Regardless of what Glenn Beck says, people still love Mother’s Day. Folks are finding all kinds of ways to use social media to tell mom that they love her, and marketers couldn’t be happier.
Love or loathe E-Trade’s talking baby campaign, its hard to argue with how memorable the little buggers are. As featured in USA Today, E-Trade is rolling out widgets that [Read more…]
Feeling sadly nostalgic for your childhood? Well, put down your Carebear and stop crying. Social media marketing and online marketing are keeping your kiddie memories alive online with 70s and 80s toys represented in a whole new way.
The Etch A Sketch from Ohio Art is just one of those darn things that thankfully will never go away. I recently watched kids who own Wii and Nintendo DS systems literally fight over [Read more…]
Online, everybody’s a critic and everybody is right. So whenever anything is not perfect or not “just so” with an online brand, fans are the first to speak out. Facebook Fan-pages are subject to mass critical praise or dismissal, a great deal of which often happens in a matter of moments. One way that [Read more…]
Louder and more irritating appears to be our unspoken code when trying to gain someones attention. It worked flawlessly as children, after all, and so it is no surprise that we employ the same methods in marketing and [Read more…]
Okay so maybe that title is a tad dramatic but the little coupon is certainly generating a lot of talk these days.
The New York Times recently ran this somewhat cautionary piece outlining how online coupons could really be giving retailers access to vital and private information about their shoppers. This mutated coupon hybrid is loaded with super bar-codes that when swiped can pull up everything from your address, Facebook page information, and even the keywords you [Read more…]
Recent articles floating around the web seem to indicate that overseas, mobile marketing is huge. So huge, in fact, that the spending dollars on mobile marketing have grown 32% since last year. The industry has morphed into force to be reckoned with. A recent Adidas mobile campaign that invited users to track runners of the London Marathon attracted nearly [Read more…]
It happens to all of us sooner or later…. we fall in love with a brand or a brilliant mind or an addictive product, and after searching high and low, we finally find the website dedicated to it. Thrilled to have more to fuel our new obsession, we devour the content on the site. Or we start to. But our appetite and interest are replaced with disappointment as [Read more…]
The reality TV juggernaut American Idol, which somehow manages to generate more tabloid covers and Entertainment Tonight reports than any television show ever, has run out of gas. Simply put, nobody cares this year and the hot button water cooler buzz that surrounded AI has now evaporated. Likewise, the new batch of summer movies is failing to excite in previews as the majority of them are sequels. From Toy Story to Iron Man, there’s a cultural sense of deja vu going on. Entertainment, still one of the this country’s highest grossing exports, seems a little tired; like it could use a time out and a nap.
New media and marketing have also experienced a dip in creativity as of late. Shortly put, when the best Facebook press of the week involves Hamster torture, the well appears to have dried up. The climate can truly lead to feeling uninspired and exhausted. So it is easy to hop on the everything sucks and nothing is original bandwagon in times like these. But have no fear- I rustled up a few examples of marketing lights at the end of the tunnel.
To start things off, I think a special shout out is order for Hanes and their commercial that touts the company’s foray into using environmentally friendly fabrics. The clip features a Hanes wearing guy who an announcer tells us is doing the right thing while his friend James, whom he strolls through the mall with, is not. James receives menacing looks from babies and toddlers (read: the future generation) who look as though they’re ready to take the guy out for not being environmentally friendly. It’s a funny spot with a good message from Hanes. It also marks a departure in style from those “Look! Jennifer Love Hewitt in a bra!” ads of a few years back.
Also on the environmental tip, is this ad for Sun Chips. User created by Heather Kramer of Brooklyn, this sweet little commercial promotes the new 1005 compostible Sun Chips bag. Kramer, who was chosen by Al Gore as the winner of a nationwide contest, provides a voice over while a the chip bag takes a little journey. Chosen as AdWeek’s clip of the week, the Sun Chip commercial is a step in the right direction for the brand.
Lastly, Diesel jeans gives there “Be Stupid” campaign a shot in in the arm by leaning on Twitter and Facebook to spread the word that stupid is the new smart. The company’s website and Facebook page feature contests and videos submitted by fans on how to do crazy dances. Sounds a little uh stupid, right? That’s the point and Diesel in the meantime is reinventing themselves by returning to the edgy marketing that put them on the cultural map during the 1990’s. The whole dumb thing turns out to be pretty ingenious.
Still not inspired? Looking to the past is a good way to start the juices flowing and to combat our current state of cultural boredom. Old movies, vintage television shows, and bad ass art books are a good place to start. But enough from me- how do you, dear readers, fight the media blahs? Any tips you’d like to share with the class?