Pedigree -- 'Crazy Pet'

Watch Pedigree's "Crazy Pet" ad for Super Bowl XLIII.

SoBe Lifewater -- 'Lizard Lake'

Watch SoBe Lifewater's "Lizard Lake" ad for Super Bowl XLIII.

Coca-Cola Co. -- 'Heist'

Watch Coca-Cola Co.'s "Heist" ad for Super Bowl XLIII.

Coca-Cola Co. -- 'Avatar'

Watch Coca-Cola Co.'s "Avatar" ad for Super Bowl XLIII.

GoDaddy.com -- 'Shower'

Watch GoDaddy.com's "Shower" ad for Super Bowl XLIII.

GoDaddy.com -- 'Baseball'

Watch GoDaddy.com's "Baseball" ad for Super Bowl XLIII.

Fiat's Ad Features Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi

Fiat's new European ad campaign for the Lancia Delta features an unusual star: Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy campaigner under house arrest in Myanmar.

Coke to Omit 'Classic'

So long Coke Classic! I always thought the Coke classic look gave the cans and bottles a vintage look to them, which I liked. Coke has already begun to remove the word from several bottles and it is looking to have them all removed by June.

As Pepsi just recently changed their logo, the ongoing cola war is starting up again. Coke is trying to refresh the brand's image because of a decline in sales in the company's home market.

"While still by far the nation's best-selling soft drink, the cola has lost some appeal in recent years, particularly among young customers, who are the biggest consumers of soft drinks. Volume—a measure of liquid sold—declined 3.5% in the first nine months of 2008, the most recent data available, according to Beverage Digest, which earlier reported the brand's name change."

Source: WSJ

Veggie Love

PETA's ad—which features a bevy of beauties who are powerless to resist the temptation of veggie love—was deemed too hot for the Super Bowl. NBC rejected the video because of concerns over "rubbing pelvic region with pumpkin," a woman "screwing herself with broccoli," and more!


'Veggie Love': PETA's Banned Super Bowl Ad

Centrum Silver

Eric O'Shea

Marketers Take Search Ads Beyond Search Engines

Marketers are always looking for new ways to advertise, and when it comes to internet marketing, it appears that many marketers are steering away from Yahoo & Google.  

The reason for this switch is caused by a new trend in how consumers are navigating the web. "More online searches now take place on YouTube, the popular video site owned by Google, than on Yahoo, the No. 2 Web-search property. The change has companies including Pizza Hut, Universal Pictures and Monster.com rethinking their search marketing strategies."

"Search is being redefined in a lot of different ways," says Peter Hershberg, and as a result marketers are looking at other forms of digital media such as social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace to place their ads on.

Source: WSJ

Vitaminwater Marketing Prompts Suit

Vitaminwater has landed itself in a bit of a marketing mess, and I can't say I didn't see this coming.  

The Center for Science in the Public Interest raised concerns regarding their marketing campaign.  "The idea that you can improve your immunity by drinking one of these Vitaminwater drinks is nonsense," David Schardt, a senior nutritionist for the nonprofit group, said during a conference call with reporters. According to this group, Coke markets Vitaminwater as a "healthful alternative to soda and said the company makes a range of assertions, including claims that the drinks variously reduce the risk of chronic disease and support immune function. The nonprofit's nutritionists say the levels of sugar in the drinks promote obesity, diabetes, and other health problems."

Diana Garza Ciarlante, a spokeswoman for Coke quickly retaliated and called the suit "ridiculous."

"Glaceau Vitaminwater is clearly and properly labeled and shows the amount of vitamins and calories in the product," she said.

Source: WSJ

Superfad Directs Durex Outtakes

After watching the hilarious Durex commercial, I decided to look into who Superfad was..I took this from their website and it reads: 

"Superfad is a brand-driven design and live action production company. We are a collective of designers, directors, animators, and artists. Our mission is to see brands in unexpected ways and to express a brand's voice in an undeniably original fashion.

Superfad's work runs counter to the trend of design studios who present a singular house style. With offices in Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and London, our work is informed by a wide array of cultural and intellectual influences. Fine art, science, math, and literature are fused with illustration, photography, and technology to produce stunningly original imagery.

Superfad was founded in 2001 and has produced award-winning work for many of the most respected brands worldwide. Honda, Sony, Target, Adidas, and AT&T are just a few of the companies who have turned to Superfad for inspired branding."

On the site they had some funny outtakes of the Durex commercial, click here for them.

Laker Kobe Bryant Sells Ankle Insurance

Superfad Directs Durex

Microsoft Pitches Software As Money-Saver

Even as businesses dramatically curb spending on technology, Microsoft's new $150 million advertising campaign aims to convince them that software can save them money in tight times.

Awards: Best Celebrity Performance in a 2008 TV Ad

Ad Age ad critic Bob Garfield bestows awards for the best performances by an actor, actress and celebrity in a TV commercial.  Visit the original page at Ad Age here.

'Whopper Virgins' Rivals Online Success of 'Freakout'

YO.

I came across this article in Advertising Age and it talks about the 'Whopper Virgins' campaign that was launched by Burger King.  The ad concept quickly came under scrutiny because of its interesting approach to the campaign, which I personally thought would be a flop but it certainly has generated a lot of exposure to the site.  I did come across the 'Whopper Freakout' which was a lot more amusing.

Anyways...the article goes on to say that Whoppervirgins.com had 240,000 unique visitors in December, whereas Whopperfreakout.com had 250,000 visitors during its first month.

"Anytime a promotional microsite can get a few hundred thousand visitors, it's pretty successful," ComScore spokesman Andrew Lipsman said. "Every now and then you'll have a MyCokeRewards with a few million, but that's not typical." MyCokeRewards is a loyalty program for Coca-Cola, where consumers trade in "purchase points" for music, videos or even hotel stays.

According to Burger King, the site has had 727,075 total visitors and 698,149 unique visitors. They spend an average of nearly four minutes on the site. Consumers are also accessing the site via mobile devices, with 26,434 views so far. The documentary has 1.3 million views, whereas "Whopper Freakout" had roughly 1.5 million views by this time.

With all this exposure, can you say that the ad was a success? It certainly generated a lot of visits to the site but as the article mentioned, sales have not been affected.  

I've seen a few companies try the "hidden camera" approach and it still seems to be a popular way of generating attention and exposure to a brand.

The end of the article mentions another tactic that Burger King has been using, but this time utilizing the site Facebook.  The promotion offers Facebook users a free whopper if they ditch ten of their friends, and nearly 200,000 have been sacrificed for a Whopper.  This approach is genius because it really gets your customers involved with your brand, an advertising concept related to emotional touchpoint marketing, where the company tries to build an emotional bond with the consumer.

If you want to check out the article, you can find it here.

Virgin Atlantic: 25 Years, Still Red Hot

Gatorade's 'G' Ad Features Sports Legends

In a risky strategy to build online buzz, Gatorade has been airing unbranded teaser ads featuring big-time athletes and legendary sports stars ranging from Usain Bolt to Jackie Robinson.

BMW Ads Promote Diesel

As part of BMW's push for its two new diesel cars, the auto maker is kicking off a new ad campaign to convince Americans that diesel isn't a dirty word.

TheLadders-Chairs

The Ladders | "Monsters"

Bailey's Listen to your lips Ad

Domino's Oven-Baked Sandwiches

With U.S. ad spending expected to fall 6.2% this year, more brands are taking aim at their competitors, like Domino's with their new oven-baked sandwiches versus Subway. Courtesy of Domino's.

The End of SpongeBob?

Viacom cable channels including MTV and Nickelodeon are expected to disappear from Time Warner Cable at midnight Wednesday as part of a bitter dispute over fees to air the channels. In response, Viacom is launching a campaign urging viewers to complain to the cable service provider.

'Ugly Betty' Inspires Dove Campaign in China

Unilever is turning to a remake of "Ugly Betty" after Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty flopped in China. The company hopes "Ugly Wudi" will drum up sales. Video courtesy of Nesound International Media.