Temporary Leave

After a very successful first week, Patrick and I regret to announce we will be taking this week off to better assess our blogs results. We will look to re-launch in a new and improved format next Monday to better address our readers' desires. Thanks for your support,

Sean & Patrick

Daily Post 10/25/11: TAKE THIS LOLLIPOP

Before reading please enjoy the video: www.takethislollipop.com

SM: From the genius behind Elf Yourself, comes the latest viral craze that may be the most haunting video you watch this year. Reactions to this video can be so extreme you can’t not tell your friends to watch it. I personally  told my 16 year old sister there’s this new online video they say is like the ring and showed her the website. She started freaking out after 10s, halfway through she was crying, and as it ended she ran screaming to my mother. (It’s what big brothers are for.)
The video purely seeks to stir emotions on the concern of privacy, but because this is an advertising blog I will try to analyze how this type of video could be used for advertising purposes. The standout feature of this video is it’s ability to personalize the content with information from an individual’s Facebook page. Obviously a company specializing in removing identity theft, ala old Ccitibank commercials, could have just slapped their logo in the top right corner. However, that’s too easy. Imagine if entertaining commercials used your social media information to better explain the benefits of a product. (This goes back to our post about the improvement of targeting in advertising. Link to Blog Post) Through location tagging, specific pictures and videos can be used to set the scene’s tone. Twitter hashtags allow for easy sorting of topics to be referenced in commercials. GetGlue & Facebook “Likes” can create a personal profile and better tailor the ad to the consumer.  THE OPTIONS ARE ENDLESS. Here’s just one idea video brought to mind for great advertisements.
For an intriguing television show: Have the commercial use a user picture with multiple people tagged in it. Then use different voice readers to read aloud comments you and your friends have made about the show on your social media sites.

What are some cool advertising initiatives you think this technology can produce?

Taking Patrick's place in commentary today is Jackie Bonifant, (a smarter more successful former advertising classmate of ours from Boston University.)

JB: You make some good points, but I think you might be misinterpreting the intent of this project. While it showcases the practically limitless potential of targeted content these days, it brings to mind the saying, “just because we have the technology doesn’t mean we should use it.”

To me, it serves more as a wake-up call than a demonstration of how cool targeted content can be. Almost everyone is connected to social media in some way these days, whether it be via sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Flickr, or location-based apps like FourSquare, Gowalla and SCVNGR. While these are all great ways to stay connected, find deals, and share content, these services also ask you to give up your privacy to a certain extent in order to access these advantages. “Take This Lollipop” shows, in an entirely possible (albeit dramatized) way, exactly what can potentially happen when you start getting careless about the information you hand out.

Marketers need to take notice just as much as consumers when it comes to hyper-targeted content. There is a fine line between serving personalized ads that are relevant in a cool way to your desired target, and serving overly-personalized ads that are downright creepy in the extent of their accuracy. I don’t mind ads that show up because they are geo-targeted and offer me discounts in the neighborhood I’m in: that’s useful. I would mind if I were served an ad because of something I looked up on WebMd: that’s intrusive. There’s a difference and right now, marketers are doing a pretty good job tiptoeing the line. But consider supercookies that don’t get deleted off your Web browser even after you delete them. Yes, they exist.

Whether you find it invasive or fascinating—or both—there are ways to engage in social technology without risking your safety. Don’t give away your last name. Your address. Even your school or birthday on some of these sites and apps. Just be smart about it.

PS – I x-ed out of the Take This Lollipop screen fast as I could as soon as it requested my personal information. If you’re creeped out by sharing your info, even for the sake of the joke, you can see a sample of the way it works here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DYFPupvo1Q

For logistical purposes, if you wish to vote in agreement with Jackie please select Patrick and we will adjust our standings tab manually. 

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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