Get it? Holiday Cheer. As in Gap-clad twentysomething's shouting cheers at your friends to wish them Happy Whateveryouwannakah.
You're going to want to hurt someone when you see this - and your friends are going to want to hurt you for sending it to them. But then again, what are the holidays for?
Cheers include "You Office Party Hardied;" "Mo' Mistletoe;" "Vegetarian RSVP;" "The Present of My Presence;" "Still Got That Receipt" and more.
The personalization features make it work quite well - with the cheer team calling your friend by name via email, Facebook or Twitter. A decidedly cynicism-free new effort from Crispin, Porter + Bogusky.
And a nice integrated campaign that pays off new television ads for the clothing chain - and a YouTube-based cheer contest from local Gap stores, too.
How did Chik-fil-A go from 20,000 fans on its Facebook page to 1 million in just over a year and become an online sensation in the process?
Chock it up to a couple of bovine wonders.
As Clickz is reporting, the restaurant chain has launched a new site called EatMorChikin.com, which capitalizes on the popularity of its chicken-as-food promoting cows and features a "cow hideout," video games and clips. It comes on the heels of a successful effort to work with consumers who created their own Facebook page - and became a venue for the chain to run promotions like "Cow Appreciation Day," in which consumers who came to a restaurant dressed as a cow would receive a free sandwich.
Is this another Bud frogs (or even California Raisins) in the making?
I was in Santa Monica this week to participate in a panel discussion on games as an advertising and marketing platform for entertainment and consumer products brands.
It was a lively discussion with executives from several of the online and mobile gaming outfits, and hosted by James Green, CEO of Giant Realm. Great group of people, and an interesting debate.
Some really intelligent (and funny) people aboard - which made it feel like a game show.
DTC's is having a decidedly tough year, what with the economy, reform measures like the "Just Say No To Drug Ads Act" and other reform measures, and new FTC rulings of search engine marketing and social networking.
So on Thursday, I'm going to be addressing the second day of the Fall DTC conference on ways to leverage the power of digital to reach consumers in amazing new (and highly ethical) ways.
This is the second time the conference has asked me to speak, and if it's anything like last time, it should be a lot of fun.
Read more about the conference, here.
Forgot to mention that during my speaking engagement at the Global Retail Executive Council at CTIA this week, I was able to share the first glimpse of the cover art for my new book, THE ON-DEMAND BRAND (Amacom/McGraw-Hill, Spring, 2009). Be sure to read all about the book, here.
Coke Zero wants to find your opposite number via Facebook.
As part of a new promotion called The Coke Zero Facial Profiler, a new Facebook app uses next generation facial recognition technology to find people who look like you based on your profile page picture, and that of others around the world.
"If Coke Zero has Coke's taste, is it possible someone out there has your face?" shouts a trailer for the intiative, from Crispin, Porter Bogusky, in what's touted as a "worldwide social experiment."
I'm not sure what it all has to do with drinking a Coke Zero, but you just know this is the kind of thing Zero's target demographic's going to drink up.
For some strange reason, I'm a sucker for personalization experiences, so maybe it's understandable that it's even funnier when the personalization experience comes from a chick flick.
In this case, it's Drew Barrymore's "Whip It, " which opens today.
At the movie's official site, you can enter your name to have it translated into a roller derby racer name ("Rick Mathieson" is "Turbo Smacker"...though I think the names are just randomly generated).
But my favorite part is the Derby Player Card where you can upload a picture of yourself - or, make that one of a friend, so you can turn one of the guys into a cross-dressing derby dude. Which of course, you can turn into total humiliation by sharing on your Facebook page.
Don't you just love those old Coke ads where you hear the bottle pop open, ice dropping into a glass, followed by the sound of Coca-Cola pouring in, just waiting to quench your thirst?
Coke's going all SFX on us with a new user gen contest in which Facebook fans are invited to create the sounds for a new commercial.
It's called "Open Happiness," and this particular contest is a kind of global casting call on the popular social networking site, hosted by a Coke Facebook page that wasn't even of the brand's own creation.
Instead, the site was created by two seriously Coke-obsessed fans, Michael Jedrzejewski and Dusty Sorg. Wisely, instead of taking over the page - as Facebook's policies allow the brand to do - Coke has decided to work with Dusty and Michael, providing unique content and opportunities that have attracted 3.7 million Facebook fans on six continents.
To offer fans pointers on producing their own "Sounds of Coca-Cola" submission, Michael & Dusty have even put together a video to reveal their impressions of what it's like to enjoy the world's most refreshing beverage.
This is a good example of a brand gaining some control by giving it away - a notion I explore in my new book, THE ON-DEMAND BRAND (Spring 2010). It's a case study on letting users drive social media experiences in just the right way.
Meant to mention this the other day - HP has revealed the winner of its ambitious "You on You" user-generated video contest.
Filmmaker Lucas Ridley is the winner of $40,000 in cash, and a tribute from Grammy-nominated artist Kenna on the YouTube home page that will link to Ridley's video, "Live is My Adventure."
As I posted a while back, the contest was designed to give consumers the chance to compete for cash and other prizes by emulating the style of HP's "Personal Again" campaign. (Full disclosure: HP is a client.)
Ridley was among 4,000 entrants and while I can't say I've ever loved the way cut-off heads are meant to convey how the computer is personal, HP has stayed consistent with it, and this contest has lived up to the brand positioning. And what's not to love about that?
Who knew "the choice of the next generation" meant "the NASCAR generation"?
Pepsi's launching a social media-based user-generated video contest inviting NASCAR's famously ardent fans to upload videos of their favorite NASCAR moments to Facebook and other socnets.
It's not clear if those moments can include scenes from "Talladega Nights."
(But beyond that, aren't the crashes the most memorable moments?)
User generated content promotions suddenly seem back in vogue, what with HP's You on You back-to-school promotion getting high marks and now, Justin Timberlake's new Tequila brand.
It all started a 9:01.com last night, at 9:01 on 09/09/09 if you catch the drift - in the form of a video call to action inviting consumers to come up with The Big Idea - an ad campaign, a breakthrough promotion, a viral video or what have you. The celebration for the promotion was held at LAVO at the Palazzo Las Vegas (natch) this morning at 1:09 AM.
My invite must have been lost in the mail. Justin and I have never been all that close anyway. But still.
The conceit is that consumers who participate are applying for the job of Executive Vice President of Big Ideas for the brand. They're asked to submit their big idea for 901 Silver and a photo or video to support their concept via www.901.com.
At stake: "A VIP trip to Las Vegas, including roundtrip airfare for two, hotel stay, two tickets to the Justin and friends concert, and VIP access to any and every party, an annual salary of $0 with a one time bonus of $25,000, the opportunity to get coffee for the other 901 employees and of course, bragging rights about being the Executive Vice President of Big Ideas for 901 Silver Tequila."
I mentioned this the other day, and now it's live: HP has launched a YouTube-based user-generated video contest encouraging you to declare what makes you uniquely you to the world.
I'm not sure how the "tell us who you are, but don't show your face" component will translate, but a.) it alleviates the need to get clearance on images, and b.) provides continuity with HP's longtime "The Computer is Personal Again" TV campaign.
At stake: Up to $300,000 in prizes, including some of the HP dv6 Artist Edition notebook PCs, which were part of the big HP/MTV Engine Room design contest.
Check it out here. (Full disclosure: Our agency has worked on elements of the You on You campaign.)
If Fanta rhymes with Santa, then Fantana is a spoof of which musical group?
Well, technically, it's the Fantanas, a fictitious band more reminescent of the Cheeta Girls than Carlos and the gang. And in a new online campaign, the three existing Fantanas, Summer, Melody and Isabela reunite to go in search of a fourth Fantana.
Each of the existing members seem to map to a flavor - Summer is Orange, Melody is Grape, Isabela's Strawberry. So I'd say if you decide to enter the online video contest to become the fourth member, think Peach, Apple, Pineapple or Grapefruit.
The whole thing seems to be stressing that Fanta has all-natural flavors, but that's like saying Snapple is health food.
Either way, I'm wondering how there can be such a disconnect from Fanta Europe, where they do cool things like augmented reality tennis games you play with your smart phone in a kind of Wii Meets The Real World (you can even connect with an opponent via Bluetooth).
This effort feels like White Gold for teenage girls.
Even the ultimate comfort food's got its own user-generated content contest.
In honor of "National Grilled Cheese Month" (I can just envision the dairy lobby pushing that through Congress), Kraft has launched a new website called iheartgrilledcheese.com in which consumers are invited to write 50 words about why grilled cheese brings a smile to your face.
Seriously, I think that's a good approach. Because if it was 50 words about why you love Kraft Singles, consumers would need to spend hours perfecting celebratory prose for "American Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product." Most of which would not be presentable in a family website.
But hey, there's a great prize at stake: Every week, 500 people will be randomly selected to receive a coupon for a free pack of Kraft Singles!!!!!
I do, however, like the sound of this other element to the campaign, in which Kraft is sponsoring the 7th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational cooking competition. I'm not sure why April is "National Grilled Cheese Month." Why
not February or March when it's cold enough to freeze your Kraft
Singles off?
Either way, Kraft is betting comfort foods like grilled cheese are going to rock this recession. And they could be right. The campaign will even position Kraft Singles as a way to eat for less than $1.
Factor in the 1-in-500 chance to win a coupon worth a free pack of Kraft Singles - and Kraft's own economic stimulus plan may just save the nation.
(There's going to be a incongruous "Jonas Brothers: 3-D Concert Experience" element thrown in along the way, but never mind all that.)
Hey, the Big Cheese says you should never let a crisis go to waste.
Apparently Kraft has the pasteurized prepared cheese product machines ready to make the most of this one, too.
In Part 2, Dave and Joe Herbert take on my pet peeve about so-called consumer-created ad contests - namely, that professionals tend to win them, not everyday consumers.
And they offer some advice to others who want their shot at stardom.
My conversation with Joe & Dave Herbert, the brothers who not only won this year's Doritos "Crash The Super Bowl" user-generated ad campaign, but came out #1 on the USA Today Ad Meter - and won $1 million in the process.
In Part One, a behind-the-scenes look the making of "Free Doritos," which easily dominated this month's Super Bowl ad contest.
Call it the café custom-named for True North Snack's Oscar ad competition.
Completely forgot to mention this, mostly because I didn't watch the Oscars the other night: True North selected Chicago resident and former police officer Lisa Nigro as the subject of its Helen Hunt-directed Oscar ad.
Nigro runs the Inspiration Café, which serves the homeless with food, job training and more.
Joe Herbert not only won this year's 'Crash The Super Bowl' user generated ad contest from Doritos - he topped the USA Today Ad Meter. What many may not realize is, Doritos said it'd pay $1 million to the winner if his or her spot tops USA Today's annual rankings for favorite Super Bowl ads.
Herbert's hilarious "Free Doritos" spot did indeed top the Ad Meter.
As USA Today puts it, "a commercial made by amateurs beat the pros in USA Today's Ad Meter." It even calls the winning entry from "two unemployed brothers from Batesville, Ind."
But with all due respect, it's really not that simple.
As I recently told National Public Radio, the winners of these contests aren't quite amateurs - in fact, they're often either professional filmmakers and videographers, or people who can and sometimes do make a living in advertising.
In this case, Joe Herbert's entry appears to actually come from Dave and Joe Herbert, who have been past finalists in the 'Crash The Super Bowl' contest.
And they appear to be professionals, with their own production company, called "Hebert Brothers Entertainment," (there are lot of Herbert Brothers, actually) with an independent film division called Transit Films, as well as animation services, advertising services and even a game studio, with a game that launches later this year.
Of course, they also offer wedding videography, so they're clearly grassroots.
And to be fair, they haven't done anything wrong. It's just that the contest sponsors themselves (or maybe the media) shouldn't frame these spots as if some kid with a video camera and a dream came out and beat the professionals.
Either way, something tells me the national exposure and $1 million payday means more advertisers will be calling the brothers Herbert.
And that their days of videotaping weddings are over.
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:
By way of Time Magazine: "Take On Me," an icon of 80's era music video, is getting new life through a remix that changes the lyrics to repeat exactly what is happening onscreen - with lines like "Everything's drawn and super 8os/Lots of squiggly lines...I'm handsome either way/You know you like it when I'm flirting with you."
Oddly enjoyable as a trip down one of the goofier stretches of Memory Lane (see how great actress Bunty Baily looks these days, here) - and no doubt the first of many literal remixes to come.
As Time rightfully points out, Family Guy has had its own A-Ha moment - to humorous effect in its own right.
A good example of user-generated content, in this case, one Dustin McLean, that will no doubt spark interest in the real (or illustrated) deal.
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