Hey, who says social networking is only for 20-somethings? Not Lamato Network which claims to be aimed at people 32-54. In a series of "real world" promotional videos, created by Tribal DDB Toronto, online social networking features such as poking, friending, networking, sharing photos, notifications, giving a hug and more. Sound stupid? It is but don't worry because it's not real. The whole thing is a promotion for Mott's Clamato Ceaser, some kind of Canadian cocktail made from tomato juice, clam juice and vodka. Sound gross? It probably is. But Canadians must like it.
Here's a fun little webisode thingy. It's for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and it features brand mascot Spraychel who has now thrown her hat into the ring and is running for President. Oh sure, it's all to sell a few more tubs of fake butter but, wait, you can win money! You can play games! You can take polls! You can get coupons! And, best of all, you can witness her crush her opponent, Maxwell Butterman.
Oh but wait, what would a campiagn be without a Facebook page? Oh but wait again. Where's her Second Life persona? Oops. Sorry. Forgot SL is so 2005.
Story Worldwide are the gurus behind this one.
ooVoo, a six-way video conferencing site that most of us used exactly ONCE -- and probably never again -- is converting to a paid model for PCs, according to an email from Deb Wiseman of Crayon.
Users that participated in My ooVoo Day in February get a month of free use. Mac owners, expect to cash in on that glorious month in a year -- which is when Mac joins the paid model.
Options on the ooVoo site now enable Windows users to "purchase ooVoo options." The charge could be per-use, per-person or time-based; Windows users, any insight?
Aaaanywho, Deb's email is below. And if you're in a nostalgic mood, check out the My ooVoo Day commemorative video.
UPDATE: Deb responded to this post with a detailed purchasing plan (see comments). It's a lot to swallow but at a glance it seems to make sense. One cannot live on sponsorships alone.
Three-person video chat will continue to be free, along with "unlimited one-minute video messages" -- the audiovisual version of Twitter.
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Today, not more than a few hours after word of George Carlin's death spread across the internet, this atrocity arrived in the Adrants inbox:
"Today, we learned of the passing of comedy great George Carlin, an unintentional champion of freedom of speech.
Over the years, the discussion of WHAT CAN BE SAID on TV has raised eyebrows, and court gavels. From "period" to "pregnant," how are companies talking to their audiences these days and how has it changed since years before.
An editor at [redacted] is available for commentary on this new media culture, including:
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Here's to hoping weepy bobby soxers, blood-splattered chicken and scowling Brits get your appetite going. This spoof trailer for pulp film Night Hunger is an (unofficial!) ad ploy for guess-which-fried-chicken-company. (Catch subliminal branding action around 1:25.)
The film was shot by director Ben Whitehouse of RSA Films, the parent company of Little Minx -- the wild and wonderful folks that hope to make film gods out of ad directors. Guffaw.
Need a brainless diversion? Visit Choose the Champion.
Think fast: two cars pitted against each other. Who wins? Your click makes a winner. Questioning your value? Track your progress. Feeling aggressive? Upload your own car shot. Need a friend? There's a message board, too.
The whole thing is one big fat promotion for Armor All, brought to you by the immortal folks at Clorox.
Coupons available here.
Splashcast just launched HotSpot, which enables advertisers to tag objects in published videos.
When users click on the highlighted items, they're exposed to an ad and a link to purchase.
Splashcast told us the highlighting process is subtle so video viewers don't get irritated, but from what I can tell it's about as subtle as Facebook's photo-tagging feature.
Contact Splashcast directly if this -- and the possible backlash -- is something you want to play around with.
- John McCain souped up his logo. Bystanders are skeptical. UPDATE: McCain did not change his logo. The new one comes from a third-party vendor. The Under Consideration blog apologizes for the confusion.
- For its 50th anniversary, The Marketing Society launched 50 Golden Brands, which will celebrate 50 "hero brands" for the past 50 years. Contenders include eBay, Virgin, Perrier and some weird thing called Fairy Liquid.
- George Parker taught me a new word: Adverati. He also handpicked the ugliest pictures out of Advertising Age's Cannes party post and put the subjects in a more engaging light. And by "engaging," I mean "fluorescent."
- Rocawear and Boost Mobile launched a mobile campaign. Amobee is serving the ads. The campaign is about overcoming adversity. It's also about scoring discounts and disseminating unique and motivating Jay-Z lines like "I will not lose."
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3/4ths of stock photo buyers surveyed by Photoshelter (399 out of 536 people, mostly art directors and creative directors) feel like they've seen everything stock photo companies have to offer. They also rated availability, quality and diversity of photos "poor to average."
See stats and charts.
In general, people seek images that are natural-looking, believable or candid. Sore spots include the "ethnic people (general lifestyle)," "seniors being active," and "current technology" categories.
Given the constraints (how do you make the contrived look real?), I admire the wherewithal of companies like Corbis or Getty. They sure do try to think of everything. That photo at left? It's called -- wait for it! -- "Bride Talking on Her Cell Phone."
Here's an idea, ad-heads: take your own damn pictures! Or get to know compfight. Intimately.
When it comes to moving and moving companies, big trucks and cardboard boxes are the sort of imagery that usually come to mind. Severed feet washed ashore on a Canadian island is probably the last bit of imagery to cross one's mind when cogitating that topic. That is, unless you're a moving company called PutYourFeetUp and your ad banner happens, courtesy of oh-so-smart contextual advertising, to appear above a news story about...severed feet washing ashore on a Canadian island.
Thanks to Tom Hespos, who found it on Fark, for sending it in.
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