get it or get murdered

Alright, so you have all seen the Brink Home Security commercials, right?

Well, not to knock advertising, but I always thought they were kind of dumb.  First of all, if someone breaks into your house – they still know they are going to have a few seconds to either steal something or attack you before emergency help will arrive.  It is true that people are less likely to break into your house if you have security through one of these large businesses and a little sign in your yard to let any unwanted intruders know, but still – bad things can always happen.

I found this spoof of the home security commercials on AdAge and thought it was pretty hilarious. Not that I’m saying people breaking into houses is funny, but Saturday Night Live did a pretty entertaining commercial knocking the original one.

FCUK and….Chatroulette?

Yes, you read right.

French Connection recently announced a contest that involves the latest craze website- Chatroulette.  For those of you (like me) who don’t take part in what is considered to be soft internet porn, Chatroulette is a website that allows any Internet user in the world with a webcam and microphone to go to the site and chat with other users at random selection.  When a person gets tired (or in some cases, grossed out) of chatting with another person, they can hit ‘Next’ and begin chatting with a new person.

Chatroulette grew in the past few months and French Connection saw a marketing opportunity.  They released the contest rules that if a person uses Chatroulette to set an actual date with a random person, the winner will receive $375 in vouchers good towards French Connection to purchase a nice date outfit.  In order to prove the person actually set a date, they must submit screen shots or comments made between users.

William Woodhams, the current director of marketing at French Connection, has said he is not afraid of the possible damage that could be done in encouraging random strangers to get together through an online site.  Mr. Woodhams stated, “We’ve hijacked the site; we’re a fashion brand and we wanted to get involved in an irreverent way. It’s a fun medium, although it’s also weird, sad and strange. We only put up a small prize, because we don’t want to look like we’re trying too hard.”

If it’s such a sad and strange medium, then why associate with it?  Personally, I think it is quite an interesting approach to generate buzz, especially now that every single business in the world has caught on to advertising with Facebook and/or Twitter, but still.  French Connection is a slightly more upscale brand with clothes that go for a hint of luxury, classiness, edge, and seductiveness all in one.  There’s a difference between wearing fishnet tights with a black dress and being straight up trashy.

Another demographic to consider is age.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t French Connection directed more towards younger people?  What happens if that one lucky winner is conveniently a 45 year-old who signed on for some late night fun and caught someone else a bit off age?  With over 20,000 users, you are bound to have a few people in there who do not exactly represent the French Connection brand.

I like that French Connection is taking a bit of an edgier approach to marketing, but this time I think they went and jumped straight off the cliff.

what were you doing on sunday night?

Sure, the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts.

But, more importantly, advertisers can celebrate. The 2010 Super Bowl is the highest viewed event in television history. Reports are saying 106.5 million Americans watched this intense game and, surprisingly, a lot of the ads did very well.

The top three ads everyone has been talking about are:

1) Snickers and Betty White playing football

2) Denny’s and the screaming chickens/free grand slam breakfast this Tuesday morning

3) Doritos

I’m not exactly sure what it is, but I feel like for some reason this year people paid a lot more attention to the commercials than they usually do. I was with a lot of my friends at their apartment and every time commercials came on – everyone went quiet and actively watched each of them. It kind of made me proud as an Advertising major.

Another interesting fact: The Doritos ad with the guy and the dog was created by Joshua Svoboda. He had some friends help him film it and used a friend’s dog, and, amazingly, only spent $200 making the entire commercial. The outcome? He made $600,000 dollars. Pretty cool.

To watch all of the Super Bowl ads go to:http://msn.foxsports.com/video/shows/2010_super_bowl_commercials?vid=420e0e67-1ee6-4850-b195-458820b5e2c0&from=foxsports_SuperBowlAds

Some of my favorites include:

1) Megan Fox for Motorola

2) Bud Light a- Stranded on island

3) E*Trade upgrade – baby on plane

4) Google – Search On (Paris love story)

5) Doritos – Watch yourself

Watch to find out what your favorites are and enjoy!

word-of-mouth and schemas in advertising

Consider all of the daily activities you do that don’t require thinking.

Odd, but you actually really do a lot throughout the day without putting much thought into it. Driving your car, shampooing your hair, swiping your UGA ID on the Athens Transit buses. Small things like these are called schemas. The more you think about these kinds of small things, the more likely you are to mess them up.

Schemas are essentially mental structures that we put in place to make the world work. They are pre-conceived notions we have about ideas or activities, so we do not have to stop what we are doing and really think about our next step in getting something done.

Steve Knox for Advertising Age wrote an article on this subject today and it caught my attention because I never really made the connection between schemas and advertising. Probably because, surprise, I wasn’t really thinking about it .

Knox makes the point that our brains are not designed to really think, except in the case of an emergency that requires quick action.  For most of the day, our brain is in somewhat of a “static state” and it uses schemas to organize information to help us get through the day.  However, when someone or something disrupts our schema it throws us off and jolts our brains out of this static state for a little bit.

Knox gave the example of driving in the United States. You automatically just assume that you will drive on the right side of the road and the person coming at you from the opposite way will be on his or her right side of the road.  But when you travel over to the United Kingdom, you are caught off-guard seeing people driving on the left side of the road.

Good advertising involves schema disruption because when consumers brains have to stop and think about what an advertisement is saying- they talk about it. Spreading awareness: the beginning of a good advertising campaign.

A lot of brands can fail in disrupting schemas if they simply throw off people’s mental models, but don’t reinforce the brand name to keep it in the back of people’s minds.  Even in this day and age of social media at its (so far) finest, word-of-mouth has still survived as a strong advertising method for centuries.  Advertisers should use this cognitive science to their advantage to get word out about a brand and not just create something that will be mildly funny once, and ultimately, forgetful.

The next time you see an ad that ruptures your neutral mental state – stop and consider the message. It could be a brand worth thinking about.

the creative circus at uga

Earlier this evening UGA AdClub welcomed Executive Director David Haan, Director of Admissions Shannon Cobourn, Advertising Program Head Dan Balser, and one of their current students (a Grady alum!) from The Creative Circus in Atlanta.

First, Shannon gave a bit of information about the admissions process. Most importantly, she stressed that the creative field is not for everyone – it’s a tough course, but if it’s what you want to do then go for it. The admissions process involves an interview and submission of a portfolio. To find out more information on applying or just general information about the school, please visit: http://www.creativecircus.edu/request_info.php

Dan Balser emphasized that undergrad prepares you for the [advertising] industry; portfolio school prepares you for the creative side. And for those who think they are not creative- if you are posting Facebook statuses and choosing your words – you are creative. We think and execute creative ideas all of the time without even realizing it.

A few main points Dan wanted to highlight:

1) Use Twitter – look at feeds from interesting designers and interesting brands to help you get a better idea of what is going on in the advertising world.

2) Read Fast Company magazine – it is the cutting edge of marketing and branding. http://www.fastcompany.com/

3) Read Wired magazine. http://www.wired.com/

4) Check out http://ihaveanidea.org/home.php

5) Listen to his podcast: www.balserville.com

6) And most importantly: Remember you are in a really competitive field- whether it is media, production, creative, account management – you have to have a voice and a focus. Don’t be afraid to question. And don’t be afraid to fail. Collect something such as a blog or a few pieces of work to make yourself stand out. Show what you’ve done, try to fail: take risks and take chances.

David Haan also noted a couple of the programs such as the design program, programs in image photography, and the interactive development program. Creative Circus has one of the top photography programs in the country.

Creative Circus is run just like the real world – your first day is the first day of your career.

Some current student work:

david haan from the creative circus coming this tuesday, january 19

“The mission of The Creative Circus is to graduate the best-prepared, most avidly sought-after creatives in the industry.”

The Creative Circus is a two-year portfolio school in Atlanta, Georgia that helps students build a collection of distinguished work and better prepare them for creative work in the advertising industry.

UGA AdClub will host Executive Director David Haan and a few other representatives from The Creative Circus on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in the Miller Learning Center room 248. Please join us to hear advice, see some of the work that comes out of the school, and ask any questions you may have about the school or advertising in general.

The Creative Circus opened in 1955 in Atlanta, and since then has flourished with students that work hard and “land the best jobs in the field”. Advertising, photography, and design are noted as three of the top areas of study. The Creative Circus strives to prepare students for the transition of non-traditional media, such as the Internet, to traditional media and how to incorporate this change when designing creative work for marketing communications. Branding, product development, and interactive design are just a few of the concepts that students will learn about and apply to their own work.

Talk about a big-time advertising professional who has seen it all – and worked in a handful of top cities. David Haan has worked in Toronto, LA, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco- just to name a few. With a Master’s in Advertising from Michigan State, Mr. Haan has been in the advertising industry for over 30 years! Some of the top brands he has had the pleasure of working with include: Coors, General Mills, Visa, Clorox, S.C. Johnson, Nestle, and Sunkist.

Please come out this Tuesday to hear more about Mr. Haan’s experiences in advertising and to learn more about The Creative Circus.

For more information on the the school, please visit: http://www.creativecircus.edu/index.php