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Google Chrome – The Web Is What You Make Of It

Who hasn’t seen the latest Google Chrome ads which, in a bold move for an internet browser, utilize traditional primetime TV advertisements in an attempt to make us fall back in love with the web.

Based on a highly emotive US campaign, the ads have been adapted for a UK audience. The first ad to launch was ‘Dear Hollie’, showing a father using the web to share memories of his daughter as she grows up. Whilst the US campaign ran ‘Dear Sophie’ ads, the British version features ‘Hollie’ (see both versions below), showing real footage of Hollie’s childhood captured by her parents.

The second spot shows how Google Chrome and other related Google products have been used by the It Gets Better campaign to upload and share messages of support for the online gay community, and similarly to the previous spot, is highly emotive and life-affirming.

The internet gets a lot of stick for being dangerous and unsafe, with stories of unsuitable content, hacking and identity theft. However, this ad promotes everything that is good about the web; the power of the web to do great things, provide a wealth of information that would otherwise be unavailable to us, connect with people we may not have been able to without the power of the web, make other people happy with interesting and entertaining content and, in the case of the ‘It Gets Better’ project, make a real difference to the lives of others.

The internet used to be exciting and filled with possibilities, but many of us have become so familiar with the internet, particularly those who have grown up browsing the web, that we have become stuck in a rut of a couple of frequently visited websites, oblivious to the vast amount of interesting, useful and entertaining content available to us. I think the recent ‘The Web Is What You Make Of It’ campaign has made many people fall back in love with the web, re-realizing its full potential and transforming our perception of the web as a useful but routine tool to an exciting space to be explored and experimented with.

Whether these ads are enough to really change the way we use the internet is doubtful, however the positive and optimistic feeling that the ads promote is undeniable. Whilst the campaign has created positive feelings surrounding the Google Chrome brand and is highly memorable, I would question whether this campaign is strong enough to encourage many internet users to switch internet browsers. Whilst the campaign promotes the power of the internet, this power could be unleashed by any internet browser. In some cases, an increased liking of the Google Chrome brand and what it stands for may be enough, however perhaps focusing on the benefits that Google Chrome offers over other browsers may have provided a more solid foundation for brand switching.

Tags: 2011, dear hollie, dear sophie, google, google chrome, it gets better, the web is what you make of it

The Best Of…3D Projection Mapping

A collection of the best branded 3D projections that I have come across online:

New Balance

Hot Wheels

Samsung

Ralph Lauren

Hyundai

Interactive Floor Projections

However, now that we are familiar with 3D projections and the novelty has worn off, brands will have to work harder and develop more innovative ideas to attract a similar level of attention. I think this medium’s full potential has yet to be unlocked; when brands use this medium in a way that is relevant to their brand purpose and values rather than simply putting on a show and stamping their brand logo on it, that’s when the real magic will happen.

Tags: 3D projection mapping, hot wheels, hyundai, ralph lauren, samsubg

Superdrug joins Battle for Customer Loyalty

I’m sure you’ve all seen the recent ads starring the lovely Gavin and Stacey actress Joanna Page as the new face of Superdrug. I’m not sure if this applies everywhere, but in Cardiff Superdrug used to be seen as a poor man’s Boots, something which the brand seem to be attempting to resolve. The campaign, which launched late 2010, seems to be taking Superdrug in a fresh direction, representing youthful, fashionable beauty. ‘Nice one’.

Joanna Page Announced as New Face of Superdrug

One of the first ads I saw from this campaign was fairly memorable, resonating with young women across the country by showing Joanna Page in that awkward rush to look as though you wake up looking effortlessly gorgeous. Already the brand is appealing to the younger generation, whilst Boots’ ‘Here come the girls’ ads are getting a bit ‘samey’.

However, what really caught my attention was this recent ad, promoting the recently introduced ‘Superdrug Beauty Card’.

After resisting the temptation to join many other major retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waterstones and main rival Boots in the loyalty card club, Superdrug seems to have finally caved in. And I feel this may have been the right thing to do.

Clearly, these cards do not buy loyalty, otherwise I wouldn’t have about 10 of them in my purse, many from competing retailers. Brand loyalty cannot be bought, simply earned by offering consistently high value to customers, often more in terms of added value such as customer service and shopping experience than value for money.

Superdrug Beauty Card

However people do love to use loyalty cards, and enjoy the experience of building points. Even though Boots Advantage Card offers a measly 4 pence worth of points for every £1 spent in store, the chance to gather these points can somehow seem like a better offer than buying items for less in Asda or Wilkinsons.

Irrational as I am, I have often made the choice to walk past Superdrug and make a 10 minute journey to Boots, just for the chance to gain a couple of points on my Boots card. Would I ever make a 10 minute journey for the equivalent of 12p in another circumstance? Not likely. Will I still make the journey now that Superdrug will also offer me points? Probably not. Most likely I will sign up for a Superdrug ‘Beauty Card’ and simply use the appropriate card at whichever store is most convenient at the time. So in a way, the introduction of this competing card erodes any ‘loyalty’ the Boots Advantage Card has built up over the years, along with the differential advantage the card provided.

And what of the 10p per £1 offered by the Superdrug ‘Beauty Card’? Will the extra points draw consumers to Superdrug? Perhaps in the short run, but I feel that the experience of using the card and collecting points may be more important than the number of points provided. In any case, the retailers want to avoid becoming overly competitive on points, as constantly raising their points-per-pound will simply erode the profits of both retailers with no long term benefits for either.

Superdrug Beauty Card Application Form

The main obstacle that Superdrug face is persuading customers to sign up for a Beauty Card in the first place, when they already have their trusty Boots Card safetly tucked up in their purse, where it has been for the last couple of years. Perhaps the gimmicky mirror on the back of the Beauty Card will help? A free mirror which fits niftily in your purse? Why not?

I’m very interested to see how Boots retaliate and how the battle for customer loyalty plays out. Comment and let me know your thoughts, would you switch to Superdrug or stay loyal to Boots?

Tags: boots, Joanna Page, loyalty card, superdrug

Cadbury: Mixed Messages?

Glass and a Half Full

We all loved the ‘Gorilla’ ad that Fallon London produced for Cadbury Dairy Milk back in 2008.

Cadbury ‘Gorilla’

Simple, unexpected, memorable.

Since then Cadbury have built upon their ‘Glass and a Half’ full campaign with ‘Eyebrows’, ‘Trucks’, ‘Charity Shop’ and ‘Monks’ among others.

Some ads were evidently more positively received than others, but on the whole a nice, well rounded campaign which showed that the brand didn’t take itself or its advertising too seriously and reinforced Cadbury’s  quirky British sense of humour.

Spots V Stripes

However, more recently Cadbury launched its Spots V Stripes campaign in the build up to the Olympics, positioning the brand as the ‘London 2012 Official Treat Provider’ and running alongside the existing ’Glass and a Half Full Productions’ campaign. Somehow the quirky sense of humour has all but disappeared replaced by big budgets, a competitive spirit and slick production quality.

Flash Website? Check!

Cadbury Spots V Stripes website

Swanky, high quality TV ad? Check!

Product created specifically for the campaign? Check!

Spots V Stripes Bar

Mixed Messages

So, on one hand we have the ‘Spots V Stripes’ Cadbury’s (Slick, Competitive, Potentially Global, Big Budget Brand), whilst on the other hand we have the ‘Glass and a Half Full Productions’ Cadbury’s (Quirky, Quintissentially British, Tongue in Cheek). To me, this confused positioning strategy is destined to produce a conflict in the consumer’s mind.

Although Cadbury could argue that the ‘Glass and a Half Full’ ads are actually for Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, not the overarching ‘Cadbury’ brand, people do tend to see Dairy Milk as the brand’s flagship product. As a result, feelings towards advertisements for Dairy Milk may be more likely to be generalized to the overarching Cadbury brand than, say, Creme Egg. Thus whilst the two campaigns are promoting seperate things, they are innately linked and there is still a need for consistency and synergy.

It seems to me that Cadbury need to ‘pick one and run with it’ and after observing the public reaction when Cadbury were taken over by American giant Kraft, I would stick with the quirky British positioning. People don’t love necessary love slick brands, they love brands which seem human and relate-able.

Imagine each campaign as a person, which would you rather hang out with? I’d take the quirky British eccentric  over the slick, competitive chap any day.

Tags: brand positioning, Cadbury, Dairy Milk, Eyebrows, Fallon London, Glass and a half full, gorilla, Monk, Spots V Stripes, SpotsVStripes, Trucks

P&G – Thank You Mum

I’ve been meaning to blog about this campaign for quite a while, so here goes. At the end of March Proctor & Gamble  launched its first ever brand campaign promoting itself as the company behind many of our favourite household brands. The campaign launched in the build up to Mothers’ day and promoted P&G as ‘Proud Sponsor of Mums’, following on from the implementation of a similar strategy in the US (see ads below).

What really appeals to me about the campaign is the insight. When a woman becomes a mother for the first time she acknowledges that she will be putting her needs aside, as her children become the focus of her life. She acknowledges that subsequent years will involve spending a phenomenal amount of effort looking after and caring for her children with little thanks for her effort. But she is happy to do so, as when we become parents we are saying goodbye to being selfish, as for the rest of our lives there will always be someone whose needs come before our own and who we would do anything for.

However, children often take their mothers for granted; we have grown up with them always being there for us when we need them, and as a result we take them for granted. We often only begin to appreciate them once we fly the nest and begin forging a life without their constant support. This campaign recognizes the tendency for mothers to be taken for granted, and serves as a celebration of their selfless efforts.

The campaign uses photos sourced from employees of P&G and its agencies, giving the ad an authentic feel.  However I do think the execution is lacking somewhat, and the creative seems slightly corporate, suggesting that P&G are a little out of their comfort zone when showing off their softer side. For me, the ad seems to get a little ‘cringeworthy’ at the end, and could possible do without the last line of copy, ‘You couldn’t breath without her’, which seem to be stating explicitly what the ad implies very well on its own.

Nevertheless, an interesting move by the brand and a fantastic insight which really comes through in the final execution. Thoughts?

Tags: insight, P&G, proud sponsors of mums

KFC- Emergency Chairs by BBH

Wow. Just wow. This feels like a completely new direction for the brand. Past ads have focused on the product, trying to convince a skeptical audience of the freshness and quality of its chicken.

Some past ads have taken a more emotive route focusing on togetherness and sharing, but none has done it quite so well as this one. The ad shows a people searching for ‘emergency chairs’ as a large group gather for a meal of KFC in the Summer sunshine. The appeal of the ad is largely in the memories it evokes for its audience. The search for ‘emergency chairs’ typically occurs when family and friends join us for special occasions such as Christmas dinner or a Birthday lunch and this ad brings back fond memories of good times spent with loved ones. The ad taps into a great insight which I think will resonate with a really wide audience.

It feels like some great strategic planning has gone into this new direction, and the ad is executed beautifully, shot by award-winning director and documentary maker Benito Montorio in South Africa and featuring a beautiful track. The one bit I’m not too sure about is the suggestion of romance between the teenagers shown (about 50 secs in). To me this ad screams family and this romance element doesn’t seem necessary, acting more as a distraction drawing attention away from the ad’s key message.

The ad features KFC’s new strapline ‘So Good’. Simple is good. But this is a bit bland, this could belong to any brand and could mean anything. Maybe it’s a grower?

Anyway, I’m nitpicking. It’s undeniably a beautiful and powerful ad and hopefully the first of many from the brand.

Tags: BBH, emergency chairs, kfc, so good

T-Mobile Royal Wedding: One’s Life is for Sharing

Oh dear. I should love it. It is quite funny and the lookalikes are pretty ace. But I don’t. Sorry Saatchi.

From another brand perhaps this would have worked for me, but given T-Mobile’s recent flash mob history this is far too predictable. This ad is exactly what you’d expect from the brand.

Also, the ad bears remarkable resemblance to the famous ‘JK Wedding Entrance Dance’ clip which did the rounds in 2009. Nothing wrong with being inspired by something which has entered popular culture, but the ad doesn’t seem to have quite the same feel good vibe as the clip. Also, I would have loved to see the queen lookalike do more than clap- now that would make me laugh.

Saying that, the viral has racked up almost 5 million views on YouTube since it was uploaded on 15th April so there’s no doubting its spreading power. In fact, I’ve already spoken about this ad to 6 people outside of the ad industry since seeing it two days ago, and have even shown it to two, which is more than I can say for a lot of virals.

Overall, opinion seems to be pretty divided on this one -What do you think?

On the subject of the royal wedding, after realizing that they share their initials with the happy couple, Weiden and Kennedy have installed this display in their London office. The display includes an ‘ interactive souvenir postcard maker’, letting passers buy take ‘regal’ photos which can be shared online. Pretty neat huh? Find our more on their blog: http://wklondon.typepad.com/welcome_to_optimism/2011/04/wieden-kennedy-will-kate.html

Tags: flashmob, royal wedding, Saatchi & Saatchi, T-Mobile, Viral, weiden +kennedy, will and kate

Your Whopper, Your Face

Can’t believe I missed this fab piece of work by Ogilvy Brazil when it was first released in 2010. Burger King went to extreme lengths to reinforce the ‘Your Whopper, Your Way’ slogan and illustrate how far BK will go to make your ‘Whopper’ exactly the way you like it.

How? By printing each customer’s face on their burger wrapper of course! A secret camera discretely took a photo of each customer which was then printed on the wrapper of each freshly made burger whilst they waited. Admittedly and understandably the burger lovers’ surprise is tinged with a level of confusion, but this campaign really reinforces the idea of a ‘Whopper’ personalized to your individual tastes and provides a brand experience consumers will remember for a long time to come. Great stuff.

Tags: Burger King, Ogilvy Brazil, Whopper Face

Best of Ambient

If you’re looking for inspiration you’re in luck, as I’ve collected together a selection of the best ambient campaigns on the net. I love this way some of these campaigns make use of the environment and manipulate it to communicate their message. Enjoy!

Fitness First

Folgers- City that Never Sleeps

The Kids Who Could Fly

Frontline

Super Non-Stick Pans

Denver Water

IKEA

Nintendo Toilet Crossword

Real Hip Hop

Casino Conveyor Belt

3M

Rimmel Quick Dry Nail Varnish

Kit Kat

Tyskie

Unicef- Dirty Water

McDonalds

Swiss SkyDive

Weightwatchers

Stop Human Trafficking

Fische Franke

Economist

Lays (Walkers)

Pepperidge Farm

Wonderbra

WWF

BIC

Indus Pride

Smart Car