Usually when a brand creates a virally-intentioned video, press commentary comes after its release. In a strange twist of events, the revers happened last week. The Onion wrote a lengthly article about a "cool new Tide detergent video" which went on and on ans on about, well, how cool the video was. Trouble is, the video didin't exist yet.
But that didn't deter Digitas from whipping up the video in a couple of days and posting it everywhere The Onion said it would be posted. As described in The Onion piece, "it's [the video] got these cute, funny talking animals, a cool indie-rock song, and it's just so hilariously random. And it's got this amazing cameo by Bret Michaels, which is so funny because Bret Michaels is hilarious and from the '80s."
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CMP.LY, a company that enables brands to adhere to disclosure in social and digital media, today announced $2.4 million is Series A funding led by Innovation Ventures L.P. headquartered in DE and PA-based Originate Ventures. David J. Freschman, Managing Principal of Innovation Ventures and Eric Arnson, Managing Partner of Originate Ventures, join CMP.LY's board of directors.
Series A participants also include angel investors Jay Baer and Steve Garfield. They join seed investors Safir Capital, Angel Street Capital and others.
Of his company's offering, CMP.LY CEO Tom Chernaik said, "Leading brands understand that they must better measure program performance and manage risk as they roll out increasingly larger social initiatives. Among the companies that have turned to CMP.LY to address trust, transparency and regulatory compliance are well-known brand Jamba Juice, digital marketing agency 360i, social marketing agency Big Fuel, public relations agency Coyne PR and word-of-mouth and social media marketing agency Zocalo Group."
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In a heartfelt three and a half minute video Buddy Media CEO Michael Lazerow, without saying a word, shares his feelings on life, fear, drive, his life-long heart condition, his motivations and, yes, the $689 million he just made selling Buddy Media to Salesforce.com. It's a very moving video that sheds some light on the man behind one of the biggest social media brands ever to have existed.
Lazerow, at times wiping away a tear but mostly smiling throughout, shares with us his heart condition which first affected him when he was 18 months old. He suffered heart failure and again when he was 19. The second time his heart valve stopped working, his blood pressure fell to zero and he was given three hours to live. Thankfully an emergency valve replacement saved his life.
It's an unflinching look at the man behind Buddy Media and three other companies he founded prior.
As king of one of the biggest social media companies on the planet, it is ever so appropriate Lazerow turn to social media itself to share his innermost thoughts at this penultimate moment in his life.
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So earlier last month we shared with you a behind-the-scenes look at Desperate Housewives Star Eva Longoria shooting a new commercial for Sheba. Here's the finished product. Personally, we like the behind-the-scenes footage better than the finished product. At least there was some actual Longoria featured. All we see in the final cut are faceless shots (until the end) of Longoria dancing around her house. For all we know it could be a stunt double.
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The power of Pine-Sol, baby! The prank-tastic power of Pine-Sol! Filmed by Conscious Minds at a test house in Pasadena, CA in April, Pine-Sol invited 50 men to a product test. They were told Pine-Sol was documenting how men between the ages of 25-35 use their product to clean messes. That's were the test ended and the fun began. Diane Amos, the Pine-Sol lady herself, was hidden in a cabinet, beside a window, and behind a door. As the men cleaned, out she would jump with hilarious results. Good stuff. Way more soul than Mr. Clean!
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This guest article is written by Janna Dons, Social Community Manager at Socialogic.
During the 2008 U.S. presidential race, social media entered the political landscape like never before. Each candidate tapped into the online chatter to reach tech-savvy voters. Barack Obama's campaign showed deft skill on sites like Facebook and Twitter, wrangling virtual followers and friends across the nation and engaging the youth vote in new ways. In his 2008 bid for candidacy, Mitt Romney became the first potential Republican nominee with a Facebook page.
Four years later, we've seen a significant up-tic in the political utilization of new social networks. The 2012 election campaigns are broadening their social media reach with almost every available platform. While both Obama and Romney have left their MySpace accounts dormant for some time (like many, if not most of today's social networkers), the two campaigns have been logging in and interacting with a slew of other outlets. Let's take a look at how Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are engaging right now:
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Yup. It was only a matter of time. In response to the soda debate and that hilarious Mayor Bloomberg ad, soda company Zevia has launched a transit campaign in Manhattan that agree with the City's recent campaign highlighting the need to make smarter soda choices.
Zevia's ads, designed by Studio Number One, agree with the city's campaign and state people need to "stop pouring on the pounds." Additionally, the campaign calls for the elimination of artificial sweeteners. The ads read:
- "We believe in smarter soda choices, not just more soda choices"
- "We believe the City is right"
- "We believe we can stop pouring on the pounds"
- "We believe soda should be free of artificial sweeteners"
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Ahahahaha! Good one. You just never know what's going to jump out of your candy bar in the middle of a library. The girl in this ad finds out when she opens a a Corny bar, a snack bar from the Netherlands. Created by Fitzroy in Amsterdam, the ad features a remake of the 90's tune Me So Horny.
Wacky stuff. But wonderful!
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The Center for Consumer Freedom, a group formed in 1995 with finacial backing from Philip Morris to lobby against smoking bans and food and beverage restrictions, placed an ad featuring New York Mayor Bloomberg dressed lik a Nanny lording over the city's skyline.
The ad, which carries the tagline, "New Yorkers need a Mayor, not a Nanny," opposes a ban proposed by Bloomberg which would make it illegal to serve sugary drinks larger than 16 oz. in size. The proposed ban is inline with Bloomberg's recent efforts to, it seems, make New Yorkers healthier.
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This guest article is written by e-Miles President Mark Drusch.
For companies operating in an environment where trends last for weeks and mobile applications come and go, it's increasingly difficult to learn what customers on the ground are thinking about products. One method to capture this sentiment is through a review of customer engagement.
A crucial step in effectively using consumer engagement is to first utilize the right advertising channel. Older models of advertising that contend you need to spend 100 percent of a budget and only 50 percent of it will be effective should no longer be acceptable. Advertisers need to demand better of their channels and agencies to deliver higher ROIs. It's a very reasonable request given the technology tools available today and the ability to quickly obtain real insights back from the consumer.
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