2.07.2008

Short and Sweet Sells Your Stuff

Smith Magazine came up with a great project to engage an audience and promote their product at the same time. Isn't this what advertisers do all the time?


2.04.2008

Ad Intelligence is Advantageous

As a PPC manager and strategist, I am very pleased and excited about the possibilities of Microsoft's adCenter add-in beta for Excel 2007 called Ad Intelligence. Just by going through the basic steps of this program, I realize how efficient of a tool this can be to my keyword building. It includes keyword suggestions, categorizations and extractions as well as monthly and daily traffic estimators. Some interesting organizers include the Geographic and Demographic tabs that breakdown the data of your keywords right into the spreadsheet. Ad Intelligence even drops in a easy-to-read color coded chart with the Monetization option which in my opinion is a nice change of pace compared to Google's Adwords templates. I highly reccommend this tool as an addition to marketers' resources for search-related campaigns. Especially with the highly-likely merge of MSN and Yahoo close at hand, you can bet this instrument will become a common and significant accessory to paid search.

Super? Not So Much



I know, I know. There's a million other people out there who have already written their reviews on last night's Superbowl commercials. There were winners and there were duds. However, I would like to dedicate this post to the top 10 that deserve kudos based on their effectiveness and creativity from a marketer's perspective. If you missed them last night, you can catch them all on Ad Age.

1. Audi's Offer You Can't Refuse
As the first few split seconds flashed on my screen, I instantly recognized the setup from my memories of The Godfather. As the camera closes in on the old man waking up to the horror in his bed, my interest peaked and I was dying to know who was responsible for this spoof. When the culprit turned out to be the Audi R8, I was awe-struck with its beauty, design and delivery. That ad left me stunned for 10 minutes and searching online for a price tag. Imagine how many other people all over the world did the same thing.

2. Myspace on My Time
I don't know how much Myspace paid for its Superbowl advertisement to Fox, but it went the different route by flashing its microsite url "myspace.com/superbowlads" across the screen every once in awhile during the game. This was a unique and interesting strategy where it compelled the audience to go online, whether it be right then and there or suffice as a mental reminder for surfing during work the next day.

3. Tide's Take on Interviews
Procter & Gamble's Tide To Go got me LOL with its "Silence the Stain" slogan. They even have a great tie-in campaign online at http://www.mytalkingstain.com/ where you can create your own talking stain for a chance to win their instant daily prizes. Good clean fun.

4. That Crafty Kraft
This ad shows men going NUTS over a neanderthal-looking woman. What's so irresistible about her? Why, it's the peanut perfume from Planters she's wearing, silly! I salute this one because it caters to both sexes of all ages and pokes fun at our society's obsession with dating and attraction. Now, if only it were this easy.

5. Suck One
For all the Bud Light lovers, Old School fans, frat boys and movie buffs, you can't go wrong with sexy Will Ferrell in short shorts. The tagline "(Bud Light) refreshes the palate and the loins" is memorable and gets you curious about Will's new movie coming out called "Semi-Pro". Two for one, not a bad combo.

6. Jiminy Firefly!
Careerbuilder went all out this year but their best ad by far had to be this one. It has all the elements of a great ad: cheesy theme song, cartoons and violence. Also, out of all one-line shooters they came up with, I think they said it great with "Wishing won't get you a better job".

7. Scary Simmons
This ad hits close to home; it was made by The Richards Group based in Dallas, TX. Hearing Richard Simmons scream is priceless.

8. Diet Pepsi Max: New Drug?
Here's another one that showcases celebrities and artists alike. I laughed and cringed at the same time when I heard the iconic song made famous by SNL's own Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan (who makes a cameo appearance at the end) in Night at the Roxbury. Even though the original idea is played out and already past its shelf-life, it's still relevant enough in the market to get a few chuckles. Does it compell people enough to buy and drink Diet Pepsi Max? TBD.

9. Pepsi's bringing sexyback
It's always fun to see some annoying celebrity or pop culture pimp get tossed around like a little doll. Hence the popularity of this other Pepsi Co ad. Sophomoric humor, crossdressing and adult benefits of signing up at pepsistuff.com is what makes this one a winner with the crowd.

10. I'm Renting A Clown
As creepy as this may have been, there's something mesmerizing about a real baby talking about trades and stock. Both ads were great. You're never too young to invest. Check it and click.