Archive for the ‘advertising’ Category

« Older Entries

BP combating bad press with paid search

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Search for “oil spill” on Google and you’ll get this:

Click here to enlarge

On Bing you’ll get:

British Petroleum · www.BP.com/GulfOfMexicoResponse
Get Info about the Gulf of Mexico Response Today

Yahoo:

BP – Info about the Gulf of Mexico Spill Learn More about How BP is Helping. www.bp.com/gulfofmexicoresponse

Normally, I’d say this is Responsible Marketing: Use paid search to share the positive and combat the negative. Bully for BP.

But where’s the competence? Where’s the character? I see neither and BP has lost my trust.

They’ve stumbled so badly, so often and on so many fronts this feels like a desperate ploy to manipulate public opinion. Actions speak louder than words and I’m no longer listening.

In fact, I’ve boycotted BP.

So what do you think? Does this feel like smart marketing or slimy spin?

And what will it take for BP to regain your trust?

Comment below to weigh in.

Subscribe to this feed.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in advertising, corporate responsibility, digital marketing, no trust, responsible or not?, search | 1 Comment »

Can Responsible Marketing help fight childhood obesity?

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation - White House

From the The Wall Street Journal:

The White House is calling on food makers to curb marketing of unhealthy foods to children, part of a broad assault against childhood obesity.

The recommendation is part of a 120-page report released Tuesday that outlines steps to fight the national epidemic. One in every three children ages 2-19 is overweight or obese, the report says. First Lady Michelle Obama has taken up childhood obesity as her signature cause.

The recommendations are for the food and beverage industry, media and entertainment companies and food retailers. Recommendations from the report urge these parties to:

  • Extend their self-regulatory program to cover all forms of marketing to children
  • Avoid in-store marketing that promotes unhealthy products to children
  • Limit the licensing of popular characters to food and beverage products that are healthy and consistent with science-based nutrition standards
  • Adopt meaningful, uniform nutrition standards for marketing food and beverages to children
  • Develop a uniform standard for what constitutes marketing to children
  • Set uniform guidelines to ensure that a higher proportion of advertisements shown on their networks and platforms are for healthy foods and beverages
  • Introduce an on-air labeling system that helps consumers easily distinguish between advertising for healthy and unhealthy foods
  • Develop and deploy technology to block unhealthy food and beverage advertising

And if the above doesn’t work, the FCC will be called in to revisit and modernize children’s programming rules.

Click here to download the 120-page report[3.3 MB].

This is a step in the right direction, but is it enough? Self-regulation hasn’t worked well on Wall Street. Will this be enough to rein-in Madison Avenue?

I doubt it, but what do you think?

Subscribe to this feed.

. . .

Inspired by this tweet by Hank Wasiak.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in advertising, ethics, marketing to kids, socially responsible | 2 Comments »

Responsible or not? Nike resurrects Earl Woods

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

Just in time for Tiger Woods’ return to golf at The Masters, Nike has released the following ad featuring the voice of Tiger’s deceased father, Earl:

Here’s what Earl is saying:

Tiger, I am more prone to be inquisitive, to promote discussion. I want to find out what your thinking was. I want to find out what your feelings are. And did you learn anything?

On the surface it may seem like a bit of a head-scratcher for Nike: Woods’ father wasn’t faithful, either.

But consider this: Most of Tiger’s sponsors have bailed except Nike and it’s in their best interest to see him restored. This video shows a remorseful Woods looking his fans straight in the eye. By approving and participating in this ad, he’s showing he hasn’t forgotten his roots. That he knows his father wouldn’t approve. And that he’s learned something.

Opinions are polarized from the general public. Here are two from YouTube:

This is brilliant, Nike’s invested too much time and money into Tiger Woods to not do something like this. I give this a thumbs up with the reasoning that it isn’t often a sponsor will put money into saving a sports figure. And I think Tiger approving of it means he’s really showing the amount of change he’s willing to make to appear as an honourable sports figure again. I LIKE THIS. ~nboysis

Corporate damage control and a well-orchestrated PR campaign. And who really knows what Earl would say? He’s DEAD. Now? Tiger and Nike are bringing him back from the dead to pimp him out for greed. Poor taste Tiger….you would come across better by keeping a low profile in my opinion and working on your marriage to save your image, not your corporate whores. ~zenstate

So, is Nike’s new Tiger ad responsible or not? What say you?

Subscribe to this feed.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in advertising, authenticity, ethics, message responsible, responsible or not?, videos | 6 Comments »

Don’t cut corners on creativity

Monday, January 18th, 2010

I’ve said it a million times: It takes creativity to break through the clutter. Here’s an ad that does just that:


View on YouTube

2009 was rough year, and a lot of companies have dramatically cut their marketing budgets. A lot of brand advertising budget has been moved to sales promotion.

You gotta do what you gotta do. But whatever you do, don’t cut corners on creativity. Bland and boring never sells.

Subscribe to this feed

. . .

Via illegaladvertising.com

Tags: , , ,
Posted in advertising, creativity, fun, videos | 2 Comments »

Should excessively noisy ads be banned?

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Excessively noisy ads to be banned?

One of the Seven Keys to Responsible Marketing is being message responsible. That means marketers should respect all their audiences by seeking permission, telling the truth, honoring privacy and avoiding clutter.

Yelling at consumers isn’t very respectful, and the U.S. House of Representatives has recently approved a bill which aims to limit the volume of television advertisements.

Eric Weaver at Tribal DDB in Vancouver calls it “A win for consumers, a loss for self-interested advertisers” and I couldn’t agree more.

But what do you think? Should the government regulate annoying advertising?

Comment below to weigh in.

Subscribe to this feed.

Tags: , ,
Posted in advertising, message responsible | 4 Comments »

Responsible or not? Audi’s “Do Your Part”

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

It ain’t so easy being green. Unless, of course, you buy a clean diesel from Audi.

That’s the message of this Audi A3 “Do Your Part” advert:


View on YouTube

I get the idea: Show you can be environmentally responsible without having to put yourself out. You can have it all.

Here’s one point of view from @motorad666 on Twitter:

If ads are supposed to make you want to buy stuff, the Audi A3 Clean Diesel ads are working on me, and I should know better. Good work, VBP.

And the counterpoint from @markapennington:

bike riding: green. bus riding: green. buying an audi: not green. http://bit.ly/hD8TN Is this “green-jacking”?

Some might call this greenwashing because it implies driving a diesel is as good or better than riding the bus or a bike to work.

But this ad’s greatest offense is that it mocks its target audience. Was the Members Only jacket and tie for the guy on the Segway really necessary?

So what do you think? Is Audi’s “Do Your Part” ad is Responsible Marketing or not?

Comment below to weigh in.

Subscribe to this feed.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in advertising, environmentally responsible, greenwashing, message responsible, responsible or not?, videos | 4 Comments »

Sex Sells: Just Ask Him.

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

In advertising, it’s the gospel truth: Sex sells.

You’ve heard it a million times. So many times it’s gotta be true, right?

Hell, even the Devil himself says it’s true in our second of seven Responsible Marketing web shorts, here:


View on YouTube in HD

Why not believe it? You just heard it from the Devil himself.

Well, because it’s all a lie.

Sex sells sex.
Sex gets attention.
And sex creates controversy.

But it seldom converts attention to action.
And most people don’t recall the brand the ad was for.

Men respond better than women to sexy ads, as expected. But in Buyology, author Martin Lindstrom shared this interesting tidbit: One study found that even for men, recall for sexually explicit ads was less than 10%, but recall was nearly twice that for the non-sexually charged ads.

Steve Hall of Adrants puts it perfectly when talking about sex in advertising call it:

. . . a lame cop-out used by marketers who lack imagination to create more compelling work that will sustain itself beyond the initial titillation.

I couldn’t agree more, but what do you think?

Subscribe to this feed.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in advertising, fun, message responsible, movies, sex sells, videos | 5 Comments »

Facebook’s ad feedback function fail

Monday, September 21st, 2009

You know the ads on the right hand column of your Facebook feeds page?

Here’s a view I’ve received a lot lately:

mafia wars ads

Yeah. I know. You’ve seen these ads enough already.

Not sure why I’d receive ‘em…I’m not a gamer and there’s nothing in my profile that would lead you to believe I’d be interested in this.  In fact, I really don’t like seeing a gun or a crime scene every time I log on to Facebook.

So I’ve nuked these ads whenever I’ve seen them, using Facebook’s advertising feedback feature:

facebook ad feedback

Now that’s what advertisers and users are looking for: Users can receive tailored ads, and advertisers can build a feedback loop for their creative.

Well, at least in concept.

You see, I decided to delete all the “Mafia Wars” ads that popped up, and they simply kept appearing—sometimes two to three of them at once. It didn’t seem to matter which reason I gave, they still littered my screen.

Look, I like a good mob movie as much as the next guy—but what if I really found these offensive? I’d be pissed.

This practice isn’t just anti-user, it’s anti-advertiser.

Somebody has said every way they can that they don’t want to see your ad—but Facebook is still serving them up?

Sure, the feedback widget says “Over time, this information helps us deliver more relevant ads to our users” but if you are given the option to remove an ad because it’s offensive, misleading or anything else on the list, shouldn’t your wishes be granted there and then? Are there any advertisers out there that really want to offend people over and over?

I started deleting the “Mafia Wars” ads weeks ago. And while they don’t pop up nearly as much, I’m still receiving them.

It’s nice Facebook is asking for feedback, especially since it appears they are using the information provided to improve the user experience…somewhat.

But they aren’t asking people to passively answer a poll regarding the color of their wallpaper. They are asking people if they find an ad offensive or misleading. If the user says “yes, this offends me,” the ad needs to disappear from their user experience—forever.

What do you think?

Subscribe to this feed.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in advertising, digital marketing, social media, usability | 3 Comments »

Evian’s hip-hop roller babies: Responsible or not?

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

By now, you’ve probably heard about Evian’s new “live young” campaign featuring the roller babies.

You haven’t? Well, now you are in the know:

There’s a lot to like here: It’s fun, unique, the CGI was done well and who doesn’t love Rapper’s Delight? It’s the type of video you can hardly resist hitting the “share” button on and it’s really making the rounds.

Irresistable? Fun? Must be Responsible Marketing, right?

Well, yes and no.

Really, it depends on whether you think it’s possible for a company marketing a product many deem to be irresponsible can ever do Responsible Marketing.

Here are five reasons to not drink bottled water, from Lighter Footsteps and the Sierra Club:

  • Bottled water isn’t a good value
  • No healthier than tap water
  • 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year
  • Requires up to 47 million gallons of oil per year to produce
  • Creates a risk to marine life
  • Results in less attention to public systems

So what do you think?

Can an irresponsible product be marketed responsibly?

Comment below to weigh in.

Subscribe to this feed.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in advertising, creativity, environmentally responsible, responsible or not?, videos, viral marketing, word of mouth | 6 Comments »

El Pollo Loco adds heat to KFC challenge

Monday, May 11th, 2009

One way or the other, you probably heard about KFC last week.

If you didn’t see one of their ads for their new Kentucky Grilled Chicken (the largest ad blitz in KFC history) you probably heard about the Oprah catastrophy. KFC was caught off guard when a promotion for a free two-piece meal featuring its new grilled chicken created such an overwhelming response the company ran out of chicken and customers had to be turned away.

KFC wasn’t execution responsible, but most companies would love to be overwhelmed by new customers. Especially El Pollo Loco, the 418-unit Costa Mesa, California-based chain that challenged KFC to a taste test in late April.

The company wants to pit its citrus-marinated grilled chicken against the KFC offering and has taken specific aim at KFC’s cooking process. While El Pollo Loco grills its chicken over an open flame, KFC’s chicken is cooked on a griddle—a point that the smaller contender hasn’t missed:

In KFC’s defense, if El Pollo Loco wants a taste test, all they have to do is conduct one, and by definition, grilling doesn’t require an open flame.

Amid the Oprah firestorm, KFC issued rain checks for anyone that was turned away. The rain checks were good until May 19, 2009—excluding Mother’s Day, May 10, 2009.

El Pollo Loco’s response: Ask KFC what they have against mothers, and honor KFC’s coupons on Mother’s Day.

In this David v. Goliath story, Goliath has yet to throw a swing.

It’s familiar territory for KFC—the company has failed to effectively respond to PETA’s long-running Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign.

El Pollo Loco is receiving national attention playing chicken with KFC.

Do you love their tactics or hate them?

Should KFC accept El Pollo Loco’s challenge?

If not, how should they respond?

. . .

UPDATE: QSRWeb, an online publication covering quick-service restaurant ideas and trends, covered this topic in detail, interviewing me for the Responsible Marketing take in El Polo Loco winning this round of chicken war. Check it out.

Subscribe to this feed.

. . .

Thanks for Matthew Mason for the KFC tip.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in advertising, competition, execution responsible, love it or hate it?, social media, videos, word of mouth | No Comments »

« Older Entries