Bret Michaels Is the Newest Endurance Test for Nissan's Commercial Vans in Viral Clip

This fun clip of glam rocker and reality TV star Bret Michaels performing a high-octane take on the ’80s ballad “Endless Love” as a  paean to Nissan’s commercial vans is approaching 1.6 million YouTube views in its first week.

Putting an aging star in a wacky B2B truck ad recalls Jean-Claude Van Damme’s mega-viral Volvo outing from late last year. Here, however, Michaels doesn’t attempt to do a split between two Nissans (and, conversely, we’re probably lucky that Jean-Claude didn’t sing).

Most reviewers applaud Nissan and its agency, TBWAChiatDay, for their tongue-in-cheek approach and canny casting of Michaels as frontman. After all, the campaign, shot at the automaker’s rugged Arizona desert testing facility, focuses on the van line’s toughness and resilience, traits that Michaels has come to embody in recent years following his comebacks from thorny health issues.



See the Ad That Just Eclipsed Volkswagen's 'The Force' as the Most Shared Ever

The mighty Empire has fallen … thanks to some yogurt.

Deutsch/LA’s 2011 Super Bowl spot “The Force” for Volkswagen, which enjoyed an astonishing 41-month reign as the most shared ad of all time, has finally been dethroned—by Activia and the World Food Programme’s three-and-a-half minute music video starring Shakira, created for this year’s World Cup.

As of Tuesday morning, the Activia spot, titled “La La La (Brazil 2014),” has been shared 5,409,192 times across Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere, according to Unruly Media. And it’s only widening its lead over “The Force,” which has racked up 5,254,667 shares.

While “The Force” is a traditional 60-second spot (the version that ran on the Super Bowl was actually a :30), the Activia video is an example of what Unruly calls “trackvertising,” where a brand and a musician co-release a video that is both a music video and an ad. The Colombian pop star’s worldwide celebrity (she recently became the first person to reach 100 million Facebook likes) clearly fueled the Danone yogurt brand’s spot.

Also, while the share counts are comparable, the view counts are not. “The Force” has about 60 million views on YouTube, while the Activia video has more than 275 million.

“Music videos are by far the most shared type of content, so it’s no surprise that brands are now blurring the lines between traditional ads and music videos in order to get themselves seen and heard on social,” says Sarah Wood, co-founder and COO at Unruly.

“Music and advertising have a long history together. Some will remember the early days of TV commercials and jingles—the internet memes of their day. On digital, we see music deployed in a number of ways—from ads released alongside a professional artist, to parody or licensed tracks, to heavy product placement or even ads that make their own track famous.”



Strange Weather: into the clouds

69k

The show goes from the very absurd (the Halliburton survivaball) to the very dark and dramatic. But the adjective that pervades the show is ‘fun’. While visiting the exhibition, i’ve been drinking cloud, watched a 1959 film that speculates on how weather control departments would use satellites and met with little child mannequins in Hazmat suits in the most unexpected places continue

Even a Bank Can Go Viral If It Has Automated Thanking Machines


With a total of seven spots debuting, there’s a fresh new lineup for this week’s edition of the Viral Video Chart, which covers the seven days that ended Sunday.

Taking the crown at No. 1 is TD Bank with its “#TDThanksYou” campaign, which garnered 6.2 million views last week, according to Visible Measures.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Locals Overtake Samsung in Chinese, India Mobile Markets


Samsung Electronics Co., the global leader in mobile-phone sales, is being outflanked in the key markets of China and India by newcomers catering to domestic tastes.

Xiaomi Corp. became the largest smartphone vendor in China during the second quarter, while Micromax Informatics topped Indian mobile-phone shipments, according to data from research firms this week. In both cases, Samsung fell to No. 2.

Earnings and shipments at Samsung are shrinking as consumers increasingly look past its Galaxy devices to local makers selling inexpensive phones. Xiaomi keeps prices down by selling through its website and tapping social media to create Apple-like buzz, while Micromax offers models with longer battery life and dual-SIM capacity in a market where wireless carriers don’t subsidize phones.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Time Inc.'s Digital Ad Revenue Climbs 12% in Its First Solo Quarter


Second-quarter advertising revenue at Time Inc., the nation’s largest magazine publisher, increased 3% compared to the second quarter of 2013, the company said Tuesday in its first quarterly earnings announcement since spinning off from Time Warner in June. Growth was driven partly by a 12% increase in digital sales, though digital still represents only a modest fraction of total ad sales and overall revenue.

Time Inc.’s ad revenue during the second quarter was $461 million, with digital revenue totaling $74 million. Print and “other advertising revenues” were $387 million, a 1% increase.

The company’s acquisition last October of American Express Publishing titles including Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure and Departures magazines led to the year-over-year increase in ad sales. If Time Inc. hadn’t bought those magazines, its print and other advertising revenues would have fallen 6%.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Walmart Redesigns Website to Better Compete With Amazon


Wal-Mart Stores, the world’s largest retailer, redesigned its website to be more compatible with tablets and mobile devices as it competes for shoppers with online rivals such as Amazon.com.

The updated Walmart.com site expands and improves personalization based in part on shoppers’ order and search histories, Dan Toporek, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said in an e-mail. The new “My Local Store” section of the site allows customers to see promotions at their local stores, Mr. Toporek said. The updated site is now available to about half of its daily customers, he said.

Wal-Mart is bolstering its e-commerce presence amid growing pressure to compete with Amazon and to squeeze more growth from the Internet. In June, the company elevated Latin American executive Fernando Madeira to chief executive officer of Walmart.com.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

John Oliver sintetiza os principais problemas com o conteúdo nativo

O jornalismo vem se esforçando na busca por um bom modelo de negócios no ambiente digital, que viabilize o importante trabalho dos jornalistas sem que a credibilidade das notícias seja maculada.

Com a queda do interesse por assinaturas, isso não tem sido uma tarefa fácil nem mesmo para tradicionais empresas de mídia. Depois do paywall, modelo que oferece uma pequena amostra do conteúdo de forma gratuita, e depois cobra uma assinatura, o novo formato que promete ser o salvador do jornalismo é o conteúdo nativo, ou publicidade nativa, que são criados para deixar o apoio publicitário o mais discreto possível. Isso, muitas vezes, deixa o leitor confuso, ou até mesmo sem a ciência de que trata-se de um artigo ‘publieditorial’.

Em um sarcástico vídeo, o apresentador John Oliver, do Last Week Tonight, ressalta alguns dos principais problemas dessa prática – camuflar publicidade em meio ao jornalismo é algo complicado, ainda mais se a informação sobre o patrocínio daquele conteúdo estiver escrito em letrinhas pequenas, em um canto escondido.

O detalhe que informa que uma 'notícia' na verdade é uma publicidade seria, para John, como letras pequeninas que informam que 'roupa camuflada não é folhagem'

Conteúdo nativo seria como uma roupa camuflada que informa: não é folhagem

Nem mesmo o elogiado conteúdo nativo do New York Times, que produziu uma matéria sobre a situação prisional dos EUA como um promocional para a estreia da segunda temporada de “Orange is The New Black”,  foi poupado de crítica. . “Até onde vai o conteúdo nativo, isso é o melhor que podemos conseguir”, opina ele, antes de lembrar o básico: “mas ainda é uma propaganda!”

netflix-nyt-native-ad

Conteúdo nativo bom. “Mas ainda é propaganda!”, brada John Oliver

Para quem trabalha com notícia e com propaganda, John propõe uma interessante reflexão: será que podemos mesmo desfazer essa separação entre ‘igreja e estado’ que sempre existiu entre o jornalismo e a publicidade?

Independente da sua ou da minha opinião, o importante é compreender os pontos válidos da argumentação dele. Afinal, fazer conteúdo editorial para a Netflix não parece algo tão danoso. Mas, e se fosse uma empresa mais complicada, como a Chevron? Ou então fazer conteúdo nativo para a Monsanto, por exemplo? Será que ~detalhes importantes~ não acabariam sendo deixados de lado em prol do bom relacionamento com o anunciante?

Brainstorm9Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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Enterprise Rent-A-Car: Brad & Dave – Interpreter

Advertising Agency: Dare, London, UK
Creative Director: Sean Thompson
Creatives: Andrew Edelston, Pippa Harrigan
TV Producer: Karen Egan
Creative Planner: Sarah Morning
Business Director: Tamara Bennett
Account Manager: Freya Page
Media agency: PHD
Media planner: Ben Waddy
Production company: Caviar
Director: Seth Gordon
Executive Producers: Louise Gagen, Sorcha Shepherd
Production Company Producer: Dougal Meese
DOP: Tim Maurice-Jones
Editor: John Mayes / Marshall Street
Post-production: Finish
Audio post-production: Jack Sedgwick / Wave?

Enterprise Rent-A-Car: Brad & Dave – Network

Advertising Agency: Dare, London, UK
Creative Director: Sean Thompson
Creatives: Andrew Edelston, Pippa Harrigan
TV Producer: Karen Egan
Creative Planner: Sarah Morning
Business Director: Tamara Bennett
Account Manager: Freya Page
Media agency: PHD
Media planner: Ben Waddy
Production company: Caviar
Director: Seth Gordon
Executive Producers: Louise Gagen, Sorcha Shepherd
Production Company Producer: Dougal Meese
DOP: Tim Maurice-Jones
Editor: John Mayes / Marshall Street
Post-production: Finish
Audio post-production: Jack Sedgwick / Wave?

Children Rights: Childhood, 1

Dress his future. A child is still a child even when you take his childhood.

Advertising Agency: LevenLab, Rome, Italy
Creative Director / Copywriter: Andrea Pelati
Art Director / Illustrator: Alice Lioniello
Published: July 2014

Children Rights: Childhood, 2

Dress her future. A child is still a child even when you take her childhood.

Advertising Agency: LevenLab, Rome, Italy
Creative Director / Copywriter: Andrea Pelati
Art Director / Illustrator: Alice Lioniello
Published: July 2014

Children Rights: Childhood, 3

Dress his future. A child is still a child even when you take his childhood.

Advertising Agency: LevenLab, Rome, Italy
Creative Director / Copywriter: Andrea Pelati
Art Director / Illustrator: Alice Lioniello
Published: July 2014

Eric Test

Category: Guest Column

BWM Taps Schwarzenegger for Realestate.com.au

BWM, Melbourne tapped Arnold Schwarzenegger in their latest campaign for Realestate.com.au.

In the spot, Arnold decides to move back to Austria, mistaking Australia’s .au for his birth country. His assistant tries to inform him of his error, but Arnold is too excited over the possibilities he’s found on the site and tells his assistant to book him some inspections while leaving the filming of his current movie to his “double.” While its humor doesn’t quite hit its mark, it’s refreshing to see Arnold still willing to play on his persona, and make himself seem ridiculous in the process. And Arnold’s star power should certainly get people’s attention. Stick around for credits after the jump. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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Red Bull's Danny MacAskill Rides the Playboy Mansion in the Best Action It's Seen in Years

Traditionally, the Playboy Mansion’s main attraction has been the small army of Playmates who hang around it. But professional cyclist Danny MacAskill manages to overshadow even the bunnies, as he turns the estate’s grounds into a trials-style obstacle course in this new ad for Red Bull.

It’s not that a couple of scantily clad women aren’t featured heavily in the two-minute clip. But the promise of sex is practically table stakes in advertising aimed at young dudes. Sad as it may be, the oversexualized shots of ladies lounging in bikinis and under waterfalls serve more or less as background once MacAskill starts doing his tricks—it’s just much more fascinating to watch him jump off walls and ride backwards down a hill on only his front wheel. In fact, even the actual birds—parrots and flamingos—make for more novel b-roll.

Overall, though, it’s deftly filmed, and fun to watch. The soundtrack, “9.2.5” by Ghosthouse, is a great fit, and showcasing an offbeat street sport in a clever way is right in Red Bull’s branded content sweet spot—even if this iteration is less charmingly inventive than MacAskill’s work for the brand’s “Imaginate” series last year or the amusingly overcomplicated Red Bull opening machine to which he contributed in 2012.

As for the tawdriness, MacAskill, who now has some 100 million views across his YouTube portfolio, seems more interested in the terrain than his co-stars. “It turned out there were some decent bits to ride, but it was quite hard with all those girls distracting you, quite hard work doing all this riding [laughs],” he says in a Q&A over at the brand’s website. “I’m a little too shy for that kind of stuff.”



Profane Disney Princesses – Jose Rodolfo Loaiza Ontiveros Imagines Cartoons in Subversive Situations (GALLERY)

(TrendHunter.com) Corrupting childhood memories is something that comes naturally to artist Jose Rodolfo Loaiza Ontiveros; these profane Disney princesses are just the tip of the iceberg. He has imagined them and…

Five Steps to Achieving Data-Driven Marketing


Marketing, Celebrus Technologies Limited and Christy Uher Ferguson, Director, Applications Communications Strategy, Teradata Inc.” image=”http://%%img_server%%/images/bin/image/small/FINAL_KatharineHulls_VP_Marketing_Celebrus_Technologies_400.jpg” url=”” />

Today, fewer than 10% of companies use their data in a systematic, strategic way. But that will change: 71% of marketers plan to implement a big data analytics solution in the next two years. As web analytics matures into digital analytics and the well-trusted techniques of database marketing are increasingly embraced by digital marketing, marketers are now able to exploit detailed data to gain individual customer understanding and drive better, more relevant customer interactions.

However, the question remains: how will marketers make a successful transition towards true data-driven marketing? The challenge is not only the volume of data and diversity of data sources. Marketers need to introduce the right tools, processes and skill-sets to harness that customer data, rapidly analyze it for new insights, and then use that information to deliver personally tailored marketing.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Sony transforma #noshittyphotos em #XperiaSpots

No começo do ano, a gente mostrou por aqui o #noshittyphotos, projeto que Mimi Chan e Utsavi Jhaveri criaram durante o curso na Miami Ad School. Basicamente, a ideia delas foi mapear os melhores pontos para se fotografar as principais atrações turísticas de Nova York e San Francisco, marcando-os com um símbolo. E não é que a Sony, literalmente, comprou a ideia e mudou o nome para #XperiaSpots?

As primeiras cidades a receberem os símbolos do projeto foram Londres, Manchester e Birmingham, mas a ideia é mapear outros pontos turísticos do Reino Unido.

Qual será a próxima parada da dupla?

sony

Brainstorm9Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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