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likeability Misc monetisation surprise talkability

A mad idea

Nice transmedia support for Mad Men.

reissued by Grove Press after being out of print for 45 years

Via BoingBoing

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branding likeability low cost marketing surprise talkability

Talkable, likeable, edible

I know it’s clinical old CRM, but it still made me feel good that O2 sent me a surprise bar of chocolate

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authenticity likeability location staying relevant

Facebook just became the Mayor of Location

…but they need to avoid news feed pollution. It was already pretty grating seeing too many Foursquare check-ins. Now that’s going to step up another order of magnitude.

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humour likeability mobile surprise

Not just bug fixes…

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disruption get famous invention likeability surprise talkability viral

A glimpse into the future of the web

This collaboration between Google and Arcade Fire to show off HTML5 is amazing.

Be sure to choose your childhood postcode.

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advertising authenticity branding invention likeability staying relevant surprise talkability

Amazing Johnny Walker advert

This extraordinary ad/short film from Diageo makes for compelling viewing. Aside from the green screen magic (presumably?) and great choice of actor in Robert Carlyle, it is notable for two other reasons:

  • Use of story
    Appreciation of stories is hard-wired into our beings, and this is a good yarn with arcs, conflict, ambition and resolution. We’re being fed a brand story, but in such an engaging way that we accept it.
  • Breaking media format
    They’ve made an ad that is six and a half minutes long. Up until recently, such a length would have been laughably prohibitive, and indeed the days of 60 or even 90 second spectaculars seemed to be on the wane. But of course nowadays, good content spreads on digital channels where media cost is free and not constrained by programming breaks or convention.

thanks to the excellent Word magazine for the spot

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advertising branding get famous humour likeability staying relevant

The Guardian TV ads 1980s/1990s

I’ve just uploaded these two collections of The Guardian‘s TV ads that cover the 80s and 90s. The first set pre-dated my time as Brand Manager, but I was responsible for the second reel.

The ‘points of view’ (skinhead) ad from the mid 1980s remains the most famous ad from any newspaper and often appears in those lists of top 100 ads. However, viewed as a collection, I think they show the evolution of the brand, becoming notably more sophisticated, entertaining and inventive.

It was a critical task to modernise the paper, shake off the beardy, worthy image and fight the price-cutting Times and the newly-launched Independent. Good marketing, editorial vision, investigative journalism and investment in the product itself combined to strengthen a much-loved media brand and give it a strong platform to compete in the digital era.

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humour likeability mobile surprise talkability

conference call

Like most people, I get much unsolicited email inviting me to a wide range of dreary sounding events, so it was a pleasant surprise to receive something that actually made me laugh.

Planet of the Apps is a great name for a conference. Getting noticed always matters

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advertising crowdsourcing get famous humour likeability staying relevant surprise talkability viral

If Carlsberg did action replays

If Carlsberg are behind this, then full respect for speed and creativity.

If they didn’t, then credit is still due to them as a testamant to the power of their campaign idea

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likeability pr product staying relevant surprise talkability

Creating a nice buzz

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humour likeability surprise talkability

1UP for Google

Surely the most talkable Google Doodle for a while? A fully playable pacman, even with “Insert coin” button for two player mode!

I wrote last year about how staying likeable would help lessen worries about Google’s size and influence. After a year of fairly flat launches (Wave, Buzz), it’s good to see they’ve got their playfulness back (and some cool products too).

Meanwhile, facebook is the new 200lb gorilla that could do with a refresher in the importance of likeability. The current concerns about privacy seems to be getting realĀ traction.

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disruption get famous invention likeability product staying relevant strategy viral

The social web just got go-faster stripes

When it’s easy even for non-techies like me to add social plug-ins to websites, we better get ready for an explosion of ‘Like’ buttons, activity streams and friend recommendations all over the web.

Google must be thinking very hard tonight.

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get famous humour likeability surprise talkability

A logo that stands up

Way to get noticed

Via Boing Boing

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humour likeability product surprise talkability

Marmite shower gel

Fabulous.

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advertising humour likeability

New Spice

LOLs all round for the Old Spice 2010 Super Bowl ad. Much kudos for the knowing, witty and likeable execution

And you gotta love that payoff.

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crowdsourcing likeability product talkability

(The IT) Crowdsourcing

Graham Linehan, writer of Father Ted, Black Books and Father Ted is not only a funny fella, but also a seasoned whizz at social media.

Ahead of the filming of the fourth series of the IT Crowd, he’s asked fans to help dress the set

…send us your poor huddled zines, your artwork, your comics, your T-shirts, your memes. Anything you think should be in there that we might have missed

Not only is this financially sensible, but it’s also a great way of engaging fans, giving them a deeper sense of ownership and a real reason to spread the word about the new series.