Imitation is supposed to be the most sincere type of flattery- how ever; “Next Wave Marketing” in San Diego probably should be hiring us to sell their Fish Bubbles wall mounted aquariums.
How did we find out about this? Well, a small retail shop had the name of the product- and the name of the company (our name, by the way- since 1988) and our site was all she could find. We own the search category for “Next Wave Marketing • Innovation”- trust me.
As to Fish Bubble aquariums- we’ll probably own that category too, thanks to our really smart website talents. They are small, wall mounted, acrylic aquariums. Instead of paying for Google keywords to drive traffic to their site- they could just trust us to build a site that works. That’s why we’re The Next Wave- and they aren’t.
The latest hip thing to do in advertising is let your customers create the ads for you. In fact, Fast Company lists advertising creatives as one of six jobs that won’t exist in 2016- because:
“Talented amateurs making ads for fun and posting them online seem to be better at your job than you are. Bonus: No more “whither the 30-second spot” whining.”
Right now Mastercard is fishing for ideas for their “Priceless” campaign officially with a spot _____________ is _____________, etc.
Read more: on adfreakThe Consumerist or Ernie Schenck
Spending money making ads asking people to make ads- hmmm, sounds like the ultimate creative cop-out to me.
In the business- often time marketers with big budgets ask for Spec work- and that’s “Spec” as in “Speculative” not as in “Special.” If we like it- we’ll hire you. (See http://www.no-spec.com for the right answers to this practice).
We had Arby’s ask us for Spec work- my answer was that when they start serving roast beef- where people only have to pay if they like the sandwich- I’ll consider it. “The Apprentice” likes to use marketing tasks to evaluate Donald Trump’s future yes persons. It seems that every other task is to make an ad, or figure out how to sell something- yet most of the candidates aren’t marketers- and the job they are auditioning for isn’t a marketing position.
Advertising Age points out yearly that the ad industry isn’t paying competitively with other business fields- that managers, finance people and accountants all earn more. And granted, there are a ton of bad agencies doing crap work out there- but, in the end, someone has to be brilliant and change the Nike’s of the world from running shoe maker to lifestyle brand with “Just do it.”
So- before any more of you marketers consider letting your fans do the work- (see adcandy for more of this_enabling them with packaged flash clips on your site- take a look at what someone did with this Chevy Apprentice site tie in- and realize- maybe it is better to pay someone to do your spots afterall.
What do you think?
After watching this creative execution- using the crazy high budget shots to “sell” an SUV- the same “create your own spot tool” was used to create a comment on the insanity of these types of spots- click here.
I grew up listening to the greatest radio station in the world (see my previous post on WMMS).
It was intimate, it was timely, it was a relationship- between me- and the coolest people I knew.
Those days are long gone- since three major networks gobbled up every station in sight.
Now- I see that Japanese broadcasters are trying to last gasp their audience by making their programming available as pod casts. We’ll see how fast it happens here.
But, advertiser be warned- a podcast is much the same as TV on TiVo- where unless your radio/podcast spots are really great- they will be skipped.
Soon- the only relevant local offline advertising will be outdoor and guerrilla.
By way of Ernie Schenck I find my way to Baba Shetty’s blog where he talks about the “Vee Dub” un-pimp your ride campaign from Crispin Porter + Bogusky.
While this is all good and fine- the real question is why is all this traffic going to YouTube instead of to VW? Why hasn’t CP+P made sure that these spots are available in the obvious place- VW’s site- where they can capture and analyze traffic? Being able to look at your stats and see where your product and commercials are being discussed is one of the most valuable resources a marketer has today.
And- don’t assume that everyone has broadband access- have multiple resolutions, multiple formats, all launched from a quick loading HTML page- giving the viewer the option before waiting 10 minutes for your pretentious Flash intro to load.
I was mistaken when I predicted that these spots would only air to limited audiences- I caught one in 24 on Monday night. Of course I watched it- they are funny- and it may generate some curiosity on the sales floor- only until consumers see the price tag. CB+P may be the masters of advertainment- but VW still has a long way to go to “German Engineering.”
So kids, remember- don’t leave it to third parties to distribute your ads- do it yourself- that’s the beauty of the web. And- even though you love Flash- don’t build your whole site out of it- unless you absolutely have to.
Well, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Those bad boys in Miami, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, have released some of their first new work for VW. As usual, it’s unusual.
The gloves are off- no more being politically correct, no trying to make apologies for being German and killing 6 million Jews, it’s hip, it’s cool, it’s that precision German engineering - with a twist of Helga in leather (no- I’m not kidding).
Knowing that anyone with a brain probably won’t buy a VW until they actually do start delivering a quality product (according to JD Power every Japanese car, and most Korean cars have almost half as many initial defects as a VW) Crispin decided to go after the “Tuner” market. The kids that go out and buy a $12,000 Neon and put $4,000 wheels on it, a $1000 exhaust, lots of decals and another $5,000 on the stereo- and still have a Neon, or a Mitsubishi Eclipse or a Honda Civic. Very few tuner’s in the States would touch a VW- but now, yeah baby, you can get one “Pre-tuned” by German engineers.
The spots- remind me of a cross between “Dieter” from the Saturday Night Live “Sprokets” spoof of a techno DJ, crossed with Crispin’s other designer character “Ugoff” (who designed a pouch for Burger King). Then throw in Helga. Yeah, Helga.
The site- with some of the same flash technology that brought us “Subservient Chicken” is now in peak form (although my creation lost some features including my leather seats- oops). You can see my little movie here- My GTI Joyride with “Helga”
If you are one of those people that follows continuity errors in movies like my friend Audra, you will be wondering how Helga got back in the car after starting the race- but, hey, this isn’t reality- it’s just Flash.
Do I think the “tuners” will get it? Absolutely. Do I think they will start buying VW’s “pre-tuned” from the factory- well, mine was over $30K and if I put that much into my Honda Civic, I’d not only have a car all my friends would think is def, I’d actually have a car that held it’s value. The problem isn’t the advertising- it’s the price/value proposition VW is offering.
Will this advertising sell more cars? Probably not, but it is an interesting side show to distract people until VW gets their “German engineering” back on track. This isn’t advertising that will sell the line to anyone over 35, but, I’m sure that will come too. Unlike most agencies, CP+B understands that there aren’t one size fits all ads for anything anymore. I don’t expect to see these spots on anything but “Pimp my ride” on MTV - or the site vwfeatures.com be widely promoted.
While all Detroit keeps doing crap ads, it’s nice to have something provocative to write about. Thank you Crispin.
I recently read a post by someone in advertising (who probably shouldn’t be in advertising) saying “I think this is too long and it’s failure to have a climax disappoints, but it’s an interesting idea” about an amazing spot by UK Honda which you can view here: http://www.honda.co.uk/civic/ click watch civic once it’s loaded.
While the flash movie loads- they ask “when was the last time you felt a connection with your car?”
And what does this spot do? It elevates the regular noises a car makes- to a musical experience. It makes a suggestion that the sounds of the road are music to your ears. Something that would normally be done by a luxury brand- but here, it’s for the bottom of the line Honda Civic.
By the same token- when was the last time you cared about the roof of your car? Go take a look at this brilliant use of Flash (a technology that is often misused by ad agencies who don’t understand search) in the creation of a design your own roof site for, who else, Mini. This may be one of Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s last efforts on the brand, but it’s a brilliant one. Now, you aren’t just buying a Mini- but making a personalized statement- even if you never actually get the vinyl printed and put on your roof. I’m sure the Roof Studio will gain some viral exposure.
Even the language in the sign-up that is required to “Post” your roof follows in the brand voice.
My only question is if someone is censoring submissions?
These are two examples of making you feel closer to a mass produced product, without screaming the lame-o features, advantages, benefits type laundry list that most marketers insist on.
We’ve got our mantra here at The Next Wave- our own definition of marketing- “Create Lust • Evoke Trust” TM that we feel better describes what we do than the words “ad agency.”
What do you think?
Thanks, as always to friends for pointing me to these things: Dan Obrovac of Lakota Archery sent me the Honda spot- and former Next Wave superstar creative talent Carl DeCaire for the Roof Studio.
Go take a look at this brilliant use of