Frequent readers of this blog know my opinion of the hit show Mad Men. I won’t go into another rant about it. I am not opposed to television shows that feature the advertising industry, however. I just want them to not make us look that bad. So, I am excited about a new show that premiers next week on TNT called “Trust Me.” Stay tuned for my opinions next week.
What interests me about this new show is that it is going to promote real products, according to an article in the New York Times.
I am a sucker for dance videos. They just make me happy. T-Mobile has a new “Life is for Sharing” campaign that uses dance videos on their YouTube channel as an example of one of those fun moments in life you like to share. The campaign is complete with a dance video contest. This is the perfect use of a brand’s YouTube channel. Check out the T-Mobile Dance Video:
I did not attend the AAAA’s Account Management Conference last month, and reading the summary, I wish that I had. I have always said that I love my job for its diversity: I must learn about the advertising business, but also the businesses of each of my clients and how to apply communications strategies to it to build the business. I like to dig in, do research and educate myself on all aspects of a business, and my job allows me to do that. Reading the summary of Observations for the 2008 Account Management Conference, I felt even better about my agency position. My favorite job description so far:
“Because the discipline has undergone a sea change, Hill said today’s account managers have the most exciting job in advertising, acting as ‘equal parts juggler, mediator, father confessor, mother creator and brand steward, all rolled up into one exacting and brilliant mind.’ She compared the job of account manager to executive producer of a big-budget Hollywood film.”
Remember the days when news anchors did the advertisements too? I don’t. But, I have seen video of it. It seems that in our days of DVR, television shows are trying to find new ways to generate advertising revenue from those advertisers who are trying to avoid being fast-forwarded. Jimmel Kimmel Live now has its host (Jimmy Kimmel) giving live ad-lib commercials to those who pay. This is brilliant. You can read more detail here. This “new” technique is so popular that the show is almost sold out through the end of the year. And, according to IAG Research:
“‘They are a good story for both the networks and for advertisers,’ says Rachel Mueller-Lust, executive VP of the network division. Mueller-Lust explained that IAG tracks ads shown alongside live commercials and those that aired standalone without any reference to program content. Live commercials coupled with a media buy give a huge lift to brand recall. ‘It is a very successful approach,’ Mueller-Lust said.”
YouTube is the most popular video site on the web with more than 330 million users. And while the site really generates little to no revenue, Google purchased it for $1.65 billion in 2006. It has kind of been like that popular kid living off a trust-fund, with no need or requirement to get a real job and earn his keep. Until now.
YouTube is introducing longer format videos that include advertising. The launch is with CBS and includes full-length episodes of popular shows ranging in length from 20 to 48 minutes. In addition to offering the video free to viewers, there will be a “theater” mode to improve viewing experience. See full story here.
This sounds like a winner to me. It would be great if they could offer geo-targeting for the advertisements that appear before/during/after the video to allow local marketers to get in on the action with viewers in their areas.
“I watched off and on in the first season, and loved everything about the look and sound of it (the smoke, the tight-fitting clothing, the lacquered-down hair, the clink of the ice in the cocktails, the music). Still, I couldn’t get past the outrageous womanizing and brutality of the story line. It was too painful to watch. So, no matter how graphically attuned with the opening credits that the JWT ad looked, I saw it as an amazingly boneheaded move. Why would a modern agency want to align itself with this depiction of advertising — to show that they are as backward seeming and generally ethics-free as the ad “boys” on the show? Way to go, JWT!”
Finally, I have come across an article from someone who agrees with my opinion of the show “Mad Men.” I am have expressed my opinion in this blog a couple of times, but just to recap:
It gives people the wrong impression of the advertising business today. It is easy to get caught up in the “glamor” of the show, but let’s remember, that is definitely not the world we work in today.
It is absolutely the most atrocious display of degradation towards women I have ever seen. While I recognize that may be close to the truth of the times represented, I have no desire to see it on television today.
“‘Mad Men’ is glamorous, it romanticizes our harried and hassled industry, and it lets us indulge our nostalgia for the Wild West pioneer days of the ad biz. Ah, yes — there were the three-martini lunches, the client boondoggles, the all-night benders after the annual budget meeting. There were no casual Fridays; the sharp-looking suits you see on TV were how all the dapper Don Drapers dressed. Men were in charge and women were in pursuit. The married ones were mild-mannered housewives, some desperate, some not. The working girls were cute dollybirds willing to do anything to catch a rich husband. Good times if you were a guy in the business; not so much if you were a gal.
I caught one of the recent reruns from the first season, and, just to stay current, tried to watch it all the way through. What raised the bile in the back of my throat was when the ad guys stumbled across the eternal question ‘What do women want?’ and the flippant reply was ‘Who cares?’ I don’t know about Leo Burnett or J. Walter Thompson, but ad legend David Ogilvy rolled in his grave at that moment. Here’s a guy who showed he understood what side his bread was buttered on when he said, ‘The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife.’”
An agency created the Stop sign? This video is a little too close to reality on many days in an agency. As agency professionals, we should strive to prevent events like this, but sadly, that is not always possible. Regardless, the video is pretty funny. Enjoy.
Google has been ranked the most reputable company in the country – a list it wasn’t on at all four years ago. See the entire article at AdAge. Google doesn’t spend any money to advertise its brand or services. According to Robert Fronk, senior VP-senior consultant, reputation strategy, at Harris Interactive:
“The positive perception of how you treat your employees, your corporate-social-responsibility efforts, and your products and services and the amount of media that can generate probably trumps any ad spend they would ever want to make.”
However, HP, a company that has recently re-invigorated its advertising to lean more to the hip and cool:
“…made not only the biggest jump from 2006 to 2007 — 21 spots, from No. 38 to No. 17 — but also the biggest jump in the history of the study.”
Last week I ordered a “large coffee” from Starbucks. It was an interesting experience for me: usually my order is very complicated. But, just as the new, massive ad campaign promised, I received a venti Pike’s Roast in the brand new Starbucks cup.
The best part about my order however was that my cup came with this little green tab in the sip hole. I actually commented to my co-workers about it: “this is brilliant! I am so tired of spilling coffee on myself and in my car.” As it turns out, this “splash stick” was the result of customer feedback. BusinessWeek this week reports that
“this is corporate democracy in action: At the month-old MyStarbucksIdea.com, customers can make suggestions, other customers can vote on and discuss them and Starbucks can see which ideas gain support. It’s key to Howard Schultz’s plan to reinvigorate his company, to which he returned as chief executive in January.”
Starbucks is not the first company to try this–the company is actually following the lead of Dell. Both companies are using software that acts “like a live focus group that never closes.” Customers want to feel like they are being heard, and this is a great way to do that. Additionally, Starbucks is using “idea partners” to moderate the conversations and tell customers what things have already been tried or why things won’t work. And the ideas that gain traction on the site, actually get implemented–like the splash stick. Fantastic example of engaging in conversations with consumers.
I will admit that I am in the market for a new car, so maybe I am especially susceptible to car advertising at the moment. Two car commercials have recently caught my attention and made me pause to watch them: one for the Honda CR-V and one for the Kia Spectra.
First up, the Honda CR-V. Last year Honda launched the CRAVE campaign – cute idea that plays on the CR-V name and is a bit reminiscent of the Toyata Camry’s “My Car” campaign. Clever. There is one “Crave” commercial that is different from the others in the campaign: it transforms cookie dough into the CR-V. All the other spots “fill” the car with the “craved” food or drink. I was watching this commercial without the sound on the television and the cookie dough drew my eye to the screen, away from my conversation. I wonder if they were targeting me? I was watching “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” it was 8 PM and a cookie sounded good to me. All of the sudden, the CR-V looks like a cute car for me. Creative execution combined with strategic media buy, and now I am a potential CR-V driver. Check out the spot.
Second, the Kia Spectra. This spot uses two things to make it stand out: music and a current event. The song is catchy and ties perfectly to the story the spot is telling. The spot shows Kia drivers pulling up to the gas station and always ending up on the wrong side of the gas tank. Obviously, the idea is that you have to fuel up so infrequently in a Kia Spectra, that you forget on which side your gas tank is located. Even my dad got it and it sparked a conversation about the monthly cost of gas. The spot works. Here it is:
I am trying really hard to like the show Mad Men. Everyone else does, so I should too, right? I hate it. I appreciate the research that has gone into recreating that era. I appreciate the history of specific advertising campaigns told through the stories in the show. I appreciate the style and costumes. But, working in advertising makes me feel dirty after watching that show. I have no appreciation for the business after watching arrogant men push each other around and demean women each week. While that may have been the culture during that period in history, I worry that it will give modern-day viewers the wrong impression of our business today.
