Hasta La Creative!

Newsweek and countless other media outlets are covering the news that South Carolina is, in fact, NOT GAY.

The campaign targeting gay European tourists which claims otherwise, landed with a resounding thud in South Carolina, where the issue of gay rights has long been a political flashpoint.

After The Palmetto Scoop, a South Carolina political blog, uncovered the promotion last week, Republican state Sen. David Thomas of Greenville protested the campaign and called for an audit of the advertising budget overseen by the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

“South Carolinians will be irate when they learn their hard earned tax dollars are being spent to advertise our state as ‘so gay,'” Thomas said.

In related news, the NAACP is renewing its call for South Carolina to remove the Confederate Flag from public display. But Gov. Mark Sanford said he has no plans to get involved in the issue.

“Everybody has a different perspective. It is a deeply dividing and complex issue that we’re not going to try and open and re-examine. Somebody is going to have to place a tremendous amount of political capital to pry open a compromise. This administration is not going to be doing that,” he said.

Let’s recap. If you’re gay, black, liberal, atheist, agnostic, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or from a Northern state, stay the hell away from South Carolina.

Bonus link: Christian Exodus is busy moving thousands of Christians to South Carolina to reestablish constitutionally limited government founded upon Christian principles.

Treehugger sent us news that the ad at left, which depicts a Volkswagen Polo Blue Motion chained to a bike rack, violates EU law by failing to disclose fuel consumption and CO2 emissions data.

Peroni’s PR dude sent us the pitch for “Calendario,” a new campaign tasked with depicting Peroni as a “timeless classic” and “Italian style in a bottle.”

I went to Toronto last weekend and attended a dinner party hosted by Shannon Stephaniuk of Glossy Inc. If you’re a blogger, a production company or one of her agency clients, you probably know her well.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Wendy Clark, senior VP-advertising, AT&T, and one of the most powerful executives in the marketing world, is preparing to leave the telecom, the marketer said.

Dial’s “Campaign for Clean Hands” seemed like such a great idea. There will be a YouTube video contest seeking the most creative take on hand washing. Consumers will be encouraged to create speeches, songs, raps and jingles for the cause. Neat! I mean, clean! It all begins during National Clean Hands Week in September. (Yes, there really is such a thing. Every week is something week nowadays—some weeks are two things or more. There’s probably a Web site that helps you keep track of it all.) Well, Dial … I’m off to a great start. As you can see from the image, I’ve scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed, and I’m well on my way to a first-place finish. Thank God the competition isn’t for face washing—things could’ve gotten ugly. Hey, I just zinged myself! Ouch, my thumbs just broke off. Thanks, Dial!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

According to Adweek, Scott Goodson of StrawberryFrog is intent on moving the needle for the brands in his agency’s stable. But not by driving trial, no, that’s for simpletons. Strawberry Frog wants to start something. They want to create a movement (in the name of brands).

Cultural Movements is StrawberryFrog’s DNA. Cultural Movements is the process StrawberryFrog uses to develop innovative strategies for our clients. But more, it’s about curating culture and creating communities and platforms for people to circle their wagons around an idea that is relevant and important to them.

Some people ask whether any product or politician can spark a Cultural Movement. In theory, I believe every product can. But those products that are the opposite of authentic will have difficulty perpetuating a Cultural Movement over time. Fakes and phonies will be found out. The consumer is now the truth junkie who never forgets, who puts two and two together.

You can’t hide these days. The truth is essential to a prolonged Cultural Movement.

I’m a fan of Goodson, his shop, and the truth. But I have to pause and ask if this isn’t some new twist on “the conversation.” Ever since the Cluetrain rolled down the track, the most progressive among us have put a big pile of chips in the conversational marketing game. Cultural Movements, as described above, is bolder and more ambitious than a conversation, but I link them together in that they both seem to overreach. I’d love to be wrong about this, but that’s my reaction to the concept from afar.

Subway groping seems to be a regular frottage industry these days, to the point where New York City transit officials have shelved a planned anti-groping campaign because they fear it will actually encourage perverts. Not even reports that “63 percent [of female riders] claimed to have been sexually harassed” on the subway can sway the MTA. Part of the problem is that a similar campaign in Boston (featuring the ad shown here and others) has led to increased reportings of gropings. That would seem to be the point of the campaign, but NYC is evidently worried that gropings themselves may have risen. Admittedly, the phrase “I’ll expose you,” while clever enough in context, might set off the weirdos. Maybe they could try “You’ll be arrested,” “You’ll be sent to prison,” or “You’ll be eaten by wolves.” Via Gawker.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Mike has done a lot of research into viral marketing patterns breaking them down into 21 different segments in this article.

For me he has missed a very obious trend and that’s music. Check the top viewed videos on Youtube of all time, pretty much back to the top 100, and it’s domicated by music. So if you want to market something tie it in with music.

And two he missed my personal fav Crowded Ads. But aside from those two omissions it’s a good read.

Oh and he’s missed mashups too. Ok no list will ever be complete or maybe these are covered these with different categories.

Oh and the virals that look like they took (and probably did) take a shit load of time and effort. Usually stop motion of some kind.

Oh and spoofs/parody.

Also don’t forget the major element to anything going viral is being first (ie original). It doesnt matter i