Hasta La Creative!

Pertencente a Sara Lee, a AmbiPur é uma marca de neutralizadores de odores e aromatizantes, também conhecidos como airfreshners, útil tanto para casas, quanto para carros. Aqui no Brasil ela ainda não é comercializada, mas nos Estados Unidos e Europa ela abocanha um grande share de mercado – e é conhecida por suas inúmeras campanhas publicitárias.

Lá na Holanda, a marca fechou uma parceria com a National Geographic, para desenvolver uma nova linha de aromatizantes especiais, inspirados nas regiões de Japan Tatami e Nevada Desert Flower.

A curiosa parceria fez surgir uma campanha que incorpora peças para a televisão e internet. Sem falar num hotsite muito bonito. Nele é possível assistir dois pequenos curtas produzidos em conjunto com ninguém mais ninguém menos que a própria NatGeo.

Os dois curtas são, na verdade, um pequeno tour virtual pelas regiões que inspiraram a criação dos novos aromas, capazes de sensibilizar os visitantes com sons e paisagens maravilhosas.

:: A criação é da G2 Amsterdam.

A Absolut convidou a Ellus para ser a nova visionária da marca no Brasil, transpondo sua visão em torno de um conceito da Absolut numa coleção exclusiva de roupas para a coleção verão, inspirada no universo do rock’n roll.

O site da campanha In an Absolut World You Rock: A Vision by Ellus acabou de ir ao ar. A criação do documentário é da Gringo e a produção é da Idéia Forte.

O documentário revela os detalhes dessa importante parceria, que resultou no ótimo evento de ontem.

A comodidade que os instrumentos eletrônicos nos proporcionam, faz com que, muitas vezes, as pessoas associem a tecnologia ao sedentarismo. Só que tem empresa querendo desmistificar afirmações como esta.
Uma delas é a Au, uma das marcas líderes em telefonia celular no Japão, cuja propriedade pertence a operadora mundialmente reconhecida, KDDI.
Sempre apostando em inovações no design e em tecnologias de mobilidade, a Au by KDDI lançou agora uma competição que está mexendo com os japoneses, literalmente.

“5min. WALK” se baseia num aplicativo que transforma o celular num contador de calorias. O aplicativo reúne funções de GPS em uma espécie de “pedômetro” que conta os passos e a quantidade de caloria perdida em determinada caminhada. A campanha incentiva uma caminhada mínima de 5 minutos por dia. Neste aplicativo, os usuários poderão saber quantas calorias perderam durante o trajeto e compartilhar as informações com seus colegas que também estão utilizando a ferramenta.

Mais do que apenas incentivar a saúde individual, a KDDI está tentando criar um senso entre a comunidade japonesa: usuários podem se registrar no site e entrar no ranking dos “5min. Walkers”. Todo dia, no computador ou no mobile site, a KDDI posta o número de calorias queimadas por todos os usuários registrados – a cada 5 minutos – e “coroa” os walkers que mais fizeram valer a pena suas caminhadas. Uma ótima campanha de engajamento, que inclui ainda ações de guerrilha com adesivações em estações de metrô e terminais de ônibus.

:: Dica enviada pela Amanda Piccoli, via Japan Trends.

Advertising jingles are something consumers love to hate and hate to love. We hum them at bus stops and sing them in the shower. Sometimes (when done correctly), we even associate the correct brand with the right emotion every time we begin into its corresponding tune.

Why are these seemingly simple and oft-idiotic ditties so catchy? Where did they come from? Furthermore, how have they been so persuasive in advertisements for just short of a century?

It all began with a Wheaties radio ad in the 1930’s. A local radio ad implemented what we know today as a jingle. The Wheaties brand was about to plunge into oblivion, but shortly after the ad ran a few times, Wheaties sales shot through the roof. Upon seeing this explosion, the ad men on the account decided to test it nationally. The result was over 75 years of head-pounding, catchy infuriation (plus a box of Wheaties in every American pantry).

What keeps the tune of “Double Your Pleasure” in your head for hours, days, and weeks on end? Scientists have actually linked it to something within our inner ear known as the phonological loop, which remembers sounds in a chronological order and repeats these sounds to remember them (the same system we use to learn language in our infant years). By creating very short, simple tunes with heavy repetition and ease of recital, advertisers and jingle-makers are able to hack into our brains and insert a message about their brand that is harder to remove than Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World,” essentially enslaving us to their haunting taglines.

With that in mind, the fact is the popularity of jingles rises and falls more than that of President Obama. Like many fads, jingles go through periods of heavy enjoyment and utter disgust. That’s because of the inner turmoil we experience in the midst of a catchy jingle. It may be momentarily fun from time to time to sing along with one, but after you’ve pounded your head against the door several hundred times in an attempt to literally and/or metaphorically knock the tune out of your head, we grow contempt for the once beloved jingle.

Jingles reached their heyday in the 1950’s and have waned in popularity since. Advertisers will go through periods of using full songs in their ads, essentially piggybacking on the popularity of the artist and capturing the emotional essence of what they represent. After those periods are played out, the general public is often ready to return to simpler time of the 10-second jingle.

Are jingles the craze again? Are we ready to form a nationwide mob to hunt the next McDonald’s jingle maker? Well, I’d say jingles are in, but this may be due to the fact that I live in San Diego and am subjected to the incessantly repetitive ditty tied to King Stahlman Bail Bonds: “It’s better to know me/And not need me/Than to need me/And not know me.”

Hopefully, it’s a jingle limited to San Diego.

Stu Haack is a Copywriter & Social Media Guru at Aviatech.  He likes long walks on the beach and scary movies.  Learn more about him and his writing.

Life just keeps getting weirder and weirder. One day, boobs are good; the next, they’re banned in Britain on billboards for their portrayal of headlamps. Britain is the last place you would think the girls would be put away. Britain is (in)famous for its portrayal of plunging-cleavage shots on TV shows such as “Benny Hill” and “Ab Fab” (”Absolutely Fabulous”), but is also the same country that  publishes topless women weekly in newspapers, notably,  The Sun’s “Page 3 Girls,” and  the  Daily Star’s “Babes”

While both of the papers are entertainment and celebrity gossip-type tabloids, they’re given huge amounts of leeway with topless models. However, other nude or semi-nude ads seem to spark controversy: Last month,  American Apparel ran a print ad that took readers through unzipping a Flex Fleece Hoodie. The model eventually gets to point where a portion of her nipple is exposed. The ad ran in Vice Magazine, caused public outcry, and was banned subsequently.

Whether right or wrong (and I have no stance on British standards in advertising), the only difference I detect between the topless shots in the papers versus the questionable billboard is that the billboard is free while the papers require payment or subscription.

What’s all the hoopla about with this billboard campaign? It’s not any more or less, racy than a Victoria’s Secret ad or outdoor display.

Understandably, there are regulations to ensure no young minds are corrupted by breasts and marketers’ efforts to use breasts to sell stuff, and we’re well aware of the fact that sexually based ads and campaigns sell. This leads to the dilemma of morality and advertising, which is way too big to cover here.

However, my question is this: Whether used to sell headlamps in Britain or promote men’s awareness of breast cancer in North America, is it a fair advertising practice to approve or deny an ad based on the intent of the advertiser?

Rethink Breast Cancer’s spot, “Save the Boobs,” (below) follows a voluptuous woman in a bikini as she bounces her way through a swimming area.

Does this commercial merit approval based on the fact it supports a cause that could save a life, whereas the banned billboards are for headlights? Not using your headlights while driving could kill you, so don’t headlights save lives, too?

I would argue that if society’s intent is save the youth from corruption, both ads should be banned.

Here is where it gets weird: The headlight ad seems to succeed in purpose where the breast cancer spot fails. Why? Inciting controversy was the whole idea behind the cancer spot; stir people up, get them to react, get the spot on the news, and thereby raise awareness. Besides receiving accolades as being a great PSA by every 16-year-old with an Internet connection, it made but a ripple. The billboard got banned. Go figure.

Jeff Louis has ten years of brand-building, media strategy, and new business experience. His passion is writing and his strong suit is sarcasm. You can follow Jeff on Twitter or become a fan on Examiner.com.

For weeks now, my old Creative Director Andrew Schmeling has greeted his IM buddies with the following statement: “Is it compellevant?” (Being a Creative Director, he gets to make statements, not ask questions.) However, each time I sign on, I’m reminded this neologism serves as a portmanteau for two key ingredients of great ads: They’re both compelling and relevant. As we’re all subjected to daily, there are far too many pellets of capitalism that are only one or the other. You’re talking cultural milestone when you find one with both.

This is clear from a quick retrospective of the some of the high points of the last half-century of advertising. Love or hate smoking, Leo Burnett’s Marlboro Man rode for decades because whether you were Daniel Boone seeking “more elbow room” or Chris McCandless going Into the Wild, open space has always been part of the American Dream. That’s compellevant. DDB’s classic “Think Small” campaign? It’s compellevant because in the crowded seascape of land yachts that was the American car industry in 1959, a plain little Beetle with a lot of white space couldn’t have spoken louder to those questioning the Don Drapers of the world.

Wieden’s Just Do It in the ’80s? Compellevant. A few lucky folks out there might still look and feel as good as they did when they were 18, but for the rest of us, the clock’s ticking. Recently, there’s the iPod Silhouettes campaign: iconic art direction (branding the non-color white?) and direct copy plus a simple, non-verbal message (music is fun). These are just a few notable examples, of course, but you can pretty much take it to the awards podium (or bank, if you’re concerned with selling stuff) that the best work is compellevant, right?

Well, it is for the most part. Over the last few decades, as certain categories have drifted free from the moorings of Rosser Reeves-style USP-based claims, a number of notable campaigns and ads have appeared that can’t make any plausible claim to relevance but have compelled their way to sales, awards, and in the age of YouTube, the ultimate tribute, spoofs. What are some of these campaigns?

The Budweiser Frogs come immediately to mind. While Miller was going for compellevant with “Less Filling, Tastes Great,” Goodby had put together this slow-building three-syllable chorus of croaks, and the dramatic timing seems impeccable 14 years later. What relevant message does it have about beer? None.

On a similar note, just a few years later, Leo Burnett came out with the Real American Heroes/Real Men of Genius radio spots, and Mr. Centerfold Retoucher, Mr. Jelly Donut Filler, and their worthy compadres didn’t tell you anything about Bud Light, but these ads help vault Budweiser as the top beer in America and inspired countless web searches to hear the ones you’d missed.

More recently, TBWA/Chiat/Day’s tragicomic Skittles storyof the office worker afflicted with the candy touch swept the interwebs and the awards shows with its unexpected premise and compelling humor, but did it say anything close to relevant about the product? Nah. Ditto Fallon UK’s Cadbury spot. On paper, a formula of Phil Collins plus drumming gorilla equals a straight line from Doobieville to WTF-land, but increased sales don’t lie. My left brain is still outraged every time this is being used to sell chocolate, for it’s the perfect portfolio school case study of what not to do, but both my eyes can’t stop watching and neither could millions of others.

What’s the moral of the story here? Don’t be afraid to venture a little bit off the straight, strategic path, especially if you’re working on one of those fun food or beverage accounts. Sure, it’ll be harder to sell to the client, but gold (and a gold lion) might be in them thar hills.

Nate Davis loves advertising, the interwebs, and social networks, yet looks askance on many of their cultural offspring. Read more at www.natedaviscopywriter.com.

Before delving into the main portion of this article, I’d first like to clearly define what I mean by the term ‘great’ in the title.

‘Great,’ in the sense of advertising, is in reference to an ad or campaign that transcends time and trend. ‘Great’ describes a truly creative and inspiring idea that has enough emotional, logical, or persuasive rhetoric to consistently move large portions of consumers to act.  Simply put, it’s got zing.

Alright.  Now that we’ve got that out of the way, we can really get to the “meat and potatoes” of this article; what great marketing campaigns can truly achieve for a brand.

Walking down the figurative Advertising Hall of Fame, you’d run into “Mean” Joe Green, an old woman inquiring about the absence of dietary cow product, and a swooshing symbol telling you to “Just do it.”  But what do these ad campaigns that have stayed in our mind through the decades actually do for their respective brands?  They’re cute, inspiring, and fun, but after the millions of dollars are spent and a few more million are made, can an ad campaign have a lasting effect?

Short answer: absolutely, yes.

For almost any ad campaign, a company will yield a moderate ROI for a short term period (i.e. – Placing an ad in the local paper, doubling your sales for a week).  But a great campaign can truly stick with consumers and implements a lifelong brand perception.

Look at Volvo.  What is the first thing almost everyone thinks when asked about the vehicle brand, Volvo?  Safety.  This is a result from their influential campaign from decades ago that touted Volvo as the number one safety vehicle on the market.  At the time, that was true, and people were receptive to the great ad campaign.  Now, 20 years later, people still think Volvo releases the safest vehicles on the market, when in fact, they’re no longer even in the top five.

Now that is one amazing campaign.

More recently, Pabst Blue Ribbon, amid the recession, zero advertising spending in 2009, and a product price increase, has reported a 25% sales increase. (Ad Age) How could this have happened while other sub-premium beers cost less, advertise more, and have reported much smaller sales increases?

Experts told Ad Age that is was likely due to a word of mouth (WOM) campaign that Pabst Blue Ribbon initiated in 2004 as an anti-establishment beer, of sorts.  It has its own niche of young drinkers who don’t conform to the premium or big name brands.  And PBR did an amazing job at taking their campaign to the streets to find their niche.

Benefits?  Well, five years later, PBR is growing during a recession without an ad budget to speak of, against all odds.

Great campaigns have the power to shift, solidify, or revitalize brand/product perception.  They have the ability to transcend time or place by remaining relevant through the fads and trends.  It’s about reaching down to the core of what your brand can do for a group of people.

A good ad campaign can make people think, ‘Wow, I think I want that.’  A great ad campaign will make people realize, ‘Wow, I didn’t know I needed that.’

Stu Haack is a Copywriter & Social Media Guru at Aviatech.  He likes long walks on the beach and scary movies.  Learn more about him and his writing.

Tenho falado muito sobre empresas que aproveitam a colaboração de parceiros, consumidores e até pessoas comuns para, junto com seus departamentos de pesquisa, inovar em seus produtos ou negócios. Em boa parte desses casos, a internet é o canal de transmissão dessas sugestões, como acontece com a P&G, Starbucks e a Campbell’s.

Até então, a democracia do open innovation parece ser sempre um ‘mar de rosas’. Mas como comentou o blog Sillicon Alley Insider, a Kraft Foods cometeu um grave deslize, mesmo acostumada e reconhecida por seu relacionamento primoroso com os consumidores exigentes.

Sua subsidiária australiana criou um concurso no qual uma nova linha da Vegemite, marca de uma pasta salgada, famosa por ser um dos alimentos mais populares e tradicionais da Austrália, vinha com um rótulo e a frase “Name Me”, incentivando os consumidores sugerir nomes. O resultado foi um completo desastre e o nome vencedor foi iSnack 2.0: uma relação com a era da ‘internet social’, das ferramentas 2.0, mas de pouco apelo com uma espécie de ”requeijão”.

Deu no que tinha que dar! Foram tantas críticas e reclamações, que a Kraft teve que voltar atrás e cancelar este nome nada pertinente.

Há poucos dias, a Vegemite abriu espaço novamente em seu site para os consumidores enviarem novas dicas de nomes, sendo que um deles foi decidido esta semana, aqui.

A repercussão de toda essa reviravolta foi parar até na CNN. Aliás, estou escrevendo este post inspirado pela matéria que eu acabei de ver na emissora. Quer saber? Foi até bom isso ter acontecido para “segurar a rédea” de algumas empresas que, no início de uma campanha, evento ou ação, jogam todas as cartas nas mãos do consumidor, e esquecem que, no final, são eles também que, de forma massiva, vão avaliar e aprovar ou não aquilo que foi criado. Fica a dica!

Fundada em 1958, na cidade de Barcelona, Espanha, Chupa Chups se tornou quase que um sinônimo de categoria oferecendo pirulitos de vários sabores e formatos. Devido ao extremo sucesso construído ao longo do tempo em mais de 170 países, a marca começou a expandir seu portfólio com inúmeros produtos “life style” para a criançada.
Afim de mostrar ao mundo a tamanha elasticidade que a marca conseguiu construir, usou seu novo hotsite (www.chupachupsuniverse) que centraliza todas essas novidades.
Dentre os produtos licenciados há calçados, perfumes, streetwear, pijamas, relógios, óculos, eletrônicos e muito mais. Todo o leque de novos produtos pode ser visto neste hotsite, que ainda faz uma detalhada descrição de cada categoria e em quais países determinados produtos começaram a ser distribuídos.

O Facebook foi usado para dar sustento ao conceito Chupa Chups Universe. Na rede social é possível enviar mensagens, trocar idéias e conferir alguns redesenhos mais modernos feitos com o logotipo.

As edições limitadas da Coca-Cola Light firmadas por grandes nomes da moda são um clássico desta marca.
Roberto Cavalli e Manolo Blahnik já ‘vestiram’ este produto, e pela segunda vez, outros oito designers, entre eles Donatella Versace, Consuelo Castiglioni (Marni), Angela Missoni (Moschino) e Silvia Venturini (Fendi) também criaram desenhos exclusivos para as embalagens limitadas da Coca Light.
A coleção ‘Tribute to Fashion‘, a venda desde de o dia 25 de setembro, na Itália, foi apresentada durante a Semana de Moda de Milão. O dinheiro ganho com as vendas é destinado a um projeto de ajuda para a região de Abruzzo, castigada por um terremoto ano passado. Abaixo vocês podem ver o filme que divulga a nova coleção e algumas imagens.

:: Via Luxuo :: Veja também ADivertido Branded Fashion.