 November 20, 2008
I’m wondering if the makers of Motrin are thinking about their tag line, “We feel your pain,” in an all new way this week. In case you’ve blinked and missed this lightening-fast marketing fiasco (it’s technically old news today, 3 days in), Motrin launched a new campaign that upset a lot of women. The crux of the idea is that moms who wear babies (carriers, slings and wraps) may experience various types of pain that Motrin can fight. But that wasn’t really the message women heard. The primary offense was basically that women wear babies as a fashion accessory. My personal cringe line was the one that read, “It’s a good pain, a worthy pain. And it totally makes me feel like an official mom…” Subject matter aside, as a marketer you need to look at the enormity of the response. And if you’re one of those marketers still scratching your head over Twitter, listen up. How much damage can you do in 140 characters or less? Well, a lot if you’re offended, and a lot more if you’re networked. Twittermoms, a group of about 4,500 moms who twitter about kids, fashion, technology, politics, travel, unleashed a twitter-storm of feedback. Here’s just a sampling, pulled together into a 9-minute video on YouTube by blogger Katja Presnal. By the time that it hit the ad mags and even USA Today, Motrin had already yanked the ad (that was running on its web site but can still be viewed on YouTube ) and issued an apology front and center on its home page. There’s also a group on Facebook called, “Babywearing isn’t painful. Boycott Motrin for saying it is.” This group has more than 1,000 members and a topic on the discussion board titled, “Showing your disgust.” Thank goodness Motrin was listening when thousands of consumers didn’t just throw up their arms in disgust, but threw down their thoughts on the web. Maybe now they’ll keep listening to their target audience, or better yet, sensing their pain.
October 3, 2008
 Anthropologie’s Pioneering Web Site for its Pre-Commercial WomenTagged as: O.P.E.N., creative, engaging, new consumer journey, retailPosted by: Nita Rollins Few apparel and accessory brands have created worlds so thoroughly inhabitable, so completely unto themselves, as Anthropologie. The world of Anthropologie is where women play dress up their whole lives and dream of men but don’t really care if they ever show up. An asexual innocence pervades the rooms and visages of Anthrowomen, which is endowed with a nesting instinct that makes sartorial style an extension of one’s domicile. References are not to the catwalk but the artist’s canvas, the cupboard’s shelf liner, the arts and crafts potholder, the apron of your cookie-baking memories. The stores combine clothes and chest knobs with studied flea market intrigue—although I always thought they could take this premise further and thoroughly break up the categories. And navigating through the web site’s current “Black and White” in “Points of View” shows you just how clothes make the room—as well as the woman. Laying on the bed, hanging on the curtain rod, slung over the shabby chic straight back chair are black and white garments sometimes absurdly hard to decipher (is that wool or silk? Is that a top?), but there is much pleasure in swirling around a room where backdrop enhances foreground and vice versa. Generally, the print and the products on the site are too small to see, particularly those on the dress forms, and too swallowed up by the white background (which blends with many of the garments’ pre-washed quality) to actually make an informed buying decision about them. The zoom utility, you quickly realize, isn’t a luxury. But you excuse a lot of dead ends and inscrutable nomenclature (Where, do you suppose, “Adorned” will take me?) because everything seems designed to be a little Lost & Found in Anthropologie’s world. In particular, navigation of Anthropologie.com is increasingly off the beaten nav bar/drop-down menu path; it has a whimsicality that is near genius, except for a few oversights that cause excessive reliance on the back button. Throughout the entire “Adorned” section you find navigation redefined in Anthropological terms. In “Look Closer,” pretty objects are made preternaturally detailed under the movable microscopic pane, and take on an archeological intensity. The “Masterpieces” section features pre-Raphaelite beauties painted with artful smudges of blush or eye shadow. They also blink, which is to say the models are live, more or less, as they are posing as mannequins—or impersonating portrait sitters. This section fascinates—and reminded me of the likewise blinking digital portraits adorning the walls of Ian Shrager’s Clift Hotel Redwood Room. The “Spectra” section was a combination of Barneys’ floating products and the scattering effect of Visual Thesaurus. “Wonderland” lays the product over fairytale (magical mushroom) graphics, and, indeed, the entire site reworks the pristine white space of ecommerce with a collage aesthetic, with remnants, notions, paper scraps, lyrical word lists of studied desultoriness, like the following: Zephyr mist vast leaden loam moss Molten moonless salted frigid earthen light Gloaming volatile magnificence cold calm Iceland. I’m a deep admirer of the Anthropologie brand, and think the navigation and collage aspects of the web site are important digital shopping innovations disguised as whimsy. But by way of postscript, and as a true confession, I have to say I’m not much of a consumer of the brand. Those Anthro models find themselves in places that generally don’t show up on my fantasy map. (I’m more Manhattan rooftop restaurant than roadhouse. ) But I’m deeply intrigued by the pre-commercial Eden (all hand-me-downs and heirlooms) beckoning its targeted consumers. And given the prominent role the catalog plays in the found-object world of the web site, if I could ever find those Anthrowomen on the grid, I’d be tempted to send them their first Sears & Roebuck catalog. Before helping them log on to Anthropologie.com, of course. September 24, 2008
 Agency Life, 2012: Takeaways from the MIXX ConferenceTagged as: Open brand, creative, trendsPosted by: Molly Metzger
Tasty-Good Case Studies My first thought is that digital is truly, finally a serious business. How do I know? I know because the sponsored snacks were quite possibly the worst I’ve experienced at any conference. One could argue that the vertical ad networks, premium content providers and gaming sites are too small and niche to afford more than pre-packaged grocery store granola bars for the mass of attendees. I believe there’s something more to it: these start-ups were more focused on case studies than tchotchke, save for one poor soul dressed in a chicken suit. This departure from the early days of interactive is a testament to the seriousness of the industry. We’ve arrived. Digital remains vibrant despite tough economic times. We’ll stay the course, even if the food is terrible, because digital works. I’ll spend some time later discussing the details, but here are a few prognostications about the future of agency life in the digital age. My industry projections are as follows: International Agency Cooperation Week, 2012 “No agency can do it alone” was a key theme, and after seeing the case studies, I believe it. The caliber and complexity of the work is evidence of tight collaboration of all creative practices and media partners in the very early stages of concept development. We heard from BBDO’s Andrew Robertson that the best creative ideas are the result of 72 hour transcreative collaborations, where “all forms attack the brief” in their own way, using their own tools. For at least 1 week in 2012, we’ll celebrate our collective contributions to the work. No one owns the big idea, the account, the credit. There’s no time for nonsense. National Take Your Vendor to Work Day The collaboration theme didn’t end with agencies and creative teams. By way of example, Google and Publicis associates have gone as far as trading jobs for the day, in an effort to conquer issues collaboratively to bring value and speed to market only delivered by walking in one another’s shoes. I predict 30 minute WebEx briefings will be replaced by day-long collaboration sessions that will change what we offer, bringing new value and speed to our clients. Take your Account Exec to Lunch Day In this increasingly complex world, the venerable AEs are sharpening their pencils and establishing new cost structures. “Production as a percent of media” doesn’t cover costs when media is, in some cases, free and production costs are increasingly uncertain due to all the moving parts. On top of that, it’s imperative that AEs spend the majority of their time helping the clients “push the big bet” (quote from Michael Linton, CEO of eBay) when the idea is right. This requires a mix of confidence, hunger and humility demonstrated by the best and brightest in our industry. When the client is temporarily terrified, the AE’s bedside manner matters. So as creatives collect those awards, I predict they’ll thank the AEs for making it possible. The Final Score: Vegas 0, Madison Avenue 1 My favorite quote on the future of the interactive advertising industry didn’t come from this conference, but from the Social Times conference last week. One panelist, I think it was Ian Swanson of Sometrics, made the following observation: “There are two sides of this industry. The side that hold conventions on the Vegas Strip and the side that meet on Madison Avenue. In 5 years, I don’t want to be on the Vegas strip.” Score one for Madison Avenue. The food might be better in Vegas but I’ll take NY any day. In closing, a few data points No conference coverage would be complete without a few new data points sure to make PowerPoint presentations everywhere. Here’s one from Microsoft: 94% of data is disregarded by the “last ad standard”, the assignment of conversion credit to whatever ad was finally clicked. And from Deloitte: 82% of content for the top 20 global brands is driven by other stakeholders. Score one for OPEN brands. September 8, 2008
August 14, 2008
 Courage…Branded by NikeTagged as: O.P.E.N., creative, engaging, on-demand, retailPosted by: Dennis Bajec
This video micro-site gives me the chills. Especially when you see the likes of MJ, Arthur Ashe, Prefontaine, & Oscar Pristorious all in the same video. The levels of engagement are neatly defined as Watch. Discover. Discuss. At any time in the experience you can play the video starting at the point each athlete appears in the commercial. Nike sells the concept of competition like no other brand. August 8, 2008
 Let the (digital) games begin!Tagged as: O.P.E.N., creative, digital millenials, engaging, iCitizen, mobile, networked, new consumer journey, on-demand, personal, retail, social web, technology, trendsPosted by: Dan Shust
Here are my podium picks: Bronze Medal: McDonalds “The Lost Ring” In March 50 bloggers received a mysterious package in the mail. It contained an Olympic poster and a ball of string that, when unraveled, revealed a web address. Thus began “The Lost Ring” an Alternate Reality Game (or ARG) that is currently being played in 7 languages across 100 countries. The players work together to hunt for clues to solve an ancient Olympic mystery. Immersive gameplay leads them to websites, blog posts, wikis, podcasts and even Twitter. 4 million people and counting have visited the launch site. Silver Medal: Lenovo “Voices of the Olympic Games” In an attempt to bring attention to a variety of less mainstream Olympic sports, Lenovo has given laptops and Flip video cameras to 100 athletes. (No other compensation is being provided.) Their only direction was to tell the rest of the world about their Olympic experience. Their blog posts are revealing, touching and sometimes humorous. Mainstream media will blast us with Phelps, LeBron, Kobe and Torres, but Lenovo’s athlete bloggers allow us to partake in the “common” Olympian’s experience. Gold Medal: NBC - Digital Coverage In 2006 NBC streamed one hockey game live form the Turin Winter Olympics. This year the network will stream over 2200 hours of live coverage and 3600 hours of on demand video will ultimately be available. Their custom video player is ground breaking, allowing the user to enjoy such features as closed captioning, expert commentary even for less popular events, integrated trivia, picture-in-picture and a “control room” view in which you can enjoy up to 4 live events simultaneously. NBC’s coverage also includes a robust mobile web site, text messaging, e-mail alerts and mobile video. So, there are my “Digital Olympics” medal winners. Each effort is game changing in its own way, but just imagine if they were all on the same team. When you do, you can almost see the future… July 20, 2008
Radiohead Opens Up a House of CardsTagged as: O.P.E.N., creative, digital millenials, engaging, iCitizen, technology, trendsPosted by: Dan Shust
They created the video by acquiring real-time data via a 3D scanning system from Geometric Informatics, and a Velodyne LIDAR. High tech stuff indeed, but what happened next is what makes this video experience truly cool and O.P.E.N. The band released the entire data set of the video for free to anyone who wants it. The data can be explored interactively or, by using freely available software, you can create your own version of the video. Of course, a YouTube group has been started for people to display, discuss and share their work. Performing artists like NIN, and RadioHead understand the power of The OPEN Brand. Who’s next? June 20, 2008
This past week here at Resource Interactive, we celebrated the 15 year anniversary of our incredibly talented Executive Creative Director, Dennis Bajec, which is a huge accomplishment! Dennis came to Resource as an intern from the industrial design program at The Ohio State University. As the business grew, his responsibilities grew as well; not only because of his intense creative talent, technological curiosity and desire to constantly stretch, but also because of his pulse on the clients’ business and the Resource culture. Dennis’ work has won virtually every national and international creative award including the International Clio Award, the OneShow Pencil, Cannes Lion, National Ad Federation Award, AdTech World Award, and New York Festival International Gold WorldMedal. Most recently, he has been honored to serve as judge for many of these competitions. Yet, given all of his accomplishments, I cannot think of a more humble and centered individual. Dennis is an extraordinary role model for all those around him; perhaps most importantly, for his wonderful family, his wife, Jen, and their adorable children, Garrett and Audrey. Thank you Dennis Bajec for 15 fabulous years. You ROCK. |
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