AdFreak educates us on an eyebrow-raising repositioning campaign for West Virginia. Their last tourism stint, the "desperate housewives" upper middle class ennui card, apparently yielded mediocre results because they've thrown their heirloom-encrusted hands in the air with the new "Whatever you do, don't come to West Virginia!" campaign. (And we're not quipping. That's actually the tagline.)
"There's value in the copy," says travel/marketing director Liz Chewning of WV's tourism division. "You choose the words carefully and try to surprise your reader, hooking them by saying the unexpected."
more »
If you've ever harbored a politician payola fantasy or simply wanted your vote to count, Hillary Clinton gives you the Count Every Vote Act, her (hopefully) viral attempt to turn every American into a foot-stomping, vote-seizing "citizen co-sponsor" - not for her campaign but for the right to vote itself. (And don't forget to send to a friend.)
Well, it doesn't take a marketing douche to say it's always nice to have the addresses of several thousand online supporters on file and at the ready for a slew of e-mail blasts pre-2008. ZDNet notes, "The Clinton 'I need you to be my legislative co-sponsor' exhortation recalls the Web 2.0 cliche 'users are in control.'"
more »
In an effort to define its Hooters Casino Hotel as a destination for women and not just cleavage-ogling men, the Vegas casino has launched a new Advanced Results Marketing-created television campaign to convince women Hooters is female-friendly. Something's just not right about this. A couple on vacation in a hotel that is served by big breasted women in tight clothing is just a recipe for disaster. The guy half of the couple will suffer the wrath of his other half for his uncontrollable glimpses of the bouncing flesh passing by. The female half of the couple will suffer all manner of emotional inadequacy comparing herself to the unattainable perfectness of Hooters waitresses. The couple will leave after a big argument and never come back.
It might be wiser to just leave well enough alone. We can't imagine there being anything more annoying for a woman than to endure a couple days watching her man's tongue fall out of his mouth over and over again when his full attention should be on her. Oh, we over analyze. We're sure it'll be fun for all. But, ladies, youo might want to keep your man on a short leash.
While we're quite sure this is tongue in cheek and an homage advertising pre-feminist glory days, we're still not quite sure what flooring materials have to do with an attractive woman. Created by Shine Advertising, the campaign supposedly "hinges on day-in-the-life moments, in which the oft-ignored flooring actually becomes the focal point of an event." It's all designed to appeal to the Mcmansion crowd who want to feel as if they're a part of an economic class of which they will never be a part. Oh yea, that's aspirational advertising. Basically the point of every ad campaign created. But what's up with the fawning females and that ridiculous copy?
Having disingenuously defecated on the campaign, this might work better as a trade campaign. After perusing through Floor Covering Installer Magazine with its ceaseless parade of dull product shot advertising, this campaign would certainly catch a glimpse from the almost entirely male demo that makes up that industry. See two other versions of the ad here and here.
Here's one of those ads that makes you want to check your arms for track marks to make sure you aren't high on something. In this entrancing Innocent smoothie commercial, an orange introspectively ponders life after death as he prepares to become part of the product. You can see more of the refreshingly odd campaign here.
The campaign is not endorsed by Innocent but an effort by Swedish agency Peacock Advertising to pitch the account.
To fully leverage its sponsorship for the PGA tourney in Orlando, MasterCard launches Priceless, an interactive site that positions itself as a telecenter support group for the one-iron-obsessed. Magical voice response technology even syncs what consumers hear on the phone to what they see on their screens.
Based on a set of quiz questions, golf lovers can log into the site and find out how golf-obsessed they are. A major incentive to answering these questions is that afterward you get the option of registering for text messages from LPGA golfer Laura Diaz or cheats from Spaulding Smalls.
We're going to take a shot in the dark and suggest if you actually explore the site for more than a couple of minutes you are probably pretty obsessed as things stand. Like golf itself, unless you actively decide to get involved in it the site ain't terribly interesting.
Dare we say watching a woman stripping in a YouTube video is becoming a bore? It may be but since the readers of Adrants voted Anna, the woman who reads from the new book, Punk Marketing, while taking her clothes off to be hotter than Cleo, the other woman who did the same thing for the book, we thought it would be a disservice not to give you more of what you want. So, here she is for a second time; Anna stripping while reading Punk Marketing.
In conjunction with design/animation/production team Shilo, ATTIK creates a series of weird virals to promote the Scion xB. We think the Scion xB is ugly as hell, but apparently so does the marketing team and they're using its quirky boxiness as leverage.
We haven't got all the virals, but one called Round to Square involves a standard stick figure hacking away at its face until it achieves a satisfying square appearance that brought back traumatic memories of Mooninites. The video then leads us to Want 2 B Square, an odd interactive wasteland with vestiges of death (like the guillotine at left) all over the place. The site also houses games, which we actually kind of enjoy.
We like the look and feel of the campaign but we're still as likely to start hacking away at our own faces as we are to purchase a Scion.
It's been a while and, unfortunately, it's a bit too late but here's some Leo Burnett-created spots for Chocolate Dipped Altoids we actually like. As the agency bids adieu to the client which is heading to the sunny San Francisco offices of Hal Riney, Leo Burnett can be pleased it created some decent work while in lame duck status. These four spots, produced by Biscuit, create four scenarios in which the intrigue displayed by the onlookers isn't due to what would normally cause intrigue. Each spot has a nice twist and holds attention long enough for the payoff. Don't worry, Leo Burnett. Be happy. Maybe Hall Riney will screw it up and the chocolate dipped weirdos will come running back to you. See all the ads here.
In an attempt to stay relevant post-Jared, Subway unveils Fresh Buzz, which houses a bunch of marginal stars that could use a sex tape career boost, and something called the fit evolution.
A diagram suggests that after discovering french fries and cheeseburgers man got progressively fatter and fatter until discovering Subway Fresh Fit.
We're doubting the veracity of that claim because a recent rerun of South Park not-so-quietly divulges that Jared didn't just get skinny with sandwiches, he got skinny with aides. Fitness aides, that is. Does the fit evolution come with aides? No? Then sorry, Subway. Until the day you can give us the aides we need to get fit like Jared alongside your sandwiches, you're just another chain telling sweet lies.
|
