Flavoured milk has been slowly gaining attention in the UK and to make sure that they are properly penetrated, UK’s leading milkshake brand, Yazoo is set to unveil a new advertising campaign to help build better brand awareness for flavoured milk goods today.

Just like any company that sees a great potential for growth in the market, the best way is to turn to advertising practices to help build on this opportunity. Rarely will you be able to come up with a great product that will surely bring in more customers and sales and with the proper ad placement and market penetration, rest assured that Yazoo will surely jump ahead as far as flavoured milk for the consumer is concerned.

“This new advertising campaign is part of our on-going objective to grow the flavoured milk category and support retailers. A large proportion of the sites have been selected to ensure that we reach people at the point of purchase, keeping Yazoo front of mind.”

The flavoured milk category is one of the key drivers of growth in the soft drinks market.

(Source) Talking Retail

Technorati Tags: yazoo, flavoured milk, advertising, UK, retailers, ad placement, market penetration, consumer

I grew up watching Bob Ross… and come to think of it, Bob Ross may be the sole reason I studied art in college. Anyway, in case his officially licensed art supplies weren’t enough, Dutch production agency Comrad created this bizarre yet somehow poignant video for NoBELe Match.

NoBELe is a non-profit aiming to match young creatives and businesses for similar causes. A pretty cool effort, and a bizarre promo. But using Bob Ross is probably perfect for the target demo, and despite its oddness, it’s spreading like wildfire. I only wish there was some reference to Peapod the squirrel in the video. But I suppose that might be asking a bit too much.

Check out the rest of the NoBELe launch at Osocio.org

Yesterday I wrote about my excitement for the coming Amstel Light campaign from the Richards Group. Well, as I watched the season finale of The Office last night on NBC (side note: can’t wait for July’s webisodes!), I got my first glance. Today, I scoured YouTube and found the spot for you all to see. I personally do like the spot. Although the jury is still out on whether it may act better as a travel ad for Amsterdam. Because it totally makes me want to plan a vacation… but drink Amstel Light? I guess if that’s the closest I can get to a city of party and sin, sign me up. What are your thoughts?

Technorati Tags: Amsterdam, Amstel Light, Holland, Heineken, beer, alcohol, party, nightlife, bier, brewing, tradition, commercials, TV, advertising, marketing, branding

Food has to be the most essential good that most people will surely buy. Food is among the basic necessities that most people need but it still remains that their benefits will be considered by people as well.

Food is at the top of the heap of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs of man. People need them to survive but they are also particular on what they eat. To ensure that people are not conned into something that will not provide them any good when it comes to digesting, it would be best to make sure that potential markets know what they are bargaining for.

Besides, healthy eating is an obvious practice today and people want to know if what they will be eating is bad or good for their overall health.

Government ministers today welcomed new television food advertising guidelines, saying they were a step forward in tackling New Zealand’s obesity problem.

The New Zealand Television Broadcasters’ council has launched a new Children’s Food Classification system as part of the guidelines for television adverts.

(Source) TV3 News

Technorati Tags: food, maslows hierarchy of needs advertising, television, guidelines, healthy eating

This morning I read an article in Ad Age about new campaign that will be launching soon for Amstel Light. Previously, Publicis had dubbed Amstel Light as a beer for the connoisseur, someone who was looking for a sophisticated taste and used the tagline was “Live Tastefully.”

Now, the Richards Group is taking a stab at changing the brand and naming it, “Dam Good Bier,” proudly showing the beer’s Amersterdam heritage. The campaign, which will heavily hit New York City, is set to feature Dutch-style bikes (including a beer bike, like a traveling bar), and will rely on lots of print and TV as well. Personally, I’m pretty excited to see how the Richards Group is going to pull this off. It also makes me wish I lived in NY and could see these bikes riding around. Perhaps a special trip is in order.

So as the new campaign will be upon us, it’s time for beer drinkers everywhere to say goodbye to tasteful living and embrace Amstel Light as a lawless party beer, Amsterdam style.

Technorati Tags: beer, Amstel Light, Amsterdam, party, alcohol, advertising, branding, guerilla marketing, bier, Dutch

One thing you have to note about the great commercials we know of today is that people will want to see them over and over again. This is one of the best forms of advertising today and apparently most companies want to make sure that their ads cover all the grounds and necessities expected by their target market with regards to the product or service that they are offering.

Tools used in advertising such as the consideration of people, place and the script are important. To most, advertising means something only if they cost and show the product. Add that touch of creativity and right mix of tools and you will find people wanting to see that production on television over and over again.

Advertising commercials likewise helps establish an indirect form of brand recall so that future products or services will likewise be established in the process.

Walt Disney Co. is trying to get inside the minds of television viewers.

The Burbank-based entertainment company, with its profitable ESPN and ABC entertainment networks, said Tuesday that it was developing an “emerging media and advertising research lab” to try to figure out why people watch the shows they do.

(Source) Los Angeles Times

I’m a huge fan of the idea behind the “original games” campaign. Cafe ping pong & street fencing are genius. The 180 Amsterdam commercial (below) produced by Stink (London) piqued my interest.

And with concept that grabs my attention as much as this one, I was hoping for a bit more than some playable computer games. And while the Skate-or-Die-style of game is cool, there’s still a bit of a disconnect for me from the true idea behind it all (or at least what I hoped the true idea would be). Still a cool execution, but I hope these games aren’t the finale of the “original games” concept… it seems to have so much potential.

(I was going to embed one of the games, but this site’s formatting shrinks it down and messes up the flash a bit, so click the image above to be taken to the Adidas site to best experience the games.)

We are all aware that billboard advertising is a good way to get attention. For soap operas like Secret Diary of a Call Girl, added exposure to inform viewers of this TV series will really help them in terms of ratings and all.

But what is controversial about this billboard ad for this soap series is its changing design which has caused some drivers to stop to this unique style of design and change in billboard advertising approach today.

Apparently, the change is from decent to salacious and with that in mind, the public are sure to react towards this different advertising approach.

A spokeswoman for Prime Television, Lisa Franklin, said back-lighting on the boards came up after dark to reveal sexy lingerie on the “call girl”.

Franklin said she was not sure whether the changeover occurred before the “watershed” time of 8:30pm, when adult content is allowed to appear on television.

“That depends on what time it gets dark in Christchurch these days,” Franklin said.

Another billboard, on the corner of Christchurch’s Tuam and Madras streets, features a skirt that blows up in the wind to reveal the legs of a “call girl” clad in suspenders.

(Source) Stuff.co.nz

Technorati Tags: billboard, call girl, advertising, television, soap opera, lingerie, salacious

With Walt Disney taking the reigns in Austin, TX, there is going to be a whole new way to test the effects of advertising on the viewer. Disney ultimately wants to find out if consumers are more impacted by interactive ads and if their money would be well spent on these high-tech ads.

“TV is not a rational medium, it’s an emotional medium,” Varan said. “We can get to a deeper layer of what’s motivating people by seeing how they behave, observing them in experimental settings and seeing how their body reacts.”

Biometric testing has been used when testing print ads as it gauges a reaction that focus groups and surveys don’t always catch. Now, should Disney’s new lab open by year’s end, we’ll know the same thing about TV spots, mobile and interactive ads. Depending on the outcome, this could mean that for ads of this high-tech calibur, agencies could ideally charge more since they will be more effective. Is it really making someone’s heart beat faster? Are they truly feeling the emotional connection you are trying to convey? ABC and ESPN may just be the first to know.

Read more about it here.

Technorati Tags: Disney, ABC, ESPN, advertising, testing, focus groups, biometrics, television, interactive

Small businesses do not have the luxury of advertising lackadaisically today. For one thing, budgets are limited and by all means, they have only one shot at making good their advertising opportunities work for their business.

Overall, this may seem easier said than done. There is a gamble and risk in using advertising tools. Being a small business on the rise, proper analysis and deliberation must be done by business managers to make sure that such resorts can indeed be helpful to the company’s cause.

For what it is worth, it would be best to consider everything through analysis and studies. By doing this, the feasibility of using advertising mediums can be justified and lowering the risk of a useless way of helping promote a business and what it has to offer.

“In advertising, large companies can make small mistakes and survive,” notes Mark Preiser of Walter F. Cameron Advertising in Hauppauge. “They can even make large mistakes and survive. Small companies don’t have the same luxury.”

(Source) Newsday.com

Technorati Tags: advertising, small business, feasibility, advertising mediums, promote, business

Subaru has been making a fairly large push lately for their Forrester, and one of the cornerstones of the messaging push is the fact that the Forrester is sexy. While my allegiances to European auto runs strong and I’ve never been particularly blown away by Subaru, this Subaru Canada spot from DDB Toronto is doing a good deal to change my opinion.

With a soundtrack from Electric Six, the spot is bizarrely beautiful and oddly humorous. I’ll be chuckling for the rest of the day. I suppose my opinion of Subaru (based primarily on advertising) is beginning to shift for the better.

If you haven’t heard it yet, Facebook is the latest hit social networking site that has been the cause of all the commotion these days and a lot of the people endorsing this are the youth. Now with that said, this is a wide area of opportunity in getting ads across which apparently are being abused by some sectors, most notably the credit firms.

It has also set up a Facebook group, called ‘Debt can seriously cramp your style,’ to warn people of the dangers of getting into debt.

A spokesman for the charity said: “It is such a popular method because they can target young people, with whom the site is so popular.”

(Source) Telegraph.co.uk

Facebook has its share of aggressive advertising campaigns due to its immense exposure. But if it fails to double check the companies seeking ad spots, it may just hurt them in the end.

Technorati Tags: facebook, advertising, credit, opportunity, ads

Remember that old thick yellow book you have beside your telephone? Well thanks to technology, a new way of trying to serve the public and not lost the growing list of companies who need information and advertising as well has been announced.

Apparently, the online market is growing and this is a clear sign that providing service in the form of advertising across print, online and mobile platforms. With the apparent growth of the market, the Yellow pages sees this as an opportunity to expand its market by penetrating the advertising needs of the online communities today.

Yellow Pages chief executive Dudley Enoka said his company was in talks with several other online players regarding partnerships, and he expected announcements would be made shortly.

He said customers were increasingly looking to diversify their advertising across print, online, voice and shortly, mobile platforms.

“We’re immensely proud of our heritage as a business based in print and we are still seeing excellent growth there.

(Source) Stuff.co.nz

Technorati Tags: yellow pages, online, market, advertising, technology, information

First email spam, now cell phone spam.

The New York Times has your hook up:

The fees that customers pay to receive messages are a source of profit for the phone companies. It is hard to estimate how much they make. Many consumers pay for a monthly plan that allows them to send and receive large numbers of messages. But for those without a plan, getting as few as 10 unsolicited text messages a month at 20 cents each would cost an extra $24 a year.

Communications companies say they are not interested in spam as a profit center. They want to one day exploit the power of customized advertising on mobile phones, and tawdry spam pitches threaten to make their customers hostile toward all commercial messages. The companies are trying to head off the

That’s just b.s. If they weren’t interested in this spam as profit, they wouldn’t allow it in the first place. Anyone who has had an accidental internet pay-per-use charge can tell you how unsympathetic the cell phone industry is to your plight if you get a message that links to a video of some sort that ends up costing you 400 bucks (he speaks from personal experience). Plus, since regulators have had a tough time getting rid of email spam, I don’t suppose the vigilance for cell phone spam will be there. Phone companies already sell my information to interested parties, why should I take their word that *NOW* they’re not in it for profit but rather research purposes on the extent of customized advertising.

I love technology but all this meddling is making me want to find a cabin in Montana and start writing my manifesto. Preferably on a typewriter, which is immune to porn spam.

Spam spam sausage spam

Technorati Tags: mobile technology, cell phones, spam, stuff that sucks, Monty Python nerds

If there is one thing that will really help you get our political aspirations towards better heights, television advertising is a best bet to get the job done. Not all people can afford television advertising due to the cost of having one. Secondly, it is not merely a matter of producing the ad itself. It also includes being able to get the desired time slot that will surely be hitting the proper voters who will know that you are running for public office.

Such is an issue that many call as dirty but advantageous. But if you have the funds to support your ad campaign and likewise avoiding any potential discrepancies on election requirements, then by all means use advertising to boost your political campaign!

Federal rules requiring candidates to have access to similar television audiences forced stations to bump some advertising from their traditional clients. In some cases, it was purchased months in advance and in a highly sought-after spot.

(Source) Business Weekly

Technorati Tags: television, political, voters, advertising, campaign

Posters are known to have their share of gaining attention and with the matter of prostitution placed on the table, it should not be surprising if some sectors would become wary of this growing pain and deprivation for the younger kids of today.

Prostitution is something that many despise. Some people even go around the bush in trying to avoid this delicate issue that usually burdens the youth. It is apparent that prostitution is something that society can do well without. All it really needs is proper awareness and orientation so that people will not forget its impact on society today.

Mr Coaker added: “These women are being treated as commodities and are sold, controlled and exploited by others for a profit. This is totally unacceptable.

“The advertising campaign we are launching today should help draw attention to the plight these women face and make men think again about what they are doing.”

(Source) BBC News

Technorati Tags: posters, prostitution, advertising, campaigns

HDTV is coming. The routine ads on broadcast TV continually remind us of that fact. But BBC is reminding their viewers in a slightly different fashion:

Kind of blows other “introducing HD” ads out of the water. And while it vaguely reminded me the Michael Bay Verizon FIOS ad, it leaves me with a different feeling (i.e. more HD, less Bay). I’m willing to bet as HD channels proliferate and broadcast switches over to HD, we’ll be seeing more explosions and special effects in commercials.

But for the moment, I’m just going to kick back and enjoy it.

[via the Lunar BBDO blog]

The accusations of photo retouching could have been devastating to Ogilvy, Dove and Unilever. Today, all have released statements along with Dangin, the photo retoucher and Annie Liebovitz, stating that the women in the Real Beauty campaign were not retouched. Dangin, however, has admitted to working on the Dove Pro-Age campaign but only to remove dust and provide color correction - neither of which destroy the integrity of the women in the photographs. So, world of advertising and BMA readers - you can all rest assure that Dove and it’s Real Beauty as well as Pro-Age campaigns do exactly what they are supposed to… give real women a sense of inspiration and beauty.

 

 

Technorati Tags: Dove, Real Beauty, Pro-Age, photo retouching, digital altering, photography, Annie Liebovitz, advertising

 

This week has hosted the 2008 One Show, hosted by the One Club. Although the official last day is tomorrow, last night was the One Show Awards. These awards and winners are known to shape advertising for the next year to come. Here are just a couple of my favorites:Gold - Newspaper or Magazine Single Ad - WWF Thailand “Tree”, Ogilvy & Mather Bangkok Gold - Single TV Commercial - Halo 3 “Diorama”, McCann Worldgroup San Francisco For a full list of winners, Gold through Bronze as well as as Merit, click here then select the link for Download One Show Winners List.

Technorati Tags: One Show, awards, advertising, marketing, branding, campaigns

Contract disputes can be a pain especially for chosen endorsers and in this case, actress Uma Thurman sued Lancome regarding an advertising dispute. Apparently, the French cosmetic giant has made quite a profit from using her name and likeness despite the lapse of the contract between the two.

Many people would care less if such a boom would be evident. But in this case, Lancome continues its advertising ways despite the end of the contract with Thurman which the latter resented. In the world of showbiz, you have to honor your contract. If not, expect heads to roll. Such is a familiar face in the world of advertising and promotions.

The “Kill Bill” star said in her lawsuit that Lancome Parfums et Beaute & Cie boosted its worldwide sales and enhanced its “prestige, stature and bargaining power” by helping retailers and others use her name and likeness in advertising and promotions after her contract expired.

The suit seeks $15 million in damages.

(Source) The Associated Press

Technorati Tags: uma thurman, advertising, promotions, lancome, cosmetics