We in the editorial department of Adrants are saddened to note our advertising department has, against our better judgment, decided to accept an ad promoting the much-maligned Pherotones campaign from McKinney-Silver. While we understand advertising supports this site and, generally, makes the world go 'round, our pompous rantings at the doorway of our sales director were brushed off with a quick "go pointlessly bitch about another lame viral campaign. They pay for your ass, you idiot!" Our ego bruised, it is with our utmost apologies, dear readers, that we subject you to the hypocrisy Adrants has thrust upon you.
Commenting on the initial requirement that the Super Bowl Rolling Stones half-time show crowd would have to be under 45, well under the age of ever Rolling Stone member, and the subsequent lifting of that requirement, BL Ochman hopes the Rolling Stone give the NFL its "19th nervous breakdown," and bring on some bad ass rock and roll. We, with our "screw political correctness" attitude and desire to see some network execs bust a blood vessel, tend to agree. It's not known what the Stones plan to perform during half-time but here's hoping the lameness of past pseudo-pop, hip-hop, over-produced, poorly lip synched shows are put to shame. Ochman hopes Jagger rides out on "a huge inflatable penis while singing 'Sympathy for the Devil' or singing the anti-Bush 'Sweet Neo Con' off the latest album."
While we assume SolidWorks meant the learning curve for its 3D CAD software is a quick up and down, visually, this ad implies the curve is, as an astute Adrants reader noted, a brick wall.
As you may recall, early last year a couple reported finding a finger in a cup of Wendy's chili and then went all ballistic on Wendy's with legal threats and insurance claims only to be called out for planting the finger themselves after paying $100 to a construction worker who lost it in an industrial accident. Well, payback's a bitch and the couple has been slammed with years of jail time. Anna Ayala, 39, was sentenced to nine years and her husband Jaime Placencia, 43, will serve 12 years, four months. While a finger may have been lost, it was the couple's moral compass that was lost according to Superior Court Judge Edward Davila who said, "Greed and avarice overtook this couple."
In a sad indication of how off-base and over complicated advertising can be at times, we find this image of a drawing labeled, "A first rough drawing to explain a TV script that wasn't crystal clear." OK, OK. So some people need extra visual representation of an idea to completely understand it but if we were that forgiving all the time, we'd have nothing to write about here now would we? Obviously, it's a slow news day here.
Making an effective use of the podcast medium, Maybelline in France has, as pointed out by Adverblog, launched a series of beauty tip podcasts in both audio and video format for those who simply can't be satisfied with the already overflowing supply of beauty advice available in every other conceivable form of media
MPH thinks Toyota's plans to run a "hybrid" English/Spanish commercial for its Camry Hybrid during the Super Bowl is less than smart writing, "They better have one heck of a commercial because the concept sounds like a dud. Just sell cars, don't try to preach. Especially during the Super Bowl." Well, as we all know, the binoculars will be on hand to scrutinize every marketers' offering during the game so we'll all know soon enough if Toyota's hybrid/hybrid wittiness bombs or soars.
In yet another clandestine viral effort, it appears North Carolina agency McKinney has cooked up a viral marketing campaign promoting Pherotones, ring tones that, apparently, cause sexual attraction. While the site is obviously a joke, a little snooping around reveals it's a marketing ploy. From a fake Wikipedia listing that's been labeled suspect to fake interviews with Boing Boing to suspicious Whois info to all sort of IP address foolery, clearly, McKinney is up to no good.
We're sure all the McKinney folks are huddled around their computers today laughing at all of us writing about their cute little effort, waiting patiently for the right moment to reveal the client behind this ploy. While you're all reading this you sneaky little McKinney truth-benders, remember, people don't like liars. The law doesn't like doctors who aren't doctors claiming they are doctors and, ever so coincidentally, BuzzAgent, the former master of deception, just released a study that says people hate stealth marketing, are offended when lied to and, get this, a brand fares far better when all is honestly presented upfront than when it's not. Do your homework guys. The days of trickster marketing are over.
OK, OK. So it is a little funny after it sinks in. Still blatantly dishonest.
UPDATE: I knew I had seen that doctor image somewhere before. Smartly, McKinney has placed a BlogAds campaign increasing the likelihood bloggers will go easy on the campaign. They forgot to buy Adrants though:-)
Northeastern University Department of Communication Assistant Professor Walter Carl and BzzAgent have released a study entitled To Tell or Not to Tell which explored how disclosure and transparency, two hot buttons in the word of mouth segment, effected campaigns. Initially, it was thought disclosing one's involvement in a word of mouth campaign would have negative effects. Carl's study proves that notion wrong and finds disclosure actually can increase the effectiveness of a word of mouth campaign.
The study found 75 percent of those targeted by a word of mouth participant were not bothered by speaking with someone affiliated with a campaign and that honesty and respect for the person's best interests was very important. Of note, the study found honest disclosure actually increased pass-along or the number of people the person told once they had spoken with a word of mouth marketing agent. Word of mouth was also found to increase the believability of other sources of brand claims made in other media when a person heard similar information from a word of mouth marketing agent. The study did reveal, five percent of participants were negatively affected if they were not told they were being marketed to.
We can hear the yelps of glee all the way up here in the Northeast as this study is presented today to attendees at the Word of Mouth Marketing Association conference in Orlando.
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