Mazda And Conde Nast - Yet Another Do-It-Yourself Ad Campaign

Mazda and Conde Nast have partnered to create an on and offline contest whereby contestants can submit photos representative if their "interpretation" of Mazda's "Zoom-Zoom" slogan. Granted, we gleefully enjoy making fun of brands who turn to consumers to do their advertising (OK, so Mazda isn't exactly looking for a campaign) but we think these efforts, similar to Mercedes asking owners to send in photos of their cars, are worthy of drawing the consumer closer to the brand. After all, this contest's specific focus is to ask consumers how they'd visually represent the brand with an image.

To promote the contest, a 12 page insert will appear in Conde Nast titles such as Wired, GQ, Details and others pointing readers to a microsite where photos can be submitted. "The Conde Nast Media Group is thrilled to be working with Mazda for the first time on an integrated marketing program of this size and scope," gushed Conde Nast Media Group President Richard Beckman. "This is a great example of our ability to create innovative programs that connect consumers with a company's brand philosophy."

What he really wanted to say was, "Conde Nast is thrilled to milk Mazda for all it's got. We sold them this 12 page insert when, really, the job could have been done with one page but, you know, we needed the revenue."