Audi A4 = Luxurious AND Fuel Efficient

When thinking of luxury brand cars, consumers immediately think of the two biggies – BMW and Mercede. But, Venables Bell & Partners also wants you to consider Audi in the luxury car brand category. I agree with them, Audi should automatically be considered a luxury car when consumers are looking for a classy and fuel efficient car.

That is the position that VB & P want to take in the market. According to their ads, the Audi A4 is more fuel efficient than the Mercedes C300 and the BMW 328, which are the A4’s two main competitors. This is a huge advantage that the A4 has over BMW and Mercedes-Benz while gas prices continue to be so inflated. VB & P are using their Audi ads to directly position themselves with BMW and Mercedes. The ad below is called “Living Room” and shows what happens when an outdated living room is transformed into a modern living space and closes with the car in the driveway (a Mercedes) is transformed into an A4. This sends a very clear message that a market once dominated by Mercedes and BMW is slowly being crept up on by Audi.

Another classy and efficient step for Audi is the fact that there won’t be any print ads. Simply broadcast ads during high profile events. Think Olympics, Oscars, Superbowl.  These expensive media buys will be reinforced with ads during popular T.V. spots including Sunday Night Football, Grey’s Anatomy and The Office. Keeping things simple is the best way to be considered classy.

With Audi as a luxury brand, progress is beautiful.

DSRL Debut Today

The DSRL? The DSRL is the Double Stuf Racing League, as in Double Stuf Oreos. Today is the day for the debut of the new Oreo commercials featuring Venus and Serena Williams and Peyton and Eli Manning. It seems like any commercial right now with the Manning brothers is a hit. And adding Venus and Serena makes the DSRL into a competition among athletic siblings.

Though this ad is rather corny (Racing League…?) it has the star power to be a hit. The DSRL is a competition that involves different ways to eat an Oreo. This has a bit of deja vu with the “How do you eat a Reese’s?” campaign. Last year, the ad was simply the Manning men competing with each other about eating an Oreo. Now, with the Williams’ sisters, the sibling pairs can battle each other. I expect more ads that show the different ways the pairs can eat an Oreo. I will be waiting on the edge of my seat…

The commercial that is debuting today contains the Williams’ sisters at a press conference announcing their introduction into the DSRL. It is an entertaining commercial and Peyton Manning shows some attitude toward the sisters. Check it out below. Every commercial with the Manning’s is sure to be entertaining.

“90210 2.0″ Premiers 9.02

I know that the new “Beverly Hills 90210″ debuting on September 2 (9.02) is kind of dorky, but I LOVE it. I love(d) “90210″ and I am stoked about the new version finally coming out. I am going to miss Dylan and Donna, but I will give this new version a try.

I especially appreciate the CW trying to win back old viewers by bringing back Kelly (Jennie Garth) and Brenda (Shannen Doherty!!!). That fact alone was the final deal maker for me to watch the new show. Brenda was an amazing character – the only one with interesting story lines in high school. I will be watching for two hours on September 2 simply to see Brenda and Kelly.

Now, what I find really interesting, is the fact that the CW is not going to allow the media or advertisers to view the show ahead of time. As a future media planner/communication strategist, this frightens me a little. Are they trying to hide something? Is the show actually terrible? How would I know if I wanted to spend the money to advertise during the premier on 9.02? To me, this is not a good sign for the show. It’s almost an admittance right away that the show won’t live up to the high expectations Aaron Spelling left behind. The CW recognizes the publicity and anticipation surrounding the new show and has decided that is all the media and advertisers need to know.

On the other hand, as a viewer, I could see this as an opportunity to watch the premier without the tainted opinions of critics. The critics will be watching the show at the very same time that I get to watch it. I hate when I hear about something before it comes out, or hearing a friend talk about a movie before I’ve seen it. But, that won’t have a slight chance of happening when the new “90210″ premiers.

In the end, though, my career self wins. It is going to be hard for media buyers to decide whether they want to use their budget to advertise during the premier when they know nothing about the show. The hype and anticipation that comes with the new “90210″ is not enough evidence to make a buying decision.

Below, for old times sake, is a picture of my favorite cast. I actually have a bookmark with this picture on it. And I still use it.

Team US-Ad

The Olympics bring out a sense of patriotism in Americans. Who isn’t completely enthralled whenever Michael Phelps is swimming? Team USA gold medals make us proud to be American and our athletes have represented us well in Beijing. And, the ads that are shown during the commercial breaks continue to make me proud to be an American. Coca-Cola, Visa, General Electric, AT&T and Oreo have all created commercials for the Olympic games that perpetuate the patriotism and congratulate the athletes. Coke currently has the most popular commercial during the breaks. This ad shows birds making a nest of straws that replicates the Birds Nest in Beijing. Though I appreciate all the Olympic ads (especially the ones with Phelps), my favorite ad is the Visa commercial with Derrick Redmond from the 1992 Olympics. This ad is both heartbreaking and inspirational. It reminds us that, win or lose, we are all American and we are all in this together. Athlete or not. And, it doesn’t hurt that it is narrated by Morgan Freeman.

 

My Favorite Brands (Part 1)

I was in San Francisco last week visiting my brother and an agency or two. I was asked multiple times what my favorite brands were. Though I have never really thought about this before, it didn’t take long to compile a list. So, here it is so far:

1. Volkswagen. This is a car brand that can get away with funny advertising. It’s refreshing to see a car company completely understand their stance in the market and use it to their advantage. I can’t even think of another car company that would be able to pull off a humorous ad. Their most recent ads feature Max, the little black bug with a big German accent. Lexus, a high end luxury car company also does a superb job with ads. They are classy and sophisticated, which suits their brand and the target market. I especially love the narrators voice, it just oozes class.

2. Coach. This is kind of a no-brainer for me, because I love the Coach brand no matter what kind of advertising is involved. However, I do anxiously anticipate the seasonal catalogue. Their ads are simple, classy and represent the brand in a fun way. I tend to enjoy brands that do little to no advertising except for catalogues. Coach, Nordstrom, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, etc. I would also like to include American Apparel, but when was the last time you logged onto Facebook or PerezHilton and didn’t see an A.A. banner? I also tend to appreciate ads when they are simple and include a lot of white space. I think that when white space is done in a creative way, it comes off elegant and helps the audience focus on the product. For example, any Clinique ad made in the last couple years.

3. Old Navy. Now, I used to work at Old Navy (for a whole month!) and I would never work retail again, but I do recognize and appreciate the brand make over that has been implemented. I remember talking with my manager at the time about the new, semi-risque ads for their new jeans. He said that Old Navy used to want to be in the same category/compete with Wal-Mart. That wasn’t working too well and ON saw an opportunity to be an inexpensive fashion brand. So, they changed their direction and decided to go after the American Eagle consumers. It seems to have worked for them. Their broadcast advertisements are fun, fresh, and constantly new (like every week it seems). Good for Old Navy.

4. Haagen-Dazs. Ice cream, in general, seems to be pretty important to me. But, Haagen-Dazs? That is like the ultimate ultimate. You know that when you buy Haagen-Dazs ice cream, you’re getting a good thing. And the ads for Haagen-Dazs are perfect for the high quality ice cream - When was the last time you saw an ad for Haagen-Dazs and didn’t immediately want to eat ice cream? Yeah, never. Not only do the ads effectively represent the brand, but they also coincide with current events. The Haagen-Dazs Honey Bees was an opportunity for H-D to educate the world about the decrease in honey bees, while effectively selling ice cream. I believe I learned that without honey bees, there would be 40% fewer Haagen-Dazs flavors. That is terrible! And, it’s something that I wouldn’t have known without the ads. (Thanks, Goodby!)

 

Those are just four brands that I wanted to highlight at this point. Each is unique, special and understands its place in the market. There are many more brands in my little brain, but I’ll get to those at a later time. What are some of your favorite brands…?