Saturday, April 21, 2007

Hilarious Commercial

Skittles "Leak" is one of my favorite commercials. It launched in 2006 by TBWA/Chiat/Day. In terms of effectiveness, I'm not really sure how effective it is. But it is incredibly funny and simple.



Ian Reichenthal, group creative director and copywriter, said, "We don't want our strategy to show because this is a target group that doesn't want to be marketed to. Teenagers and young adults just don't respond to pat category strategies like, 'Having a sad day? Eat this, have a happy day.'" (Mediaweek)

I'm going to be up front and say that I've wanted to post this for a while, but it's also for Tom and Jim at Barkley in Kansas City, whom I interviewed with yesterday. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Harry Potter Theme Park Possible

Nikki Finke's Deadline Daily suggests Universal Studios Florida is wrapping up with plans to bring a Harry Potter World to the resort. If the rumor is true, this would be incredible for Universal and the Harry Potter brand. Singapore almost grabbed the deal in 2005, but after long, drawn out negotiations with Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling concerning rights to the theme park, nothing ever came to fruition. Bill Davis, president of Universal Orlando Resort, isn't letting the Golden Snitch out of his hand. The Orlando Sentinel asked him about the possibility of a Harry Potter theme park. "Davis replied: 'Boy, I think that would be great. I can't talk about what we're going to be bringing to either one of our parks in the future. That's a forward-looking thing we can't discuss. I will tell you we're working hard to bring innovative, new technology-advanced attractions to both of our parks.'" GE/NBC, owner of the Universal theme parks, almost dropped out of the theme park arena, but decided to stay after discovering they're profiting from their investment. Universal has some more up its sleeve. It plans to update the park by installing a new ride and bring in the Blue Man Group this summer.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Keeping It Clean



The People for Puget Sound (Washington) are sick and tired of their dirty, polluted water, and they asked The Wexley School for Girls for help. It's great to see agencies advocate a good, meaningful cause. On the PPS Web site, there are "10 Things You (Yes You) Can Do To Help Save Puget Sound". These apply to everyone, even if you're not from Puget Sound. Even if you're not from Washington state or the United States. Anyone with 10 more ideas is encouraged to send their answers via e-mail.

The commercials are really effective, too.

Find the Volkswagen Golf


Pierre Riess, a copyrighter at V in Paris, recently submitted a video he worked on for Volkswagen. The description of the video is "A car film without any car because it's too difficult to imagine the new golf for that price..." The video itself is playful and enjoyable, showing different shots of the road and environment like one would see in an automobile commercial. No vehicle is shown. Rilo Kiley and an acoustic guitar accompany the spot beautifully. At the end is the Volkswagen logo on black. But the vehicle being advertised is supposed to be a Volkswagen Golf. This commercial could work for any vehicle of Volkswagen 's because it describes what Volkswagen is - a good time. I'm just a little confused as to why the Golf isn't mentioned. Regardless, it's nice work and a new, creative way of thinking.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

'Cavemen' To Start Filming



Bill Martin and Mike Schiff, two executive producers of the popular NBC television sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, have been selected to produce the pilot for ABC's 'Cavemen'. The 2-year deal will get them seven figures with possible room for a third year. The Martin Agency's Joe Lawson, copywriter for the Geico Cavemen ads, is the pilot's writer and will also serve as co-executive producer. Filming starts this week. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Another Tidbit:
Joe Lawson created another commercial for Geico, "Tiny House", which plays off of the reality TV hype. "The marriage was built to last, but the house was built too small." It's brilliant; the 30-second spot features a TV show announcer's voiceover, a just married husband and wife, and a house that's too small. The two are supposed to live in the house for a year as cameras show their every attempt to comfortably adjust. Viewers have posted on YouTube saying they wish the show were real. In an interview with actor and writer Brian Sack, Joe says it wasn't easy getting it past the lawyers. "They were afraid the TV-viewing audience, you know, being dumb and all, would confuse it for actual programming, so we had trouble getting it through Legal. Obviously, that confusion was our intention, but the networks really, really care about the poor viewer, because, as you know, if someone confuses a commercial for actual programming then they...go up into the light." (Banterist)

Dinosaur, Dinosaur, Where's Your Bone?



Somebody took it on the road.

In celebration for the DVD and Blu-ray disc release of Night At the Museum , The Borden Agency created a promotion for Twentieth Century Fox and Fox Home Entertainment. The mobile marketing and event promo has been announced as the "T-Rex Trek". REXY, a 13-foot tall and 20-foot long T-rex, will be set on a flatbed trailer to run after a yellow Hummer H2 (relative to the little monster), which will be carrying his prized possession - a large bone.

Borden has the right idea by using free publicity. Larry Borden, CEO of The Borden Agency says, "...local media outlets will broadcast live in each market. We've left no stone unturned, and we will even have local traffic helicopters involved." To see the full press release, click (eMediaWire).

Kansas City's seismographs should detect the dino on April 20th, with the epicenter located in the vicinity of Science City at Union Station. Other cities should expect a visit from the voracious reptile from April 17-24. You'll be able to track REXY's cross-country chase via Yahoo! Maps and watch footage from his trip via Yahoo! Movies.

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Time to Share



On March 29, 2007, Advertising Age wrote that VML, based in Kansas City, Missouri, won the lead the digital duties for Cadbury Schweppes. VML will also be the interactive creative and development agency of record. Nine days before, the Kansas City Star reported the same, but the link to the article does not work (404 not found). On February 12, 2007, Kristi Veitch, VML Partner and Human Resources Director, was the speaker at a KSU Ad Club meeting. Along with informative resume tips, she mentioned to us that VML has a new, big client - Cadbury Schweppes.

This leads me to wonder if all agencies acquire their client weeks or months before it is announced by the press. Did it take a month because the lawyers had to review what was written? Does the PR side take that long to write a press release? Why did it take so long?

Another Tidbit:

On Cadbury Schweppes' Web site, there is no mention (in the "Investor Centre" section) of VML being selected for their company. No results came up after typing in "VML". Why not? If I were putting large sums of money into a company I believed in - for profit or any other reason - as an investor, I would want to know where my investment is going. Should I have to look for the news myself? If it were mentioned in the news feed, I could better understand things going on. And I could/would then review the agency's work.

An investor could also be the CEO of a growing company that wants to advertise to more people but doesn't know how. (The thought of this happening seems unlikely, but I'm sure there are a handful out there.) Digital can certainly open the possibilities of a global reach. A digital agency like VML can surely help. The investor may not have considered the idea of using digital communication to create more investors in his or her respective company. Even if the CEO didn't go to VML - because it wasn't right at the time, or for any other reason - the thought is still there. The possibility of something in the future is ten times more likely than it was when there was no chance. Perhaps the CEO serves as a chairperson of a board. Other chairpersons are from other companies. This introduces the likelihood of the CEO to bring digital communication into a conversation with other partnering businesses. "It didn't work out for our company at the time, but maybe it will work for you." And the chain continues.

The same reward is what happens for bloggers. For example, I link to your blog because I find your content to be interesting, and you get more traffic. You link to someone whom you also find interesting, and the chain goes on. Links may not benefit every single person, but we shouldn't be interested in reaching every single person, although it would be nice.

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