The bonding started promptly with people in the dark heat of the carriage cracking jokes and it became almost a funathon. The best jokers collected mini team mates and pretty soon everyone was laughing creating an ironic atmosphere. It was a brilliant example of how humour certainly binds, diffuses and makes people stick together even if they are stuck inside a human straw.

iDON'T.com

Ok so I am on the tube wondering how come everyone on the carriage is listening to music with white earphones. Because it is simple, beautiful, it works and it's apple. Then I lift my eyes and I see this ad. For the first time in months I go online to check the URL of a site that I saw advertised - a mean feat for a busy bloke like me. And what did I get? A site that is totally, dedicated to take the p*** out of iPODS and the people who use them. Then of-course it turns out to be Scan Disk's apparently superior media player which is the alternative. Now this is interesting because: For David to beat Goliath Scan Disk (no-body) v Apple (Big buddy) Scan Disk had to be subversive and aim for the jugular. In fact if you were Scan Disk it's your only chance to create any dent in the consumer's mind. A good example of a challenger brand challenging not only the leader but a beloved leader. Apple however is unlikely to suffer that much from this subversive behavior few geeks, nerds and misfits may respond to Scan Disk's strategy but unlikely that there will be many of them to begin with. As in the case of any society, the moment you get a beloved leader there will always be a subversive element that think they can do better but the funny thing is even if they do succeed they end up in exactly the same position watch this fantastic film by some 18 year old Austrian kid who worked it all out beautifuly mindistortion.net (click movies then war).

I hate laggards.

Went into a biz dev meeting today and came out thinking that whenever you have a great innovative idea make sure you don't waste it on a client that waits for his competitors to do it first then follow them. There is no point inviting someone to drive a Porche when they are still learning to ride a horse.

Mobile media's golden triangle

MS's Origami

OK remember the entry below on MS origami project well here is the leaked video curtsey of YOU Tube, as well here is yet another mobile thing from MS. It seems that MS are trying really hard to do a cross between PSP, a Tablet PC and an iPOD Video. Steady on now MS, stand for one thing or fall for everything, it seems that trying to come up with mobile computing that is a cross between a Swiss Army knife and a SUCK.UK beer opener is perhaps not very wise. The irony is the comments on YOU Tube basically say they like the idea but they want APPLE to do it. Now that's loyalty for ya.

Coding Content

Ad Age's Big Question...

Will advertisers widely embrace having consumers create ads for thier brands? Yes, but it depends on: 1. Enough consumers who are doing it out of passion for their brands e.g. Converse Gallery not out of some monetary incentive. 2. Not for everyone, some advertisers / brands will look plain stupid if they did it. e.g. some soap brand 3. Professionally & strategically produced ads exploit decades of expertise in creating, aspiration, fantasy, image and fine tuning emotive imagery & detail in ads. Consumers just don't have that expertise e.g. how many consumers can make an ad like the one Nick Gordon did for Levis recently in the UK? 4. Just because now they have the 'tools' consumers also need the 'skills' to use them, often consumer made ads are lo-fi and better as virals, I am yet to see anything with the 'polish' of a Playstation ad or an Audi ad. However, The one thing that this emerging trend really offer is the credibility that comes from something produced by 'passionate fans' for their brands - I can see myself doing it for Apple but not for Colgate (although I use both daily) and even then it may lack the polish of the iconic ads that TBWA do for Apple. I think, as a strategist, the question for me is NOT whether it is going to be widely accepted but rather what are the best ways and how do we exploit & harness consumer's ability and potential willingness to co-create ads for their favourite brands? Here are a couple of quick takes: a. Use CGC (consumer generated content) as a 'credibility' exercise in a PR way not in an ad way. The whole point is that they are not creating ads, they are creating film out of love for their brands. b. Use CGC in a viral, fan-based means of communication first, this is something that has to start and spread through the fan heartlands before being broadcast. c. Use CGC as pre-cursor to major campaigns perhaps to deliver anticipation through alternative channels e.g. online d. Use CGC more as entertainment rather than advertising, maybe a 'reality' or 'documentary' genre product if you are going to put it on t.v. e. Use CGC as a destination for audiences to flock to rather than broadcast it at them. Finally, it sounds to me that the industry in general has this fantasy that there is a magic solution to its problems. They grab hold of whatever trend that is passing whether it is internet, CGC or PR and build whole sand castles around it. STOP, and think what is your brand ambition and what is the commercial problem first and only then you can go and look for an innovative way to solve the problem but don't just take whatever the industry thinks is innovative and try and shoe horn that into your problem. Just like people, brands are individual. Some are more individual than others.

Vapour Wear & Hot Steam

'Vapourwear' - is a technique often used by technology companies where they release pre-launch teasers or signals and quite often conflicting information to create, mystery, myth, attention and yep you guessed it 'buzz'. In some cases vapourwear is used to force the competition to play a card that they are not ready to play yet. The origamiproject from Microsoft is the latest example of teasers. They've set up a site where the new product / technology is asking you to guess what it is. With a simple count down clock. My guess is its a wireless type product of some description. But the question is can Microsoft do what Apple does with this marketing tactic, looking at this probably not.

AXE Creates a reality t.v. show on MTV

AXE in the US created the Game Killers reality t.v. show which is screened on MTV. As a brand AXE gives the male the 'edge in the mating game' and this case it is all about keeping your Kool in the face of competition very on brand. After experimenting with few online takes on the content area e.g. Ravenstoke the full t.v. show was inevitable. If people are not watching the ads how can you put your brand infront of them? 1. Slow Motion offers a la KFC see below 2. Sponsor what they are watching 3. Digitally superimpose your brand in what they are watching see below 4. Create original programming that they would watch in its entirety and even follow as in GK above All quite simple really.

KFC Makes Ad Skippers Watch in Slo Mo...

KFC in the states made an ad that has a hidden message that you can only see if you play it slo mo on your tivo, by watching it you get a free voucher for a sandwich mmm more here.

Nike goes Authentic for the World Cup.

Nike has always been about Authentic Sport. No games, just sport was the end line from the film What women want where Mel Gibson played an ad exec trying to woo hiis colleague. So it is not about playing games and it is about playing sport Nike's take on the world cup is interesting. It takes Eric Cantona and gets him to hijack a boring television studio in order to interrupt the transmission of boring football programmes to tell us that we need to play well, play beautiful. I love how the same ingredients exist but are given a modern day twist: a bunch of top athletes, added to a 'pledge' a 'cause' and added to a something 'authentic' the beautiful game and the nice twist in this campaign is the 'interruption in transmission' idea and challenging of the status quo of 'sponsored' 'manufactured' and 'mechanical' approach to the world of sport media. The irony is, it is cool but nevertheless very much Nike.

Digital Product Placement

The above is a shot from a t.v. series in the US. The Bass beer bottle has been digitally inserted on the table in the shot by a new breed of agency called PVI. It is a digital virtual bottle added after the entire episode has been shot. Case for digital product placement: It is a way of getting your brand inserted into the right fit t.v., game and programing to gain awareness & association. It is also a way for a brand to be seen inside the entertainment instead of in the ads outside that people skip using TiVOs - in other words reach the full rating. Research or evidence that such techniques work is thin on the ground. Case Against: the content makers e.g. t.v. producers say that this affects the integrity of their product. The audience feels they've been 'had' if they discover that it was a 'superimposed' or over the top placement of brand in the content of what they want to watch. Admittedly it is an interesting technique for gaining some awareness for a brand and potentially some associations if the fit is right and the 'superimposed' effect is not noticed. But the actual consumer impact is likely to be no more than basic awarness and maybe some affinity borrowed from the entertainment value of the show. However, there is always the option of Brands actually making original programming instead of shoving their logos digitally into somebody else's entertainment content. Now, are there skills, capability or aptitude within client organisations or agencies to actually make original content that people would actively want to watch despite being made by a brand? Also who gets the credit in the end; the pope or Michelangelo for the Sistine Ceiling?

Death of The Dog Ear Guide Book?

So, loads of people have iPods and pretty much everyone has a mobile and some have two. Carrying a digital device with you opens up and can potentially change the structure of distribution in some markets. Take the dog-ear tourist guide. Although not mainstream, the following are some interesting examples of what the alternative can be: Sound Walk allows you to pick a theme of interest in the city you are visiting for example picking Hip Hop I found a podcast from a Hip Hop legend taking you through the Hip Hop hood. Talking Street uses famous local celebrities to guide you through 'their' town. Virgin naturally was the first to use city podcasts in UK with its carefully selected sights and experiences. Other travel companies have cought on to the idea such as Thompson however, in some case it turns into an advert in your ear without the authority or the credibility of someone who knows what they are talking about. History Unwired goes a step further, you get to choose one of the ancient characters that used to live in the place you are visiting and give you different guidance dependent on exactly where you are standing by using location aware technologies. Your mobile will give you the low down depending on where you are at that point in time and in history too ...

Money before Love and Man Before Woman

Wordcount is an award winning site (and sister to 10x10) that ranks the most frequently used words in the English Language. The idea is beautiful executed in this 'information speaks for itself' design. Playing around with the words it threw some interesting but predictable results, The word 'money' is ranked 227 while the word 'love' is ranked '384'. Similarly, the word 'man' was ranked 142 while the word 'woman' ranked 393. It doesn't say very much apart from in English usage today money appears to be written about a lot more than love and man a lot more than woman. No surprises there then, but the idea of aggregating our contemporary common language is indeed interesting if it is applied to the entire internet for example.