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CareerBuilder Super Bowl Ad Pay Off: Send Anonymous Messages To Annoying Co-Workers

CareerBuilder's Super Bowl campaign will more than entertain you. It'll help you get even.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that spots for the job posting board owned by Microsoft and a bevy of newspaper holding companies will point viewers to anonymoustipgiver.com, a new a website where you can send anonymous email messages to annoying co-workers or others.

The messages feature characters from CareerBuilder's TV ads - including a talking crocodile, a zombified woman and a man with holes cut out over his nipples - and lets senders write or record their own messages, or choose from pre-fab tips such as:

• "Next time you're like, giving a presentation, like to the boss, you should like say 'like' less."

• "One out of 10 people think your barking ringtone is funny. That one person is you."

• "Gum is the perfect segue between a tuna sandwich and a job interview."

Try it yourself, here.

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Bud First Super Bowl Advertiser To Use Interactive TV Ads

I mentioned the sneak peak Anheuser-Busch gave me of this year's Super Bowl ads.

Turns out that come game day, viewers in Canada will get a whole lot more.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that viewers who watch the game on network RDS will be able to use their remote controls to click through to see longer versions of the spots, bookmark them to view later, or choose to return to the game.

This is the first time ever a Super Bowl advertiser has used interactive television - which, while popular in Europe and apparently in Canada, has yet to really take off with cable operators here in the US.

Read all about it, here.

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Business Week: What Works In Online Video Advertising

It took a while for TV to settle on the :30-second spot.

So why should the Internet be any different?

Business Week is reporting that the battle for eyeballs is ramping up when it comes to effective models for online video advertising. Lame pre-rolls? Irritating under-banners? Or embedded item rollovers that you can click through to learn more about and even purchase from (see my interview with Scott Broomfield, CEO of Veeple for more on that one).

"With so many different formats for video online, we incur incremental production costs every time we enter a new format," Nancy Ryan, media director for insurance company Allstate tells this week's Business Week. As a result, some companies are avoiding online video advertising altogether until a common standard can be worked out.

Indeed, between Hulu, CBS Interactive, AOL, Discovery Communications and others, there are over 30 online video ad formats today.

Now, Starcom is researching what appear to be the top five candidates for a standard. It's not saying which ones they are, but they'll be tested against the pre-roll :15- to :30-second model. 

"Pre-roll tends to outperform on nearly every metric tracked by advertisers—duration viewed, click-through rate, cost per view, brand lift, and change in purchase intent," Brightroll Chief Executive Tod Sacerdoti wrote in his recent quarterly note on the industry. In fact, that model accounts for 83% of video spots on Brightrole's online network for video ads. That's up 63% in the last year alone.

Well, that is the most like the TV commercials we're all used to - and let's face it, we're all just trying to get the ad business out of the way so we can enjoy the entertainment content.

Google, at least, says the Veeple-style model works well. As BW reports, the ability to overlay YouTube videos with "click to buy" links helped increase sales of DVDs of "Life of Brian" and "The Meaning of Life" on Amazon.com by 23,000%. Yes, that's 23,000%.

Still - in a medium with limitless possibilities, do we need just one format?

And why are we trying to replicate or replace a marketing model that works on a different medium all together? Why not find the new models that work exclusively online. It may very well be something like Veeple's model. Or it might be models that have little or nothing to do with what's traditionally called an "ad buy."

Starcom of course, is a media buying giant - it has a vested interest in keeping the conversation about ad buys - as if it's a foregone conclusion it will be some form of interuptive video advertising.

Maybe the answer is really something entirely new.

Read the Business Week piece here.

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Cadbury's 'Glass Half Full' Productions Raises A Few 'Eyebrows'

Hey, in tough times, this mildly fun viral video may strike the right tone - even with a weak link to the actual product. Can't wait to see the spoofs.

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Sneak Preview: A Look At Bud's Top Secret Super Bowl Spots

Budweiser's back for this year's Super Bowl - and Anheuser-Busch has shared top-secret snippets of this Sunday's Bud Light and Bud commercials with me.

Sorry: I'm not allowed to post any of them. But I can give you some early info.

A rundown of some of the spots:

"Swedish:" Against his better judgment, Conan O'Brien agrees to do a Bud Light commercial that will air in Sweden.

"Meeting:" Bud Light gets uncomfortably topical when an office brainstorm on how to cut office expenses veers from cutting marketing's budget to cutting out Bud Lights from every meeting. No good can come from that!

Budweiser, meanwhile goes serious Clydesdale this year - with a series of spots that seem to track the heritage of the brand. It's hard to tell how humorous these get - one seems to have a Clydesdale taking stick fetching tips from a dog - the snippets have a sedate "we know these are tough times" tone.

The spots will be available in their entirety at BudBowl.com after Sunday's game.

And while it's too early to tell if Bud will score big at this year's "Ad Bowl," this early look at its spots bodes well for the King of Beers.

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General Electric's 'Smart Grid' Campaign Makes Super Bowl Debut With Digital Holograms, More

A Super Bowl virgin hopes to make a big splash - or jolt - this Sunday.

General Electric is working with Goodby Silverstein & Partners and BBDO to promote the company's "Smart Grid" energy technology as "innovation you don't have to wait for," according to the New York Times.

But the Bowl spots - which include one that echoes the Scarecrow from "The Wizard of Oz," are just the beginning.

The campaign will include digital holograms, online films and a special website that are all scheduled to go live this Sunday. 

As you probably know, GE has been hit hard by the economic downturn. But it says the multimillion dollar Super Bowl spots will pay off - one by projecting an optimistic message, and two, because as global executive director for advertising and bran Judy Hu says, there's "an impatience" among consumers to "fix things now" in terms of reducting energy waste.

Goodby headed up digital duties - with credit to its efforts to recreate itself for the digital era - with campaign's holograms (can't wait to see what that's all about) and website.

We'll find out soon enough if all that "imagination at work" works.

Read more, here.

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Unilver's Dove To Team With TNT's 'Trust Me' For Advergame

Unilever's Dove brand is about to go where few brands have gone before - again.

It's teaming up to be featured in the new TNT series "Trust Me" - which I first posted about in 2007 when it was under development at NBC Universal - which is a series about a fake agency that promotes real brands.

According to today's New York Times, Dove Hair Care and Bertolli food products will be featured in upcoming episodes, as the subject of new campaigns pitched by characters on the show.

But the Times also reports that an online game will be created for Dove hair care, which will invite viewers to pretend to be creative directors for Dove.

Real consumers pretending to be creative directors for a fake ad agency in order to promote fake products.

Brilliant.

But boy have we entered a strange new era. 

As a side note, the show's official site has some advergames geared to the show itself, too - including one that helps you determine what kind of ad agency friend/co-worker you are, and a Trust Me Puzzler with images that you manipulate to form finished pictures.

Read all about the show and its branded entertainment efforts - or at least pretend to - here.

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Chain Reaction: Kelly's Roast Beef Serves Up Social Networking

Even local restaurants are getting into social networking.

Let's hope they don't get more than they bargained for.

Saugus MA-based Kelly's Roast Beef - yes, roast beef -  is apparently a New England staple that wants some Facebook time with its customers.

According to the company, new online offerings, available from the Kelly's website, include:

• Kelly's Legends Club newsletter, which offers special incentives to visitors of the website who opt-in

• A Facebook page that has attracted almost 400 enthusiastic fans in less than three weeks, garnering comments ranging from the heartfelt: "When my sister spent a college semester in Paris, spring 1993, she missed Kelly's so much that the night before I flew out to visit her, I went and asked for 3 large portions of roast beef - individually wrapped, and 3 rolls. Smuggled them on the plane, and we ate sandwiches in the shadow of a chateau in the Loire Valley in France," to the sweet and concise: "Best. Chicken Fingers. Ever."

Pretty gutsy for a fast-casual eatery. But there is a nice mix of incentives and promotions on the Facebook page, and they could be onto something. Apparently, Kelly's is even placing Facebook ads to that effect, with promotions tied to the upcoming Super Bowl.

I'm assuming the Facebook page is heavily moderated - not every customer is going to toast the roast. 

Let's hope social networking doesn't give 'em heartburn.

Read all about it, here.

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'Coraline' Site Buttons Down Social Media, Sponsorships & More

The website for the new film from animator Henry Selick ("James and the Giant Peach," "The Nightmare Before Christmas") looks money - just like "Coraline," which is said to be the first stop-motion feature shot in stereoscopic 3D.

Based on the children's, classic by Neil Gailman, and I am told the movie stars Teri Hatcher (I thought it was Reese Witherspoon, but Newport Girl has corrected me) and Dakota Fanning in the story of a girl who discovers a parallel universe where everyone has buttons for eyes.

At the website, you can view trailers, go behind the scenes into the making of what looks to be an amazing film, give your friends button eyes (I show a colleague and friend, here) and post their images to your MySpace and Facebook profile pages, sign up for email and/or mobile voice and text updates, and more.

What may be a bit of a twist, the movie and the site seem to be particularly upfront on promotion tie-ins, devoting a page to partners like Carl's Jr, Macy's Newspaper Association of America and more. Then again, the film's animation studio is LAIKA, which is a community of filmmakers, designers and animators led by Nike co-founder Phil Knight.

Pretty buttoned up, if you ask me.

Check it all out, here and here.

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What Clients Want From Their Ad Agencies: Mobile, Experiential Capabilities

Oh, and a little proactivity doesn't hurt, either.

At least that's the word from a new study that details what clients are looking for from their advertising agencies. Among the highlights:

• Not surprisingly, the #1 attribute clients desire in an ad agency is an understanding of the client's business

• Tied for second: Grasping a client's strategic direction and quality of creative work

Top reasons a review is launched:

• Unhappiness with agency's thinking (46%)

• Dissatisfaction with creative work (40%)

• Not being proactive (38%)

Capabilities clients are most interested in:

• Online marketing (69%)

• Buzz marketing (58%)

• Experiential marketing (53%)

• Search engine marketing (52%)

• Mobile marketing (25%)

Clearly, mobile is rising as an important channel for consumer engagement. Interesting, also, that social networking was not in the top 5. 

Read more here. And get the full report, here.

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Burger King Officially Dumps 'Whopper Sacrifice' Facebook App

Twenty-thousand, four hundred "sacrificed" friends later, the dumper has become the dumpee.

What I thought was going to be a temporary shutdown after Facebook balked at Burger King's "Whopper Sacrifice" app - in which users get a free whopper for ever 10 Facebook friends they dump - is now official.

It appears a good portion of the 23,400 friends dumped for free burgers complained - and now Burger King has officially dumped the app.

It's more than a matter of bruised egos over 1/10 of a free burger. 

Apparently, Facebook is designed so that when you're dumped, you aren't informed. And the company had a beef about singling out the dumped for ridicule. 

"We encourage creativity from developers and companies using Facebook Platform, but we also must ensure that applications meet users' expectations," Facebook spokesman Matt Hicks said in a statement, cited by AD AGE.

"After constructive conversations with Burger King and the developer of the application, they have decided to conclude their campaign rather than continue with the restrictions we placed on their application."

I wonder how many burgers Facebook just earned.

For the full story, get your sesame seed buns over here.

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Pew: More Adults Joining Social Networks

It may seem shocking, but grown ups want to network, too.

For some time now, the fastest growing segment of new members to MySpace and Facebook have been those 35 and up. Now, new research from Pew is indicating those numbers are starting to add up.

As Business Week reports, the research group found that some 35% of online adults now have at least one profile on a social networking site, more than quadruple the amount that did in February 2005, when the figure was 8%. Compared with teenagers – who flocked to these sites early on but then slowed down in adoption – the number of grown-ups jumping on the social media bandwagon has roughly doubled every 18 months over the past four years.

In fact, as the Pew report shows, that 35% of online adults makes up a much greater number of people than the 65% of online teens who do so.

“As you start to see more adults in social networking, I think [marketers] will have to respond,” Debra Aho Williamson, senior analyst with eMarketer tells the pub. However, as Williamson admits, many older adults tend to join them “as a novelty,” to connect with old friends, and check back irregularly. But over the next couple years, she expects adults to spend more time on social networks.

What do you think? Young people are more engaged with social networking sites, but virtually ignore the advertising they see there. Will grown ups be any different? Or worse?

The jury's still out on advertising on these networks.

But that may change, too.

Read more, here.

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'Watchmen' First Movie To Be Marketed In PlayStation Home Virtual World

"Who watches the Watchmen?"

In PlayStation Home, marketers are hoping it's a lot of people.

The retired-superheroes-return movie, set to open in April if Fox and Warner can work out some distribution rights issues, is the first movie to get a marketing campaign when Sony's new virtual world PlayStation Home.

According to industry reports, users can view an exclusive video greeting from director Zack Snyder, watch the latest WATCHMEN trailer, access a selection of virtual WATCHMEN promotional merchandise and, at some point, take part in an exclusive virtual Q & A event scheduled with WATCHMEN cast and filmmakers.

That last part sounds cool. But given the virtual world environment, and given this one's called PlayStation Home, it might have been cooler for Sony and the filmmakers to create a virtual world multiplayer game or adventure, ala "Live Free or Die Hard" and "I Am Legend" within Second Life.

All this viewing trailers business can be had in any number of online venues. If it's going to go virtual, and I have to go to the trouble of logging on and firing up the old avatar, make it unique to 3D virtual world environments. 

My two cents.

Looking forward to something cooler from Sony and Watchmen before the movie hits real world theaters.

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Honda Unveils 3 New Short Films In 'Dream The Impossible' Series

First, dispense with your own "Dream The Impossible" joke in light of automakers' woes.

Then, check out the three new films in the series, being unveiled this week at a special microsite.

Honda, which has not been immune to the industry's cratering sales, is keeping its branding efforts alive. Commercials and banners appearing on ABC.com, Hulu.com, Yahoo.com and elsewhere will serve as trailers for the films, and drive traffic to the site.

This isn't just the usual branded entertainment. According to today's New York Times, one of the films will be presented at the Sundance Film Festival, where Honda is an automotive sponsor. Attendees will even get to ride in 12 new Honda models. All the films are documentaries - including "Failure: The Secret to Success," about the fight to overcome paralysis; Kick Out The Ladder, about inspirational metaphors, and Mobility 2088, which asks thought leaders about how people will get around 80 years from now.

Still, a brand effort in a deep recession that has seen Honda's sales drop 34.7 % last month, and 8% overall for the year? Of course. Now's the time to beef up efforts when clutter's low. 

“This is not a ‘Go out and buy a Honda’ campaign,” Barbara Ponce, manager for corporate advertising at American Honda Motor, tells the Times. Rather, she added, it is “communicating with our customers about what our brand stands for.”

“Consumers are going back to the basics, back to foundations, values,” Ms. Ponce added, “and this campaign is focused on our values as a company, the people who make up what Honda is about.”

Or as Todd Carey, vice president and associate creative director at RPA, the agency behind the effort, put it: “I can’t really speak about the economic factors” involved in deciding to proceed with the campaign, “but there’s an overwhelming sense of optimism that comes out of these films,” which may connect with consumers depressed by all the news about the recession. It’s not advertising optimism, It’s authentic documentary-film optimism.”

There is a recession friendly bright side, indeed. Eac film cost an estimated $200,000 to $300,000 - about 30% less than the cost of producing a regular :30-second spot."

Read more here.

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Interview: Blumo Offers Free Mobile Campaign To Super Bowl Advertisers

Blumo wants this year's Super Bowl ads to go mobile in a big way.

As I posted a few weeks back, the Phoenix-based mobile marketing firm is offering free mobile marketing interactivity for any advertiser who wants to integrate mobile into its  Super Bowl advertising campaign. 

Blumo has experience enabling mobile marketing initiatives for NBC Universal, Chevron, Toyota, MillerCoors and State Farm. 

Now it’s offering a free mobile campaign to Super Bowl advertisers who want to let consumers respond to their ads and receive anything from product information and offers sent to their phones or email, text-to-win sweepstakes, polling and viewer participation, or any other form of interactivity enabled by the mobile platform.

At least that's the word from Sean Bartlett, vice president of marketing and business development for Blumo, who tells me he was not impressed at all by the dearth of mobile response offers at last year's Super Bowl (neither was I).

"The 2008 Super Bowl had a noticeable lack of mobile interaction opportunities and we are hoping that a free campaign will help some of the larger brand marketers move from the sidelines and into the mobile marketing arena," Bartlett explains.

Here’s what he has in mind:

(approx. 5:27)

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'Whopper Sacrifice:' Dump 10 Facebook Friends For A Free Whopper

"You like your friends, but you love the Whopper."

That's the tag for a new Facebook app from Burger King that will rward you with a free flame-broiled Whopper when you dump 10 of your friends.

So cruel. So in keeping with "Whopper Freakout" and "Whopper Virgins."

Try it yourself, here.

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'Battlestar Galactica's' Looking for Friends, Facebook Style

It's about frackin' time "Battlestar Galactica" gets back on the Dradis...er, I mean Radar.

The final season of what has been called the best show on television by Time Magazine, The National Review, Rolling Stone and New York Newsday, kicks off January 16.

And as the Los Angeles Times reports one fan, by the name of Tara Gelsomino, has created Battlestarbook: the epic Sci Fi Channel series told through faux Facebook status updates:

"Kara Thrace has changed her status from Single to It's Complicated."

"Lee Adama has changed his status from Single to It's Complicated."

"The Cylons created an event: The Destruction of the 12 Colonies."

"Commander Adama became a fan of Earth."

"Dr. Gaius Baltar became a fan of himself."

"President Laura Roslin tagged Commander Adama in her note We Need to Start Having Babies RFN."

The effort has become a bit of a hit - much to Gelsomino's surprise. Here's what she has to say about it. And while we're at it, here's a look at the whole series so far, crammed into 8 minutes:

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Talk To Our Face(book): Should Automakers Who Receive Bailouts Be Allowed To Spend Millions On Super Bowl Ads?

Word's out that General Motors may forgo the big Super Bowl TV commercials this year. What's your take?

Should automakers who receive bailouts be allowed to spend millions on Super Bowl TV spots?

Send your thoughts as a comment - or better yet, join the conversation on our new Facebook page, here.

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Business Week: The Retreat From New Media

This week's Business Week looks at the sudden and dramatic shifting of ad dollars away from unproven marketing efforts on social networks and other forms of new media. 

Well, sort of.

Thing is, brands haven't been spending a lot on new, because they haven't needed. to. As Business Week puts it:

"We're not making huge bets on things that are unproven," Dave Burwick, head of marketing for PepsiCo's North American beverages division, tells the pub. For a campaign launching this month, Burwick says, "we're not going to put millions of dollars behind social networking, for instance, but we're going to be there."

As Business Week puts it, the translation goes something like this: The experimentation will continue because companies need to figure out how to reach consumers in this Digital Age. But CMOs like Burwick are hedging their bets—and Mad Ave. is feeling the pinch.

But there are some cautionary notes.

Crispin says it's having a harder time selling clients on innovative tactics, and is running more focus groups and tests to judge the efficacy of concepts before asking clients to commit money to it. And Unilever is forcing media companies to throw in experimental marketing - for free.

And Travelocity, which created a MySpace page for its "Roaming Gnome" mascot has pretty much stopped supporting it.

The company's CMO, Jeff Glueck, tells BW the company will keep experimenting - within reason.

"We love our MySpace page," says Glueck. "But we're not going to spend money just to acquire more friends for the gnome."

IMHO, that's not failure to innovate. That's just being smart about it.

Get the full story, here.

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