Love this new spot from DirecTV. The more I watch it the more I notice…like the dogs playing poker in the background. To me, humor is always a good way to sell.
But I’m curious if DirecTV really thinks they’ll be able to create a sustained viral social media campaign with the spots main character, Gregor the Oligarc—or if they’re just being half-hearted about it. So far, Gregor’s Twitter account has 7 followers, and he’s featured on a rather mediocre Facebook page. Not a promising start.
Maybe they could have Gregor give opulent shout-outs to his seven followers on YouTube…
Stumbled across this an article on Flipboard over at FastCompany this morning. If you haven’t heard of it, Flipboard is an iPad app that collects information from your social networks and creates an ever-updated social media magazine from the information that is both beautiful to look at and uniquely catered to you.
In the immortal words of Roy Neary, “Dammit! I know this. I know what this is! This means something. This is important.”
So my question is, what does it mean? How do you think an application like this will shape the future of media and how it’s consumed? Or will it at all?
One thing I know, it makes me want an iPad even more.
I have a confession to make. I was a big Trekker (Trekkie is the derogatory version outsiders use) when I was in High School. What can I say? I was 5′ 5″, 125 pounds, and had a face that looked like a pepperoni pizza. Being a sci-fi nerd was the hand I was dealt. My big show was Star Trek: The Next Generaion. Every week, my best bud, Landon, and I would get together to watch the latest episode. We even went to a Star Trek convention together (our excuse was we did it because Marina Sirtis was going to be there, and we had a mad crush on her).
Even a casual observer of the the show would know that the worst enemy ever to populate the Star Trek universe is the Borg. The Borg were a highly advanced, seemingly unstoppable race of cyborgs dead set on assimilating all organic life into the Borg collective cyborg conscious. Horrible, right?
Apparently not so much. When I was in High School, I didn’t have an email, cell phone, Internet connection, or even a computer. It was only 15 years ago (give or take). The Borg seemed like a horrible fate. But times have changed. And surprisingly, the melding of humans and technology is used to promote products. It’s become a benefit to have your electronic devices become appendage-like, and many of us can’t remember a life without them.
There are a couple ads I’ve seen recently that intrigued me because they ask the consumer to imagine a live where technology is becomes a part of humanity—in one case literally. I wonder if this is a fad, or if we’re really prepared to embrace a future where technology becomes part of our DNA. The philosophical implications of that are for another blog. For now, check out the commercials below, one for Droid and one for HP.
Found this beautiful spot over at Makethelogobigger.com, where they ask, “Can jeans save a city?” Levi’s is trying to find out in this latest iteration of the Go Forth campaign. Whereas the other spots in the campaign have been much more haunting, mysterious, and vaguely depressing, Levi’s turns the corner with this spot to still highlight the melancholy of much of modern America while tapping into its entrepreneurial spirit and its seemingly endless optimism. My favorite line: “Maybe the world breaks on purpose so we can have work to do.” This is worth the minute and a half.
I like these spots for Commonwealth Bank found over at adFreak.com. I appreciate how they tout their services while not taking themselves too seriously. I especially love the whimsy of the grants ad. It reminds me sightly of what a bank ad would look like if Wes Anderson made one. Or I could just watch the American Express ad he did…
This morning I saw this ad over at adsoftheworld.com, and I was delighted. If you’ve read my posts here, you know I love ads that speak volumes with minimal words—or no words at all. This ad does it perfectly. Being a “night owl” myself, I connected with it instantly.
Then I read the comments.
Seems this ad was a pretty deliberate rip-off of a threadless.com shirt.
Needless to say, the piece is starting to get flamed pretty badly in the comments section as scores of designers call out the agency, JWT Mumbai, India. And the fact that the agency is from India is interesting because post-Internet, an agency in India stealing a t-shirt idea from the US would probably go unnoticed. But now it’s becoming increasingly harder to get away with plagiarism. read more
The folks over at Espresso, who started the ubiquitous, “What the F**k is Social Media?” slide show, are now saying the question has changed. The new question, is “What the F**k is Social Media NOW?”
In their latest slideshow they give some more startling statistics about Social Media Usage—and the unparalleled growth in its usage.
For all the data, my favorite part is the simple reminder of the Rules of Social Media:
#1 – Listen
#2 – Engage
#3 – Be Real
#4 – Be Respectful
#5 – Have Fun
Not sure who made the rules. But I like them. Enjoy the show.
This ad from Bill Force, Senior Copywriting at EURO RSCG, is featured over at moderncopywriter.com. It’s a beautiful piece of copywriting. And it makes me want to own a Rolex…but I’ll have to stick with manufacturing the same emotions when I check my FOSSIL watch, which also reminds me when I’m running late for a meeting but, unlike the Rolex, then reminds me that I won’t own my company much longer if I’m late.
It’s official. Old Spice is stalking you—but in a good way. Yesterday, Wieden + Kennedy launched 100+ YouTube videos as thank you notes to various fans, people and companies, who’ve mentioned Old Spice online. The spots featured Isaiah Mustafa, you know, “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” guy, directly addressing various tweets and mentions. It’s sheer genius. And it galvanizes Wieden + Kennedy as my favorite agency in the universe (as if that was up for debate anyway).
Basically Old Spice is schooling you and every company on how to really use social media. As James Archer, owner of Forty Agency, said on Twitter: “[Old Spice] has my brand allegiance forever.” I’m sure he’s not the only one who feels this way. It’s not often a major corporation interacts with their customers in such a surprising and personal way. That’s the power of social media. Show you’re listening. Interact. It’s not a soapbox no matter how much you want it to be.
While I personally didn’t get a thank you video, some strange things are afoot. Last week I posted the new single-shot commercial by Old Spice, and mentioned that the campaign “made me want to smell like my dad and grow a kick-ass mustache.” One week later, Old Spice came out with this spot featuring…a mustache. Stalkers. I’ll look forward to my thank you video for the mustache idea.
Here are some of my favorite thank you spots, including a fulfilled request to propose to a guy’s girlfriend for him.
Hi! My name's Jake. And Elevate is my brainchild. Elevate is a writing and ad firm nestled in the hills of Tempe, Arizona. This blog features my thoughts on advertising and writing, as well as updates on projects I'm working on.
If you have a project you'd like help with, give me a call or shoot me an email. I'd love to chat.
