Flip A Coin With The New Zealand Transport Agency Ads
I am finally able to post up a new blog this week! Things have been pretty hectic lately and I’m on the verge of unveiling my new website and blog layouts. I have poured countless hours (well, I bet my wife can count them!) into the new layouts, and I’m hoping to have them up and running by the beginning of next week. I am far from a website designer and my HTML knowledge is rusty to say the least — it has been a lot of learning by doing. I’ll be sure to announce the new looks next week, so friend me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter using the links to the right so you can let me know what you think of them.
I came across an interesting campaign for the New Zealand Transport Agency that is meant to dissuade people from drinking and driving. The ads are clever and they have a strong message to go along with the creative, too: If you drink then drive you’re a bloody criminal. NZ Transport Agency and NZ Police.
I think that sentiment gets straight to the point! Here are two of the ads:
Advertising Agency: Clemenger BBDO, Wellington, New Zealand
What do you think of this campaign? Think it gets the “don’t drink and drive” point across? I would love to see the a TV spot to go along with these ads that would help visualize the flipping of the coin and the decision to (or not to) drink and drive.
Recap: SMC of Fort Worth Launch Party
My name tag for the evening.
If you read my last post — and honestly, why wouldn’t you have? — then you know that the Social Media Club of Fort Worth had its Launch Party last night at the Cowtown Diner on Main Street. Was it tons of fun? Absolutely! So, if you missed it, the magic will never be recreated…OK, maybe a little bit of that magic will be at the next meet, so make sure you come if you missed the Launch Party.
The night started off by signing in and making yourself a nifty name tag so everyone would know who you were (some people even added their Twitter @ name). There was plenty of socializing going on at the bar with meet-and-greets and intros from partygoers, and I got to meet several interesting and knowledgeable people. Fort Worth definitely has a great pool of social and creative people, so it’s great to have a local chapter of the Social Media Club to rep Fort Worth proudly!
From there, the group moved to the outside patio area where there was food and a live stream of the SMC Fort Worth Twitter feed projected on one of the walls. There was even a signature cocktail of the night called “In Your Facebook” and here’s a little peek at it:
"In Your Facebook" picture taken by Lauren Turner.
Another popular drink making the rounds was last night was a jalapeno margarita called the “Cowtown-rita” and it was garnished with cucumber slices. It looked adventurous, and judging by how many of them I saw around the party throughout the night, it must have been delicious.
The only downside of the evening was glancing over at the bar’s TV and watching the Texas Rangers lose to the Twins. Don’t worry, I didn’t let it spoil the rest of the fun. To sum up: the Social Media Club of Fort Worth Launch Party was a blast, and if you missed it, you need to come to the next event (rumors are that there might be a guest speaker) and follow the club on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date on social media happenings in the area and around the globe.
The Social Media Club of Fort Worth Launch Party!
Today is an exciting day: it’s the Social Media Club of Fort Worth Launch Party! The festivities will be happening from 6-10 p.m. tonight at the Cowtown Diner (350 Main Street, Fort Worth, TX), and here’s the official announcement from twtvite.com:
The Social Media Club of Fort Worth is up and running! Help us kick things off in style by joining our very first tweet-up in downtown Fort Worth at the Cowtown Diner!
In addition to a gang of geeks, there will be happy hour specials and plenty of hors d’oeuvres. Cowtown Diner also offers free valet parking. We’ll share tips and tricks, so bring your iPhones, Droids, and iPads!
Please feel free to invite your fellow social media enthusiasts.
Definitely looking forward to it and I’m hoping for a great turnout, so make sure you come to it if you’re in the area — and don’t forget to spread the word to others! This event was even picked up last week by the Star-Telegram, where SMC Fort Worth founder Stephanie Scott, social media manager at the Balcom Agency, said she’s starting the chapter to offer education to “an already robust community of Fort Worth social media aficionados.”
Many thanks to Stephanie and everyone else involved in putting the club and launch party together. If you’re looking for more info, here’s the Social Media Club of Fort Worth’s Facebook page, the Twitter page, and the Launch Party page on the main Social Media Club site.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for with those links, I don’t know what to tell you! As always, feel free to email me with any questions about anything on this site.
A Facebook Fan Worth Singing About
If you run a business Facebook page, then you know getting 10,000 Fans (or “Likes” if you prefer) is a tremendous achievement. It can take some companies years and years of focused effort to reach any number even close to that, but if you’re fortunate enough to reach it, you get a few benefits other than just the large Fan base.
To grow that number, your Fans are probably interacting and are involved with your page. Your content is keeping them entertained and informed, so they have a reason to come back and hopefully even suggest your page to their friends and families. Content is king when it comes to getting Fans, and it’s best to offer your Fans something that they can’t get anywhere else — like a song written about them from your band, for example.
That’s exactly what the band Revive did for its 10,000th Facebook Fan. Here’s the video:
Granted, some of us can’t sing that well, but it should get your mind buzzing about what you could do, to not only get Fans, but to also keep them engaged. I’d love to hear about some of your attempts (good or bad) to get and retain Fans on your Facebook site. Comment below or send me an email!
Are you going to start writing your 10,000th Fan song?
Showing A Little Love: Print Appreciation
Which is your favorite medium of advertising? TV spots? radio ads? Web campaigns? There are so many channels to pick when choosing your marketing message, and a mixture of different media with an integrated message is often the most effective route.
I have always been a fan of print advertising, but it seems to be the first thing a client cuts when trimming down the monthly advertising budget. Direct mail seems to hold on fairly well, but newspaper and magazine ads are out of the campaign long before TV and radio are considered. Now, this is what I’ve noticed from my experience, but it seems to hold true from client to client.
So, I wanted to take this post and highlight some of my favorite print pieces that have been popping up around the globe lately. I will probably make this a mulit-post series and I would love your contributions if you see a print ad that catches your attention.
Join me in a little print appreciation:
It might take a minute to get this one, but once you do, you’ll appreciate it for its imagination. The imagery is different and I was drawn to it because I thought there was more to it than it seemed. There’s yellow car and a blue streetlamp, and when those two colors are mixed, you get green. So, in case of green — Nissan Auto Insurance. If you want to see a few more executions of this campaign click here.
OK, this one might not be a favorite (especially if you’re reading this while eating, sorry!) but it’s hard to argue that the visual isn’t strong. I saw this one on a website and I stopped scrolling to see what it was about. Then I read the header at the top and the strong statement backed up the strong image.
I think this one speaks for itself! Amusing message with a nice usage of white space.
This is has to be one of my favorite print campaigns that I’ve seen recently. I love the vintage look of the ads, and I actually did a post about this campaign that you can see here.
Send over your favorite ads from print, TV, outdoor, or anything you want! Just comment below or send me an email.
When The Facebook “Like” Gets Real
Facebook is getting real, and I’m not talking about The Social Network movie, either. I heard about an agency that came up with a way to “Like” things on Facebook, but in real life (or IRL, if you prefer). I looked into it and I discovered something that I never knew — there is an annual Coca-Cola Village event in Israel and it is one of the biggest attractions for children and teens in the area. This year’s event used Facebook to promote the summer camp, and it was the closest blending of the Facebook digital world with the real world that I have ever seen. This whole development was created by Publicis E-dologic, Israel, and aptly named “The Like Machine.”
Here’s how it worked: each person entering the Coca-Cola Village would receive a bracelet that would release a radio-frequency identification (RFID) signal. Then, there would be devices around the village that would be RFID-readable so visitors could hold their bracelets up to them and “Like” a specific area of the village on Facebook. So, if you’re by the pool and want all of your Facebook friends to see that you “Like” the pool, it’s as easy as holding up your arm!
Even cooler, there was a photographer walking around taking pictures, and if you touched your RFID bracelet to the photographer’s bracelet, the picture would be uploaded to the Coca-Cola Village’s Facebook page and it would already be “tagged.”
To see some footage from the actual event, take a look at this video:
Any interest in wearing one of those RFID bracelets on a daily basis so you can “Like” thinks in real life?
Bill Bernbach: Happy Birthday To A Legend!
Bill Bernbach (1911-1982) might not be alive anymore, but that doesn’t make him or his work any less relevant. Not only is his creative still memorable today, but we also still use some of the same business practices that he put into place decades ago (he is often credited for being the first to combine art directors with copywriters on the same team).
Bernbach graduated from New York University with a degree in English, and he spent his early years working in a mail room before moving on as a speechwriter. After serving two years in the Army during World War II, he quickly created his own agency with an investment of $1,200 (he was one of three founders of Doyle Dane Bernbach, aka DDB). According to the book Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy, Bernbach once told Ogilvy that he (Bernbach) never stayed in the office after five, never took any work home, and never worked weekends. Bernbach went on to explain that this was because he loved his family.
One of his most memorable pieces of work was the Volkswagen “Think Small” campaign, and it is at the top of the list on Advertising Age’s Top 100 Advertising Campaigns:
(click to enlarge)
Two other popular campaigns of Bernbach’s were, “We Try Harder” for Avis, and “Hey, Mikey” for Life Cereal.
“Rules are what the artist breaks; the memorable never emerged from a formula.” — Bill Bernbach
Give It A Go: Your Logo As A Flogo
Simply put, as stated on the Flogos company website: Flying + Logo = Flogo
Flogos is a company that specializes in taking your logo and turning it into a synthesized proprietary surfactant…or soap if you want to keep it simple. Then, since the material is lighter than air, it floats up into the sky like a balloon. The logo will last for about 30 minutes, so that’s plenty of time to get your company’s logo noticed by a lot of potential customers.
Plus, they travel up to 30 miles and float as high as 5,000 feet, so even if you’re the only one watching, it can still be a visual treat.
Nintendo used Flogos to promote the release of Kirby Super Star Ultra for the company’s DS gaming system. It was a multi-city event, and using Flogos was a great idea for the game promotion because Kirby (the star character of the game) can float, so it showcases Kirby’s floating ability. Take a look:
Here’s a closer look at the machinery with a Flogo peace symbol:
Kudos to the geniuses over there! A really great idea, but I could see how it might not be “right” for every company. So…which company logo do you want to see flying high above as a Flogo?
Creative Tank Running Empty? Try An Octopus!
Did you know that an octopus has excellent eyesight and a well-developed brain? It can also use camouflage as a method of protection by changing the color and texture of its skin to match a surrounding area. Lastly, the octopus can appear in separate commercials for different products, so if you’re in a bit of a pinch because your creative well ran dry, harness the power of the varying octopus! Will the cephalopod mollusk equal big bucks for your favorite brand? Well, it seems to be working well for Kraken rum, Jameson whiskey, Pepsi, and Toyota.
Take a look:
Here we see what happens when you attempt to put a beast in your belly. If you order this brand of spiced rum at your local watering hole, you might run the risk of getting snatched right off your bar stool by a mythical sea monster of gargantuan size. Unless your name is Perseus, this would be a bad thing. Decent little spot here, but nothing that is knocking me off my seat.
By now I’m thinking that octopuses really don’t want humans to drink alcohol. If they’re not pulling you off your seat, they are going to confront you if you go diving into the ocean after a barrel of your favorite spirit. This spot has more creativity, and the production value is definitely higher than the Kraken spot.
Take the bar from the Kraken spot, then add the ocean from the Jameson spot, and you might get something that looks like this Pepsi spot. The suave, umbrella-wielding guy is your typical fare for a soft drink ad, and the guy either in an octopus suit, or actually part octopus, adds something a little interesting to the end. Mildly amusing, but I still feel no need to “MAX IT!”
My favorite of the four. Unexpected, amusing, and the most clever overall. Almost feels like a Nike ad there at the beginning.
Which is your favorite?
Social Media, The Way It Used To Be
I love vintage advertising — Ogilvy, Bernbach, Burnett, and even the showman P. T. Barnum laid down the foundation for the world of advertising today. It’s really inspiring to look back over their work because, even with the changes in advertising and media, a majority of it is still relevant and creative.
Being such a fan of the days of the Jolly Green Giant and the man in the Hathaway shirt, I’m pretty much predisposed to like any form of modern advertising that goes “vintage.” For example, take a look this Maximida Seminar campaign from the Moma agency in Sao Paulo, Brazil:
To see the Twitter version of this ad, click here. Now, if these vintage ads for social media look a little familiar, it might be because you’ve seen this video about Facebook, the electric friendship generator!
Yes, I love that video, too. What about you? Think vintage advertising is great, or should it stay in the past where it belongs? Let me know!
Stephen Young
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