Do you want to volunteer or donate for a charity or some global cause, but you don't have the time or money? It's ok, now you can contribute by doing nothing but what you already do every day....play around on your social network. All you have to do is go to SocialVibe, a cool new site dedicated to making it easy for people to get involved in social causes without having to dig into their wallets or waste their time on the weekends. All you have to do is insert your favorite brands creative on you MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, etc... profile and continue to socialize with your friends. Every time someone sees your profile, you've contributed to your favorite cause. It's that simple! This platform is a great way to give back and meet other people with the same social interests as you. Check it out....it's quick, easy and good for the world. Even Hayden Panettiere agrees...
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Audi Approves This Message
You have to appreciate when big brands get creative with their digital strategy. Meet The Beckers is a brave new effort by Audi to create a web series promoting their cars. What's interesting is that the episodes aren't showcasing how sleek and stylish their cars are, they're actually mocking the stereotypes of all their competitor’s car owners. Mercedes owners are old rich men with young hot wives, BMW owners are douchebags with Bluetooth ear pieces glued to their face and Lexus owners are yuppie, wimpy family men with children from hell. Wow!!! Sorry if I offended anyone, but this new web series is a hilarious. It's not every day you see such a negative driven campaign; they almost feel like McCain ads. Without actually saying these stereotypes, Audi has done a great job of making entertaining short films to make the Audi driver the cool character. What's even better is that they've gotten responses from fans of their competitors. I can't say that I love the episodes, but I applaud Audi for doing something different, funny and fresh. Check out the first two episodes here.....
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
No Money? It's Ok, Go Window Shopping On Amazon
In case Amazon's existing platform hasn't influenced your purchase behavior already, you should check out their new window shopping site that makes it even easier to splurge. Amazon's new site Windowshop utilizes a virtual bookshelf-browsing utility giving users the ability to easily see new and popular book, cd's, dvd's, videogames, etc... This visual browsing tool has become popular with search engines like SearchMe and Viewzi and could become the web's next generation fad. Windowshop's beta phase will allow Amazon to test out the platforms usability and popularity, but from my experience, this new site is an amazing addition to Amazon's stronghold on user-friendly e-commerce. The site allows viewers to see, here, and watch short previews of all the new and hottest titles in a wide variety of categories. Usually, window shopping implies that there's no money to be exchanged; I get the feeling that Amazon has a different plan in mind. Pretty soon they're going to have to change the name to ImpulseShop.com.
Friday, October 24, 2008
An Interview With the Real "Berries and Cream"
Some of you might remember the amazing "Berries and Cream" Starbust commercial last year that now has over 9 Million views on YouTube. What you may not know is the background story on Jack Ferver (Berries himself) and how he got the priceless role in this commercial. This interview from AdWeek's Tim Nudd brought back some amazing memories:
How did you get the gig? It must have been a bizarre audition.
I have the most amazing commercial agency, CESD. They got me the audition. At the callback I did it at least 10 totally different ways, including crying. But I cry any chance I get anyway.
The Lad is pretty odd. How did he come about?
Well, the writers obviously came up with the Little Lad. Randy Krallman, the director, is a genius and really set everything up in such a perfect way. We all talked about it, and played with different ideas. It was certainly collaborative.
Some people find the ad creepy. Is the Lad evil or just eccentric?
Who are these people? I love it. There was this really great cartoon someone did of the Little Lad where he looks like the spawn of the devil. I live in New York, in the hipster part of Brooklyn, so I see grown men in schoolboy outfits on the subway every day.
What's he doing at the bus station?
Bus stations are time warps. He is not from this time.
What was most challenging thing about the role?
Doing that for over 12 hours in 80-something-degree heat in a wool costume and a wig.
The Lad has great hair and a nice outfit. Did you spend a lot of time getting the look right?
I can't even tell you how long.
Were you pleased with how the ad turned out?
I think it is hilarious. Randy and I have a very similar sense of humor, and I think it turned out well.
How do you balance your artistic work and your commercial work?
I make dance theater work in New York. I just closed a show this summer that went really well, and I have a residency at Dance Theater Workshop in January that will have a full production through Dancespace Project at Saint Mark's Church in April. The fact that I am continually working artistically makes my life better, and in turn keeps my creativity flowing, which is necessary for the fast pace of commercial production. I love shooting commercials. I have been blessed to work with really kind, smart, and conscientious directors, writers, and producers, who have been incredibly good to me and who I regard as friends. It's different from making my own work—I'm fulfilling someone else's vision. It's satisfying in a different way. It also helps sustain me financially.
One YouTube video of the Starburst ad has more than 6 million views. Did you expect it to be that popular?
I had a feeling it might become this popular when I first read it. It has the kind of offbeat humor that makes something a cult hit. You laugh because you are caught off guard. This happens to us in life. You are driving and pass a van full of nuns and they flick you off. It's shocking but delightful, because it is so refreshing to be shocked in this day and age.
For all of you who aren't familiar with this commercial or the famous "Little Lad Dance," please check it out below....you're life will be better afterwards.
How did you get the gig? It must have been a bizarre audition.
I have the most amazing commercial agency, CESD. They got me the audition. At the callback I did it at least 10 totally different ways, including crying. But I cry any chance I get anyway.
The Lad is pretty odd. How did he come about?
Well, the writers obviously came up with the Little Lad. Randy Krallman, the director, is a genius and really set everything up in such a perfect way. We all talked about it, and played with different ideas. It was certainly collaborative.
Some people find the ad creepy. Is the Lad evil or just eccentric?
Who are these people? I love it. There was this really great cartoon someone did of the Little Lad where he looks like the spawn of the devil. I live in New York, in the hipster part of Brooklyn, so I see grown men in schoolboy outfits on the subway every day.
What's he doing at the bus station?
Bus stations are time warps. He is not from this time.
What was most challenging thing about the role?
Doing that for over 12 hours in 80-something-degree heat in a wool costume and a wig.
The Lad has great hair and a nice outfit. Did you spend a lot of time getting the look right?
I can't even tell you how long.
Were you pleased with how the ad turned out?
I think it is hilarious. Randy and I have a very similar sense of humor, and I think it turned out well.
How do you balance your artistic work and your commercial work?
I make dance theater work in New York. I just closed a show this summer that went really well, and I have a residency at Dance Theater Workshop in January that will have a full production through Dancespace Project at Saint Mark's Church in April. The fact that I am continually working artistically makes my life better, and in turn keeps my creativity flowing, which is necessary for the fast pace of commercial production. I love shooting commercials. I have been blessed to work with really kind, smart, and conscientious directors, writers, and producers, who have been incredibly good to me and who I regard as friends. It's different from making my own work—I'm fulfilling someone else's vision. It's satisfying in a different way. It also helps sustain me financially.
One YouTube video of the Starburst ad has more than 6 million views. Did you expect it to be that popular?
I had a feeling it might become this popular when I first read it. It has the kind of offbeat humor that makes something a cult hit. You laugh because you are caught off guard. This happens to us in life. You are driving and pass a van full of nuns and they flick you off. It's shocking but delightful, because it is so refreshing to be shocked in this day and age.
For all of you who aren't familiar with this commercial or the famous "Little Lad Dance," please check it out below....you're life will be better afterwards.
Apple's War on Microsoft Continues
Is Microsoft ever going to counter Apple's satirical advertising exposing their irresponsible budget allocation towards advertising instead of fixing Vista's problems? It seems that Apple is airing ads without obstruction that mock Microsoft and continue to land blows to the heart of PC owners. It's no wonder that Macs are becoming much more popular; it appears that Apple is always innovating and making their computers more user friendly while Microsoft is always trying to fix problems with their products and cover them up with lame advertising. These videos are a just a continuation of a post I made earlier this week. I can't wait to see what's next.....
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Political Marketing Back to the People
In the wake of one of the most important presidential elections I wonder how McCain and Obama are going to snatch the last undecided votes. McCain has criticized Obama on his excessive advertising spending while Obama complains about all the negative driven ads that McCain runs. Which strategy will win? Who cares?
The real marketing battle is happening outside of the two delegates ad budgets. What's interesting is what everyone else is saying and doing. Between Obama Girl, Tina Faye as Governor Palin, Sarah Silverman and The Great Schlep and other celebrities getting politically involved, this election has gone beyond any traditional political marketing strategy and been brought back to grassroots influence. With the power of the web fueling the most talked about elections in history, I'm seeing the best action come from the people themselves. Who would have guessed that YouTube would become such a powerful political tool. Check out some of these popular political videos....
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Microsoft's Vista an Easy Target for Apple
In addition to Vista's incessant functionality and compatibility problems, they're getting slammed on the advertising front. Their short-lived attempt at a humorous campaign with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld was bombarded with negative press and question marks. People didn't understand the humor and blasted Microsoft for their poor attempt to be clever. After all is said and done, what's actually funny is that Microsoft paid Jerry Seinfeld $10 Million for his appearance in these short ads.
What their campaign opened the doors for was nothing less than another "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ad from Apple poking fun at Microsoft for their $10+ Million strike out. I hope Microsoft has a rebuttle to keep this war alive, but Apple wins the battle once again. Check it out....
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