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Nostalgia for the 1980s reaches peak levels in a new Domino’s ad from CP+B, in which actor Joe Keery, from the ’80s-era Netflix drama Stranger Things, re-creates the running-home scene from the classic ’80s movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off—to promote the Domino’s Tracker. In the 1986 teen drama, Ferris, played by Matthew Broderick, is racing to get home before his parents do after his epic day of playing hooky. In the Domino’s ad, Keery is trying to beat the pizza man to his house after being alerted to a delivery by his Domino’s Tracker watch app. It’s a pretty faithful remake, including many of the same shots. And there’s a great cameo, too, which we won’t spoil until you watch the ad below....
The French advertising powerhouse and the British government want more control over where their ads run. Havas is pulling all spending from Google and YouTube in the United Kingdom, citing the desire to have more control of its inventory in hopes of keeping brands away from inappropriate or offensive content.According to a report in The Guardian, the French advertising giant’s decision came after talks broke down related to Google’s inability to “provide specific reassurances” related to where video and display ads appear. The report cites content showing up in YouTube alongside videos of white nationalists and terrorists. The news about Havas—which spends around 175 million euros ($188.2 million) annually on digital advertising clients in the U.K.—comes alongside a report that the British government and other organizations also pulled their ads from the tech giant....
The history of American advertising has always fascinated me. It's amazing to see how much the visual aesthetic evolved as a result of the changing times. Each decade had it’s own unique style of advertising, but one period of time really stands in stark contrast to what we’re accustomed to today. The 1950s were sometimes referred to as “the advertiser’s dream decade.” With the end of the war came a new desire for Americans to spend money. The television was now a common household staple and the advertising opportunities seemed endless. It all sounds perfect, right? The great American dream! The economy was booming and everything was all jukeboxes and wholesome family dinners.Well, not so fast. The golden era of advertising would cause some pretty massive controversies today. The sexism of 1950s advertising is infamous, and for good reason. Sure, we have plenty of offensive ads today, but few hold a candle to the callous ads of the “good ‘ol days.”...
If you're the type of guy who drives your friends nuts by compulsively obsessing over minor details at lunch, then McDonald's has a deep existential dilemma for you. In Canada, the fast-food chain is temporarily adding the Big Mac Bacon—a Big Mac, with bacon on it—to its menu, the first change to the sandwich in that country in 50 years. An ad from Cosette puts the new product to the pedant test, which by its very nature requires that anything that can be argued, must be argued. Two men sit in a McD's. One takes a bit of his Big Mac Bacon, and declares "Mmmm, now that's a Big Mac." Naturally, his tight-ass buddy takes umbrage, and an absurd debate ensues over whether a few bits of crispy cured pig fat render the sandwich a completely different entity. It's clearly a dilemma that would be best solved by spending less time talking, and more time shutting up and eating....
As you can probably imagine, text ads appeal more strongly to the logos-oriented hemisphere of our brains. However, as we know, addressing only the rational side of an argument is never going to entirely convince someone. You need the emotional as much as the rational — most times even more so. Display ads, for this reason, tend to be more successful than text ads because they are more engaging to the user. They also are great for disruption — grabbing the user’s attention as he or she passively scrolls down the newsfeed. We as human beings have a naturally selective attention span — how you play to the strengths and weaknesses of that selective attention can make or break your campaigns....
White Ops today reported that a group of Russia-based cybercriminals is stealing $3 million to $5 million daily from premium-video-focused advertisers. The fraud-fighting player discovered an extensive network of automated web browsers called Methbot, which it says consists of custom software running on data servers in Amsterdam and Dallas. According to White Ops, Methbot runs differently than common fraud bots, which usually infect computers with malicious software that serve ads seen by zero people. The ring of fraudsters created approximately 600,000 counterfeit IP addresses that appear to be legitimate, the researchers said, by hacking into a pair of the world's regional internet registries. The nefarious operators then registered those IP addresses to actual online service providers such as Verizon, Comcast and Spectrum (formerly Time Warner). This tactic made their faux internet activity appear genuine before commanding their bot army to generate 200 million to 300 million impressions and charging brands for premium video ads. ...
It's a challenging time for magazine publishers, right? Of course, because it's a challenging time for anyone in the business of creating content and attracting audiences -- even (or especially) pure-play digital companies. The truth is, there are countless Silicon Valley startups, propped up by venture capital, that would kill to have the revenue of any of the magazine brands on our 2016 Magazines of the Year list. Starting with The New Yorker, which is the Magazine of the Year (read our storyhere), and followed by the diverse range of titles (presented below in alphabetical order) that round out our list, these are modern content brands that are mastering print and digital. They're iconic, they're beloved by readers and advertisers and, get this, their bottom lines are about generating actual revenue. --The Editors...
2016 was a year of unprecedented creative opportunities for advertisers. Advancements in technology enabled agencies to develop campaigns across innovative new mediums, pushing the boundaries of digital advertising and inviting consumers to experience brands like never before.Before we see what 2017 has in store, let's take a look back at some of this year's most impactful advertising trends. The following four marketing tactics left a big mark on 2016, and they show no signs of slowing down as we head into the new year. See which trends fueled some of the most creative ad campaigns, and start planning your first 2017 campaign. ...
The digital ad space is murky, and it's becoming increasingly clear that users aren't seeing as many ads thanks to ad-blocking technology. And even when they do see ads, more than 60% of users say they find them annoying and intrusive. Furthermore, people have been shifting to mobile as their primary media consumption device in the last three years, while ad spend lagged. In short, the industry is reactive rather than proactive. As a result, U.S. digital ad revenue has become Google and Facebook, followed by everyone else. But immersive video through virtual and augmented reality could change all that.
It’s not a surprise Facebook and Google have stayed ahead of everyone else. The two platforms have focused on two key areas: personalizing advertising and those mobile trends we just examined.
Last month, Facebook announced that they have a billion mobile-only users -- not a billion users of the mobile app, but a billion people for whom the entire Facebook experience takes place on mobile. Google has invested its vast resources into mobile search, and in May 2015, more than 18 months ago, it said that “More Google searches take place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries including the US and Japan.”
In honor of the people doing their best to make functional adults, Minute Maid has launched "The Holiday Store with Nothing to Sell." At this paradoxical little pop-up, crammed with sparkly snowflakes and light-drenched Christmas trees, kids walk in and write letters to their parents while sipping on orange juice. (Hemingway would cringe.) The letters are boxed up and wrapped in pale green paper. In the video below, watch five kids reflect on their letters, and the parents' reactions upon opening the gifts.
"She's gonna probably have a confused kinda look," one daughter predicts. "She's gonna think it's maybe, like, a ring, or a bracelet...?"
But no, it will be none of those things!...
Christmas, the Olympics/ Paralympics and OK Go. Those are three reliable buckets for great advertising, and they all show up in Unruly's new list of the most shared ads of 2016. The top spot on this year's list goes to a Christmas spot; No. 2 was made for the Paralympics; and OK Go put two videos on the list, including one at No. 5. Ads from 10 different countries appearing on this list, Unruly says—the U.K., U.S., Denmark, Egypt, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Norway, the Philippines and Indonesia. The average runtime for the top 20 videos is 2:49. "Video advertising has once again reflected the wants and needs of society and offered a powerful route to escapism for consumers," said Ian Forrester, global vp of insight at Unruly.
Despite upbeat predictions about holiday spending, retailers shouldn’t expect much help from their advertising: The YouGov BrandIndex reports that for almost half of all large retail brands, advertising awareness is significantly lower than it was a year ago. The consumer perception research firm says that while Walmart still leads in awareness, it’s only connecting with 48% of consumers, down nine percentage points compared to last year. Kmart, a division of Sears, and Best Buy experienced even steeper awareness declines, at 12 points and 10 points, respectively. And while Amazon, Target and JCPenney fared the best, each of them also experienced dips in awareness. The index is based on daily polling, asking respondents two questions about 23 leading stores: “Does it give good value for what you pay?" and "Which of the following brands have you seen an advertisement for in the past two weeks?" Amazon came in No. 1 again this year in YouGov’s value perception ranking. What’s more, it’s out in front by miles, with a score of 55.8%. Old Navy runs a distant second, with a score of 33.7%, and Walmart third, at 32.5%. Costco, Best Buy, eBay, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, Kohl’s and JCPenney are all also in the top-10 of the value perception group....
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A puppet of a cockroach lies on its back, flailing its arms wildly. A mouse cursor hesitates over an order on the website “Poison Depot” before changing it from one bottle to eleven. A gleeful Victorian marriage proposal goes awry when lightning strikes a nearby tree. Each story is told in just six seconds of video. And there are more than a dozen such short recreations of classic books from the Western canon, all promoting YouTube’s new brief pre-roll ad format. Those three vignettes, of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis (famous for its protagonist waking up one morning as an insect), William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (spoiler alert: everybody dies) and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (with its romantic symbolism around a split chestnut tree), join similar takes on George Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and more....
McCann pitted the robot against human creative director Mitsuru Kuramoto to create an ad for Clorets Mint Tab that conveyed the message: "Instant-effect fresh breath that lasts for 10 minutes." The client was asked to fill out a form with all the elements they wanted to appear in the ad. The AI robot then scrambled the database for ideas (humans were required to actually produce the final creative). The two spots would then be thrown to a nationwide poll, where consumers could vote for which ad they preferred. See if you can guess which ad was created by a human and which was created by a robot...
You’re a publisher who needs an advertiser to provide relevant ads matched with the content you serve.
The advertiser, on the other hand, is looking for a decent amount of traffic for itself and high quality content to help you earn.
Now, all we need to do is find you the best contextual ad provider, that’s a match for your blog based on what’s working for other bloggers.
Pretty simple, right?...
If anything is going to convince a smoker to quit, it's a judgmental, passive-aggressive, coughing billboard. At least, that's the ostensible premise of a new campaign from Swedish pharmacy Apoteket Hjärtat and agency Åkestam Holst. The digital poster uses outdoor smoke detectors to identify any nearby smokers and shame them by sending the man on the screen into a hacking fit, according to a case study video promoting the ad. It then displays a series of nicotine patches and other kick-the-habit products, because obviously, the smoker is going to be most receptive to a pitch right after having his or her moment of self-destructive indulgence interrupted by a virtual asshole....
Like any creative effort, a successful design project involves many different people with different talents coming together. But too often, lots of cooks in the kitchen can be a recipe for disaster. That’s why great design starts with a great creative brief: a single, clear direction that communicates everything anyone needs to know about a project.
This can seem daunting at first, and that’s why we’ve provided this easy guide to putting your best foot forward with a comprehensive brief. Creativity is messy, but it’s definitely worth it.
Overview
Here’s a basic outline of what your brief should include. This won’t be the same for every project, so just consider it a starting place....
A bizarre Christmas commercial from Russia is under fire for showing Santa Claus trying to teach a single mother a lesson in being a better parent—by abducting her and dragging her through the wilderness by a rope and eventually pulling a knife on her. And the ad's creators seem baffled that anyone could have a problem with it. The spot, for Credit Bank of Moscow, was created by ad agency 3Sba. It is beautifully shot, which makes it even weirder—clearly no expense was spared in producing the film, yet how no one raised a red flag during its creation is baffling. Check out the ad here...
Personalised, data driven, communications have now become firmly entrenched into mainstream marketing portfolios. Developing a single view of the customer across all of their interactions with your brand, and using that to deliver targeted and personalised marketing messages has now become a business imperative. What’s more, for those businesses that are lagging behind the need to ‘get up to speed’ has become even more urgent as a new wave of marketing technology innovation is about to hit....
Talk about ambition: Reyka Vodka has decided to use Facebook Live to wish every single resident of Iceland Gleðilega hátíð, or "Happy holidays." Iceland isn't a big country, but it does count over 320,000 residents—making this quite a job for Frikki, the man who's been appointed to do it. Luckily, he's had help narrowing down the list, in a campaign created by Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners." Although there are over 320,000 people living in Iceland, the Icelandic Naming Committee has listed just 4,512 approved Icelandic names," says Frikki. "I will now read each name, wishing Gleðilega hátíð to each Icelander. Oh, and because Reyka is a vodka, these wishes are only for those of legal drinking age. So if I call your name and you are under 21, I am not talking to you." In this video, he begins his laborious trudge through approved Icelandic names....
In June, the brand's premium Elit vodka line started analyzing Google Trends data to zero in on online chatter and use it to crank out stylized posts of bottles, martini glasses and recipes. For the holidays this year when searches for martinis and vodka cocktails spike, the brand is enlisting such data to inform an Instagram campaign called Elit Live Social Lab. If a recipe for a chocolate martini is trending online, for instance, Elit's social team will whip up and post a picture of a chocolate drink within 24 hours. Brand manager Lauren Ryan said that when it comes to which social platforms Elit prioritizes, "Instagram is first and second for me, and Facebook follows," because the visual platform is particularly conducive to targeting luxury consumers. "If you take too much time, that conversation is over and you miss it," Ryan said. "When we saw this as a way to approach social, we knew that it would only work if we flagged these conversations and said, 'OK, we're going to tap into this today, but this is our only day.'"...
"We understand that the environment is changing inextricably, but what do we do now to prepare for this new reality?”
I had become so accustomed to describing the changes in content consumption and its implications for marketers, media companies, and tech-enabled content platforms that I was taken aback.
The nods among her team made it abundantly clear that “what now?” was more than a theoretical question, and one that needed to be addressed ASAP.
Thus, herewith are five practical predictions on the future of digital advertising creativity and real-world recommendations on what to do now to prepare....
Caleb Warren, assistant professor of marketing in the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management and lead author of the research, conducted a series of experiments that found different ads can be equally humorous to consumers but have very different effects on brand attitudes, depending on the type of humor used.
The research is based on the concept that people find humor in “benign violations” — that is, material that somehow threatens their sense of well-being, personal identity or beliefs, but in a harmless or inconsequential way. For example, a comical Reebok ad featuring an “office linebacker” tackling other office workers represents a benign violation, because viewers know the violence is staged and no one is actually being hurt.
But even benign violations can cross a line, according to the research, which explored the effects of “mild” versus “severe” benign violations on brand attitudes. According to Warren, advertisers should stay away from ads that feature highly inappropriate humor, humor with a specific target or “butt of the joke,” and humor that prompts avoidance by eliciting feelings such as disgust in addition to laughter....
CMOs are hot! Marketing chiefs represent the single largest cohort in this year’s
Adweek 50, our annual list of the most indispensable executives behind the CEO across the marketing, media and tech disciplines. Surprising, given that they’re not directly responsible for bringing in revenue—that’s the job of sales folk, who are also well represented here. But there is a reason this list is rich with CMOs. For one, they control the ad budgets that keep the media alive and healthy. And for another, marketing execs have become technologically astute as they ensure their companies are up on the latest tech trends and platforms. Speaking of tech, Snapchat’s Imran Khan is our No. 1 this year—thanks to his efforts, the social platform has become the hottest ad opportunity of 2016....
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Fun way to promote the Domino’s Tracker. I mean pizza and Ferris Bueller? What's not to love?