9.26.2008

A sidenote on an old trend

Do you remember how in the early- to mid-90's it was cool to only open your pop tab (or soda, Coke, whatever you call it), so that you had to suck the drink out? Why was that cool???

I understand that fashion trends usually have absolutely no rhyme or reason, but many other kinds of trends find a following because they move us forward in some way--abbreviated words to hasten conversation or texts, aluminum water bottles to reduce waste, coffee shops to provide a third space, a community.

So why the pop tabs? I suppose it may have been the work of parents looking to minimize spilling...which makes sense considering the age my friends and I were in the early 90's, but that can't be it. It had a certain allure to it. There was something confident about it, despite the fact that you had to pucker your lips funny and make weird noises when drinking. Any insight??

(Photo credit: Flickr- timsamoff) <--props for opening the tab all the way

9.25.2008

Progresso Light Soups


I just saw a commercial just now for Progresso Light, creating by Saatchi & Saatchi NY. The 15-second spot features a (presumably) married couple--the man is sitting eating soup, and the woman lightly teases him for "eating light." He comes back saying that it's not light because it's meaty, big chunks of vegetable, etc. She grabs the can and reads "Only 70 calories and endorsed by Weight Watchers? I call that light, big guy." He attempts to protect his manhood with a "Like a big guy light" as she walks by him, humoring him and doting a bit like a mother would a son.

OK, so my question is: where in this does Progresso Light protect itself for the long-term during its subtle teasing of eating light? Wouldn't it be more beneficial for the man to come around to a new way of thinking about light? Or pave the way for men to hop on the "health trend" that is likely keeping this product alive while still preserving their role as strong males? I think there are a number of guys out there who would be much more apt to work out (and I mean cardio, not lifting), eat healthier, or even get pedicures ('cause let's be honest, many of them could definitely benefit from a little love on the feet) if they were shown a way to do it without undermining their testosterone. No man wants to open himself up to the slight ribbing that is the constant undertone of this advertisement.

Now, if their target was women, hoping they'll buy it for their guys, well then hell, I think they did a perfect job of showing women what they want to see. Their guy being healthy, and her getting to take pride (and be a bit smug) about it. Teasing with no backlash, just a healthier partner. Not bad...if that was the point, great job Saatchi. But otherwise, I think Progresso missed a great opportunity to support their line for years to come.

9.23.2008

Fashion Magazines- The New Frontier?

I've been rendered useless for the past half-week by sickness, so I apologize for the lack of updates. It did, however, give me a chance to watch some TV and read some magazines, something I probably ought to do more of as an advertiser.

Besides learning that I'm in love with 30 Rock and/or Tina Fey, I also realized something unique about fashion magazines. You actually want to look at the ads. That's pretty much the POINT of fashion magazines. Sure, there's always an interview with a fashionable star, and there's always a few beauty tips and "good buy" kinds of pieces, but for the most part, its ads, and you look at every single page.  I started thinking about how brands could use this to their advantage. Of course, there are some things that they'd have to keep in mind.

First, as with any "community" you decide to join, you have to understand their ways. Ads in fashion magazines are always:
     -beautiful, 
     -simple (not a lot of words, etc), 
     -and emotional. 
They don't hard sell you, they just bring you into that moment. Word-heavy, rational benefit kinds of ads stick out like a sore thumb.

Second, there has to be a brand fit. Cheez-its will never be a strong fit in a fashion magazine. They just won't. But Apple, with their focus on sleek design, might. The same goes for BMW.

Third, the ad has to be beautiful in it's own right. You can't just imitate the way fashion brands design their ads. You can't put Cheez-its in the hands of a woman wearing a beautiful avant-garde dress--it will instead look like a parody. You have to find a way to make your product beautiful the same way clothing brands showcase their products. 

9.19.2008

Microsoft, cont.

Alright, so I was highly disappointed by the new Seinfeld/Gates spot--at 4 minutes and 30 seconds, it did very little to keep my attention. I'm not sure if it was intended for online or if it bought an entire block of commercial time (which is at the very least an interesting media buy,) but either way, I was bored and I don't see Seinfeld and Gates "connecting" with people by being kicked out of the house by the family. It just didn't feel thought through. I liked the first teaser spot, but this didn't seem to know where it was headed.

On the flip side, I enjoyed the new "I'm a PC" ads. At first, when I read about their existence, I thought it was a pretty terrible idea. You often come off like an angry, spurned lover if you respond directly to competitors ads (Evidence- much of the bad political advertising out there.) However, these were tastefully done for the most part, and in an industry where Microsoft has the majority share of market but none of the buzz, it was good to be reminded that there are still people out there using PCs. When I watch the Apple ads, I think, "Yeah, that seems about right." But watching these ads, these people felt believable too. I think Microsoft covered a lot of ground with these ads, coming from a pretty lame reputation to a believable, every-day-person reputation. Some of them were even pretty cool (SHARKS!)

So, good job this time around guys, but please, follow-through on your strategies, and maybe keep it to just ONE strategy. (That may be my lack of experience talking, but at least for now, the Seinfeld/Gates pieces don't feel cohesive with the rest of the campaign, and I don't see the pieces coming being able to come together anytime soon, and consumers aren't very patient.)

EDIT: I haven't figured out yet how to pull videos off youtube to embed in my blog, but here's a link to the spot-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBWPf1BWtkw

9.16.2008

Unemployment

It's come to my attention that the emotional responses to unemployment are quite similar to those of grief. To illustrate--the Kubler-Ross model:

Stage One: Denial- "I'm sure they haven't called back because they're totally swamped. Which is good, right? Then they'll for sure need my help. Yeah, I'm sure they'll call back--besides, its only been two months since I interviewed. Maybe they didn't get my thank you card! I should probably write them another one..."

Stage Two: Anger- "This is bullshit, I'm way better than this job, and they offer it to someone right out of undergrad?!? Good luck ever recruiting ME, Nameless-Advertising-Agency! I'd never sink so low to work for someone who doesn't know a good thing when they see it. Absolute bullshit...I never wanted to work for a shit agency like yours anyway!"

Stage Three: Bargaining- "Please, I'll take an internship, anything! I'll even take an account management internship. Hell, I'll work for free if I can just start working. What if I started at an administrative position and worked my way up? Maybe I could start by just answering phones and making copies and stuff? Or maybe I should go back to my Far-Less-Than-Ideal job and beg them to take me back...even though they don't even have planners there. At least I'd be working."

Stage Four: Depression- "What's the point in looking for a job? None of the other places I talked to wanted me anyway. I might as well just go back to waitressing. Or watching endless episodes of The OC."

Stage Five: Acceptance- "It really is just a terrible time to be looking for jobs. Even though I may need to take a menial job to make ends meet, at least I've been making great connections and talking with some really interesting folks. Something will come through eventually, and everything will be ok in the long run."

Of course, one may go from Stage 1 to 5 back to 3 up to 4 and back down to 1 again. But at least we can make some sense of it, and apologize to our friends for our absolutely disgusting behavior. Oh unemployment, you fickle foe...





9.12.2008

So creepy...


Just sayin'. But seriously. So creepy.

9.09.2008

High Fructose Corn Syrup campaign- comparison with tech industry

So, I saw one of the new commercials for the Corn Refiners Association new campaign, and while the ad itself was painfully hokey (check out the background music and the giggling in "Two Bites,") it actually reminded me of me. I have no idea why high fructose corn syrup is bad. It sounds bad because of the "high," and anything ending in "-ose" always seems suspect when I've learned various nutritional facts, but beyond that, I have no idea. I know people who cut high fructose corn syrup completely out of their diet. But I still don't really know what it's all about.

I went to the website (Success! A commercial that actually drove a consumer to the website) and got a whole lot of information--truthfully, a bit more than I wanted. I did a bit of digging to see where the bad rap may have come from, and this is what I found:

"According to the USDA, high fructose corn syrup accounts for roughly 41% of all caloric (nutritive) sweeteners consumed in the US.

Around the world, high fructose corn syrup accounts for about 8% of all caloric (nutritive) sweeteners consumed."

OK, so sure, high fructose corn syrup isn't any worse than table sugar or honey, but we Americans simply suck at moderation. So while the commercial is just meant to inform that its no different from other caloric sweeteners, it still doesn't change the fact that unless we abstain from SOME of our desires, we're still going to be as obese as ever. HFCS has just unfortunately won the worst reputation, even though it is considered a natural food according to the FDA, no different than honey or sugar.

In terms of the website layout, it was a little information heavy, and could have benefited from more visuals, as it was quite technical and comparisons often had to be made by crossing from one page to the next and back again. It also goes back to the discussion of Apple--I don't care if HFCS is made up of HFCS-55 and HFCS-42, I just want to know what that means for me. The one cool bit about the site: there's a FAQ section on all artificial sweeteners, so I got to learn more about sweeteners, the alternatives, etc.

9.08.2008

Bill Gates + Jerry Seinfeld + Microsoft = ??

There's been a lot of chat surrounding the new spot for Microsoft, produced by Crispin Porter + Bogusky. I'll be the first to say that the relationship seems like a bad fit, and that I would have loved for Fallon to get it instead. However, I actually like this new spot, and not just because I interned there and have blind loyalty.

Much like recent Skittles ads, this spot is simply enjoyable, if a bit strange. It's a teaser spot to create buzz about an upcoming product from Microsoft. What more could they have done with it? There was no technical features to discuss yet, and truthfully, ads aren't always the best place for that kind of information--oftentimes in B-to-C advertisements for industries like technology, the best bet is to focus on the emotional rather than the rational. Apple has been doing a great job of showing how it's often more important to tell consumers the emotional benefit (faster, great way to store your photos, thinnest notebook, "Twice as fast, half the price" etc.) rather than the rationial "2.5 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo." ("What?") Naturally, Microsoft can't take the same stance of "personality wins," but they've done a good job of just getting people talking and making them actually watch the strange exchange between these two "celebrities."

Alex got a text today from a friend saying, "Do more stuff like the Jerry Seinfeld Microsoft commercial." My parents, without knowing it was CP+B, both said they found the spot very funny. I think the problem is that a lot of people in the industry hated the ad before it ever came out--they didn't want CP+B to succeed. I certainly had my reservations about the agency choice, but I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy the spot.

Only confusing bit- I thought Bill Gates left Microsoft...why would he know what's coming up?

9.07.2008

The Steak and The Sizzle



When I went to type my post title, the phrase "The walls are alive with the sound of vomit" automatically filled in. No idea where that came from.

Anyway, I found an intriguing side bit in the Star Tribune today that reminded me of part of a planner's job: make it interesting, and make it easy to understand.

I said in a recent post that we're supposed to make the complicated simple. Sometimes, that doesn't have to mean a loaded sentence of carefully selected words (and in fact, that doesn't seem like an appealing option in any circumstances.) In this case, the Star Trib discussed the topics brought up by each political party at the national conventions through simple visuals. I apologize for the poor quality of the scans, but I'm new to all this.

The point is, when you're presenting an idea, you need to account for more than just the bulk of the idea. You need to make it exciting, interesting, and easy to comprehend. You need to make people like hearing about your idea. I had a professor, Earl Cox, who called it "the steak and the sizzle," and it's something that I've been trying to work on. I give Star Trib a gold star for this little bit, because while there was a whole page article on the conventions, this managed to catch my attention.

9.06.2008

Lost opportunities in the politics of the digital age

My friend Brandon mentioned to a friend the other day an unusual math problem:

80% of Americans disagree with Bush's policies +
90-95% of the time (depending on your source,) McCain votes the same way as Bush =
A dead heat in the polls

But the interesting bit of it is that the polls are based completely in land line surveys, and I won't be surprising anyone to say that "my generation" almost exclusively uses cell phones in place of land lines. Similarly, there's Winston Churchill's statement which I shall brutally misquote: "If you're young and not liberal, you have no heart. If you're old and liberal, you have no brain." No doubt there is a slew of young folks in support of Obama who simply aren't a part of the polls.

My only question is why they haven't extended their polling to the digital medium on a wide scale. It would undoubtedly be more accurate if used in conjunction with tele-surveys.

Why is it that the oldest structures of our society, that have changed with us constantly over years and years, seem to have such a hard time embracing "the digital age" as it is so called?

On that note, I leave you with another Churchill quote: "To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often."

9.02.2008

On "planning"

Today while speaking with some folks at AKQA, the same topic came up a number of different ways--what is planning, what makes a good planner, and what should a planner do? There seems to be significant discord from one planner, agency, and school of thought to the next. I had been thinking about the role of the planner a lot lately and in fact was writing a bit about it just last night. Now seems as good a time as any to share (especially seeing as I did a fairly poor job of articulating it this afternoon). So here goes:

Strategy must be an actionable work plan that achieves the objectives through tactics that are true to the brand.

At the heart of it, a planner needs to be innately curious and driven to learn.

They need to enjoy planning because of the process of boiling down information into insights, and not only when they're working on something they're particularly inclined towards--to a planner, everything should be interesting in its own right.

They need to internally balance the analytical and the creative, and use both sides of the brain.

They should make the complicated simple, and turn insights into ideas.

They should have their own instincts and opinions.

They should talk with the creative and media folks, and not just at the briefing.

They should feel a responsibility and kinship to the brands they work on--we can't forget that we have a relationship with our clients. If you find out the brand's consumers are consistently upset about one aspect of the product, tell the client. Establish trust.

They should explore outside of the realm of the brands they work on, and see where pieces begin to tie into each other.

They should not post in their blogs when they're this tired. As for what planning is, well, I really think that depends on the agency. Hence the regular communication break-down that I've managed to experience far too many times. We've got far too many names for the same role, and yet at the same time, the same name for multiple roles. And I thought we were in communications.

iTunes Gets Real

In my earlier posts, I mentioned CD packaging and how it's a bit unnecessary, as well as that buying your first CD off iTunes was a little disheartening when you didn't have anything tangible to make the purchase real.

Today at Starbucks I saw they have a new way of selling CDs; iTunes cards the size of CDs with the cover art on the front. From what I understood after a brief glance on the back, you bring it home, type in your code, and you've got yourself a new album. Kind of neat. Still unnecessary, but I think I'd like it. C'mon, I'm still human. (Turns out consumers are human too...hm...)

Picture to come soon.