Ad of the Day: Pepsi: 10/25/2011

SM: It’s not often that a major company known for enormous advertising expenditures passes on the chance to run an ad during the Super Bowl in an attempt to preserve resources for a social media based campaign. Yet, it is Pepsi’s 2010 “Refresh Everything Campaign” focused on demonstrating their commitment to corporate social responsibility that garnered more buzz prior to the Super Bowl than if they had ran a commercial. Based on monthly voting by consumers, Pepsi gave away $20 million for beneficial projects run by charities, organizations, and schools to name a few. Massively successful, there were approximately 70 million votes cast in 2010 in the act of helping people help other people. The campaign strove to help reposition Pepsi from the drink of choice for the new generation of Americans to part of the new generation of Americans. Although this brand awareness activity doesn’t directly correlate to sales, it’s impact in the lives of grant recipients can only help the brand in the long run.


No secondary commentary today, so just let us know what you think of this initiative.

Ad of the Day: Prudential: 10/24/2011

PW: I love how simple this concept is, and yet it delivers an important message. The creative employed the same sunrise, shot all around the world, linking everyone together through a shared experience. The message provides hope without being preachy, and actually fits well with Prudential’s services. They are looking out for your tomorrow so you can take on the challenges of today. Simple, clean, crisp, and effective. Granted most people who read this blog are not the target audience, so think about it like your 40 year old self would. But no matter what age, I think we all view a sunrise as empowering.

SM: I will go as far to say I extremely dislike this commercial. The concept of hope after the recession could be used for almost any brand and, thus, lacks brand recognition value. Even if consumers remember this commercial is about Prudential, what does it say about the brand? There is absolutely no element of this commercial that addresses who the target audience is, what their specific problems are, and how Prudential can offer them solutions. This ad is a perfect example of an ad agency sacrificing the best interest of their client for artistic value.


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Ad of the Day: Captain Morgan: 10/21/2011

SM: According to this recent article beer sales are down 1.5% this year, while spirits are up 3.2%, and I have a feeling it has to do with the advertising. How many times can we see a bunch a guy standing around doing god-knows-what with beer in their hand? Spirit ads are breaking that cycle by creating brand personalities through storytelling. This ad establishes the suave swagger that I’ve come to associate with Captain Morgan. By depicting the brand icon in a narrative, the consumer can clearly differentiate the brand identity from other liquors and determine if that’s the image they want their alcoholic beverage to emulate. Although I could do without the corny ending, two seconds of guys standing around drinking is a heck of a lot better than 30 seconds. PW: The facts don’t lie: beer brands are suffering. When I think of recent alcohol advertising I think of Johnnie Walker and Jameson. But there are beer brands with great storytelling campaigns running right now including Dos Equis’ “The Most Interesting Man In The World,” Stella’s “She Is A Thing Of Beauty,” and Sam Adams’ “Take Pride In Your Beer.” The article highlights another issue: unemployed blue collar workers. When the lites’ target audience has no money to spend, of course the sales will plummet Another issue may be healthy living trends. Dieting commercials are now specifically targeting men; all those football analysts are losing weight with nutrisystem. And, although proven not true, common folklore states spirits have less calories than beer. Maybe the brewing industry needs to try and abolish the term “beer belly.” What do you guys think? Be sure to stop by tomorrow for the inaugural Saturday Social Spotlight during which we will analyze FourSquare.

Ad of the Day: Playstation: 10/20/2011

PW: I may have a bias; I love video game marketing. This campaign has quickly become one of my favorites in one short week. Seeing all the famous game characters in one room, Nathan Drake (Uncharted), a Little Sister (Bioshock), and even that dude from God of War, is truly awesome. And the fact they are all together saluting the gamer is great positioning. Most video games are marketed at the gamer, as the gamer would see it/play it/experience it. This campaign, instead, presents how the characters view the gamer. He/she is a true hero! The person that lead (toggled) them to vast achievements. Playstation is rewarding their customers with praises from the characters the gamers adore the most. Confession: I am a 360 owner, but Playstation’s exclusive titles call to me. I want to play Uncharted, right.now! This campaign may have just convinced me to invest in a PS3.

SM: I happened to catch this commercial on TV yesterday, and my first thought was “Wow, this is a really well thought out cool commercial.” Great production, great acting, great message BUT I didn’t know who 75% of those characters were. As a customer retention commercial, this was amazing, as a persuasive advertisement, not so much. If you have never owned a Playstation this commercial will do little to convince you to purchase one.

Who do you agree with? Or leave a comment telling us we are both crazy.

Ad of the Day: Sean: Branded Entertainment

Clinton Foundation: Celebrity Division from President Bill Clinton

SM: I hate to be a broken record, but here is just another example of solid branded entertainment.
In one day, as the featured video on Funny or Die’s home page, “Clinton Foundation: Celebrity Division” has amassed upwards of 135,000 views.
Why is this considered successful? Functioning as a general awareness initiative, the collaboration of A-List actors were able to cohesively integrate the key facts of the Foundation into the overall sketch. By the end of the video, you’ve definitely caught some of the facts and now possess a general understanding of the organization (which is the purpose of an awareness campaign.) Those 135,000 people, who have clicked on the video, opted-in to hearing the Clinton Foundation’s message. What more could a company want from a marketing venture?

PW: This ad is an excellent piece of writing, but it is NOT an awareness campaign. It is a call to action. At the end, they ask you to donate to the fund. The success of this campaign will not be measured on total views, but instead on total GREEN. So, does the message persuade you to donate? Not me. What will the money be used for? The ad barely mentions the past initiatives, and the message is lost under the star power. This is the problem with most celebrity endorsements. Personally, seeing Jack Black improvise a theme song doesn’t make we want to donate, it makes me listen to Tenanious D. (And why is Matt’s head shaved? What his next movie?) For branded celebrity endorsements, the product must at least share as much of the spotlight as the celebrity if not more (See Kobe’s Black Mamba for Nike). Advertisers rarely use celebrities effectively. Think about it like this. If you want to see Kobe Bryant play, the Lakers’ front office makes you pay for a ticket. Same for movie stars. We are willing to pay to see them in action. But, what this? We can see them in action without paying? Oh, you want us to pay (donate) AFTER seeing them? Fat chance.

Ad of the Day: Google: 10/18/11

Google: Parisian Love

PW: This 2010 Superbowl ad proves Google knows itself better than any of its users. Having done very little paid advertising, Google entered the fray with this landmark ad using a soft sell technique. The reason Google was doing very little advertising prior was, well, they didn’t need to. It is the online destination for search, and their adwords program comprises over 80% of the paid search market share. So why do a commercial?

The one thing that Google had not become was human. Sure, it had loyal customers, but only because it was/is the best search engine available. Its ad revenue rises substantially each year, but only because marketers see more value in digital spending on Google’s Adwords and Adsense programs. But how does a brand convince their loyal customers to stay loyal? This is where branding played its hand, and Google showed a straight flush. Telling the touching story of love abroad, Google became more than a search engine, it became a dream maker. The ad provides us a new perspective on using Google. It is more than just a means (query) to an end (results), it is our trusty online companion, a guidebook for life. The search engine “understood” human connection and understanding the consumer’s desires is key to retaining his/her loyalty.

P.S. This campaign’s message continues with Google’s newest campaign: The Web Is What You Make Of It

SM:Honestly, my main beef with this add is the tagline, “Search On.” Really google. You just spend millions of dollars on an ad to create an emotional connection with the user and the take away message is “search on.” What emotional connection does “search on” garnish? How does “search on” maintain its relevance across Google's many product lines? This is by far one of the cheesiest taglines I’ve heard in awhile and don’t really understand what purpose it serves. I think its the equivalent of Verizon or AT&T having the tagline “Keep Calling.”
Otherwise, I’m just not a huge fan of Google’s attempt at creating this emotional connection because I think it sells the search giant short. Don’t get me wrong, despite my dissatisfaction, the campaign was a great success and definitely achieved it’s goal of showing the average internet user how much easier Google makes their lives. However, being Google, I’ve learned to hold them to a higher standard, and I believe this ad limits itself to focusing only on the search engine part of Google. Google is THE leader in the Internet industry because of how it is constantly innovating and adding new services to its portfolio. I personally feel that the same people the Parisian ad is targeting don’t know that Google owns blogger, youtube or for that matter have ever tried using Google Calendar or Translate. I think featuring those product in this ad could have better served Google's purpose.
My takeaway from this ad is: a simple tagline is not always better. Let us know what you think by voting below. We’ll be back tomorrow with a new blog post and ad of the day because we are ADding to the Argument, “Debate on.”

Ad of the Day: Red Stripe: 10/17/11

RED STRIPE: REGGAE:

SM: I figured for my first ad campaign of the day I’d start with possibly my favorite TV spot of all-time. This ad didn’t win any awards or quadruple sales, but I love how it chose to separate Red Stripe from the over-saturated beer market by staying true to itself. It gave homage to the beer’s Jamaican roots in a quirky humorous fashion, while establishing the brand’s spokesperson. The spot had a very catchy song coupled with a clear message: “Red Stripe is beer, Hooray Beer!” Now who can’t agree with that statement.

PW: This campaign is quite memorable. Red Stripe has definitely positioned itself as the odd duckling in the beer category. The ads tell vignettes about the brand’s Jamaican identity, which is cute. BUT CUTE IS ALL IT IS. Does it leave me with a positive feeling about the brand? Slightly. Does it make me want to drink Red Stripe? Not really. Have I ever ordered a Red Stripe? No. Although the campaign is memorable, it is not top of mind. Besides when has Jamaica been about anything besides illicit substances and Reggae music? Okay, you’re right, AND the Jamaican bobsled team.
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