Saturday

The Links

A ton of interesting links from the last week. Check them out.

- Seth Godin gives a great outlook on why advertising can't fix Microsoft's problem (if it even has one)
- Zuckerberg tells Facebook fans about the new Facebook design (and over 7 million protest it)
- Oasis goes to NYC and teaches street performers how to play their new song
- Nintendo employees are richer than Googles and Goldman Sacks ones
- Ellen DeGeneres is the new Cover Girl model? Seriously?
- Social networks hurting the online porn industry?
- Here comes Google Andriod - exciting news for September 23rd
- Twitter is growing fast - up 422% in the last 12 months
- Should moviegoers pay for better seats? Um..yes.
- Google Stephen Harper, Get Jack Layton.
- Looking for a new job? Here are some places to start your search (and interview better)

Friday

Lamborghini teases with photos

Lamborghini teases and the money is on 4 seats.

Lamborghini's teased us with another photo of the mystery car it's bringing to the Paris Motor Show, and a close look suggests Sant'Agata is about to unveil a sedan.

The Italian automaker offered the first clue earlier this week, revealing a single photo and promising "it's not just a new Lamborghini, it's a whole new world."

But looking at the photo Lamborghini released today, we're leaning toward a gran turismo to take on the Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Raptide. We'll even go so far as to say it'll be called the Mondo.

The most obvious clue is the size of the b-panel -- when's the last time you saw a Lamborghini with a door that wasn't right next to the wheel well? That much unbroken sheet metal behind the wheel suggests the engine will be up front, creating the space for a back seat.

First photo:

I'm a PC.





My initials are PC and I am loving this. How does apple re-act. Do they? Do they play it cool and pretend that nothing changed? Can they? Has chiat been creating a new campaign for the past year just in case this happened?

Axe - Shower Gel for Men

What a statement to make. Good on you Axe.

Thursday

E-ink Cover in Esquire

Clean the trophy shelf and make room for the Media Innovation awards.....

Wednesday

Bye, Bye Jerry!


Well, that didn't take long. Three spots and we're done!

In the last week, PJC and I have posted about the new Microsoft campaign and our thoughts on it. Turns out that today, a rep from MS confirmed that there aren't going to be any more Jerry spots and that it was all in the plan to "phase him out" after the campaign launched.

$10 million for three spots? I guess when Alex Bogusky said that the next thing from Microsoft was going to be "big" he meant the budget.

"First chink in the [CP+B] armor, Ted!"

UPDATE: Maybe I spoke too soon. It seems like the folks at Techcrunch have some inside info that this was all planned and that the second phase of the campaign is coming. It's going to feature other stars as well - I wonder if any of them will last longer than a few spots.

Top 15 Artistic Ads [Another List..but a good one]

One of the most popular posts on Digg right now is about 15 artistic ads. It's a great compilation of TV spots that are extremly iconic. You've probably seen most of them but there was one that I haden't (posted below) with Lance Armstrong. Another good Nike spot from W+K. No wonder these two are so tight. 

Nice

My guess is that most of the people who read AdJoke do so at work. My second guess is that a large majority of those readers might not be having the best time at their jobs.

That brings us to this spot from Monster:



Well, are you?

Tuesday

Solved!

The folks at EA sports continue to impress with their latest spot featuring Tiger Woods. It's pretty amazing what this guy can do on the golf course.

So Close!

I love this spot.

I love the direction, idea and editing. The acting, pictures and scenes. It's almost a great, short, two minute film.

But I also hate it. Because it leaves me feeling like it was just another ad, even though it could have been anything but that.

Great execution for the first 1:55.

Note: the spot length was determined by the fact that the history of the product was 200 years (one second per year...)

Fido Goes Vertical

Check out this cool video from Fido (a Canadian telecommunications company). Fido has a series of arts and culture events in Toronto and to help promote them, they created bubble logos that were launched into the sky.

I'm not sure how many people saw (or would know what these were...it's not the standard "dog" imagery that Fido uses) but it's a pretty innovative idea.

Really?



"Well, at least that's what I heard."

Monday

Who is the target?

Seriously. Who is it?

It's not someone who is between the ages of 14-24. It's not someone who is making over $60K a year and somewhere between 25-34. It's not a baby boomer who is now anyone over 50. And it's definitely not someone who has a family.

Who is it? Who is the target?

Most marketers don't really know. It's a group, usually defined by a broad media segmentation, that contains thousands of different personality types, backgrounds and interests. We group them together because that's the only thing we know - it's the system we are used to using.

Targeting youth? Make sure you're on the top 10 TV shows in Canada that "youth" watch and that you're display buy is on Facebook and YouTube. What about Boomers? Make sure you're in the financial section of the newspapers and have TV spots on all the news programs.

Does this really make sense?

Did you really find the same things interesting when you were 14 as when you were 24? Did you read the same paper when you were 34 as you did when you were 25? Are "youth" really one target?

Can we all just admit that the mass advertising targeting model is broken?

I've come across some different segmentations, more detailed looks at a target and one of the best models that I've come across is based on the diffusion of an idea - or, how an idea spreads from one group to another.

In 1962, author Everett M. Rogers wrote a book called "Diffusion of Innovations." In it, Rogers describes five groups that help to carry an idea - Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Mass, Late Mass and Laggards. Each group plays a key role in spreading an idea and within each media segmentation (18-24, 26-24, etc), these five groups exist.



So, again, who are you targeting within your segment? The Early Adopters? The Laggards? Sure, all of these people are between 18-24 (as an example) but they don't consume the same content or use the same websites.

Think about who your target is because digital is not a traditional medium - please don't try to use it that way.

Who is your target?

Once Lucky, Twice Good


A few weeks ago, I finished off Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good by Sarah Lacy. The book helps to provide a history of how the current Web 2.0 came to be. It focuses on a number of the lead start up entrepreneurs (from sites like Facebook, SlideShare and Digg) and their journey to get their web ideas from concept to creation.

It's an incredibly personal look at the history of the web through the key people who developed the sites, provided Venture Capital cash and helped give rise to the web after the dot com crash of 2000.

I think this book should be required reading for anyone who specializes in digital. It's critical to understand the history (and interconnectedness) of the web and the people who run Silicon Valley. If you don't know who is running these sites, where they want to take them and what their dreams are, how could you possibly pretend to a client that you understand ways to be effective on them?

If anything, it's a great text book on the battle between an entrepreneur and venture capital. The dynamics are extremely interesting (and challenging) and if you'd be interested in developing your own site (or any business idea) it's good to know what they are.

AdJoke Ad Quote of the day

"I welcome and seek your ideas, but do not bring me small ideas; bring me big ideas to match our future."

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Sunday

Social Media Best Practices

David Griner from the blog The Social Path posted today about what he thinks is are the "best practices" for social media marketing. In short he spoke about how we must be willing to drink the kool-aid - basically he said:
  1. Don't over promise or over-sell what social media can do for your clients. Do not sell overnight success.
  2. We’re talking to people one-on-one, trying to prove earnestly that we have more to offer than a sales pitch. Know your audience, know your stuff, and know your limitations. Mix all that together, sweeten it with some personality and wit, and I’ll be the first to knock back a glass and ask for a refill.
I agree but have a few thoughts about this important point that David spoke to:

Know your audience

    1. Understanding how your target uses social media (do they create content, engage with it, or just read it?) can help you determine the best way to approach them. Want to learn more... maybe take a look at the book Groundswell.
    2. Identify the challenges that your target faces. What can you deliver that will help your audience. (Why will they engage? What could be a positive outcome for them in regards to a social media experience?)
    3. What is your audiences perception of your brand? Are you trying to deliver something through social media that is a stretch for you brand in the eyes of your audience?
    4. What is your audiences current digital behaviour look like? Are you asking them to engage with something they are unfamiliar with or are you a year too late?
    5. How can you assist your audience in sharing what you are doing?
    6. When will your audience be engaging with social media? How does this impact the content? Impact when you update it? Impact what social media you select to include in your communications mix?
And then unrelated to know your audience but also important is to consider the impact on the user experience before you introduce new technologies, features or content.

Home Depot Canada using Twitter as a flyer (posting daily specials) shows me that they do not understand their audience. Maybe that is why they only have 50 followers (probably 10 from the marketing department and 5 from their agency).

If you have an intimate knowledge of your audience, stay within your brands personality (you don't change the brand just because it is in a different medium) and apply this knowledge accurately you will have a good chance at succeeding when you jump into the social media playground.