The world can be divided into roughly two groups, those who love GEICO commercials and those who reach for the remote. Cavemen, lizards, Rod Sterling-sound-alikes…either your with ‘em or against ‘em. I was happy where I was in this all-important debate. Then they brought out the pig. I don’t know if it’s that cute look on his face, the look on Mrs. A’s face or the specific frequency of his gleeful shouts, but when that little piggy goes wee wee wee all the way home, I crank up the volume.
What I won’t do—and this is what matters—is switch my insurance. As adorable as he is (and he is) and as much as he make me laugh every time I see his little face with those pinwheels (and he does), he’s not a compelling argument for transferring my accounts to GEICO.
I know, the pig is just there to help remind me that I could save 15% or more on my car insurance, but every insurer makes claims about saving me money and I bet that they could all shave 15% or more off my payments, transferring that 15% and more to my deductible in the process. You have to give me more than a squealing pig to get me to act, at least when it comes to auto insurance.
A little over a year ago, I posted my first blog entry here—about an atypical comic book hero named Scott Pilgrim who was in the process of getting a movie. Now, today, that movie hits theaters. I feel like this is all coming full circle.
Scott Pilgrim attempting conversation with the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers.
During my annual pilgrimage to the West Coast, I was fortunate (let’s not kid ourselves—I was beside-myself-excited) to see a special advance screening of the movie. San Diego’s Balboa Theater was packed, every level, every seat filled with someone who was already invested in this movie, one way or another. Seeing a movie you’ve been excited about for over a year, with a theater-full of other people who have also been that excited for the same movie? It’s unlike any other movie-going experience I’ve ever had. Especially when the director and cast are on hand to introduce and close out the experience. A surprise performance from Metric doesn’t hurt either.
Anyway, this is an advertising blog, right? I’ll bring this around, trust me. If there’s a marketing textbook out there looking for examples of fun, non-traditional approaches to marketing a movie—please pay attention to the following…
Scott Pilgrim dominated Comic Con. Dominated. I mean look at it… Scott is literally towering over the convention center.
Scott Pilgrim VS Comic Con (Via SpacePirateQueen @ Flickr.)
The Scott Pilgrim panel closed out the first full day of Comic Con, with the infamous Hall H filling with fans. Edgar Wright moderated his own panel, introducing his cast, fielding questions from the audience and showing new clips from the movie. Nearing the end of the panel, he asked the audience to look at the buttons they were handed at the start of the talk. If they had buttons with a 1UP on them—they were to follow him to the screening. And I mean it—follow him. Edgar jumped off the stage at that point and like the Pied Piper, led the lucky 1UP-ers 6 blocks up San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter to the Balboa. Those who couldn’t get into that first screening would be given two more chances over the following two days. I kid you not, as I passed the Balboa on my way to Day Two, there were already people in line at the theater. This was at 7:30 in the morning, the screening wouldn’t be until 6 that evening.
Across from the convention center, there was Pilgrim pandemonium in the courtyard of the Gaslamp Hilton where the Scott Pilgrim Experience was being staged.
The Scott Pilgrim Experience the day before Comic Con opens (via Rkbentley @ Flickr.)
This was your one-stop for all things SP. Like anything at Comic Con, there was a line to get in (for the Fire Marshal’s sake). The first stop in the Experience?
Pick your shirt, pick your design...
Custom Scott Pilgrim t-shirts. You pick your shirt size, color and the design you want screen printed on it while you wait. This was one of the coolest promotional ideas ever. And have I mentioned that everything in the experience was free? Yeah, all free.
My Ramona doodle shirt getting the once-over with a swipe of electric blue ink.
After that, you could star in your own flipbook. Act out a little scene for a few seconds in front of a camera, the video was turned into pages and this awesome little machine printed and trimmed your own flipbook with a Scott Pilgrim cover.
Another flipbook is brought into the world.
Ka-pow!
There were faux-sets from the movie to pose in front of, a kiosk to send a greeting to your friends on Facebook, a wall to sign or doodle on, live music and places to try out the new Scott Pilgrim video game (which is a must-have for any old-school gamer. River City Ransom, anyone?).
And then there were the chances to meet the cast. Not only were there signings…
Edgar Wright, Michael Cera and a mustachioed Jason Schwartzman.
…but cast members were also out in the Experience mingling with fans, helping to make t-shirts or guest starring in filpbooks.
Brandon Routh takes a break from screenprinting to take a pic with a Superman fan.
There was also a STUFF booth outside of the experience that gave away swag bags to passers by and was also the home-base for a special iPhone/Droid app promotion. For those who had downloaded and explored the recently released Scott Pilgrim Punch Out game for their mobile devices, they might have uncovered a special Comic Con section—instructing them to show a secret image to the folks at the STUFF booth for a special prize. Those who followed the instructions were rewarded with a full set of pins, featuring all the different characters in the story.
If there’s a better way of igniting excitement for a movie, I don’t want to know about it. Wait, maybe I do.
What about the folks not at Comic Con? Well, the SP crew has been on the road, hosting screenings in other cities, getting the word out via Twitter and Facebook. In Atlanta, stars Michael Cera and Jason Schwartzman did the weather (note Cera’s SP Experience shirt)
And then there’s the interactive trailer. It’s like if a video game and VH1’s Pop Up Video had a baby made of pixels and awesome— a trailer with it’s own DVD features built into it.
And the regular trailers are everywhere.
I want this movie to do well, I feel invested in it despite having nothing to do with it—which may be some side effect of all the stuff above this paragraph . It’s fast, fun, hilarious and above all, a love story. Like it has from the start, it pays tribute to all the things I love: music, video games and comic books. It breaks the comic book movie mold, from the story to the style in which it was shot. It’s a movie shot in Toronto where the city’s playing itself and not standing in for New York or some other metropolis (my music nerdiness went into overdrive seeing Clash at Demonhead play at Lee’s Palace). The soundtrack is killer with songs from Beck, Metric, Frank Black and Broken Social Scene to name a few. The creativity behind this movie, from the source material to the film is the only thing that dwarfs the innovative approach of the marketing that has gone out into the world to support it.
Go see Scott Pilgrim.
Other awesome Scott Pilgrim things in our universe not mentioned in this post (until now):
The 5-Hour Energy commercials make me sleepy – not because they are boring, I actually think they are pretty good. They make me sleepy because while I am listening to Pandora at work, I hear the 5-Hour Energy commercial pop on in between songs and talk about how tired you are at 2:30, 3:30, and 4:30 if you are not drinking 5-Hour Energy! Well guess what, I am not drinking 5-Hour Energy, so hearing the commercials only remind me I am not drinking it and brainwash me into thinking I am the guy who is taping up the box (check the 9-second mark of the commercial below):
Maybe I should try it, but my energy level is just fine with a travel cup of coffee in the morning and a Coke Zero in the afternoon. It is fine that is, until I hear those 5-Hour Energy commercials!
So, how am I getting past that 2:30 feeling? No I haven’t bought 5-Hour Energy, I have stopped listening to Pandora, and suddenly stopped listening to Jack Johnson songs too.
To support their current campaign of “Food With Integrity” (based on its commitment to using premium-quality ingredients from sources that are more sustainable), Chipotle promises that there is no junk in their food. Now they’re asking for consumers help to get the junk out of school food, by getting rid of the junk in their email boxes.
In this ingenious social media/web campaign, Chipotle is asking it’s customers and Facebook fans to forward their junk emails to nojunk@chipotlejunk.com. For every 100,000 junk emails Chipotle receives, it will donate $10,000 to a nonprofit organization called The Lunch Box—which in turn, will provide healthier lunch recipes for 100,000 schools across the USA.
The campaign will run until August, or until they hit their max-out of 500,00 junk emails ($50,000 in donations to The Lunch Box).
So if you ever needed a good reason to clean out your inbox, here you go.
As a student-athlete planning to study abroad in South Africa next year, and with a collegiate soccer coach for a mother, it is kind of a given that the 2010 World Cup will have the majority of my attention in the upcoming weeks. Between studying the tactical play of Argentina as part of my summer training assignment, passionately cheering on Bafana Bafana, and keenly watching to see the talented superstars who beat out Ronaldinho for a spot on the Brazilian team, there will be plenty of opportunities to get lost in the drama of the game. And by no means am I the only one; soccer, or football, has millions of dedicated followers who have all eagerly turned their eyes to South Africa as the highly anticipated tournament approaches.
Adding fuel to the fire of excitement is commercial advertising for the Cup. It is becoming a regular occurrence on television, particularly Nike’s new “Write the Future” commercial. The ad is a three-minute long video containing powerhouse lineup Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, Cristiano Ronaldo, Landon Donovan, and yes, even Homer Simpson. These athlete-celebrities are in the heat of the game, when they find themselves in the decisive moment – that crucial tipping point that could decide the fate of the entire game. At this critical time in the game, Nike provides us with a quick flash into the future that illustrates the effects of that moment much farther beyond the soccer field. Rooney’s pass is intercepted, costing them the game and sending England into a depression unlike any other. The stock market crashes, Rooney’s career is “Roo-ined” and we are left with the image of him emerging from a broken down trailer with a bushy beard and covered in dirt. After these shocking images, Nike throws us back into the game to see Rooney hustling back to recover the ball, fixing his mistake and securing victory. We are then presented with a series of images depicting the fame Rooney achieved through his epic recovery; he is knighted by the Queen, who he then hugs, and suddenly the name Wayne has become the most popular choice for new baby boys. All together, it makes for a pretty remarkable viewing experience.
From an aesthetic stand point, the ad is a home run; the fast-paced sequence of dramatic images is a real treat for the eyes. And since its release on May 20, it’s become an Internet sensation, filling up Facebook news feeds, taking over Twitter tweets, and racking up 16,000,000+ views on YouTube; it has definitely gotten a lot of attention. But, it should be noted that all this attention is not good attention – its content has become quite controversial. Both fans and critics have taken to the blogs to express their opinions emphatically about the ad’s success or failure, creating an Internet-wide debate.
On one side, fans of the ad say it captures the tension and excitement of the game impeccably, recognizing the immense influence these all-stars have over the sport, from their ability to attract die-hard supporters for their teams, to their unique ability to make big things happen on the field. But the critics argue that this is the ad’s downfall. Soccer, they claim, is a team sport that depends on the cohesive action of all eleven players on the field, not just the flashy moves of one player. For these soccer enthusiasts, Nike is giving soccer an image that is all about the glitz and glamour of fame off the field, instead of focusing on the strategic, tactical, and physical genius that takes place on the field; in their eyes, Nike missed the point completely.
Personally, I think the ad is a hit. It’s entertaining, with a touch of humor, and is definitely addictive – it’s one of those videos I find myself showing to my friends on a regular basis. But what I like best about the ad is the way it branches out beyond the realm of soccer and incorporates aspects of current popular culture in creative ways. Ronaldo is immortalized in everyone’s favorite yellow cartoon as Homer pronounces his name with his famous “doh!” catchphrase at the end. As a kid who grew up watching the Simpsons almost every night, this short clip is refreshingly clever, bringing together an old favorite sitcom and a highly anticipated, televised sporting event. My favorite clip though, is the one of Ronaldinho performing his step-over move repeatedly as he tries to outsmart a defender and go to goal. Already humorous considering Ronaldinho’s absence from the tournament, this clip illustrates the move becoming a YouTube sensation itself, with its number of views skyrocketing before our very eyes (just like the ad is doing now). Ironic? I think so. This clip even reaches out to other sports fans, crossing over into basketball as Kobe Bryant uses the move as a celebratory dance on the court. It’s little nuances like these that make the ad one of the best I’ve seen in a long time.
But whether it’s loved or hated, it’s gotten people talking – even I have joined the big debate – and with all the hype that comes with the World Cup, it’s no surprise really. But if you think this debate is a heated one, just try putting a Brazilian fan and an English fan in a room together and let them argue about which team is better. That’s when sparks really start to fly.
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About Author: Hannah Wilber is a Junior at William Smith College and an intern at Dixon Schwabl. She is a studio art and political science double major, with a minor in peace studies. When she is not playing soccer for the William Smith Herons or assisting with equestrian competitions at West Wind Farms, Hannah is usually out enjoying all that Seneca Lake has to offer, from pick-up volleyball games to paddle boat rentals, or even just finding a sunny spot to enjoy a book. “For me it’s all about persistence; if you want something you’re going to have to work to get it, and the satisfaction of achieving what you set out to do is sometimes better than the actual achievement itself”
Hold a much anticipated second movie trailer hostage… and your anxious fan base will do the work for you.
On May 27th, director Edgar Wright tweeted the following: “Want to see the brand new SCOTT PILGRIM trailer now? Join us on Facebook! We shall release it at 100k fans!” Existing fans convinced friends and social networking connections to visit the film’s Facebook page and by the 30th, Wright announced the release of the new trailer with another tweet—with his Facebook fan count tipped over the 100k mark.
And upon the promised release of the trailer… Scott Pilgrim was trending on Twitter.
Have something your fans or customers care about? Making them work for it may not be a bad thing…
I cannot wait for this movie.
PS: For any motion graphics nerds out there, Edgar also announced on Twitter yesterday that famed art collective, Shynola, is working on the credit sequences for the movie.
Like many people, I first heard about Apple’s new tablet from a friend. Perhaps it was late January or early February when I joined a conversation about “the next big thing from Apple,” in which my buddy educated me about the iPad and all its cool features. But how did he hear about the iPad when the first iPad commercial didn’t run until March 7th?
On January 27 Steve Jobs announced that their next big gadget was going to be the iPad. Within one hour over 177,000 tweets (3,000 tweets a minute) were sent out on Twitter expressing people’s excitement for this new gizmo. Later that night, every news station reiterated Jobs’ proclamation, adding fuel to the iPad fire.
Not unlike a virus, the buzz of this new Apple tablet quickly spread and within weeks, everyone in the world knew what the iPad was, what features it had, what it cost, when it would be released, etc. Prior to March 7th, 61% of consumers were aware of the iPad and its features. After the commercial aired, 78% of young consumers (18-34) were aware of the iPad.
The genius of Apple advertising isn’t in the commercials: it’s in the cult-like following they’ve created for themselves through the sale of high quality products. Macoholics are so passionate about Apple that they do all the “advertising” themselves through excited gossip and geeky banter. Apple relies on this word-of-mouth advertising to describe their product (as their TV ads convey very little information) while the commercials act merely as a reminder that you don’t have one yet!
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About Author: Kyle Macey is a junior at St. John Fisher College and a Research Intern at Dixon Schwabl. “I love football (starting DT at Fisher), writing and making people laugh. Working at Dixon Schwabl has been awesome: it suits me beautifully. It’s the perfect balance of work and fun and when I start looking for a career, that’s going to be the first place I call.”
Recently my husband and I vacationed to Mexico. Having not been on an airplane in more than a year, I was shocked at the amount of advertising all around me, sky high at 30,000 feet. On the news almost every day we’ve been hearing stories about airlines charging extra for baggage, merging airlines and new rules and regulations inconveniencing passengers – clearly the airline industry is hurting and they are looking for new sources of revenue. These days it is the norm for airlines to sell advertising space on the interior and exterior of the plane, installing ads in hard-to-miss places. I read that US Airways said that it can raise about $20 million annually from all of its in-flight advertising – wow!
On all four of our flights, I noticed there were ads on the tray tables, a totally new concept to me. I had heard that airlines were advertising on tray tables, but never before had I seen them in-flight. On flights longer than one hour, 9 out of 10 passengers use their tray tables for 15 minutes or longer and if you are my husband, the tray table is down for nearly the entire flight with the ads just staring him down. According to research by Triad Consulting Group, 92 percent of airline passengers were able to recall in-flight ads after their flight. Companies from Mercedes-Benz, Kenneth Cole, The History Channel to Verizon have recently utilized airline tray table advertising. After all, we are a captive audience, exposed to in-flight ads for hours at a time while up in the air.
(Courtesy of TheDailyAnchor.com)
(Courtesy Flickr.com/always-summer)
(Courtesy Flickr.com/Chris Cashdollar)
In-flight advertising is not new, however until now, passengers used to be able to easily turn their heads from the ad on the screen or quickly turn the page of their in-flight magazine if they wanted to avoid ads. These days, not only do airline carriers sell ad space on the interior and exterior of tray tables and seatbacks, but they have also turned the exterior of planes into flying billboards, overhead luggage compartments into oversized ads, sold ad space on napkins and during in-flight entertainment. I read that some airlines have even experimented with ads printed on the outside of the airsick bags. I would think that the airsick bag advertising wouldn’t be as effective as others. I can’t imagine getting sick on a plane and feeling well enough to read the ad on the side of the bag and then be able to recall what the ad was for! To me, advertising on airsick bags is like saying our product is only as good as what’s in this bag.
(Courtesy: ThePeopleBrand.com)
Ryanair, a European low-cost carrier, sells ad space on planes as a way to offer marketers an effective way to reach consumers who have cash to spend and who are increasingly difficult to influence via traditional media like television and newspapers. Ryanair is one of the airlines that sells the space on the overhead compartments.
(Courtesy of Eventective.com)
On our flights not only were there advertisements on our tray tables and on napkins, but the flight attendants were pitching their rewards program credit card to passengers. Over the static and fading in and out of the intercom, we had to listen to the attendants hard sell the airline program and credit card while the other attendants walked up and down the aisle handing out applications. The only way I could avoid the sales pitch was by closing my eyes and turning my MP3 player on with the volume high.
When I fly I like to use the opportunity to relax and unwind – it is the only time travelling when I don’t have to answer my cell phone, check emails, talk to anyone or really do anything. The last thing I want to see are advertisements shouting in my face. What I will tell you however, is that I would rather see the airlines make up lost revenue by selling advertising anywhere in-flight than increasing already expensive airfare.
Season 3 of Mad Men is out on DVD and Rose and I have been racing to catch up. While we can’t seem to find the time to see the series when it originally airs on AMC, we make the time to watch two or three episodes in a row when the DVD comes out. I have nothing new to add in the praise of the show and there are other folks in advertising—the ones who work for those giant NYC/Chicago/LA firms—who could provide more insightful comments on Sterling Cooper as it relates to modern monster agencies, but there is something I noticed that’s really cool about the DVDs that you just gotta try.
After the DVD boots up, instead of hitting the play button or the scene selection option or clicking on Extras, just let the music play instead. It loops forever (at least on my cheap DVD player), it’s wonderfully hypnotic and the perfect soundtrack for mixing cocktails.
Season 1 is the theme song which we’ve all heard too many times and season 3 is a quiet, reflective little piece that fits the overarching theme for most of the episodes. But it’s the toss-away music on the menu page for season 2 that’s my favorite. The whimsical melody and the mindless la-la-la vocals connotes a sense of early 60s optimism and inspires a desire to shop for things like snap-brim hats, white gloves and skinny ties. And I defy anyone in a grumpy mood to listen to this music and not instantly feel that little ant that moved the rubber tree plant.
I know I can buy the soundtrack, but does anyone know where you can buy the menu screen music?
Sometimes one of the best things that a company can do is make fun of itself or the advertising standards the industry has followed and show consumers that they really do “get it,” and so should you.
This recent Kotex commercial is a prime example.
In it, the actress details all the stereotypical tampon-ad-related activities she “loves” engaging in—holding cuddly things, skipping on the beach, twirling in slo-mo, wearing white Spandex—while footage from Kotex’s own ad vault illustrates the irony.
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