Normally I wouldn’t cross-post between BMA and The Running Munckee, but this is a question that deserves some attention and frankly I don’t get enough traffic over there to start any kind of decent discussion. 

Great minds think alike. And now they’re thinking green. The following designs are all recent ideas on how to utilize our existing infrastructure to contribute positively toward our energy needs.  Yes, a better answer would be to cut back on driving all-together.  But convincing Americans to do so would probably take more marketing money than the cost of some of these design ideas.  Of course, general consensus seems to be that these designs will never be implemented on a large scale due to cost. So where do we find the balance between green and "green"?

Technorati Tags: beyond madison avenue, green, design, environment, wind power, running munckee

It’s pretty rare for a car commercial to actually make me laugh.

So Kudos to Publicis Conseil.  My question after looking at the effort put into this ad is what is the connection?  Sports?  Are they trying to make me think of this car as a Sports Utility Vehicle?

Or as an enabler for my buried sports desires?

But I certainly like it more than the endless curving road and slow-motion shots of most car ads.

Back in college, I spent a significant amount of time perfecting my goat impersonation.

I’ve been able to use this skill occasionally, but not nearly as much as I’d like.

In light of this lifetime full of disappointment, I need to send out a heartfelt thank-you to Aflac for bringing goat noises back into the current cultural pulse.

That’s right… the Aflac duck has a new playmate.  While Adweek thinks the effort "falls flat," I happen to think he’s hee-larious.

Come on, the quacking was getting a little old, and a new audio brand-tag was desperately needed.  What better than a barnyard staple?

Boy oh boy, sometimes I forget how darn much I love goats…

MMM… and goat cheese. 

Technorati Tags: Beyond Madison Avenue, advertising, Aflac, goat

I want to move to Europe.  Your ads take way more risks.  Love that.

Would also love to know how they pulled off the transitions from steadicam in the office to what appears to be a helicopter shot at the end.

Many thanks to Robert Bermingham for this find. 

BMA, your online destination for advertising, design, and everything beyond Madison Avenue, is stepping offline and bringing a much needed respite to the work-weary masses of NYC.  PAUSE is a social gathering (leave your business cards at home) made especially for you creative-industry types whose jobs aren’t defined by the 9-5 doldrums.  

Put your Macs to sleep early and come enjoy ½-price drinks from 6-7, or stop by later and welcome the spring season on Glass Lounge’s outdoor patio.  Glass is located at 287 10th Ave. @27th St.  

PAUSE takes place every Wednesday, beginning this week on May 2nd!  If you plan to attend, please RSVP to pause@beyondmadisonavenue.com

Technorati Tags: beyond madison avenue, pause happy hour, pause, new york, nyc, happy hour

In September 2003 the news went out nationwide: "Karlsplatz, one of Vienna’s main squares, is soon to be renamed Nikeplatz. Apart from the new name, it appears that a huge monument in the shape of Nike’s famous “Swoosh” logo will be built in Nikeplatz." Needless to say, it was all fake. The one-month campaign provoked the reactions of Vienna’s citizens, city officials and, of course, the Nike group, which denied any involvement and started legal action to put an end to the bizarre performance. This almost unbelievable prank is the work of the artist duo known  as 0100101110101101.ORG, who this time tricked an entire city: Vienna.

Wow.  Talk about a moment for a brand to make a decision.  Nike filed a formal injunction against the organization who, in turn, ignored said injunction.  In the end…Nike folded and allowed the demonstration to continue to its conclusion.  The real question:  does Nike placate alarmed citizens by trying to squash the demonstration, or do they embrace it as a moment of brand strength?  They chose to try to squash it (and failed).  Maybe the middle ground is the best answer?

Read more here.

[via]
 

Technorati Tags: beyond madison avenue, nike, marketing, advertising, 0100101110101101.ORG

David, a member of NextNY, sent us a heads-up about this upcoming event.  

nextMadisonAve: A Community Conversation about what the digital advertising world will look like when the up and coming young professionals become the decision makers and technology leaders of tomorrow.

It’s taking place on Wednesday, May 9th at 6:30pm.  Key speakers include Greg Verdino of Digitas and Michael Hurt of Microsoft. 

Go here to learn more or to RSVP.

New spot out of Duval Guillaume Antwerp for Lazer Helmets.  These are the same guys who did the ink colors dressed in unitards that Max posted a while back.

Client: Lazer Helmets
Agency: Duval Guillaume Antwerp
Account: Matthieu de Winter
Creative Directors: Geoffrey Hantson, Dirk Domen
Copywriter: Alexander Goulart
Art Director: Veerle Vandenbroucke
Production Companies: Crafted Films, I-Movix, Equinoxe
Director/Producer: Tiago Mesquita for Crafted Films
DOP: Patrice Michaux, Francois Schmitt, Tiago Mesquita
Production Manager: Will Applebee
Music: Original soundtrack by Tiago Mesquita
Visual FX Supervisor: Ronald Grauer
Water Special Effects and VFX: Yannick Lietard

Technorati Tags: beyond madison avenue, Duval Guillaume Antwerp, Lazer Helmets, Flower Pot

Cool video promoting a film festival in Argentina* called Project 155. As you’ll see, these five directors will get one script and have to shoot the film the way they interpret it. Created by the agency Santo, this video is really interesting and the differences between directors is immense. If you have seven minutes to watch the whole thing tell me which one you liked the most. Just a tip- you may want to skip the first short film because I think it is the worst, but hey, that’s just my opinion.

Technorati Tags: Beyond Madison Avenue, Santo, Spain, Film Festival, Project

I like the idea of it.

I like the Cubist simplicity.

I even like the tagline: See Only What’s Important.

But do I like it as an ad for Linc Highlighters?  Hmmm… no, not really.

This shows a major style deviation for an office supplies provider, and I tip my hat to them for that.  But the central image clearly looks like it’s drawn with a Sharpie… and, um, the ad is for a highlighter.  In a way, I think what bothers me is that they’re too close to target without hitting it.  It’s like Chiquita Bananas showing a man in a banana suit eating a Sunkist orange, when it should be the other way around.

(Okay, maybe not quite like that, but you see where I’m going…)

So, my point: I appreciate the ad’s intent, but not so sure it helps with product recognition.

Technorati Tags: beyond madison avenue, advertising, linc highlighters, 2wenty 4our

With the news that Joe Francis, the king of questionably-aged spring break nudity, has been jailed, people are left wondering, maybe there’s a better way?

Enter the NoJoeGirls.

Think of it this way. Say you’re 21 on your way to Mexico, with plans to go from zero to hammered within 8 minutes of stepping of the plane, and likely to end up flashing a camera or two, as well. Why not get that do-good feeling at the same time?

Check it out the video explaining the idea. I think you’ll love it. Go to the NoJoeGirls blog to hear more. Thanks, Fred!

Just in case you’re in the mood to see a bunch of cool facts about the kiddos, check out this video from the 3 billion project. Guess what…the youngin’s use the internet a lot. And cell phones. And Ipods.

Max, can you back me up on this one?

via Only Dead Fish.

Adrants listed this first, calling it "weird and creepy".  I call it "hilarious and awesome".  And, yes, you can quote me on that.

Technorati Tags: thai tuna, advertising, beyond madison avenue

Oh jeez, these are just great!

Technorati Tags: Beyond Madison Avenue, Advertising, Commercials, Apple, PC

In case you’re looking for a little inspiration, or maybe a "just do it" moment, maybe you should read through this list of lousy predictions.

Here are a few…

• “I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and
  talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing
  is a fad that won’t last out the year.”

The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

• “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”

Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

• “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously
  considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no
  value to us.”

Western Union internal memo, 1876.

• “Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.”

Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.

Alright, now it’s time for you to do something that’s never been done. Something someone said was impossible. Go ahead, BMA believes in you.

Last Monday, Coke launched their first attempt at endearing themselves to the Second Life community, through a program created by Joseph Jaffe’s Crayon called Virtual Thirst: Coke+Alt+Refresh. Shockingly enough, they didn’t build some huge island, a mecca to the Coke brand, as has been pretty much the status quo so far with these virtual world branding attempts. Of course, after all the hoopla, what’s usually left is an open building with no one in it.

These guys actually took the time to bring in existing members to help shape the effort. As Jaffe said, "Instead of purchasing an Island and creating a grandiose edifice of
brash self-congratulation, this was a lot more understated and ground
up. I use the analogy of planting a seed and with the right amount of
nurturing, maintenance, light, water etc (you get it), something
special sprouts up…"

Basically, the idea is to encourage 2lifers to create some sort of machine that vends the experience of quenching a virtual thirst. As Jaffe describes it, "Virtual Thirst is about interpreting anything along the continuum of
"the metaphorical quenching of thirst" to expressing the essence of the
Coke brand and what it means to you. In this particular case, Second
Life became the perfect way to bring unfettered creativity and
limitless imagination to life."

I’ll be curious to see how it all shakes out, and what exactly their measurement of success is. Either way, we’ve got a big congratulations to Crayon for officially getting their ball rolling…

Below is one of the initial prototypes.

Part 1 here.

Ad:Tech San Francisco, April 24-26th

"For me personally technology is all about freedom," says Director of Buzz marketing at Microsoft Sean Carver.

My openness makes it easy to find exactly what I want, when I want,
without the need for the one-way messaging that is the status quo for
our business.

[Check out: Social Networks and Consumer Generated Media: Re-examining the Value Proposition, Thursday, April 26, 2:45pm-3:45pm]

Sure, I watch plenty of TV, but I haven’t seen a television
commercial in weeks. That is, besides on YouTube, but that’s reserved
only for the incredibly good and the hopelessly bad. I spend copious
amounts of time on the web, but with robust ad blocking software, I
hardly ever see a banner ad, pop-up or the like. I still listen to the
radio, but the play button on the IPod is pressed at the mere hint of a
break. I don’t read magazines. I don’t read newspapers.

[Check out: The On-Demand Universe, Wednesday, April 25, 10:45am-11:45am]

So, for all my openness, my consumption resembles this chart. I talk
to people, who talk to other people, with brands and recommendations
flying all around. But, there is no tolerance for the unwanted, the
unrequested. I have no patience for interruption, and neither should
you.

As Rohit Bhargava of Ogilvy Public Relations said, "Consumers
are generating everything from their own entertainment to their own
advertising (and often they are one in the same). All these messages
are highly personal, driven by the passion of individuals. More than
ever, the personal side of Ad-Tech is about marketing for the people,
by the people - and what role professional marketers have to play in
this."

Well, maybe it’s marketing for the people by the people, but I don’t think you can call it advertising.

[Check out: The Next Big Thing: Is Advertising Really the Solution? Wednesday, April 25, 12:00pm-1:00pm]

So, the picture should be even clearer. Advertising is dead, but
marketing isn’t. We’ve started to adapt to this new environment by
doing the only thing we could do, stop advertising, and just embrace
the humanity of it all.

Now, we’ve become conversationalists, trying desperately to elicit
some response where before we simply ignored it. And that’s a good
thing. The implication is that we no longer own it or control it. Now
we earn it.

Diagram above by David Armano.

[Check out: The Art of Conversation: Establishing Brand Dialog in the Digital Era, Tuesday, April 24, 4:00pm-5:00pm]

And it’s so important, because it’s all about people now. Sure, it’s
always been about people on some level, but before we spoke about
consumers with a more war-like attitude of targeting and capturing
them. It is this ‘us vs. them’ mentality that stole our popular
credibility in the first place. Luckily, we’re all in this together.

While "targeting" the right consumers is more important than ever,
our focus is expanding to trust, to improving the lives of our
customers. It’s evidenced when you hear ad:tech attendees like Carver
say, "The first question that should be hardwired in our product
skulls is how will this help someone do something better, or faster or
with more enjoyment…my mom, myself, my friends, etc. If we didn’t
believe in our technology and the effort then there would be no
enjoyment in bringing an app to market. In the end today’s market and
media should be about many levels of choice and the opportunity to
participate at whatever level a person finds most rewarding."

[Check out: The Path to One-to-One Marketing: The Evolution of Behavioral Targeting, Tuesday, April 24, 10:45am-11:45am]

And, the same pierces through the fabric of Yahoo!, when senior product director Richard Frankel says, "Yahoo!’s
mission is ‘to connect people to their passions, their communities, and
the world’s knowledge.’ If we succeed at this mission then everything
we do improves the lives of consumers. We know we are getting it right
when consumers come to Yahoo! and stay here in droves."

The same can be said of advertising agencies. We’re still in the
business of selling products and services. That never changed, but we
just finally realized that making money isn’t mutually exclusive with
retaining a descent level of righteousness and connection.

As Harold Mann of Mann Consulting said, "But
those that definitely work to improve people’s lives tend to make money
more easily. When the money is the byproduct of the work and not the
reason for it, it is easier to sustain one’s career."

My point is that while fear swirls throughout the traditional towers
of advertising, we should be rejoicing together in the knowledge that
when we go to work tomorrow, we can stop talking about interrupting,
annoying, and pestering a passive target into a purchase, but focus on
working with our customers towards a more mutually satisfying goal.
And, when the consumers get what they want, when they want, and we make
a little money facilitating the process, we can all sleep better at
night.

[ad:tech check out: The State of the Agency, Thursday, April 26, 4:00pm-5:00pm]

Breathe easy. Technology has made marketing all about the people. This time for real.

Repost of the Madison Avenue Journal article.

If this isn’t one of the flat-out greatest products you’ve ever seen, then I might hate you.

Look at it!  It’s like a duck-goat-fuckingpost that eerily resembles the Cingular logo guy.  What’s better than that?  Correct. Nothing. 

Seriously though, Emily Post would love this shit.  No more humping of dinner guests, no more yelling at Buddy to "relax with the grinding."  This is a party pleaser in all aspects.  I mean, how fun would it be to watch a jack russell go nuts on that thing? SO FUN, and you all know it.

Now, let’s go to work on some slogans for this super toy.

How about Hump Safe, Hump Chic?
[Anything involving "doggie style" is just too passé… I think.]

Check out some of the designer’s other very cool stuff here.

Technorati Tags: beyond madison avenue, advertising, Hotdoll, Clement Aloy

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I spelled condiments wrong, but you have to admit, the ‘condom’ in the title really caught your attention. Don’t lie.

Anyways, check out this commercial for Heinz, by McCann-Erickson. (I thought Leo Burnett did Heinz, am I wrong?)

I think the camera shots are pretty cool, especially in the way some shots look like they were from the 60’s and other shots look recent. My only beef is with the lack of product placement in the ad. We only see the product really quickly in the beginning and once at the end of the commercial- not good. Either way, to me, the commercial is just alright, no big deal. If you feel the same, watch the Sesame Street video below to raise your spirits.

Technorati Tags: Beyond Madison Avenue, Heinz, McCann Erickson, Commercial, Sesame Street, Ladybugs Picnic

To my long awaited next point- Bummer Nation will be an utter failure if it sits stagnantly on the bottom of Pontiac’s website. Basically, Bummer Nation is a group of characters who represent the reasons and stereotypes as to why someone wouldn’t want to get a convertible. Pontiac, though, proves these stereotypes wrong in hopes somebody will go out and buy a Solstice or G6 Coupe Convertible. If Pontiac really wants to capitalize on a decent story line, these characters need to be created into a series of TV spots. If executed properly, this work could make some big sales for the Pontiac brand.

Technorati Tags: Beyond Madison Avenue, Pontiac, Brand Culture, Bummer Nation, Scion