Raising the Bar

TNT has found an interesting and relevant way to promote their new series Raising the Bar. The show premiers on Labor Day 10pm/9pm central. So, in order to alleviate some Labor Day travel congestion, TNT is "raising" toll booth bars. In certain areas of Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, and Orlando, they are giving commuters 2 hours of toll-free Labor Day bliss. Not having to scramble for change on a busy interstate because of TNT? Now there's a positive brand association!

Yaybia Back-to-School Extravaganza: Best J-School Professors!

The Yaybies know we’re lucky to have gone to the J-School at the University of Minnesota. Our SJMC instructors are brilliant, inspiring, and eager to share their real-world experience. In celebration of the back-to-school season, here’s a rundown of the best of the best:

Jennifer Johnson.
Creds: Tons, but most notably Leo Burnett and CD at two shops in Mpls.
Teaches: Copywriting/Creative Strategy and Portfolio Development
I thought I knew how to think creatively before JJ’s class, but she completely reinvented the creative process for me. Now I know what makes a great ad and how to brainstorm effectively. (Hint: It involves dozens of scraps of colored paper that you WILL fill with ideas.)
Best lessons learned: Don’t cry at work. Be an elbow, not an arm (leave a comment if you’re curious about the origins of that one…)

Earl Herzog.
Creds: EVP/Media Director at Campbell Mithun
Teaches: Media Strategy
Students either love or hate Earl’s style: gruff, to-the-point, unabashed. His class is completely real-world and the skills and knowledge he shares give aspiring media professionals a huge advantage in their first job. My favorite part of his class? Quizzes on the New York Times’ Media & Advertising section. A perfect example of teaching students what they really need to know in the advertising world.
Best lessons learned: FIGURE IT OUT. Read the Times’ Media & Ad section. And don’t be late.

John Rash.
Creds: Director of Media Analysis at Campbell Mithun, writer of The Rash Report
Teaches: Mass Media and Politics
Unfortunately, I never got to take John Rash’s class, but all his students rave about his intelligence and availability, even though he’s crazy busy. The Rash Report is absolutely astounding. The first time I had a conversation with this man, I knew he was one of the smartest people I will ever meet. I can’t imagine how amazing Media & Politics will be with the election this year!
Best lessons learned: Actually, I’m usually too busy trying not to let my jaw drop at his eloquence and insight…

John Eighmey.
Creds: Senior management and both Y&R and the FTC. Journal of Advertising listed him as one of the 10 most-cited authorities on internet advertising.
Teaches: Cases
Another professor whose brilliance I never got to witness firsthand, but friends tell me he’s incredibly intelligent and a stellar thesis advisor. When we had an NSAC near-disaster, one team member emailed him frantically for advice. He replied within minutes, calming us down and giving us guidance on how to proceed.
Best lessons learned: Intelligence and quiet compassion goes a long way.

Howard Liszt.
Creds: Former CEO of Campbell Mithun. Served on the Easter Seals board. Knows absolutely everyone. Malcolm Gladwell should have profiled him as the Connector in Tipping Point.
Teaches: He’s technically marked down as teaching JOUR 3201…but we know him as the fearless NSAC advisor.
Howard pushes his NSAC team to work harder, be smarter, and think more creatively than they ever have before. Having his seal of approval on your resume all but guarantees you a job after graduation. And he honestly cares about every one of his students.
Best lessons learned: Work hard. Believe in yourself and your team. Genuinely care about others. 400 BABIES!

Brian Southwell.
Creds: PhD, outstanding researcher of health communication, and winner of a huge teaching award
Teaches: Psychology of Advertising
Choosing Brian Southwell as my thesis advisor was the best decision I could have made. He was endlessly patient and always had complete faith in me.
Best lessons learned: Extra effort and thought will always be rewarded.

Mark Pedelty.
Creds: Anthropologist who has traveled Central America, Mexico, and the US.
Teaches: Mass Media and Pop Culture
Each semester, Mark organizes a concert or other event which his class promotes to help raise awareness for a cause. My semester was the first one, and the honors section promoted local artists in conjunction with Friends of the Mississippi River. Through this, he demonstrates how media can work for good, and how anyone can use our PR and ad knowledge for a good cause.
Best lessons learned: Intersections of culture and media are everywhere. Decide for yourself whether that’s good or bad.

Kathy Hansen.
Creds: Co-author of Behind the Message, a communication researcher’s Bible. Innovator in communication research and teaching techniques, like creating a custom module that turns Neverwinter Nights into a PR/journalism research simulator.
Teaches: Honors Senior Seminar, Info for Mass Communicators
I liked both of Kathy’s classes, but I remember her most as an exceptional mentor. She knows the J-School inside and out and will sit down with anyone to help them discuss class and career options.
Best lessons learned: You can do anything, no matter how big.

Debra Kelley.
Creds: Principal of Hall Kelley design company.
Teaches: Basic Media Graphics
Debra is encouraging and patient. She knows that ad students are not necessarily designers, but she teaches the fundamentals to make any Powerpoint look clean and professional. Her class is the best way ad kids can learn Photoshop and InDesign besides pirating their GD friend’s copy, getting drunk, and playing with vectors. Err…was that just me?
Best lessons learned: Read The Non-Designers’ Design Book. Now.

Did I skip your faves? Leave them in the comments!

It's Time For Some Google Reader Campaigning!

I have been consistently drawn to CNN this week to watch the speeches at the Democratic National Convention (p.s. the Clintons ROCKED their speeches), but I was surprised to find politics creepin' in on my friend, Google Reader.


Apparently, now we can subscribe to shared items and reading lists from Barack Obama and John McCain. Now, obviously this piqued my interest. You mean Old Man River figured out what this "Internet" thing is? He knows that RSS isn't some disease? Doubtful. I don't feel out-of-line to assume that he had some 20 something (Amanda... did he set you up to this?) set up his "top feeds," but it's an interesting political marketing scheme nonetheless.

What I learned from looking through his favorite feeds:
1) This Conservative Christian worships the false god, Weber. (BBQ Bible? Sacrilege!)
2) The Drudge Report hasn't updated their site since they leaked the Monica Lewinsky story.
3) Jib Jab! Wowsers! Didn't expect that! I suppose he enjoyed the Time For Some Campaignin' video. (Perhaps he also snickers to himself while putting funny faces of his buddies, Pawlenty, Bush and Romney, in some of the other personalized vids.)
4) He gets his news from Fox. 'Nuff said. (Link omitted on purpose.)

As for Barack's page, nothing too strange:


My favorite part is that he has The Daily Show on his list. GO JON STEWART!

Overall, the idea is a good one. Google Reader lovers can feel tied to the candidates by reading "what they are reading." Hey, maybe McCain IS trying to get over his digicap, but knowing his technological illiteracy, I am sure he just makes one of his cronies gather information for him on "The Google."

Go '08AMA! (Said endorsement is the opinion of the author, NOT necessarily all of the Yaybies.)

Bacon is the New Penguin

2007:















2008:

Clang, Clang, Clang went the Trolly; Tweet, Tweet, Tweet went the Brand!

Ah Twitter... that odd duck of a social network no one seems to understand. The Mad Men AMC debacle has been all over the blogisphere. There have been dozens of posts on brands doing it wrong, and being hijacked. However, Twitter can be a useful brand tool.

If you know me, you know my absolute hatred of Comcast, but I will not get into it now or this will be a 5 page post. Anyway, I had been neglecting my Twitter replies (oops) until today, and then I saw this:
Written in response to this, 2 hours after I wrote it:Seemingly honest concern. Nice job Comcast. Who knew a customer service nightmare such as yourself could be so Twitter-savvy.

Update from Erin: http://tinyurl.com/5jsqam

Shaun White: Olympic Gold or HP posterboy? You decide!

I've been asked to yaybia, and so it shall be.

Most of you may have heard of Shaun White, snowboarding god.



However, upon discovering HP's wonderful new site featuring Shaun White giving a crash course on school and computer personalization, which is little creepy/cool because when I went back to the site a second time, Shaun said "OH, you again? Why haven't you called?" Way to follow my IP address, HP. But, I digress.

Anyway, upon discovering this site I relayed a story to my friends, hence the reason for my post today.
About a week ago I was at the Shouthouse in Minneapolis, and the piano players announced that Shaun White was there and would like to request a song (as girls flocked to the stage). Here is the conversation that follows:

Myself: Shaun White? The snowboard designer guy from the HP commercials?


Boyfriend: Uh, yeah. Also an Olympic snowboarder. One of the best. That would be a normal person's reaction.

Myself: Ohhhhh. He won gold then. Right?

Boyfriend shakes head and downs his drink.

So, way to be HP. You have made Mr. White more important to me as your spokesperson than as a 2006 Winter Olympic's champion. I don't know if you should be proud or ashamed.

Spotted: Minnesota Media Also Snags Minnesota Talent

1. Our first Save the Walls post I mentioned that the first Broseph on the screen used to do stand up with a coworker of mine.

2. Today, Libby shot me a jabber with a link to the video below.


Find more videos like this on AdGabber





(or check out the source here)

3. I said, "Hey,  that's the dude man bro [for his boyish good looks that land him in Fitch territory] from Save the Walls!"

4. She said Yaybia it. So I did.

5. I'm awaiting name confirmation from said coworker who is on two week vaca. Yes, be jealous.

6. UPDATE! dude man brah is Mike Rylander. ND native now working in Minneapolis. I linked you everywhere but his website because it's a train wreck and crashed my browser. Only if you dare, www.mikerylander.com

@Why_Arent_You_Protecting_Your_Brand_On_Twitter: um hai?

Mad Men were on Twitter. Then they weren’t, and our industry scoffed at AMC for not acknowledging great brand ambassadors. Now they’re back, and I’m wondering: Why are entertainment brands still overlooking Twitter?

Social media profiles are the new URLs—if you don’t snatch up your name, someone else will. We’ve already mentioned that NBC has done a great job with the character blogs on The Office, but they shouldn’t have let Dwight or Michael’s Twitter profiles get ninja’d. Or Gossip Girl—that show revolves around text updates! Wouldn’t it make sense to grab @BlairWaldorf and @SerenaVanDW before someone else did and the brand was out of your hands?

What fictional characters would you follow on Twitter?

High Brow PBR?

For me PBR has always been the beverage of choice for blue collar folk. It's what my grandpa Vernon drinks. And this man is the definition of blue collar. He drove a beer delivery truck for 30 years, won the land of his cabin at a poker game and once sawed off three of his fingers and proceeded to drive himself to the hospital with fingers on ice.

So you can imagine my surprise when I learn PBR is holding an art contest, say what?

This is the second year PBR has held this competition. Artists can submit work in three categories: photography, painting and sculpture. All pieces must include the infamous PBR can or ribbon logo.

Here are two of the 2007 winners:















For 2008, the 3 Grand Prize winners will receive $1893 in cash and one year of beer. The 3 Runner-up winners will receive exactly 1/3 of the Grand Prize: $631 and 4 months worth of beer. More importantly, these blooming artists will have their work displayed in a traveling gallery. Last year the 2007-2008 tour made a stop in Minneapolis' own Bedlam Theater.

Unlike a lot of these competitions PBR is giving all the judging rights to PBR employees. Probably because of the risks of associating PBR with religion, binge drinking, throwing up in garbage cans...you know.

I'm giving this one the thumbs up. All though it is defiantly shadowed by Red Bull's The Art of Can and Scion's Craft My Ride it's use of local theaters, transit, billboards and liquor stores gives it that perfect homey touch. On the U of M campus, PBR has a two sided billboard over Caribou Coffee showing finalists and right across the street at Dinkytown Liquors are more finalists plastered to the brick wall. From what I've read on blogs and have seen in Mpls PBR has clearly identified where there market lives, travels and shops. In Philidelphia, PBR art is plastered over public transit and located in key neighborhoods.

I imagine that this type of free publicity is a really good incentive for local artists to set the bar high. I suggest you check it out because the end results are visually interesting, humourous, but keeps the blue collar feel of PBR that Grandpa Vernon knows so well.

The UnConvention, Or: Why I'll Be Hibernating During the RNC

It's almost time for the sleepy St. Paul to start buzzing with limos, Blackberrys, and self-important people--the Republican National Convention is just around the corner on Monday! The Twin Cities have been gearing up for these four days for months. Citizens are sprucing up their homes, restaurants are limiting their reservations to RNC events, and even our cab drivers are attempting to be a little more New York.

This new campaign from Campbell Mithun in Minneapolis invites all Minneapolitans to display some hospitality for the GOP-ers--or minimally, some tolerance. I like it. The GOP stereotypes are funny but not offensive, and it's a subtle reminder to be proud of our city and our Minnesota nice during the convention, no matter which side we're on. The only thing missing is some hot dish and an "uff da."




The body copy is really small but it says, "Every party needs a gracious host. Participate at www.TheUnconvention.com." From that website: The Unconvention is "a non-partisan collective of citizens who have come together to create a forum in which to promote the democratic and free exchange of ideas on important issues. It exists as a counterpoint to the highly scripted and predetermined nature of the contemporary presidential nomination process and convention." The Unconvention stresses the art and events that are going on in the Twin Cities during the convention, and emphasizes the alternative media that will be covering these and the RNC events.





At first I saw a great print campaign about Minnesota hospitality and a website for an interesting organization about taking politics into the people's hands, but I couldn't come up with a connection. Now I see it: get involved during Convention week in our own Minneapolis way. That will resonate more with the target than another "WOO NON-PARTISAN REBELLION ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT!!" message.

I don't know about you, but I plan to participate with some beveries in St. Paul until 4 in the morning...

The Flavors of the World

Coke Light: Europe's Diet Coke

Want to find the best gastronomic experience for you? Take a simple 3 question quiz on this beautiful site for Coke Light and it will tell you which restaurant they've surveyed would offer you the best experience. There are only a few restaurants per continent (there are, after all, only 64 possible combinations of answers), and this looks to be an in-progress project for Gringo, but I still loved playing around on it. I don't get the direct connection to Coke Light, but I don't care. I love it anyway. And as I've said before, I <3 microsites.

Red + Butterfly + Star = Eastern Oriental Express in Thailand. Looks like I'm on my way to Thailand!

If this doesn't inspire you, you're dead to me.

Image is Liu Xiang. Copy:

Love competition.
Love risking your pride.
Love winning it back.
Love giving it everything you've got.
Love the glory. Love the pain.
Love sport even when it breaks your heart.



And I. Love. Advertising.

(from PSFK)

Mobile Marketing: Deepspace and More

Jacey, Lauren, and I attended the Deepspace mobile marketing conference at the Fine Line sponsored by Space150 (presentations available here). This event was the first of many monthly mobile and new industry trend events that will be held in Minneapolis. We heard from Chuck Levine, former Sprint CEO and current chairman of Openware and Sierra Wireless, about the growth of the mobile industry. Kelly Thompson and Marc Jensen, both of Space150, brought us account planning insights in their presentation on The Mobile Ecosystem. There were also several panel discussions with industry leaders from Ad Mob, Nokia Interactive, Scanbuy, Millennial Media, Ad Infuse, and Weather.com.

I'm going to be honest and say that I wasn't completely blown away by anything that I saw, but the fact that there are people who care about pushing the industry in new directions is always worth my time and attention. I was hoping for some awesome examples of location based ads, or interactive mobile applications, but the day was more focused on monetary opportunities, SMS based ad models, and discussions about the potential that this industry holds.

The most memorable quote that I took away from the speakers that day came from the Weather Channel representative. He spoke about the debate of the ever elusive "year of the mobile web" and how that will become a reality when everyone checks the weather on their mobile devices. While the weather may be a small portion of this move, the center of the idea is the eventual total dependence on mobile devices for accessing content that is typically only on television or online. This move towards online content will push brands to consider mobile as an outlet that is equal to that of traditional placements. This is where mobile marketing will reach its full potential. Until then, the speakers at Deepspace advised all advertisers to spend now in order to become leaders in mobile.

With all that being said, we'd like to share a few of our favorite mobile campaigns. Ready, break.

Sports (AHH): NBC Olympics and Minnesota Twins (and other MLB teams of choice) - Both mobile sites are clean, text based, and feature live refresh updates. SMS text alerts are also available and well worth it when you can get immediate videos of Mauer and Morneau's RBIs and home runs. Top Score!

Politics: Barack Obama - Supporters, and those wanting to get in on the brilliant campaign ideas that Obama's team is delivering, can text 'VP' to 62262 (which spells Obama) to get notified of his VP candidate prior to any other media outlets. Progress.

Television Integration: Project Runway - Viewers can text their vote for their favorite, or least favorite, designer during on-air polls use short codes to receive weekly texts with fashion tips from Tim Gunn, and access the iPhone site that contains games, episode recaps, and a PR fashion guide. Look out all you hot messes, this site is fierce.

We'd love to hear about your favorite mobile campaigns, apps, and sites!

Nine Inches of SCAM?! Crispin Porter Bogusky's Alleged Diet Book...

So Chuck Porter and Alex Bogusky are writing a diet book. My first reaction? This has GOT to be some sort of promotion for themselves or CP+B's brands. I mean:

• Would the men who catapulted the King to iconic status and made it possible to stalk your pizza's path to your belly really be criticizing the "big conspiracy in America" regarding portions and overeating? Directly from the Amazon description: "[T]wo of the best tricksters in the industry explain how you as a consumer are being duped, and how you are actually a part of the conspiracy to make you fat." STFU.
  
• They're CP+B! Writing a book on paper is far too conventional for them. It's 2008. This should at least be a streaming video.
• "The Nine Inch Diet?" Hi, euphemisms.

And arguments for this book actually being what it claims:

• Amazon has a pretty intense description of what the book will be about, including psychology of eating and pop culture references. Looks pretty legit so far...
  
• I guess ad men writing a book on a 9" plate diet is pretty unexpected. Is this just a Madonna moment for Chuck and Al as they reinvent their identities?

A few of us Yaybies have met Chuck, a fellow Gopher alum. I got the impression that he was a smart, kind guy, and I don't like to think he'd pull a fast one on America in the form of self-help materials. We don't raise 'em like that in Minnesota. But the possibility had to be thrown out there...

Now let's hear your thoughts!

Way to Stick To Your "Principles"!

Be sure to note the sarcasm in the title of this blog post. Today my Facebook newsfeed ad for Victoria's Secret PINK Collegiate Collection brought me back a few months.


I was reminded of the University of Minnesota's belated protest to being included in this collection because it didn't "adhere to their values." Apparently they are against sweatpants and underwear (both of which they sell at their own school store). But, low and behold, when I made my way to the PINK site, there it was. Apparently PINK loves University of Minnesota, in the form of PINK gear. What happened to their protests? Their "values"? While I found the whole episode ridiculous from the start, I at least assumed the U would stick to their guns and not partner with VS. I find it very disappointing that they made such a stink about it and then went on ahead anyway. Maybe there was a contractual agreement involved? Does anyone have an updates on what happened?


I love, in this Roll Call, at 0:45, she says "the University of Minnesota" like there's a question mark after it:



Disclaimer: I still love my Alma Mater. Go Gophers!

3M Command Strips: Save the Walls Update

About a month ago I posted quick blurb about Save the Walls, a humorous site dedicated to promoting 3M Command Strips to a new market: 19 year old college students. We have received a lot of traffic thanks to some killer search rankings, and also have gotten several comments regarding the campaign and audience reactions. The extra spark of attention and the overwhelming response of  “I can’t believe 3M did this!” got me thinking about the risks established brands face when attempting to target a new audience that is completely different than their core consumers.
Atomic Playpen is the creative force behind Save the Walls and partner John Biondi offered some insight in the comments on this project and the situation that they were facing.

“… We (Atomic Playpen) had to care enough about the work to cast a strategy that was right for the audience, and then stick to our recommendations even when it got tough. It also took a handful of key people on the client side you bought into our theme and its tactics and fought for the ideas with us.”

That being said, I know that we’ve all worked with difficult clients, but Atomic Playpen's persistence and planning is commendable. This campaign could not have been better for the target no matter how unlike 3M it may be. I’m not exactly sure if this campaign will stick as well as the product, but it’s getting people talking, sharing, and laughing – which are all good metrics if you ask me.

Olympics 2014: Brought to you on ESPN?

Didn’t I just post about how NBC has made itself synonymous with the Olympics? Their contract runs out in 2012, and the bidding for the 2014 and 2016 games are coming up. The news today is that ABC-owned ESPN is interested in bidding for the games, along with Fox. I wanted to compare NBC and ESPN to see how this move could affect the games:

Affiliates. In addition to ABC and ESPN, certain live events could run on ABC Family, the way NBC is making use of USA and MSNBC for additional live coverage. It could be an epic opportunity for the Disney Channel to run more Olympic-themed content for a new generation of fans.

Live broadcasting. NBC lucked out in persuading Beijing to schedule swimming and gymnastics in the morning to ensure the best events were broadcast live, but many other key events like track and field were delayed. ESPN scoffs at NBC’s tendency to save the playback for primetime and promises live broadcasts all the time. But even in this age of mobile alerts, when immediate results are only a Google away, viewers are still tuning into the games at their highest rates in years. Besides, NBC is already live streaming many events successfully, and will no doubt have even better live online coverage in six years.

Visibility. Having the Olympics on network TV in primetime ensures the potential for wide reach. Everyone assumes that the cable penetration by 2016 will be as high as Yelena Isinbayeva’s pole vault, but John Rash noted that in 2008 in Minneapolis, it’s only about 75%. Another thing: Olympic viewership, though up among males this year, generally skews female. Would Olympic sponsors like Johnson & Johnson trust that their female target will flip to ESPN in droves?

Publicity. NBC’s reach matters more than just during the games, too. Olympic promos (like that logo integration I was talking about) hit viewers in the months leading up to the game. The early hype of the #1 Today Show drives conversation and interest in the games more than Good Morning America or Sports Center ever could.

Nostalgia. For die-hard fans of “normal” sports like the MLB, it wouldn’t matter who was announcing, we would still tune in to see our Twins kill the A’s 13-2. But for the (female, not necessarily sports fan) demographic who tunes into the Olympics, the personality of the Olympic broadcasters is part of the experience. Would the post-gold-medal interviews be as good if hosted by anyone but Bob Costas? What will our morning coffee be if it can’t be enjoyed while Al Roker gives the weather live from Sochi, Russia? It all comes down to the fact that the Olympic audience matches the NBC audience better than the ESPN audience.

The I.O.C. would be making a mistake if they went with ESPN, even if they scraped a few million dollars more out of the deal. NBC has done exceptionally well with the Olympic games, driving their popularity through the roof this summer. If Michael Phelps’s 8th gold had been on ESPN, and 25% fewer people had been watching, would he still be receiving the insane amount of media coverage he’s getting now? Would the viewership even be that high without NBC’s pre-race PR? To keep interest at its peak, the I.O.C. needs to maximize their publicity, and the best way is through a network.

Now pass me the chips and dip and let’s watch some obscure sport we’ll never think of again until 2012!

UPDATE: After reading this AdAge article, I'm quite sure NBC won't be in a hurry to drop the Olympics in 2014. All together now: WHEW.

Got it right: Crocs

My fellow Yaybia-ers know my udder disdain for Crocs. I am a religious follower of the rule that there is NO excuse to wear Crocs unless you are still wetting the bed or an avid gardener. But I can tip my hat to a good campaign when I see one.

Fort-Lauderdale based Zimmerman Advertising is the mastermind behind this new campaign developed to keep the public talking about Crocs-good or bad. Too often companies shutter at the thought of creating any sort of negative attention, but for a brand like Crocs this positioning is dead on. People (like me) get overly pissed off about a pair of shoes. A PAIR OF SHOES. So instead of giving me another reason to hate Crocs, Zimmerman gave the lovers and the haters a soapbox to let their opinions be heard. Even I was attracted to the idea of saying to hell with everyone else's elitist opinions and wearing Crocs because they work for you (no worries I'm not jumping on the bandwagon quite yet)

I think the Zimmerman executive VP and CEO, Michael Goldberg, says it best, "Respect the absolute power of the consumer voice, even the critical one. They're the truth." That's something for everyone to remember.

So check it out. Love it, hate it-let us know.




And if you can't get enough, check out their "Scream" spot.

Hopefully It Won't Get Axed! (I <3 Puns)

Though it is not mentioned on maniaTV's site for the online-only TV show Midnight Rida, a spoof of the 1980's gem Knight Rider, Axe is the title sponsor of this series. They are creating a show about a secret agent intern looking to prove he has the gumption to be a real secret agent by hi-jacking an intelligent crime-fighting car from the tech department. Good plan.
Anyway, Axe is leveraging this position to promote their products which will be central to the plots, specifically the new Axe Detailer Shower Tool. It will be used to clean the car in at least one episode.



This is another of the trend of [mostly online] TV series created around a brand, rather than brands trying to fit into a TV series. Another one of my favorites was the Brawny Academy online weekly reality series, where men trained to become a true Brawny Man. This potentially cost-effective (it's been said that this cost Axe less than putting standard 30sec spots in each episode of a TV series) method of advertising is eye-catching to be certain, and allows brands to be put in the spot light. However, one wonders if it will draw enough viewers to actually be cost-efficient. At least, more viewers than say, a 30sec spot would during Mad Men.

So keep an eye out for the Midnight Rida premier this fall, it's sure to be heart-warming, full of half naked girls and a lot of suds.

New Ypulse Advisory Board Member: Libby!

I'd like to congratulate our fellow Yaybia-er Libby on her nomination to the Ypulse Advisory Board!  Ypulse is a daily news source about Generation Y for media and marketing professionals.  Libby recently graduated from the University of Minnesota and is now a media analyst at Campbell Mithun.  Her experience with media, interactive, social, and her love for sharing information make her a huge asset for Ypulse and those interested in Gen Y. Oh, and now she can get some extra mileage out of her English major! Congrats Lib!

Mad Men on Twitter

@don_draper and @joan_holloway have made their way onto Twitter as a new promotion for AMC's Mad Men. They have already done some really awesome promos like the Sterling Cooper business cards and the NYC subway wraps, but their smart and clever use of Twitter is something brands or other television shows should take note of.

Why is this so great? Let's check it out.

• Don and Joan, and I'm sure others will follow, are consistent with their character personalities and don't push show times or other Mad Men promos. Example: from Joan "Home from a night at PJ Clarke's. Carol is being a pill."
  
• They interact with each other in their Twitter feeds, not just with crazy Mad Men addicts like myself.
  
• They both requested to follow me back in less than an hour.
  
• They talk about other characters of the show (Mr. Sterling and Betty from Joan's most recent updates).
• They respond to most of their replies (at least from what I can tell).
• I now have another distraction that allows me to obsess over Don and Joan. Top score!

I would imagine that it won't be long until other networks start getting their characters involved with more social media.  The Office has done a great job with their blogs, but I think receiving updates from Dwight throughout the day would be great. Although looks like Michael Scott might have already been Twitter hijacked...unless NBC is just waiting out for the start of the new season.

"Happy Together": Target Dorm 2008

Before I started school at the U, my mom and I stocked up on dorm gear from Target. I bought a magenta comforter and matching desk lamp with a lot of orange and pink accents, and I remember being terrified that my roommate would hate all those tropical hues. I was able to move into the room first, and when I returned a few days later, after she had moved in, I was relieved and delighted to see the exact same Target collection adorning her side of the room. We had even bought the same pink chairs! Later she told me that when she unlocked the room and saw my gear, she thought to herself, "Thank God, this is gonna work."

Target picked up on college students' anxiety to get along with new roommates in this back-to-school spot. I absolutely love how Wieden + Kennedy present Target as one solution to the "will my roommate like me?" anxiety.

Good luck, incoming freshmen. Here's to nine months of dorm food, getting sexiled by your roommate, and passing out in the stairway before you can make it to that frat party. At least you'll get to stumble into an XL-twin with stylish new bedding, thanks to Target.

Yaybia + Reader Mashup: Weekend Edition

Because my friends and coworkers insisted that I go to the bar on Friday instead of writing this post and taking a nap I couldn't write my Yaybia + Reader Mashup. But that's ok, now we have a weekend edition! Check it.

• Get that beer foam outta here! Just don't let a friend do it for you.
• A direct quote from a shared item "thursday was a rough night for everyone in advertising!"
• We turned to creative beef for some insights on how to understand our clients. We spent the week with chatty clients, demanding clients, and bustin' ass to snag the RFP clients. Maybe they should be buying the drinks!
• John Rash is in our brains. Well, ok maybe not, but he alludes to the Yaybia One Love One Heart idea.
• OMMA put out one of the best atricles I've read all month on search and recommendations. A must read.
• The NY Times interactive medal count map is sure to waste a solid 8 minutes. Well worth it.
• The Fallon Planning blog posted a nice overview of the new Facebook ads that allow user comments. 
• Brands on Twitter, yer doin' it wrong.
  

A quick look at what's coming up this week on Yaybia: state tourism battle and our back to school special. Stay tuned!

Pandora Thinks I'm a Wastebag

I’ve been spending a lot of quality time with Pandora this week due to the absence of tunes on my iPhone and my increased streaming time has allowed Pandora to figure out that I’m a wastebag. I’ve always enjoyed the full screen, full color, action triggered changing ads on Pandora but when I started to pay a bit more attention when I noticed that all of the ads that were being served up were for booze! I don’t think the music genome project was tracking me last night as Libby and I proudly belted out Livin’ on a Prayer on the way home from the bar, but they are right on with matching my radio stations with the ads they give me.




Another valuable benefit of Pandora’s ad model is the addition of branded radio stations. These stations match listeners’ personal music preferences with those that are representative of certain brands. It makes perfect sense to give me a Tanqueray Radio ad when I’m listening to Timbaland! These branded stations still give users the option to rate songs, SKIP IT, and share with their friends.




I also wonder if other users are seeing an entirely different set of sponsored stations, at least I would hope so. Even though my music preferences are fairly broad with stations ranging from Teen Pop (thanks to Libby for sharing that one with me!), Don’t Stop Believin’ Radio, Best of the 90s, Guilty Pleasure Pop Punk, and Atmosphere/Mpls Hip Hop, my ads are all very relative to my lifestyle and brands I use. Besides the Kia Moms, I get lots of booze ads, Adidas, Clean & Clear, and mobile.

I listened to a few of ‘em. Check it!

• 
  
  When Tanqueray’s Summer Vibes was kicked off with Walking in Memphis I couldn’t help but smile, think of my Blarney friends, and hope that my coworkers don’t think I’m nuts for rocking out at work again.
• 
  Kia’s Moms who Rock station played Melissa Ethridge first (ironic). Umm, SKIP IT!
  
• And of course I had to check out Verizon’s V CAST Song ID station for our friend Mike who is on the Verizon account at McCann. Nelly Furtado and Keyshia Cole on a Friday, yeah!
• Blue Moon’s Brewhouse Radio was far better than their Happy Hour station, but either way, the bright orange background and a little hope for an earlier than usual beer Friday is alright with me! Had to kill it though when More Than a Feeling came on.
• Clean & Clear Radio brought me wonderful live Jason Mraz but I got bored quickly and didn’t enjoy looking at the 16 year old girls in my browser.
  

If anyone else has a completely different set of stations and ads let us know, we’d love to hear about ‘em!





UPDATE! Even with a killer ad model, Pandora may be forced to pull the plug! What are we going to do with out our daily dose of Teen Pop?! User driven Muxtape just recently got shut down by the RIAA and it doesn't look like they're slowing down on the crackdown. Bah!

One Love One Heart

Great advertising starts with rock solid planning. From research, segmentation, and strategy development, great campaigns embrace the uniqueness of each consumer. In a fragmented world, these segmentation skills are essential, but they also highlight the rarity of events and emotions that broad groups of people are passionate about.

The Olympics: Of course they are valuable with ratings as high as those insane male gymnasts, Phelps’s press attention, and hours of uninterrupted coverage on air and online -- but what really makes them special is their ability to draw interest, attention, and involvement from people all over the world. No other [positive] event captures this many eyes or conversations.

I love planning and crafted campaigns that connect with individuals and local markets (yeah I’m talking about that farmer in Westhope, ND), but events like this make me stop and realize the power of those rare hidden gems that bring everyone together. Cheering for your team while embracing the only world event that doesn’t involve oil or an arms race may only happen every two years, but its impact can last much longer.

I don’t know if a brand or campaign could ever connect in such a way, but it’s worth striving for, or at least becoming a sponsor or partner.

This post could have lived on its own, but it fits better in Yaybia’s Flame Carrying Extreme Javelin Throwing Perfect Ten Olympic Blast!