Campaign for Real Beauty

I have ALWAYS been a fan of Dove's real beauty campaign, but this is one of the better commercials they have done. Dove hired a criminal sketch artist to draw two pictures of random women, one from a description they made themselves and the other from a strangers description. The unavoidable differences made the women realize just how harshly they had been judging themselves. Dove has uploaded this video and pictures of all the sketches to their website. I love this campaign because Dove draws attention to themselves by empowering others. The commercial is not gimmicky or plastered with the Dove logo. It almost seems as if promoting their product is not the primary goal. This sense of compassion towards their consumer is so unique and I have not seen another company master it quite like Dove.

Are you eating art?

 Kit Kat hired illustrator Mike Watt to memorialize their limited addition white chocolate Kit Kat. The designer was hired to melt down the last 50 white kit kats in circulation and use them to create a work of art. The company has created a facebook page dedicated to "The Final Fifty" in order to promote and share this creative endeavor. I am really impressed with this campaign. I think that the company stepped outside their expected boundaries and really added something new to the candy market! Also there is a huge draw to their facebook page to see the art, and in turn everything else they post!

It's all in the package

          Diet pepsi released a whole new package and their director of marketing believes it to be a big step for the company. The brand joined the HGTV design star Vern Yip to design a classic new can that the believe exudes " confidence, vibrancy, positivity, energy and strength." The campaign mostly targets women and is believed to be an eye catching component that will have the cans flying of the shelf. 
          Director of marketing Amy Spiridakis released their future plans and target market by saying "It's targeted at females who love home design. It's not so pinpointed around a demo but more a mindset that focuses on enjoying being around others. The home is their anchor point. In May, Target will actually run an exclusive program where consumers who buy Diet Pepsi will get a set of six coasters that have the Vern Yip design printed on them."
     I believe this partnership will be a big draw for women who are more drawn to pretty packaging. Also with a big HGTV name they will definitely be getting some attention. I can't wait to pick up a can myself!

Gatorade Changing it's Prime Time

Due to a change in leadership, Brett O'Brien replaced Sarah Robb O'Hagan last year as Gatorade's president, Gatorade has also changed its prime time for new advertisement. The company has been known to ring in the new year with a creative new line of advertisements, but this year the company has moved in a different direction. They will break their first of two new campaigns on March 27th, and will also feature a promotion for their 3-year old product  G Series line. The reason for their change is to wait until closer to the brand's peak season of athletics over the summer. The brand has also decided to invest in making a stronger presence in locker rooms and sideline programs to boost their visibility at summer camps and year round competitions. It will definitely be interesting to see if these timing changes will make a difference in sales!

It's a toy eat toy world

Planning for back to school before school has even ended? Seems crazy to me but according to big-box retailers thats exactly what toy companies are going to need to do to earn a spot on their shelves. Advertising in the 1 billion dollar kids industry has it's challenges as far as restrictions, but this is a new one. This back to school season advertisers are going to need to put in the work before companies like walmart offer their product to customers. "You have to prove that you're going to support the product and push it to consumers," explained one kids market buyer. Its not just the back to school season, but there are already warnings of losing coveted holiday season positions. I'm interested to see which brands step up, and how advertisers will prove their products worth. 

World's Fastest Agency?

        It sounds like an infomercial, but in just three easy steps your company could have a new marketing strategy. Just last week WFA (world's fastest agency) entered the game and creator, Floyd Hayes, says he's all about getting things done faster. This new agency works purely through twitter, connecting with their clients through direct messages. His directions for service are as follows... 

• Step 1: Deposit one-time agency fee $999 via PayPal

• Step 2: Send the brief via twitter Direct Message to @fastestagency

• Step 3: Within 24 hours, clients receive the creative pitch via Twitter direct message

      Hayes has been quoted as saying "Clients can say goodbye to 100-page PowerPoint decks, meetings, weeks of fee negotiation, countless emails, more meetings, lunch, meetings, scope of work to-ing and fro-ing, meetings, more emails, Q&A sessions, tissue meetings, inaudible conference call, pitch, feedback, feedback on the feedback, re-briefing, re-pitching, another meeting, more feedback, focus groups, another meeting, more emails." Is that really a good thing? Hayes has to prove himself to the market but apparently this new agency has already gotten attention from Mini Cooper, Levi's, Unilever, and HSBC. The question now is this really the advertising agency of the future?

Another animal face enters the market

           Old Spice has taken a new approach in marketing it's Old Spice Wild Collection. They have added a new face to the product, Mr. Wolfdog, in hopes to create a memorable ad. Following in the footsteps of companies like the Geico lizard and the Taco Bell Chihuahua might have its advantages for the product. I think that the company has definitely set up Mr.Wolfdog to be a prominent part of future advertisements, and a recognizable face in the advertising world. 

          Their new campaign pokes fun at the advertising world while still getting the message across. They have encompassed an effective humorous tone that will encourage viewers to follow Mr.Wolfdog on twitter. This humor is a very critical part of the ad. Viewers are more likely to follow Mr.Wolfdog on twitter than just a page promoting the product. I think that Old Spice has absolutely taken the first step in setting up a memorable campaign for their Wild Collection. 

When your life flashes before your eyes...

         I think that Volkswagen has a perfect mix of comedy and reality in their latest safety spot. They play on the classic "my life flashed before my eyes" bit but added the comedy by only having three memories for the baby to reflect on. Their target audience was younger couples who have felt the fear of having their newborn in the car for the first time. Volkswagen did a wonderful job of stressing the importance of safety without scaring the crap out their viewers.

When it rains, it pours.

Weather Channels newest idea to promote their android app gave commuters a run for their money. A Bus Shelter was rigged with sprinklers and cameras to catch people when they least expected it. Right when an actor looks at his phone his new Weather Channel app tells him it will start raining at 12:15 and right as he pops open his Weather Channel umbrella it begins to pour in the bus shelter. As everyone else gets soaked the only man with the app stays dry. This promotional stunt was created by the ad agency Iris, and a captivating new commercial was produced! 

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/weather-channel-soaks-people-bus-shelters-real-dick-move-147596

Have advertisers moved past the clichés?

       I recently read an article on Adweek.com that talked about the stereotypical role of women, not only in the real world but in the advertising world as well. Advertisers are called upon to project an image and when asked to portray a mom ad week says most companies substitute "one stereotype (the tireless, too-perfect suburban housewife) with another (the über-mom, juggling work and family while hardly breaking a sweat)." 

      We have come leaps and bounds from pervious stereotypes but these new ideal mom's can be just as limiting to the advertising world. Ad week praises companies like Huggies, Tide, and Target for their newest portrayal of women. Tide approached their somewhat difficult topic of women doing laundry but focusing on a more comical approach. Letting the women be responsible for the comedic turn of events was helpful in straying from the "laundry room" stereotype. Huggies has a commercial that is absent of typical crawling babies but instead flashes typical questions of expecting parents and directs them to huggies.com/answers. ""Utility and customization are going to win" for brands seeking to build relationships with busy female consumers, says Shaun Stripling." Lastly target also focuses more on social media asking their female consumers to partake in a twitter campaign called #everydayshow. This features comical photos of a somewhat "anti-modle" beautiful in her own way. 

     I think these new ideas are a great way to target a female audience and a much better way to portray a female presence. I believe these will all be very successful campaigns. 

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/courage-advertise-without-female-stereotypes-147484?page=2