What Oil Spill?

“It’s time to get YOUR hands dirty.
Now that the well has been sealed and the leaking has stopped, do your part. ”

Gertrude Inc. Agency in  New York has started a project to remind Americans and people all over the world that this disastrous BP oil spill or “Deepwater Horizon oil spil” that happened in April 2010 still resonates effects on animals, plants and our ecosystem as a whole. This is a challenge campaign urging citizens to do their part in helping the continuous clean up necessary to come full circle.

The “Bird In Hand” project uses this print advertisement to raise awareness to the oil spill, reminding audiences that the negative effects of this are still present everyday in our oceans and our land.

Build What Goes Viral

This video aired in New York 350+ times from November 2 through November 10

Disinformation says it will be aired on over 13 channels including MSNBC, CNN, Comedy Central, HGTV, Logo TV, Bio TV, Versus TV, MSG, Sports NY, VH1, HLN, CNBC and Bravo.

It is not surprising knowing the rapid viral spread of this video with its intriguing content. Buildingwhat.org describes all about the video and even takes donation into the research on their website.

Watch the video here:

What’s Your Theme Song?

IPOD Commercial:

A guy walking down a busy, energetic street. He has headphones on and you can slightly hear the muffled music. He has a skip in his step, obviously listening to his favorite song. He walks by a store window, glancing in and then heads for the door.

As soon as we walks in, the music from his headphones starts playing in the store, it’s an upbeat hip hop song and the entire store changes to people singing and dancing. Employees start twirling while folding clothes. After this brief scene he heads back out to the street. Once he leaves the store goes back to normal and the music is muffled again.

After he walks outside, he passes another girl walking in the opposite direction, she is listening to her favorite song on her headphones as well. They pass each other as you see her heading for a store, where the same thing happens. So on, so forth.

Should be three to four different people with different tastes in music.

END will read: Whats your theme song?

IPOD.

Talk about Innovation..

I love pizza. I couldn’t ever tell you the number of pies I’ve consumed in my lifetime, seeing how I don’t think I’ve even stopped at one piece per pizza. Getting back on track though, something that fascinates me is new innovations of products that have been around forever. New inventions are sweet, but there is nothing like a new idea stemming from a product or idea that has been around a long time. If you are like me, someone who constantly blabbers about ‘I should have thought of that’ situations, THIS, my friend, should blow your mind:

Innovation: It’s a Matter of Left or Right. What makes a company, agency or product innovative? Something that stands out among the millions of advertisements, commercials and sources. Some of the important features of innovative ‘things’ are the way that they are spread for the most people to hear about. The web has obviously made it easier for viral webs of communication and discussion on the ‘hottest’ most ‘in’ products of services, giving them a hands up in audience perception of how innovative or not something is. The people’s opinion matters and so that’s who you must aim to please. Discovering any ‘invention’ or different way of using or making something that already exists  is the first step, and the next is to tell people about it. Reaching people at bus stops, on their wallets, gum wrappers, in subway stations are all ways to make things innovative. Sometimes it’s about the delivery rather than the message. Ohhhhhh yes, I do love advertising.

35 of the Most Creative and Innovative Advertising Campaigns

Notice how, where and why they were shown. Different then all of their competitors.

Folgers – City That Never Sleeps

Maximum Ride – Kids Who Can Fly

Bounty – Make Small Work for Big Spills

 

DJ Hero Being Naughty

This commercial caught my eye right off the bat and has been the topic of many conversations among advertising students in the past couple weeks. The commercial highlights a party where the people are  “Mixing Together” sharing features (freckles, tattoos) from certain people and passing them along, with Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” bumping in the background. It would be hard to be in a room with this commercial playing without tapping your foot, and intrigued to watch further.

You know you want to watch it……

NO DOUBT, MY FAVORITE COMMERCIAL OF THE WEEK!

 

Youth of Digital

THERE’S HOPE!

AdWeek recently came out with the article “Media All-Stars 2010” and the best part of the article you may ask? It is the recently graduated (college) generation that is making a lot of noise and gaining respect in the advertising world for their creative work. These ‘in their twenties’ advertising all-stars are a huge influence on the up and coming graduates looking to succeed in the business themselves. This article quotes that

“Agencies have turned to the next generation to help unlock that elusive door to digital stardom.”

One individual in particular that the article mentions is Connections Manager at Starcom USA, Karen Umeki. At only 27 years old, Karen has worked with Rolling Stone, Ketel One Vodka, and Crystal Cruises. Umeki took on additional high-profile responsibilities as she took on print strategy for Wrigley’s Orbit. This is particular inspiring for someone my age, making the final lap year in college, and having big dreams for the future of what I could accomplish.

Advertising is growing rapidly with the new forms of technology and media. The young faces and students coming into the work force have a new understanding of these technologies and are able to bring new ideas and technique into the work force. Instead of dwelling on all of the negative voices in our heads telling us, ” the economy is bad, there will be no jobs out there for me when I graduate,” we can now look at the brighter side of things, highlighting our strengths as a new generation of possibilities and media platforms.

The future is ours for the taking!

Creative: Rob Baird

BE A MAKER

Rob Baird is the Creative Director at Mother Agency in New York, New York.  A youthful, non-traditional agency, Mother has exciting accounts that caught my attention. Some include:

KY Kissable Sensations

Target Harlem

Stella Artois

I had the opportunity to hear Rob Baird speak and he had some very insightful things to say when it comes to the advertising industry from the time that he joined the force, in the mid 90’s to today. He stayed optimistic and realistic talking to our class about the opportunities that will come to us when we graduate from an agency point of view.

What I Learned:

-Account and planners, creative and the whole agency combined should have open communicate about every project and client in order to produce great work. Without communication, and company involvement, points might be missed and connections of campaigns could be overlooked. Everyone should be strategic and creative no matter your job title.

-Ideas haven’t changed since he entered the advertising world in the 90’s. The platform that agencies or clients show them all have advanced to the internet and digital media, but the interests, ideas and formation of it all remains the same. Pick a role doing something you LOVE and the strategies will come naturally.

“Work Hard and Be Nice To People”

-Relationships are important and if you are the Asshole that no one wants to work with or bounce ideas off of, you will get no where. Like Ashly Stewart said in my previous blog, staying in contact with people who are in the same field as you, as well as thanking them for any help or advice they give, will always work to your benefit. This will greatly help with relationships between client/agency/labels in the future.

Sexuality vs. Simplicity

Advertisements all over the world are competing with billions of other products and advertising campaigns to catch the eye of the daily consumer, in hopes that their purchase will be the next step. Tactics by advertisers used outside of the United States fascinate me because of the risks companies and agencies take, and when they don’t cross the line, offend or turn off the customer, it comes out beautifully.

These ads made me jump up and down on the inside:

Advertising Agency: Y&R, in Milan, Italy takes this ‘Glassing‘ campaign to something that a 5th grade teacher might see. AND IT WORKS. I was so excited to see these ads because I can relate them to the best looking people I am capable of drawing and they have a world wide brand that everyone can relate to. This ad makes me want to channel my inner immaturity and purchase some sweet new glasses. This agency took a risk of looking cheap and unprofessional, but laid it out right to the correct audience that will love this ad and love the glasses.

This probably already caught your eye before you even started reading this post:

Advertising Agency: 1pointsize, in Chennai, India, for Kama Sutra Condoms were certainly trying to make a statement. The picture alone, as daring as it is, speaks for itself, allowing the ad to be copy free and straight to the point. Unlike some over the top American ads using sexuality in a blunt way (cough Axe Body Spray “Wash Your Balls” cough) this ad is clever and sexual in a classical way that will make consumers remember the brand and tell their friends about it too.

So who wins Sexuality vs. Simplicity? BOTH. If done the right way like I think  agencies and companies can lean to either side and produce successful ads that people will be talking about for a long time.

Muchin on some Baby Carrots

A BUNCH OF CARROT FARMERS is trying something radical and new for their campaign.

“There are two strategy choices: Do what everyone else is doing, only better, cheaper, or faster. Or do something different and truly distinctive.” -Prof. Ron Sanchez

If you visit their website, or YouTube their channel, you will find a series of clips of comedic video shorts focusing on making the baby carrot the new snack. By the first couple of seconds on their website you immediately know their goal: Getting people to eat more carrots. I sat on my computer and couldn’t stop at just watching one. The characters and script are so funny and entertaining you want to keep watching.

THE BIG QUESTION IS: Will you now buy more baby carrots?

Some of the things this company has done to make this vegetable seem more attractive is quite creative, but nonetheless does not convince me that their baby carrots are any different then the ones I pass by in the produce section on my way to the bulk candy.

-Snack/junk food like packaging

Just because they look like junk food doesn’t mean they are.

Will YOU eat more baby carrots from just a bunch of baby carrot farmers?

Not my Babies Bottom….

Crazy Ad Time

I’M SORRY, but my experience with babysitting and holding my cousin’s small new-born, I know that it is quite impossible for a babies bottom to be surrounded by these things….

Dermodex: Expert in babies’ butts

You are giving false hope… but perhaps inspiration?

I can’t speak int he eyes of a mother or father who is in the market for this cream, but personally I find this ad hilarious. I try to put myself in the shoes of a parent and think of what would attract me to a product that seems so disposable. My honest strategy for buying low interest products is going for the most affordable.

DERMODEX is taking a simple product and placing it in the minds of the buyer as something simplistic and beautiful. Who would have even thought baby butt cream and butterflies would be in the same sentence? I didn’t.

For this particular reason, this ad stood out. Maybe I’ll just have to get back to you when the time comes that I am on the market for some baby bottom cream… 🙂 !