Don’t Vote

When I started writing this blog, I made two rules for myself. 

1. Don’t get personal.

2. Don’t get political. 

This is supposed to be an advertising blog to help me communicate my ideas and help me stay current with advertising news and issues. This isn’t supposed to be about me. However, voting is so important to the upcoming election that I have to promote it. Even if it’s just to the handful of people who read this blog, I want to spread the message. 

And, I want to be in the company of all the celebrities who are in the video below. If I could only just hang out with one or two of them… This is a great video because instead of being a bunch of celebrities telling people who to vote for, it’s a bunch of celebrities telling you to make your own decision and then go vote. They’re not just telling you to vote OBAMA. They’re telling you to make your own decision. So, please take the advice of Leonardo DiCaprio, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, Ellen DeGeneres, Justin Timberlake, Ashton Kutcher, Steven Spielberg and many more and go out and VOTE!

Pepsi Gets a Makeover

Introducing Pepsi’s new look. PepsiCo just revealed the new can and bottle designs for Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Sierra Mist. This is the fifth time that PepsiCo has changed the look of their products in 20 years. This design took about five months to create and the new looks won’t be in stores until early next year.

I like the direction that Pepsi is going. I like the simple and modern direction that PepsiCo took the designs. I also appreciate that they made such a huge change, yet stayed true to the brand image. Though the red, white and blue image on the Pepsi can became less severe and smaller, it still looks like the Pepsi logo. The white part of the logo is meant to look like smiles, which is the brand characteristic Pepsi is going for. This will accompany the grin characteristic for Diet Pepsi and a laugh for Pepsi Max. Ok… And, though I don’t really drink pop, I will look for the new cans in stores next year. 

Now, does the Pepsi makeover come at the same time as the Britney Spears comeback for a reason? Wouldn’t that relationship be amazing to relive?! 

Goodby + Quaker Oats = Future Success for both

Of the seven days a week, I probably eat oatmeal for breakfast about five times. I love oatmeal. And, it’s not just oatmeal, it’s Quaker Oatmeal. I’m a fan of the Quaker Instant maple and brown sugar. When I’m home, I like the original Quaker Oatmeal from the stove with a little brown sugar and milk. Mmmmm…

Quaker Oats is a great brand. Oatmeal is not the only thing they provide. The Low Fat Granola and Whole Grain Rice Cakes (currently using agency Juniper Park in Toronto) are all excellent. So is Life cereal. I guess I just love the brand and the nutrients their products provide me on a daily basis. 

This is why I am excited to see what direction Goodby, Silverstein & Partners will take this great brand. I believe that Goodby will provide a fresh perspective for the brand and possibly provide some entertainment value to the upcoming ads. It seems like most recent oatmeal commercials center around a concerned mom providing a hearty bowl of oatmeal to her hungry children. I can’t wait to see if and how Goodby will change the typical oatmeal advertisement. 

Goodby is inheriting quite a large challenge. Quaker Oats spent $45 million on media last year. They followed that with $20 million in media spending in the first half of this year. This means that the communication strategists at Goodby are going to have their work cut out for them shortly!

 

Old Navy makes a move – to Crispin

 

 

For me personally, the fact that Old Navy will now be working with Crispin Porter & Bogusky is very exciting. I can’t wait until March to see what the final result will be. 

Old Navy is one of my favorite brands. I would shop there for back-to-school clothes when I was in elementary school and I plan to make a trip there today for some decently priced and modern work clothes. I also worked there for seven weeks – good discount, but not as fun as shopping there. I just really like being able to find clothes I need there and, as an added bonus, they’re usually trendy. 

As I have mentioned before, I remember talking with my manager about the brand shift they were trying to execute. I have read that it didn’t go over very well, but I enjoyed it while it lasted. I remember him telling me that they were trying to compete with American Eagle instead of Wal-Mart, which is the brand they used to compete with. 

Crispin should offer some pretty exciting changes to Old Navy, it will certainly offer a young and refreshing take on the brand. Crispin seems to understand how to effectively advertise to specific target markets – their target market for The King commercials (Burger King, if you have been living in a cave) was 18-34 year old stoners. Old Navy will be a challenge for Crispin because I’m not sure how humor will work with Old Navy, but nonetheless I can’t wait to see what this marriage will bring to the table for consumers.

As a client, does Starbucks suck?

 

 

Wieden & Kennedy gave Starbucks the big boot. Who saw that coming? I most certainly didn’t. Despite Starbucks very overpriced and bitter coffee, it still seems to keep its hold on the coffee market. Wouldn’t this be a brand that Wieden would want to keep a hold of? Apparently not. It seems that Starbucks, along with bad coffee, is also a bad client. 

When hiring an advertising agency, a company needs to trust the agencies taste and talent. That is why there is a big pitch process, so both brand and agency can ensure that their relationship will be beneficial. Obviously, the company is expected to be involved in the campaign, but there is a line between being involved and micromanaging. This was apparently the line that Starbucks didn’t understand – they have been known as a difficult client for quite awhile.

Starbucks, as a brand, has been very under-advertised. This was how they saw their brand in the market and it has always worked. However, Wieden wanted to further the brand and Starbucks wasn’t into it. Remember the Holiday 2007 “Pass the Cheer” advertisements? Those were tastefully executed and fit the brand perfectly. You can practically taste the red cups. 

Television ads just don’t seem to be the route that Starbucks wants to take. Thus ends the professional relationship between Wieden & Kennedy (based in Portland) and Starbucks (based in Seattle). 

Neither party is going to suffer too greatly from the severing of ties. Wieden can continue to work on other successful campaigns including Nike and P&G and Starbucks can continue to provide morning java to the entire world. And, it seems that we will see more Starbucks ads in the future. The brand confirms that they will be hiring agencies in the future on a project by project basis.

Virgin Atlantic introduces “Airphoria”

 

 

If there is one thing that is true about me, it’s that I completely hate flying. It’s not the inconvenience of a late flight or a missing bag (all of which are seriously annoying), it’s the fact that I’m actually scared of flying in the sky. I need to be in control to feel safe and I am most definitely not in control when I’m in the hands of a pilot. 

In May, I was in Atlanta for the NSAC/AAF National Competition. When we were scheduled to take off, there was a line of 30+ other planes that were ahead of us in line. Literally, 30 planes. By the time it was our turn, we had to go back to the airport to refuel before we were safe to fly. We ended up being many hours late to out next destination, Minneapolis, and ended up having to spend the night in the airport. The next morning our group had to separate so that we could make it home. Did I mention that our college graduation was mere days later? We had to get back. It was awful, I have never had a flying situation like that before. It seems that these days, flying has just become a huge hassle. My mom keeps saying over and over again that “flying isn’t glamorous anymore.”

Virgin Atlantic has noticed this also. And, they have a response to everyone. Virgin Atlantic is “glad you hate flying.” What? Should an airline trying to make profit really say that? They want people to hate flying so they can look forward to flying on Virgin Atlantic. It’s all part of their “Airphoria” campaign. Virgin Atlantic wants passengers to feel excitement and anticipation when flying their airline. They offer completely flat beds for sleeping as well as an open-all-the-time bar. These are two things (especially the second perk) that would make me look forward to flying on Virgin. 

This unique airline made the terrible attitude about flying into the perfect opportunity. They saw an opening in the market and ran with it. In looking at their website, though, I don’t think they fly within the U.S. Too bad, because Virgin would have been a great airline for me to fly to see my friend Emily in New York. And, despite my fear of flying, next time I need to fly internationally from San Francisco (my new home), I will certainly start with looking at Virgin. The complete bar is reason enough.