While watching this :90 spot, part of a new brand campaign from Dow Chemical created by FCB Chicago, we are reminded of the unfortunate mindset that invades large companies which do so many things it becomes impossible even to remotely explain what the company actually does do. We saw this to a certain degree in the latest GE campaign and now we are witnessing it in this latest campaign from Dow Chemical. For an agonizing 89 seconds, we are subjected to meaningless fluffery and puffery, written as if the copywriter was in the midst of an epiphany with God, which somehow ties Dow to a missing chemical element, the Human Element. Then again, what else can you say about a company that does everything?
Just as it was at the Super Bowl and at every other ad-heavy event, the FIFA brand police are out at the World Cup protecting the brands that have paid for the privilege of sponsoring the event. The BBC reports 1,000 Dutch fand had to watch their team play Ivory Coast in their underwear because they were all wearing orange pants branded with a Dutch Brewer which had been provided by the viewer. It's the whole ambush marketing thing and everyone's doing it. But, those that tried should have followed Heineken's lead used in a recent viral that ended with fans expanding little green hats into Heineken-branded megaphones. The article goes on to explain how marketers have earned the right for exclusivity and how some feel they should be able to wear whatever they want. As it is every time this comes up, it's the same old thing. Nothing is resolved. Marketers continue to complain. Officials do their thing and people continue to wear whatever they want.
AdPulp points to the recently launched Brew Blog, "a daily look at beer industry news" from Miller Brewing Company. AdPulp notes the blog, because of it coverage of the entire industry rather than just Miller news, positions the company as a thought leader. Not that the average beer drinker actually cares about what Miller has to say about the beer industry but it reads a whole lot better than most PR-focused brand blogs.
If you can't afford to advertise, then bribing...uh...influencing others to do so is one alternative and its the one Wholesale Furniture Brokers recently took. The furniture retailer promises to give away $3,000 worth of furniture to the site, blog or forum that sends the site the most traffic. Wholesale Furniture Brokers will track inbound traffic to its site and the site that delivers the most visitors to its site between June 1 and August 31 will win the prize. So if you need furniture or you just wnat to see what these guys are all about, by all means, click here.
New Zealand vodka maker 42Below is hosting its own World Cup except this one involves bar tending instead of football. From September 10-17, the company's annual Cocktail World Cup will take place in the mountains of Queenstown New Zealand and involve bungee jumping, rafting at 80 MPH and sliding down snow covered mountains. It's yet another way the cheeky vodka maker has a bit of fun while, at the same time, gaining some publicity. For the event, 42Below seeks the 42 best bartenders from the UK, Ireland, USA, Central America, Asia, Europe, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. What...there's no good bartenders in Africa?
Adrants reader John Brock sent us this link to Oooooouch.com. Yes, that's six O's. It leads to a site on which eight beach babes laying on towels and wearing various bikinis are waiting for you to touch them. You soon realize touching them in a certain order creates a song. Yes. Fingering them with the mouse makes them squeal. Who knew? Anyway, it's for Sundown sunscreen and was created by DDB Brazil. Figures. Capital of the bootie. Our favorite "note" is the second from the right.
Pontiac, along with its Hispanic agency Accentmarketing, has launched a new brand campaign which attempts to position the car maker as sexy. The campaign, called "Diseñado Para Seducir," or "Designed for Seduction" and featuring music from Kinky, launched June 20 and will consist of two television spots airing on Spanish-language networks. In one ad, Grab, a woman can't keep her hands off the keys of the new Pontiac Solstice while fondling her man. In another, Traffic Stop, the driver of a G6 Convertible gets more attention than he expected from a hot police officer. We'd agree the attempt is a success.
Now that Britney has no real use for Kevin Federline, Virgin's Richard Branson has, apparently, taken pity and recruited Federline for a Virgin Mobile Penny Texting promotion which seeks to leverage legislation that will, apparently, eliminate the penny. Branson, Federline and American Common Cents Director Mathew Eggers will be the first to sign a "Save the Penny" petition in New York's Times Square Wednesday June 21 at 1:30 PM.
Virgin Mobile's Penny Texting plan offers 1,000 text messages for $9.99 per month, hence the need for pennies. Nothing like leveraging disparagement, U.S. legal idiosyncrasies and the lowly penny for a marketing promotion but we'd expect nothing less from Virgin.
Automobile rack make Yakima has launched Yakimagrams. Created by Stick and Move, the site lets visitors create singing telegrams and send them to their friends. There's canned Yakimagrams as well as options to create customized versions. We didn't spend too much time with it but it looks amusing enough considering there's really nothing all that exciting about roof racks.
Award-winning documentary filmmaker and commercial director Stacy Peralta of Nonfiction Spots and DDB Chicago created a new commercial for Budweiser which honors three generations of the Earnhardt family's NASCAR success. The spot debuted on Father's Day, during the broadcast of the 3M Performance 400 from Michigan International Speedway Using stock footage gathered from The Earnhardt family, Anheuser Busch, The Associated Press, Getty Images, NASCAR and Sports Illustrated, and working side-by-side with his colleague, editor Paul Crowder -- who edited Stacy's documentary features "Dogtown and Z-Boys" and "Ridings Giants" -- the spot collects 50 years of the Earnhardt family's racing legacy and, of course, aligns it with Budweiser's support for auto racing.
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