Love the Brand Not the Product

Ninety percent of the time I purchase products because they perform well and I enjoy the brand. I'm usually open to trying new products and brands, but when I find something that fits it's hard for me to even think about purchasing or using anything else. But lately I've noticed a disconnect in a few brands that I find favorable but do not use or like the product.

Dentyne
I absolutely love the Make Face Time campaign. It makes me smile. I do, however, have to say skip it to the product. No matter how much I like the Dentyne brand, I will always purchase Orbit because I like the product better even though I couldn't tell you much of anything about the Orbit brand. I recommend the strawberry mint. Weird, I know.

Nike
I haven't purchased a pair of Nike kicks since The Great Blister of 2001. I didn't think I even owned anything with a Swoosh on it until I busted out my Twins t-shirt last week and found a small logo. But that doesn't stop me from loving the idea of Nike. I will probably never go out of my way to purchase anything Nike, but I can't help but like the idea of sport that Nike embodies.

Coke
I can't drink Coke, hurts my teeth. But even that "bad" product experience hasn't deterred me from getting a bit excited when I see a Coke Side of Life commercial or see some fizzy bubbles. Coke delivers on brand every time. I will always say I like Coke more than Pepsi. But I'll have a Sprite (with vodka), please.

A few others:

• Sony Bravia. Bouncy balls and rabbits bunnies. Enough said. But getting me to buy? Not unless it comes with the bunnies.

• PBR. The whole art thing is awesome. It's classic. But it still tastes like shit. Maybe even worse than Keystone?

Anyone else have this experience?

It's For You

I had only seen it on TV once. Jameson and I were watching Whose Line Is It Anyway in my living room back in high school and this spot came on:



We looked at each other in disbelief at how good it was. I'd like to say that was the moment that I knew I wanted to be in advertising, but that's probably not true. But this spot has been my favorite ever since.

AND TONIGHT I SAW IT ON FOX!!! The ending was edited to say "Open Happiness" to match the new campaign, and it's promoting 99 cent 16-oz bottles. The fact that the spot transcends five years and two campaigns proves how much it truly embodies the Coke brand. I know that Nokia ringtone is on its way out, so I won't call it timeless, but it's as close as I've ever seen.

LOVE IT!!!

The ADbowl

My thesis advisor, Professor John Eighmey, delighted us this morning on WCCO with his thoughts about Superbowl advertising. He told the hosts, Elanor and Suzie (love the Minnesotan accent "He knows a thing or two about advertising..."), that his favorite commercial last year was Doritos' spot where a large mouse ironically tackles a man eating a bag of Doritos who had initially set a trap for the mouse.



Last year, my ultimate favorite had to be Tide's talking stain on an interview spot. So simple, so funny.



But, more importantly, I want to posit a question to all of those in Yaybia!land: What is your favorite Superbowl ad of all time?

Now, I know asking this question to advertising enthusiasts is like asking what your favorite movie or song is, but I'm just curious to see what we come up with. We'll no doubt be ripping apart the ads that debut on Sunday, but I am more interested in the ones that have stuck with you since they first premiered.

On the radio show, John Eighmey talks about Apple's 1984 ad, which is without a doubt some fantastic work, however, since I was -3 years old at the time, I didn't get to experience this at the culturally relevant time (otherwise it would probably be my favorite.) He also brought up how Mean Joe Green (which was actually done by Coke, not Pepsi) also brought the audience a piece of "cultural truth" that they could identify with.





But one of my favorites of all time happened in the 2002 Superbowl (XXXVI), and it was one by Budweiser. Now, Bud Light has had a lot of success with funny commercials during the Superbowl (though I will say I was a bit disappointed last year,) but the Satin Sheets spot is still one of my favorites.



It's a bit slapstick, but I clearly remember sitting on my couch with my dad in his recliner as he was wheezing/laughing so hard that he started tearing up to this ad. (My dad doesn't normally laugh that easily.) Perhaps it was just the fondness of that memory that makes the ad stick out in my mind, but doesn't that show one of the greatest parts of advertising? (How it becomes part of the great family gathering/fond memories.)

So... lay it on me. Let's share together in the Christmas of Advertising-land that is the Superbowl. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE SUPERBOWL SPOT?

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!

Coke We8 Campaign: Beijing 2008

A couple weeks ago Alicia posted the first of which has now become Yaybia’s Flame Carrying Extreme Javelin Throwing Perfect Ten Olympic Blast! After the post, we were tipped off with more information about Coke We8 campaign. I’m going to give you the run down TinyURL style. [For all our digi-capped readers, that means the short version!]

The Concept
Foster cultural and artistic exchange between artists from around the world, to express the global connections embodied in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The Project
In recognition of the world coming together for Beijing 2008, Coca-Cola invited global artists to jointly depict what this monumental occasion means to them.

The Themes
Happiness, Peace on Earth, Uplifting Moments, Human Collaboration, Individual Perseverance, Global Harmony, Active Optimism and Healthy World [Yaybia honorable mention: <3]

The Creative Product
The result of the artistic bridging of cultures is a new “WE8” series of eight highly stylized, aluminum contour bottle designs for Coca-Cola by China’s leading forces in graphic arts. And for each limited-edition bottle design all inspired by themes from the “Coke Side of Life” brand marketing campaign – a talented musical artist has composed a companion song.

The images link to mp3s, check it!

Check back this week for more fun posts during Yaybia’s Flame Carrying Extreme Javelin Throwing Perfect Ten Olympic Blast!

The Coke Side of Olympics

Somehow, someway Coca-Cola continues to delight us with their "Coke Side of Life" campaign. We all can recall the wonderment we felt when watching the Happiness Factory spot for the first time. I know I felt like I found the freaking Narnia wardrobe! And while their new "Bird's Nest" spot for the Olympics isn't quite as magical, it's endearing nonetheless:



It's amazing to me how much I love the Coke brand, considering I hate the taste of colas. Spots like these make me wish I had not tried my first sip of the stuff out of a near-boiling can from my dad's car in the summer, forever ruining the possibility of affection for such a drink. Bleh.

But, even if the vile beverage is not on my grocery list, I still love the warm and fuzzy feeling the brand gives me.