European rant #2

Lately, this new spot for McDonalds France is getting quite a few youtube hits and favourable reviews over at Good and PSFK. Pink News, a gay online news service, says the ad "has had a mixed reception from online viewers", however.

Well, my reaction is rather mixed as well. How does McDonalds "take a public stand for tolerance" in that spot? Not even the dad takes a private stand for tolerance here. In fact, not even the boy himself. He hangs up the phone on his boyfriend as his dad arrives with the food. He is secretely gay.

Did I miss the part where McDonald's great burgers make him come out of the closet? McDonalds want to tell me they "even" serve homosexuals, as long as they are not openly gay? McDonalds wants to emphasize that they will not ask for my sexual orientation when I order a Royal with cheese? Can somebody please explain that ad to me?

Bic prank rant

Apparently Bic pens sell everywhere like hotcakes- except for Germany. So Bic hired the much hyped and super creative agency Jung von Matt to change that fact.

Here is what they did: In a series of so called virals they ask so called celebrities to sign a so called autograph for them. But the stars actually sign things like a marriage agreement with a stranger, a job application as a store detective or a press release that they'll dedicate themselves to Austrian folklore. According to the videos this proves: "With Bic you'll sign everything".



In my view this just proves that no one is impeccable - celebrities are not and great ad agencies aren't, either:

First, don't preemptively call your videos "viral". Online plus video does not automatically equal viral. The very thing about virals is that they evolve because users like what they see. You can't decree virals. If your most watched video has 8.000 views, I would hesitate to call the whole series viral. Especially after you have advertised it on a popular student website.

Second, if you want to improve sales in a country via online tools, at least do your homework and provide a homepage for that country.

Third, the videos could have been really funny if they would have showed the reaction of the stars after they signed the fake autograph. The funniest part about a prank is usually when the victim realizes they just got punked. Without that, all we get to see is a gleeful presenter with a blurry sheet of paper. Unless the stars watch the video they'll never realize that they did something special with a special pen.

And fourth, the message - Bic is such a great pen that you'll want to use it at any price - does not work that way, either. The stars don't know what they sign, they don't care. They don't sign the fake stuff because of the great pen, but because somebody makes them believe it is a boring autograph just like the hundred other ones they sign every day. With Bic you don't think about what you write?

The core idea is still great, however. With or without celebrities: Show Steve Jobs as he signs a receipt for a PC. Show a punk signing a contract for a Wall Street Journal subscription. Show a Democrat signing an "I <3 Bush" flyer. You get the idea... (PS: Yes, Jung von Matt if you get the idea as well: I would be available for a job as a creative consultant with your agency. I would even sign the contract with a BIC pen).

What do you think about the Bic prank?

My pleasure

Congrats to Libby (and Alicia) for guessing the right answer: Last week's Guess what was an ad for Otrivin, a decongestant: The pleasure of breathing.



This week's situation seems to be less pleasurable. What do you think is beeing delivered by the robot? What could be its black box?

Guess what is back on stage

Ladies and Gentlemen, after a err...short spring break, we'll present to you today, the solution to our last Guess What puzzle and a new brainteaser from the wonderful European advertising scene.

Act 1:
Ze French want your organs. The good hearts of prematurely deceased homophobic racists can save lots of lifes.



Act 2:
The Belgians also want your organs. They just tell you differently.



Act 3:
Your turn. The quizmaster wants your opinion. What product or service is inside the black box?

Lesson learned.

Well, according to AdAge, Dawn is all over this oil spill in the gulf that I wrote about yesterday. I will admit a big fail on my part for not looking harder for it. However, in all my Googling, searching press releases and news reports, I saw NO documentation of this happening. It seems the only notifications were on Facebook and Twitter, which neither page showed up while I was Googling.

So today I ask myself - what more can Dawn do so that people actually know about this?

1. Donate More. None of the notes on Facebook + Twitter talk about additional donations.

2. More Press releases: Facebook + Twitter are not mainstream, and apparently not optimized for search. Look at this quote, and tell me that doesn't deserve it's own amount of attention:

"Which made us wonder: After all these years, is scrubbing with Dawn really the most advanced method of oil-bird cleansing? "It's the best product to date that cleans the birds," Holcomb says. (And not just because they give his group donations!) "It almost seems silly, but it really is the right thing." (Source)

I'm sure that in the coming days the clean up will become more intense as the spill hits the shores, and I hope that Dawn gets in there, front and center, with the non-profits that they are supporting. I know they are probably trying hard not to turn this into a huge thing where they get backlash for capitalizing on a bad situation, but Tide Loads of Hope keeps coming to mind as someone who did it right.

Turn Things Upside Down

This might be the second voice over + text commercial that I've ever liked.

Let's also take a quick moment to note the updated features and layout on YouTube. Nice work.

Dawn dishsoap and a big opportunity.

As the oil spill in the gulf spreads and nears the coast, BP is becoming bigger and bigger news (with some coverage directly hammering them for their "green" campaign), and as much as they try to make things right, they are going to continue to look like the bad guy. If you ask me, this press around the oil spill presents a huge opportunity for Dawn to capitalize

Currently, Dawn is running these TV spots talking about how their product is used to clean animals from oil spills. it is heart felt, and they are donating up to $500,000, but you have to get online to register your purchase (kind of a lame step if you ask me):



Well hey Dawn, here is your chance (and quite frankly, I hope that you are already planning this). Practice what you preach and get down there to help clean up the spill. Show up with a big truck, in the Tide "Loads of Hope" style, and make sure that every animal gets a big Dawn scrub down.

The stars are aligned: lots of negative press about one company not living up to their brand = opportunity to be a hero and live up to your brand. Plus, cute animals are all the rage right now on the internets.

NSAC District 8 Competition This Saturday

Hello to all in YAYBIAland! Just wanted to let you all know that the National Student Advertising Competition will be in full swing this weekend for District 8. The event will be on the University of Minnesota campus in Willey Hall on the West Bank on Saturday, May 1st.

This year's client is State Farm. Here is the schedule for presentations:

9:00-9:30 St. Thomas (Room 125)
9:45-10:15 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (Room 175)
10:30-11:00 Minnesota State University Moorhead (Room 125)
11:15-11:45 South Dakota State University (Room 175)

11:45-1:15 Break for Lunch

1:30-2:00 St. Cloud Technical College (Room 125)
2:15-2:45 University of Wisconsin - Madison (Room 175)
3:00-3:30 St. Cloud State University (Room 125)
3:45-4:15 University of Minnesota - Duluth (Room 175)

Remember that even if you're a minute late, you will not be let in to the room, so plan accordingly. Doors open 10 minutes before each presentation.

I know that Chariot (U of M - Twin Cities) would love your support (IT'S FREE!), and it should be very interesting to see what such bright young thinkers can come up with for an insurance campaign targeting their age group!

GOOD LUCK CHARIOT! I know you will make all of us Ghosts of NSAC Past proud!

Facebook Ads: Fan vs. Like

You've all probably formed opinions of your own now that Facebook has officially rolled out the switch from "Become a Fan" to "Like" for subscribing to Page updates. So besides "WTF, Facebook?!" here's something I've noticed that I haven't seen many people talking about.

When setting up a Facebook social ad campaign, you can choose to "advertise something I have on Facebook" or "advertise a web page". Before the switch, it was clear which ads would keep you on Facebook when clicking and which ones were for external websites.

Now that everything is "Like", all the ads look the same. One of the advantages with the "Become a Fan" ad feature was that people could scope out your page knowing they'd stay within Facebook. All ads look the same now, website or not. It's no longer clear whether your click on "Like" will end up with a "you like this ad" or "you like this page". And it's not clear whether a headline click will take you to the Fan Page or to MyFreeCrazyPage4U.biz

So, out of these ads can you tell which ones are linking to websites or to properties within Facebook? Sort of like Facebook ad roulette, no?