In looking around the world, the one thing that remains true in almost all advertising is the idea of enforcing a USP, or Unique Selling Point. This one attribute is the thing that sets you apart from the competition. It doesn’t even have to be tangible, but can be based on a psychographic appeal of the product like lifestyle. Nike in Japan was given an interesting take on their USP for their Abuku shoe. Abuku means bubble in Japanese, and that’s the word behind this video coming from W+K Tokyo Lab, in which they emphasize the air (main quality of the product). They decided to create an aquarium inside the shoe… I’m still wondering if that’s cool or weird, probably both, but that’s an original approach for sure.
Yep. He just went there! Eminem has just tapped the SlapChop guy to sell his new album. If there’s one person who’s always willing to forgive violence against women, it’s Eminem. So, I suppose it makes sense that Vince “ShamWow Guy” Shlomi would make his comeback in a manufactured-viral promo for the rapper’s new album. You might remember that Shlomi’s meteoric rise to infomercial stardom came to an abrupt halt when he got into a fist fight with a prostitute. Although the charges were dropped, the arrest and subsequent photos made Shlomi a television outcast. Now, he’s back, reliving his glory days in a lame Slap-Chop parody for Eminem’s upcoming release, Recovery. Because if you can’t escape your image as a guy who beats up hookers, you might as well partner with the rapper who pens lyrics like, “Put anthrax on a Tampax and slap you till you can’t stand.” Oh Eminem, if only you could ‘relapse’ into making good music and not lame gimmicks!
So, a big name brand located some cajones and is tapping into a non-traditional advertising media. I have previously blogged about the emerging trendy Chat Roulette. This website links you to randoms across the world through your webcam. Chat Roulette, the online chat platform developed by Russian student Andrey Ternovskiy, has spurred a number of high profile ‘virals’, all equally hilarious. However, the platform is also widely seen to be bursting with sex and nudity. So in a fun advertising campaign Calvin Klein now offers a small program that scans for nudity on Chatroulette and then hides it with Calvin Klein underwear. This is simply brilliant! Good on Calvin Klein to take a risk and be a pioneer for such an untapped medium.
Looks like Diesel is back to the great stupid campaigns of its glorious past. Be Stupid is a smart concept that offers a wide range of possibilities to be further explored and exploded with wit and irony. The idea is simple: smart may have the brains, but stupid has the balls… the balls to create new stuff, the balls to do crazy things, the balls to surprise.
If you think you are doing something stupid enough you can send your stupid video to Diesel and win the possibility to be featured in the video catalogue/music clip they will produce over the next few months. Thanks to Adverblog for mentioning this.
Eric Lifson is an Account Coordinator at Cossette Communications on the National McDonald’s account.
He holds an Honours degree in Communications Studies from York University and is a graduate of the Creative Advertising program at Seneca College.
He is passionate about his work and is constantly digging up the latest in advertising, marketing and digital/interactive media. Enjoy!
Well it has been a crazy year since this blog started last August. I was just finishing up University and college and now I am working on the National McDonald’s team at Cossette for almost a year. Time flies! It is so easy to lose track of all the cool stuff that has happened over [...] […]
A new report from Advertising Standards Canada (ASC) claims that the country’s largest food and beverage companies are becoming more responsible in how they advertise to children. The report notes the 19 companies participating in the Canadian Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CAI) achieved “excellent compliance results” in 2009. The CAI w […]
So people. I took a little bit of a break. Went to South America. Checked out Lima, Huacachina, Cusco, Machu Pichu, and the Amazon jungle in Peru. Then we went to Buenos Aires in Argentina and Rio de Janeiro in Brasil. And let me tell you something: I have nothing advertising related to discuss about [...] […]
I’ve always thought that a brand is much more than which cereal or car you buy. You buy something greater than a product or service. With a brand you buy into the experience. I saw an interesting documentary on Hugh Hefner yesterday. He didn’t just create a magazine. He created a brand. He became the brand [...] […]
Eric Lifson is an Account Coordinator at Cossette Communications on the National McDonald’s account.
He holds an Honours degree in Communications Studies from York University and is a graduate of the Creative Advertising program at Seneca College.
He is passionate about his work and is constantly digging up the latest in advertising, marketing and digital/interactive media. Enjoy!
