Digital advertising and marketing: only the best ideas worldwide, since 2003

Mini: unable to contain yourself?

on June 29, 2005 by Martina comments

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

File under: cassies 2003, mini cooper, taxi advertising

Celebrities missing in UK ads

on June 23, 2005 by Martina comments

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.

File under: beckham, celebrites in ads, l'oreal

Allianz: retire and have fun

on June 7, 2005 by Martina comments

A billboard from FCB Austria for Allianz Insurance. But this woman looks like a man, isn’t it???

File under: allianz insurance, austria, billboard

Nike: you’re faster than you think

on June 6, 2005 by Martina comments

Canadian agency Taxi for NikeSpeed.

File under: billboard advertising, faster than you think, nike, nike speed, taxi canada

TV advertising must evolve

on June 2, 2005 by Martina comments

Is the standard 30″ commercial becoming obsolete? Newsweek has an interesting article on the future of Tv advertising. More and more brands think it is becoming too expensive and, most of all, the results are difficult not only to measure but also to reach. Once again, the point made in the article, is that advertisers (and advertising agencies) need to adapt to the advance of technology and also to the changes in consumers media consumption. Tv advertising not dead, and is not going to die in the next future, but it needs to evolve and find new formats to resist to the competition of emerging technologies (TiVo and dvd recorders, for examples) and of different advertising channels (Internet…).

File under: evolution, media challenge, tv advertising

Dear agency, wake up!

on May 23, 2005 by Martina comments

Is the Golden Age of advertising over? Reading today’s article by Stuart Elliott on The New York Times, I guess the answer is YES and I should probably look for a job in another industry. To tell the truth, the situation is not yet dramatic, but agencies need to wake-up and understand they need to develop a new approach. Clients have smaller budgets and look for new, better ideas. Certainly not the best situation for an advertising agency, but this is it: adapt or die. The article reports the opinions of several advertising experts, more or less complaining about the changes in the industry (I liked Linda Kaplan Thaler, saying that “Creativity used to be, ‘Think inside the box.’ Then it was, ‘Think outside the box.’ Now, there’s no box“). But there is also something positive to read: it’s the BBDO experience with the GE account. They understood (and GE explicitly told them) that something was going wrong, so they changed their approach (and also their senior creative leader) and adapted to General Electrics was looking for: interactive campaigns.

File under: budgets moving online, interactivity, online advertising

Marge Simpson stars in Dove campaign

on January 21, 2005 by Martina comments

Sick of watching wonderful and unreal women starring in beauty products campaigns? Then you might appreciate the ads created by Ogilvy & Mather Chicago for Dove Styling which presents a series of cartoon’s women with an original hair makeover. Wilma Flintsone from “The Flintstones”, Jane Jetson from “The Jetsons”, Velma Dinkley from “Scooby-Doo”, and Marge Simpson “The Simpsons” will star in an integrated campaign which will include TV, print, and outdoor advertising. Not sure whether this solution is cheaper, but it’s no doubt original and potentially viral.

File under: dove styling campaign, marge simpson

Starbucks: The Red Cup

on December 8, 2004 by Martina comments

We don’t hear often about Starbuck’s ads, usually they prefer to market their products in other ways, but this time they have decided to take the Christmas season seriously. As Lewis Lazare wrote on the Sun Times about one month ago, Starbucks has run a major Christmas season teaser campaign in the New York Times. The Internet also plays a role in their marketing effort: there is a web film “The Red Cup“, developed by Creature which represents the filmed extension of an idea that is running in the real world in which Starbucks red holiday venti cups have been attached to taxi cabs and unmarked cars. Well done for Starbucks, from no ads to guerrilla and viral marketing, also in the coffee business you need to keep running…

File under: christmas advertising, starbucks, the red cup

Contextual toilet advertising

on September 16, 2004 by Martina comments

There was a time when restrooms where a peaceful and private place. But now we are living in the toilet advertising era, and there’s no place where we can hide from promotional messages. Ad Age (free reg.) dedicates an article to commercial messages that, since a couple of years, are invading public bathrooms. “… Recording artists, video games and automakers are routinely buying space on the doors of toilet stalls or urinal walls” but it’s good we can also see some “contextual toilet advertising” with brands promoting deodorants, intim soaps and, of course (!), condoms. The article also provides a few stats about bathroom usage (did you know in a bar or a nightclub, the average patron uses a restroom almost three times per stay?). You can’t miss it.

File under: toilet advertising

Worst campaigns of all time

on February 1, 2004 by Martina comments

In a forum on Brand Republic I’ve found an excellent thread talking about the worst campaigns of all time. The discussion is interesting, people is quoting Ford, Hoovers and DaimlerChrysler with Celine Dion. I can think about 3: in december 2002 the launched an impressive campaign in Italy, but they didn’t have any shop or retailer ready to sell their products. They were good in building curiosity, but they didn’t give people the possibility to actually buy the product, so potential customers lost their interest and soon forgot about 3′s offer. A true waste of money.

File under: 3, ford, hoovers, worst campaign

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