Hasta La Creative!

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.

The Michelin Man is getting a makeover. He’s transforming into a “tire-chucking superhero.” OK, then.

Never mind Birkin bags and pretty scarves. The object at left is a new and insanely luxurious piece of social currency dubbed WHY — the Wally Hermes Yacht.

– Allan Gray graciously exploits the late James Dean.

For those who are into driving and obsessively cataloging their excursions social media style, BFGoodrich has launched Nation of Go.

Adrants reader Gareth sent over Levi’s tribute to Senator Edward Kennedy.

American Apparel is using YouTube to push a series of tutorials that teach all the different ways you can wear Le Sac, a versatile little sheath with string.

Clearex acne treatment gel works a lot like Clearasil acne treatment cream (or your fluoride-rich toothpaste of choice): you rub it onto your pimples at night, then pray they’re dry enough to pop or scratch off by morning.

Yes, Amazon will now own the Las Vegas-based apparel and footwear retailer.

It’s out there and everyone’s talking about it. It’s been proven to give companies an edge on competition and the ability to form a bond with customers. So why aren’t you involved in social media yet?

As a freelancer in social media, I’ve noticed that there are numerous corporations that are still not involved with Twitter, Facebook, or anything on the Internet beyond a website and an email. This is, in essence, what it would be like when everyone started to advertise on the television when it was first invented and a company simply ignored it and kept to the “old school” ways of handing out fliers to people. Although it is important to respect the more traditional ways of advertising, you must also incorporate the new to properly promote and advertise your company and brand (my fellow Beneath the Brand blogger Jon Leung agrees – check out his post Marketers’ Dilemma: Facebook or Twitter).

The best thing about social media – it’s easy and free. At the moment, I recommend starting with Twitter because, as I’m sure you’ve heard, it’s becoming more and more similar to the dot com boom (i.e. don’t be the last one to figure it out).

Look at Twitter this way: imagine all your customers coming together on a daily basis and talking about topics that pertain to you and your company, thereby spreading even more information about your company and gaining more recognition and consumers.

Let me use a company as an example that I am currently involved with: Dolphin Blue, Inc. Dolphin Blue helps businesses go green through its office supplies. If you thinking of promotion from a networking standpoint, the first thing you would do is to find a group that matches your interests, in this case, any green groups that deals with the ecosystem or world health. You would then attend the group sessions, meet people who have those same interests, and start conversations with them about your company. Twitter is exactly like this, only on a much larger scale.

After creating a Twitter account, log on to www.search.twitter.com and search (#green) for people talking about green issues. “Follow” them, re-tweet things they’ve tweeted that you agree with and *poof,* people will start following you, re-tweeting things you’ve posted, and, most importantly, become aware of your services. And thus, networking and building your business starts on a national level. The more people you meet, the more people who talk about you and your company.

Within four hours of Dolphin Blue publishing its Twitter account, it had six mentions and 26 followers! On day two, those numbers grew to 14 mentions and 93 followers. Imagine how many more people it’ll reach within the next week, month or year.

I think Griffin Farley of 22squared said it best. “Don’t plan for the ones you reach, plan for the ones they reach.” It’s all about who you know, right?

Megan Green is a freelance propagation planner who has had her work published on PR News Wire, as well as many other outlets. Contact her on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or at megankategreen@gmail.com.