Mashability.

To start, two truths:

1. People like to laugh. It feels good. It releases endorphins. It's contagious in a good way.

2. People generally do not like to watch commercials. Ignore me if you like, but it's true. Given the option, they will channel surf or DVR through.

Here's where humor can make all the difference in getting your message heard. And I'm talking real humor; not contrived, inside, marketing humor. Stuff that's funny instinctively to people watching who don't want or expect to laugh while you're trying to sell them something.

In fact, there's an audience that not only watches funny commercials, but takes unsolicited liberties and mashes them up to create their own versions, then sends them around to friends or posts them on YouTube, their blogs, etc. Sometimes this sort of action borders on copyright infringement, but nevertheless, it's a compliment to the creators and brand, itself.

Geico has been delivering against the same strategy for some time now - all it takes is a short, painless call or online submission and you can save $ on insurance.

Clearly, a marketer committed to making its audience laugh. As well it should be - this is, after all, insurance. A product you pay for with hope of never having to actually use. And the minute you're forced to use it, is the minute your premium goes in jeopardy of increasing. Really, there's nothing funny about any of it. It's a necessary evil.

But when it comes to advertising, Geico puts on a funny face and aims to position itself as the user-friendly insurance brand -- the least offensive of the options; cheap and easy.

If you must (and you must), why not give Geico a try?

What I like about their latest spots, particularly the one that features Abe Lincoln (below) is its mashable potential. The way they stretch the punch line til the very last second - it keeps me engaged. Not just a funny one-liner, cut to product, but 30 seconds of funny. The footage seems authentic. It's something you want to keep watching. And then, share.

If an insurance company can go beyond getting a chuckle, to getting an active viewing, to getting their ad shared, to getting their ad mashed up and manipulated in a good way, they've done good in my book.

Now all they need to do is deliver on their money-saving promise. Let's hope they can.

Mashable and ON STRATEGY.

Absolutly

One could argue what separates bad vodka from good vodka from great vodka is how little it tastes. Not how it tastes - but how incapable it is of being tasted.

Sort of like pure spring water with a buzz.

Like most things, decisions in this category are a lot more cerebral than that. There's badge equity. More often than most of us care to admit, we tend to select (the bran) that we think matches our personality. Do you want to be seen as pretentious? A trendoid? A thug? A jetsetter? One of the cool kids?

Absolut has had a good run for a number of years, largely because it taps into culture and leverages whatever is hot or interesting or topic du jour in its (predominately print) advertising. To launch its line of flavored vodkas, they got a bit more literal - perhaps, rightly so - showing the fruit from which it derived its essence. Less artsy or interesting, but equally effective from a consumer perspective.

What's great from a brand strategy standpoint is the marriage between cultural context and the product, itself. The bottle always maintains its position center stage, but the stuff that's relevant and engaging for consumers - those insights that often get diluted beyond the point of comprehension or stripped entirely from the execution - aren't diminished at all. It's a perfect marriage.

There must be people who collect these ads. I know there's a coffee table book. I've seen t-shirts that riff off the campaign concept, which is as big a compliment as any.

But, nothing particularly special about the bottle itself - other than a nice sleek design, badge equity and good drinkability, available in a variety of flavors. Until now.

A collector's bottle? Of vodka? Based on something other than how long it aged? Brilliant.

Truth be told no one wants a bottle that says Pear or Citron sitting on his or her shelf. Certainly not an empty one. Regardless of whether you like the flavor and the brand, unless you're a college kid using it to collect pennies (possible), there's not much collector-worthy about it.

But Brooklyn IS. And who better than Spike Lee to give Absolut a little street cred? I love the detail (words on the stoop steps), personal influence (# of Spike's childhood apartment), flavor tie (apple...as in BIG apple) and the charitable connection (donation to Habitat for Humanity) doesn't hurt either.

Using a spoken word artist to promote the new flavor? Absolutly ON STRATEGY.

Get more relevant.

The focus again today is on brand strategy, not advertising.





Specifically, lattes, wine and wi-fi.





Most of you following know Starbucks is one of my favorite brands. Inconsistent baristas and a recently misguided Via campaign (imo), but still a great brand. And a brand truly committed to understanding consumers and giving them more of what fits within their lives.





The latest announcement comes a little late, but makes up for it's timing with some extra buzz.





First the late part. Starbucks should have had free wi-fi ages ago. It should not take Panera and McDonald's applying competitive pressure for a brand in an obvious leadership position to get on this bus, but better late than never.





Now, the extra buzz part. The addition of wine is very smart.





Starbucks' early success has a lot to do with being the anti thesis of most other restaurant concepts. Rather than the 'get 'em in, get 'em out' philosophy most operators believe is mandatory to keep the registers ringing, Starbucks has always encouraged customers to linger. And sometimes without even making a purchase.





It set its sights on being a gathering place, with a great product that you'll naturally buy. But more importantly, a place that quickly becomes a habit, worth the premium and a badge. Whether it's a place for socializing, a place for getting work done, a place for a business meeting or something else, it is a destination. People feel comfortable hanging out.





Now that they've set this stage, it's time to leverage to start doing more. More of what's relevant for their consumers.

Wine makes natural sense, as does wi-fi. And I heard about some cool exclusive, branded Internet content stuff that's coming down the pike too - all of which will be accessible to those hanging out at Starbucks.

A year or so ago, there was a lot of speculation about Starbucks going down. It didn't happen then and it won't happen now, because they have a loyal following and make smart business decisions like this that keep them relevant. Simple and ON STRATEGY.

Let's talk product.

We've talked a lot on here about advertising, but I had to dedicate today's post to what comes before advertising. Product innovation.



Yes, there's a strategy for that too.

This new phone called Kin is nothing if not fueled by consumer insight. That insight, of course, is that phones are no longer just for talking; they're about staying connected in all sorts of other ways.

Having worked on an innovation team, I've witnessed first hand how long it can take to go from insight to product. In fact, most of the insights never make it half that far. The majority are dismissed along the way for some reason or series of reasons, the common denominator of which typically involves lack of money, speed or resources.


The success of any new product is largely correlated with speed to market. If the insight that inspired the innovation is no longer relevant by the time the product launches, or if your competitor beats you to the punch, odds are your product launch will suffer.



If, on the other hand, you recognize an insight, acknowledge the risk, agree to take that risk, assign sufficient resources and prioritize launch within X time frame, you'll be well on your way.



Kin is a brilliant innovation because it's less about inventing new technology and more about repackaging, reorienting and repositioning what's already there. Sure, it can do some things other smartphones can't, but largely it's about making the link between two points of user behavior - capturing stuff and sharing stuff.



In a word, seamless.

Kin may have challenges in establishing a quick following, but at the relatively low price point, this should be a home run with the late-teen / early 20's crowd to which it's targeted.

ON STRATEGY.

Engagement is only step 1 (revisiting a common problem).

I have a theory on copy testing that has to do with engagement and persuasion.

Like anything, this is subject to some debate, but my theory is based on the reality that something must engage before it has the opportunity to persuade. Thus, high persuasion and low engagement scores won't sell a product.

Nor will high engagement and low persuasion scores (sell a product). What the latter might do, however, is get your ad talked about and with the social media funnel as it is, that's good for some viral action and more eyeballs than you originally paid for.

Furthermore, persuasion should be product-centric so assuming you have a good product, that should be easier to "fix."

Nonetheless, it's ideal to do both well -- engage and persuade.

This spot for Toshiba laptops does a decent job with engagement, but misses big with persuasion. Take a look:



Animal lovers in particular will get sucked right in to this. Tears in the monkey's eye and everything. There's a nice story with a little tug at the heart strings, but ultimately we're left wondering what Toshiba has to do with solving the problem.

Obviously the insight here is about how important it is to keep in touch and how dependable technology is simply a must. Trouble here is that's hardly a credible brand promise. Is Toshiba the leader in dependable laptop technology? Not the last time I checked. I could be wrong, but I need convincing - and I'm not the only one.

It's a bold statement to make. And if it can be backed up with fact, that's huge, but we need a head nod to some of that in here. At the very least, we need some part of the story to show how Toshiba - not any computer with an Internet connection - makes this possible.

Good engagement that sells the category will do just that. And when you're not a category leader, that's a costly error.

For lack of product differentiation, I'm left with no choice but to call this OFF STRATEGY.

The power of nothing.

This spot for Droid X is intended to get people salivating over the new product out next month.



I wish I'd caught this on TV before seeing it online with the benefit of knowing the advertiser before watching, but I'm pretty sure my POV would be the same.

In relatively short time, Droid has managed to build a brand - from scratch and largely through advertising - out of sound, graphics and animation. The signature "Droid" sound button is as good a brand badge as any logo or tag line. It delivers personality, and implicitly through execution, product promise, without uttering more than a single syllable.

That's a pretty powerful proposition.

The vast majority of marketers out there would never approve this spot, even as a teaser. They'd baulk at its self indulgence and demand more product description. Make that, A product description. And then, probably more product description.

The insight here is easy - people want technology. Give them technology, then as soon as you do, start inventing something better, faster and more capable - then give them that. Repeat.

Droid has a big mountain to climb. It's called iPhone. And everyone knows Steve Jobs has tomorrow's hottest thing yesterday, so how do you promise innovation that innovates quicker?

You don't.

You just create a futuristic land and convince people your product lives there. A product invented by robots in a futuristic world. It's not believable ... in words.

This proves how it's possible for words to become superfluous. In fact, that may be a brand's greatest compliment - the ability to tell its story without literally telling a story.

Engage. Evoke emotion. Show personality. Demonstrate promise. Differentiate. Call to action.

Droid does STRATEGY.

Putting strategy in the right place.

There's an old advertising expression that's rather pejorative. It goes something like, "pardon me, your strategy's showing."

I half agree with that sentiment. But, my other half vehemently disagrees.

Yes, strategy should serve as a jumping off point and no, it should not be interpreted so literally that delivering against it is at the sacrifice of engaging the audience with emotional, funny, sticky, pretty, cool or interesting stuff. And in most cases, it's a bad idea to write the strategy into the copy, but that doesn't mean it can't be done organically and be effective.

Here's my rule of thumb - in its final form, if the insight that inspired the brief in the first place isn't baked in sufficiently; if the very people for whom the ad was created don't see stimuli (ad) that resonates because it reflects the insight (presumably, their's) that got it there in the first place, then it's a miss. It might still be funny, pretty, cool, current or interesting, but it's probably not as powerful or resonate as it might be if it had all that plus a reflection or a refraction of said insight.

Enough philosophy, let's get on to the ad. This spot from Wilson uses Roger Federer to promote its BLX racquets.

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Not the best commercial ever produced, but a very clear, differentiated product proposition and a solid insight about how tennis players rely on equipment to play the sport.

The insight is about feeling. In tennis, what you feel when the ball hits the racquet is critical to your return, thus critical to your success with the match. If your hand goes numb from the racquet's vibration, that's bad. If you feel nothing at all, that's equally bad. Feeling is key.

The use of the therapist couch on the tennis court to illustrate the dual meaning of "feeling" is effective, as are the multiple mentions of "feeling" throughout. Sure, it's a bit corny, but it's unlikely to be missed or forgotten.

I'm also impressed they paid for Federer, used him to get attention and establish credibility, but then dedicated the rest of the spot to driving home on the product benefit in a memorable way. An alternate approach would've been 40 seconds of Federer slamming the ball around the court followed by a 5 second product plug. That would have been far less effective.

I'm not sure it's grand, but this is a good slam ON STRATEGY.

C'mon get social

Every marketer thinks they've got this social thing covered, but the reality is a Facebook page and Twitter account barely make you legit anymore.





Mountain Dew steps forward with an impressive effort in Dewmocracy. Here's a brand actually willing to stand behind its social efforts by doing more than simply starting a conversation thread or engaging in scant, superficial, occasional dialogue - but, a true partnership with consumers that has product implications.

http://www.dewmocracy.com

Let's face it - consumers want to engage with brands SO THAT they can influence the products the buy. That sounds obvious, but often overlooked.




In fact, to call them consumers doesn't do justice in this case; these are truly brand fans.





The Dewmocracy initiative sent teams on the street, traveling across the country to see which of three potential new Mountain Dew flavors should come to be. The decision was informed entirely by fan voting.





But inviting consumers to help shape the product decision was merely the beginning - the name, the package design, the product color, the advertising - all consumer influenced.





Particularly impressive about this effort is the partnership between brand fans and the brand management team back at Mountain Dew. Not sure if the agency had a hand in this stuff at all. And while I'd typically call that a bad decision, in this case it really works - most likely because the brand team decided in advance to actually let the fans do the leading and they do the nuancing and finessing.





Seems like the world's most effective focus group to me.





ON STRATEGY, Dewd.

Reinvention done right

This just in - Coke is bringing back Mello Yello.

Pepsi has had a great run with Mountain Dew so this makes good business sense.

But, the more impressive decision is the one I'm sure stirred great debate down in Atlanta at Coke hq. That was the decision to dust off the old logo and approach the re-launch with a decidedly retro feel vs. create something new, slick and modern.


There's two reasons why I think this was a brilliant call.

First, Mountain Dew is positioned as a super caffeinated, sugary-sweet soft drink that comes as close to an energy drink as soda is able. The words "mellow" and "smooth" signal something very different - and something that in light of my next point will probably be appreciated.

Second, there's an interesting trend going on right now - sort of a clashing of two polar opposites. And, I'm not sure clashing is the right word - perhaps "mingling" would be more appropriate. (because I think there's equal desire for both and one is unlikely to trump the other entirely.)


On the one hand, technology is reinventing itself at an unprecedented rate. And people - young and old - are becoming more comfortable with technological advances. There's a new gadget, app or piece of equipment every time we turn around. We're plugged in and connected 24/7. And we welcome it, most of the time.

On the other hand, there's a hearkening back to speakeasy culture, sipping dark spirits in dark rooms with dusty old novels and just soaking it all in. I'm embellishing a bit with the description, but no doubt there is a deliberate search for peace and tranquility and a new appreciation for all that is retro - from old denim to vintage tees to places that evoke feelings of nostalgia whether we lived to witness them firsthand or not.

There's never really been a time when vintage stuff wasn't cool, but it feels like it's cool in a new and different way now. Less a badge on a tee, more a search for an experience.

All the above makes Coke's call on Mello Yello branding a smart one in my book.


Original, smooth and ON STRATEGY.

Riding the culture wave

Budweiser may very well be as American as baseball, but what about soccer?

Not so much. Yet.

I'm convinced soccer is about to tip and become as big here in the US as it is abroad. And while I'm not sure quite what "big" looks like yet, I'd put money on it being bigger than just another premium sports channel streaming 86 games per day.

Anyone who disagrees or needs a little extra evidence, I offer you the Bud House.

http://www.youtube.com/budunited

I won't be tuning in to catch any of the Bud House antics, but I also don't come close to resembling the target demo so that's fine. This is still smart as hell.

Clearly the folks at Budweiser share my insight about the soccer groundswell and decided to make their move before they end up cast in the shadows of Heineken or some other beer with a chip on its shoulder or displaced pretense. (or, they just want to sell a shitload of beer right now and really haven't given the future much thought.)

I'm certainly not suggesting Bud will be the only beer marketer making its voice heard in this space. In fact, I expect it will get saturated fast, but Bud is a giant that has to be stealth with it's move and sharp with its positioning to hit a home run, eh, score a goal.

For better or worse, Bud has a reputation as a blue collar beer. And Bud Light has a reputation as a frat boy funneling or backyard BBQ refreshment. The current positioning(s) work for family parties, beach drinking and baseball bleachers, but soccer is a bit of new turf.

So here comes Bud and they decide rather than re-package Drinkability or pull out the man humor, to create a house and invite one person from each country represented in the World Cup. Then engage their online audience to vote the housemates out of the house based on their reactions to the game play. Or some combination of votes and game wins/losses.

OK, it's a little Survivor, a little bad reality show copy cat, but I like the decision to leverage the insight - not just about soccer, but the Global aspect too. There's a nice engagement piece that feels like it'll work with their audience and streaming footage too.

This is Bud's way of saying we're part of this soccer thing and this Bud's for you to drink when you get together with your crew to watch soccer.

Que those horns and let's call this ON STRATEGY.

It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game

Nothing says "I can" like the good old fashioned challenge.

In this web video, the head of Mini U.S. challenges the president of Porsche to a road race. That's a pretty bold move, some might say risky, but imagine the upside if Mini pulls it off.



The Mini is a special car - it's, well, mini, which makes it cute. It gets good gas mileage, fits in small spaces, combines slick modern design with retro influence, appeals to hipsters and prepsters alike, and it's fun as hell.

But, faster than a Porsche? Even the loyalist of loyal Mini drivers probably wouldn't bet the farm on that.

Whether or not it's truly capable of beating Porsche to the finish line, we won't know until June 21st - and that assumes Porsche's president accepts the challenge. Until then, it's a statement daring enough to make us re-think what we thought we knew about Mini's DNA.

The insight here feels something like this - people like the Mini; in fact, some people love the Mini. It's an endearing sort of car; but its owners view it more as a toy than an aggressive driving machine. Strategy: prove this hip little leisure car has as much power as curb appeal by beating one of the fastest sports cars around in a race.

What's in it for Mini if it wins? New, earned respect. And if it loses? New, earned respect.

The challenge itself, presented by none other than the head of Mini - who happens to come from Porsche and claims to have owned 12 Porsches over the years (!) - is enough to make a statement. And making a statement is what Mini is all about, right?

Think about it - if Mini races Porsche and Mini loses, will anyone be surprised? Mini could write it all off as a goof and get away with it. If Porsche loses, on the other hand, that's a problem.

Win or lose, this is ON STRATEGY.

Yes, Yes & No.

Yes, the NBA playoffs are on.

Yes, Kobe is likely to get attention.

But, this has absolutely nothing to do with Vitamin Water.

And when I say nothing, I mean nothing.

Prime example of how advertising can't just live within culture; it needs to live relevantly within cultural context.

It's easy to spot a poser. And that's what we've got here.

This MIGHT, might have worked if the product had something to do with closing. Say, if it were one of those new relaxation beverages that puts you to sleep? Almost.

If you can afford him, leveraging Kobe right now is a fine idea, but it's incumbent upon the product to prove how it fits within his life. Really, that shouldn't be too hard since Gatorade has been doing it for years.

Unless this is an ad for Kobe, it's so far OFF STRATEGY it's in another hemisphere.

No, your product will not speak for itself.

Some combination of folks who had a hand in creating this ad for Sony Dash clearly think it is a product capable of selling itself. Unless you're Apple, this is false.

The spot focuses on getting attention up front using mild humor, then rattling off a modest product description on the back end.

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Cool enough piece of technology, I suppose, but that doesn't dismiss the need for an insight and you won't find any here.

In some fantasy land, a walking ball of sun might be believable as the authority on all things morning, but even if that works on a superficial level, it's not enough to carry a product launch, especially for new technology.

Let's face it, another new electronic device is something we want only if it works better, runs faster, is more fun or makes life simpler in some way. Or, if Steve Jobs is behind it.

The first order of business for Sony has got to be establishing the need for yet another device that grants access to all things digital, especially one that does it exclusively at 5am or whatever time you happen to wake up in the morning. This is a real niche product.

There's one thing every person wants the moment they open their eyes - simplicity. Nothing jarring or disruptive; no noise, no bright lights, no surprises, no pressing decisions - just a simple transition from sleep to whatever has to come next.

So if I were Sony or the agency charged with launching this product, I'd look to leverage that insight and illustrate how the Dash is anything but one more piece of technology for the pile, but an easy way to bring your world together without even having to get out of bed.

Music, email, Facebook updates, weather reports, nagging messages from your boss - whatever you need to get connected in the morning, all in one place and all delivered to you. No fetching required....like getting the newspaper from the family dog.

This just feels like a miss. The ad, and potentially the product too. OFF STRATEGY.

If you're not #1 or #2, you've got work to do

Let's be clear about one thing. Dr. Pepper is not Coke, nor is it Pepsi.

This means they have a job beyond simply reminding people what the brand "stands for" or maintaining a level of top of mind relevance vis a vis culture, hot celebrity talent, etc..

Here's their latest staring marketer's favorite Michael Strahan:

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As a consumer, I can't say I've ever understood the "doctor" reference, though they work hard to shoehorn it in there every time.

What I'd love to understand is why they DON'T focus on the "pepper" part - it's an ingredient AND a flavor AND Dr. Pepper actually does taste a little peppery. What am I missing?

I can't even find an insight to critique here. Not even a nugget. Wait, is the insight that Michael Strahan and Dr. Pepper are equally original? So what?

It seems to me this is a brand ripe for a dose of consumer research. Get out there and learn a little more about what people actually love about the brand and start leveraging that... Or just keep searching for doctors, references to doctors in songs or people who knock others to the ground and require a visit to the doctor??

This is an easy OFF STRATEGY call for me. But at least it helps keep Strahan top of mind during the off season.

Insight Alone Can't Carry Execution

There's a really smart insight here, which makes its way into the script, but ultimately gets fumbled in execution.

Stoli asks "would you want to have a drink with you?"
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Great question. But, Hugh Hefner is a really bad person to answer, don't you think?

A good alternative? Someone humble. Genuine. Charismatic. Easily likable. Not polarizing. Someone others naturally just want to be around.

It's really not all that complicated -- if other people find you lame or revolting, chances are you probably would too. And unless you're a gorgeous young female model looking for a sugardaddy, Hugh probably doesn't check too many boxes.

So, casting is the first issue I have. The second is the link between likability and originality. It doesn't feel like there's anything sincere to the conclusion being drawn here; instead, it feels like a brand manager deciding beforehand that it wanted to position (Stoli) as "the most original vodka."

There are plenty of "original people" out there who most of us wouldn't want to hang out with at a bar. I could think of plenty including ax murderers and other psychopath originals.

The tagline, "Lead On", feels like more of the same - a push from Marketing folks to maintain a positioning vs. something truly born out of a consumer insight.

Bottomline -- this could have been a whole lot simplier. Stoli is a likeable brand. Unpretentious, honest, down-to-earth; in fact, if it were a person, it's probably one most of us would want to have a drink with.

The insight is sound, the brand personifies it. That's a formula for a homerun, but the execution is a near miss.

The net call is OFF STRATEGY.

The Strategy of Relevance. Just Do It.

So, you're Nike.

Sort of like being Coke or Pepsi. You're big. Your position is obvious, even if a bit difficult to articulate beyond a tagline. You've carved your space. Consumers know who you are and like you for a short list of functional reasons and a longer list of emotional (or at least, less rational) reasons they aren't really aware of, but that's the story.

What do you do?

You stay relevant. Really, really relevant. And you maintain your position within that context. if I'm that brand manager, I better be so on top of everything going on in (sports) culture, like yesterday. And then I better get one step ahead and have a dynamic position on it.

Like they did with Tiger's dead father speaking to him from the grave. Uh, no, actually that was bad.

But this is good:


Just to be clear, this would be BAD if it were for just about any other brand. But, Nike can not only get away with this, it HAS to get away with it. And not only get away, but steal the show on a breakaway lay up.

Insight: Nike consumers are sports fans who like to be at the top, of the moment and run with the winning team. Strategy: leverage one of the winningest, of-the-moment teams and a player who's about to get his 5th ring.

Production here is nice, but not too slick or modern to detract from the player or the beauty of the baskets being sunk, which is what real sports fans want to see; and it has an appropriate throw back feel that says we get this whole basketball culture thing.

There's no product plug and Nike branding goes virtually unnoticed until the end (no one's picking up on what shoes the guy is wearing when he makes a slam dunk, sorry), but this works.

Of the moment and ON STRATEGY (for Nike). But don't try this at home.

No insight at the end of this rainbow

Sorry to pick on these guys again, but wtf?

Skittles obviously thinks this is a brilliant way to collect Facebook friends.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/IF-WE-GET-100K-LIKES-SKITTLES-WILL-HELP-SEND-A-GUY-THROUGH-BOWLING-COLLEGE/121882537846197

They're asking people to click the 'like' button, which registers a vote toward sending this sorry chap off to bowling school. 100,000 votes and he'll be on his way with a scholarship.

Why?

Allegedly because Skittles is all about making anything possible - even a scholarship to bowling college.

I'm squinting to see the logic here, but I'll stay with it.

First, when did Skittles move away from positioning around the rainbow of flavors? The only bit of that I see here is tacking on the words "taste the rainbow" at the end of the call to action. If they wanted to stay true to this, perhaps a better idea would have been an online coloring contest or other illustration of colors and flavors...but a bowling college scholarship?

Rainbows aside, I've got a broader fundamental complaint - far as I can tell, this is a blatant attempt to drum up a quick Facebook list with no engagement, no payoff, no promise in return. And, does this bowling wannabe even exist?

If they want to run the "anything's possible" route, they should be asking people to share their own dreams, then have a vote among an engaged community to decide which dream will be made possible.

This is just a big free data scam.

Follow this rainbow to the end and you won't find much. OFF STRATEGY.

Thirsty for a little strategy?

More and more I find the less slick the production, the tighter the execution to the insight.

Why is that?

In this case, lack of slickness is helping, not hurting, so no complaints.

This is the winning entry from the Cannes Lions 48 Hour YouTube Ad Contest. Objective: get people to sign a Water Aid petition that tells World leaders it's unacceptable to ignore the water / sanitation program.



What's great from the start here is the decision to leverage YouTube for this contest, thus ultimate message delivery. Not because it's free (alright, not ONLY because it's free) and not because it has a huge, engaged audience (alright, not ONLY because it has a huge, engaged audience) and not because that audience is composed of the sort of people most likely to get engaged in a pro-bono cause like this (alright, not ONLY because...you get it). So that's smart.

But, the ad itself, the idea of using crackers to tell the story - to engage an engaged (online), engaged (socially) audience, brilliant.

I didn't have crackers nearby when I watched this, but my salivation glands felt the pain, nonetheless.

Essentially the insight here is that most people have a difficult time pushing hard for change when they can't feel the problem firsthand. One must experience a problem to fight feverishly for its solution. Apply that to clean drinking water, something most of us take for granted without even knowing it, and this insight is magnified tenfold.

So the creator figured out a way to quickly and easily recreate a similar experience for all us privileged home viewers to give us a little taste, literally.

He wins an award and hopefully his message will help win support for an important initiative.

Rock ON STRATEGY.

Silly simple

This new spot for Kraft Mac 'n Cheese is easy to like. It's also easy to dismiss as being too simple, but in fact its simplicity is probably the very thing that makes it great.

Let's not forget we're talking about Mac 'n Cheese here. Getting too complex would be wrong on many levels. It's a fun food that, for most, evokes fun memories.

The insight is quick, if not vaguely familiar - Adults like mac 'n cheese just as much as (if not more than) kids, but most consider it a kid's food and are a little embarrassed to be seen eating it. There might be a nugget of an insight there about health, too, but these guys made the smart decision not to touch that.

From there, the spot speaks for itself. Kid catches dad sneaking mac n cheese off his plate while he thinks he won't be seen.

The tagline is firmly rooted in the same insight, which brings the execution together nicely. It's hard for this not to get a smile from those of us who feel a little nostalgic.

ON STRATEGY and a good lesson for the creative folks out there who think sticking to a strategy or following a brief has to be cumbersome or stifling. Sometimes it's just this simple.