Hasta La Creative!

With Halloween just around the corner, Laphroaig Scotch is getting in the spirit. Let’s hear these unscripted, somewhat spooktacular, focus group responses to the unique taste of Laphroaig. To pair with the video, Laphroaig has also created a new cocktail to enjoy this Halloween. Laphroaig Trick or Treat Ingredients: 1 1/2 parts Laphroaig 10-Year-Old Single […]

The post Laphroaig Scotch Welcomes Your Opinion In Socially Powered Sampling Campaign appeared first on AdPulp.

I used to collect beer cans as a kid. So, I know an iconic local beer brand when I see one. Old Style, Iron City, Olympia, Pearl, and Yuengling—with beers like these, who needs PBR? Now that we’ve established that, some ad news… After a competitive review, Minneapolis agency Colle+McVoy has been selected to oversee […]

The post Colle+McVoy Wins Grain Belt For The Agency And Minnesota appeared first on AdPulp.

Miami ad man, Bruce Turkel, appeared on Fox to provide expert commentary on two new commercials: a sexist blunder from Subway and a spot from Domino’s that features a voice ordering app for pizza. Turkel rightly claims that Subway missed the mark. You don’t tell people to go on a diet so they fit into […]

The post Subway Crosses The Line, Bruce Turkel Throws A Flag #goodcall appeared first on AdPulp.

Given that many lifestyle brands are also publishers today, brands have an opportunity to bring beauty and intelligence into the world, not just more “Look at Me!” adverts. For instance, King Tuff’s new single, “Danger in the Dark,” was created for the Captain Morgan brand’s new global advertising campaign, The Tavern Series, which premiered in […]

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The freakiness of fandom is on display in this new “Copter Caper” from Y&R/New York and Campbell’s Chunky soups.

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As a Seahawks fan, I love that the team and Richard Sherman is getting this kind of prime time commercial coverage. As a fan of soups, the chunky cheese, beer and bacon soup featured in the spot also sounds pretty enticing. Ergo, this is clearly six points for the Campbell’s Chunky brand.

The post Today on TV: Mama Sherman and the Legion of Super Fans appeared first on AdPulp.

I have never been a fan of anonymous content. I rarely point to it. But today is a new day. The latest in Digiday’s series of anonymous reports from inside the agency business—Confessions of a social media strategist—is worth a careful read.

The anonymous writer works at one of “the leading digital agencies in New York.” The critic claims that social departments place too much value on engagement, and “the other abhorrent trend has been the pathetic attempt by brands to ‘keep relevant’.”

Here’s a selection of random Tweets that fit the writer’s definition of over-emphasis on the trivial.

Happy National Hamburger Day AKA best holiday ever! Hungry yet? #sullivansisland #chseats pic.twitter.com/vHYOTMkgYj

— Poe’s Tavern (@PoesTavern) May 28, 2014

It’s National Hamburger Day! DYK, the world’s largest burger was 3,591 pounds? @thelatintimes http://t.co/UONbFbWUS0 #nationalburgerday…

— Del Monte Fresh (@DelMonteFresh) May 28, 2014

Retweet if you think Whataburger should be the official burger of #NationalHamburgerDay pic.twitter.com/A1DddfWHOi

— Whataburger® (@Whataburger) May 28, 2014

By the way, today is National Hamburger Day.

I believe there is merit to the complaints above. However, I do know how deafening the silence can be in social channels, and what it feels like to wonder if anyone is out there listening. The answer is yes, someone is out there listening. Maybe a friend, maybe not.

In brand communications terms, the goal is to make genuine connections with real customers and prospects, in person and again via interactive media. When there are no “Likes,” and no comments, it sure seems like there is no interest. That’s the human response, but is it true from a marcom perspective?

You tell me.

The anonymous writer working at “one of the leading digital agencies in New York” wonders if he/she has wasted the last four years of life by working in social media. I’ve been working in #SMM for much longer, so if it is wasted time producing meaningless ephemera, that would truly suck.

My read is engagement is primarily a feel good metric. Naturally, we all enjoy feel good metrics when they work in our favor. That’s why people obsess over follower counts and game the system by purchasing followers. Follower counts are feel good metrics that you can wear as a badge.

In related news, Todd Wasserman of Mashable notes:

These are weird times for the advertising world. TV is still where the money is, but the creative momentum has shifted to digital to the point where no one cares about your $100 million spend anymore, though they’re fascinated about the gratis thing you’re doing on Snapchat.

I am unclear who the people are that don’t care about TV and do care about Snapchat. Is it the clients? I’m pretty sure the clients care about all the money they spend. Is it the creatives? I’m pretty sure they care about making TV. It must be the consumers of branded media that no longer care about TV spots, because they’re busy sending pics that disappear on Snapchat. Maybe no one cares.

Okay, can we reasonably conclude that social media marketing needs to be improved? I think so. Just as all marketing needs to be improved.

The post Today Is National Hamburger Day. Tweet It Twice. appeared first on AdPulp.

Knob Creek—aged for nine years in new, charred American Oak barrels—is now running its first-ever television commercial. The spot which features Booker Noe, the charismatic sixth-generation master distiller at the distillery.

Rob Nelson, Senior Brand Manager of Small Batch Bourbons at Beam, says, “As we continue to grow this legendary bourbon brand, we’ve decided the time is right to take things up a notch and allow Knob Creek to reach new audiences on TV.”

Noe intones in the new spot, “If you’re not completely satisfied with the big, full flavor of our bourbon, just send back the unused portion and we’ll drink it for you.”

I am uncertain if that’s a money-back guarantee, but I do enjoy the bravado in the line.

Chicago-based marketing and advertising agency Walton Isaacson developed the spot.

The post Knob Creek Pours On the Charm in New TV Spot from Walton Isaacson appeared first on AdPulp.

One may need to employ mutant superpowers to take down the two X-Tra servings of bacon on the new Western X-Tra Bacon Cheeseburger and X-Tra Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit from Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s.

The brands’ promotional tie-in with 20th Century Fox’s release of X-Men: Days of Future Past kicked off today with the premiere of “Mystique”.

Additional spots from creative agency 72andSunny starring two more X-Men characters will be revealed in April.

Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s are also inviting fans to unleash their inner mutants and participate in the “X-Men Digital Makeover”. By submitting a photo while eating or drinking a Carl’s Jr. or Hardee’s product on Instagram using the hashtag #EatLikeYouMeanIt, fans get the chance to receive a photo mutant makeover.

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Vancouver, Washington-based Papa Murphy’s is not Papa John’s. That’s one key point-of-difference to establish in the pizza-eater’s mind. The other thing to make clear is that Papa Murphy’s is take-n-bake pizza, which is why I like Wong Doody’s tagline for the brand, “Love at 425 degrees.”

Wong Doody has served as the Papa Murphy’s agency of record since October of 2012.

Now, according to The Oregonian, the chain of 1,418 mostly franchised stores plans to make an initial public offering and raise $70 mil.

Company executives believe the United States can accommodate up to 4,500 Papa Murphy’s outlets—more than three times the current number of locations.

The concept of “take-n-bake” pizza was invented by Papa Murphy’s in 1981. The leading chains offering take-n-bake pizza are Papa Murphy’s, Figaro’s, and Nick-N-Willy’s.

PizzaToday ranks Papa Murphy’s as the nation’s sixth largest pizza chain, behind Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Papa John’s, Little Caesars and California Pizza Kitchen.

The post Papa Murphy’s Take-N-Bake Pizza Raising Dough In IPO appeared first on AdPulp.

People are passionate about McDonald’s McRib sandwich.

The fact that the sandwich is not available at all McDonald’s locations nationwide simply feeds this hunger for the chain’s pork sandwich, which comes with pickles, onions and barbecue sauce and is shaped in an unusual patty, made to look as though there are bones inside.

According to Entrepreneur., one big fan of the sandwich, Alan Klein, turned his passion for McRib into an interesting side-project.

McRib Locator, a website and Android app that tracks where the sandwich is available has already charted around 1,500 sightings, with 300 confirmations this year (confirmed by users emailing Klein a photo of their receipt).

This is the kind of naturally occurring consumer advocacy and consumer generated media that CMOs dream about at night.

The post Artificial Scarcity Leads One McRib Fan To Help Others appeared first on AdPulp.