Yoplait Serves Up Sunshine

With 40 flavors to choose from, Yoplait has been focusing much of their recent advertising on the variety of different tastes you can get from one little red (or blue) container.

The most recent ad communicates this message through an array of brightly colored umbrellas, sunshine breaking through the rain and a catchy tune that declares:

I'm thinking sweet.

I'm thinking new.

I'm thinking happy.

And I think that you should too.

I'm thinking yellow.

I'm thinking blue.

I'm thinking all these brilliant colors shining through. 

I loved this commercial on so many levels. While it was a :60 spot I found it so engaging that it felt more like a :30.

And who doesn't like umbrellas?

They seem to pop up all over Pinterest, striking a positive chord with many women. Whether used in rain or shine, all kinds of things happen under umbrellas: romance, dancing, fancy drinks, artwork, smiles, fashion and, of course, rain.

As a loyal Yoplait buyer, I'm really tickled they have created such a memorable and engaging ad.

My only criticism is focused on their less-than-inspired tagline of "Yoplait. It is so good." While I understand they are communicating a double entendre of tastes good and is good for you, it does not feel differentiated versus other yogurts or, for that matter, versus a slew of products in other categories.

Google Father Writes Memoir To Sophie

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of hearing Catherine Roe, head of Consumer Packaged Goods at Google, speak to the Milwaukee Chapter of the American Marketing Association. It was a terrific presentation and one that made me realize just how pervasive Google has become in all of our lives.

For example, how many times have you used Google as a verb

in the past few weeks ... or even in the past few days?  

(Just this morning, I was looking for an iPad case and thought, "I'll have to Google that.")

Catherine shared this heart-felt video with us.

The video, affectionately titled “Dear Sophie,” tells the story of Asian American Google employee Daniel Lee, who sets up an e-mail account for his newborn daughter Sophie. Over the course of the next few years, he captures all the important milestones in Sophie's life, by sending her pictures, videos and e-mails. 

This video is part of a larger campaign designed to show how important Google has become in all of our lives. The brilliance of this campaign is that it tells Google Chrome's message through masterful storytelling. This heartfelt story emotionally draws each of us in, putting a warm, friendly face on the Google experience.

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Check me out on:

Pinterest

Twitter

What Apple Ads Do You Think Are Real Duds?

It is true that brands that have a lot of money can do a whole lot more with their advertising. They can rack up production costs by hiring the best directors, the best producers, the best talent. They can go to exotic places for their photo shoots. They can blow their message out to their target using traditional, nontraditional, and social media. They can sustain their advertising flight for as long as it takes to attain the reach and frequency they're looking for.  They can simultaneously target multiple types of consumers. All because they have a very large and abundant advertising budget.

But money alone does not guaranty that an ad agency will create great ads that break through the clutter, command attention, and motivate the target to buy. Advertising remains a largely artistic endeavor. And, as we all know, art is viewed differently by different people.

So, it's amazing when you begin to look at a wide range of Apple's advertising ... and you see one great ad after another. Whether it's for the Nano, the iPad, the iPhone, or the Air Laptop, Apple seems to get the equation right time and time again.

That's not to say that Apple doesn't product duds from time to time. They do. But, more often than not, they produce ads that are engaging and memorable. I can't tell you how many times I've seen the Nano ad in the past several weeks. Yet, every time I see it, I find myself watching the screen and humming along to the catchy little tune.

So, I'm going to ask for a little help here. Post links to Apple ads that you think lacked the WOW factor. Ones that you saw and thought, "What?"

The start of it all

This fall, I will be asking all of my ADPR1400 students at Marquette University to blog about the marketing communications around them. I've decided it would be fun to blog right along with them.

Stay tuned for interesting blogs about communications in all its forms - traditional, nontraditional, social, digital.

Sue Northey