We're not sure the mid-90's style baggy, pleated pants the guy is wearing in this video are as intentionally spoofy as the rest of the site but that's besides the point. We're not talking about fashion here. We're talking about an agency that thinks viral marketing is fleeting and unproductive and has pioneered something much better: Disease Marketing. Yes. "Why settle for a harmless virus when you can get a full blown disease," says the trouser-wearing agency dude.
Minneapolis-based Kruskopf Coontz, calling itself "the face of disease," promises its disease marketing can lift brands to the level of emphysema: incurable and impossible to ignore. And that's not all. After introducing its "The New Viral" approach, Kruskopf whisks us away to its brand new website with an intro that brings together the finest, most complete collection of agency bullshit including B.S. Central (scroll all the way to the right), a video section of their site that gleefully tears apart the industry's obsession with awards, pointless philosophies, 25/8 dedication, its people, pontificating press releases, street cred, hipsterificness, base touching and the idiotic, self-important use of cell phones.
more »
- Blip.tv has made this possible through a platform called "cross-post advertising" which allows ads to travel with videos wherever they are viewed: on blip.tv, a show's Web site or blog, iTunes and elsewhere throughout the Internet.
- Through March 23, YouTube is accepting entries for its consumer-generated awards contest. Winners will be announced March 26.
- Following its Crash the Super Bowl Contest, Doritos is inviting people to select the name of its product.
- Nielsen has reported ad spend rose 4.6 percent in 2006 to $139.07 billion. Internet led with a 35 percent gain.
- Cagle thinks the recent LA Times redesign is "font salad" with 22 different typefaces on the front page alone.
- Google has added Checkout buttons to its AdWords ads.
James Cash Penney. Isn't that an awesome founder name? It pulls 10 times the weight of humdrum John Rockefeller. There's miles of branding potential behind a name like that.
Unfortunately JC Penney's isn't known for taking advantage. As kids we considered Penney's a tier above Sears - if you're desperate or you wait too long you might find a good prom dress there, but you'll probably lie and say you got it on sale at Macy's.
To offset this sad effect, Saatchi and Saatchi CEO Kevin Roberts enlists the lame duck brand for a Lovemarks repositioning. Watch the initial couple of ads and read the Garfield review at Advertising Age.
more »
While perhaps extremely pessimistic to think this way, these Court TV commercials (one, two) for the net's John Waters-hosted 'til Death Do Us Part scripted series about spouses plot the death of their life partners will resonate with anyone who's been married for more than three years. They make their point perfectly.
It's not enough to reach purchasing audiences anymore; we also need to keep one eye open for bloggers and online opinion-makers who increasingly make or break the success of a campaign. Still, few marketers will admit it's the bloggers they're targeting, much less shoot directly for them.
An Adrants reader points us to this fresh DuPont campaign called DuPont stories. Created by the interactive media futurists at Denuo, the videos are set up like a science class to illustrate the relevance of DuPont in everyday life. They're narrated by former Rocketboomer Amanda Congdon - looking hotter than ever - garbed in a lab coat who, oddly enough, isn't removing it, tossing her hair or making come-hither Freudian slips as the tale progresses. (After all, it is Amanda Congdon.)
We don't know if that's good or bad but we like that the series doesn't try leveraging the camp or slapstick humour characteristic of the standard viral. We feel like we learned something (watch Glass Houses, it's awesome). We feel enriched but somehow still not bored. By gad, could it be that viral trollers aren't monkeys after all?
For reasons that defy our understanding, there's always an enthusiastic response to esoteric Eurotrash-style campaigns. The trend leaves a bad taste in our mouths; it's like paying too much to walk into a club that makes gratuitous use of pink and black with a waxy clientele that just wants to get off on the idea of rubbing shoulders with waxy clientele. We actually did that the other night which is probably why we're experiencing such a violent knee-jerk reaction to this new Nokia thing.
more »
This commercial isn't in English but that hardly matters. The message is clear. Most women can't find anything to wear in the morning but those that do get all the attention from their office mates. While we're not sure not finding something to wear in the morning is actually a bad thing, we like the direction in which this commercial went with the notion.
Toilet humour isn't just the cheapest form of joke; it's probably also the most relatable. Scott Clog Clinic, an ongoing Scott campaign meant to educate people about best toilet practices and share fun facts, just awarded a 23-year-old Pennsylvanian $25,000 for sharing his "cloggiest moment."
In brief, said 23-year-old takes his father's advice late one night and uses his uncle's ski pole to get rid of a clog that won't be moved by a plunger.
Why give the guy money? What they should have given him was film equipment. There's nothing like watching a stressful situation like that play out on Youtube. It has all the right components: an anxious 20-something, a gigantic piece of shit and ski equipment. How did anyone avoid filming this?
Make the Logo Bigger doesn't like this goofy new Dairy Queen spot in which three people enjoy the chain's Flamethrower sandwich countering all the YouTube LMAO/LOL love it's getting by wondering if there's an acronym for "annoying out loud." Oh wait, there is. It's AOL but that's an entirely different story altogether. Anyway, we love Bill from Make the Logo Bigger but we have to disagree with him on this one. Sure, the spot is horribly over the top but it's also absolutely fuckin' hilarious! And, it's so unlike everything else out there, it jumps right off the screen and screams, "Notice Me! I'm A Commercial!" We noticed. We like.
Being blatantly stereotypical for a moment, we know cars seem to command a certain level of love from guys and it's not usually the women who become so enamored by them they do crazy things like flash a car with their lingerie-clad bodies. However, the Porsche in this commercial is the lucky one from the look of its rear spoiler. But, wait. There may be some anatomical incorrectness here or, at least some lesbian love considering most cars are referred to as "she" making this car's "reaction" a bit odd to say the least. But in this day and age of fluid sexual orientation, who's to judge?
- George Parker says close-minded American marketers who buy into the ill-named American sport playoffs which assume America is the world should check out Cricket World Cup which, like football (the kind known to the rest of the world and not Americans), offers a chance to connect with fans the world over.
- New York's Z100 goes all consumer-generated with a new promotion that asks listeners to submit billboard and TV ideas which, if they win, will be shown in Times Square and aired on TV.
- New U.S. Post Office stamps get promoted with RD D2 mail box wraps.
more »
Described as a site for "cultural creatives" who "share common attitudes and value life-long learning, self-actualization, authenticity, idealism, activism, a global perspective, ecology, the importance of women, altruism and spirituality," the just-launched Personal Life Media promises to give people a place to find content about relationships, dating, marriage, intimacy, life purpose, wealth creation, healthy aging and longevity among others.
Created by well-connected ad:tech Chair Emeritus Susan Bratton and Rhapsody creator Tim Bratton, the site will offer fifteen weekly audio shows which can be heard online, subscribed to via RSS or accessed through iTunes. The focus will cover personal as well as business issues. Citing the fact most podcast content today is "either tech-oriented, comedy, sports or other content focused on 18-34 year olds, re-purposed mainstream media content or poorly produced amateur junk," Personal Life Media CEO Bratton says she hopes to fill a void with personal-focused information on green living, money, motivation and a healthy collection of information to improve one's sex life.
Also a part of the site are topical blogs written by the show hosts as well as other contributors. Personal Life media will support itself with ad revenue and offer a revenue share model to its hosts and bloggers which it plans to expand by soliciting topical ideas from anyone who has a great one.
|
|
