Tom Cruise Has (Allegedly) Lost His Ever-Lovin' Mind

I'm not sure how long this video will stay on YouTube, but it's so bizarre I just had to share it. (I know this is a marketing blog, and this post has nothing to do with marketing. My apologies for the diversion...)

I've read a couple of Scientology books. They don't make a lot of sense, but at least you can follow them. All I get from this video is that Tom is not just (allegedly) crazy, he's like Michael Jackson crazy. I mean, he's (allegedly) living on a different planet.



Whoa. I'm surprised he's not wearing a red cape and blue tights, leaping tall buildings...

His last good acting job was Risky Business. In this he's just acting delusional... I mean, allegedly.

You Can Tell This Commercial Was Done In Europe

I think parts of this commercial would've had a tough time getting by the American TV censors, but maybe that's what makes it funny.

As a marketer, though, it makes me think several things:

1) Amstel understands men and, in Europe (where they sell Amstel AND Amstel Light), they're using that in a clever way to sell beer.
2) There are so many groups that it's not ok to make fun of anymore. But men? Go right ahead. Nobody seems to mind when we're made to look like chuckle-heads... Maybe because deep down, we know we really are.

Enjoy this Amstel commercial, celebrating women who understand men, despite the fact that we don't deserve it.



Now, if they would just sell Amstel in this country...

Can't Fight Tivo? Use it...

Let's say that you're a local car dealer in Utah and you fear that everyone is using Tivo to skip over your TV ads. You can fight it, whine about, move your TV budget elsewhere, or get clever.

Tony Divino Toyota decided to place two 15-second "bookends", spots that run at the beginning and end of a commercial break. Check them out. (There are two sets below, each of which would ordinarily be split by other commercials. )





Pretty clever. Can't do it forever, but it will likely get good buzz for them for a couple of months.

And so come the parodies...

Remember the Dove posts I did earlier about their great Campaign for Real Beauty?

Well, you didn't think guys would sit around quietly forever on that topic, did you? And so come the parodies. Here is Slob Evolution, from the Campaign Against Real Life...



That is really funny. As for Dove, being heckled with a high-end parody like this is the ultimate complement.

~Jim

The Power of a Brand, Demonstrated

People get confused as to what a "brand" is. It's not a logo, not a color scheme, not your CEO, not any ad campaign you've done or will do. A brand is totality of all the thoughts and feelings people associate with your product, your company, or even you.

A brand can be articulated any number of ways. This video is a funny example showing just how different Microsoft's brand is from Apple's brand. It's demonstrated based on design changes that are oh so accurate, but I think it also shows the dramatic difference in how MS and Apple approach the world.

What would happen if Microsoft redesigned the iPod packaging? Here's the answer. Enjoy.

Dove's OnSlaught Video Nearly as Powerful as "Evolution"

Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty is back again, with a new viral video. A follow-up to their wildly popular "Evolution" video (Remember that one? Average looking woman sits in a chair and is transformed over about 75 seconds into a supermodel on a billboard? If not, see below).

The new video, called OnSlaught, is compelling to anyone who has daughters. (I have 3, so I'm paying attention.)

Check it out:



IMHO, this video is excellent, on message, compelling and will be shared. It's just 5-10% short of the Evolution video. Here's why:

• Evolution came first. Sequels are almost never as interesting because you already know generally where they are going with it. You didn't know where Evolution was going when it started to play the first time.
• Evolution was more subtle. This one makes a great point. It's well produced, but it's like it's trying harder to be hard-hitting. The other hit us when we weren't looking. This one still hits us, we're just looking for it in this case.

What do you think? (If you don't remember the Evolution video, watch it below... It's great.)



Which one do you like better?

Original Design Gangsta Video is Classic

This video is a number of things that marketing people will appreciate. It is:
a) hilarious, particularly to any designers/art directors out there, and those who work closely with designers; and
b) an absolutely great example of social media marketing on a shoestring budget. Enjoy.



I'm particularly proud that he's a fellow North Carolinian, and worked "North Cackalack"into the video...

~Jim Tobin
Life Is Marketing

Michael Vick Apology Believability Varied Moment by Moment

After my earlier post on Michael Vick and his apology, I was contacted by the folks at HCD Research about some interesting research they did on the believability of Michael's apology moment by moment.

Turns out that HCD got a panel of 300 folks to watch the apology and to move their mouse either left or right to indicate how much they believed or did not believe Vick as he apologized. As you can see in the video, he was doing fairly well when he was saying he was wrong straight up.

But when he said he'd come to realize that dog fighting was wrong, people didn't believe him. And when he said he'd found Jesus, his credibility fell to near zero.



This sort of "dial testing" has been used for years to test ads and the like. I wasn't aware of MediaCurves using an online panel and a mouse to do it before they reached out. This is a fascinating way to analyze what "works" and doesn't work in public relations.

If you look at the MediaCurves channel in YouTube, you can watch similar panels about American Idol, Barry Bonds, and the apology of Cardinal Roger Mahony. Great stuff.

Thanks to Marcella Inserra at HCD Research for reaching out to me. A) It's the first time I've been "pitched" as a blogger, so I feel all grown up now and B) It was really interesting.

The Worst Recent Advertising?

Slate has a recent post in which they suggest the worst ads currently out there. Here are a few of them. Which one do you think is the worst?

"Filet-o-Fish": McDonalds


"Chicks with Swords": Ask.com


"Blowfish, Lobster, Skunk": Vagisil


"Oreo Pizza Mustache": Domino's


Take the poll on the right hand side of the screen? Which ad is the worst of the worst?

~Jim Tobin
Life is Marketing

Balancing Interesting and Offensive

Guest Author...Deidre Bounds here...

The challenge of being heard in an extremely cluttered marketplace has many marketers searching for over the top clutter-cutting ideas. In some cases what seems like a great, idea can turn into an unintended flop (just ask Cartoon Network about their Aqua Teen Hunger Force fiasco that cost Turner Broadcasting a $2 million earlier this year .) Another recent example of a questionable marketing campaign involves a controversial cursing landlord, Pearl McKay (aka the Toddler Smack Talking Landlord). By the way, Pearl is 2 years old. This viral video has made its way around the web and back as a hot topic of discussion. It showed up as recent as this morning’s Today Show. Did Will Ferrell and Adam McKay (aka BabyDaddy) go too far in an effort to promote their new viral video site funnyordie.com? You be the judge:



Okay, raise your hand if you’ve ever exploited your little one for the sake of humor. Admit it, you’ve laughed when little Johnny repeated the naughty words you screamed as you were cut off on the highway or stubbed your toe. Maybe you didn’t laugh right then. But surely as you recounted the event to friends and family tears of laughter streamed down your face.

Whether you think the Toddler Smack Talking Landlord is funny or not, it is probably highly unlikely to have a lasting impact on little Pearl McKay's character…but the impact on funnyordie.com remains to be seen…Stay tuned!

Enjoy this *&#@!)% spot

I'm taking a break from the heavy discourse on how clients and agencies should work with one another because, well, I'm tired... And because a friend of mine sent me this spot and I thought it was funny.



For those of you who expect a marketing lesson with every post, go *&#@!)* yourself... Aw c'mon, I'm just kidding... It's a reference back to the spot... Don't get all mad like that! Come back here... There there...

But seriously, here's a quick fun fact. This spot comes from bud.tv, which is being widely panned in the blogosphere as a weak attempt at using social media. You need to log in to see the spots, provide personal info--even your drivers license number! Like YouTube doesn't have enough content like this for free? Heck, it HAS this spot... Why would I go give Bud my info... Funny spot. And a how to in what not to when you're trying to reach out...

~ Jim Tobin
http://www.lifeismarketing.com

So what IS YouTube anyway?

YouTube continues to creak under its own weight. The Los Angeles Times has a story where people are complaining that YouTube is losing it's "real" feeling because so many videos being placed there are corporate or commercial.

"Part of the allure of YouTube is the realness of it," one person whined in the article. "[The YouTube community] is nervous that if people are being paid to do their videos, it's not real anymore."

Is YouTube a place to surf around and look for fun videos? Or is YouTube a place to host and promote money-making content... That mix is shifting...

Here's the deal folks. YouTube has a huge viewer base. YouTube offers free posting, hosting and streaming of video content. Like many things, this will start out as something individuals use, it will grow to critical mass, and corporations will begin to use it to make money. It's the natural order of things.

Does nobody else remember the early 90s when people were afraid the web was going to go corporate? It certainly did, in a big way. And many of the web's coolest things are corporate provided. (Yes, many of the web's worst things are corporate provided, too, and many, many great things come from individuals.)

YouTube is going to continue to provide a valuablel service, and continue to creak...

Child See, Child Do

I love good social marketing creative. Here's another one, from Australia. (A lot of good social marketing creative comes out of Australia, perhaps because they are willing to put more extreme commercials out than American censors would allow. This one, however, is only somewhat graphic.)

This spot is unusual, in that most social marketing is issue specific (i.e., AIDS, problem gambling, smoking cessation). This one is about all the negative things children will emulate if we're not careful about being a role model. From Child Friendly, in Australia. Enjoy.



Like a lot of great creative, this is taking something that happens (usually gradually and over time), and twisting it just enough to shock us by it's accuracy. Anyone know the agency that did this campaign?

Google Gets into the Radio Business

So the folks at Google now want to help you create, plan and place your radio ad campaign. Google Audio Ads lets you create radio ads, set a budget to air them, pick your geographies, the time of day the ads run, and the radio station format (i.e., country, adult contemporary) that they run on.

This is all part of the democratization of communications. Now anyone can make a video and share it on YouTube. Anyone can build a website. And, as this very site proves, anyone can have a blog.

This isn't new. Pagemaker brought desktop publishing to the masses in the 1980s. It was going to mean the end of design firms everywhere with it's simple templates.

Audio ads should help certain people without a lot of money get on the radio. And marginal advertising is, I suppose, a bit better than no advertising. SpotRunner does the same for TV advertising. It's a good thing, truly, to have this option. The average TV spot made today costs over $300,000 just to make it!

Democracy is good. But for most clients, having professional help should pay for itself.

How "We" Marketed the "Wii"

The Nintendo Wii is an amazing new gaming system--and a blockbuster product. Try to find it in any store and it will be sold out (I FINALLY got one, tonight, after looking casually since Christmas...And just for the record, it's great...). But what's really cool is how they marketed it. Some key things:

• They used advertising to go after older, non-traditional gaming markets, including seniors.
• The didn't advertise at all to "gamers". To reach them, they gave systems to key bloggers and let them write about them. They set up Wii MySpace and YouTube sites and they did heavy public relations.

This is marketing in a Web 2.0 world. In essence, "we" all marketed the Wii. It's also "convergence marketing". Part of that is giving up control of your message (who knew what the bloggers were going to actually say???). But the return in 3rd party credibility and buzz is amazing.

Their YouTube video, shown below, as of right now has been watched 1,295,711 times! And the media budget for that extensive media buy? Nothing of course.



This is great, holistic, converged marketing. And great outside the box thinking. Business 2.0 has a fascinating piece on how the product came to life. Read it here.

Will it Blend?

I was reading a great article today about the best way to do viral video. In it, they mention a series of videos done by a company I had never heard of, called Blendtec. The video series is called "Will it Blend," and it's one of the most popular on YouTube. You can watch it here.



What I love about these videos is that they fit the rules of the medium they are on: YouTube. They're quirky. Sort of dumb. Low budget. But what I love more about them is that I bet they sell a ton of blenders. I've shown these videos to two people. Both said the same thing: "I bet those blenders make a great margarita."

Target audience for blenders: I'm thinking 18-30 year olds buy the most of these things. And I'm betting dollars to doughnuts that most of them are like me and never heard of Blendtec before someone sent them a link to these videos.

That's good marketing. Excellent work by Blendtec. I have no doubt that someone along the way told them "Will it Blend" was stupid. It, like, so was not...