Hasta La Creative!

One thing you will notice in advertising these days is that many companies look at the available talent in the market to cast in commercial productions. But the real question is, do you really need to pay high costing ads to make sure that they get the right mix in producing these ads?

There are various ways to get through commercial advertising and this can be done through creative wizardry. You just have to think outside the box, use resources like technology and representation in other forms such as this one which makes use of balloon dolls that can capture the whole essence of the product being advertised.

Technorati Tags: advertising, levis, jeans, pants, dolls, commercial, technology, balloon

Contract disputes can be a pain especially for chosen endorsers and in this case, actress Uma Thurman sued Lancome regarding an advertising dispute. Apparently, the French cosmetic giant has made quite a profit from using her name and likeness despite the lapse of the contract between the two.

Many people would care less if such a boom would be evident. But in this case, Lancome continues its advertising ways despite the end of the contract with Thurman which the latter resented. In the world of showbiz, you have to honor your contract. If not, expect heads to roll. Such is a familiar face in the world of advertising and promotions.

The “Kill Bill” star said in her lawsuit that Lancome Parfums et Beaute & Cie boosted its worldwide sales and enhanced its “prestige, stature and bargaining power” by helping retailers and others use her name and likeness in advertising and promotions after her contract expired.

The suit seeks $15 million in damages.

(Source) The Associated Press

Technorati Tags: uma thurman, advertising, promotions, lancome, cosmetics

This ad for Moccona coffee by M&C Saatchi is getting rave reviews.

Now, me being a cynic, I’ve never really connected coffee to romance of any kind. I’ve connected it to being tired and bleary eyed and needing a jolt to start my day. Or a jolt to get out of wherever I woke up. But I do find it interesting when you use packaging to define a brand, rather than taste or aroma when it comes to coffee.

I can’t help but draw connection to these 80’s Taster’s Choice ads that were all the rage.

Technorati Tags: M&C Saatchi, coffee, Moccana, Taster’s Choice, romance, branding, packaging, Cinderella, It’s just coffee people

In a nutshell, advertising doesn’t have to be sophisticated. There is a belief in some companies that the more high-tech your advertising campaign is, the more attention you will get. This may be true but not all people are appreciative of sophisticated display advertising.

Remember that advertising aims to attract the masses towards your product or service. It doesn’t matter if it is basic or simple. What remains is the fact that most people today have varying tastes towards taking notice of advertising campaigns set loose today in the various mediums.

Simple advertising works to the advantage of people but in the end, it still depends on how you can make your product or service become a need towards people in their daily needs.

“In order to really move into large masses of advertisers, display advertising has to be easier and simpler,” said Ajay Agarwal, managing director of Bain Capital Ventures. “Google did this with search advertising. We think the same thing has to happen with display.”

(Source) Wall Street Journal

Technorati Tags: http://www.beyondmadisonavenue.com/

I’ve never been a die-hard fan of much of the Axe creative – some is pretty stellar, and others just don’t quite hit me right. But this newest spot/website for Axe Canada is stellar, and just a bit different than much of the past Axe work.

Simple, not over the top (over the top for Axe, that is), a simple website, and a contest to win a trip to the Axe Cottage. What more could a guy want? Be sure to check out the website for more video clips and to enter the contest.

As far as advertising is concerned, getting the message across is one thing but considering the logical intelligence of the viewing market to which it is aimed at penetrating is another. In short, there are some advertisements that really do not care if their ad campaigns make sense or not. A simple word or two is all that matters for endorsing companies, normally terms that associate their brand to the consumer’s mind.

But while imagery is one thing, it is apparent that there are a lot of ads that do not make sense at all. Some call them wasted money and opportunity while others look at simply creating an image towards placing brand awareness for products and services.

With these tactics in mind, many people will agree, is it really for strategic management or plainly for conning people into intellectual proportions on the whole advertising paradigm.

We all have our personal advertising bugbears. I am frequently dumbstruck by the portrayal of young men as henpecked morons, perennially outmanoeuvred by their vastly superior girlfriends. And I can’t be the only person bothered by the ambulance-chasing personal injury adverts – the “no win, no fee” propaganda packs of the compensation culture.

(Source) theblog

Technorati Tags: advertising, brand, paradigm, imagery, money, brand awareness, smoking, fish hook

After a few weeks of teasers and trailers, Nike finally released the 2-minute full version of the “Take it to the Next Level” spot after it aired on broadcast via ITV at the beginning of today’s Manchester United game.

The spot is directed by Guy Ritchie of Lock Stock & Snatch fame, who is no stranger to branded films. Several years back, he directed the 10-min. short, “The Hire: Star” featuring Madonna & Clive Owen for the BMW films series.

As anticipated, this spot is pretty impressive. Definitely falls in line with the overall Nike image of late. I’m curious to see of there’s any further integration of the spot into any of Nike’s advertising, beyond being featured (in high quality) on the Nike Football Homepage. Either way, it’s okay — the Guy Ritchie fanboy in me is satisfied.

The photo is off brand. Plain and simple.

The article, if you read it, lays out the Miley brand perfectly: A young superstar with a head on her shoulders and involved, loving parents to help her avoid the famous flame-outs of her tween predecessors. An all-American success story.

But the photo has blazed through all media.  Some shock (though a summer day at any neighborhood pool is more revealing) Some anger. Mostly just disappointment. It’s weird that a 15 year-old can command so much jabber. But this isn’t a 15-year old. This is a billion dollar brand.  And the keepers of that brand, the Cyrus collective and, yes, Disney, sure should have seen this coming and told Leibovitz to simma’ down.

All girls grow up. But parents with 9, 10, 11 and 12-year olds of their own are fighting to ensure it doesn’t happen too fast. Miley, 15, was a strong ally. But the photo gave them reason to wonder. There are some theories that suggest this is all by design. But it’s clear now that it was not yet time for a brand extension.

So, we’re left with a cautionary tale as to why people like us, people who work with brands, need to think long and hard about what we encourage those brands to do. Powerful brands come with powerful promises. Breaking those promises brings consequences. That said, we’re pretty sure this brand isn’t going to be withering for long.

Globalization is one thing that most international companies invest in today and it is an aggressive practice in the local shores of India. Large names that include Coca Cola and McDonalds have adopted the new termed practice called Glocalisation, a saleable mix of the global and the local, which represents the human capacity to bridge scales from the local to global and vice versa.

Product association is evident in our local regions and for international companies known throughout the world, the need to rev up the consumer awareness has become a critical need. India has so far acknowledged this need and companies who have intended to join in this Glocalisation practice are jumping in one by one.

“Advertising agencies in our country are increasingly going in for international tie-ups. As a result, foreign brands are suddenly seeking local attention. The art of making an advertisement look local and endearing to Indians is the global spin-off in advertising,” Vipin Dhayani, creative head of the Everest Brand Solutions, said.

(Source) Zeenews

Technorati Tags: advertising, coca cola, globalization, glocalisation, Hrithik Roshan, india, mcdonalds

Brett Favre looks to break the Madden Curse as it was announced yesterday that he would be on the cover of Electronic Arts’ 20th Anniversary Edition of John Madden Football.

Seeing as Favre no longer is in the league, it’s safe to say either:
a) Favre will get back in the league only to suffer an injury
b) He should look to the skies for random falling pianos

The obvious question is– will there be weepy press conferences as an option?

Am I the only one who remembers Madden’s commercials for Miller Lite?

Technorati Tags: Electronic Arts, NFL, Madden, video games, Brett Favre