Is your car dirty, oh so very dirty? Well, if you live where I do (in Denver) we just hope we can find our cars the next time we walk outside, since there are still largish drifts here (think 4 feet high in some places) after a week of melting, but if your car is findable and just dirty, you may be interested in a Raleigh, NC auto spa owner's ad approach, in which he places ads online, but only for the surrounding 5 miles from his business. Karl Murphy, the co-owner of Carolina Auto Spa uses SkyHook for his advertising needs. The company specializes in block-by-block ads, so as a business owner you can limit where your ads are shown geographically, so your dollar gets the bang for your buck you need, especially when you are operating out of a physical location. Mr. Murphy thinks that SkyHook's service will help a lot of business owners, provided they can be persuaded that online advertising is the way to go first. Other local businesses are reluctant to jump into the new ad medium, since they haven't advertised online before, and really don't know how well their ads would do online. Murphy thinks this kinds of geographically targeted marketing will help ease the anxiety of using the most powerful marketing tool known to man, even for the little guys. I have to agree.WASH ME with online ads!
Is your car dirty, oh so very dirty? Well, if you live where I do (in Denver) we just hope we can find our cars the next time we walk outside, since there are still largish drifts here (think 4 feet high in some places) after a week of melting, but if your car is findable and just dirty, you may be interested in a Raleigh, NC auto spa owner's ad approach, in which he places ads online, but only for the surrounding 5 miles from his business. Karl Murphy, the co-owner of Carolina Auto Spa uses SkyHook for his advertising needs. The company specializes in block-by-block ads, so as a business owner you can limit where your ads are shown geographically, so your dollar gets the bang for your buck you need, especially when you are operating out of a physical location. Mr. Murphy thinks that SkyHook's service will help a lot of business owners, provided they can be persuaded that online advertising is the way to go first. Other local businesses are reluctant to jump into the new ad medium, since they haven't advertised online before, and really don't know how well their ads would do online. Murphy thinks this kinds of geographically targeted marketing will help ease the anxiety of using the most powerful marketing tool known to man, even for the little guys. I have to agree.The Original Apple iPod ad
Maybe you've seen this, maybe you haven't. The original iPod ad in all its glory, and for your enjoyment. Apple knew they had something hot in their hands, and apparently so did all the testers they have on film. Adding Seal as a cold-blooded endorsement was also a nice touch. Appl eis good at hardware, and software, yes, but also, they are good at marketing. This ad would still today sell someone on the product, years after it was released. It is this timelessness that makes good ads. Kudos, twinkies and chocolate to you Apple. Great ad.Just for kicks, does anyone like the look of the old iPod better? Any takers?
Mac and PC: Much spoofed ad means success?
Apple's "I'm a Mac" ads are the most spoofed ad in recent days. I am not surprised at the number of crazy remakes of these killer ads, and in the grand tradition, Engadget has an ad that is one such spoof (video on page). No matter the point of the ad, no one can top the professionals Apple hired to put their ads together. I mildy enjoy even the knock-offs because people who steal the idea are very creative even so. This one features the idea that the Microsoft Zune (mp3 player) is in some ways better than the iPod. It is nothing if not funny, despite the fact that the ad is not totally accurate. Check it out over at Engadget.Norelco's wall of shame
Gals, ever wonder why your guy doesn't use that doo-hickey you bought him, or why that huminigicher he got last year sits all dusty on the shelf? This year, Norelco has the answer for you, and if you can tolerate the annoying drone of this guy's voice and the blatant insults he dishes out, this ad is quite unique and almost interesting. Furthermore, it gives you an interactive "gift profile" on your guy and why he likes certain things and not others, such as those on the wall of shame. My favorite part of this ad is when you enter something that the search engine doesn't recognize. What he says is funny but insulting. Since when is that a good marketing technique, I can just hear it now at a marketing school, "insult your audience, it'll make them want to buy." I also find it funny how the answer to "what should I get my man" is always the same product, the new whatever razor (it was memorable I guess). I mean, I understand that the ad is for one product, but it seems that this ad could have been leveraged to offer several products for guys in different categories. Either way, check it out, I think you will enjoy it.
Trunk Monkey Theft Retrieval System
This ad is for those who never feel like their car is safe enough. You have the Club, you have the alarm system, LodeJack, OnStar, and a lot of other gadgetry in your vehicle to keep it from being stolen, but you don't feel secure even then? The Trunk Monkey is here for you. Suburban Auto Group's ad came to me from the shores of MySpace. Seriously funny. If you need a better way to recover your stolen auto even after it has been hijacked, you need this product. Now, from the video I can't exactly tell what the "Trunk Monkey" is, since this ad is very figurative, but I want it, whatever it is. Microsoft's DVR targeted ad idea
Ads are almost always out-of-date when a show is recorded on a DVR (digital video recorder) device like TiVo or another set-top box by the time it is watched. Microsoft has now filed a patent for a way to serve "current" targeted ads when a recorded show is being watched, so that the ads on the "recording" will have a chance to impact viewers instead of being too old to matter. It is an interesting idea but makes little sense if the ad will simply be fast-forwarded through anyway. At least they get points for thinking, but in my mind, the other downside is that I like to see the old ads that were running when I originally recorded something. I revel in nostalgic ad non-sense I guess you could say. I suppose that is only an ad-freak's problem (like me), one that sadly many regular-old-tv-watching folks wouldn't have. Man, I am an ad-freak, I just noticed. I wonder if my wife knows. Shhhh!Snack Fairy: remembering the brilliance
The Snack Fairy was is one of my favorite morbid ad fascinations. Admittedly, this ad campaign is a bit older but I still find it entertaining. I don't get why Colin Mochrie would want to dress up like a fairy unless they are paying him a lot (which perhaps answers the question). I guess he is just a very secure guy to do that, or enjoys the hilarity of it, but either way he cracks me up every time I see him in an ad like this one. I think it appeals to women, yet is memorable because of it's oddity, making guys cringe (which, incidentally also appeals to women). You may recognize Colin from his work on "Whose Line is it Anyway." My point here is that certain ads have staying power even long after they have gone off the air or out of your favorite magazine. Those ads are the ones that have long-lasting impact. So here's to remembering a good ad from this year, what are your favorites looking back on them?I love vegetarians, and you should too
This holiday season some vegetarian (you maybe) will invariably hear some remark from a meat-eater about how weird you are for not eating meat. Well, you won't be hearing that from me. I whole-heartedly agree with this ad from the beef people, which boldly proclaims, "We love vegetarians. More beef for us." Now, I know that the issue is sometimes the treatment of animals, or the artificial way in which beef is raised. Sometimes it is even a dietary intolerance for meat, but in any case, as this ad says, don't worry, there are plenty of us who will eat enough meat for you. This love of beef and message of unity among the world's diverse population of eaters makes a great ad because it appeals to meat-eaters and vegetarians by suggesting that hate is completely unneeded, which is oh so true. This holiday season, please remember your fellow humans and don't make remarks because of their stance of meat, there is enough of everything (meat or not) for all of us. Happy Holidays!
GoDaddy's first Super Bowl ad details
GoDaddy has been in the ad hot seat for the last couple years for their inappropriate advertisements featuring a "wardrobe malfunction" on a sexy young model in the spots. The controversy has created a sort of buzz-fest in the ad world, as GoDaddy continues to produce material along the same lines. This year (I fear) will be no exception. I haven't seen the ads yet (which I think is GoDaddy's plan) but it sounds like they will be interesting and in some type of the same vein. Danica Patrick has signed-on with the company, who will sponsor her 2007 racing endeavors, and she in turn will use her notoriety to garner consumer's trust and dollars for GoDaddy. She will appear in the ads as far as we know at this point. GoDaddy has hired Shine Advertising, and now that they are completed, hopes that the ads will be approved by the CBS committee in charge. The news conference about the ads is available on Danica's web page, but you have to be a human and enter the code to view it, so you'll have to do that part yourself. You can see all past GoDaddy commercials here.Ho-hum, Vista's ad is dumb
Jordan Running over at our sister site, Download Squad writes about how Microsoft's first Windows Vista ad is extremely boring, and not much more than a glorified PowerPoint. Our own Chris Thilk wrote about the ad as well earlier this week. Not good when everyone hates your ad, and customers need to see a high-powered relevant message if you want them to buy your new product. Windows Vista, due out in February, but available to business customers now, will be the next big thing in Windows software (we think), but it seems Microsoft has started to get a bit sloppy in the ad department. I love some of the "people-powered business" ads, but not this Vista ad. It doesn't inspire any kind of confidence in the product. You can check out the video over at Download Squad, and see what you think. I am just not sure it will get Microsoft anywhere, but perhaps they already feel like they have the market in the bag. Their ads are no Apple spot, that's for sure.
iVillage launches a new campaign, with cool T-shirts!
Almost every Internet-surfing woman I have met knows about iVillage, the place for everything woman-related online. Now, iVillage is bringing out a new ad campaign using t-shirts that represent today's woman and the many things women do day to day. Tag lines like "i show. i humor. i muzzle. iVillage","i see you, i will get to you, i said i will get to you. iVillage.","i optimize, i cpm, i open bar. iVillage." and "i diet. i crave. i cheat. iVillage." lead the way in what I see as a powerful statement to what iVillage is about. It is about empowerment, it is about everything that makes you who you are as a woman. The campaign will be launched simultaneously with the brand new daily broadcast talk show dubbed "iVillage Live" which will be aired on Bravo, NBC stations, and also streamed at iVillageLive.com. The information we received on this campaign mentioned that, "...the "Let's Village" multi-platform campaign consists of television, online, outdoor and micro-targeted elements." My favorite part of this campaign is that they are targeting different audiences like DJ's, bloggers, yoga enthusiasts, and others. This campaign seems to have been very well thought out, and I think it will get some attention as people wonder what all the i's are for. Look for these ads soon, I think the i's have it!
Thanks for the scoop Rachel!
NBC: more news, less ads, more viewers
NBC's very positively received idea to limit commercials during their nightly newscast was a overwhelming success for viewers. The newscast was sponsored by one advertiser alone, Phillips, showing only 2 spots during the entire show, giving NBC more time for news and longer stories, which was a big reason that the show was a big hit with viewers as well. Is this a trend that will continue in the news world, and if it does, what will happen to the marketing world? Did NBC make up for the revenue they needed for the show by having an "exclusive sponsor" and charging more to be the only company advertising on the news? It seems that NBC might be on to something here, by creating a sort of highest bidder feeding frenzy among it's advertising faithful? Will other networks do the same? I thought this was a very interesting move for NBC, and we'll have to wait to see if it becomes a marketing fashion statement.
Halo 3 ads a year early?
Microsoft's Halo is the most successful video game franchise right now and the biggest one I have seen to date. Microsoft will begin airing ads for the third installment on December 15th, but the odd thing is that Halo 3 doesn't even come out until next fall. Early, or strange as this may sound, it is a good strategy. Halo really doesn't need to rely on buzz too much, since there is an enormous fan-base who would line up at Best Buy now to buy the game given the chance but Microsoft is smart to create the biggest buzz possible anyway. Part of the strategy involves having fans watch the game's trailer more than once to juice every bit of detail and some "secret" out of it, which may induce a Halo Fever. Another factor in this is the idea that releasing Halo 2 to PC users when Windows Vista comes out in February will help spur the sales of Halo 3 as well. All us PC users who have thus far been waiting for Halo 2 to arrive on our desktop will (hopefully) be itching to get Halo 3 shortly after, and our wish will be granted. You can also sign-up for the Halo 3 beta (to test out the game before anyone else) coming next year. A secret inside look at the latest in the hottest video game franchise? Good way to market the game.Apple's new shuffle ads
"Put some music on" is the theme of Apple's new iPod shuffle ads. It features people putting on and taking off various jackets and other items, but in each case, putting their iPod shuffle onto their jacket or whatever. First off, I think the ad is interesting. Not quite as interesting as the "Hi, I'm a Mac" ads, but still it catches your eye. Amazingly, the ads strike me as one of a long line of copycat commercials in the grand style that HP started with the whole picture-in-a-picture theme. I have seen several with a TV-in-a-TV, and a few others, but it seems that HP started something bigger in the ad world than they tried to originally. Apple's ad is very well done, but reminds me of the HP one just the same. I personally don't really like the iPod shuffle, especially the new one, but that aside, the ad was good, interesting, and will make people wonder about it. The video is fun to watch. NOTE: The video will start playing when you hit the page. This ad in a word is, well, strange.
Google's ad supported free cell phones
Would you allow yourself to be inundated by a bunch of ads, in order to get a free cell phone? I am guessing that besides the obvious questions you have right now, like "how many ads" or "how often must I watch ads" or something else similar, you would thinking, sure, yeah, okay I could go for that. Google is planning to do this very thing. Many of Google's ad strategies of late have been circling around the fact that people must have a very good motivation to WANT to read, view or interact with ads. You can't just "put it out there." These ads don't seem to work. In order to get people to "invest" in your product, you (as the advertiser) need to be willing to spend the talent dollars to invest an intellectual interest in your ad-viewers. If you aren't willing to take that step, any idea, like this one, free cell phones, isn't going to work. Google will do well with this I think, because every time people use their new phone, they will remember how smart they were that they went for it and got a free phone. FREE PHONE! That is huge, and mostly because it makes consumers feel good about themselves.< Previous Page | Next Page >
