Post Financial Crisis = Opportunity

In the consumer world post-financial crisis opportunity now looms where we used to just see doom.

In this TEDxKC talk John Gerzema identifies four cultural shifts behind new consumer behavior and shows how businesses are evolving to connect with thoughtful spending. Just press play already.

Toyota Australia - Nothing Soft Gets In

A whole new attitude for Toyota where apparently nothing soft gets in down under.



This position doesn't make any sense for the me. I see Toyota as a brand that appeals to and has a large market share with the latte drinking, chest shaving, manicured metrosexuals, but then again maybe that is just in Canada (I doubt it).

This spot feels more beer, less automotive but nonetheless it is well written with amazing production value. It just feels off the mark for Toyota.

HTC - You are different than You

This spot has been running pretty heavily in North America over the last few weeks. For all the wireless and mobile work out there that's pretty easy to forget (and FFWD through without feeling like you want to actually stop and watch), this 60 hits the mark.

Communicate Like Google

I got an invite to Google Wave about a week ago and I've been playing with it for the past few days. At first, I was really into it. I liked the instant(ness) to it, the ability to comment on specific aspects of chats, to integrate videos and maps into a stream, etc. I liked being able to edit friends comments and see what they edited. I was hooked, interested and mostly happy to be one of the 'privelaged' few (ie. 1,000,000 or so) to get 'early' access to the product.

That's what I love about Google in general. Exclusive invites that are rolled out randomly to a few hundred thousand and then slowly distributed to more and more people. It's a brilliant strategy:

1. Come up with a new product (I know...pretty basic thought)

2. Create a (longwinded) demo and launch the product to your most loyal base

3. Set a start date for when the product will go out in beta

4. Let people sign up to have the chance to be one of the first to experience it

5. Distribute invites to about 100,000 or so and slowly roll your product out

6. Launch (whenever you feel like it)

Love the strategy. As for Google Wave, to be honest, after the initial 'I feel so cool to have an invite' phase, it's starting to wear off on me.

Seeing someone at your agency?

They're rampant. They're everywhere. Sometimes it's just for fun. Sometimes things get serious and work out for the best. Most times?

They can turn ugly. And awkward. Don't believe me? Here's a quick, personal account of one.

How well do you know your friends?

From across the pond in the UK, Orange has lauched a nice experience to promote the new Motorola DEXT. The site lets users login using Facebook Connect, Twitter and MySpace and asks them 10 questions about their friends. It's quite straightforward but I like how the questions really make you think.

For the record, I only scored 3 out of 10 (pretty awful, looks like I don't need the device). But still, test it out. Very simple and well developed.

Via @handypierce

How Did I Miss This?

The Gunn report was released last week and contains all the 'top' ranked work from the year (as well as the most awarded campaigns, agencies and networks). While I think that most award shows are simply gatherings to collectively pat one another on the back and talk about how great we all are, I think that the report nailed the fact that this Crest campaign truly created some good, global impact. A really nice idea, well executed. Check out the spots here:



Via SoSticky.

Um..What?

Listen. I'm all for nice spots. I like it when creatives come up with ideas that cost about $1 million to shoot. If they're great, people won't PVR them. They'll get posted to YouTube and get a couple of hundred thousand free views. Nice right?

But sometimes the creatives might be a bit off. And they might be really, really good at selling clients on their idea. Sure, it sounds nice in theory but in reality? It's just that. Nice. And totally unrelated to the brand.

Props to the production team that put this together. But to the clients and agency that sold this? Two thumbs down.

Another Social Media Stat Video

Yea, I know. It's easier to find a montage of digital stats on the web than a McDonald's these days, but still, some good stats in here that are hopefully true. Anyone want to verify them?



From Nick Burcher.

The Economist: Smarter Advertising

In an industry whose ad revenues continue to decline in record levels, The Economist has stood out as a magazine that maintains a feverishly loyal readership (I'm one of them) as well as a brand that has differentiated itself from all competitors. A magazine not for the common man, but one who strives to know more about worlds beyond his own.

My favorite part? The idea that if you don't read anything - no newspapers, no dailies, no blog posts or updates. If you only sat down for 3 hours every Sunday and read the latest issue of the Economist, I guarantee you that you'd be more 'in the know' and worldly than 99% of people that you meet.

Smart advertising. (hint: it's a treadmill). Via copyranter.

2 Phone Calls Away

It's been a tough year for agencies. Revenue's have been down, layoffs have been rampant and clients are thinking about making jumps in the new year. This isn't to say that there hasn't been good work done - their certainly has - but things haven't been easy.

There's a common saying in our industry that almost any agency is only two phone calls away from shutting their doors. It's a scary thought (and one that some of the mega-ones can handle) but it's true. Every client interaction, presentation, creative idea and brief might be one of the last for that particular relationship. Make it count.

1 Night. 10 Posts.

Alright I admit it, I've been behind. Call it work, call it being 'busy', but the fact of the matter is, Crowe has been holding AdJoke down for the past few weeks. So tonight I've decided to go for it. Quantity over thought out posts. My favorite stuff from the ad world from the last 14 days. Hope you enjoy and thanks for being patient (and reading!).

The Wire: 100 Greatest Quotes

I love The Wire. It is one of the best written shoes of all time (in my opinion).

I love a good story

This is totally f'in nuts.

My Weekend: Adland

I am really excited to read this book over the weekend. Tyler just finished it and only had great things to say about it.



He also wrote a fictional novel called The Futurist which I thoroughly enjoyed reading over the holidays last year.

Armchair Astronaut - Toshiba

I really like this project for two reasons:

1. The ad business isn't easy. Long hours, shitty briefs, limited budgets, risk adverses clients, prescriptive feedback and clients that think they are art directors and copywriters usually take-over and take some of the fun out of the business. But, every now and then a client buys something FUN. Every now and then creative teams get an opportunity to sell that one spot that keeps them sane and allows them to pump out all the other crap they are asked to work on for the next 16 months.
   
   
2. It is a great idea that will get people talking, blogging and sharing the Toshiba brand.
   

This is amazing. This is the future of OOH.

The intersection of architecture, art, technology and communications will be the future of out-of-home advertising in my personal opinion.

Here is an example of how a projector, architecture and a great idea can capture the attention of people while being aesthetically pleasing and adding value to the archtecture itself. Point being, everyone wins.

Now find a way to effectively integrate a brand message into this experience without ruining it and you too can win.

The Fun Theory Continues

I meant to post this for about a month now so you have probably seen it... but if not I bring to you, "Bottle Bank Arcade" from VW and their Fun Theory project.



Check out my earlier post here.

Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen's: The Row

Here is another example of a brand that has chosen to make a high-quality film for online consumption to launch a brand. The Row is the clothing line with the billionaire Full House twins behind it.

I enjoyed the video, even though I am far from the target audience. It showcased a large line of clothing in a interesting way while identifying the lines' versatility and creating a brand statement through the music, setting, casting and direction.

Nokia: The Journey Starts Here

The release of the N900 brings us another product where the brand is asking for their community to get involved and co-create. The difference here is that they acknowledge that not everyone will want to participate in this project so the user experience allows visitors to quickly jump to the exact information, opportunity and depth of brand engagement they are looking for. The options are buy, participate and discover.

The landing page features the 2+ minute video I've embedded below, minimal copy and then the 3 CTA's that launch you into 3 very different experiences.

The video is so good that it could justify it's own post. It will definitely do its job of creating awareness, driving interest and intrigue and getting consumers of all types to the site. It is at this stage that the site takes over.



Perfect site experiences once you leap off the landing page...no. But a strong digital experience has been delivered. Well done.

PS - another great example that obviously didn't start with a brief to the "mass team" on a TV spot, but with a brief to team that considered the digital experience and created a campaign.

Bad media placements: Part 260,456

Almost every time I am surfing the web I stumble across a bad media placement that makes me shake my head. Yes, it is true that generally speaking this is out of everyone's control, but nonetheless it is an unfortunate situation that media companies need to get better at avoiding.

When the Weather Network site loaded up the first thing I noticed was the face od the child in the big box and then I read that sad copy telling me that 2 Million kids will die this year. What did I read next? Well Wendy's telling me "You know when it's true". The placement at a glance made it look like Wendy's was sponsoring the message.

An Honest Agency Blog

Clark Kokich, the chairman of Razorfish, recently launched a blog called Something to Think About and I have to say it's one of the most honest blogs from an experienced CEO / Chairman that I've ever seen. It contains stories and perspectives from a career in digital and communications in general and the advice is extremely valuable - for anyone.

So valuable that I think everyone should read this post on the true value of experience - entitled "Experience Don't Mean S**T":

The headline above is a direct quote from basketball great Bill Russell. I used to have a boss who displayed that quote prominently on his desk. I was young then, so I agreed wholeheartedly with the sentiment. Then I got older, and I started to believe that experience mattered (now that I had some).

In the old days of advertising, when you needed a surefire solution, you called in the graybeards. When the chips were down, you needed a battle-hardened veteran who could reach down into their bag of tricks and somehow pull out the answer. It was comforting to know that such people existed.

But now, everything those gurus learned over their long careers is hopelessly out of date. In fact, today, the best ideas often come from the youngest members of the team – those who are immersed in the digital world, and have been a part of it since they could reach the keyboard.

So what should us old folks do now? First, we need to listen more than we talk. We may still be smart, but we need to be humble as well. We’re looking for solutions wherever we can find them. It’s our job to surface the best ideas and to separate the winners from the losers. Then we need to sell those ideas and keep them sold. Turns out that’s where experience actually does come in handy.

Telling and insightful stuff. There are no silver bullets anymore. Just hard work that leads to good ideas. Bigger teams, more diverse perspectives and people who are just passionate about ideas and making things better.

Winner: Best use of a Karate kick in a commercial

Thanks to Ms. Jacky P for the heads up.

Porsche. Yes Please.

Porsche is my dream car. It has adorned my walls for the better part of my life, it has filled my dreams with horsepower and unbelievable aspirations and I cannot wait to own one. For that reason I hold their ads, products, designs and brand to a very high level of standards.

This spot showcases the cars that made me fall in love, inspires and recalls those emotions and moments that I experienced the first time I set eyes on a 911, touched a 944 or drove a Boxster. It brings me in emotionally and positively pre-disposes to me love whatever they show me next... even if it is a sedan (did you see that backseat interior?).

For that reason I think this spot accomplishes its goal of creating desire for a new and different Porsche product line extension.

Looking to buy a mobile home? Buy from this guy.

There is something great about the brutal honesty of this spot. That and the fact the guy is one hell of a tough mofo.