A while back a posted a blog called “How to Make Your Viral Videos Contagious”. Almost a year later, I find myself compelled to blog again about this topic. The reason for this is because of an 800 pound gorilla. No. I don’t mean Google. I’m referring to the chap that plays drums. You know the British sensation that has been sweeping the nation’s top internet video sites for the past year? It’s the advertisement that just picked up a Grand Prix award at The Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. If you missed this ad, it’s because the campaign was released in the U.K. by Cadbury Schweppes. But you can see it here.

Continue reading "Going Ape Over Viral Vids" »

Posted by Nick Bartolomeo at 01:34 PM
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User-Generated Content (UGC), best known for fueling the popularity of web sites like YouTube and MySpace, has taken a hold of advertising. Many brands, such as L’Oreal, Toyota Motor, MasterCard, and Converse have latched onto this trend and used it as a new medium in their campaigns. User-generated content as a marketing medium is ideal for a product that everyone loves because the brand will basically sell itself. But what happens when people have negative feelings towards your product? What strategies are marketers coming up with to avoid backlash on their products?

Continue reading "Keeping It Real With User Generated Content" »

Posted by Lindsay Parsons at 05:22 PM
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What ever happened to the days when a catchy advertising slogan was enough for retailers to win over consumers? I’m sure we all remember Old Navy’s quirky jingle from the nineties (how could you forget it!). But times sure are changing as we approach 2007…especially for marketers looking to engage their target in new ways.

Continue reading "Target Pushes Branded Content To New Heights" »

Posted by Keri O'Connor at 02:41 PM
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The World Cup is going on and the world is watching. Beyond the extraordinary level of competition in each match, what the world is also seeing is an extremely well executed campaign from adidas. They have a two-part ad campaign where two teenage boys pick teams full of World Cup stars and play a school-yard style pick-up game. The campaign is called "Jose +10," (Jose, the featured boy, plus 10 superstars on his team). And the ad ends with a link to their conceptual microsite .

What stands out to me about the ads are this:

Continue reading "All day I dream about...integrated campaigns" »

Posted by Ted Swain at 06:15 PM
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Please note...this entry is a few months late.

After years of getting buried on the advertising front, Visa has refreshed their advertising from "It's Everywhere you Want to Be" to a much more creative concept. From the first time that I saw it during the Winter Olympics (I said this was late), I've loved the new campaign - "Life takes Visa." After its premiere, the ads have been everywhere. In a very good way. They are powerful, creative, conceptual, smart, and best of all, they carry it throughout all of their marketing. They use great photography and strong copy to emotionally engage the viewer/reader and also make the connection back to the card through (not so) subtle wordplay.

Continue reading "Business Takes Branding" »

Posted by Ted Swain at 04:51 PM
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