The Weeknd Collaborates with H&M

To launch their new men's spring collection, fast-fashion mega giant H&M collaborated with The Weeknd in their newest campaign.

The Weeknd, who is known for hit songs like "Starboy," "The Hills," and "Can't Feel My Face," is famous for being hard nab on camera. The superstar does not do video interviews, and he rarely makes appearances in print stories or even on red carpets. He lives a fairly mysterious life, and that has only made his popularity grow tenfold.

The collection featured both The Weeknd selected picks of H&M's current collection and pieces that he designed himself for this launch. All of his pieces were emblazoned with "XO," a reference to a line in his song, "Reminder."

This was an excellent move by H&M to have The Weeknd select and create new pieces for their spring men's line. The Weeknd's mystery as a human being/celebrity created a lot of buzz around the collection. He even created a commercial for the launch:

Choosing The Weeknd as a sponsor for their line also amp's up H&M's brand image as a cool, fashionable, and conscious company. H&M tries to separate itself from other similar competitors like Forever 21 and Zara by being heavily involved in the sort of "underground" music scene. The company even creates campaigns every year to highlight a Coachella-themed clothing collection. By choosing The Weeknd for this men's campaign, they're solidifying their status as remaining hip and current in the public eye.

The collaboration definitely worked for sales too; the entire collection sold out online within 24 hours.

What do you think about the collaboration between The Weeknd and H&M?

Mysterious Pie Billboards Not So Mysterious After All

I was in North Braddock last weekend when I noticed a billboard that was blank except for a picture of a cherry pie with one slice cut from it. A few billboards down, there it was, the missing piece. I pondered over this for DAYS. I wanted to be in on the secret. As I scrolled around online today, I found my answer without even looking for it. The billboards are a location-based, unbranded advertising campaign for Showtime's revival of the hit 90's TV show, Twin Peaks.
Fans of the original series who aren't fully caught up, beware: There are minor SPOILERS ahead!

The billboards popped up Missoula, Montana, which is the hometown of character Laura Palmer's cousin and the birthplace of the show's creator, David Lynch. Billboards also appeared in Seattle, near where the show was filmed and in Philadelphia, where Agent Dale Cooper was once stationed. The Pittsburgh connection is a bit darker, as it is the location where Cooper was stabbed by his former partner. The images of pie are in reference to the cherry pie that is so often mentioned in the show. Fans have also made notice of the zig-zag pattern of the crust, which references the carpet from the Red Room floor and the ever-watching owl. Avid fans haven't stopped analyzing the seemingly simple billboards, and they won't stop until every clue about the revival has been revealed.

I've never watched Twin Peaks, but this campaign has me convinced that I should. It did its part to excite current fans and to intrigue a potential new audience. I look forward to hearing more about the campaign and its hidden connections to the show. Are there any Twin Peaks fans out there that would care to share their take on these billboards? Has anyone else seen them around Pittsburgh or near your hometown?

Campbell's Soup-er Romantic Campaign

Campbell's Soup's most recent campaign targets millennials with a successful video series about the complications of the dating world. The solution? Food brings people together-- specifically, Campbell's products.

Research suggests that couples who focus on eating together, stay together. This is the basis of Campbell's campaign. The campaign is a video series in which Campbell's coupled people together based on their food preferences, then sent the couples on "blind" dates and filmed their experiences.

The idea of creating a web/video series is modern and relatable. Millennials spend a large portion of their day on social media watching videos and scrolling through various online content. A brief video that presents relatable content (the struggles of dating) is intriguing to millennials. The videos are set up to simulate a reality television show, which is also an appealing aspect of the campaign to a millennial audience.

This campaign is innovative in the sense that it is targeting millennials by showing them a problem many of them can relate to, with a positive solution. The solution of food bringing people closer and keeping them connected relates back to the brand's identity as well, as in the past, Campbell's has published the "For the Soul" book series, which also hones in on the concept of close relationships and togetherness. The campaign seems to have resonated well with its audience, generating more than 2 million views on Facebook alone. Who knew Campbell's Soup would be the next matchmaker?

Heinz to Run Don Draper Ads

If anyone is as big of a "Mad Men" fan as I am, then you will be very excited to hear about Heinz's decision to run the ads - in real life - that Don Draper famously crafted for the same brand on the fictional show. AdWeek has a great article on the decision to launch these ads.

These ads - which all showcase some kind of food that typically requires ketchup lacking the condiment with the phrase "Pass the Heinz" - didn't actually win Draper the account on the show. But the company found them good enough to be used out in the real world today.

Heinz will use the three advertisements from the show - the french fries, steak, and hamburger - on billboards in New York City. They will also run in the New York Post and Variety, as well as on Heinz's social media platforms.

I absolutely love "Mad Men," so I think that this will be a great move for Heinz to make. Anyone who is a fan of the show will immediately recognize the ads and know they are for Heinz, and the fact that the company pulled a creative strategy directly from the television show will create a buzz in and of itself. However, I think the strategy is on-brand for Heinz anyways. "Pass the Heinz" is a fantastic tagline, and the photographs are just screaming for ketchup. It's very interesting and cool how advertising can still be relevant in the real world even if it was first developed for a television show.

Here's the pitch from the actual show:

What do you think about Heinz's decision to run the "Pass the Heinz" ads from "Mad Men"?

The Nintendo Switch: Are Consumers On Board?

Nintendo recently announced the release of their newest console, the Nintendo Switch. This console combines portability with functionality, with the look of a handheld device but the performance of a larger, sit-down console. It is believed that Nintendo took this turn because of it's mixed reviews of the Wii U. But the question is; have consumers bought into this new way of gaming? The answer is not clear as of yet, since the product is still so new. However, there are definitely some pros and cons that have been revealed from the first few weeks the product has been out.

Pros:
- Portable and compact
- Gives consumers the same nostalgic feeling with the release of revamped classic games such as Zelda
- Multiplayer is easily accessible on the go, taking away the stigma that video games are an anti-social event
- Release price is equal to the Wii U.
Cons:
- The game library is notably small, with only a handful of games when the console was released.
- The console does not come with any games when purchased, which differs from the Wii and Wii U, which either came with a game or had the option of bundling.
- Previous Wii and Wii U games cannot be played on the new console.

Now, it's up to you, the consumer. Do you think the Nintendo Switch was a good move? Check out Nintendo's website for more info on the Switch.

Black and Yellow Sprint Sign

Lamar Advertising is in hot water with the Pittsburgh Mayor's office because of the Black and Yellow Sprint sign that is over the old Bayer sign. The city says there are not legitimate permits filed for the ad and it is suing for it to be taken down.

This is a great example of what not to do when advertising a product. Sprint is being painted in a bad light because it looks like the company is doing something illegal. Being sued by the mayor's office does not look good and probably makes people reconsider using Sprint as a mobile carrier. If I was the company I would want the sign to be taken down so I did not look bad anymore. Hopefully Lamar Advertising and the city can work something out.

Google Earth in Lion

What better outcome could Google have asked for than its product helping someone find his long lost family. Saroo was only 5 years old when he fell asleep in a train station and became lost. Years later after being adopted by an Australian family he used Google Earth to map out where he was and eventually found his mother in the village where he was from. He wrote an autobiography which was then created into a movie that stars Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel called Lion. 

This incredible story is a great advertisement for Google and its services. Google now has a video on YouTube that complements the movie with Saroo explaining the process of finding his mother. It also has a video of an interview between an employee at Google, Saroo, Dev Patel, and Luke Davies. This whole story is a great promotional and marketing tool because the service was strong enough to help a man find and recognize a train station from 25 years ago.  

I do not think this would be considered product placement but I think it is close. Google Earth was actually used and Google  helped the movie use the correct version used by Saroo in real life. It is interesting to see an actual product being used because most product placement is very obvious and over-acts the use of the product. The movie should be proud because it showed a product being used without over-acting its use. 

Samsung's Ad That Criticized the Oscars

During the Oscars Samsung aired an advertisement with a famous YouTube personality named Casey Neistat. In the ad he acted like he was accepting an award on behalf of the unmentioned filmmakers. This was a very interesting way to advertise during the Oscars because the ad criticized its elegant nature.  It was also very inspiring because it said that anyone can be a filmmaker. 

Multiple Samsung products were featured in the ad including 360 cameras and cell phones. Casey Neistat has done other promotional  work with Samsung but this is his first full TV spot. This was perfect for him because he is a very big personality from YouTube and he shoots a lot of videos with his phone. His philosophy is that the easiest thing to shoot video with that gets the job done is the best tool to use.  

The whole advertisement was risky because it criticized the people accepting awards on TV just before it aired. People could have been angry with Samsung but I think the company pulled it off and made a very compelling message. 

What do you think? Was this ad effective or was it too critical of the Oscars and the people who run it?

Strength Has No Gender

Brawny is back again with their #StrengthHasNoGender campaign. They launched this campaign in March of 2016 in honor of Women’s History Month, which replaces their masculine-looking “Brawny Man” that is featured on their products with a woman (who wears the same red flannel). This campaign is about idolizing strong women who have broken down the barriers in traditionally male-dominated fields. There is a series of YouTube videos that feature different women who share their personal stories of overcoming stereotypes.  In addition to this, Brawny has partnered with Girls Inc and has contributed $75,000 to help develop girls’ enthusiasm for STEM fields as part of its Operation SMART program.

For over 40 years, Brawny has used a male figure to represent the strength of their products. By switching to a female figure, Brawny is taking a stance and challenging women stereotypes. I think this is a great way for the company to participate in Women’s History Month and better target their products to women. 

Letgo Continuity

         The single most important aspect of a campaign, in essence the heart beat of the ads is the continuity. I have touched upon this point in a previous post analyzing the campaign continuity of Wonderful Pistachios. I believe in present day advertising the general population responds the most to a single theme across all platforms or a single platform from a brand or service. When I see commercials and I immediately recognize the brand or service through the strategy of continuity I'm excited to see the new commercial within the campaign. When the audience is excited to see a new commercial within a campaign, all of the message strategies are received cognitively, making them more powerful yielding results for the brand.

Commercials that really have the continuity "it" factor for me is Letgo.

 Letgo is an application that is similar to Craigslist where you post a picture and description of an item you want to sell and wait for responses in your area.

All of these commercials are exactly 31 seconds long with a theme of people being in ridicules places trying to sell a ridicules item. It's perfect continuity.

Below are some tips to make sure your brand has strong continuity 

• Have an identifying logo for your company or brand.
• Utilize the same type of graphics and elements in all marketing materials and advertising.
• Keep your color scheme consistent, even the shading you use.
• Use the same style of fonts in all materials, and limit your use to only 2 or 3 different font typefaces.
• Deliver a consistent, unified message with similar verbiage in all campaigns.
• Have a plan and a dedicated marketing and advertising budget, and stick to them.

An Oscars' of Politically Charged Ads

     Recently, it seems like more and more companies are making politically influenced ads.  This past super bowl gave us Anheuser-Busch's commercial about their founder's journey to America.  The ad was in part a response to President Trump's comments on immigrants.  The commercials during the Oscars were not different.  The one that stuck out to me the most, however, was the simple commercial from The New York Times.  The commercial was the launch of their first branding campaign in many years and focused on "the truth".  The ad was very simple and was made up of a white background, a line of text, and audio.  It was simple and very effective.  The beginning of the line of text was always "the truth" and the rest changed as the commercial went on.  The final line of text on the screen was "the truth is more important now than ever".  This ad was in response to the President's comments about the organization where he describes the New York Times as "fake news".  Ads like these are ways that companies are speaking out against the state of the country and the comments of the president.  If recent ads are any indicator, more are sure to come during any television program where the public is watching.

Advertising for Virtual Reality

As technological progress and innovation continue to evolve at a breakneck pace in today's society, trending every more towards creating personalized experiences while still trying to maintain a sense of unity through the use of social media platforms, it's interesting to see how advertising is beginning to adapt along with technology to make the most of new formats.

One new innovation that is gaining a great deal of popularity is personal virtual reality headsets. Virtual reality headsets have technically been around since the mid-1990s, but have more recently become a major fad in the tech industry with the release of The Vive headset in April of 2016, and later Sony's PlayStation VR headset in October of the same year. VR headsets were considered one of the hottest items of the 2016 Christmas season and I can only see them gaining more popularity and prevalence from here.

In response to this trend, the advertising industry has begun troubleshooting prototypes that would allow for 3-D advertising in a virtual reality environment. Notably, earlier this week on February 26th, Adobe announced that it would be showing a project that they're designing for advertising in VR at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. Variety Magazine covers Adobe's innovation more in depth in the article below:

Adobe is Developing Advertising Solutions for Virtual Reality

From my perspective, I can see VR advertising becoming akin to advertising in video games and PC gaming, but on a far more complex scale. At this point, with the technology being so new, it's difficult to fully grasp what kind of effect this will have on the advertising industry and what kind of innovations this technology will allow for, but it will definitely be interesting to see where Adobe and other software companies progress from here.

The Sweet Surprise of Free Product Placement

At the Oscars on Sunday, 2/26, host Jimmy Kimmel surprised the star-studded audience with candy--specifically, Junior Mints, Red Vines, Mike & Ike, and Lemonheads--that dropped down from the ceiling in small parachutes mid-way through the broadcast.

However, the celebrities in the audience were not the only ones to be surprised by Kimmel's stunt--the makers of these candies were equally surprised to be given free product placement during one of the most watched live programs on television. While other brands spent about $2 million for a 30-second spot during the show, according to AdWeek, these candy brands gained visibility for free, however, only two took to social media to further capitalize on the opportunity.

The first candies to fall from the sky during the show were Junior Mints and Red Vines. Shortly after the reveal, Red Vines tweeted about the surprise appearance with a photo fit for the event.

Junior Mints did not respond to the mention.

Later in the broadcast, Kimmel and actor Sunny Pawar announced that the next candies to fall would be Lemonheads and Mike & Ike, and while Lemonheads, like Junior Mints did not respond to the free publicity, Mike & Ike used the visibility for marketing via social media. The first tweet came during the Oscars, when Mike & Ike's tweeted a thank you to Kimmel.

Mike and Ike furthered its alignment with the Oscars the next day when it tweeted a suggestion for a new candy mix in Kimmel and Pawar's honor.

One of the advantages of brand social media accounts is being able to get information, and often marketing information to consumers quickly. It seemed that the surprise product placement during the Oscars would have been a perfect time to build on something that already had the attention of hundreds of thousands. 

I think that Red Vines and Mike & Ike were smart to take to social media to add awareness to their brands. I was left wondering why Junior Mints and Lemonheads would not follow suit.