October 01, 2009

If you build it virtually will they buy?

A glimpse at what AR will be up to once the novelty factor has worn off. Amazing what happens when creativity is tied to usefulness. Found via @dabitch.

Posted by John on October 01, 2009 at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brave New Marketing , Design , Entertainment , Marketing Trends , Pop Culture , Web/Tech

August 01, 2009

Record Labels, YouTube & Wedding Dances – Strange Bedfellows indeed.

Okay, everybody's already seen this video – this utterly mesmerizing, lovely and charming video – of Jill and Kevin (and their wedding party) dancing their way down the aisle to Chris Brown's "Forever." But why should you care from and ad/marketing standpoint? I'll tell you why.

Since Jill and Kevin didn't get permission from Brown's record label, the couple was technically infringing on they copyrights to the song. However, instead of getting their copyright panties in a bunch, the label did something else entirely: They linked the YouTube video (which is now at nearly 14 million (!) views) to iTunes and Amazon and started making an assload of money off the video's popularity. To wit:

"In the last week, over a year after its release, Chris Brown's "Forever" has again rocketed up the charts, reaching as high as #4 on the iTunes singles chart and #3 on Amazon's best selling MP3 list."  A full case study courtesy of YouTube can be found here.

What a great story: A record label that used consumer generated content to sell some records instead of suing the people that liked the song in their video, fake commercial -- whatever.

And congrats to the happy couple. That is one awesome video, guys. If you'd gotten married a year or so earlier, you could have been in that Weezer video. (I'd show it here to save you a click, but embedding has been disabled by request.)

Hmmm, it appears that most record labels still suck.

Posted by Tug McTighe on August 01, 2009 at 08:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brave New Marketing

July 14, 2009

Mos Def T-shirts: Way cooler than my CD bikini

In a musical genre that is often bereft of original ideas, one rap artist has come through with a great one: T-Shirts.

Wait. What?

Sounds dumb, I know. But this particular T-Shirt might change the music industry forever. On the surface, it looks like a plain ol' cotton job that features the album art on the front and track list on the back. Look a little closer, though, and you'll see a download code that lets you get the whole album for free online. That's right -- the album is right there on the shirt. But that's not even the best part of this whole scheme. Mos, somehow, got SoundScan to count each shirt sold as an album sold.

Awesome, right? I thought so, too. But is it the future of music? Is this how artists and record companies add enough value to the traditional album to get you to buy a hard copy instead of paying half the price to download from iTunes? And most importantly, will I be able to get the new KISS album on a pair of platform boots?

Posted by Nick Kinney on July 14, 2009 at 02:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brave New Marketing

June 30, 2009

This really made me smile. Think I'll buy a can of Pringles today.

Check out this awesome banner ad right here.
Thanks to Ad Freak and Pringles, too. And to Cannes for giving them a Lion.

Posted by Tug McTighe on June 30, 2009 at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brave New Marketing

June 24, 2009

May We Present You With Part II - Kush Support

Just for the record, Kush offers comfort for:

Posted by Tug McTighe on June 24, 2009 at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brave New Marketing

June 17, 2009

DEUS Freaks out the kids.

Back in the day,  Orson Wells freaked America out with his radio show about a Martian invasion. Modern fears aren't centered in outer space. Nope, there's enough to freak out about right here on Earth. Like the coming takeover by Skynet, the Cylons or Google. Here's how McCann Digital, Israel effectively turned technology against its teen masters. 

Posted by John on June 17, 2009 at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brave New Marketing , Marketing Trends , News of the Ad World , Pop Culture , Web/Tech

June 09, 2009

Drink it. It's to die for.

We don't often use this blog to share what we do at our respective agencies but, in this case, it's for a good cause. We recently launched L'Desh Fresh, a new global brand of naturally enhanced water to raise awareness for the importance of the work done by Water Partners International. Beyond the online stuff, we're also mounting live tasting events and a few other surprises.

Every dollar we raise will help save lives. If you're interested in receiving a tasting kit to mount an event in your city let me know via Twitter @americopywriter and I'll get you on the list. Thanks to Back Alley Films, T2, rw/2 studios, evolution audio and rw/2 for helping SHS make it happen.

Posted by John on June 09, 2009 at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: AC News , Advertising , Branding , Brave New Marketing , Current Affairs , Food and Drink , SHS News , The real world

May 29, 2009

NOW they tell us.

This just in: social networks are the taking off! Welcome to 2006, folks.

The article on Business Week is actually a pretty good read, and centers on how we should be using social networks, and goes well beyond just telling us that they're out there. Trust me -- It's not nearly as dated as the headline featured in the AAAA SmartBrief.

Posted by Nick Kinney on May 29, 2009 at 07:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brave New Marketing

May 18, 2009

Curmudgeonliness: Unfortunately, there's not an app for that.

NOTE: Before you read the following post, please watch the above video, which you've likely seen already, but hey -- one more time couldn't hurt, right?

Watch it? Good. Let's begin:

Yesterday at breakfast, my mom the accountant started in on one of her "I saw the funniest commercial yesterday" stories that she uses to give me unsolicited (the best kind) advice on how I should be doing my job. I typically enjoy these conversations, mostly because they make me feel smarter than her, but also because she unintentionally give me little bits of insight that I like to stash away in the recesses of my brain for use at a later time -- like, say, in blog posts.

Anyway, our latest conversation was particularly intriguing. Here's how it went:


MOM: "I saw the funniest commercial yesterday."

ME: [In my "I'm utterly-disinterested-in-what-you're-about-to-say-but-I'll-listen-'cause-you're-my-mom" tone] "Really? What was it?"

MOM: This new Apple ad [Much like seemingly all ad people, my mom loves Apple ads] about programs.

ME: Programs?

MOM: Yeah -- you know, "we've got a program for that."

ME: App.

MOM: ?

ME: We've got an APP for that. What do you like about it, because it's obviously not the copy...

MOM: They just make the them sound really useful. Hey what time is the Royals game tonight? [My mother's brain can be very erratic]

ME: [Looks on Sportacular iPhone app] Six o'clock. Well, don't you think apps probably ARE useful? Just showing off a few examples isn't all that innovative...

MOM: Well, I thought it was pretty cool. Hey, I think your dad wants to go to that game tonight. I wonder if I can get tickets?

ME: [Checks TicketsDirect app] Yes, you can. I just ordered them. Third base line. Pick 'em up at will-call.

MOM: Oh, good. I was worried it was sold out.

ME: Not yet. Probably will be later today, though. And about those apps, do you wanna try any out? I've got my iPhone right here, and there's a recipe book app I bet you'd adore.

MOM: No. That stuff's for you kids. I wouldn't know what to do with it. [Looking at the check, which she refuses to let me pay] Hey, what's 18% of $26.54?

ME [In my head]: I would show you, but calculators are for us kids. You wouldn't know what to do with one.

ME [In reality]: *Sigh* [Opens Tipulator App] $4.78.


That's right, folks. My mom is fully capable of auditing a multi-national corporation, but she really believes that the App store is beyond her realm of comprehension. The best part? Not even a TV commercial THAT SHE TOLD ME MAKES IT LOOK USEFUL or her son using it to solve everyday problems right in front of her can change her attitude. I would say something about old dogs and new tricks, but my mother is a nice upstanding lady, thank you very much, and would likely take offense to being compared to an aged canine.

What I will say, though, is that I wonder if this kind of thinking is exactly why it's often difficult to sell a client on something new and different. Because even if they know it will likely be effective at solving a problem and creative enough to get noticed, they still won't buy off on it because that stuff's "for you kids" and not whatever brand it is they happen to be managing. All of this leaves me wondering three things:

1. How do we convince the current generation of decision makers to change that curmudgeonly way of thinking?

2. Will the next generation of decision makers -- the millenials -- think the same way, or will their upbringing in the digital era leave them more open to change and new ideas?

3. How did my mother the accountant not know what 18% of $26.54 was?

If you've got the answers to these questions, or even just a half-baked theory or two, please help a brotha out and share with the rest of us.

Posted by Nick Kinney on May 18, 2009 at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brave New Marketing

May 07, 2009

Live video banner with comments.

Pretty cool GE. Thanks to @SteveIsaacs for the find.

Posted by John on May 07, 2009 at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brave New Marketing , Current Affairs , Marketing Trends , The real world , Web/Tech