Hasta La Creative!

All those mustaches you’ve seen cropping up on the upper lips of men everywhere aren’t just a case of fashion gone wrong. If Intel is to be believed, it’s a sign of something more sinister: an alien invasion.

That’s the basis of Intel and Toshiba’s third social-film campaign, “The Power Inside,” set to be launched in August by Pereira & O’Dell. The agency has won accolades for the last two “Inside” experiences, including winning big at Cannes as well as picking up a Daytime Emmy, for last year’s “The Beauty Inside.”

But while 2011’s “The Inside Experience,” directed by “Disturbia” director A.J. Caruso and last year’s “The Beauty Inside,” by “Crazy/Beautiful’s” Drake Doremus were both slightly serious pieces of work, “The Power Inside,” which will be directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon (“Blades of Glory”) is a little more lighthearted.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

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Does this banged-up beer can remind you of anything?

The latest installment in Newcastle Brown Ale’s snarky, social-media fueled “No Bollocks” campaign is poking fun at traditional beer advertising and its recent focus on the can. And in this case, Budweiser’s much-heralded “bowtie” can is in the cross hairs.

Bud’s limited edition can was introduced in April after three years of development and a significant capital investment. Newcastle, part of Heineken USA, is essentially calling it a can with a couple of dents, like something you’d find on the street.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

The satellite-radio company reported $940 million in revenue for the quarter, and an increase of 716,000 in subscribers to 25.1 million.

Everyone’s doing it, right? In two ways, actually. Everyone’s getting on the real-time marketing bandwagon which kicked up steam with this year’s Super Bowl and then again during the Academy Awards. Now we have the Royal Birth and, of course, marketers were all over that as well. Oh and the other way? Everyone’s writing about it too. So pardon us if we join the party.

Branded baby ads flooded social media outlets Monday afternoon when the birth of Prince George Alexander Louis was officially announced. From Play-Doh to Starbucks to Delta Airlines, #royalbaby reigned the world of online branding.

Companies who prepared for the royal baby’s birth in advance by creating graphics and congratulatory Twitter posts reaped the rewards, in some cases, of doing so. Oreo’s royal baby Twitter ad (shown below) has been retweeted over 940 times in less than two days, receiving over 360 favorites along the way.

Oreo, and the 13 other companies below, show us once again that timeliness is a huge part of online branding. Check out how these companies celebrated the royal birth and got some great brand coverage at the same time.

Oreo

Oreo uploaded this image to Twitter, saying, Prepare the royal bottle service! And what goes well with a bottle of milk? Oreo cookies of course.

Coca-Cola

Coke’s royal baby ad focused more on the parenting aspect of the event. The company also includes its own hashtag in the image, directing viewers to link to them on Twitter.

Starbucks

U.S. coffee company Starbucks released this image and congratulatory message on their U.K. Twitter account. Since its original posting its retweets have jumped to over 1,400 and it has been favorited more than 780 times.

Dunkin’ Donuts

Dunkin Donuts also gained some brand coverage in celebrating the arrival of the royal baby. Accompanied by this image on Twitter, D.D. announced that royal munchkins would soon be available for purchase in their U.S. stores.

Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme’s branded royal baby ad ran several weeks prior to Prince George’s birth. The company focused on the anticipated gender of the baby, rather than on the event of the birth itself.

By comparing the royal baby ads of Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts, we see that different approaches to timeliness can allow similar companies to create different takes on a single event.

Nintendo

Nintendo uploaded this image to their Nintendo of America Twitter page, tweeting, Peach is flattered that so many of you are talking about the Royal Baby today! Using a simple graphic and some humor, Nintendo shows us that you don’t always have to be flashy to get over 1,000 retweets.

Play-Doh

Play-Doh tweeted this picture of a hand-crafted miniature royal family. Clearly visible in this branding attempt are the hours of planning and hard work that can go into any event-specific branding campaign.

Charmin

Even Charmin, the bath tissue company, created a branded ad in celebration of the royal baby. Playing on the use of the word throne as a euphemism for toilet, Charmin created an opportunity to pair its product with royalty.

Delta

Delta tweeted this picture the day Prince George was born, saying, Welcome Prince of Cambridge! We can’t wait to show you the world. The company includes their brand in a surprisingly natural way by positioning Delta airliners on the baby’s mobile.

Domino’s

Domino’s Pizza tweeted the above image when the royal baby’s birth was announced. Not every company can make their brand symbol work on an adorable onesie, but if you can, it may be a good strategy.

Magnum

Magnum Ice Cream congratulated the royal couple with this image on Twitter, naming the new prince a #miniroyal bundle of joy.

Warburtons

Warburtons, one of the largest bakery companies in the U.K., created the above ad for Prince George. The company posted the image on their Twitter page with the call to action, Share the celebrations with us.

Hostess

Hostess Snacks uploaded this image of an oversized Twinkie to Twitter the day Prince George was born. The tweet that accompanied it said, This summer, a precious little bundle of sweetness was born. And Will and Kate also had their baby.

Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson created two royal baby ads (both above). Both ads focus on the brand’s bath and skincare products made specifically for infants. The company also appeals to wide range of people with the phrase, A parent’s love is the same the world over.

So, what do all of these branded royal baby ads tell us? Several things: Timeliness is everything, and there is always a way to relate your brand to a big event. Also, humor is good, but so is a little sincerity. Keep these tips in mind as you continue branding your company.

This guest post was written by Shane Jones, a content expert who’s specialty is with online advertising campaigns. His real passions however, lie in print media. Follow his opinions on Google+ and keep up-to-date on his latest ad projects, The Happiness Theory.

Remember that time you thought babysitting for a few extra bucks was a great idea? What could be so hard about putting an 8-year-old to bed, right? Fast-forward a few hours, and Mikey's got his head caught in the stairs. Sarah's got a wad of gum in her hair. You're fashioning a makeshift diaper out of duck tape for the one whose name you forgot. Or worse, the house catches fire. Seriously, anything can happen. Have you seen The Sitter?

Lucky for you, the Red Cross has developed "Babysitting Basics Course," an online tutorial that teaches you how to handle—or better yet, avoid—babysitting blunders. Oh, and they teamed up with BBDO Atlanta and director Daniel Strange to produce the PSA below. The spot is a charming and adorable one-minute piece about the potential hazards of babysitting. And those cute little tykes are clearly more aware of them than their absent-mind teenage babysitter. So, to you would-be sitters out there: Before you decide to conquer you neighbor's living room, hear the warning of unlucky kids, go online and take the course.