AdDude's Insights

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 the year in Advertising, marketing, and technology. So to commemorate this momentous occasion I am going to start an annual tradition: Wait for it…

The Best of Advertising This Year According to Lifson

1. Meet Milo- The Future of Interactivity- http://lifson.com/?p=258
Milo, which uses Project Natal for amazing interaction with an on-screen character is simply incredible. Microsoft makes this a must see!

2. How to Tell Your GF You Aren’t Having Beer With Friends- http://lifson.com/?p=800
The Andes Teletransporter was an incredibly humorous and unique activation that was truly integrated campaign that blended advertising with engaging Impact pieces

3. Esquire Comes Alive- http://lifson.com/?m=20091116
For their December issue, Esquire developed an Augmented Reality cover featuring none other then Robert Downey Jr. Downey introduces the issue and does a brief plug for the Sherlock Holmes movie. Bonus content was accessed and controlled on the Esquire website by installing an app and interacting with the Augmented Reality marker. This was pretty innovative for the print world

4. McDonald’s Burger Debate on Facebook and Up in the Air- http://lifson.com/?p=793
Once again a shameless plug for my team at Cossette, but this was pretty innovative and garnered a lot of press and interaction

5. If Marriage is Hell, Why Spare Homosexuals? http://lifson.com/?p=730
This clever and humorous video featuring Justin Long was created by opponents of California’s Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in the state in 2008

6. Andre 3000 Brings Everyone Together For Nike- http://lifson.com/?p=738
This one is just cool featuring Kobe Bryant in the company of greats

7. Come For A Quickie- http://lifson.com/?p=720
Tourisme Montreal and Tourism Toronto launched a collaborative marketing effort designed to encourage people from both cities to see what the other has to offer. The campaign plays with the ongoing rivalry between Canada’s biggest cities, taking the Ashley Madison approach to travel and cheekily suggesting it’s OK to “cheat” on your city

8. Apple To Place Ads In OS- http://lifson.com/?m=20091106
This is a no-brainer, yet very smart move for Apple. A possible mechanic to the system would be that users could receive a free operating system upgrade in return for accepting the ads. Logic would also dictate that users would be happier to fill out certain information for the service, and it would ensure extremely targeted ads

9. Cossette and General Mills Add Latin Flare to Online Shows- http://lifson.com/?p=517
Mi Marido, Mi Angel (My Husband, My Angel), was created by Cossette for the Old El Paso brand. Fjord, the agency’s digital division, worked with CTV to have it listed at CTV.ca as a regular show

10. Amazing Anti Aids AD- http://lifson.com/?p=452
“AIDES graffiti” has great animation work against AIDS, promoting the use of condoms from TBWA Paris

No Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: 2009, 2010, Advertising, Best of, Cossette, Eric Lifson, Fjord, General Mills, Marketing, McDonalds, Microsoft, Newspapers, Nike, Shopping. | #

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.

NIKE78 – W+K Tokyo LAB | ‘ABUKU -泡-’ from NIKE78 on Vimeo.

No Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Abuku, Advertainment, Advertising, Aquarium, Fish, Footwear, Japan, Nike, Shoes, Viral. | #

Well if there are two things I love in this world, they are sports and ads. After a long break from music, OutKast’s Andre 3000 resurfaced during the NBA Finals by covering the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine closing track “All Together Now” for Nike’s latest Kobe Bryant commercial. In the minute-long clip, Nike traces NBA history, juxtaposing four-time champion Bryant alongside the greats like Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson and Patrick Ewing. But hearing Andre 3K’s voice again after a long hiatus is the real draw as the Atlanta rapper adds a little “Hey Ya!” bounce to the Beatles’ sing-along.

The Nike site hosting the ad didn’t indicate whether an unabridged version of Andre 3000’s “All Together Now” will be released as a download in the future. Despite a handful of high-profile cameos in recent years — verses on Big Boi’s “Royal Flush” and John Legend’s “Green Light,” to name a few — Andre 3000 hasn’t graced an album in full since OutKast’s 2006 Idlewild soundtrack. However, Andre will reportedly rejoin his OutKast partner Big Boi on a number of tracks on Boi’s upcoming album Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty. Big Boi, on the other hand, has been everywhere in the weeks before Sir Luscious Left Foot’s release, recently unveiling his awesome neon-and-puppet-packed video for “Shutterbug.”

Check it out here:

Nike isn’t the only sporting goods company to unveil a brand new commercial with musical talent: In the new Adidas ad below, Daft Punk, Noel Gallagher, the Stone Roses’ Ian Brown and Snoop Dogg all frequent the cantina from the original Star Wars to hilarious effect. The mysterious and silent Daft Punk adopt the role of Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi bartering with Han Solo for use of the Millennium Falcon while Snoop Dogg, light saber in hand, deals with some aliens who get up in his face. Somehow David Beckham shows up for the final punch line and to return this intergalactic ad and spot-on homage back to its World Cup theme.

This one kind of got lost on me to be honest. It seemed someone just wanted to play with Star Wars clips and forgo any semblance of strategy. I don’t get how the tagline of “Celebrate Originality” is approriate to this execution, but that’s just me. What about you?

3 Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Adidas, Advertising, Andre 3000, Basketball, Football, Futball, Kobe Bryant, Nike, Soccer, Sports, Star Wars, The Beatles, Viral. | #

Now it’s time to get funky! Here is an example of an athletic/  fashion brand making its product an integrated part of pop culture and advancing the fashion shoe category to a whole other lofty realm (as they always do). This is the new Japanese campaign for Nike’s Free Run+ shoes. This is a smart and stunning collaboration with DJ Daito Manabe and co., and sees the crew pumping out the ‘chunes’ in the oddest of ways. Using specially outfitted runners equipped with the newest flex sensors (the new sensors change resistance when bent), the pair achieve awesome effects controls. Also, notice the usage of only Apple products. This may be a link to the Nike+ – the Apple and Nike technology marriage made in heaven. Check this out, and try not to be impressed!

No Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Innovation, Japan, Music, Nike, Technology. | #

No Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Cossette, Ikea, Jungle Media, Media, Nike. | #

Nike True City is a really cool iPhone app where you can find some info about different european cities, provided by some “Nike experts”, but leaving it open for you to update the content with your own suggestions of what a “true city” should be.

Aditionally the app reveals where new Nike events are taking place, where there are secret QR-codes in each city (i love they include even a QR-Code reader inside the application) or even new Nike products to be launched, creating a really interesting community where you can be rewarded on your own or by sharing to the rest of users. Here’s a little trailer to the app:

Nike True City Full Trailer – Official HD Version from NikeSportswear on Vimeo.

No Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Advertising, Apple, Digital, iPhone, Marketing, Mobile, Nike, User-generated. | #