Kudos Bob Newhart

This post is about the beauty of Social Media, but let's put aside our thoughts about intended reach or SEO performance, just this once. I want to focus on the 85 year old known as Bob Newhart who took advantage of his 1-day of revived fame sparked by the College Football Playoff National Championship.

Ohio State kicked some Oregon butt. (I had to give that shameless plug since I'm from O-H-I-O)

Anyhow, we all know that the college referee, Greg Burks, was not Bob Newhart, but it's still pretty cool when the stars align and famous look alikes become headline stories on top morning shows.

I was curious to find out exactly what Bob was doing on Twitter and how he knew how to respond so quickly. Here are few things to note:

1. Bob has a website - It has no active links to information, but does lead to his Twitter and FB pages

2. Bob's Facebook Page theme is nostalgic, but he only posts about once a month

3. Twitter - Same amount of posts as FB

If I had to guess, Bob probably has a really tech savvy Grandchild managing his online presence, but hey, at least they are doing something.

Kudos to Bob and to anyone else who can truly seize the moment.

Gentlemen Take Control of Your Facial Hair!

That's what Schick is advocating these days with their clever new ads showcasing men with "squirrel beards."

Schick's "Free Your Skin" campaign, which takes a bold anti-beard stance in this golden age of hirsute ruggedness is pretty darn neat and probably aimed at agency co-workers of mine!

LG Ad Series Features "Real Mom Talk"

LG has come up with a clever campaign that allows real moms to tell it like it is. The new multimedia campaign focuses on what moms really think as they are encouraged to vent their feelings about what goes on in their daily lives.

The new campaign called, "Mom's Inner Voice," includes video and a social campaign leveraging the hashtag #MomConfessions.

The Ballerinas Have Spoken

These days, you just never know who you will offend when you're creating what you think is good advertising.

Free People Clothing created a spot highlighting their beautiful ballerina style clothing and pointe shoes, but the professionally-trained ballet community has an issue with the model chosen for the ad, saying she's obviously not an experienced dancer.

Because of the beauty of ballet you tend to forget its sportsmanship that requires discipline and superior physique. Nonetheless, it's a great ad and I'm sure some of the viewers will just see it for what it is.

BMW's Car Commercial Remix

A series of new BMW ads push car advertising to another level. Ad Week describes it as self-glorifying narration over footage of a luxury car in the desert—and somehow still turn them into something beautifully compelling.

 Van Sant, best known for his Oscar-nominated directing of Hollywood hits Good Will Hunting and Milk, created three new spots for BMW's upcoming plug-in hybrid, the i8.

These ads bring some new perspective to the age-old images of a cutting-edge automobile tearing across barren wastelands. 

Take a look.

 

Take a Swig from a Honda Car's Exhaust Pipe

Yep, they said it and here's why! Honda is making big strides in producing energy and fuel efficient cars that are more green.

Their latest creation, the Honda FCX is the first compressed hydrogen-powered car that runs so clean, you can drink the water from the exhaust.


"They're calling it the most important car, since the invention of the car." I think they might be right!

Take a look at this ad featuring Leo Burnett Melbourne's work.

You Are What You Share!

Neat video, "You are What you Share," from the seemingly anti-social site, state.com. Their mantra is "Quickly state about whatever matters to you, get counted, and connect to like-minded people around the world. No need for hashtags, followers or fame."

Take a look at this video that shows how social media is pretty much taking over our lives. The main moral of this video, stop bragging, start living and use a different part of your brain.

Pretty darn cool!

Cadillac and Spike/DDB Tell A Story About a Brand and a Mother

Spike Lee Proves yet again that not only is he a film genius, but he's showing his strength in the marketing game.

Some of you heard the story on Good Morning America about Teddy Bridgewater. Talented, young football player who made a promise to his mom to buy her a pink Cadillac once he made it to the NFL. Well Teddy made it and he fulfilled his promise to his Mom the week before Mother's Day on national television.

Cadillac teamed up with Spike/DDB Needham to tell Teddy and Rose's story in a short ad film entitled, "Cadillac Presents A Promise to Rose." Great example of successful brand story. Check it out!

CB2 Uses Pinterest to Build Brand Momentum

CB2 has done its homework and found that most of its online visitors come from Pinterest. So, they got to work and created a Pinterest promotion that incorporates social, high level design from top industry designers with huge Pinterest followings and their very own products.

CB2 is allowing Pinterest users to weigh in on decorating a NYC apartment through a promotion called APT CB2. They have enlisted the help of five top notch designers with Pinterest popularity to help decorate the apartment with items from the store. Pinterest users will vote to determine the winner.

This will be the first time an apartment is being designed through Pinterest in real-time.

Last Year at "Brand" Camp

That's what big brands like Ford, Visa and Samsung will be saying next year when they become the master content generators.

In a big push to increase a viable sales outlet, Google-owned YouTube has set its sights on pushing the quality of video content generation with the help of big brand advertising dollars. They are pushing for a large share of the $68billion US advertising dollars up for grabs in the media world.

YouTube has created "Brand Camp," an organized boot came that teaches advertisers how to become better content generators. Brands can pay for distribution, but if their content is good, users will share it and that's free.

Take a look at YouTube's State of the Art LA Studio Space

Agency Hires Stalker for Intern Candidates

Just when you thought the Ad business couldn't get any crazier, it gets even crazier.
A New York Ad Agency has found a way to creep out potential interns by hiring a man they call "Donald Buscando."

Donald visits the LinkedIn profiles of potential talent and once they see that he has taken a peek into their personal page, they find out Donald's real purpose.

Take a look at the video.

Dove's Quest to Own Beauty Category Takes a New Twist

It seems the world of Advertising is shifting towards even more of a scientific psychological and sociological approach. Dove continues to push to own "beauty" with its new "Patches" campaign, part of the "Campaign for Real Beauty," that highlights women being tricked into thinking they are wearing pharmaceutical patches that will make them feel more beautiful. A seasoned Psychologist talks with the women about their insecurities and provides them with the patch to start them on their journey to increased self esteem.

Critics aren't happy over this ad because they feel its more about Dove branding than women's self-esteem. I question the intent of the any brand trying to sell a product vs. the true humanity of the consumer target.

Take a look and judge for yourself.

I "Heart" J. Crew

Open letters still work to get consumers what they want. Last August, freelance writer Jenni Avins penned a passionate plea  in New York magazine's The Cut blog, asking J. Crew to bring back its scoop back tank swimsuit. 

"What I want is smooth, taut fabric that stretches from my shoulders over my chest and ribcage, with hip-high leg holes and an open back to expose my skin to sand, sunshine, and seawater. I want it available in evocatively named colors like hibiscus, marine, and bottle green (in black, it's simply unstoppable.)"

The letter touched the fashionable heart of J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyons, who immediately responded, saying she'd see what she could do. A few months later Lyons announced the swimsuit return in a two-page New York ad with a sassy, handwritten note that reads, "Dear Ms. Avins, Your wish is my command ... within reason. XO Jenna."

It's an excellent example of a brand listening to and responding to the wishes of a loyal customer.

Graham Crackers Stir Up Controversy & Love

Who ever thought a wholesome snack like graham crackers could stir up so much controversy? I'm sure you've seen it by now, the campaign for Honey Maid, that offered a simple, healthy feel showing smiling families holding hands and playing together.

But the ad took a turn, for what a small percentage would call the worse, when they highlighted biracial and gay families. After receiving a flood of hate-filled comments, Honey Maid did what I would expect any smart marketer to do, stand firm on what they advertise.

Take a look at the original commercial and then what happened next. It's all about LOVE.

Veet Hair Removal Ad Gets Axed

The Veet ad featuring the surprisingly hairy man and his/her boyfriend having an early morning conversation about shaving has already been removed.

I thought it was a cute play on your boyfriend's view on those days when you should have waxed but didn't. The 30-second commercial features a couple peacefully sleeping in bed. A clean-shaven man wakes up, shocked, next to a hairy guy with a woman's voice — meant to imply that women should shave to avoid looking like hairy dudes.

Check out the ad and also the tweets from the naysayers.

Resumes Gone Wild

The ever-changing job market is getting quite competitive, so those who can think outside of the box when it comes to snagging their dream gig will win the prize.

Here's a great example of putting your creativity to work, Crystal Nunn applied for a junior designer position at We are Social in London and snagged the job thanks to a batch of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

Nunn, an avid baker, prepared a batch of cookies using ingredients from Beyond Dark chocolate, a brand co-founded by We Are Social creative director James Nester. She designed a special box for the goodies labeled "Beyond Ideas," attached a thumb-drive containing her traditional résumé and portfolio, and hand-delivered the package in a brown wrapper marked "Urgent." Within an hour, We Are Social contacted Nunn for an interview and i think you know how the story ends. She got the job!

Genius and Revealing Campaign from Dermablend Professional

Dermablend Professional hit the strategic mark with the unveiling of its new campaign that allows real women to talk about why they use their product.

Typical makeup ads have a hard time inspiring the "every day woman" who is looking for cosmetic products to help her look her best, but within the confines of aspirational goals due to the use of celebrity endorsers or professional models who have professional style teams.

These ads do the opposite, as the featured women, who have some form of a skin condition, tell stories about why they began using makeup to cover up, but now use it as a tool for self expression.

The emotional testimonials make a simple claim that Dermablend's conealing products don't allow them to hide, but allows them to reveal who they truly are.

Take a look!

The Selfie Slimmer

Seems like "Selfies" are growing into a life all their own and now developers are helping indulgers who take selfies seriously make them as perfect as they can be.

SkinneePix created by a female-led company called Pretty Smart Women, says the app can shave five to fiften pounds off that bloated iPhone self-portrait.

I downloaded it for $.99 and didn't really see a difference but I would be interested to see how it works for others.

I figure a little techie slimming tactics never hurt anyone!

Amazon Debuts New Internet Based TV Option

Options for TV watchers continue to grow outside of cable thanks to the entree of Amazon's new Amazon Fire TV. The Internet-connected set-top box which allows for voice search, was announced during an official launch event today in NYC. The product features are said to surpass both Apple TV and Xbox One and Roku.

Keep an eye out for the official release date to the public.

Don't Call It a Comeback! Just a Cute Response from the "Real Ronald McDonald"

In case you missed the "real" Ronald McDonald's response to Taco Bell's clever breakfast ad campaign, here you are!

 "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," it said, next to a photo of Ronnie petting a Chihuahua.