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

An Ikea Commercial That Won't Run In America

Other countries are a bit more liberal in their sensibilities as to what can be shown on TV and what can't. Ikea's "Tidy up" campaign is just enough off-color that I don't think we'll be seeing these in the States any time soon... This one is being called "Always Pick Up Your Toys."



And this one... We'll call it spaghetti, for lack of a better name.



There are much more twisted ones in this campaign. If you'd like to see more, check out this link.



Whether you want to buy an American flag or you just want to know more about the US flag, or even any other flag, the Internet could be of help. There's plenty to read about the different flags of the world and lots of places that would like to sell you flags to fly.

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?




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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...

Want a Joost Invite?

My earlier post about Joost led many to ask if I knew where to find an invitation for Joost. I am happy to provide you with a Joost invite. Just leave a comment below and I'll send you the invite (UPDATE: YOU MUST INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS, or I won't know where to send it... I've received about 5 requests that I can't send to because I don't know where to send it...) Once you get your invite, enjoy.I've tried the service and I like it (nice picture and all), but honestly I don't love it. If I want to watch some random B-level programming, I'll leave my office and mindlessly surf my 500 cable channels. I did watch a pretty twisted Adult Swim episode tonight, but... Still, maybe it will evolve, or maybe I need to try it for more than 20 minutes. If you're a Joost lover, I'd love to know why...

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?

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.

Tivo and Amazon Strike Interesting Deal

The folks at Tivo seem to be breaking new ground again. With the Amazon Unbox, you can download movies (for rent or purchase) online and have them sent right into your Tivo box over your home network. This is a beautiful alignment with their brand positioning, which positions Tivo as TV on your schedule.

Ok, obvious limitations here. You've got to have a new Tivo, you've got to have a home network, you've got to spring for the service.

But it is cool. And it's convenient. And it takes a step out of the process of renting/buying/watching movies. So this is new ground.

And from a marketing perspective, it's further truth that the power is switching away from the marketer, away from the channel and to the consumer. That's impacting all of us at different rates, but it is a seismic shift. It's a nice idea for Amazon, too.

But Wait, There's More...

There is more. More direct response TV time being sold than prior years. In fact, it's one of the hottest growing segments of TV buying, according an article in AdAge. It's hotter than the Flowbee with free shipping and three easy payments.

Why, partly because big money folks like P&G are turning their vast dollars to it, thereby driving up the cost. And partly because, strange as it seems, this stuff works. You can sell a ton of Ronco products, or ear lifts, or digi-draws if you do it right.

The question becomes, with DRTV costs rising 7% in an otherwise flat market, when does the market tip out of balance, and when does it stop working. The contour pillow is already pulling out of the game. Let's hope we never lose the Flowbee. For goodness sake, not the Flowbee...

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...