If you're going to run a UGC campaign, you're inevitably going to get some entries that just aren't after your best interest.
We thought this entry for Heinz was awesome, mainly because it poked fun at the whole UGC idea, and also because it reminded us of when we were kids and thought everything had "that secret ingredient" (or a "secret ingredient" pesticide) in it - from Cheetos to Mountain Dew.
KetchupFriends, which created the entry, actually put together a whole series of equally subversive oeuvres for Heinz. This one's creepy as hell but you get the idea.
We're wondering if the "friends" behind the ketchup are actually enlisted by the brand in some way. If so, that's a risky positioning move that maybe wants rewarding.
We'll keep mum about your dark side, Heinz. Don't worry.
Remember that Slingbox concept from so-long-ago-that-it's-not-even-worth-the-recall? Apparently it's still around, and in an effort to rekindle public interest in the whole control-your-TV concept, they've given us a stiff, somewhat unwilling human version of subservient chicken.
The options for what he can do are limited and, because he seems so unhappy about life, continuing to force him to Macarena and Frug stems from a quality of sadism and not actual voyeuristic interest.
We were stalking the streets of NYC one night when we saw this compromised poster that said "Windorphins are like a ticker tape parade for your soul." A ticker tape parade is too exciting to turn down so we dashed drunkenly home and plugged windorphins.com into our browser.
After 10 or 11 tries we arrived at the site and discovered that Windorphins are a "natural byproduct of eBay" and are the hormonal result of a victory. The site features studies, celebrity comparisons ("Who's got more Windorphins?"), an opportunity to make your own "Windorphs" (like Weemees, except in your bloodstream!) -- and of course a place to conduct searches on eBay.
The campaign wasn't super-imaginative but we're fairly sure it's more successful than a lot of online efforts out there, mainly because eBay advertises outdoor. Which brings up a good point: just because you're running an online campaign doesn't mean you should only advertise over the internet.
While it's pretty obvious what a typical guy's hang room looks like, it's not so obvious what the hang room of those Alltel geeks would look like. ManCave helps us see into the world of geekdom. And yes, even geeks have bikinied babes skulking about their basements.
While some may wonder why a woman can never have enough shoes to cover every aspect of her footwear needs, this Fly Communications-created commercial for Amazon's Endless Shoes helps answer the question while telling us where all those shoes can be had.
New Balance, which hopes for a brand revival with help from its parent company Payless (we don't see it happening), tapped Almighty, Boston to help them push their brand-spankin'-new NB Zip shoe technology.
We're not really sure what the NB Zips do and aren't really digging the idea of foraging through the requisite (and probably pointless) web destination, which has sprung up, all Flashed-up and interactive-like, to explain the mystery.
The ad, in which a potentially addled boy brings roadkill back to life by shocking it into consciousness with his shoes, has us hoping New Balance will come out with a Taser footwear variant of this promising technology.
Chances are, though, that "NB Zips" are really just a revival of those horrifying LA Gears that did so badly when we were kids.
H&M, the low-cost clothing brand for those who still want to feel high-end, isn't picky when it comes to selecting a figure to sport its duds.
Toronto has become the apparently unhappy host to a set of buses entirely H&M'ed-out, featuring transparently peppy messages like "Everyone on board is going to our new store!"
(We seriously doubt that, H&M. Seriously.)
Just as the Obama Girl professed her love for Barak Obama and the Giuliani Girls defended Rudy against Obama Girl's posses in a street fight, the Romney Girls, other wise known as the the very beautiful Barbadoro Triplets (Cynthia, Caroline and Christine), are out with a Barely Political-created Obama Girl attack ad on behalf of Mitt Romney that ends with a not so subtle jab at polygamy, which, of course, is totally in style now with the success of HBO's Big Love.
A song by the Barbadoro Girls - who are from New Jersey and do actually write and sing - will follow in a month or two along with a video. Bostonians, watch your sidewalks for the next Obama Girl Throw down.
Chris Thomas has the story of multi-level marketer BeautiControl, a music video the company created, apparently, to motivate its consultants and the backlash caused by what Thomas describes as "horrible marketing." The video, much like that "apply directly to the forehead" commercial, features six stiletto-wearing, wannabe bootylicious primpsters dancing, posing and rapping "cars, money, friendship, bling and travel" over and over. In reaction to consultants' complaints, the company removed the video from its YouTube channel but Thomas was kind enough to capture it for us so we can all wallow in its horrific beauty.
Say hello to Diet Coke Plus, an - in our opinion, misguided - attempt to keep snacky drinks relevant in the American health craze. In less than a year, we'll bet you $5 this vitamin- and mineral-enhanced beverage is off the shelves and lost in the shuffle of other badly-planned notions, like Vanilla Coke.
Here's a crazy idea: salad at some point in the day, and lots of water - not that flavored stuff hopped-up on still more vitamins.
Did we mention we hate the cyan-crazed '90s vibe of the Coke Plus packaging? Way to be dated, guys.
|
|
