Advertising & Branding

2008 in Retrospect: The Good, The Bad, and The Absolutely Hilarious!

/ Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

We said goodbye to some extraordinary people this year.


PR disasters and signs of the times

  • Bill O’Reilley’s studio performance over a teleprompter
  • Scott McClellan‘s unconvincing tell-all book on his White House years.
  • New York Governor, Eliot Spitzer busted in prostitution scandal
  • Alaska Senator Ted Stevens found guilty of ethics violations
  • Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich charged with corruption
  • Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona launches immigration busts.
  • Sarah Palin ‘pranked’ by two Canadian radio DJs, into believing she was speaking to French president, Nicolas Sarkozy.
  • The Big Three car makers, GM, Ford and Chrysler, arrived in DC to ask for a bailout in their corporate jets. They were sent back and returned, driving hybrid vehicles. One even car-pooled. Honest!
  • The Guardian in London, declares Gillette ad featuring (Roger) Federer, (Tiger) Woods and (Thierry) Henry the worst ad in 2008.

Milestones:

  • The 15th birthday of Hypertext – Tim Berners-Lee
  • Barack Obama elected the 44th president of the U.S.
  • The iPhone cuts its price, and adds a new model
  • The New Yorker‘s controversial cover on the Obamas
  • The 2008 Olympics in China
  • Dipnote celebrates one year as a blog
  • Blackberry introduces Storm, the answer to the iPhone
  • ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Comm celebrates 25 years
  • Saturday Night Live‘s YouTube skit on Sarah Palin
  • Arizona governor, Janet Napolitano, picked to be new Sec. of Homeland Security
  • Christian Science Monitor – shifts from daily to Weekly
  • bizAZ Magazine folds due to downturn in economy
  • The horrible Mumbai terrorist attacks, which now have a Wikipedia entry

Quotes for the week ending 20 December, 2008

/ Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

“I’m not a journalist. But I am a publisher. I am a reporter. I am a media maker.”

Chris Brogan, in  a post explaining his ‘sponsored post’ for K-Mart

“For gaseous and predictable arguments ripped from the most recent front-page news stories and not much else, the Times is champion.”

Doug Maceachern, columnist for The Arizona Republic, firing back at the New York Times for an editorial dissing Arizona over governor governance after Janet napolitano leaves for a White House post.

“WAAAY too much “yay, all social media is good” group-think going on right now.”

Jason Baer, commenting on IABC Chair, Barbara Gibson’s post about  Chris Brogan’s experiment with a sposored post for K-Mart.

“the defendants in the case could be validly served by the plaintiff sending a message by computer to the Facebook page.”

Story of a ruling by an Australian court that a judgment could be ‘served’ to Facebook.

“It’s a big, fragmented mess.”

Steve Woodruff, founder of Impractivi, commenting on socvial media, in an interviw with CB Whittermore.

“That approach doesn’t work at a cocktail party, or at a funeral or in a social network.”

Seth Godin, on why traditional advertising doesn’t work, and why big companies are are asking the wrong questions in social media.

“The Lunesta moth. A potent symbol, but not a lot of depth.”

Alfred O’Neill, on why Pharma advertising is a square peg in a round hole.

“Eventually, given enough years in the biz, you know who will melt like a snowball in a rainstorm uphill on a Sunday in Jun…”

John Biggs, responding to a nasty email from a PR firm because TechCrunch called out the PR spam they were getting. The owner of the firm called them “nasty people” that will “melt away faster than a snowball going up hill in the rain.”

“Poor WSJ and NY Times—left 45 people voice mails. I am going to be so outed by those publications.”

Lois Whittman, the owner of the PR firm, inducted into TechCrunch’s hall of shame, above.

“If you come across any young PR professionals who have “McMurry” on their resume, you’d be lucky to have them on your team.”

Jessica Hansen, a Phoenix PP professional, responding to a reader comment on my post in ValleyPRBlog about TechCrunch’s fatwa against PR people.

Chris Brogan’s experiment: get over it!

/ Angelo Fernando / 1 Comment

I had intended to say that Chris Brogan’s K-mart post was a storm in a teacup, until I saw Chris’ post on Saturday. (If you missed it, it’s K-Mart’s use of six bloggers to create some buzz about shopping for Christmas.) It’s more like a tornado in a branded shot glass.

It boils down to whether pay-per-post ought to be shunned by bloggers, and the larger, eternal question: “Are bloggers journalists?”

My initial thoughts were these:

  • People are so uncomfortable/unsure about social media that they think there’s one formula that everyone has to follow, and whoever breaks the formula is either crazy, desperate, or damn clever.
  • Money is a touchy subject when it comes to blogs -until people place ads in their navigation bar.

I didn’t think this was such a sell out, or that Chris had tiptoed to the ‘slippery slope’ as many have suggested. I have to laugh out loud when people talk about editorial integrity in the traditional media and that firewall between advertising and editorial.

Having bought media in the old and new media worlds, I know how this works, or doesn’t. You can not pay for editorial outright, most of the time. But you could be put into a sponsor bucket, and be ‘promised’ some coverage. Chris cut through those euphemisms, and said quite clearly what his purpose was.  Here’s why I like what he did:

  • He challenged the old way of thinking, and the old ‘rules’ that people imagine exist.
  • He stuck to the ‘markets are conversations’ idea, even before he cited Cluetrain Manifesto.
  • He was transparent. Bloody transparent. To the point of scanning his register receipt.

As Jeremiah Owyang noted in an earlier tweet:

“Expect more brands to ‘buy’ bloggers and tweeters as the economy dips, this truly is cost effective marketing.”

Some will be uncomfortable with this, but as old media explores a new model to retain readers and viewers –and sponsors– we need to become more open to experimentation.

Quotes for the week ending 13 December, 2008

/ Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

“sliding down Hell-in-Handbasket Ln.

AdRants about Virgin Mobile, commenting on the offensive/kinky video featuring an intoxicated Mrs. Claus.

“Goodbye, eyeballs—hello, conversations”

Article at Ragan.com featuring Katie Paine’s six steps in social media, where she advises against going for the nebulous value of media, and focusing on that which is measurable.

“This Wasn’t Quite the Change We Envisioned.”

Headline of Op-Ed by Barack Obama, quoted in Politico, which notes the rising dissatisfaction of Liberals with Obama’s centrist policies.

“There are still opportunities to defuse this.”

Duncan Clark, on the  Chinese government’s plan requiring foreign computer firms to submit security technology -which includes data encryption secrets –for government approval.

“…to bring the joy and the interest of our Islamic art to an Australian audience.”

Artist Phillip George, on his line of 30 Inshallah surfboards featuring Islamic art on display a beach in Sydney.

“When it comes to gaining consumer confidence, company blogs are the used car salesmen of the media world.”

Mark Walsh, on the news from a Forrester Research report that only 16 percent of people trust corporate blogs.

“You naysayers can laugh all you want. You’re just troglodytes caught up in old-word illusions like “ROI” and “profit” and “sales.” You probably scoffed at pioneering technologies such as Betamax, CueCat and Friendster, too, didn’t you? You talk trash about Web 2.0 and we’ll use the power of social media to bankrupt you just like we did Pepsi and Motrin”

AdAge columnist, Ken Wheaton, making fun of the Web 2.0 cheerleaders.

“Old World Perspectives on New Technology Is What Ails You.”

Response to the article above, by reader Rodney Mason.

Quotes for the week ending 6 December, 2008

/ Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

“It is no use waiting for a 21st century Gandhi to do it! You and I must do it, if we are to change the world.”

Deepa, a Mumbai blogger at Mumbai Magic, who like many other Mumbaikars, are urging the government and the people to take action, now.

“for every “oh god my sister is in that hotel”, there’s one “Twitter is beating CNN! Yay us!”

Twitter user going by the name ‘naomieve‘ – last week’s tweet.

“Another “Twitterstorm” erupted this week when…”

The stormy clouds rolling in on a discussion at Media Bullseye about the Twitter storm.

“The mouse will no longer be mainstream in three to five years.”

Steve Prentice, analyst artGartner, on the news that Logitech has shipped one billion mice. He predicts the multi-touch device will kill the computer mouse.

“This one was significant, this one got our attention.”

Unnamed spokesperson for the Pentagon, commenting on news that Russian hackers had penetrated Pentagon computers.

“Innovation overhaul”

Peter Daboll, CEO of Bunchball in Advertising Age on the need for advertising innovation.

“dissenters’ voices may add volume to the discussion on international Internet governance and lend it legitimacy.”

From article on the centralization of Internet Governance under the UN

“Now if they can improve their iPhone service and turn it into an application, this will get even more interesting.”

Steve Rubel, on the improvement of Zinio, a digital magazine service for those who don’t want to let trees die to sustain a magazine habit.

Activists rap global warmers

/ Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

A great way to gain attention is to stage a guerrilla event, and have a great pitch. But yellow crime scene tape never fails to get attention, as in this case of activists who “took over” the Washington DC office of Environmental Defense.

They taped off the entrance with yellow tape that read “global warming crime scene” for added effect. The tape has been used before, against BofA and ExxonMobil. The latter’s headquarters were declared a ‘crime scene’ by protesters who also used a truck. More commonly, activits have appropriated advertising tactics such as billboards and posters. This one by an animal rights group took that even further.

Oh, my!

Quotes for the week ending 29 November, 2008

/ Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

“The impending total collapse of the dollar will render the true value of the average savings account or investment portfolio roughly equal to a bucket of warm piss.”

Thomas J. Wurtz, CFO of Wachovia, quoted in a press release about a new, daring billboard ad campaign

“If wearing your baby hurts your back or neck, you need positioning help, not Motrin”

Josh Bernoff, on the huge headache –um, backlash–Johnson & Johnson got on account of the ad about ‘wearing your baby’ in a sling.”

“Let’s face it: your beautifully lit, ideally scouted, model-perfect spot is likely going to be consumed in a 320×240 window. In that environment, Martin Scorsese would have a difficult time distinguishing between something shot on a Panavision Genesis versus a $150 Flip.”

Lewis Rothkopf, on the need to leverage broadband to narrowcast and target messaging in the way broadcasting has never done.

“Cheer up, it could be worse: it could be flu we’re facing and not merely a once in a 100 year meltdown in the financial system.”

Comment about a six-part drama, Survivors, on BBC1 where the story involves 90% of the population being wiped out in a flu pandemic.

“You get 14-year-old boys yelling out `I love you!’ because they learn these English expressions and try to use them.”

Kathleen Hampton, a teacher, using Skype to teach English to students in Korea in a reverse-outsourcing business from a town in Wyoming with a population of just 350.

“It’s not that we now have a president who’s black. It’s that for the first time we have a president who’s actually green.”

Oakland, Ca-based green-collar evangelist, Van Jones at GreenBuild conference this week.

“It’s a terrorist strike. Not entertainment. So tweeters, please be responsible with your tweets.”

A Twitter messge from Mumbai from primaveron@mumbai as the awful terrorist attack on the city broke out. Bloggers and the media took to new media to report the standoff and rescue operation

YouTube mashups as attack weapon

/ Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

Johnson & Johnson learned the painful way how a social media could be used against you. See previous post and the YouTube video by angry Motrin mom.

This is not exactly a new approach. It was only last November that someone called out Unilever on it’s Axe positioning,  mashing up the brilliant Dove commercial about ‘real beauty’ and the same company’s sex-ridden ads for Axe —below.

These videos tell a different kind of story. The Motrin video is vary basic, the anti-Axe quite slick. Yet they achieve a few important things:

  • They assemble and summarize supporting evidence against the offending brand
  • They make the problem seem big enough to recruit new supporters of the cause
  • They provoke the marketer to react

To think, not too long ago, the only tool at one’s disposal when offended, was a letter to the editor of your local paper!

Motrin’s ad brouhaha: is social media nasty medicine?

/ Angelo Fernando / 1 Comment

Motrin’s baby-as-fashion accessory ad that created a lot of comment among moms in the blogosphere, also created a teaching moment about how social media can be used to monitor, respond and even prevent such a brouhaha.

Thousand of tweets, articles, and angry blog posts later, we need to step back and ask ourselves: how could a marketer learn form this.  AdAge has great analysis of this story with respect to the social media backlash.

First some background: About six months ago, Dunkin Donuts responded to a similar attack (by Michelle Malkin) about an ad that purportedly used a ‘terrorist’ icon, a kaffiyeh. The attack was without any substance, by the marketer took the ad down, fearing the negative chatter in the blogosphere would damage its brand.

Motrin’s parent company, Johnson & Johnson, no stranger to controversy, issued a statement apologizing missing the mark.  I don’t think it needed to have gone there, and could have done better damage control by engaging those they had offended. But hindsight is 20-20 in a crisis, and maybe they did not know how to engage the groups via social media.

Which brings us to pre-emptive public relations, and the ability to use new media to listen first. Without that, social media seems like a btter pill to swallow, because it all seems like a noisy echo-chamber waiting to take you out.


Quotes for the week ending 22 Nov, 2008

/ Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

“There is no ‘bailout clause’ in your credit card contract. Yours truly, Consumer Reports.”

An ad appearing for Consumer Reports

“The greatest influencer is family and friends. The internet is second. Motor shows are third.”

Nigel Harris, the VP of Ford Motor Co. in China, on the automaker’s marketing strategy in the number 2 car market in the world.

“It’s almost like seeing the guy show up at the soup kitchen in a high hat and tuxedo.”

House Representative Gary Ackerman at the hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, commenting on the news that the Ford, Chrysler and GM top executives came to Washington in private jets, just to ask for a bailout.

“Lively no more.”

Message at virtual world site, Lively, (a Google attempt at Second Life) announcing that it was pulling the plug on the experiment.

“Have you ever wanted to mark up Google search results? … Starting today you can”

Google announcement of a more dynamic search application where users could customize and even delete the results to fit their needs.

“Frankly, Obama could appoint his dear mother-in-law as secretary of state, and if he let the world know she was his envoy, she would be more effective than any ex-ambassador who had no relationship with the president.”

Thomas Friedman on the ‘star quality’ appointment of Senator Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.

“We are attempting a 180 degree shift in perspective: seeking an algorithm first, problems second. We are investigating core micro- and macro-circuits of the brain.”

Professor Dhamendra Mohda, a IBM scientist working on a $4.9 million grant from DARPA to replicate neural networks in computers that may be eventially applied to data analysis, decision making or even image recognition.

“Virgin launches Wi-Fi in the sky”

News that Virgin Atlantic will begin the first Wi-Fi service on ovember 24th called GoGo, with a live 30-minute inflight recording to YouTube by 30 Rock‘s Keith Powell.

“You can experience public diplomacy in real-time as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, Colleen Graffy, travels to Bucharest and twitters along the way.”

News at DipNote on another social media initiative adopted at the highest levels of public diplomacy in the US.