The Tree That Rained Skittles

Experience the Rainbow...

Prior to the invention of that wonderful little candy, Skittles, we only had the opportunity to "experience the rainbow" when the raindrops dried after a sultry summer storm.

Then in 1974, a British company found the proverbial pot of gold when they unlocked the magic of a new candy called Skittles. Five years later, it made its debut in the United States and the hard coated colored candy wormed its way into the hearts of people coast to coast.

But, that's not where the fairy tale of the Skittles story ends.

Through years of brilliant 360 degree branding, Skittles has invited all of us - young and old, friendly and curmudgeon, introvert and extrovert - to join the revolution and to experience the rainbow through their website, print advertising, TV advertising and Facebook. 

But, by far, the coolest of all branding efforts falls into the category of nontraditional advertising. And my favorite in this category resoundingly lies with the Skittles Gifting Tree.

According to Evolution Bureau, the genesis of this nontraditional campaign was this: Skittles fans - over 5 million fans strong - were given three choices: 1) A Skittles Gifting Tree, 2) An Elevator Mariachi Band or 3) a Moon-Walking Tubesock. 

"After a fierce 72-hour battle,

consisting of over 46,000 votes,

there was a clear winner.

The agency had 24 hours to create a Skittles Gifting Tree. 

The entire production was shot, edited and redistributed 

through the Skittles community on Facebook."

Sure beats the heck out of raining acorns, doesn't it?

Chevy Camaro Offers The Fountain of Youth

Have you ever noticed that your concept of age is directly correlated to your physical age? As the birthdays begin to pile up, your definition of what middle age or even old age is seems to effortlessly float upward. Plus, we've all heard that saying that was surely written by some 90 year old in search of the fountain of youth:

You're only as old as you feel.

Chevy taps right into that mindset when it targets the Baby Boomer generation with its latest Camaro advertising. Their new Camaro promises that whether you are 65, 75 or 85, a ride in a snappy new red Camaro will make you feel young again.

No question, this is a contemporary and relevant message with the Baby Boomer generation, who fall within the age range of 47-65, and make up 13% of the U.S. population.

What's not to like about this ad ... especially if you are a Baby Boomer?

Let's all recite it together: 70 is the new 50.

Southwest Airlines Makes The Right Call

Opening night of the NFL season.

New Orleans Saints versus my beloved Green Bay Packers.

You can feel the sizzle in the air.

You can see the anticipation of the spectators in the stands.

In some ways, the anticipation for the advertising on that first night of football was almost as exciting as the game itself. (Okay, that is a bit of an overstatement, but I was looking forward to the ads.)

One of the first ads of the night was a storyline we've heard before ... at Southwest Airlines, bags fly free. Like the other ads in the campaign, this one focused on the baggage handlers out on the tarmac acting like the Gestapo, hunting down those big, bad airlines that so boldly and blatantly charge their travelers up to $120 round trip in baggage fees.

There was a bit of a twist to this commercial, however, in celebration of the opening NFL season.

A group of three handlers, with orange and silver striped vests (as opposed to the customary black and white striped referee shirts), throw a yellow penalty flag on the tarmac ... stopping an in-transit vehicle in its tracks.

The group quickly huddles, eager to decide the fate of the driver. Their call?

Unnecessary bag fees.

That's a low blow.

(ba dump bump)

Even though this campaign may be close to reaching its wear-out, I still got a kick out of it (get it? a kick, as in football?). And, all corny kidding aside, I love the fact that bags fly free on Southwest Airlines. That message will never reach its wear-out.

Where Nike is Going, They Don't Need Roads

In 1985, a movie called Back to the Future would entertain audiences by posing the question:

Would you have been friends with your mom and dad

if you grew up with them?

The film went on to steal the top grossing film of the year slot, with $380MM in box office receipts. Back to the Future (followed by Back to the Future II) became a classic, with awards and honors too numerous to count.

We all grew to love Michael J. Fox, the actor cast as an iconic 1985 teenager who was transported back to 1955 when his parents were in high school. We got to know him better as Alex P. Keaton in the TV series, Family Ties, and later as Mike Flaherty in Spin City. His boyish charm wiggled his way into all of our hearts.

But, perhaps the most critically acclaimed role of Michael's life occurred in 1991, when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. As his symptoms worsened, he chose to go public with his illness in 1998 and later to begin the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2010 to help raise both awareness and money to fund research on Parkinson's Disease.

Now, Nike has joined forces with Michael and his foundation to help raise those all-important dollars.

Nike designer, Tinker Hatfield, and footwear innovator, Tiffany Beers, have recreated 1,500 pairs of Nike Air Mags shoes ... the futuristic shoes that Marty McFly wore in Back to the Future II, when Marty was transported forward in time to the year 2015. 150 pairs of Nike Mag shoes are being auctioned off on eBay each day for 10 days, until September 18 when the bidding ends. Current prices are in the range of $2,500 for each pair of shoes being auctioned.

In a recent interview on Late Show With David Letterman, Fox said:

“This brings together three populations of people with major Joneses. The sneakerheads, the Back to the Future people, who, believe me, are out of their mind … in a good way! Thank God for them. And the people in the Parkinson’s community who have an interest in research.”

We can all hope that at some point in our lives, we can look "back to the future" and find no remnants of Parkinson's Disease.

Corona Finds The Beach Again

 

On November 4, I blogged about the latest Corona advertising, imploring that they "bring back the beach." Around that time, they had diverted from their decades-long advertising strategy of always being set on the beach to a new campaign centered on the notion of "Find Your Beach." While it was a bold move, the commercial seemed to fall short of the magic of their previous campaigns.

On opening night of the NFL season this fall, when the Green Bay Packers dominated the New Orleans Saints, Corona Extra returned to TV with a new "Find Your Beach" campaign. All visages of the previous year's campaign were pleasingly absent, with the sole exception of the tagline. Instead, the brand found an interesting and effective way to straddle the old campaign, while injecting new life into the brand.

The ad begins in a very traditional manner for Corona. A man is relaxing on a beach, lazily enjoying his Corona, when a woman appears, pulling a drink cart across the sand. Suddenly, she magically morphs into a flight attendant who rolls up to the man, now seated on an airplane, and asks, "Are we doing okay here?" As he confidently replies, "absolutely," the flight attendant turns her attention to the woman directly across the aisle.

The woman, definitely taken with the calm demeanor of the gentleman, tells the attendant to bring her a Corona. As they tip their bottles against each other across the aisle, they magically transport from the airplane back to the beach. Super comes up: Find your beach.

I believe Corona has successfully extended their brand beyond the beach that had somewhat pigeon-holed them over time. It's nice to see that Corona is acting like the leader they are.

Can Your Life Be Significant Without Ottawa?

Have you heard the recent radio commercials for Ottawa University? You know the ones that tell you to "prepare for a life of significance" by getting your degree from Ottawa?

Is it just me or do you find these ads mildly insulting? It's almost like they're saying that if you don't have a degree from Ottawa University, your life can't be significant. 

Now, it's important to understand that I'm not lashing out at Ottawa because I am not college educated. On the contrary ... I actually have a BBA and MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (which I am very proud to own) and I teach as an adjunct professor at Marquette University.

Rather, I am insulted by this ad for two reasons:

1) I know plenty of people that never went to college that live very fulfilled and significant lives.

2) When I am looking to hire new employees, degrees from schools like University of Phoenix, Ottawa and Kaplan just never measure up to those from other universities.

I must be honest here ... I have previously lumped Ottawa into this same pool of for-profit universities that place more emphasis on turning a dime than on enriching their students.

However, I must give credit where credit is due. This blog encouraged me to check out Ottawa University a bit more and I actually discovered that unlike the University of Phoenix, Kaplan University and Strayer University, Ottawa University actually is a nonprofit university.

With this new information, I'm a bit more likely to view Ottawa in a slightly more "significant" light in the future. But, I still take exception with their tagline...

"Tour de Farms" Bike Ride Misses Opportunity

There is a widespread U.S. phenomenon to lean local when it comes to buying produce. Farmer's markets have sprung up around the country, with an increasingly larger percentage of consumers helping local farmers by serving their families fresh produce. At the same time, fresh local produce helps our environment by transporting produce a few miles as opposed to hundreds of miles across the U.S. or even thousands of miles from foreign countries before being served at your kitchen table.

Braise Restaurant in Milwaukee, chose to marry America's love of local farm food with a call to action to participate in a healthy and educational bike ride called the "Tour de Farms." For $75, bikers had the opportunity to tour a number of local farms, learn about farming operations and sample freshly grown local food.

Cramer-Krasselt offers up some interesting print ads, which combine bicycle parts with fresh vegetables. The ads are clever and engaging. They quickly and eloquently communicate the intended message.

But, despite C-K's efforts, there is a gargantuan missed opportunity with this campaign. Surprisingly, there is another ride called "Tour de Farms" which took place a few months earlier in neighboring state, Illinois.  The whole purpose of this bike ride was to benefit the National MS Society. 

It seems like a giant misstep that the same event name was used and that Braise Restaurant missed out on a stellar opportunity to extend their locavore lifestyle towards helping their community.

Overall assessment? Great print ad campaign, but missed social marketing opportunity.

Sears Eyes Up Raccoons

The spot opens with a woman in her backyard, dressed in a bathrobe, calling for her kitty. Over and over again, she calls out, "Kitty. Here Geezer. Kitty."

A raccoon appears from the fringe of her yard. As it saunters towards the woman, she declares in a childlike voice, "Just come snuggle with mama," ushering the cat into her home.

As your mind is wondering what this ad could be about, the scene shifts to a super that reads:

Missing something?

Ah...the light dawns.  Sears Optical is the sponsor of this rug pull.

The viewer is treated to a scene of the woman snuggling in bed with the raccoon nestled at the foot of the bed. The final super reads, "Sears Optical: Don't Miss a Thing."

I love commercials that deliver an unexpected surprise and that's what this ad did for me. Unfortunately, however, the intrigue and humor of the ad did little to convince me to shop at Sears Optical for my glasses ... even if you can buy two pairs for $99.99.

Sorry Sears.

Kit Kat Ad Creates a Symphony of Sound

 

Who ever thought that 15 seconds of cracking Kit Kats, chewing sounds and sighs of delight could pack such a punch and be so memorable?

I love the simplicity of this campaign. Kit Kat's tagline - break time, anytime - is repeatedly shared with viewers via the snapping and breaking of Kit Kats across the city. The sounds are nearly poetic, forming a symphony of sounds that are decidedly Kit Kat.

So, the next time you're out and about, take a Kit Kat break, pull up a bench and relax.

Milwaukee Opens Doors To Tourists

A peculiar sight beckons pedestrians as they stroll through the streets of downtown Milwaukee these days. Doors are randomly placed on sidewalks throughout the city, standing like soldiers guarding numerous buildings and street corners.

As you walk by, you hear the buzz around town ... what is that door doing there? Does it say anything on it? What are they advertising?

The doors beg to be noticed and to be chatted about.

A QR code on each door unlocks the mystery surrounding these doors.

On September 24-25, Doors Open Milwaukee, presented by Historic Milwaukee, Inc., will provide a special treat to residents and tourists. Nearly 100 buildings around town will be open for their viewing pleasure. 

Some of the sites on tap for visitors include a bird's eye view from U.S. Bank’s 41st floor observation deck, an inside look at the Bradley Center locker rooms,  a peak behind the curtains at the Pabst Theater,  an educational tour of the Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility to see how Milorganite is made, a historic stroll through Irish Tory Hill and the Third Ward, history aboard a bicycle on the Hank Aaron Trail, an illuminated Milwaukee by night, and the redeveloped splendor of the Pabst Brewery complex.

Nice guerrilla marketing tactic from the city that made Samson famous.

Coke Celebrates 125 With New Can Designs

Many of you likely know that Coca-Cola is celebrating its 125th birthday this year. In fact, I previously blogged about how they were lighting up the sky for their birthday on May 17.

Well, all good marketers know that one way to keep the news alive is to continually stoke the fire with new and interesting things.

Enter the new Coke birthday celebration can. Countries from around the world are marking Coca-Cola's 125th anniversary with nostalgic cans that are guaranteed to open up a world of happiness.

Many countries turned to Coca-Cola's colorful past of pin-up girls when designing their cans. Others looked towards vintage advertising and posters. Check out designs from Austria, Hong Kong, England, the U.S., Romania, Columbia, and Puerto Rico below.

AUSTRIA

HONG KONG

  

ENGLAND

  

UNITED STATES

  

ROMANIA

 COLUMBIA

PUERTO RICO

Great Clips Takes a Clip Out of Waiting

This morning, while driving into work, I heard a radio ad for a marriage between Great Clips and Craigs List. Although I wasn't able to find anything about this relationship online, I did find a rather cool mobile app on the Great Clips website.

Hair salons liike Great Clips and Cost Cutters have always prided themselves on the fact that you don't need an appointment. Just walk in the door and snag the next stylist to get a cost effective hair cut ... without having to wait days, or even weeks, to get that highly coveted appointment.

But, the problem with this business model is that if 10 other people have the same idea at the same exact time, you might find yourself sitting in the lobby waiting for awhile.

In steps the new Great Clips mobile app.

This app will automatically find the salons nearest to your current location. Your job is easy. Just add your name, phone number, and the number of people in your group and then head on over to the store. While it may not guaranty that you'll earn a seat in the stylist's chair immediately, it does cut down on the amount of time you'll have to wait.

Nice application of a mobile app grounded in a consumer benefit.

Prague Launches "No Shit!" Ad Campaign

In a recent move to clean up the parks in Prague, Prague 7 launched a new print campaign.  Its message is rather simple:

Shit is not a cool brand.

Clean up after your dog.

Three print executions simply and cleanly - well not exactly cleanly - illustrate the dreaded look of your tennis shoes after unexpectedly walking through doggie doo.

Prague 7 extends their print campaign to their Facebook page. Judging from the guest posts on the site, 212 people gave a thumb's up to the campaign, offering up their words of wisdom regarding this eloquent campaign:

"Smart!"

"Excelente!"

"eewwww hahahaha great one! :D"

"Very clever!"

"Wow!"

"Shit!"

"Love the idea. It's a shitty business..."

And my personal favorite ... "Dirty genius!"

Now the question of the hour is this, does this ad speak to the poor souls that inadvertently walked through the doggy doo or does it speak to the dog owners who are shirking their dog poop scooping responsibilities?

I vote for the latter.

With Chevy, Emotions Run Deep

I was watching TV the other night when a commercial came on that instantly grabbed my attention.

The spot opens with a garage owner telling his customer the "news" ...

"I've got good news for you, kid.

You're getting a new truck. 

It's going to cost more than it's worth. 

Besides, the truck's older than you."

My first thought at this point was to wonder when it is ever good news that your car has just reached its final resting place. Vehicles are so expensive these days that few of us are ever financially able to flippantly take an out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new attitude.

But, that's exactly when the rational side of my brain shut down and my heart took over the analysis of this commercial.

After being told to grab his stuff from the truck, the young dad silently moves towards his old, well-worn truck. He opens the glove compartment and pulls out a picture nestled safely inside, holding it up into the light to gaze fondly at the picture of his father and himself as a little boy.  They are proudly standing in front of their brand new Chevy truck ... the same one currently awaiting delivery to the car graveyard.

He gazes fondly at the picture, clearly with a mind at war with the news he has just heard. The camera pans to a check being written for an undisclosed amount. He hands it to the station owner and utters three simple words that seem to have the same impact that "I love you" would have on a smitten lover ... "Just fix it" he says, and then joins his wife and son as they walk off into the sunset.

The last frame appears telling the viewer, Chevy Runs Deep.
.

I am such a fan of brand storytelling. I truly believe the most effective way to sell a product is to emotionally involve the viewer in the brand experience.

Congratulations to Chevy for a wonderfully powerful and engaging commercial.  

Sainsbury's Offers A Window Into Healthy Living

Sainsbury's, a UK grocer that was founded in 1869,  operates 557 supermarkets and 377 convenience stores throughout England. According to their website, they strive to deliver great products at fair prices, by exceeding customer expectations for healthy, safe, fresh and tasty food.

Recently, Sainsbury's launched innovative new fruit juice packaging which helps deliver this mission to their shoppers.

All of our lives, we have been told that we should eat fruit to stay healthy. In fact, the food pyramid we all learned about in elementary school urges us to eat five servings of fruit each and every day. We all know this, but often settle into an unhealthy pattern of eating.

So, Sainsbury's has launched an awareness campaign to help all Brits remember that all important five-a-day rule.

But, this is no ordinary awareness campaign. Rather, Sainsbury's took this message to the grocery store shelf by redesigning all of their litre juice cartons.  Each juice carton features four transparent windows, with measurements alongside each window. The message? Drink up to line #1 (200ml) and you have just fulfilled one of your five servings of daily fruit. Drink up to the second line and you have fulfilled two servings. Drink up to the third ... well, you get the message. Which is what Sainsbury's is counting on.

Since this product revamp affects 6,500 products, Sainsbury's estimates this new feature will not find its way on to all of their frozen, shelf stable, and refrigerated juices until January 2013. While encouraging all Brits to be healthier, they are also working on making the UK environment healthier too, by reducing package weight on 65% of all packaging.

A win-win for everyone trying to live both a healthier lifestyle and to be kinder to the earth.

Can An Amish Guy Do An Oil Change?

Bosch has launched a viral YouTube video which encourages people to change their own oil, by using a Purolator filter. According to their website, Purolator has been manufacturing and distributing automotive filters since 1923. The history of the oil filter category actually has its roots in Purolator, which was shortened from "pure oil later."

Well, anyway, back to their latest ad.

This video begins with an Amish man driving his horse and buggy. A super appears, which says:  

"Can an Amish guy do an oil change?"

Honestly, I fully expected this was a spoof of some type. I was intrigued, so I continued to watch. I soon discovered this was no spoof.  Bosch and their New York ad agency, Grey, actually created this commercial to encourage people to do their own oil changes.

I have to admit that I am close to speechless after watching this ad ... and believe me, that doesn't happen very often.

If I could assume the duty of being an account planner for Grey for one day, I could almost script the genesis of this idea.

Planner: Hey guys, Bosch has got this new way of doing an oil change that's really easy.

Creative: Really. That doesn't seem very interesting ... aren't all oil changes easy?

Planner: Well, yeah, but this one is really easy.

Creative: How easy is it?

Planner: It's easy enough that someone that has never done an oil change before could actually do it.

Creative: You mean, like an Amish guy?

Planner: Yeah.  Ha ha. That's pretty funny. That's a good tagline ... easy enough that an Amish guy could do it.

Eureka! A creative idea is born!

Okay, I get the single-minded message. No circuitous route to get there.

But, I can't help but think that this commercial is making fun of Amish people and their religious beliefs. Amish people are prohibited from owning, starting, or driving a vehicle because it detracts from the Amish way of life. This is a fundamental tenet of their religious beliefs.  It's so important that the consequences of even starting the engine of a car could result in being shunned from Amish society.

To illustrate this point, at the end of the commercial, the announcer and the Amish man engage in the following conversation:

"Do you ever think of starting one up?"

"No."

"Would you get in trouble if you started the car?"

"I would be shunned. My neighbors would have nothing to do with me."

"What if you tinted the windows?"

"Yeah, but God would know ... and I would know ... and you would know."

Is it just me or do you find this ad disrespectful?

Even, if this isn't a real Amish guy, but some actor that grew a beard, put a straw hat on, and wore plain clothes, it is still making light of a belief system that the Amish people hold near and dear to their hearts.

LinkedIn Is A Networking Connoisseur

I am a huge fan of LinkedIn ... huge enough that I was included in their 100 Million Members campaign that broke last March as a way to celebrate reaching this important pinnacle in their evolution.

Now, I don't hand out my loyalty to just anyone. In my mind, a brand has to earn my trust and respect in order for me to become emotionally connected to the brand.

LinkedIn has done that in spades.

Over the years, they have provided me with the tools needed to become a far better networking and prospecting strategist. What I like most is that they never relax. Instead, they continually make improvements to their user interface, constantly devising ways to help their users seamlessly network with colleagues, clients, and prospects.

Case in point. Yesterday, I received an email from LinkedIn.  The email contained a montage of pictures. To my delight, I actually knew the people pictured in this collage! It turns out they are individuals in my contact database that have changed jobs or revised their status since the beginning of the year.

But, the fun didn't stop there. Each picture was hot-linked to their LinkedIn profile. Plus, cute little messages, like "See Megan's new job" and "Where is Katherine?" were highlighted throughout the picture collage.

With this one simple email campaign, I was able to quickly determine which of my connections had changed jobs this year. People that were of particular interest to me required only one click to catch up with what is going on in their professional life.

Now, you must understand that I am seldom wowed by email campaigns. I get over 100 emails a day and, frankly, I have a really hard time processing all that information each and every day. But, LinkedIn has clearly found a way to break through all that clutter by asking themselves one simple question, How can we help our users? How can we help Sue?

This is a great reminder to all marketers. Stop adding to all the information clutter out there. Stop stroking your own ego. Ground yourself in the mindset of the target. And ask yourself one key question:

What can I do to help?

Zappos Bares The Whole Truth

Quick ... what's the first thing you think of when I say Zappos?

Let me guess ... shoes, right?

Well, Zappos is setting out to change that perception with their latest print ad campaign, in which women are shown wearing nothing but shoes. Covering the well, sensitive parts of their bodies, is a sign which reads "more than shoes."

In a story written by The New York Times, American Apparel's Director of Online Marketing offers the following:

“Are they doing it because they want to get attention

from blogs and Web sites that will write about it? 

Or are they doing it because it’s the ad campaign that speaks

most truly to who they are and what they want to sell?” 

For those that know the Zappos brand, you would have to agree that they are not a typical run-of-the-mill brand. Well renowned for their quirky sense of humor and appeal, customers appear to be very loyal to the brand and their unrelenting focus on customer service.

But, will Zappos customers associate the scantily shoe-clad models with the brand they know and love? Or am I merely playing into Zappos' hand by blogging about this campaign?

What do you think?

Hotels.com Blows Away Customers

Alright, I admit, there is a childlike side of my personality that just loves little claymation figures. I think it may harken back to the days of the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer cartoon figure that I absolutely fell in love with when I was a child.

So, when this commercial for Hotels.com, announcing their 30% off summer sale, came on the other night, I was drawn in immediately.

As I watched the commercial unfold, I found myself wondering why the family's hair was consistently shown being blown by the wind. Until the rug pull happened, of course ... they were "blown away" by all the savings. Nice tongue-in-cheek Hotels.com.

 The only thing I haven't been able to figure out was the lure of a free Amazon Kindle at the very end of the commercial. When I visited Hotel.com's website, I didn't find any mention of it either.

Absolut Advertising Anything But Blank

Building on a lifelong history of romancing their iconic vodka bottle, Absolut is inspiring artists around the world with its next adventure.

This journey began with a creative brief which was distributed to a number of the world's hottest young artists. Artists were given a clean canvas of a large Absolut vodka bottle and asked to create a masterpiece founded on the basis of their new campaign, "It all starts with an Absolut Blank."

The 18 artistically inspired bottles are intended to be a limited run collection. This inaugural line staged its debut in the UK, with plans to air advertising on billboards in L.A. in the near future. The completed artwork will be placed on public display and then extended into print, interactive, digital, collages, murals, and light installations.

Take a peak at some of the stunning designs created for this campaign.

Absolutly Amazing.