Awesome + Awesome = Awesomer does not work! That kind of silly execution may be aligned with Emerald Nuts’ brand equity, but it does nothing for Pop Secret. Though, being the bad ad does generate some publicity (hence people like me talking about it). Also, it is “ground breaking” in the fact that it tries to communicate way more than what a commercial is supposed to do (i.e. to promote two brands). But, in the end, in my opinion, it doesn’t work.

So, I ask again, why are ad agencies still in business? Because ad agencies have really good salespeople, who know how to make us corporate folks feel good about how we’re spending our money.

If I was to be the judge and the jury, the consumer generated CareerBuilder ad titled “Worst Seat” would win best ad this year.

Too often, people remember funny commercial, but forget the brand. I believe this ad successfully achieved both.

Consider the audience of the game, this kind of fart joke humor appeals to the demographics. Yet, everyone could easily identify with this commercial. It may not be farting, but we all know how it feels to sit between two idiots.

However, the humor did not distract from the main message that it’s time to move on. Find a new job, and Careerbuilder can help.

This ad is the summation of a larger campaign where consumers generated the content, and voted on the content. It is this kind of comprehensive campaigns that makes a $3 million ad spot worthwhile. Considering the economy and the job market right now, it’s surprising that Careerbuilder’s main competitors have not been more aggressive with ad spend during this game.

Google’s “Parisian Love” did win hearts everywhere, while showing off everything Google. So maybe there is some value in having good ad agencies still.

Related articles online

• This year’s Super Bowl ads go goofy and frugal (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

The other night, I came across a commercial for a local flower shop. With Valentine’s Day just two weeks away, it was the perfect time for a local flower shop to raise its top of mind awareness.

The commercial went something like this:

Valentine’s Day is on February 14th, and there is no better way to give something special to your sweetheart than to give a beautiful arrangement from our shop. In fact, you could make her whole week special by having the flowers delivered to her work earlier in the week. Remember, Valentine’s Day is on February 14th. Order your arrangement from us today.

Now, that was a horrible commercial for a local flower shop.

Why?

Because this ad did a lot more for the category than it did for the flower shop itself. This would have been a great ad for a shop that has dominant share of the market. In which case, as long as more people order flowers, the dominate player would be bound to get more business.

However, a local flower shop is rarely the dominate player, or even a big player. In which case, the goal of any marketing effort should not be growing the entire category, but to grow your own share within the category.

How could you do that?

By focusing on why consumers should pick you over all the other alternatives. What would make you better than the flower shop at the grocery store? What would make you better than an internet flower shop?

Would it be the personal attention? Would it be a timed delivery guarantee? Would it be the experience of the florist? Would it be the availability of unique flowers?

Reminding people that Valentine’s Day is around the corner was a great message. Giving people the idea to have arrangements delivered early was a great idea. However, even the best idea or the best message would be useless if the objectively of the commercial, or any marketing effort for that matter, was ill-defined.

Photo credit: FotoDawg

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. For me, it was over all too fast.

While I was home, I had an interesting conversation with my mother. It was a very enlightening conversation – about marketing clutter, confusing marketing messages, etc.

Verizon launched an aggressive campaign against AT&T over 3G coverage. This solicited an equally aggressive response from AT&T. In fact, AT&T has been fighting it in the courtroom. It has been fighting it on the air. And it all just became clutter for the average consumer, like my mother.

The head-to-head comparisons were confusing. My mother actually said that she no longer know who to believe. Verizon says it’s the best. AT&T says it’s the best. So, which is the best?

We both paid better attention to the commercials the next time they aired. We realized that the comparisons were not exactly the same. That’s where the problem is with checklist comparisons.

Product A can pick attribute 1, 2, and 3. Then, they would say they’re the best, at least in these three attributes.

Product B would then pick attribute 4, 5, and 6. They would say they’re the best, according to these three different attributes.

Which is really the best? Who knows? Surely, the consumers wouldn’t.

A couple without cellphones is more connected than a couple *with* cellphones, originally uploaded by Ed Yourdon.

The holiday season has definitely begun. Not being a religious person and not having any kids to buy toys for, this is a particularly annoying season.

However, this is also the season of some of the best ads. I’m sure I’ll be discussing a few over the next few weeks.

Today, I’d like to talk about the Wal-Mart ads: “Christmas Costs Less at Wal-Mart.”

I think these ads are great. Why? Because they reinforce Wal-Mart’s brand promise – costing less.

What I also really liked was that Wal-Mart knows who it’s talking to, and how to talk to them.

Wal-Mart is definitely not talking to me. But that’s okay, because I’m not Wal-Mart’s target consumer.

If Wal-Mart was talking to me, Wal-Mart would have been worried about being politically correct. But, these ads do not care about being politically correct. Wal-Mart’s target consumers are probably already fed up of being politically correct. They WANT to enjoy “Christmas”. They don’t want to call it “Holidays”. Wal-Mart wants to speak the same language as its core consumers.

But, doesn’t Wal-Mart worry about annoying the crowd?

No. It doesn’t.

Why not?

Because that’s what marketing is all about. Remember my series on Primal Branding? One of the major lessons in that was to know you’re talking to and to know what you stand for. You are not going to please everyone. But, you will connect with those you care most. And at the end of the day, that’s what matters!

Photo Credit: I’m sure my grandma had these, originally uploaded by Jo Naylor ~the book is out!!~.

Related articles online

• Wal-Mart’s holiday toy program: 100 toys for $10 (ceoworld.biz)
• Wal-Mart Sees Late Christmas, Won’t Put Decorations Up Before October (shoppingblog.com)

Nuvaring is at it again.

I wish I have some insight on ad awareness data.

I was not a big fan of the “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday” ad. It started out as a really strange cartoon in August 2008. In September 2008, the cartoon was enacted by real people. In November 2008, the ad got a black & white treatment for the old pill method. Now, a year later, August 2009, I see ads that use the old ad as background, with women in the foreground talking about the contraceptive ring.

I have to say, the old ads were effective visually, and the jingle made the ads stand out. However, I still wonder how motivating they were. I think the latest version was the best version thus far. At the end of the day, they were trying to change people’s behavior. To do so, they had to address women’s concerns / fear, and offer them a reason why the NuvaRing solution was better than their existing solution. I felt the cartoon or cartoon-like ads were never truly relatable. I, while represented only one data point, would never be convinced by a cartoon on something so important to my health. Today, NuvaRing returned to having women talking to women about women issue, which seemed to me to be far more appropriate.

So, I wonder, what would have happened if NuvaRing had today’s ad in market a year ago? Would their sales have been better?

My conclusion: Make sure your marketing message is aligned with your brand equity. If it’s a cute product, by all means, be cute. If it’s a serious product, be serious. If even you don’t take yourself seriously, why would I?

See previous discussion on NuvaRing ads here.

Note: YouTube may remove the video without notice. You may also be able to see NuvaRing’s current commercial here.

BUT, with that said, I do wish from time-to-time to just be able to be a fly on the wall in one of their strategic planning sessions.

I don’t know which comes first, but it appears to me that every AB product marries consumer insight with product features.

The latest and greatest example would definitely be Bud Light Lime. This product was launched last summer, in direct competition of Miller Chill, which was launched a year ago. However, in the one year’s time, you could see how advertising can make or break a product.

A year later, Miller Chill achieved less than a quarter of the sales that Bud Light Lime achieved, according to Brand Week. Why? Miller Chill could not get past being a summer beer.

Bud Light Lime, however, did. Because Bud Light Lime is not just a summer beer because of taste, but it is a summer beer because it brings with it a summer state of mind. It is apparent that AB thought this through before launching the product. The launch commercial in summer 08 already advertised summer state of mind, which is leveraged in winter month commercials in the winter.

But, of course, advertising is only one element of brand management. Could Miller Chill make a come-back? We’ll see.

Miller Chill’s commercial highlight how chilling the beer is in Summer 2008…

Now, Bud Light Lime’s launch commercial in Summer 2008. What a difference!

Versions of the Bud Light Lime launch commercials are being re-aired this summer. But knowing AB, new commercials are coming soon! (In fact, I think some of them are already online.)

But, in the end, it was the winter ads that showed the campaigns geniusness! (Yes, I know that’s not really a word.)

Link: Brand Week MillerCoors Tweaks Miller Chill

The first one was from Nationwide insurance that detailed how they have a new iPhone app to help people make claims. The other one was from Coldwell Banker realtors showing how they have a smartphone app.

I wonder how that makes people without an iPhone or a smartphone feel… Does this make the company look cool and relevant or does it alienate?

At least, with Coldwell Banker, it was an app for any smartphone. So, it’s simply a technology play. The app pretty much is only useful if you end up working with a Coldwell Banker realtor. Howevere, in an effort to be inclusive, Nationwide’s app is open to anyone. Anyone can use this app to record claims information and then go to their own insurance company. However, at the end of the day, the app is iPhone specific… How many people actually have an iPhone?

Call me safe or old-fashioned, I think a company should promote a message of full-service. We have a full team of people to help you process your claim, but if you have an iPhone, you could now download this new app too to help you. A commercial that shows nothing but an iPhone app almost seems more of a commercial for the iPhone than it is a commercial for an insurance company…

Photo credit: wired.com

That’s usually easier said than done…

I had the opportunity to see a very well executed example of such this weekend – the Red Bull Air Race.

Red Bull Gives You Wings

What’s a better event to bring this to life than an air race?

However, finding the right event is only one small step toward success. The devil, as always, is in the details.

Red Bull had free sampling, of course. But true to its “cool” equity, it’s handed out by uniformed Red Bull Girls. In it’s free sample tent introducing it’s new product, it was set up as a cool lounge with DJ to complete.

Branding and promotion carried onto merchandising at the event’s gift shop.

Of course, at the end of the day, Red Bull is as much a daytime drink as it is a nighttime drink. Therefore, to round out the event, it sponsored an after-party at the nightclub in town.

But, in this day and age, these were not enough. Red Bull also had an iPhone app to make sure it continuously engage its core demographics.

So, what have you done lately to bring your slogan to life?

Just saw the latest Burger King commercial, and I was perplexed. It combined an icon for adults and an icon for kids. The message was supposed to be targeted toward adult, but with a call to action for kids. WHA…?

Internet research indicates that this commercial first debuted during the NCAA championship game, aimed at the commercial’s target demographic of adult men. Well, that’s fine. In fact, I would suspect that many adult men would find this commercial very funny.

But, if that’s the case, why are they ending the commercial with the kid’s meal? Why not end it with an adult value meal?

Now, it hypothesized that Burger King had in mind a publicity stunt. However, despite what they say, not all PR is good PR. Considering that kids, and their parents, are a sizeable group of any fast food chain’s consumer base. This commercial could very well alienate this group of consumers… In this economy, could Burger King afford this? Is publicity bringing in enough foot traffic into the restaurant?

Obama’s latest marketing campaign is recovery.gov. In itself, the website is similar to any other corporate website: A mean of communication. A mean to show where you could find their products, in this case results of the government’s stimulus plan.

But, this administration took this one step further and well into the realm of branding. The stimulus package has its own logo, and it may appear on a school bus near you (if that school bus benefited from the stimulus package).

This is smart in that it makes the intangible tangible.

However, would this logo be a reminder of progress or a reminder of tough times?

This is the test of the President’s marketing abilities. The logo and the website are only elements of a full-blown campaign. If executed correctly, it would be powerful. If the plan lacks legs, making the intangible tangible may backfire.