With A Little Help from Friends

People who read my blog (all three of you) know that I like nothing better than a good promotional partnership. Well, that and a relaxing Caribbean vacation but that’s not happening anytime soon and anyway, I digress. Speaking of favorite things, when asked to name their favorite Beatles tune, people were unable to choose just one. That’s probably because their song catalog is so vast, from pop ballads to rock ‘n roll paeans. Their popularity and prolific output bodes well for EMI however, and also for the September 9^th release of The Beatles: Rock Band videogame. It will be available on all platforms and is eagerly anticipated by gamers and Beatles fans.

The game’s debut will coincide with the release of EMI’s digitally remastered CD versions of The Beatles albums. Since the music industry has been in a serious slump, with no real music stores left and most music purchased online, this is an opportunity that EMI is maximizing. They did a bang-up job of opening up new channels of distribution in food, drug, mass, and other retailers. You might not expect to find a Beatles CD at 7-Eleven but then, why not? The chain is an impulse buyer’s dream. Why not pick up a little music to go with that Milky Way?

Brandweek calls this “one of the largest music marketing and merchandising events ever”, with supermarkets, Restoration Hardware, and Starbucks among the many retailers participating. In addition to music sales, Target has Beatles boutiques with licensed lifestyle products and Bloomingdales will sell a premium edition of the videogame, including guitar replicas. Watching the videogame trailer, I know that predictions for the success of the game are well-founded.  Just as the Wii Fit crosses generations, so too will The Beatles Rock Band. For those not willing to strap on a guitar, however ceremonial, there are always the remastered CDs. Thanks to EMI’s brilliant marketing efforts, they will be widely available.

I was a young girl when The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan show but I remember that day as clearly as I do other pivotal events of my generation. My nephew, who is many years younger, is a diehard Beatles fan who made a pilgrimage to London to take the Beatles tour. By 2010, one in five people will be over 60 but judging from The Beatles’ wide appeal, that doesn’t mean the most-remembered Beatle song will be “When I’m 64”.

Got Advertising?

One of the funnier scenes in the movie “Big” is of two co-workers speculating about the main character’s past. Where did he come from, this usurper who has captured the boss’ ear? The camera pans to a picture of the man on a milk carton – as the boy he really is – with the tagline, “Have you seen me?” I watched that scene with my younger son who didn’t get the joke; he is of a generation blissfully unaware that such things were once all too necessary.

Those pleas for missing children have now moved to the internet but milk carton ads are back. Some are targeted to kids on smaller, lunch-sized cartons and others to adults, on gallon jugs. Ads on larger cartons are usually for products that one would naturally pair with milk such as cereal and cookies or those that require milk as an ingredient, like powdered drink mixes. Advertisers must walk a fine line when they advertise to kids however, being careful not to be too promotional. They can feature a licensed character but not with a directive to go to a store to purchase a character-based product. Promotional partners like Duncan Hines have also directed shoppers to the milk aisle in the now famous “Got milk?” spots. Ad spends may be down overall but milk cartons are one segment where there’s been no drop-off in sponsors.

A recent report indicates that despite the recession, supermarket shoppers would rather save time than money, giving high marks to being able to find what they need quickly. Many of us have experienced the brain drain that occurs at the end of a long work day when we stand slack-jawed, trying to choose what’s for dinner. Some turn to the recipes on soup cans and other convenience foods. But those are of questionable quality and we are in the throes of an obesity epidemic. I personally shun any recipe that involves cream of mushroom soup. Food companies could work with supermarkets to create and promote fast but healthy meal suggestions. I know that forcing customers to walk the length of the store for staples is planned to increase the size of their spend but it is annoying. I’m not saying that grocers should jettison traditional store layouts altogether but ingredient adjacencies sold with easy, printed meal prep would create loyal shoppers. It would also increase word-of-mouth advertising, something we’d all like more of.

Transfusion

The mere words, “Public Service Announcement” are so boring they could induce coma. When you think PSA, you probably think of celebrities who muster so much gravitas for a spot that they momentarily lose the very appeal they were chosen for. Other PSA spots are so didactic as to be off-putting.

So I was delighted to read that someone is trying something new. To promote its new show, “The Vampire Diaries”, the CW network has partnered with the American Red Cross to sponsor a blood drive. But this is not your grandmother’s blood drive, this one has heart. Targeted to younger viewers – the prime audience for CW programming – the drive will take place on high school and college campuses. A poster features the three sexy stars of the show sprawled under the Red Cross logo with the tagline, “Starve a vampire. Donate blood”. Promotional giveaways include “Fang Floss” and “Sunscream”, the “number one killer of the undead”. There will also be an online game and a widget that will allow you to “vamp yourself”. All in all, a campaign with bite (I can’t seem to resist these puns).

Sometimes it seems as if the whole world is bloodthirsty for everything vampiric. “The Vampire Diaries” – not to be confused with “Vampire Academy”, another successful book series – is just another in one of many undead undertakings. An Amazon search for “vampire novels” yielded 2,772 results. “Twilight”, and soon, “New Moon” hit movie theatres while HBO’s series “True Blood” boasts rabid fans. BBC America recently began airing “Being Human”, another series featuring a vampire among other, other-worldlies. There’s even an online vampire drama from Japan, “RH Plus”.

The CW campaign is unorthodox to be sure but it isn’t everyday that you can come up with a lighthearted approach to giving blood. The Vampire Diaries may just pump new life into PSA’s.

There Was An Old Woman…

A lady never reveals her age. That certainly seems to be the case at More magazine. It was founded for women of a certain age but now, in order to gain more advertisers, that age is uncertain.

When More launched a little over ten years ago, the publishers thought the time was right for a magazine targeted to boomer women. The rationale was that there were too few publications that appealed to women over 40, many of whom had ample discretionary income. More stepped into the breach and has been a success, with newsstand sales down just 3% for the first half of this year compared to O, Oprah Winfrey’s magazine which is down 25% and Martha Stewart Living, down 17%. Articles eschew topics that are better targeted to young mothers and favor those about career and finance. There are always beauty and style pieces of course, but those tend towards how to put together trendy, yet age-appropriate outfits.

Despite the fact that readers are rather, more well-heeled than their younger Vogue-reading counterparts, luxury advertisers don’t flock to the magazine. A recent article in the New York Times stated that some advertisers “penalize More for its age” and “because its readers are female”. The Times article says the evidence of this is that there are few luxury advertisers gracing the pages of More. Recent ads were primarily for convenience foods and alcohol.

More has had some high-end advertisers come on board of late but their publishing director was quoted as saying that it would be easier to gain advertisers if they could appeal to younger readers. So that push is on. With nearly 80 million baby boomers in America today, it’s amazing that More can’t attract advertisers who support its original mission statement. One boomer byte is encouraging, though. The articles that appeal most to More readers are about sex, proving that for the “older” generation, less is definitely not more.

Fan Boys

In the annals of co-branding fame, there is the sublime – Michael Jordan and Nike – and the ridiculous – Barbie Rice Crispies Treats. Co-branding is a symbiotic relationship. Those who were paying attention in science class and not carving their initials in their desks may remember the irony of symbiosis – it’s not always a mutually beneficial arrangement.

The best co-branding concepts are complementary; they tap into core competencies, enhancing opportunities for both. Pottery Barn had so many requests from customers for the paint colors in their catalogs that they teamed up with Benjamin Moore on a PB paint color palette. Nike collaborated with Apple on the Sport Kit which pairs a specially designed Nike running shoe with iPod products, tracking your workout while motivating and entertaining you. Sublime.

Now, for the ridiculous. Anheuser-Busch rolled out a new campaign this month that features Bud Light beer cans in college colors. The 27 different “Fan Cans” are targeted towards those of legal drinking age and are promoted for game days with the tagline, “Show your true colors with Bud Light”. In a perfect world where zero tolerance for drinking on campus would not be necessary, this co-branding effort might make sense. Sadly, we know that underage drinking and overindulgence occur despite best efforts. In fact, many schools are up in arms over this. The president of Stony Brook University, a medical doctor, objected in a letter to AB calling the campaign “categorically unacceptable”.

When casting about for a co-brand, one should move quickly past the obvious, intuitive choice if it might offend or worse, do harm. As for me, it’s just one opinion, but I’m not a big fan.

Whatever it Takes

The big news in AdAge and The Wall Street Journal yesterday was that CBS and Pepsi have partnered on a unique ad that will run in Entertainment Weekly. Its uniqueness lies not in the content but in the medium. An extremely thin video-player with iPod quality graphics will promote Pepsi Max diet cola to men as it sponsors the CBS fall line-up which not surprisingly, is packed with programming targeted to men – The Big Bang Theory; How I Met Your Mother; Two and A Half Men.

The video ad in the print vehicle will flicker to life when a page is turned. Stars of the CBS shows will host the how-to’s of the device which will show clips of the new season as well as sneak peeks of some new programming. TV networks have always used on-air promos and increasingly, online video to promote their new seasons but this is truly entertaining, new technology.

We keep reading about how print is a dying medium so this is a clever way to turn that premise on its head. Digital media is still the 900 lb. gorilla in the room, with Facebook and Twitter deals announced daily. Looking for ways to advertise, Google’s YouTube will now show clips of Time Warner’s CNN and Cartoon Network along with ads. CBS has been more willing to try something new than others. Past campaigns featured ads on food wrappers and singing sound chips in magazines. This latest Entertainment Weekly ad was no doubt costly, so don’t expect it to be in all issues on newsstands. Some advertisers may throw up their hands at today’s tough economic climate and say, ‘whatever’ but the ones who will succeed may just be those who do whatever it takes.

Eat, Memory

Quick, think about a TV commercial. Odds are 7 out of 10 that it’s a spot for food. Nielsen reports that’s the case with the most-liked ads for the month of July. Target was in first place with their lifestyle spot of a busy mom, her preferred chips and juice brands, and the retailer’s cause-related marketing. McDonald’s, Applebee’s, Pizza Hut, and Dr. Pepper are also among the top 10. The McDonald’s spots are two different ones for their McCafe menu; Applebee’s spots are 15 and 30 second pitches for their 2 for $20 menu. Now here’s another pop quiz. Are you starting to see a pattern?

When it came to most-recalled ads in July, again, 7 out 10 were food related with Pizza Hut, Gatorade, KFC, Kool-Aid, McDonald’s, Skittles, and a second Pizza Hut spot among others for low cost insurance and a discount clothier. Are you seeing a pattern now?

Advertising may be the first thing that companies cut back on during a recession but food is somewhat recession proof. Companies with value-added menus would do well to continue to advertise, especially fast food purveyors such as McDonald’s and low cost chains like Applebee’s, KFC, and Pizza Hut. Everybody has to eat, albeit some better than others. People may be dining out less during this recession but when they do, it’s at places where they can do so economically. When you’re spending little to nothing on big ticket items like vacations, a family meal out anywhere becomes a real treat. In the excellent book, “Eat, Memory”, writers report their Proustian remembrances of food including the humblest of all, baked beans.

One of my favorite commercials is for the iconic New York City department store, Barneys. Not because I’m a customer although I have browsed there with my smelling salts at the ready. The spot imagines a young Louis Armstrong, Humphrey Bogart, Fiorello LaGuardia, and Casey Stengel talking about their respective aspirations as musician, actor, mayor, and World Series winner. They all turn to a nattily dressed young man and ask him, “What about you, Barney?” to which the boy replies, “You’re all gonna need clothes.” I was a New York kid myself when I first saw it and because I didn’t have much, I was hungry for more. It was a classic bit of advertising and although it wasn’t for food, it was food for thought.

Suit Up

My office wall once held a framed print of Rosie the Riveter, the WWII poster of a strong female factory worker, shirt sleeves up, showing off her guns. The inspirational message, “We Can Do It” got me through many of my own productions. In an ironic twist that would amuse Rosie herself, I was asked to take it down lest it appear sexist.

But Rosie is back in the form of a contemporary production soldier, albeit unemployed. She and her male counterpart, “Uncle Sam” are featured in ads from Syms. The clothier is running a “Suit Camp” promotion to give away 30 suits in as many days to job seekers. Consumers can register to win a suit, a makeover, and a session with an interview coach. In an effort to gain younger customers, the promo originally targeted 18-38 year olds but was soon changed to 18 and up when older, unemployed consumers expressed interest. In just three weeks, more than 5,000 people have registered, double what was expected.

It seems breadlines are top of mind these days but not always in the way you’d expect. Panera has set their sights on the breadwinners who are still working with prices that are anything but recessionary. They say they are focused on the “90% (of Americans) that are still employed”. It seems counterintuitive to offer a $16.99 lobster roll when even the rich are cutting back on conspicuous consumption with what has been labeled “luxury shame”.

I admire Syms and other companies that develop promotions that acknowledge the topical climate and set out to do something, however small, about it. Yes, they benefit from the publicity and hopefully, a new consumer base but there is some altruism in there, too. Sometimes a new suit is all you need to feel armed and ready to take on the world. Just ask anyone in uniform, like Rosie.

Keepin’ It Real

I hate reality TV. Friends addicted to the Harridan Housewives of Catfighting County or Jon & Kate Learn To Hate think I’m defective. It’s unbelievable, they tell me. These people are ridiculous, they say. Well yeah, I think that’s the point. Some people are endlessly fascinated by others who are out of control but if I want to watch bad behavior, I’ll have Christmas dinner with my family. Judging from the way the entire world was fixated on the marital problems of a couple famous for the size of their family, I know I’m in the minority on this. Honestly, that’s interesting? Would you like to watch me pay my bills ‘cause that’s fascinating stuff.

But I am a realist about some things, one of which is the fact that in this economy it’s cheaper to launch a reality tv program than any other show. With the success of Survivor, Big Brother, and others of that ilk, reality tv won’t be going away anytime soon. Quite the contrary, the popularity of American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, and America’s Got Talent practically became a mandate for more reality tv shows. Now programmers are delving into tertiary territory, looking not for the next fashion design star but for an artist.

Bravo announced that it would air a new reality tv show to find an “art world” star. Having majored in art at university, I may just have to check that one out. But if someone’s idea of art turns out to be a water-stained ceiling panel, I’ll be on that remote like white gesso on canvas. Judging art is a very subjective endeavor, fraught with contradictory opinions so expect the paint to fly.

The Big Ad Gig is another thing entirely, a search for advertising “stars”. There is the ubiquitous challenge of course – contestants are asked to submit their resume and either a YouTube video or their portfolio online for a chance to win a month-long freelance position as a Creative Director or Copywriter at a New York ad agency. Judges from some of the biggest agencies will select semi-finalists who will attend Advertising Week September 21-25, where they will be given a creative brief that will serve as their final exam. On Sept 24, each will be given exactly 4 minutes to present their solution to judges at a live event.

To those not in advertising, the methodology is as clear as mud. If you’re in the field, ask any one of your friends or family to describe exactly what it is you do and watch their eyes glaze over. But an advertising challenge is a reality that I know and enjoy. It’s somewhat akin to a blood sport but infinitely entertaining and definitely real.

Bloomiewood

Bloomingdale’s is going Hollywood. They’re staging an aggressive promotion that is designed to create demand in the all-important fall shopping season. “Lights, Camera, Fashion” is a dazzling campaign that will feature film-centric window displays; theatrical tie-ins with several movie studios and film festivals; a sponsorship by Turner Classic Movies cable channel; as well as free movie tickets and DVDs. And that’s just the beginning. They’ve even commissioned five shorts from independent filmmakers.

This is an advertising production that is Oscar-worthy. Bloomingdales is a division of Macy’s Inc. which reported a lower quarterly profit today but this is clearly as star vehicle for Bloomies. This cinematic tribute will also include store events and special appearances by TCM host and film historian Robert Osborne. Eye on the prize, Bloomies’ display windows will be homage to classic films and the fashionable men and women who starred in them against a backdrop of modern, ready-to-retail glamour.

Banana Republic launched a promotion recently for the AMC series “Mad Men” but nothing as elaborate as what Bloomies has planned. It’s layered with starring and supporting roles. I admire those who conceived it and envy their fun in scripting the players. That’s entertainment. The role of the ingénue will be filled by Yoostar, an interactive entertainment system that literally puts you in the picture. With demonstrations in-store, users can see themselves in scenes from films like “The Godfather”. For those who love movies, it’s an offer they can’t refuse.