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...

Marketing Can Make Cheap Wine Taste Better

There’s a science to pricing your product. No question about that. But most people join the race to the bottom, lowering their prices and competing on cost, when many should be considering raising their prices.

Now a new scientific study, “Marketing Actions Can Modulate Neural Representations of Experienced Pleasantness,” published in the prestigious (but poorly acronym’d) Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, says something marketers have longed to hear:

“If we believe the wine cost more, we truly believe it tastes better.”
Here’s what the researchers did. They gave 20 volunteers 5 sips of wine each. They told the volunteers the “price” of the wine and then measured the response of the pleasure centers in the brain.

The brain responded more favorably to the “higher priced” wine, even though each sip of the wine was the exact same Cabernet Sauvignon.

There are many anecdotal stories of increased prices correlating with increased perception of the value of the product. But this is the first study I’ve ever seen that shows the brain actually responding more favorable to the perceived luxury. As you can imagine, it’s getting lots of coverage.

This study is the latest (and perhaps most compelling) reason I’ve seen to re-evaluate how you sell, and what perception you trigger in someone’s brain when you’re willing to discount your services.

What do you think?

Having Fun with Your Brand

HEMA is, I'm told, a Dutch department store that opened in 1926 and has stores all over the Netherlands. They have a great web page up that is being pretty widely circulated on email.

Click this link, and then wait for the page to load. It should look like the picture below. Then wait 10 more seconds and enjoy...
This is a fun use of Flash, a great way to have fun with your brand and a great way to encourage people (like me) to tell people about your company just because you did something interesting.

As usual, the benefits accrue only to the people who do it first, so don't copy them. Find another way to take a small risk with your brand. It's good marketing.

Why GPS will change advertising

GPS units are becoming cheaper and cheaper, which means more than saving a hundred bucks on a Christmas present. Since GPS units are essentially just receivers that can do math (to triangulate your position, basically), when the chips' cost falls that's a big share of the cost of the unit.

But what happens when the chips move out of the GPS units and into cell phones (obvious applications), cameras (Flickr geo-tagged pics), and of course advertising. Business Week points out that a company named Yell.com is putting GPS-enabled ads on the sides of London buses. This lets them serve ads based on where they are.

Look for 2008 to be the year that we started to see GPS technology really change our lives as it moves out of the car and into a lot of unusual places. The marketing implications are huge.

Make the logo bigger!

If you've ever worked in an advertising agency or worked with an advertising agency, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. (As long as you can laugh a bit at yourself.)

Full credit to World Wide Wadio for the creativity. I mean, the writing is good, but the effort to assemble a choir to sing it and to find that footage... That makes it priceless.

Agency/client relationships always have a natural tension to them, but the good relationships can make magic. Here's to a great Christmas season and a coming year filled with discussions about strategy, not logos. Ho ho ho...

Sweet & Sour Marketing

I had Chinese food for dinner last night. (It was pretty tasty--thanks for asking.)

And then I opened my fortune cookie. This is exactly what it said:

How disappointing! I mean, fortune cookies don't drive my life or anything, but they are the classic end to a nice meal eaten out of a paperboard box with metal handles. They are sometimes brilliantly clever. Sometimes poignant. Sometimes hysterical (particularly if you add the words "in bed" to the end of their phrases).

But what the hell was this? "Did you enjoy your meal? Get one to go!" Whose bright idea was this? That's not marketing. That's just dumb.

I don't know who made this fortune cookie (but Wonton Foods in Brooklyn is the world's largest maker of them, so I link to them in the hopes that they can ensure this kind of nonsense stops).

Now, get back to giving me my lucky lottery numbers and funny expressions like, "The world looks better from a new position (in bed)."

Airline Safety Video Enhances Brand Experience

Like Southwest Airlines, Virgin Atlantic has worked hard to brand their unique flying experience. Not in terms of logos and stuff, but the actual experience.

Now, thanks to the Experience Curve blog, we have a look at their airplane safety video. It's not amazing (they have a job to do), but it's very cleverly and subtly different and Virgin branded.

Just goes to show, branding limitations are often not all that limiting...



Thanks to Ignite Lisa for pointing it out to me.

Brutal Honesty, the new marketing advantage?

Two companies have used marketing tactics recently that whipped my head around (figuratively, fortunately). Both were brutally honest. It was amazing, funny and rereshing.

Remember that 1990 movie with Dustin Hoffman and Darryl Hannah called Crazy People? He was an ad exec that went crazy and started writing lines like, "Metamucil. It helps you go to the toilet. If you don't use it, you get cancer and die." and "United, most of our passengers get there alive." These two companies suggest he might have been on to something.

The first, Woot.com, offers only one product every day at a deep discount. When it's sold out, you're out of luck. When it's the next day, you're out of luck. What I really like is their FAQ section. Here are some excerpts:

I want to talk to a live person there, can I call you?

No. We are busy sourcing new products and shipping orders. You can post a comment to our community board, but we don't guarantee we'll respond. You should Google for the manufacturer contact to get product answers – we suggest a dating service, magic 8 ball, or ouija board for general life solutions.

Will I receive customer support like I'm used to?

No. Well, not really. If you buy something you don't end up liking or you have what marketing people call "buyer's remorse," sell it on eBay. It's likely you'll make money doing this and save everyone a hassle. If the item doesn't work, find out what you're doing wrong. Yes, we know you think the item is bad, but it's probably your fault. Google your problem, or come back to that product discussion in our community and ask other people if they know.

Maybe I'll just wait until this item becomes more widely available, so I know what other users think of it.

If that's how you want to live your life, sure. Fine. There are those who would say that your type will inherit the earth. Until then, though, the rest of us will have all the coolest gizmos.

Boom. Loved the company instantly. I now check it daily and yes, I wooted and bought something... Cool.

The other is Buckley's Cough Medicine. Their ads compare the taste of their product to the liquid that collects at the bottom of a garbage can. Apparently, they've been doing this shtick in Canada for years, but now they're rolling out down here. Reminds me of Listerine's brilliant campaign to battle Scope by acknowledging that it tasted bad, but it worked.

I haven't tried Buckley's yet, but I think ALL cough medicine is horrible, so might as well suffer a bit extra to get something that works...

What do you think, is brutal honesty a trend? Probably not, but it's giving these two companies an edge.

Fat (Phat?) Marketing Idea

Let's say you work for a state agency charged with keeping obesity down. You have limited marketing funds. Oh, and it's the holidays, where the American dream is an overstuffed belly and a blissful turkey-induced nap.

You can give up, or you can get clever. My client, the NC Dept of Health and Human Services, got clever. Check this out (and maybe join up). I think this is a pretty good idea:

Sign up for the Eat Smart, Move More...Maintain, don't gain! Holiday Challenge!

Pumpkin pie, turkey with stuffing, fruit cake, fudge....the holidays are here bringing all sorts of delicious foods with them. Unfortunately for most, those holiday sweets and treats mean a couple of extra pounds gained. But we have a solution!

The second annual Eat Smart, Move More...Maintain, don't gain! Holiday Challenge begins on November 19. Registration is now open at www.MyEatSmartMoveMore.com. Participation is free.

Your goal for the holiday challenge is to maintain your pre-holiday weight. You will not try to lose weight; just avoid gaining any during the remainder of the year. This can be tough, especially with all of those holiday goodies!

To help you do this, we will send you a weekly newsletter that includes tips, strategies and advice for dealing with one of the many triggers that can cause holiday weight gain. Recipes and a quick and easy menu idea will also be included.

During the Challenge, you are encouraged to download an activity log, food diary, and weight log from our website to track how much activity you do, what you eat, and your weight each week. In addition, you will be able to read a blog with expert advice on avoiding gaining weight during the season.

Be sure to sign up now! We hope you will join us in the challenge to maintain your weight over the holidays.

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.

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.

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?

What if Google AdWords Could Listen to Your Phone Calls?

We all know how Google AdWords works, right? Whether on the search engine results page of a Google search or even from the text of your Gmail emails, Google is constantly evaluating content and serving up relevant text-based ads.

Now, a company called Pudding is looking to do the same thing, by electronically listening for keywords you say during the free VOIP phone calls they provide you. If you know what Skype is, then you're on the right track.

Basically, Pudding is like Skype except it's designed to be free instead of really, really close to free. And in exchange for giving you free calls, Pudding listens for words you might say like "pizza" or "vacation" and serves up ads relevant to what you are talking about.

Some, like the video below, are squawking about privacy concerns. One relevant point they make: Do BOTH parties to the phone call know that they are being recorded?



Because our research at Brogan & Partners has shown that people value relevant ads. These could be relevant ads. This newscast seems to be a bit of a hatchet job on this CEO, who is poorly prepared to defend himself. What do you think?