DR4WARD

Reinventing the Art of Story Telling - Cannes Lions

Day 5

Tatil Design (Workshop)
The first workshop I attended today was hosted by Frederico Gelli of Tatil Design. The workshop was titled "Designing Naturally." The workshop focused on one of the fastest growing trends this decade, being environmentally aware. Gelli spoke of the influence the environment has had on the projects Tatil takes on. One of the more important taken from the workshop was that "...Nature is the best place to find stimulation and perfect ideas for low impact solutions that maintain high sensorial [sic] impact." Tatil focused it's projects on creating  products that gave consumers a positive outlook on the future, such as products that were eco-friendly. In order to create these products, Tatil evaluated them on a variety of different levels (Optimum, Cycles, and Interdependence) to create the perfect solution for their clients.  They [Tatil] understand that optimizing the environment develops a strong relationship between consumers and clients that want to do good and reduce their carbon footprint.

Crispin Porter + Bogusky (Seminar)
The first seminar I attended today was hosted by Chuck Porter and Joe Pytka of Crispin Porter+Bogusky and Ajaz Ahmed of AQKA. The seminar was titled "All That Really Matters Is The Power of The Story. If You Are Focused on Anything Else - You Are Wasting Your Time and Resources." The main idea of the presentation focused around the core philosophy that technology is NOT the powerhouse behind effective advertising campaigns, in reality, it is the story that drives the campaign. The purpose of communications is to tell a compelling story. Several ideas that drive stories have been - "Ordinary People Who Become Heroes Make Good Stories," "A Little Shock Value Makes a Good Story," and "Practical Jokes Make Good Stories." One specific example that was shown to the audience was a fan favorite during the 2007 Superbowl. Click here for the video. As Pytka went on to say, "There is no learning without emotion," just as there is no brand recognition without efficient communications. And to the dismay of marketers, "No focus group in the history of the world has ever written a good story," as Pytka stated. Although the digital age has increased the means of how we [Advertisers] deliver our messages, it is not only about going digital - it's about telling great stories that'll leave lasting impressions.

Until next time,

Cheers!

Irving Escobar

ALCOHOL MARKETING SAILS BLISSFULLY INTO PERFECT STORM

Alcohol Industry marketing is sailing blissfully into a perfect storm.  Before we look at the signs let's quickly review:  unlike the highly regulated Tobacco and Pharmaceutical Industries, the Alcohol Industry basically self-regulates to avoid marketing's reach and appeal to children and underage consumers. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) does have limited jurisdiction over alcohol marketing but mainly promotes industry self-regulation to balance concerns related to children and the interests of adults.  You can read the complete FTC Guidance Documents here. You can also read the 1999 FTC Report about the benefits of self-regulation in the Alcohol Industry and the Alcohol Industry Advertising Codes regarding advertising placement, advertising content, product placement, online advertising, and college marketing.   

First Amendment issues are given regarding FTC lack of Government restriction on marketing but one only needs to look at the Tobacco and Pharmaceutical industries to see where alcohol marketing regulation is heading if the industry does not change course.  The Alcohol Industry stated goal to minimize the extent to which underage consumers are exposed to and attracted by alcohol advertising is impossible in practice. The "drink responsibly" messages and concern for children are lost in the rough seas of competitive marketplace pressures.  These pressures compel the alcohol industry to attract new consumers and grow consumption with current users.  Let's look at Alcohol Industry initiatives in the past year and the collision with the self-regulated industry code to see the Perfect Storm...

LUNA-TIC SPORTS / CAUSE MARKETING TO WOMEN NOT SO CRAZY

In my coverage of this year's Super Bowl ads I noted that marketers forgot that almost half of the 90 million plus audience watching the Super Bowl were women.  Most of the Super Bowl ads used frat, gross- out humor and sex to target young males, while alienating half the female audience, not to mention many of the fathers, brothers, and husbands to these women.  Where was this year's Dove Real Beauty? 

Yvonne at Lip-sticking talks about smart marketing to women and how few companies get it.  After watching the Super Bowl ads I agree.  However, I believe that LUNA Bar, a whole nutrition bar for women, not only gets it, but is combining smart sports marketing and cause-marketing that all brands can learn from and that deserves Olympic gold medal recognition.  Here is what I think we can learn from LUNA Bar:

SILENCE SPEAKS VOLUMES THANKS TO PEPSI

How do you cut through all of the noise and clutter and get viewers to pay attention to your marketing? Do you try to out spend and out shout the crowded field of super brands?  Do you spend your money on celebrities, rock stars, or special effects in the hopes that someone will pay attention?  How about a contest? Do use sex or frat humor?  How about a monkey or a talking baby? 

While the other brands choose to shout an annoy us Pepsi instead chose the bold move of using complete silence with their Bob's House  ad featuring American Sign Language and closed captioning.  Pepsi used silence not for silence sake mind you, but silence to get a message out creating awareness of the deaf and hearing impaired community.   

Silence  alone has been done before and could have been just another gimmick if it wasn't strategically combined with the cause of the deaf.  Pepsi was also smart enough to know that the viewers and Pepsi fans around the country appreciate a good laugh more than a good cry. 

Cause-marketing, combining a brand with a cause, is an important and growing marketing strategy by associating a brand with a cause important to the consumer.  Marketers can mess things up when the cause and brand seem like a mismatch.  I think Pepsi manages to come across with sincerity related to the cause of deafness by also being the sponsor of close-captioning for the Super Bowl and their corporate Enable initiative for employees.  Cause-marketing must be part of a brands integrated marketing communications to be believable.  Do you have any examples of cause-marketing mismatches or particular successes or failures that standout to you? 

2008 SUPER BOWL AD RECAP BY THE BRAND

Super Bowl 2008 Ad Recap by the Brand -
Overall I kept having the feeling that I was watching the terrible Dot.com ads from the 2000 Super Bowl. Too many brands behaving badly, trying too desperately to get our attention with sophomoric gross out humor and stunts while forgetting to tell us anything about the brand.  (Toyota, Sales Genie, Planters, Tide, Career Builder, Go Daddy, Cars.com, E-trade, Doritos mouse trap, Amp, etc.)   We can watch stuff like that on YouTube every day.  As a matter of fact, you can see all 55 of the Super Bowl ads on YouTube Ad Blitz in the gallery section and also see how people voted for the ads

I think most of the brands forgot this year that almost half the viewers of the Super Bowl are women.  We desperately needed a Dove ad. I think the biggest losers this year was consumer created content and viewer generated contests that are running out of steam.  Doritos "Crashed the Superbowl" last year and showed great ads created from consumers as part of a contest. This year the winning song and music video from the Doritos song contest was Bum, Bum, Boring. I also found it remarkable how poorly the celebrities were used in the ads.  No real connection with the ad concepts or brands.

Bud started out well in the first half and fizzled in the second half. The automotive ads were all pretty bad but Hyundia had better ads than Toyota and GM. Movie Trailers?  Is it just me or are most of the new film trailers looking exactly like the same Matrix movie remake? 

With the best ads featuring animals and balloon characters, I am surprised that we didn't get to see an ad featuring a talking baby monkey that flies with x-ray vision super powers that allow him to see through the clothes of sexy women.  Let me know if you agree with my ad recap.   Do you think I missed any of the biggest winners or losers?

Best ads - 
Coke - Dueling Balloons - Loved it.  Finally a big idea rises to the occasion and delivers.
Bridgestone - Screaming animals.  Screaming fun.  Screaming Richard Simmons.  Traumatic. Also, a winner - Bud - The Rocky theme with the Dalmatian training Hank the Clydesdale was also fun.

Worst ads - Doritos, Sales Genie, GoDaddy, Toyota, Career Builder, T-Mobile, Victoria Secret

1st Half Recap - Few ads stood out.  Use of celebrities in ads make fans the biggest losers.
The animals in the ads have been the best thing about the first half.
Bud Light Continues to fan the cheesy flames of the American funny bone.

By the Brand - 1st Half

1st Quarter Recap
Bud Light - Flame on funny.
Audi - Grotesque is not a good way to sell a beautiful brand.
Diet Pepsi Max - This Saturday Night Live rip off is ten years too late to be funny.
Sales Genie - If Sales Genie wished  to put me to sleep their wish was granted.
Under Armor - Apple 1984 Big Brother wannabe was not Super Bowl ready.
Bridgestone - Screaming animals equals screaming good fun.
Doritos - Bum, Bum, Boring.  Thank goodness Doritos got some mileage from all of their pre-game hype.
G2 - Special effects never make up for the lack of an idea.
Go Daddy - Multi-tasking is so common that this concept is Go-Dull.
Dell - Desperate plea to save Dell.
Fed Ex - Big Idea and special effects drops little payoff.

2nd Quarter Recap - Tide - Talking stain annoys rather than engages.
Bud - Rocky theme continues to inspire.
Toyota - Threat of badger attack erodes brand equity.  Was this an ad for a late 90's Dot.com?
Garmin - This cliche of the French is short on building the brand.
Career Builder - Heart escape is creepy and bizarre.  Maybe the heart is a symbol for the U.S. economy.  "I quit."
Life Water - I thought I was watching an ad for Geico.  Beyonce (Naomi / Tyra) is the worst use of a celebrity in awhile.
GM - Why this ad?  Never again please.
Bud Light - Demeaning immigrants is Bud's first half misstep
Planters - Unibrow is instinctively mean spirited.
T-Mobile - Fave 5 gets my vote for the bottom five of the Super Bowl ads.
Pepsi - Justin Timberlake brings nothing back to Pepsi.
Doritos - Recycles last years mouse trap.  Consumer created content is running out of steam.

2008 Super Bowl Ad Recap by the Brand continued

DID RAMBO HIJACK THE SUPER BOWL?

My wife and I were sitting in our Lazy Boy recliners in our living room when we were possible victims of RAMBO hijacking the Super Bowl. I was working on some new blog posts on our Apple MacBook Pro and my wife was surfing the web on our Dell Inspiron while we simultaneously watched a Hollywood gossip show on TV.  (Look for future blogs on the impact of multi-tasking on integrated marketing communications.)

While looking between screens I heard the word "Super Bowl" and quickly popped my head up to see the word "SUPER BOWL" superimposed across the television screen for an ad promoting the new RAMBO film.  I hit rewind on the DVR to take it in a second time and hear the words "RAMBO - The Super Bowl of Action Movies."  (I am sure some of you are wondering why the steroid fueled senior citizen Sylvester Stallone felt compelled to revisit his action hero glory days with new Rambo and Rocky movies.  We can only hope that there was compelling market research demonstrating consumer demand.)         

As I write this I cannot confirm if RAMBO is an official Super Bowl sponsor and has permission from the NFL to use this word in their advertising prior to the game or not.  We will have to watch the big game on Sunday to watch for a RAMBO ad.  If RAMBO does not have official permission then RAMBO marketing is guilty of ambush marketing and runs legal risk for Super Bowl infringement.

The practice of ambush marketing of being around an event or trying to be associated with event but not paying for it will be getting a lot of attention this year with the upcoming Super Bowl and the Summer Olympics in Beijing. 

KFC did not pay the $2.7 million run an ad in this years Super Bowl but did offer to donate $260,000 to charity in the name of the first player to do a chicken-dance in the end zone.  Significant cost savings for KFC if they get can get their name in front of the Super Bowl audience.  Needless to say the NFL is not pleased when marketers try to gain advantage by being associated with the Super Bowl without paying for it.   

The World Cup Soccer Championship has been at the forefront of this debate internationally and courts have upheld FIFA'S  legal trademark rights to control the use of the licensing of the name and preventing others from using the name or logo without permission. 

It is understandable that marketers would want to use ambush marketing to save money.  It is also  understandable that the promoters of significant events would want to protect and enforce their legal trademarks. The bigger question beyond the ethical debate and legal issues in marketing practice is do consumers perceive the distinction between an official sponsor and an ambush?  Do consumer perceive ambush marketing as deceptive is this issue even on their radars? 

The only reason I paid attention to the RAMBO ad was because I heard the word Super Bowl.  If  consumers find out that the marketers of RAMBO were drafting on Super Bowl interest and were not official sponsors will there be any consumer backlash or is it purely a legal question for the courts? 

When Best Buy and other brands use the words "The Big Game" (completely legal) in their advertising to allude to the Super Bowl without paying for the use of the official words do consumers view this negatively? 

I am betting that the Chinese government will be cracking down on ambush marketing very severely during the Summer Olympics.  They will want to demonstrate their seriousness on the world stage with the larger legal issues of international copyright and trademark infringement in China.  Keep your eyes out this summer for more serious attention on Ambush Marketing and potential consumer backlash if China clamps down too hard on offenders.

I  look 4WARD to your feedback.

Keep digging for worms.
 

SUPER BOWL AD SUCCESS A GAMBLE

Over the years I have had the pleasure to be interviewed on Super Bowl ads in publications like USA TODAY and the Wall Street Journal . Although trends and technology have changed, the one constant I see is that having a positively reviewed ad in the Super Bowl will always be a gamble. Even top brands like Budweiser and Apple, who have been ranked as some of the best Super Bowl ads in history, have also had some of the worst ranked ads. 

The $2.7 million gamble for the success of one :30 second ad has helped the arm chair quarterbacking for the ads become a past-time greater than the game itself. There is no guarantee that an ad will be successful once aired during the Super Bowl. However, if done well, I believe the hype leading up to game day can offset the negative word-of-mouth and fall-out if an ad bombs.  What happens when the hype leads to backlash?

The big story last year surrounding Super Bowl ads were interactive contests with consumer-created content . Consumers vote online for the user-generated idea or entry submitted. The winning entry is then aired during the Super Bowl along with all of the professionally created spots. I believe the user-generated ads also suffered their creative hits and misses. The Doritos Super Bowl ad creative was a hit while The Chevy Super Bowl Commercial making light of homeless people forced to wash car windows for change, was a miss. However, both Chevy and Doritos received positive press and word-of-mouth related to their contests.

WELCOME TO THE DR4WARD BLOG

My name is Dr. William J. Ward but you can call me Bill, a.k.a DR4WARD.

I have been "Digging For Worms" and applying my "4Ward philosophy" since I was nine when I started my first business selling night crawlers on Cowan Lake in Rockford, Michigan where I grew up.   My business grew by providing my customers with the best, freshest worms and fishing tips around.

The purpose of this blog is to provide diagnosis and prognosis of concepts such as integrated marketing communications / 360 degree branding and to engage readers in a discussion of their impact on society.  I hope we can help each other understand what these terms really mean. Do these concepts have any impact on your life?