Time’s Top Ten Lists

Time magazine just released their top ten lists and they are certainly nothing less than entertaining. It is really fun looking through all the lists and reminiscing about the past year. Especially amusing are the Top Ten Fashion Moments (supermodels, boyfriend jeans and Michelle Obama’s $148 dollar White House Black Market dress) and the Top Ten Breakups (Madonna and Guy Richie, Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers and George Clooney and that girl I hate). 

But, the most interesting, is the Top Ten TV ads. Obviously.

Two of the Top Ten have been featured on my prestigious and very popular blog. (Shout out to the three people who read it!) Time liked and listed Visa’s commercial for the Olympics featuring runner Derek Redmond and Morgan Freeman’s famous narration. Another on both the Time and Alexa in the City list was the Guitar Hero commercials featuring those four athlete studs – Alex Rodriguez, Michael Phelps, Kobe Bryant and Tony Hawk. Time thinks the highlight is Tony Hawk sliding across the floor on a skateboard, I think it’s the end when Phelps and Rodriguez are kicking and playing the guitar on the couches. 

Time’s number one ad of the year was the T-Mobile ad with Charles Barkley and Dwayne Wade when Wade finally makes the cut to be one of Barkley’s “Fave Five.” Charles, Chuck, is really funny in this commercial. He makes annoying look really easy. I agree with the magazine on this one – apparently athletes in commercials doing uncharacteristic things is what I like… 

Time’s number two was the Fed Ex commercial with all the giant carrier pigeons delivering “the big stuff.” Though this ad was creative, I thought it was more frightening than anything. I didn’t start sending packages to my parents using Fed Ex because I thought a huge gray bird was going to deliver it. 

When Crispin, Porter and Bogusky ditched the Bill Gates/Jerry Seinfeld ads, they switched to the cheaper “I’m a PC” ads to address the Mac commercials. I find this particular ad to be quite amusing and appreciate Time recognizing it. It features regular people (as regular as Bill Gates, Tony Parker and Eva Longoria Parker and Pharrell can be) stating that they’re a PC. Some even add their own little message, like that they are afraid of sharks or that they sell fish. The fish part is actually the best part of the commercial. 

The fifth ad on the list is one that I haven’t seen before, but I do appreciate it. It features Neil Patrick Harris reprising his roll as a doctor for Old Spice. The best part is the end when the monitor flat lines as he puts the stethoscope on the patients nose. 

The number eight choice is an interesting one – Barack Obama’s infomercial. Though I sat on my bed for the entire half hour glued to the TV, I’m not sure that I would have said it was one of the best commercials of the year. Time justifies it by saying that Obama made his point through the riveting and heart breaking stories of other people. I agree. But, was it necessary to make an entire half hour commercial? It certainly did show how much money (i.e. support) Obama received throughout his campaign. And, even if it swayed just one person to vote Obama, I’m glad he made it. I’m sure he is too. 

Missing from the list were some of my favorite commercials. No room on the list for the Macy’s commercials featuring all my favorite department store celebrities? How disappointing!! Seriously, though, missing from the list was the Goodby commercials for the NBA, “There Can Only Be One,” that featured half the faces of two players saying the same monologue. Time even borrowed the concept from the print ads for their issue featuring Barack Obama and and Hilary Clinton. If it was good enough for the cover of a Time issue, wouldn’t it be good enough for the Time Top Ten List?

 

Overall, Time’s Top Ten lists are very accurate and entertaining. You’ll definitely kill a good hour searching through them. 

 

 

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.

Microsoft Ad: Win or Lose?

The new Microsoft ad featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld has been receiving a lot of flak since it debuted. I hadn’t even seen it before I heard a number of people who thought it was pointless. So, instead of waiting to see it on TV, I visited YouTube. 

My first impression was that I couldn’t believe it was a minute and 30 seconds. Thats a long commercial! And, after watching it, I was a little confused about why it was for Microsoft. Shouldn’t it be for that Circus shoe place or a local mall? No, it’s Microsoft. I actually enjoyed its randomness and light attitude. Seinfeld obviously has to carry the commercial on his shoulders because Gates has little entertainment value.

Despite what people may think about the ad, they are still talking about it. It has created a buzz that is more effective than an epic commercial. And, according to Microsoft, this is just the beginning of a new campaign to establish a new brand identity. Any commercial that kicks off a new brand identity is bound to cause a stir. This commercial was made by Crispin Porter + Bogusky and I can’t wait to see the next installment of the new campaign. 

 

 

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.

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…?

Sorry Kobe

I am not the biggest basketball fan, but I did sit through most of the playoff game last night with the Lakers and the Celtics. Kobe Bryant is amazing, but there is just something about him that I don’t like. That’s a whole different story, though.

I watched the game so I could watch the commercials during the commercial break. And to see what celebrities decided to make the trip to Boston… The NBA has the absolute best commercials right now! The split screen of two players giving the same speech was an absolute genius move by Goodby Silverstein & Partners. It is such a simple idea that was executed so well. It also allowed them to match up different players faces depending on who was playing.

Or, just match up players who have an interesting history. For example, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. When Kobe joined the Los Angeles Lakers right out of high school, Shaq acted as his mentor. Now, with each player on a different team, a rivalry has formed. It makes this Joker-esque commercial almost comical.

But, there can only be one. And it was Kevn Garnett.

Nike: Crispin Out, Wieden Back In

Wieden+Kennedy and Nike go hand in hand. While Dan Wieden was working at McCann-Erickson, he famously met Phil Knight when Knight said to Wieden “Hi, I’m Phil Knight and I hate advertising.” Though Wieden’s opinion, I’m sure, differed from Knight, it was a brand match made in heaven. From that, Wieden and David Kennedy left McCann-Erickson to form Wieden+Kennedy. When they left, Nike went with them. That was the beginning of the beautiful pairing of a worldwide brand and a firstclass ad agency.

Fast forward to April 2007, when Nike announced that they were taking their running-shoe and Nike-Plus business to Crispin Porter & Bogusky. It was a short-lived relationship, though, because Nike just announced that they are heading back to Wieden. To me, this just seems like a no brainer. I understand the need for a fresh take on ads and Crispin and Wieden certainly have different styles, but the Nike/Wieden relationship has worked out for so many years. They have grown up together. It is no surprise that Nike came back to Wieden after just 13 months.

As for Crispin, they recognized that they were given a blessing when Nike decided to jump on board with them. And, they bowed out gracefully. CEO Jeff Hicks released this statement: “We will forever be in awe of the company that is Nike and wish them nothing but the best.” I will forever be in awe of Nike as well.

If you haven’t seen the very creative and complex ad that Crispin did for Nike-Plus, please take a look. You’ll be impressed at how Crispin sticks with the Nike style while adding a Crispin twist.

I went, I saw, I learned

The most important thing that I learned while I was in New York City is that I can’t wait to begin my new job – where ever I end up. I would be absolutely thrilled to live in New York, but I don’t think I’ll discriminate against any major city. I just love the hustle and bustle of the big city!

Aside from the tourist activities we did, (we were on the Today Show!) I really appreciated getting the opportunity to visit the agencies. The first agency we went to was very small with only four people working there. It was completely creative driven and interesting to see how such a small boutique works. Then it was on to JWT, which was a complete 180 from the agency in the morning. JWT’s reel included ads for Macy’s, Stride gum, Halls and JetBlue. I’m embarrassed to admit that the ”Magic of Macy’s” commercials featuring celebrities like Martha Stewart, Donald Trump, Mariah Carey, Jessica Simpson and Usher are one of my favorites right now. What can I say, I’m a sucker for celebrities!

We also got the privilege of visiting BBH, which was amazing! They have such a beautiful space and the decorations are stills from ads or print ads. Everyone walked down the halls so slowly because they wanted to look at all the featured work. I got the impression that BBH enjoys taking risks in their advertising, and it pays off! On top of everything, it looked like the employees have fun while they work. Something I wasn’t so sure of at other places.

After BBH, the One Show set a few of us up to visit Grey Group. This is an agency that is recovering from a poor reputation. Grey’s clients include Captain Morgan, Dairy Queen, Frontier and E*Trade. Their comeback began with the talking/trading baby ad that premiered during the Super Bowl. It was a risky ad that went on the become the most popular ad during the Super Bowl. It topped many of the advertising lists compiled after the game.

My travel buddy and I also ventured to Wieden+Kennedy unannounced. This would have been better if we had set something up, but it was still great to see the space. We were only able to talk to the receptionist, but I immediately liked what I saw there. W+K would be a great place to end up…

This trip helped me figure out what is important to me in an agency, especially work space and attitude. The trip was creative advertising based, so I learned a lot about the “other” side of advertising. Though the people we met aren’t the people I would be working directly with, they still got me excited about my future career and the advertising world.