Inappropriately suggestive is funny when it makes sense, and is relevant to the product.

But this is Tums antacid they’re selling, not condoms or 4-hour-erection Cialis. The production values for the spots are top notch, so Grey (Worldwide) obviously spent some bucks making them. But what does phallic food and orally fixated grandmas have to do with heartburn?

Eew.

In my opinion, these spots are not funny, but creepy — and not in a good way.

What the heck was Grey thinking in creating these spots? And more importantly, how could their client, Tums/GlaxoSmithKline, have approved them? What went wrong in the process for ads like these to get made? Or could the client possibly be that naïve and blind?

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Thanks to Tan Le for this guest post. Find Tan on Facebook.

Research has shown that for knowledge workers, using money as an incentive actually hurts performance. You read that right. If you want your team to really shine, give them a purpose:

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We’ve been talking about the marketing benefits of adding purpose to an organization since the beginning here. The research findings illustrated in Daniel Pink’s new book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us add another dimension to the argument:

If you want to fire up your employees, give them some personal freedom–and give them a purpose.

Know a company that’s managing and/or marketing with meaning? Share it here.

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You don’t need the biggest budget to succeed at marketing. The biggest budget doesn’t guarantee success.

No, you need the best ideas. The best ideas win.

What do you think?

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In Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity, Hugh MacLeod shares his 40 keys to creativity with straight talk and no apologies.

There are no silver bullets, and instead he talks about refreshingly honest things like the fact that selling is harder than it looks, you have to put in the hours and you should keep your day job.

My favorite: Meaning scales, people don’t.

You won’t agree with everything he says, but that won’t matter: there are a few gems in it that make it worth your time.

It’s only 154 pages and is packed with his little illustrations so you’ll be able to read it one sitting—and you probably will.

‘Nuff said.

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Special thanks to Ray Basile for giving me this book. You are a gentleman and a scholar.

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I know. This execution has been done before, but it’s still pretty clever and the message is the right one.

There’s been plenty of talk about the eminent death of the publishing industry as we know it. This video addresses these preconceptions head-on, then flips ‘em on their ear.

This video was created by the UK brand of Dorling Kindersley for internal use. Its positive message and creative execution made it a big hit at DK and they decided it was worth sharing outside the organization.

Really, the power of this video lies in its ability to change perceptions, and in about two weeks it’s been viewed nearly 300,000 times.

So, where can you use creativity to change perceptions?

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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.

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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?

Comment below to weigh in.

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Can you explain why ANYONE (let alone Burger King) would think it a good idea to adapt “I like Big Butts” to market a children’s meal?

Here’s the ad in question:

Extended version

This is one of the classic Responsible Marketing questions we talk about here. It takes real creativity to break through, and this ad is creative. But it’s also controversial, and controversy gets people talking and drives word of mouth. I’d argue this ad is almost impossible to keep to yourself.

Burger King knew exactly what they were approving: A funny, but potentially offensive ad for parents that they’d never want their young children to see.

Mission accomplished.

I am Burger King’s target:

• I have small children
• Sir-Mix-A-Lot song was popular when I was in college
• And I laughed out loud when Mix-A-Lot himself said “Booty is booty”  at the end

But the idea of my kids seeing this ad makes me cringe. The word “butt” is off limits in my house (my kids are age six and four), and the sexual references are everywhere.

Hamilton Nolan at Gawker.com puts it this way:

The point is Sir Mix-a-Lot is teaching obesity and sexuality to your kids and you’re really okay with that, deep down, because you love Whoppers.

Is this ad message responsible?

I don’t think so.

But what’s your take?

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If you think the features are over the top, you’ll be shocked when you click on the “release date” button in the upper right hand corner.

So, what do you think?

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Thanks to my colleague, Mary Kate Baker, for reintroducing me to the Pomegranate.

Cheerful products that provide a respite from the real world are selling.

Products like the Oh Snap! Cheese Board and Cutter and The Bubble Calendar are selling well, while Giant Cheetos and Oreo Fun Stix (drink milk through an Oreo straw—brilliant!) are on their way.

The fact is, fun gets people talking. And we all know that word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing.

This all got me thinking about ways to fun-up some our client’s products and services, as well as our own.

So, who’s cornered the market on fun? In products? Services? B2B? B2C?

Comment below to share the fun!