Sponsored Video Streaming: Comfort Inn- Good Work

In the last post, I talked about how Prudential sponsored the entire program by placing the same commercial in each break, much to my chagrin. In stark contrast, I found that Comfort Inn took the same opportunity and did something great with it. 

In each break, Comfort Inn had a different 15 second commercial from their campaign, "Get Back to your Comfort Zone," so although I had the same brand offering the same medium each time, I got to see the strategy in a new scenario each time, as well as get entertained (god forbid!) And the best part is that the ads themselves are great, minus some bad acting. Each has a scene where a normal situation gets incredibly awkward. Then it follows up with the tag, "Get back to your comfort zone." One of the best parts about these ads is the fact that the tag line includes the name of the hotel as well as what it stands for as a brand (clearly the point in the naming, I know). It connects the funny ads to the brand and has an easily memorable brand promise. It's witty and it's simple. I like simple. Simple is good.

I only wish they would have had a micro-site where they extended this idea. If you get people entertained, you don't want to let them down. I looked for one but came up with nothing except a really boring and intimidating-looking reservation site.

I can't find the videos on youtube at this time. I'll be sure to post 'em if I find them.

Sponsored Video Streaming: Florida Orange Juice- Good Work

While watching an episode of Grey's Anatomy online on abc.com (I've recently discovered I'm a girl) I found one of the first great examples of sponsored videos. The episode was sponsored by Florida Orange Juice, starting off the episode with a 30-second commercial. Having been disappointed and annoyed in past viewing experiences, I quickly looked to see if there was a pause button, which I indeed found. Instead of the commercial, the screen was replaced with a "Fast Fact" about Florida OJ. I read it, and was surprised to find myself slightly interested--it had taught me something and thus had added value, not to mention the filling orange juice glass made a cute loading image while I waited.

At the next commercial "interruption," it had a game with one orange and three bins. You had to follow which bin the orange was in as they moved around the screen, and each time you got it right, it got harder. Before I realized it, two minutes had gone by and my video was more than ready to begin. I played one more round because I actually had fun with it and then continued to watch the show. The next break had statements about orange juice for which you could guess true or false. Again, I learned some interesting tidbits. The last break was a choose your own adventure story type game about starting your day with or without orange juice. 

The weirdest part about all of it though was that I actually wanted to participate with the brand, and despite the fact that a lot of it applied more to category than the brand, I still remembered it was Florida OJ. By entertaining me and teaching me, Florida Orange Juice not only got me thinking about their product but actually stole the show. When I finished the episode, abc.com gave me the choice to look at all the ads again, which I did use to go back to watch the first commercial I initially passed over and play another round of Find the Orange. 

Needless to say, my standards for sponsored videos greatly rose upon discovering this campaign. Unfortunately, the bad just seems worse now. Here's to hoping the ad community picks up on these kinds of successful campaigns.

Good Work- Travelers Insurance

In my airport adventures I also found a really great example of using new technology to your advantage.

The ads were for Travelers Insurance, with four in a row down a hallway into the F terminal at MSP. Each had a image of the red umbrella with the simple tagline "The strength to withstand anything." 

However, these ads weren't just print--they were interactive wall displays by Monster Media. Each of the umbrellas were made up of tiny little umbrellas that moved much like leaves. 

When people walked by or stood in front of the screens, the tiny umbrellas scattered in response to their movement. 

As soon as they walked away, the umbrellas returned to their original position.

The reason I thought this was so great was firstly because agency use the technology in an innovative way, putting it on the wall instead of the floor, as we see with Reactrix. It created a platform for unintentional interaction and made it much more noticeable for both those who participated and those who watched. It in fact made me want to participate, so after watching and taking pictures, I went and played for a few moments. 

But secondly, the most important part of why this was great was because THE MEDIUM REFLECTED AND REINFORCED THE MESSAGE. Up to this point, I've only seen Reactrix and other similar technologies used as a cool factor, but never to facilitate in communicating the message. This relationship between the medium and the message makes this ad the best I've seen in quite a while.

Good work, Travelers. Props to Fallon for this one.