Samsung: 3D LED TV

I thought you needed glasses to see this? Product over-promise in the ads? Or am I wrong?

Discussing the dynamics of regional advertising in the context of national campaigns

Next week in Toronto following The Canadian Newspaper Conference I will be participating in a discussion of sorts with a group of Publishers, Media Directors and Ad Agency types.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the dynamics of regional advertising in the context of national campaigns.

I'm interested to hear the view points of the group that includes a lot of VP's, Presidents and I expect a group from a much different demographic then I.

I don't think this will skew my viewpoint much on the discussion topic as I won't be thinking of a specific media, more the needs of my clients but it will impact my view as to how Newspapers can play a role in answering these needs. I'll let you know if it gets to that point.

In the meantime how about you share with me your thoughts on the dynamics of regional advertising within a national campaign from your experience (client or agency). If they are good you can count on me sharing them - and stating they came from my blog which will instantly make me hated as us bloggers have stolen so much money from Newspapers :)

I look forward to your comments.

John Lewis - 'Woman'

I'm really enjoying this spot from Adam & Eve for John Lewis. For those of you not reading from the UK, John Lewis is a traditional British retailer that has done some great work over the past few years.

I write a lot about great storytelling here on AdJoke and I think this is another prime example of how a simple idea, well executed can create work that you want to share with others. I didn't have any perception of John Lewis (other than passing them on the high street) but I can't help but know that the next time I walk by one, I'll consider stopping in.

Thanks to adliterate for the link.

G-Speak - Minority Report is now here...

I've been doing a bit of work lately with touch and Surface systems and really hope that we can start to see this Minority-report-style tech hit the market in an accessible way. When the first systems hit (think mall event instillations or conference centers), it's going to be very tough to ignore.

g-speak overview 1828121108 from john underkoffler on Vimeo.

One. Dramatic. 5 Year-old.

Cinestud 2010 Trailer from Chris Christodoulou on Vimeo.

Nice spot. Although I can see some groups and associations getting pretty upset with this in the coming weeks. Found via copyranter.

Stella Artois: Up There

Up There from Mekanism on Vimeo.

Found on The Curious Brain.

Creative Inspiration (5 Links)

It's been awhile since I've posted. I've really missed it but have been a bit slammed on the work front. But I do have good news. I've been checking out all the latest awards sites and have 5 links that you've got to check out (these are all from the Webby's but there are a ton of good repositories out there).

So here are my favorite five (in no particular order):

• Banners that actually are useful (vs. ones that you never see / wish were never there) - from VISA
• Lonely Planet and Surface come together to create one helluva book experience
• The Economist shows people where great ideas come from (from great people)
• Nike Japan uses some cool technology to launch their flagship store
• NFB Canada tells water stories in a way you've never seen (shout out to a former creative colleague)

Have you checked out any awards lately? What's your favorite?

No Challenge is too big

Some clients get it. They see the challenge and opportunity, then give their agency the time and money to make it happen.

Shower together: Axe

In the words of my colleague Mike B., "It's great. Purpose without leaving the realm of the brand."

I agree.



Thanks Martin for sharing.

Drambuie: The Greatest Golfer You've never heard of. Moe Norman

This is phenomenal. I love brands that understand how to tell an intriguing story and through telling that story they elevate their brand, capture consumer attention and in this case deliver a product focused message.

Why does this work for me? What do most bartenders do better than mix drinks? Tell stories. They could have taken some douchey metrosexual bartender at a Vegas club or high-end London bar and had him tell us all that we should try this drink because he thinks its cool. Instead they took a bartender we've all met at one point and gave us a reason to listen to him.

Well done. Drambuie has never caught my attention before but today they own my conversations.

Thanks to Brooksy at Design Axiom for sharing.

In case you missed it the sub is $2.99

Even price focused ads can be fun. Laser Knifes, Fireworks & Flames.

Old Spice continues to have fun

Loving the latest TV work from Old Spice. It's fun, over-the-top, ridiculous and hilarious all at the same time. Plus, Old Spice made a ton of different versions which will probably air on YouTube and in specific regions in the States. If you've got a PVR, you're not going to fast forward through this stuff (at least the first time). The re-watch factor is amazing.

Here is the first one I came across:



And my favorite:



You can check out more of the versions here and here. What do you think?

The King Steals McDonalds recipe

Now this ad is unique. They come right out and say we are basically copying our biggest competition. It instantly puts their product in the consideration set for any fans of the McDonalds product and adds some personality.




Thanks to Mr. Millett for sharing.

Nissan Toy Car

This ad is pure fun. Great stuff.

Tiger & Earl: The rebuilding begins

I don't know what will be more talked about this weekend - Tigers Play or this video. I can already see the arguments as to why it is good, bad or ugly. For me the question isn't about whether this is right or wrong but how did they get to this spot?

Was there someone sitting at W+K listening to audio, watching footage salivating every day about the opportunity to find this gem? Was this an outtake from one of my favourite TV spots of all time (Never)? Or did Tiger offer it up?

I have always been interested to find out how involved in his campaigns Tiger gets as the TV spots are in a lot of cases more about his brand than Nike. Nike benefits from being a part of the story, building the drama, the character and the legend that is Tiger.

We'll just have to wait and see what he does this weekend and what Nike's next move is.

BlendTec Continues its viral dominance

No surprise but this video is at 3.2 Million views in less than 2 days.

Absolut entertainment

I'm sure some of you have seen this already, but it's a new piece of branded entertainment directed by Spike Jonez. It's about 15 minutes but well worth it. Is this an ad? I don't think so...but it's entertaining, that's for sure.

Thoughts?

It's one thing to say that your brand is cool...

...and quite another to actually communicate it. No headlines, explanations or special offers. Just an attitude and a perspective. If you don't get it, Adidas doesn't really care...they're not for everyone...(the new work from London...)

The Decision Paradox

Lately, I've been reading a lot about the effects of the abundance of choice on consumers. With the internet offering limitless choice - from different blogs to any product you imagine to any type of niche community you could want to be a part of or create - we've all got a lot more choices to make.

Technology (ie. the internet) was supposed to make things easier. Email is faster (and cheaper) than a phone call, some would argue. Smartphones allow you to answer your Email even when you're on the go. Digital PVR's allow you to watch TV when you want. RSS readers let you aggregate all your favorite stuff in one place.

We think that more choice equals more opportunity.

The problem? There is to much of it. And our 'free time' is fixed. We can try to squeeze more into it, but there will always be only 24 hours in a day.

The truth is, studies have shown that more choice leads to paralisis - or what some call 'The Decision Paradox' (popularized by Barry Schwartz in his book 'The Paradox of Choice"). The famous example often cited in marketing books occured in a grocery store.

Here is the example from Schwartz book: Researches set up a small table with 24 different jars of jam on it. They offered consumers the ability to try any jam they wanted. Consumers then had the option to purchase any of the jams if they liked what they had (and they could try as many options as they wanted) and get one dollar off on the purchase. Weeks later, the researchers returned and set up the same table in the same place. The difference? They only provided 6 different types of jams. Consumers could then try, and buy, if they liked one of them.

The results were telling: “Thirty per cent of the people exposed to the smaller amount of jams actually bought a jar; only three per cent of those exposed to the large array of jams did so.”

The examples go on. From mutual funds to different types of iced tea, Schwartz references a variety of examples that you can't ignore. I'd recommend watching his 2006 TED talk to check out more on this topic.

In digital, and in all communications, we each have a ton of choice. The number of sites that 'aggregate' content are in the millions. I can connect with friends on dozens of platforms and technologies. I can read, write, comment or share anything I want. I have a ton of choices to make on how I use my time.

Deciding how to make these choices doesn't necessarily mean sitting down and truly evaluating every one I have. I don't have time and you don't either. So I fall into patterns, I make choices that are easy and I make ones that are enjoyable and (hopefully) beneficial in the long term.

As a brand communicating, I don't want you to try to do everything. I don't want you to create a site that aggregates every type of content imaginable and let's me find something that's relevant to me. I want you to guess and focus on something that is relevant to you and hopefully a segment of your consumers.

True, you will get people who don't care. But if you give them a simple choice to make, they might actually stick with your communication experience. If you tell them that you do everything and all you have to do is find it, I'm gone.

To end on a quote from Schwartz:

"The more options there are, the easier it is to regret the one you've made".

Samsung: Own the angles

This video is just pure fun while showcasing product benefits. I also love the randomness of monsters in March.



I think that by making it relevant to the social media space it will see success being shared there. Everyone can relate.

Red Cross: Old Man

There is something nice about this spot for the Red Cross. I can see a lot of potential in the idea and what they are trying to say but the execution is a little off. I want more emotion, I want something to make me feel more than I do. Is it the song, is it the editing or is it just me?

Red Cross "Old Man" from Sam (Patrick Samama) on Vimeo.

Found on The Curious Brain.

Yup this is all kinds of awesome

My favourite parts are:

1. Glasses at the start
2. Picture of Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony at 35 seconds
3. The wii boxing motions he makes
4. The gun sound effects
5. The muffins at the end - I thought you ate all your food through straws?

Mercedes and Josh - I am

Just watched this new spot from Mercedes. I have to say that, as a whole, automotive advertising get's me down. It tends to be all the same - little story, 15 seconds of the car and then a push to the website with the relevant, 'new age' car configurator. Some automotive brands have done amazing work (see Honda as a reference) but most are just bland, boring copies of each other.

I can't really remember a Mercedes campaign that I've enjoyed but something about Josh Brolin and a well shot, well-written script is resonating with me.

An older spot but one from the same campaign I find interesting as well - shot from the perspective of the car. Something you rarely see these days. It's also anti-advertising which I think is quite interesting (and delightfully post-modern).

What do you think?

DK should change their name to Xerox

So this is currently one of the most viewed videos on the internet... to bad it is a complete rip off of the one below. I hope DK (UK) is ashamed.




Lost Generation was created a couple years ago in early 2008.



In an industry that prides itself on our ability to be creative it is sad that we continually find examples of blatant rip-offs. At the same time I truly believe that clients are also to blame as they are the ones still buying this crap.

Let's make a pact:

Agencies will promise to be more creative and original.

Marketers will promise to be better informed and closer to pulse of the industry so they can call bullshit on their (soon to be former) agency when regurgitated crap is presented.

Microsoft Pivot [Data Part 2]

Lauren recently sent me a link to a new product from Microsoft Live Labs called Pivot. Pivot is a new application that allows users to sort through huge sets of data (called 'collections'). The data could be anything - from every donation made on Kiva to the relationship between one football player to another.

The brilliance behind this application is that it makes finding connections between huge sets of data accessible to anyone. You don't need to be an expert in statistics to see patterns provided by Pivot.

I think that the data examples provided in the video below are interesting, however I think that the real application will come when you input your social graph into an application like this. Imagine being able to view your holistic connections to everyone on Facebook beyond the first friend? Or track the people you talk to most, creep on most frequently or try to avoid?

From a brand perspective, the connections gained from this could provide valuable insight. Imagine uploading the Brand Tag data set and finding the connections that consumer have to various brands based on their perceptions.

All in all, just another example of the new types of creativity that are going to shape communications (and everything else) in the coming years.