PC=DEATH TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH?

First Amendment rights don't apply to marketers

This was the thought that ran through my head as I read Kelsey Johnston's post, Approved by YiaYia, which talked about Kraft's advertising of their new product Athenos (hummus).

Kraft's spokeswoman for this product is a cantankerous old Greek grandmother who blasts all of her family's life choices, except for their choice of hummus. These ads have created a bit of controversy in the Greek community as some are upset that it stereotypes Greek elders and is an unfair and unrealistic depiction. Other blogs like AdFreak ran this story with the headline, "Bitchy old women promoting Kraft hummus. The blog later said this in Kraft's defense...

Jill Baskin, director of advertising at Kraft, says the brand means no offense. "While these ads may be controversial, for the most part people will see them for the light-hearted fun they are having," she says. "Any Greek Americans we ran them by thought they were really funny."

HERE'S MY QUESTION

HAVE WE BECOME SO SENSITIVE TO BEING POLITICALLY CORRECT THAT WE INHIBIT MARKETER'S FREEDOM OF SPEECH?

Let me first say this...I am a white male, which means that in the Oppression Olympics, I always finish in last place. But being PC has gotten so ridiculous to me that I feel like marketer's today can't make ANY ad that doesn't piss SOMEONE off. 

When I see these ads, I don't see issues of race, I see the values of OLD PEOPLE. Am I the only person who had traditional Christian grandparents? That's who I think of when I see this...not racial stereotypes.

See for yourself

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

~Z

Happy St. Patty's Day!

St. Patrick's Day: the official holiday for corned beef, cabbage and beer!! This is the drinking holiday of the year, where beer is colored green and Irish beers are essential. One of the most popular Irish beers is of course Guinness. This dark beer has been enjoyed around the world for 250 years, and is a stable draft in almost every bar.

Here are some fun facts about Guinness:

• 10 million glasses of Guinness are enjoyed everyday!
• The Guinness product is sold in 150 countries worldwide
• Guinness on draft actually contains less alcohol and carbs than Budweiser
• Guinness is in fact responsible for starting the Guinness Book of World Records
• Arthur Guinness, the founder, signed a 9,000 year lease on the brewery property. Wow!

To celebrate St. Patty's day Guinness released a commercial that demonstrates the correct way for men to hug without being "gay".  Dark beer has traditionally been viewed as a "real man's" drink. However I know plenty of women who love drinking Guinness! And who is to say that drinking light beer makes you any less of a man? Check out the commercial, and let me know what you think:

One thing that I found was interesting when I was researching Guinness, is that they have a free app called the "Guinness Pub Finder".  You can download this app and find all the places in the area that serve Guinness! It also comes with a pub quiz, shows you how to pour the perfect pint, and even includes print and video ads. Way to be on top of the ever evolving marketing trends Guinness, I am impressed.

And apparently if you drink Guinness you are part of an elite crowd.  According to this commercial starring Bill Walton, only 1 in 10 men drink Guinness.

So enjoy yourself this St. Patty's day, eat some cabbage, drink Guinness and have an awesome time being Irish!!

-Karina

We Have The Car For YOU!

When a car company is advertising a new vehicle, they are selling more than just the car. They are selling an experience. However, in order for the commercial, magazine spot, or even web ad to be any bit effective, the experience must be relative to the target audience. Would you see commercial for a Chrysler 300 during the break of Jerry Springer? Probably no sooner than you'd see a Ford F150 ad on the Lifetime Network… Location, location, location.   

The whole idea of marketing is to identify what it is that your customer wants, then tell that customer that you have what they need, and then explain why your product is better than the competition. Your product can be the bee's knees, but if you market it by saying, "Buy my thing, it's good" the customer will be left with more questions than answers, so marketing to your customers needs is essential. 

Think about this… Nike never advertises their bottom-of-the-barrel shoes that anyone can afford. They don't market themselves as having a product that everyone is worthy of. No, they advertise their best products. The ones that make you fly higher, run faster, swing harder, and drain your bank account faster than you can say "Just Do It."

The auto industry takes a slightly different approach. Rather than market only the best products that make the customer feel like they are worse off without, car companies advertise to customer's wants and needs. Companies know where their customers are. Luxury cars will be advertised to the classy folks. Those looking to stretch a buck will most likely see a whole lot of Used Car lot commercials, or commercials that promote SUPER CLOSEOUT SAVINGS! 

Keep in mind that companies know who watches what... You don't see what you see on TV or in print by chance.

Next time you're watching the tube, take note of what type of commercials come on; specifically car commercials. Think about what type of audience those companies are trying to reach and consider whether or not you feel like you are part of that target audience. In the meantime, try to identify the audiences that these companies may be trying to appeal to... 

Favorite Sports Ads

We all have sports ads that appeal to us, whether that be banners, commercials, or viral videos. For me personally, my favorite sports ads employ either humor or swagger. These are a few of my favorites...

Nike's Ad with LeBron James that claims,"YOU WANT TO BE BETTER THAN ME," is one of my favorites because it sticks with you. LeBron is looking completely yoked in this pic, and he's about to throw down. This awesome pic coupled with the fact that he's one of the best in the league makes Nike's pitch that much more powerful.

By far one of my favorite ad campaigns of ALL-TIME is adidas' "IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING." I connect with it personally because my favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 

The "Fast Don't Lie" viral music video is one of my favorites because it's absolutely ridiculous with a dash of swagger (get it? dash like as in cooking, but also cause it's a video about speed...ya...skills). From 1:31 on it's pure joy.

The K-Swiss Tubes ads with Kenny Power are genius. Kenny Powers oozes cockiness, and his trashing of actual world class athletes is hilarious...translation, best spokesperson ever.

Lastly, Nike's "My Better is Better Than Your Better." I love this campaign. Having people tell me they're better than my best makes me want to work harder to eclipse them.

All in all, the most important duty each of these ads have is they have to actually motivate consumers to buy what they're pitching. So here's my question to you...

DO THESE ADS WORK?

~Z

Beer, Football, and Social Media...?

What do these three have in common? Well if you were watching the Super Bowl this year, you saw aspects of them all. Obviously you saw football, unless you are part of the group who just watch the big game for the commercials. And in that case, you saw lots of beer ads as well! But what about social media?

Almost every commercial played mentioned a Facebook page or website, however as the Online Marketing Blog mentions, social media was very much underutilized. Social media has quickly become a huge market to to capture costumers, and companies are scrambling to use to their advantage. Brands can use social media to create hype about their commercials before they air them, as well as involve their clientele in the process. Only a few managed to do this.

With a cost of $3 million per 30 second spot, companies need to make use of all the tools they can. Just putting web addresses at the end of commercials doesn't work if you want consumers to take the next step and explore what you have to offer.

What were your favorite commercials from the game? There were plenty of good ones this year, but personally I have to go with one of the classics. The infamous "Lamb Streaker". Enjoy!

-Karina

The Future is Mobile

GO MOBILE

The future of marketing can be summed up in those two words. According a post yesterday by Search Engine Watch Blog, Google has announced that it's 2011 strategic initiatives are "all about mobile."In a keynote speech on the 27th at the Interactive Advertising Bureau's annual leadership meeting, Google's CEO, Dr. Eric Schmidt, said mobile is taking off faster than predicted and that, "This is the future and everyone will adapt." To prove his point Schmidt offered some statistics displaying how rapid mobile is growing. These were the ones that stuck out to me most...

• There are more than 200 million YouTube mobile playbacks per day.
• 78 percent of smartphone users shop on their device.
• Schmidt predicted that digital display advertising could become a $200 billion a year business

So how does this relate to sports advertising?

$$$BIG MONEY$$$

Look back at the statistics I just listed above, courtesy of Dr. Schmidt. MORE THAN 200 million YouTube mobile playbacks per day, PLUS, 78% of smartphone users shop on their device. These numbers indicate that people are watching lots of YouTube videos on their mobile devices AND most of these people are also using their smartphones to shop. THEREFORE, companies like Nike, adidas, etc. can theoretically made a fortune from successful VIRAL MARKETING campaigns.

Nike had an incredibly successful viral marketing campaign in 2008 when they launched this viral video of Kobe Bryant jumping over a speeding Aston Martin to promote their launch of his new signature shoe, Hyperdunks. The shoe went on to become one of the hottest selling and popular basketball shoes of all time.

If athletic apparel companies utilize this viral marketing venue more, that means more mobile hits of their videos on YouTube, which translates to a possibility of millions of mobile sales from these same viewers.

Viral marketing is just one example. If you think about it, mobile marketing/advertising is absolutely the way to go. As smartphones are becoming ordinary, more emphasis is put on mobile web browsing. And what better way to reach consumers?! My Droid is ALWAYS by my side. As more people acquire smartphones as their mobile phones, that means there is a rapidly expanding population of people that can be accessed wherever, and whenever. Thus effective mobile marketing can lead to ENORMOUS profits for any company. But I see the opportunity for astronomical profits from the athletic apparel industries due to their reliance on web browsing, viral advertising, and their ability to constantly inform people of new sales or products, directly to their mobile devices. Being able to reach millions of people all the time, anywhere, is why mobile is absolutely the future of marketing and advertising. Mobile's future looks bright...and lucrative.

~Z