See how Axe managed to bring some life to a small town in Alaska...

The viral created by The Viral Factory is definitely funny and very well done, also because the Axe brand name appears only in two quick shots.

Tag = viral marketing

DMNews explains the basics of mobile marketing. Nothing special, but if you don't know anything about it, take note:
- it's not a mass marketing tool
- it's not (just) about advertising
- works better if integrated with other media
- it's a two-way channel
and last, but not least...
- people are very sensitive: to spam is to die!

Sony Pictures is building curiosity around its upcoming movie "The Cave" with a graphically advanced advergame. The site doesn't say much about the movie, just challenges you to escape The Cave "before it's too late". The virtual Cave looks kind of scary, the environment delivers a good experience but the game itself isn't very engaging.

I looked for information about this movie but I haven't found anything useful. It doesn't look like the kind of film I'd like to see, but I was curious to understand Sony's strategy behind its release, since non content is provided on the official site.

[game via Fuel Games Blog]

Automotive company Lexus has signed a deal to sponsor for 26 weeks the podcasts at KCRW, a public radio station in California. AdAge reports the news and adds a few comments on podcasting and its value for marketers. In the automotive industry Volvo and General Motors have already given a try to podcast marketing, which absolutely looks like a direct and smart way to reach niche audiences.

Lexus has signed a deal based on CPM (cost-per-thousand), so it is going to pay for the actual number of downloads the podcast will get. Lexus' links and logos will appear on the KCRW podcast player, and the brand will be mentioned at the beginning of each podcast.

Over 40 campaigns have been selected to access the round two of the European Effies which will take place in Brussels at the end of July. Among the 22 shortlisted agencies TBWA\Germany and Springer & Jacoby received three nominations each.
The shortlist is available here (open .doc).

The Search Marketing Association has been formed this week to promote the use of search engine marketing in the in the UK. One of the men behind this initiative, Simon Collingridge from Netsposure explained the idea is the help companies getting the most from online marketing, attracting the right visitors to their websites and converting them to prospects or customers.

Festland for St. Galller Tagblatt (Switzerland 2005).
Copy: "More than a newspaper".

[ads via Werbewoche]

Cravero Lanis for Suzuki Fun - General Motors (Argentina 2005).
The copy says: "Details create the personality. Personalize your Suzuki Fun".

The International Herald Tribune has an interesting article on luxury brands and the evolution of their marketing strategy in the age of the new consumer.

Considering that "it's hard to improve upon perfection", it is no longer a question of fashion, now it's a question of style. Rich customers are still willing to pay (a lot) for luxury products. But they ask for lasting perfection. Made in China is not welcome.

Everybody, everywhere needs a marketing strategy. The CNN has an interview with marketing guru Philip Kotler in which he provides five tips for marketing success.
Among the things he says, he stresses the importance of "knowing your customer" and "owning your branding", which basically means listen to the people and focus on the brand experience.

Scholz & Friends Stockholm is behind the new Nike online marketing effort to support the Women Moves campaign. The agency has created a website to present the Nike Women Moves concept with a series of animated dancing silhouettes. Infotainment content explains visitors where to find the best dance courses and which trainer suits them best. A short film "The true tale" is also available. Don't expect too many special effects: the soundtrack is pretty good and so is the cartoon concept, but Nike used to do better.

Online ads are running to drive traffic to the site targeting women in Benelux and Scandinavia.

Not new, but cool...
Taxi Advertising for Mini (2003).

MTV has signed a deal with game publisher Midway Games to sell in-game advertising, collaborate on game soundtrack development, and develop complementary television programming.

This should be the first of a series of agreements MTV has planned to strike in order to attract advertisers interested in the Y-generation.

Integrate and innovate, this is the lesson Kinetic Worldwide is trying to teach its clients, educating them to the benefits of including mobile shortcodes on outdoor advertising. New Media Age (sub. req.) reports the company believes starting a mobile relationship via SMS is even more important than driving traffic online by adding an URL on billboards.

If you remember, Batman used to drive a Citroen so now it's not strange to find out King Kong drives a Volkswagen.

Confirming a consolidated co-marketing trend connecting Hollywood and the automotive industry, Volkswagen has launched an "entertainment" section on its website to present the upcoming movie directed by Peter Jackson. If you're a movie fan, it's worth visiting, because the content actually brings you behind the scenes.

To present its new 107 in France Peugeot has launched a microsite with a nice graphics and a few goodies. Given the target this car tries to reach, I liked the advertainment approach Euro RSCG 4D has decided to choose. The site is divided in four sections presenting the 107's characteristics connected to the shopping experience, the environment and the city (coming soon). If you click on "107 & l'environment" you find "Park your 107" a funny advergame to test your parking ability. There is another game in the "city" section, but it's an .exe you need to download and I've been able to test it with my iBook.

In Germany, the Peugeot 107 site is very similar but not as nice. At first sight it looks like a bad replica with no games.

Dannon has launched Frusion Breakfast Brawl, an advergame to promote Frusion, its drinkable yogurt. The microsite created to present the new product also features the TV spots and allows visitors to download and print a coupon to get a Frusion free sample: a good example of traditional and interactive marketing techniques mixed.

For an extensive (and good) review of the advergame, have a look at what Brian wrote on his Fuel Games Blog.

Virgin Atlantic has started podcasting offering audio travel guides to its destinations. The first podcast is dedicated to New York, to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Virgin's first flight to the Big Apple. The first podcast is a guide to the best restaurants and pubs, three more audio guides to New York will follow. More destinations will be added soon. The service is offered through Loudish and Virgin Atlantic claims to be the first UK company podcasting.

TBWA\Paris with these ads for Pedigree (dog biscuits) won the Gold Lion for the best Outdoor campaign in the "Miscellaneous" category.

The copy says: "Because dogs don't always have it easy".

In Argentina Chevrolet has launched an integrated campaign to target young adults. Adlatina (free reg.) reports MRM Partners has created a promotion which starts with the distribution of postcards in popular bars and restaurants in Buenos Aires and ends with a sort of interactive game on a dedicated microsite. The competition challenges visitors to build up a character that best reflects their personality using the available styles. As usual, iPod are the prizes.

Probably (and hopefully) the offline campaign looks nicer than its online version.

Canadian telcom operator has launched "The Moving Day Madness" an advergame to promote its Online Moving Centre.

[news via Ipub.ca.cx]

On Reuters Jeffrey Goldfrab writes "The Marlboro Man is having an identity crisis" commenting a study (Metros Versus Retros: Are Marketers Missing Real Men?)conducted by Leo Burnett which found out most of the men (about 74 percent) think images of men in advertising are out of touch with reality. In the "real" world there aren't only macho men, but also fathers, who enjoy spending time with their families and aren't very much interested in ads proclaming masculinity.

The message Leo Burnett delivered during a presentation in Cannes is clear: agencies need to wake up, abandon the old stereotypes and start investigating how men are changing and adapting to society's changes.

Infopresse reports Canadian beer Labatt Bleue has launched an advertising campaign (print & tv) to promote its brand and "la fiertè quèbècoise". A website is also part of the effort. Online, Canadians are invited to share their photographs with a beer taken from around the world. BBDO Montré took care of the creativity.

Alfa Romeo has setup a microsite to promote its new Alfa 147 Pack Techno. A series of viral videos entertain the visitor on the homepage, featuring the messages "how to pack 60 hours of music in a 147?" and "why calling wireless from an Alfa 147?". A competition also allows Alfa fans to win an iPod 4 if they invite friends to visit the site.

To me this looks like an excellent example of viral marketing, because the video content and the prizes are strictly related to the product that the car and its features. I just regret that despite Alfa Romeo is an Italian brand, the campaign isn't running in Italy but only in France.

Soft drink brand Appletiser has launched this month in the UK an on-pack promotion to drive sales and engage consumers in a mobile relationship. Steam and Netsize have created a text to win competition which allows entrants to win diamond jewellery every day for 3 months. All entries then go into the main draw to win £50,000 worth of diamond jewellery designed by Tom McEwan. An online quiz is also part of the effort.

On iMediaConnection Doug Schumacher takes us behind the scenes of the online campaign Basement has created for Sugarshots. The case study is very interesting because it debates whether an ad should feature a visual of the product, or some other image the agency feels more compelling. The article is part of a series dedicated to Sugarshots, quite useful to find out the questions an agency needs to answer when developing an interactive campaign.

The CNN presents an interview with Maurice Levy, president of Publicis, the world's fourth largest advertising company. Talking to Todd Benjamin, Mr Levy shares his ideas on leadership, personality and atmosphere and when asked whether Publicis wants to be the world's biggest advertising company he replies:

"The most important ambition in the world is not to be the biggest. You don't need just a big checkbook to be the best. To have the best people, to attract the best client, to sell them the best work; this is a real ambition. This is a much bigger ambition than just a question of numbers."

Amsterdam Advertising for the National Geographic Channel.

[ad via Advertising/Design Goodness]

The Yankee Group quoted in an article on eMarketer, predicts in-game advertising will be worth $562.5 million by 2009, while advergames will account for $312.2 million in ad revenues in 2009, compared to $83.6 million in 2004. The research also points out that from 2006 in-game advertising revenues will surpass the ones from advergaming. The numbers makes more sense if we consider that Kagan Research estimates 54 million households in the US will own at least one video game console by 2010.

Incentivated has been selected by the Greater London Authority to provide targeted mobile marketing communications to Londoners. Texting the word "Mayor" to the shortcode 62967 Londoners will have the possibility to discover a new range of location-based services and mobile commerce services such as the "Ticket request by SMS". Mobile marketing will also be used to promote events in the capital and inform people about the GLA initiatives.

[News via E-Consultancy]

Micropersuasion reports Purina, the Nestlé animal food brand, has started podcasting. The Animal Advice is a weekly podcast featuring veterinarians and pet lovers talking about pet training, behavioral theories and pet insurance.

Purina is a brand which pays quite a lot of attention to the new marketing trends. It already has a wireless section where pet owners can download ringtones (Barking Dog, Meowing Kitty or Purina theme) and mobile wallpapers, furthermore it offers a series of RSS feeds on pet related issues.

AdAge (reg. req.) reports on the Cannes section entitled "Building a Better Mousetrap" in which Martin Sorrell, Howard Draft, Chuck Porter and Lachlan Murdoch debated the challenges for the media and advertising industry in a consumer-controlled, on-demand world. The battle has just begun and companies are not (yet) defeated, but they need to react fast and find out new ad sales models. Unfortunately the article doesn't say much about the possible solutions.

On Le Monde (in French) Laurence Girard provides a deeper view on the advertising world and the consumer becoming an actor, not just a passive viewer, in the promotional process. The article quotes, among the others, the opinion of Russ Klein, marketing director at Burger King: "L'important, c'est ce que les gens disent de nos marques, pas ce que la marque dit. Nous voulons créer une conversation autour de notre marque" ("The important thing is what people say about our brand, not what our brand says. We want to create a talking around our brand").

The controversial ads created by DDB Spain for Knorr Pasta Sauces have been awarded with the Bronze Lion in the category "Press advertising: savoury foods".

The tiny copy says: "Not all sauces are tomato sauces".

The idea might be good from a creative point of view, but I wonder how effective this campaign has been. I believe the first reaction these ads provoke is disgust so, considering the fact they're promoting food, I'm not sure whether they drove or actually prevented purchase intention.

If you'd like to experience the atmosphere of the Cannes Lions, read the article by Eric Pfanner on the International Herald Tribune. A little bit of gossip, some insights in a witty overview of what happened last week.

Samsung products will "invade" the upcoming movie (and videogame) "Fantastic Four" with a massive product placement. To support its sponsorship the Korean brand will also launch an integrated campaign with online ads appearing on over 425 consumer websites, a tv spot and a 60 seconds commercial running in movie theaters. The TV commercial will also run on the Samsung billboard in Times Square in New York City.

The online activity presents a sweepstake and a series of downloadable mobile goodies.

The new Email Trend Report just released by Doubleclick shows an increase in the click-to-purchase conversion rate, which rose 24.2% (from 3.3%) to 4.1% versus Q1 2004. On the other side we face an overall trend indicating a decline in opening rates (from 38.2% in Q1 2004 to 30.2% in Q1 2005). Good news for what concerns bounce rates which were at an all time low at 8.3%.
Commenting the Report Kevin Mabley, Senior Director and General Manager of Strategic Services at DoubleClick said: "This quarter's data demonstrate the continuing effectiveness of email for communicating with and marketing to customers".

Fitzgerald + Co is behind the new interactive marketing idea by Durex condoms which defines itself "The World's #1 Source for Penis Outfits". The site, www.durexdickorations.com offers gentlemen the possibility of downloading costumes to dress up their best friends ;-)

[news via AdCritic]

The idea of Rethink (Canada) to promote the 3M security glass has been awarded with the Silver Lion for Outdoor advertising.

[3 million in fax bills (with real bills on top) was placed between panes of transit glass treated with shatter-resistant coating].

In Germany beer brand Frankenheim and the German Handball Federation are the sponsors of the first handball advergame, ever created by Branding Solutions. Players who decide to leave their personal data become eligible to win prizes are connected to the sport: two VIP entry tickets for the Super Cup final next October.

Zed Media has won the British Telecom online media account worth 15m pounds.

Wieden & Kennedy has been selected by Procter & Gable to take care of the global Eukanuba (pet food) account.

AdLink will be selling ads for ViaMichelin.co.uk.

Scandinavian Airlines has appointed Liquid Communications to handle its direct marketing account.

Universal McCann and Mindshare have won the Telefonica account in Spain for the next three years. They will handle a budget of about 200 million Euros.

Agency.com has been picked by humanitarian charity Christian Aid to handle its online account.

Olla condoms is running a nice outdoor campaign in Brazil. Visit Marketing de Guerrilha to see all the billboards.

If you're interested in condoms' production process, take the "virtual factory visit" on their website.

Webliquid is behind the viral campaign launched by Hilton Hotels to promote its brand in the UK.
Have a look at www.impresshilton.co.uk and tell me if you're impressed or disappointed. Given Hilton's target audience, I wonder what's the value of this campaign. Too me it looks like they went viral just because everybody is going viral...

DDB Belgium for Pfizer Viagra, winner of the Gold Lion for best magazine print campaign in the Healthcare & Prescription Drugs category.

The full list of Cyber Lions winners is now available (download .pdf), let's have a look at the entries that received the Gold.
Interone Worldwide (Germany) won with Mini Relauch in the websites automotive category.
Korean agency D.O.E.S. won in the travel, entertainment and leisure website category with "A Bittersweet Life" an online movie to promote a movie.
R/GA (US) confirmed doing excellent interactive stuffs for Nike with the Nike Lab Holiday site winning in the Sportswear, Fashion and Clothing category.
Dentsu (Japan) won with the FM Festival 2004 site in the websites Publications & Media category.
Taxi (Canada) was awarded for the best online advertising in the Automotive sector with the Black Sheep campaign for Mini Canada.
DDB Brazil won in the Online Advertising Travel, Entertainment & Leisure category for the Run campaign forCompanhia Atletica Gym. They also won in the Online Advertising Consumer Products & Services category with Just in Time for FedEx (superb!!).
Tequila\Brazil won with Tall for Adidas in the online Advertising Sportswear, Fashion & Clothing category.

In the United Kingdom the use of celebrities in advertising is declining. A new report by WPP research points out only one in eight ads now feature a celebrity, marking a decline in usage from 21 to 13 percent in the past five years. Brand Republic explains the usage in celebrities goes in waves, so we might expect a rise in the next future.

Picking the right testimonial can prove an incredibly powerful move for brand promotion. This is probably what L'Oreal has in mind since it's offering David and Victoria Beckham a multi-million deal to promote its hair care products.

In the UK Fiat is running an advertising campaign to push its models to the women segment. Revolution Magazine reports the Italian car brand has set up a micro-site featuring the message "I love Fiat" with the aim to provide information about the models. Radio, print and online ads are driving traffic to the site which also hosts a competition that will give away a "Panda Eleganza" to a lucky winner.

The site, developed by Emap Advertising, looks awful to me because of the colors' choice. Even if Fiat is an Italian company, it doesn't mean you "have" to use green, red and white to effectively support a brand. A part from this, the site is also packed with stereotypes: pasta, Venice and fashion. I just miss the mandolino...

Ogilvy & Mather Santiago for Lego (Chile) received the Outdoor Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions.

The Cyber Lions Grand Prix winners have been announced: Crispin Porter & Bogusky has been awarded for the "Come Clean" website for Method brand, while DDB Sao Paulo won for its "Reality Advertising" site for Henkel's Super Bonder Instant Glue.

DDB Sao Paulo has also been named Interactive Agency of the Year.

I've just updated my list of blogs dedicated to marketing and advertising issues.
Among the new blogs added, I'd like to mention Brutal Clarity by marketing expert Krishnan Menon who has been, among the others, consulting futurist, focusing on marketing innovation, for Steven Spielberg's Minority Report, and has worked on marketing the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the iMac and iPod.
For those of you who speak/understand Italian, Creative Classics by Marco Fossati is another must read.

In Switzerland Nokia is running an online competition to promote its new 3230 smartphone. Visitors to the 3230 microsite are challenged to create an online MMS story uploading their pictures and texting some sentences using an interface which also allows adding special effects. The best entries will receive the 3230 Smartphone as a prize. Ads promoting the campaign are running, among the others, on Yahoo!.

(yes, I'm the girl in the picture ;-)

The Martini Mansion opens its doors to the Dutch public. A gorgeous villa in the Italian Riviera and a relaxing atmosphere, these are the ingredients of the advertainment site created by Doorn & Roos for Martini in The Netherlands.

Visitors to the Mansion can get their private pool with Martini, promoted with two viral videos (1 and 2). If you're interested in getting the swimming pool, consider you are in The Netherlands, which means you are asked to pay 7€ for the delivery expenses ;-)

[link via BlogFonk]

Campari has partnered with MTV for the promotion of the "Red Passion Party" a series of music events which will take place this summer around Europe. The initiative is supported by a dedicated microsite www.redpassionparty.com which hosts a competition to win a week of "Red Passion" with Campari. The site is localized for Italy, Romania, Poland, Spain, UK, Portugal and Scandinavia (in English).

TBWA Japan has won the Media Lion for the Best use of Outdoor in the Impossible Sprint campaign for Adidas which featured a vertical 100m dash. John Merrifield is the creative director/copywriter behind the ad that was placed last year on two buildings in Hong Kong and Osaka. TBWA found an excellent solution to grab people's attention in the saturated outdoor advertising spaces in Asia and to deliver the Adidas "Impossible is nothing".
The campaign generated an incredible impact and received a lot of attention also from the media. The X-Games have expressed interest in making the vertical 100m dash a "real" sport.

General Mills has announced today the launch of a new television "nonbranded" campaign targeting children.
The initiative is called "Choose Breakfast" and has the goal to promote healthy breakfast with cereals. The campaign was created by Saatchi & Saatchi New York, and will run for a full year reaching more than 80 percent of children nationwide. A dedicated website www.choosebreakfast.com is also part of the effort, featuring content designed to engage kids on the benefits of eating breakfast.

If you can read French you'll surely enjoy today's article on Le Journal du Net dedicated to the new trends in online advertising. Brands have started understanding the role the Internet can play in the media mix, they are discovering its pecul