Hasta La Creative!

Today, health insurer Aetna is launching a new campaign themed, “What’s Your Healthy?” Created by Arnold Worldwide and Digitas, the campaign seeks to do what so many health insurance providers are trying to accomplish: Engage their customers and get them to be “proactive” about their healthcare. Pushing healthy habits ultimately reduces healthcare costs, so it’s not shocking to see most insurers focusing their messages there.

There’s nothing overly remarkable about this campaign, except to add that it’s being launched with a $50 million budget. I suspect we’ve barely begun to see all the advertising and marketing efforts healthcare providers and health insurance companies are set to launch.

With the new Affordable Care Act (i.e., Obamacare) gradually being rolled out, individual states being tasked with providing health exchange marketplaces so consumers can compare and purchase plans for themselves, and employers rethinking the coverage they provide to their workers, it’s going to be a mad rush for revenue. And it’s a huge opportunity for advertising agencies and other firms to get in on the spending.

Healthcare marketing is crowded field with a lot of similarity in the messaging and very little boldness. So who’s out there doing a great job of healthcare marketing? What’s the ultimate message insurers need to send? Will hospitals and health systems need to up their marketing game now, too? Will consumers simply be too confused and overwhelmed with marketing to make the best choices?

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It’s been quite a while since we’ve heard from NYC-based, Dentsu-owned digital shop Firstborn, which has now taken over for R/GA as digital agency of record for L’Oreal Luxe, the cosmetics/beauty giant’s luxury brands unit that includes Lancome, Giorgio Armani, Kiehl’s and Urban Decay. The review for the Luxe digital account appears to have lasted longer than Honda’s as L’Oreal kicked it off last summer with approximately 15 agencies initially vying for the biz.

Regarding her company’s new digital AOR appointment, L’Oreal Luxe president Carol J. Hamilton says, “I am so pleased to have a partnership with Firstborn, whose dedicated energy and expertise in the world of digital will help drive our brands to new heights.” As a result of the win, Firstborn essentially extends its relationship with L’Oreal as it’s already worked with the brand’s Redken line. The digital shop, which has also handled digital efforts for other notable brands including Pepsi, Aflac and Under Armour, will initially focus on digital ecommerce marketing strategies for various brands within the Luxe portfolio.

R/GA, which had served as Luxe digital AOR for two years, will still continue its seven-year relationship with L’Oreal Paris.

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Even though Domino’s recently redesigned their logo, that doesn’t mean all of the company’s old materials have to go to waste. The newest content from the pizzamaker and AOR CP+B showcases products built from recycled Domino’s materials like staff shirts, pizza boxes, and anything that incorporated the old logo. You can check out some of the “upcycled” gear on Pinterest – the above picture is just one example of the innovative user creations: an in-progress light fixture made of company signane and pizza boxes.

This project from CP+B is the latest in a consistent line of inventive campaigns that have helped build up some brand equity for Domino’s. We’ve covered a few of the efforts here – a consumer contest for the “Ultimate Delivery Vehicle,” a digital suggestion box called “Think Oven“, etc. All of the content has been very social and very original, allowing for customers to constantly engage with the pizza chain. Basically, Papa John ain’t got nothing on that.

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Any agency can always reach deep down into it’s bag of tropes and tricks and pull out a zombie idea for just about every brand. Some people are bound to like watching the undead jaunt around in some apocalyptic retelling of the universe regardless of whether the take is funny, serious, or cool. For Australian-based shop The Monkeys and Boost Mobile Australia, that cool take on zombies in the centerpoint of their latest campaign: “Stay Living.” Sleek action, plenty of gore, and some moody music are all you need for the phone carrier juices to start flowing.

The clips for this campaign are somewhat graphic, making them stand out when compared to typical American commercials. Zombies getting shot in the head with arrows or completely disrespected with huge katanas to the skull holds some edgy appeal that you won’t find in our commercials with little kids who want “Puppy Brothers.” If anything, these Boost Mobile ads are a fun watch as you think about moving to Australia to start your own zombie apocalypse narrative.

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I’ve long ago stopped paying much attention to people who throw around the word “branding” or keep harping on the meaning of “brand.” Because depending on where you work — an ad agency, a design firm, a digital marketing shop, etc. — branding and brand building means something different to you. Still, it’s illuminating to read a book like Idris Mootee’s 60 Minute Brand Strategist: The Essential Brand Book for Marketing Professionals.

Chock full of fun graphics, minimalist Helvetica type, and lots of quotes, Mootee takes an entertaining shot at systematically defining what a “brand” really is in 2013. There’s a lot of good information about assigning meaning, value and purpose to a brand, as well as the role of customers in reacting to, and sometimes helping to define, a brand’s ethos.

What makes this book a little troublesome is that most of the examples Mootee uses represent global, well-established brands: Starbucks, Virgin, Nike, Nestle, Prada, and many others. And let’s be honest, these brands have spent hundreds of millions of dollars establishing, developing and protecting their brands. So the question becomes, who really is the audience for this book? Anyone working on a startup or very small brand will feel very overwhelmed with the perspective presented, even though there’s valuable information here.

The title of the book comes from Mootee’s suggestion that the book’s breezy format could be read and finished on a “flight from New York to Chicago, or from London to Paris.” Perhaps, but chances are if you’re on one of those flights you don’t need this book. If you’re poolside at a Kansas City Hampton Inn while the kids take a swim, The 60 Minute Brand Strategist might help you, and your brand, even more.

Special thanks to FSB Associates for providing me with a review copy.

The post 60 Minute Brand Strategist Goes Deep Into Branding With Style appeared first on AdPulp.

I’m sitting in Salt Lake City Airport, shocked at the number of people wearing flip flops, and I want nothing more than to be in Myspace’s fun room of young, beautiful artists grabbing at one another amidst fluorescent confetti. Their instruments and skateboards may be breakable but they are not. They smash faces and tangle limbs and fall on the floor, but this video gives us the sense that these fiery singers, models, DJs, and rappers will never flame out.

After Justin Timberlake’s reboot, can the same be said for Myspace (capital S begone)? We weren’t sure the social network could drag itself away from obsolescence, but this spot seems to be doing just that, and with a bang. If Myspace is a room filled with the likes of DIIV, Iggy Azalea, Pharrell Williams, Sky Ferreira and Schoolboy Q, then it is anything but irrelevant. If you don’t know those names, you better learn them. And check out the new Myspace while you’re at it; it seems to be the cool thing to do.

Credits and MySpace announce note after the jump.

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What do you know, less than a week after we chatted with Steve Bernstein, president of Kansas City-based Bernstein Rein, and were told that his agency’s relationship with longtime client Commerce Bank was basically intact, the Kansas City Business Journal reports that the financial institution has indeed cut the cord. Well, Bernstein did tell us at the time, through somewhat cryptically, that Commerce was undergoing a “strategic change” and thus, a “relationship change” was in order.

We’re trying to get some additional comment on the matter from Bernstein himself, as we’ve been deluged with tips not only pertaining to Commerce, which worked with B-R for 14 years, but the actual staff count at the agency, which we were told at the time was 220. A horde of tipsters, though, say that it’s basically half that. We’re hoping to get some clarification on the matter today, and we’ll keep you posted.

Update: Well, we asked and we’ve been told by Bernstein himself that the “strategic change that Commerce informed us of was that given that there would not be any creative needs for the account in the near future, they would not be requiring our creative services. They would only be needing our media services through at least the end of third quarter.” We’ve been told that this has not changed in spite of the review. Bernstein adds, “They are a good client with good people. We do wish them luck in their future and we will be involved with them as long as they need.”

As far as staffing goes, despite what several of you have been telling us, Bernstein says that payroll sits at 220 associates and there will be no reductions in B-R staff as a result of the Commerce decision.

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Better than any of their campaigns with colored blocks and folky music, Venables Bell & Partner’s latest spot for Google Fiber exemplifies the coming-together of technology, passion, and creativity.

Last summer, Google Fiber was introduced to Kansas City. In the year that followed, Google wanted to “see how high speed Internet could impact lives.” At Children’s Mercy Hospital, they met Nick LeGrande, a 13-year-old baseball player who has been diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a life-threatening blood disorder. His mom said he’s only cried once during the subsequent ordeal, when his doctor said he couldn’t play baseball.

Last night, Google Fiber technology (and the generosity of the company itself),  gave Nick the chance to get back in the game. He threw the first pitch at an Oakland A’s game, even though his illness prevents him from being around crowds and he’s 1,800 miles away from the stadium. With help from a Google-Fiber enhanced, Deeplocal-built telerobotic pitching machine, Nick’s movements were translated to Oakland as he felt the field in Kansas City via live camera. He stood on a specially-made indoor baseball stadium, with real sod and clay. The crowd cheered in real life and online. I cried.

Here’s hoping VB+P continues in this innovative, benevolent direction. If Google Fiber means making dreams like this come true, then we need it all across America. In the meantime, our thoughts are with Nick.

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The Montreal Canadiens bowed out in the first round of the NHL Playoffs this year, losing 4-1 to the Ottawa Senators. Making things worse: Montreal was a No. 2 seed that lost to a No. 7 seed. It turns out that a recent interactive outdoor experience near the Bell Centre not only gave fans a chance to show off their slapshots, but it also could’ve improved the product on the ice. How many mediocre sports movies have been started this way? A team underachieves, a fan of that team goes through some transformative process and gets to reveal supernatural talent. Rookie of the Year, anyone?

The interactive setup comes from DraftFCB Montreal, MEC Canada, Thinkingbox, and Coors Light. During the first round of the playoffs, 299 fans had the chance to hit a slapshot and watch the computerized result on a huge screen with customized graphics. The idea isn’t all that different from a radar gun at a minor league baseball game, albeit with some super-duper technology. Fans were encouraged to share their experiences on social media (again, not all that different in today’s world). But hey, it’s beer and hockey for Canadians, so you get the idea nobody thought too hard about it and just had fun…until their team lost.

Credits after the jump.

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Yes, we saw the news when it first broke. Sorry if we were lagging on this, folks, but we were looking into another facet of the big Cadillac news today that wasn’t mentioned. Anyhow, what more can we say that hasn’t been reported already regarding the automaker’s decision. Well, save for the fact that despite what tipsters have been saying ad nauseum regarding the status of certain higher-ups at Campbell Ewald, sources familiar with the matter us tell us that the executive team at said agency “remains in place.”

Anyhow, if you were MIA this morning, the Crain committee including AdAge has reported that GM has finally made its decision and has expanded its relationship with IPG (McCann took over on Chevy-focused Commonwealth in March, if you recall), tapping a handful of its agencies (dubbed collectively as, ugh, Rogue) to assume ad duties on the Cadillac business. Among those in the mix are Hill Holliday, which saw its longtime Liberty Mutual go into review but will now handle creative/strategy (even steven, we say), while CE will handle account management and Lowe will take on digital/creative export for the brand. You know the rest of the story for now, but we’ll keep checking on the rest of what we hear.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.