Diamond Commercials

It is that time of year where the diamond companies try to get their name out for all the men in the world to come do their last minute "i have no idea what to get her but i heard of that one jewelry place so maybe i'll go look there" shopping. Kay Jewelers is sponsoring just about every sporting event on television right now (which means the beginning of NCAA basketball, and more importantly, the beginning of Bowl Season). Jared is running the "he went to Jared!!!" spots, and Kay is running that deaf girl one...yikes. They all seem to appeal to the guys "emotional" side (or the girls, so that she will drop hints). But lets be completely serious here, while your guy might be head over heels in love with you, he probably won't let his soft side show while watching the Kay Jewelers commercial with the guys during Bowl week. For that, there are these little pieces of genius. They seem to go straight to the heart of a man.







Plain and simple. Although it has been running for a while, I still think that they do the job better than any other diamond/jewelry commercial out there.

A.

The ultimate connection

Genius, surprising, simple media placement at airports for the rental car company Sixt. In recent years, one of the best German agencies, Jung von Matt, has driven Sixt's rise from a small local competitor to the leading rental company. And yet, they still manage to surprise me and everybody else. See for yourself and be amazed:

Political Ads, Bias, and Credibility

I believe in traditional news media, especially in election years when the public is hungry for the truth and fact checking is only a click away. It's true that some channels lean right while others veer left, but I still trust both sides' coverage to be honest, if not 100% nonpartisan. A little bias is unavoidable, and even healthy. But generally, both sides of the media do a relatively good job of digging up the facts.

I understand why news organizations accept political advertising. As a media professional, I'd be fuming if CNN wouldn't accept campaign ads. Viewers are clearly interested in the election and seeking information. Demographics for these channels describe the likely voter: older, white, higher income, and so on. So I get it. But when I read a story on Washington Post this morning, I couldn't help but be surprised by these Obama ads:




I'm reading a story about the debate, and there's Obama's hopeful face staring back at me. Does this bother anyone else? Maybe it's only a problem in online and print, where the content is directly juxtaposed with the ad. Something just doesn't feel right about this very evenly balanced, non-partisan coverage...sponsored by Obama for America.

The media is already drawing record eyeballs with their pre-election coverage. I think CNN or Fox News could generate some awesome PR--not to mention a credibility boost--for refusing to air political ads, even just for the last month leading up to the election. But do they dare risk pissing off these campaigns and the agencies that represent them? What do you think?

As far as online and print, obviously the Post accepts political ads, but I couldn't find any info on nytimes.com or wsj.com. Even cnn.com and foxnews.com seem to be relatively light on ads. Anybody have any info on whether these guys have banned Obama and McCain from their sites?

Mmmmm, Media Goodness

Nothing brightens my day like great media placement:



(My apologies for the terribly shitty quality of these pictures...iPhone got distracted by the bright shiny light.)

Not-for-profit HMO HealthPartners has taken over Metro Transit route 135, including new ceiling stickers I've never seen on the bus before. These ads are excellent in both targeting and placement. The 135 route has jusr a handful of buses each day: 6 from south Minneapolis to downtown in the morning, and 6 going the opposite direction after work. HealthPartners knows beyond a doubt that they're putting their ads in front of commuters.

Not to mention catching their attention. Taking over the entire bus, instead of being one of 15 panels competing for eyes, ensures that these ads can't be missed. The bright orange of all the ads visually unifies all the ads. And the ceiling sticker really seals the deal because it's new ad space for Metro Transit that's literally staring you down as you enter or exit the aisle.

Check out their site for a better idea of what the campaign looks like, and I'll try to catch some better pictures next time I'm on the 135!

Context FAIL

New York Times: "McCain Seeks to Delay First Debate Amid Financial Crisis" flanked by FIRST DEBATE FRIDAY NIGHT! CNN banners. Granted, this is breaking news. But somebody on the CNN media planning team needs to have their servers hold off on those for a hot minute.

epic fail

Epic fail:



I feel like I see one of these a few times a year...a completely inconvenient placement of an ad in a magazine. But sometimes it goes the other way - there is an article about teen pregnancy and an ad for birth control, or an article recommending various beauty products, and next to it a makeup ad. So if you can specifically request to have your ad placed somewhere, and someone checks that the request is met...why doesn't anyone catch something like this?

This is compliments of failblog.org. Great blog!

Mac vs. PC Strikes Again

The latest Mac vs. PC ad was on CNN.com yesterday and this morning.

Love:
• Context awareness. News article on CNN! So clever!
• Politeness. Why yes, I will click to play with sound, thank you for asking.
• Justin Long. Yesplz.

In light of the new Microsoft ad, I can't help but see the PC character pulling out his Clown Club membership card. It's not much of a stretch to think of Jerry standing in for Justin and Bill for John Hodgman in all the Apple spots. Clearly, Microsoft and CP+B played right into the personality Apple created for them. So now I'm wondering: Is it smart to accept when your competitor has defined you and decide to go with, not against, that persona? It's one thing to accept your consumer's perceptions for better or for worse, but should you keep giving your competition more ammo against you?

Maybe the next Seinfeld spot will clear up this massive confusion.

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

The sky is the limit... NOT!

On long, boring road trips, my brother and I used to kill time by looking at the clouds and identifying shapes in them. Eventually one of us would always spot a huge, white arch in the fluffy masses above us. We subsequently tried to convince our parents in the front seats that even the sky wanted to tell them it was time for a stop at the next McDonalds along the road. Maybe our attempts to claim heavenly support would have been more persuasive, had there been Flogos back in those days.

Flogos - flying logos - are essentially branded clouds. They are made out of soap like foam and gases that are lighter than air such as helium. Currently they come in three sizes between 24 and 48 inches that are popped out of an modified snow machine every 15 seconds. A computer generated and custom-made stencil inside the machine forms the foam in whatever shape is desired by a cloud client. According to the Flogo creators, two "international special effects creators" from Alabama, the airy ads can last anything between a few minutes and "an hour or so", depending on the customer's wish and cash. And not to mention the atmospheric conditions. They are eco and pilot-friendly since they literally vanish into thin air after 20 to 30 miles.

I suppose the in-house Flogo artists are the same ones who "designed" the website and their own logo. Maybe that's why I first thought their Atlanta Braves Tomahawk Flogo was actually a lofty Durex ad.