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Lose your job? Return your car.

By on January 7, 2009 in creativity, innovation, positioning, strategically responsible, videos, word of mouth

As retailer desperation reaches a fever pitch and discount signs pop up everywhere, here’s something a little different: With Hyundai’s Assurance Program, if you lose your job, you can return your car to the dealership. Any automaker could have done this, but they haven’t—yet. And Hyundai did it first. Not only will this drive word [...]

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Responsible or not? Using the dead to sell

By on December 30, 2008 in advertising, casting responsible, cause marketing, creativity, execution responsible, message responsible, morality, responsible or not?, socially responsible, videos

On Christmas Day, John Lennon returned from the dead. Well, his image and voice were resurrected to help the One Laptop Per Child Foundation “OLPCF” and it’s raised a few eyebrows (and hackles). If you haven’t heard about the OLPCF, here’s a summary: It’s an education project, not a laptop project. Inexpensive, durable, networked laptops [...]

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Three fun marketing videos for the holidays

By on December 25, 2008 in advertainment, creativity, socially responsible, videos

Happy Holidays! Here are three entertaining holiday-themed marketing videos for your viewing pleasure: View Happy Christmas from AKQA on YouTube. View View Simon’s Sister’s Dog in “Fed Up” by the RSPCA on YouTube. View “Marketing Tips for Tough Times” by S. Claus on YouTube. Enjoy. Subscribe to this feed.

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Burger King Flame: Body spray of seduction

By on December 19, 2008 in branding, creativity, viral marketing, word of mouth

Burger King—fresh from a beating in the blogosphere for their Whopper Virgins campaign—has snapped back. They’re back on brand with the King and Burger King Flame, the “body spray of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat.” Yes, it’s real, but it’s sold out. Of course, it’s not about the body spray, it’s about creating [...]

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Pepsi uses suicide to sell soda pop

By on December 16, 2008 in creativity, responsible or not?, socially responsible

One is the loneliest number, and since Pepsi Max only has one calorie, maybe that little calorie should just take its own life, right? The following three ads were created by BBDO in Düsseldorf, Germany: +enlarge +enlarge

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The JCPenney Doghouse: Love it or hate it?

By on December 11, 2008 in creativity, love it or hate it?, message responsible, socially responsible, videos, viral marketing

When I was a boy, a trip to JCPenney for school clothes was like a trip to hell. Their clothing was so—Penneys, and though I was able to persuade my parents to let me shop where the cool kids shopped when I got older, I still avoid the store today. I can’t tell you what [...]

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I want a 404 goat. You should too.

By on December 10, 2008 in branding, creativity, fun, usability

The dreaded 404 Not Found message. Not quite the blue screen of death, but definitely unwelcome when you are trying to find something on the Internet. The 404 page isn’t something you are looking for—it’s a web page you typically receive when you land on a page that’s been deleted or removed. From a marketing [...]

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Safeway has nuts

By on December 3, 2008 in creativity, message responsible

Does Safeway play it safe with their marketing? Usually. But here’s a can of almonds from the venerable grocer: “Have nuts? Have a party!” Safeway likes the phrase so much they’ve trademarked it. You know someone, somewhere at Safeway said “We can’t say that! What will our customers think?” Still, somehow this packaging was approved [...]

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McDonald’s zags with new concept store

By on November 21, 2008 in branding, creativity, innovation, simplicity

At a time when most companies are looking for ways to extend their brand to gain a greater share of the customer’s wallet, McDonalds has “secretly” introduced Quarter Pounder, a new concept store in Japan that sells only Quarter Pounders. That’s right, you can get a Quarter Pounder, or a Double Quarter Pounder, fries and [...]

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Will the economy kill creativity?

By on November 20, 2008 in branding, creativity, roi responsible, strategically responsible, videos

Breaking through the clutter amid consumer cynicism and information overload requires creativity. Creativity comes in all forms. It can be beautiful, disturbing, fascinating, shocking, heartwarming, awe-inspiring, scary, fun—you get the point. We all know that creativity isn’t always easy to sell. Sometimes it’s the budget. Other times it’s inertia. But whatever it is, experiencing something [...]

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Amazon begins initiative to reduce packaging

By on November 14, 2008 in branding, creativity, environmentally responsible, word of mouth

Great packaging can be the difference between success and failure for some products. As marketers, it’s our responsibility to make sure the products we are marketing are packaged in a way that merchandises well, is easy to display, and showcases its best features on the shelf—especially when stacked up against the competition. Creative packaging reinforces [...]

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Responsible or not? Shockvertising

By on October 30, 2008 in creativity, morality, responsible or not?, sex sells, videos, viral marketing, word of mouth

Trendhunter did my homework for me today and compiled a four minute collection of shocking ads that will leave you asking the question, “How far is too far?” You won’t want to view this in front of small children or your boss. It features fake lesbians, phony murder scenes, employees getting punched in the face [...]

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Outside the box? Hardly.

By on October 27, 2008 in creativity, message responsible

Color me cranky. Last week, I heard the phrase outside the box one too many times and now I need to vent. Don’t get me wrong, Responsible Marketing puts a premium on creativity. Without it, your marketing messages will never break through. I dislike “outside the box” because it’s a cliche. Cliches aren’t fresh, so [...]

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Responsible or not? FreeCreditReport.com

By on October 6, 2008 in creativity, ethics, false advertising, responsible or not?, truth, videos, viral marketing, word of mouth

FreeCreditReport.com has done a great job with their marketing—it’s hard to come up with a company that’s created more memorable ads recently. People are paying attention to their ads, sharing them on social sites and singing along. View this video on YouTube The problem is, the credit reports aren’t free at all. When you get [...]

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Bite-sized Friday: Smart, smarter, smartest

By on October 3, 2008 in branding, creativity, environmentally responsible, word of mouth

____________ SMART An embeddable collection of Fortune 500 logos, tagged with words like “logotype”, “symbol” and “acronym” to make it helpful to sort through different variations and approaches to design. A useful tool for creative inspiration and competitive intel: Via Todd Andrlik on Twitter ____________ SMARTER In Brainy Brand Names Where They’re Least Expected, Stuart [...]

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There’s always room for creativity

By on October 1, 2008 in creativity, word of mouth

Here’s a great example that proves, no matter how small, no matter how mundane—everything is better when you sprinkle in a little creativity: Click on the image above to enlarge. D-Barcode of Japan gets it. Why settle for a standard barcode when you can entertain and engage your customer? And when you reward customers and [...]

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10 marketing mistakes to avoid now

By on September 29, 2008 in broken marketing, creativity, deceptive marketing, ethics, execution responsible, research, social media, word of mouth

The financial crisis has everyone on edge, myself included. I lost my bank, and I’m not sure who’s next. Should I put my money in coffee cans and bury it in the backyard? When people are on edge, sometimes they do things they normally wouldn’t do. Same goes for businesses. Here are a 10 things [...]

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How to use social media to create social good

By on September 18, 2008 in charitable giving, creativity, fun, social media, social networking, socially responsible, word of mouth

Social media can be an incredible force for doing good. I’ve spoken about it a bit lately, sharing some real world examples in the deck below: Examples don’t necessarily explain how to do it, so here’s a simple, grassroots way I used social media to raise $1,250 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association just yesterday. Here’s [...]

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Two creative offers that broke through

By on September 3, 2008 in creativity, word of mouth

Three or four years ago, I received a promotional insert in an Amazon shipment for ING Direct, the online bank. The offer was simple: Open a savings account and we’ll deposit $25 in it for your trouble. Hmm. I did a little research and found that ING’s savings rate was among the best in the [...]

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