Posts for 'Brand Marketing'

I think Playtex is going to score big time with its humorous new ad campaign entitled "Girl Talk."

The essence of the campaign is summed up below:

"We uncovered that women of all shapes and sizes talk about their bras and breasts in funny, witty and candid ways," said Vicki Seawright, marketing director for Playtex intimate apparel, which is part of Winston-Salem-based Hanesbrands Inc.

The ads will showcase women having funny, honest chats about their breasts, including using nicknames for their breasts intended only for the privacy of their own conversations. (You now see the voyeuristic aspect of the campaign)

Playtex intends to use conventional TV and magazine buys, but supplement or "support" as the company said, with YouTube video and American Greetings e-cards.

Here's my bet: this campaign is going to launch some uproariously funny video spoofs on YouTube. And you know what: Playtex is going to love them all. In the age of viral video-enhanced brand marketing campaigns, Playtex is taking a smart approach. By having fun with their marketing and opening the door for others to do so as well, they dramatically enhance the chances of breaking this campaign out of the clutter and getting big time buzz. In short, this campaign seems well-positioned to be an advertising triumph. Let's see.

Here’s how this hit my radar: I was flipping the pages of the most recent New Yorker magazine. I noticed a full page picture of Salma, suggesting the reader visit http://www.campariusa.com/. Upon arrival and submitting my birth date, a 30 second video spot of Salma plays, with her sashaying down a corridor being proffered jewels and other enticements, until finally following an glittering tray of Campari on the rocks. After the video ends, there's all kinds of other stuff happening afterwards, with very heavy Flash emphasis.

What I found cool about all this is that an ad in a magazine got me to go online to see a video, which in turn prompted me to further engage with the site, learn about the company, get cocktail recipes, etc. A very multi-platform and multimedia approach, which is all part of the company's "Hotel Campari" campaign.

With TV networks still banning liquor ads, broadband presents a unique opportunity to reach target audiences above the legal age (of course, how that's verified is very sketchy to me....)

Nonetheless, with the sizzling Salma Hayek out front, the Campari campaign is sure to generate plenty of awareness and no doubt become a well-watched model for others looking to exploit broadband video campaigns in a more immersive way than pre-rolls allow.

This Shycast-IKEA campaign caught my eye this morning. As many of you know, I’m a big believer that the openness of broadband video makes it appealing to lots of companies that can creatively tap its potential.

In this case, startup Shycast is creating contests for big brands to enable customers to submit video in order to win prizes. I like the social media angle here, however, in looking at the site, the part that’s missing to me is the engagement with the IKEA brand. All I can see is an IKEA banner. It might as well be from anyone. The site needs to be infused with the IKEA brand personality to make it really feel like an IKEA contest. Given today is just launch day, I’ll standby and look for improvements.

OK, even as the enthusiast that I am about the value of Super Bowl ads increasing, this seems over the top to me. WSJ is reporting that a number of sites are selling pre-rolls on their Super Bowl ad galleries. Call me skeptical, but I just don't see how consumers are going to stomach this.

In February of 2006, following Super Bowl XL, I wrote a newsletter entitled, "The $10 Million Super Bowl Ad?". I suggested that despite all the anxieties around the future of the 30-second spot, the future of Super Bowl ads was very bright. This was the case because of all the broadband and online opportunities that can lead into and follow up the 30 second ad that shows during the game.

My proposition was that marketers would be less concerned about "throwing the long ball", i.e. spending $2.5 million per spot ($2.6 million for Super Bowl XLI, btw) if they were able to monetize that investment beyond just the on-air showing. And broadband is a great way of doing exactly that.

Today Stuart Elliott at the NY Times had a great piece, "Multiplying the Payoffs From A Super Bowl Spot", exactly on this point, and how it's playing out for Super Bowl XLI. It showcases the advertisers who are leveraging broadband this year, including Anheuser-Busch, GM and Garmin. I continue to forecast that broadband is only going to drive the price of 30 second Super Bowl spots (and in fact likely add new value to all :30s) higher as marketers come to understand how they can leverage their investments and tangibly drive revenues from them.

In yet another great example of how brand marketers are embracing broadband to build closer relations with their customers and prospects, Adweek carried this story today about Lexus launching its own channel this summer. The channel is being desigend to create a "parallel with the character of the brand," according to Lexus national interactive and contextual marketing manager Brian Bolain.