by Next Wave Team | Jul 25, 2006 | Advertising, Brand Relevancy, Careers in Advertising, Creativity, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Great Ad Agencies, Marketing & the Web, Viral Marketing, Web strategy
JS Online:Miller Lite Man Laws rewrite the book on beer commercials
Our stud intern, Jeff Swartz is now in the ranks of quoted ad critics- all from the Blog we require our interns to keep. Jeff’s favorite topic is beer ads- and his comments about the “Men of the square table” campaign for Miller Lite got him quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Then there’s blogger Jeff Swartz, a Dayton, Ohio, college student whose age and gender land him squarely in Miller Lite’s targeted demographic.
“The commercials are funny and effective,” said Swartz, 21, who’s pursuing a career in advertising. He posted an item about the campaign on his Web log, www.swartzonmedia.wordpress.com, after repeatedly hearing friends quote lines from the TV spots.
Although Jeff didn’t know it when he wrote about it- it’s another campaign by Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Once again there is a website to go along withi it: www.manlaws.com that allows the consumer to write their own manlaws.
While some critics have questioned the selection of the men at the table- Jeff has his own opionon:
Swartz, the University of Dayton student, said the ads stand out in a crowded advertising landscape. He also said critics of the ads are off base when they claim Burt Reynolds, 70, is too old to be relevant for 20-something beer drinkers.
“People my age know who Burt Reynolds is,” Swartz said. “Our moms had crushes on him, and stuff. He’s a man’s man, and that’s what (Miller) is going for.”
And so far- he’s already got a call from Miller marketing guy trying to get him to switch brews (Jeff prefers Bud light).
At this point there are 27,990 Man Laws on the site- which says to us, it’s doing the job:connecting drinkers with Miller Lite in a way that isn’t “advertising.” Other beer companies should take note: no chicks wrestling in the mud- no “drink this beer- get a babe” etc.
We were also huge fan’s of Crispin’s “Twin Label Technology” campaign for Molson which actually made the beer packaging more valuable than the beer. No matter how you look at either campaign- Crispin shows insight into connecting with beer drinkers- including- our intern Jeff.
So, here’s to you, beer blogging Intern-
congrats.
by Next Wave Team | Jul 25, 2006 | Advertising, Brand Relevancy, Change the world, Creativity, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of advertising, Great Ad Agencies, Guerrilla Campaigns, Marketing & the Web, Media, Practical Marketing 101, Search and Business, Viral Marketing, Web strategy
So the client looks at the proposed budget for the TV spot- and swallows hard. Those are big numbers- especially on the FX (effects) – green screen, miniatures, models etc- big cast- and then- they see- almost as much cash to make a “Making of the spot” documentary- and the clients says “Over my dead body.”
So the agency account exec whips out a pistolo, shoots the CMO and off they go to make the spot- plus the documentary- which by the way- is only available online (not even on the clients site- click image on right to view in a new window)- and you have what Ad Age calls the most liked spot of the month: The Burger King Stackers spot- made by the hottest shop on the planet: Crispin Porter + Bogusky.
So- was this little documentary a wasteful indulgence? Not if it gets people to sit through 3.5 minutes of entertainment featuring your brand.
Would this have happened on a conventional compensation plan- where no media is bought to run this bit of agency extravagance- no. Would the brand have the buzz that BK is enjoying now? No. Is there hope for other fast food feeders to still own a piece of the “Meat head” market segment of men, aged 18-25 who are likely to eat fast food 3+ times per week? Not if you play it safe, and worry about offending some segment of the market. I can just hear a brand manager at P&G worrying about offending small people with this spot. Hence, P&G hasn’t been able to master the buzz machine of the Internet.
There is a burning question on my mind about Crispin’s Internet delivery strategy:
- Are they purposefully avoiding putting work onto the client site so that it doesn’t seem to be delivered by the client (as a sort of distancing mechanism) and forgoing the measurement tools from the site stats-
-or-
- is it that they don’t care about utilizing the information that can be gleaned from having the customer on their own server- watching where they go- and what they do?
To someone who believes in the power of webstats to provide insight into customers minds- the first option seems reckless. However, if the focus is on velocity of concepts- which seems to be a key to Crispin work (the factory concept)- measurement doesn’t matter- until they have a client that is actually selling online (like Gateway- who didn’t listen to their advice to streamline their product lines).
Either or- how a client justifies the expense of these can only be by one method- have sales increased – and word on the street is that Burger King is seeing results at the registers. Was it worth the extra money- absolutely, would most clients spend the extra money- no.
What do you think? Is Crispin missing out on opportunity to connect with customers by using Google video to distribute content instead of their own site?
by Next Wave Team | Jul 23, 2006 | Advertising, Careers in Advertising, Change the world, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of advertising, How To Select An Ad Agency, Practical Marketing 101
how to choose the right ad agency - Google Search
Just another example of Google magic by The Next Wave- we’re number 3 with our post on selecting an advertising agency- something that seems to bewilder so many clients.
The saying in the business is companies get the advertising they deserve- but many times, they get the wrong advertising by picking the wrong agency. It’s not just a question of size, or expertise- many times it gets down to passion.
Does the agency have a passion for your product or service- and are you spending enough to make that passion translate into a mutually valuable relationship?
My neighbor works for Iams, manufacturer of premium pet foods. He worked their before P&G and after- and as we were painting his carriage house- we agreed on one thing that hasn’t changed: Iams still has bad advertising.
Of course, the moment P&G bought the company- big agencies took notice- and Satchi now has the account. There are also “Brand managers” and “Assistant brand managers” running aroung all over the place. Does this make for better ads- or better strategy? Of course not- and for all the gains P&G has made with their distribution might- one may consider that they’ve actually lost customers by losing their cool cred. Much like Ben & Jerry’s lost their cool when they sold out.
Satchi looks at Iams as a piece of the P&G world to service- and reap the revenue- a smaller agency might look at the account as a stepping stone to bigger things- the right agency would look at it as an opportunity to spread the word about a great pet food- and how it can make your relationship with your pet last longer and keep your four-legged friends healthy and happy.
If you aren’t happy with your advertising- take a look at why you picked the agency you picked- and how you work with them.
Maybe there should be a new career field counseling agencies and their clients- to bring the passion and love back into the relationship- just like marriage counselors?
Or, maybe you should just divorce your agency and get back on the ad dating circuit- since you’re reading this- you are obviously shopping.
What do you think?
