You're Putting Him Where!?

Mars Chocolate North America, the maker of M&Ms, decided to add a new flavor to their line of M&M products: the pretzel. For the ad campaign they choose to bring back the orange M&M as the spokesperson for the candy rather than the usual green and yellow M&Ms. The orange M&M is characterized as neurotic and afraid that everyone wants to eat him, which is perfect for the ad campaign.

The pretzel M&M ad campaign features Orange fiercely protesting when he discovers that he is going to have a pretzel placed inside him. The commercials are meant to be humorous and are targeted towards a younger audience. Because the combination of salty and sweet flavors is becoming a more popular trend in snacks for kids, adolescents, and teenagers, Mars has creatively used the "Hungry Eyes" commercials to attract a younger audience to the product.

One particular Hungry Eyes commercial shows Orange and a pretzel at a party being fawned over by both a very attractive woman and an unattractive man (Hungry Eyes). The pretzel and Orange are arguing because Orange does not want to be eaten but the pretzel simply states that he would prefer to be eaten by the attractive woman than Hungry Eyes.

Since the start of the pretzel M&Ms campaign salty snack sales have increased by 15% from 2007 to 2009. Seems like Mars made a good decision by pairing M&Ms with pretzels. They now have 8 different M&M flavors out including: peanut, peanut butter, coconut, dark chocolate, regular milk chocolate, dark chocolate peanut, dark chocolate almond, and of course pretzel. I can't wait to find out what they think of next!

Honesty is the Best Policy

Domino's Pizza corporation created a new campaign a few years back with the hope that it would turn their image around. The pizza giant suffered humiliation and customer base loss after a damaging video of Domino's went viral. Domino's has since bounced back incredibly well, all thanks to the honest-based "Oh Yes We Did" campaign.

The "Oh Yes We Did" advertising campaign launched in 2009 as Domino's showed viewers that they had revisited their pizza making process after listening to consumers' opinions from focus groups - both good and bad. In these first ads, Domino's' criticisms were clearly outlined by the focus group participants and the Domino's CEO gave a direct response by showing the audience their new pizza and how they make it.


Pizza Turnaround

In the next series of ads in the "Oh Yes We Did" campaign, Domino's employees find anyone who have not tried their new pizza and gives them one. The people who tried the new pizza seemed surprised and pleased and announced that they were re-committing themselves to Domino's Pizza. What began as a series of ads showing Domino's Pizza changing to fix past mistakes turned into ads showing people enjoying the food and rejoining the company's consumer base.

Holdouts - Scott Shoyer

Finally, and most recently, are the Domino's Pizza ads promoting the new Pizza Tracker feature on the company's web site. The Pizza Tracker seems to allow customers to view the progress of their order and to submit a review, and so lets them become more active in the Domino's Pizza experience. The ads show Domino's employees reading and responding to both good and bad reviews from customers through the Pizza Tracker, which once again displays Domino's policy of honesty in their newest campaign.


Raising the Bar

The "Oh Yes We Did" campaign has largely been a success for the Domino's Pizza company. This past spring, Domino's Pizza rose to a 52-week high in stocks and sales have been steadily growing since, proving that, sometimes, honesty is the best policy.

SOURCE: "Domino's Pizza - like 'em or not, "Oh yes we did" turned their brand around"

Monday Night Football Reaches Deal with New Sponsor

Fresh off the start of a new season, ESPN has reached a multiseason deal with Dunkin' Donuts, confirming their role as an official sponsor of Monday Night Football. More specifically, Dunkin' Donuts is set to become the official sponsor of the "Field Pass" segments of the programming. These segments show what happens on the field prior to kickoff, giving viewers a look at how players and coaches as they prepare for the game. Now when you this segment airs, the Dunkin' Donuts logo will be featured.

Nicholas Dunham, director of media for Dunkin' Donuts, believes that this long-term deal makes perfect sense for his brand. The "Field Pass" segments are all about preparation for the game, just as Dunkin' Donuts are often used to help prepare people for their day. And Dunkin' Brands are no stranger to the sports world; they just signed a 10-year extension of their naming rights to the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, home to the Providence Friars men's basketball team.

This looks like a good deal for both sides. ESPN has found yet another way to incorporate advertising into its games, and Dunkin' Donuts should see an increase in business with this level of publicity. After all, ESPN's Monday Night Football did receive an average of 14.7 million viewers per game last year. For Dunkin' Donuts, this move comes in a year that has already been a big one in terms of marketing. They've spent an estimated $115 million in total, and hope to see results in the year to come.


Click here for more

Philadelphia Proposes Antismoking Ads at Retail Stores

What if you saw an ad like this perfectly laminated underneath the countertop of a Giant Eagle? Would it bother you? Would you use it as a teaching tool for your children? Or would you simply go about your day unaffected by it?


Government control on smoking and tobacco products has often caused some controversial stir amongst smokers and non-smokers alike. But statistics show that smoking remains the number one cause of preventable deaths, its become clear that the government is not shying away from promoting the dangerous habit. Philadelphia Board of Health has one such proposition in mind. Placing images that show the harmful effects of smoking on retail countertops where the product is sold.

Medical groups generally like the idea, even if the promotions may appear graphic to younger children who may be shopping with their parents. "People need to be shown that these things are real," said Deborah P. Brown, president of the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic. And it is partially true. 

A lot of children are harped on by their parents from a young age about how harmful cigarettes and other tobacco products can be and sometimes they find it annoying. But what about a graphic of what happens to your lungs if you were to continue smoking? I think an image from someone other than a parental figure may cause children to avoid it. However, the propositional ads have received backlash not only from concerned parents, but also from retailers themselves.

Retailers fear that customers who do smoke will be so turned off by these ads that they will take their business elsewhere. And this is a possibility, especially if those customers do not care to quit smoking. But for a city like Philly, who additionally also holds the record for highest obesity rates in children, they will not give up on their city wide health campaign.

Now you may be thinking...how can they do this? What right do they have? Well it turns out this tactic was attempted nearly two years ago in New York, but it was turned down by a judge. So there is a chance that this proposition will be denied. And while this proposition still remains in draft form, the Philadelphia Health Board is determined to promote health within their communities whether or not this becomes a requirement of all tobacco retailers.


To view more of the article click here.

New Generation Brown Spirits

Jim Beam, a popular brand of bourbon, has been on sale since 1795. But recently, the brand has decided to branch out to a wider audience to gain more consumer support for the brand. The new version is called Red Stag and was released in 2009 by adding a touch of black cherry flavoring.

Jim Beam is not the only brown spirit company to come up with flavored liquors- many other companies are doing the same after the long-term success of flavored vodkas. Vodka companies have been doing this for years- flavored vodkas making up 20% of all vodka sales. So far, these flavored brown liquors have helped grow the bourbon and whiskey category by 6.5% last year.

Overall, flavors of liquors bring a whole new audience for marketers to reach. But marketing companies are not taking this task lightly- they are proceeding with caution with the challenge of marketing to males and females. These brands want to keep their image as "hard" liquors- mainly dranken by males, while females can also enjoy the flavored choices because they are fruitier and more tasteful. And at the same time, if you market the product as female oriented, many males will be turned off to the product and will begin to think it is not something they want to drink. Overall, marketers will have to think outside the box to advertise these new flavored brown spirits to both genders.

Full article click here.

"Spend Less Summer" Comes to a Close

I remember it well. It was a typical summer night for me and my friends hangingout and watching tv when our summer was changed for good. We saw for the first time Taco Bell's ads for what they refured to as a "Spend less summer", or basically 99cent food. Almost immediately, we got up and went to make the most of this deal. After stuffing myself with unnecessary amounts of Taco Bell, I began to wonder what was it about these commercials that evoked such an immediate and effective response.

According to the New York Times, Taco Bell approached this summer with "a new twist on its summertime advertising, giving it more of a campaign look and feel with a big idea that echoes an age-old thought about eating, drinking and being merry while one still can." The entire idea behind this advertising was a simple one; have fun and eat Taco Bell without spending a lot.

One reason why I believe these commercials had such an impact on me and my friends is because they speak perfectly to the target audience, men ages 18-24. Every commercial starts out with the question "Are you a young person on the brink of responsibility?". This does not only immediately demand attention, but also results in a 'yes' response that will continue to hold the viewers attention.

The face of Taco Bell's campaign is Aasif Mandvi, a comedian from “The Daily Show” as well as other shows found on Comedy Central. Having Mandvi play "Mr. Responsibility", the main character of this campaign further speaks to the target audience. He is a familiar face -- someone who already can be trusted which makes taking his advice of eating Taco Bell even more tempting.

Although the 'Spend less summer' has drawn to a close, these simple yet impelling commercials did their job well and left us all hungry for more.

If you want to watch a commercial Click Here!

To read the full New York Times Article Click Here!

"Beauty to Action", Bare Escentuals' newest campaign

Starting this September, the make-up company Bare Escentuals will be revealing it’s first global creative platform and marketing campaign. This new campaign stems from the 35-year history of one of the company’s idea ‘Be a Force of a Beauty’. Bare Escentuals works towards and enforces their belief that beauty can change the world by inspiriting positivity and activating women to put beauty into action. Their slogan Pretty is. Beauty does. ™ gives emphasis to their idea to the influential power of beauty as more than meets the eye.

Their new global campaign will be focused by TV, print, digital, and social marketing advertising in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The point of the new global campaign is to create a discussion among women about how beauty motivates you into action. “We wanted ‘Be a Force of Beauty’ not only to be relevant, but also tangible for women around the world,” commented Simon Cowell, Global CMO for Bare Escentuals. “We acknowledge that there is real power and potential in beauty and it’s our role to inspire women and serve as advocates to showcase the cultural impact beauty can have on humanity.”

The various ads throughout the campaign focus on truth of beauty and the original characteristics each woman has in the campaign. “This level of truthfulness became critical for us as we continued to ideate on this campaign,” noted Cowell. “‘Be a Force of Beauty’ really sums up our brand anthem and pays tribute to the legacy we’ve already established and also carries us into the future as we continue to expand our global footprint.” Bare Escentuals newest campaign is obvious that they want to steer away from other companies and focus on natural and in this case, “Force of Beauty”.

Read the full article here.

Extreme Advertising

Do you prefer advertisements that entertain with dangerous stunts? If so, Hotels.com has got your back. The online room-booking service has teamed with skydiver J.T. Holmes for it's latest ad. In the ad, Holmes jumps from an airplane and proceeds to book a room using Hotels.com. The entire process is finished before he needs to pull his parachute; this is only around thirty seconds.

While exciting, this is not the first time that skydiving has been utilized in the advertising game. Lenovo previously had an ad in which one of their laptops deployed it's own parachute after being turned on right as it fell from the plane, proving how fast their computers are able to start up. Hotels.com has even used skydiving in their previous advertisements, though in Claymation form. Perhaps they felt that the animated commercials lacked verisimilitude, and decided it best to prove their claim that a room can be booked in 30 seconds or less.

Personally, I'm not all that impressed with the ad. As previously stated, the skydiving concept has already been used by another company so it's not as if they are setting any trends. Furthermore, while viewers may be moderately intrigued by seeing a stuntman jump from an airplane, it is unlikely that they will be tempted to book a room using Hotels.com because of it. That said, the ad does a good job of revealing how easily the site can be navigated and rooms can be booked.

See the add for yourself

The New Running Craze

Unlike other sports, running does not require a large amount of expensive equipment to participate in the activity and sport. The only item that is really needed are good shoes. Recently, many shoe companies have designed running shoes that are considered lightweight footwear- meaning the cushioning and structure of the shoe are removed.

What does this mean in the advertising world? A new item for them to market to consumers- and making many advertising/marketing companies compete for consumer attention. So many shoe manufacturers are producing lightweight footwear- Reebok, Asics, Puma and New Balance- and it is important for each company to distinguish themselves from the others in order to gain consumer support. According to Matt Powell, an analyst with SportsOneSource, "right now, everyone is playing the hot hand, so they'll be putting their marketing dollars behind it."

I am sure that in the near future, we will be seeing more ads and commercial promoting these new lightweight running shoes. And I am even more sure that these will be vamped up as the holidays approach. It will be interesting to see how each brand advertises their minimalist shoe and how they will differ from the rest.

Zara's New US Online Store

Zara may not be a clothing brand you recognize, but you won’t need to worry about that for long. Zara, with clothing styles much like the Swedish clothing brand H&M, is a Spanish clothing brand that has a handful of shops set up in the states. If you weren’t able to shop in store, Zara opens their online store today, September 7th. The online store will be featuring free standard shipping to all US states or you have the option to pick up your order at a local Zara store. Zara is also honoring free exchanges and returns with their online opening.

Zara has started spreading the word with its twitter hashtag “#DearAmerica” to go along with its new campaign. The campaign ties in with the now launched online store and features an online exhibition of 50 photographers take on the 50 states.

Credits: BrandChannel.com

The #DearAmerica promotion supports the stores activity in social networking, which has been proven to be one of the most lively among its competitors H&M and Gap. Of its over 10 million Facebook fans, more than 400,000 are located in the US. H&M accrued 617,000 online visitors in July while Zara’s numbered 189,000 according to Nielsen, and other U.S. competitors are taking a piece of the online pie like Abercrombie & Fitch with Q2 sales of 11% of total revenue. Gap, a decade into online receives 9% of sales from its website. With the brands activity in social networking, it will be no surprise that people will be swarming Zara’s online store soon enough.

See full article here