Serious Fun

Okay, some people get freaked out by talking babies. Sonny's believes that the babies for e-Trade are done very well. Check out the outtakes for the e-Trade Super Bowl spots being merchandised virally online. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Ev5HgGACg

Here's what I love about e-Trade -- like the talking babies or not, they're willing to do something that is completely counter to what most of the investment industry is willing to do: Have a little fun. I think it's even more powerful in these serious times. They've obviously done their research and understand that the younger investment target is a hugely untapped target too. Or they just get the younger target better that the rest of the industry. Regardless, Sonny's raises a glass to e-Trade for being courageous enough to be different.

I can actually remember which investmant firm these spots are for. Money well spent. The campaigns featuring the same-old-same-old "marathon vs. sprint" and "pillars of strength" platforms all run together. I can't recall the names of those firms to save my mortgage.

Watch the outtakes. Have a laugh. Then toast e-Trade for getting their target audience and the importance of brand personality in the game of differentiation.

Do you have to be serious to be taken seriously? What do you think?

- Butch

The One-Minute Sales Pitch

Sonny's knows that times are tough. Advertisers are feeling the pinch of consumer frugality and reduced marketing budgets. It's times like this that challenge the best of brand managers to get more creative, more innovative than ever to get their message out.

Miller pushed conventional thinking and tried to coop media time during this weekend's Super Bowl by buying :01 increments of time from other advertisers. They even developed some pretty fun :01 spots for the High Life brand. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9GwHnU2ESE

In the end, NBC shut them down, but I'll hand it to the folks at Miller -- I applaude their thinking. NBC and the networks are feeling the pinch too. They're going to have to come up with fresh and creative solutions to compete for shrinking sponsor budgets or they'll lose to more aggressive media options.

What other innovative brand strategies have you seen recently?

- Butch

The Fine Line Between Clever and Careless

As advertisers, we're challenged more and more every day to break through all the competitive clutter, grab attention and be unique. It's often a very fine line between being clever and being irresponsible. Below is a case in point -- ripped from agency spy: http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/ Clever or Careless? Here's the article: Naked Communications Fakes A Video And Deserves The S*** They Get One would expect better of Naked Communications, then to set up a very faux viral using YouTube. A You-Tube clip was recently posted by a pretty young woman in Sydeney who was looking for a man who left his jacket at a cafe. Apparently, it was love at first sight. That video had generated 160,000 hits in two weeks, along with video responses male viewers begging for the blonde's attention. Still, YouTube users aren't idiots. It began to leak that this woman was a faker - LonelyGirl with a corporate paycheck. At first, the Surry Hills office of Naked Communications and their client, Witchery Man, denied the stunt. As of this past Wednesday, they gave in. Naked posted their own video of the blonde admitting the whole thing was an advertising gimmick (see below). And this is where they messed up again. The actress should have come totally clean and said, "I did it for the money. I did it because I want to be famous. Naked did it because that's there job and Witchery wanted you to see their new line." Instead, the actress claims she did it because she was a romantic. Comments on the admission videos page include: "You killed romance!" "You did it for the money. And that clothes shop sucks." "GENIUS. So much PR... So little Dollars." "I think what Delta was trying to say is "how sweet would it be if something like this really did happen?" As opposed to the depressing truth that it was all a hoax/marketing campaign. (Boo! Never going to set foot in that store again!)" continued... Posted by superspy 01:54 PM Naked Email this post 2 Comments

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Truth In Advertising

Butch's Follow Up: The opening scene featured two hip creative guys lounging at the pool of a swanky hotel in LA being lured back to Chicago by a distrustful account guy to work on a Super Bowl spot they were stealing from another creative guy, their big boss, for a client who was an "IDIOT." The scene even looked like it was shot at The Viceroy. Every predicted stereotype was tightly wrapped up before the first commercial break. I fell asleep before the end of show. Trust me, this will likely be the last episode I tune in to. What'd you think? ORIGINAL POST: Trust Me, a new series about this wonderful world of advertising debuts on TNT tonight at 9C. Watch it, DVR or Tivo it and we'll discuss how true to life it really is. I'm predicting it will be rife with industry sterotypes that we can all see coming from a mile:

• Creatives will all be ultra hep cats.
• They will hate account people who will be portayed as mindless servants of the client.
• There will be no other people in the agency -- just creatives and account people. Maybe a few "big bosses."
• Creatives will be precious about their work and sure that all other creatives are stealing their ideas.
• Clients will be idiots who wouldn't know good work if it kicked them in the bajangas.
• Advertising assignments will all be big and sexy, like everything runs during the Super Bowl.
• The work will not have brand strategy behind it, just really cool random ideas.
• The sexual tension in the office will be unbelievably high and ubiquitous.
• Client presentations will be very very dramatic.
• Commercial shoots will be high-priced junkets to Hollywood with leisurely hotel stays at swanky places that host celebrity parties in private pool-side cabanas (think The Viceroy in Santa Monica).

I guess without all of this, it wouldn't be much fun to watch. And, we all know that stereotypes are usually based partially on fact. This new show is written by two former agency creative directors, but that doesn't mean that any of the above is fair or accurate. How do you think we'll be portrayed? -

O is for Obama

I have another Obama prediction:

Oprah will launch a cable channel with 24/7 coverage of President Obama and his family. They may be the first first family to have their own reality show.

What will the channel be called? The OC (Obama Channel) is already taken.

Used To Be

I'm watching George Carlin's last HBO special, It's Bad For You. I also watched it a few months ago. Each time, I've sat there thinking, "what the hell happened to George Carlin? He used to be funny. Now he's just a cranky old man."

I know he's dead now. He went out real angry. Not believeing in anything. Just a pissed off, cynical old man.

I hope that doesn't happen to me.

Anyway, it led me to think about other people or things that used to be (insert relevance here) and now... what happened to them?

Here are just a few that come to mind:

- David Lee Roth. Used to be the baddest bad boy lead singer in rock. I saw him last year on tour with Van Halen. He's turned into a Vegas Show Girl. What happened? - Chevy Chase. He used to be funny too. What happened? - Promise Keepers. Used to be an organization that packed stadiums. Guys drove around with PK bumper stickers on their Lexuses. What happened? - Arsenio Hall. Used to be everywhere. Eddie's buddy. Challenged Letterman. Now he's making a "come back" hosting something like America's Funniset Home Videos on cable. What happened?

- Letterman?

See how easy it is when you start thinking about it.

Successful brands know that you have to evolve with the times and with people's tastes. Innovators have to keep innovating or they lose relevance. Sometimes that doesn't happen and even the brightest stars flame out.

Who or what are on your Used-To-Be list?

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Notorious Hype

"The motion picture event of a lifetime." That's an actual line from the TV trailer hyping the new Biggie movie, Notorious. Really? Event of a lifetime? Maybe I just don't get it because I'm not the target audience. Regardless, it smacks of something that takes itself way too seriously. Biggie is an east-coast legend, no doubt -- but this movie is an "event of a lifetime?" Reminds me of brands that take themselves way too seriously. They beat their chests and shove what they want you to know about them down your throat. They don't listen, they tell. They don't care what's important to you, just what's important to them. They know what you need because they're much smarter than you.

They're kinda like that loud guy who sits at the end of Sonny's bar and thinks everyone wants to hear his clever cell phone conversation. He's pretty sure that everyone wants to know what's important to him too. Successful brands are typically pretty humble -- likeable -- and they connect with people on an emotional level. They focus on you. They're here for the long-term because they listen to you and change with your wants & needs. What brands do you think take themselves way too seriously?

Manny Gets It

Have you ever noticed that nearly every retailer or service provider, when challenged to articulate their point of difference, will jump to "superior customer service" -- yet, so few actually deliver at the point of sale?

As consumers, we've become so accustomed to very average customer service that when we get just-good service, we're blown away. Really great service, a little personal attention, makes for loyal customers and repeat visits. How hard is it to smile, welcome someone in and simply say thank you? Sounds easy, but how many times does it really happen?

My lunch experience today is a good example. I walked downtown to KC's glistening Power & Light District to try one of the cookie-cutter mexican chains. They weren't that busy and the food was decent. When I was ready to pay and head back to the office, I couldn't get my waiter's attention. He had moved behind the bar, feet propped up, checking his iPhone, looking uber-hip in his printed T and stocking cap while he chatted with a PYT at the counter. So, I left my table, stood at the bar -- just me and the babe -- and waited patiently for him to look my way. I didn't cough or make wild motions, just waited like a nice boy from western Kansas. After quite some time, he finally looked my way and I handed him my credit card. No "sorry" from him, but he promptly ran the card. After I signed, I said "Thank You" and he replied, "No worries."

How friggin' backwards is that whole scenario?

Was it horrible service? No. Can I not wait to go back again and recommend it to friends? No. They just don't get it. A little attention could have changed the entire relationship.

On the other hand, Manny gets it. Manny's is a local, independent mexican restuarant run by Manny and his family. They're packed every day, sometimes with a full reception area of people willing to wait 20 minutes for a seat over lunch. When Manny is there, he greets everyone personally. When it's packed, he still looks for regular customers and seats them immediately. He knows his regulars and gives them special treatment. Calls them "boss" or "partner" in front of their friends and stuff like that. Makes them feel like bigshots. I'm a regular. When I take friends or clients to Manny's, I feel like Henry Hill at The Copa in Goodfellas. Even if it wasn't the best mexican food in town, I'll keep going back to Manny's because of the way he makes me feel. He gets that, and he makes dozens of people feel that way everyday.

The big chains could learn a lot from Manny.

Where do you get great or not-so-great service?

The Audacity of Fashion Hope

Innovators and opinion leaders have a powerful influence on culture, society and the brands we seek.

I have a cultural prediction:

Obama will do to the suit & tie what Kennedy did to the hat.

The Oval Office has always had a tie & jacket-required policy. You'll likely not find a single picture of a president -- or any man -- in the Oval Office sans jacket & tie. Until today. On his first full workday at The Capitol, President Obama removed his jacket and declared the Oval Office a more relaxed, less stuffy place. Dare I say, a hipper place. Where people can roll up their sleeves and actually work.

When JFK became the first high-profile man to doff the hat, it sent a signal that changed our culture. I think 44 will do the same. Suit with open-collar shirt, okay. Shirt & tie with no jacket, yep.

Maybe we'll all be more reasonable and productive if we can breathe. For this thick-necked bartender it offers hope.

What do you think?