Aug 31

Budweiser Drinkers to Develop Chinese New Year Ad

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Budcontest82609Anheuser-Busch InBev has thrown down the gauntlet. Consumers in China must answer. An opportunity has presented itself for Budweiser enthusiasts to play creative director and develop an ad to commemorate the 2010 Chinese New Year.

There is one rule in this contest: the ad must feature ants. For the past decade, A-B InBev has incorporated the ant motif in every ad campaign for the Chinese New Year.

Paul Wong, the director of the Budweiser ants TV spots since 2003, said the ants depict “the Chinese national spirit of diligence, solidarity and intelligence.”

The digital contest was developed by A-B InBev’s marketing team in Shanghai to better engage the Chinese people by utilizing the Chinese video-sharing site, Tudou.com. The site will allow participants to write, draw and edit storyboards for a TV spot.

“We realized user-generated ideas and online video are both very popular among internet users at this stage, so this is the area that we want to use as well,” said Vivian Yeh, A-B InBev’s Shanghai based new media manager.

The grand prize winner will receive 100,000 RMB ($14,637) and will help produce the ad.

Note: I’d submit my own Budweiser Ants TV ad if it weren’t for my locale. I actually have a great idea for a spot. But to maintain the peace of mind of the contestants, I won’t divulge. However, I’ll tell you this… it involves myriad ants, an ant farm that extends across China, a sea of Budweiser brew, an eccentric panda and O’Hara from Enter the Dragon. Now, let it play out in your head…

Rohan Raj. Syrupy schmaltz. Finessing perpetual cadence. Boundless behemoth. Absence of mutual exclusivity? Priceless…Reach him via Twitter or LinkedIn.

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May 24

Ideas Ingenuity Overcome $$

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“No one is buying right now. Business will come back in Q4. It’ll get better. Our clients aren’t spending at the moment.”

Is that what you are hearing from agencies? Is that what management is saying? That’s like me stating that I can’t get a job because no one is hiring. But companies are hiring, and businesses are making money. The reason that your clients aren’t spending ad dollars is because they’re scared. Scared brings out their conservative side.

Fear, unless it’s for your life, is not the best basis for decision-making. Fear is an anxious state. Think back on the all the right decisions you’ve made and determine how many were based on fear. Probably not many.tacologo

So, while many businesses have their heads in the sand, others are using ingenuity to overcome. Enter The Taco Maker:

The Taco Maker, a Puerto Rico-based fast-food chain, ran a combination radio and mobile-marketing promo in which they gave away free burritos.

283268516_89e756f034The Taco Maker and their agency, BxP, created a character named “Juan Maker” who made radio appearances to talk to local DJs about free stuff. The broadcasts were all recorded and then made into ten 60-second spots that offered a free one-pound burrito to Taco Maker aficionados that texted in the correct answer after hearing the spot.

The agency declined to specify the price of the promotion, but said it cost less than $50,000. For that amount, the agency was able to track consumer response by station, time of day and even DJ. The company focused its ad dollars where they were doing the most good in real time.

Five-thousand texts and 2500 burritos later, the chain reported a 21% sales increase for the region where the promo took place. Hmm, that is so weird.

Jeff Louis: Strategic Media Planner, Project Manager, and New Business Coordinator. His passion is writing, contributing to BMA as well as freelancing. He’d love to hear from you, so leave a comment or follow the links: linkedin.com or twitter.com.

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Feb 05

Doodle for Google

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whatiwish

What is a Doodle? Well it is Google’s way of saying “design me a logo” contest, opened to all K12 students inspired by the theme “What I Wish for the World”. Doodle designs will be adjudged based on artistic merit, creativity, representation of the theme, and other criteria. The grand prize winner will then be selected by Google and announced at an event hosted in New York City on May 20, 2009. The doodle will be featured on the Google homepage the following day.

The winning student’s doodle will be displayed on the Google homepage on May 21, 2009. The champion “doodler” will also receive a $15,000 college scholarship and a $25,000 technology grant for his/her school. This year’s competition also includes a $10,000 award to recognize the school district with the greatest quality participation.

So for students, if you got what it takes to come up with a snazzy design, this is something you don’t want to miss.

Teachers can register their class online here.Registration closes on March 17 and all entries must be postmarked by March 31.

(Source) Web Wire

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