Of Ford's new Drive One commercials, The Ford Story blog tells us "The comments are as real as the people who made them. They are not scripted. In fact, these people didn't know that it was Ford filming them, or that they would be used in commercials. That's the only way to get genuine opinions, and that's how these were produced."
The campaign, in which Ford owners tell the camera what they like so much about their vehicles, breaks October 12. You can view eight of the commercials here.
Ford does seem to be fairing much better than GM. Will these spots help?
We're already over a week late on this but...Starbucks recently launched its new VIA product yesterday. For those of you living in a coffee vacuum VIA is Starbucks' answer to the one shot coffee pod trend in home brewing. The brand is touting the offering as being so good "you won't be able to tell the difference between Starbucks VIA and our brewed coffee."
Um what? Isn't this completely counter to the brand Starbucks? Hello? Starbucks? We visit your stores for the highest quality brewed coffee. We happily pay a little extra for your unique ability to make that great cup of coffee a cup we CAN'T get elsewhere. Your outstanding personal service (most of the time). And sometimes the ambiance. We WANT to taste the difference.
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Ford evangelist Scott Monty's sent us some stats on the progress of Ford's Fiesta Movement, whereby 100 social "agents" drive around the country in Euro-spec Fiestas and complete appealing monthly missions related to volunteerism, adventure, style and design.
The results of the missions are broadcast on YouTube, flickr, Facebook and Twitter.
According to Monty et al., brand awareness for the Fiesta has risen to the equivalent of models that have been on the market for two to three years.
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For client UPS, agency Doner and production firm Psyop imagine a helpless protagonist braving the challenges of a cardboard world to meet a deadline. The ability to print remotely liberates him in the end.
The imagery is inspired but the ad suffers from mediocrity of narrative and a weak message. Next!
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Australia's Kettle Chips tries its hand at self-aware gratuitous advertising -- the trick's that's fast become a must-do for any brand that wants to demonstrate it's down with savvy ad-saturated users.
The piece is, blatantly enough, labeled "Commerce Blatantly Parading as Entertainment" by Ads of the World. It features a rich douchey guy reading a storybook to a harem of hot girls at a party. They show off their ironic smarts, and he reminds us more than once what the score is.
"Tonight we are reading the tale of the hare and tortoise, and we'll attempt to relate it to Kettle Chips, who are paying for this ad..."
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Brazilian retailer Lilica Ripilica, which is like a more palatable Limited Too, is embarking on an effort under a new tagline: "Enchantment." Its first piece, "Espelhos" ("Mirrors"), depicts a little girl who slips into a pastel fantasy world where petals turn into butterflies and you get dressed in ribbons.
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Black Eyed Peas partnered with Oprah to celebrate the 24th season of her show, which sought to drum up viewership with big kick-off fetes on Michigan Ave.
The pop band sang I Gotta Feeling onstage while a humongous crowd performed a flashmob dance routine on the floor.
We watched with polite interest, having been forced to watch many a flashmob over the past coupla months (especially since the death of MJ), and were left with three as-yet-unanswered questions.
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For Nike, Manchester U soccer player Patrice Evra unzips his AW 77 hoodie and bares a vintage-style tee that reads EVRA THE GAME.
This marks the opening for a pixellated retro-gamer race to the finish, with Evra as Player 1 and each match a daunting new level. You've got the occasional zombies and giant men, but ultimately Evra defeats all and surpasses even the France level, at which point you're met with the campaign heading: THE GAME IS NEVER OVER.
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In case anyone wondered if Yahoo was still in existence, the company is out with its new campaign, announced last week. Along with online, radio, print, and outdoor, a new commercial, called Anthem debuts today.
According to the commercial, Yahoo will help you consume, share, buzz, destroy, earn, flirt, watch. And you know what? It's all about you. Yes, you.
The spot begins airing online in the U.S. today and on all the major TV networks and top cable channels, including AMC, ESPN, USA, Comedy Central and Bravo. It will air in the UK and India beginning October 5 and in other markets in 2010 including Brazil, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, and Taiwan.
Alongside the Black Eyed Peas Peapod Foundation, the Adobe Foundation kicks off "Plant and Inspire" -- a campaign that encourages digital literacy among youth.
The site, linked above, solicits your inspiration and invites you to share creations across socnets. You can also build a snazzy digital flower out of media, sounds and other stuff. Here's a PSA in which will.i.am from Black Eyed Peas sows one out of mean urban earth.
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