P & G goes for the gold

This ad is really a bit corny but you have to admit it really breaks through the clutter. I can easily imagine moms crying shedding tears when they see it. Playing ice hockey for 6 years before as a kid I can attest to the commitment that my parents made to my winter sports career including many 5:15 am practices in rural maryland. That said, I don't think you need to be a hockey or skiing mom to appreciate the message.

The ad is so good that P&G is using it for its own brand. I may be young and relatively new to following consumer marketing but I don't recall such a great ad for a parent brand like P&G. It's a great ad that really pulls on the heart strings and supports the P&G family.

Vinyl Packaging

It's no secret that vinyl sales have been crushed by serato and the advent of digital djing. Some labels have responded by taking the physical product to a new level in order to drive sales. It's not uncommon to see picture disc vinyl or otherwise real colorful vinyl. The sleeves themselves can take on exciting features.

For those that aren't aware Freeway is a rapper our of Philly with a new album with producer Jake One called The Stimulus Package. The packaging is amazing. I quit collecting vinyl after moving across the country and realizing just how heavy and dusty records get but I will be picking this up. I think all record execs lamenting the industries troubles should take note of this. Have a look.

Nescafe gets aggressive

A couple weeks ago I reported on Nescafe going after Starbuck's individual instant coffee packets with some nice ads in both English and Spanish. Well, the company is pushing hard with some good old pavement pounding to support the media placement. Nescafe has been giving out sample of instant coffee outside of metro stations this week in DC. I like this approach and I think its going to add value to the ads. In the age of social media I think handing out samples of instant coffee in the freezing weather a 8:30 in the morning is exactly how to break through the clutter.

Better Late Than Never For Unilever

Ok so Unilever probably has teenage males on lock with its Axe line of hair and body products. Not hating this product or those ads even a little bit. However, the company has been sleeping on that metrosexual money. Giving up market share to the likes of J&J (Nuetrogena) and Beiersdorf (Nivea) and even J&J again (Aveeno.) Unilever has finally made its move with a brand that was painstakingly developed to be feminine- Dove.

I think it is a good look. The bar of soap has edges around the corners which I consider to be an ingenious way to make soap look more dangerous and masculine. Also the soap is off-white so its not like girly soap that gets you all clean and what not. This is manly soap made for manly men that costs a little bit more but you know real dudes use this soap.

Better late than never, now who should endorse said soap?

If you said Brett Favre you are dead wrong. This guy used to endorse sensodyne toothpaste. Then he's been running around in Wrangler jeans for years. I guess those are masculine but not the same kind of masculine that makes me want to spend a bit more on soap. More like encouraging me to grab jeans next time I'm at Walmart. Plus his waffling and crying about retiring or not retiring hasn't done his image any favors.

If you said a Manning brother you are wrong again. I don't even know what these guys endorse. All I know is that they are all over the television all the time. Both of them are a total pain in the ass. I do remember seeing them in some confusing featuring them dipping oreos at a desk with donald trump. No need to get them on board with a manly brand.

Drew Brees? Ding Ding Ding. Recent winner on a superbowl team that kicked an onside kick to start the second half. Perfect wholesome white dude to care your line of manly soap. Bit of a surprise if you visit the website. Bad new is, he is basically naked in the spot. Showering and using soap. The good news is that its just on the Dove Men website and not all over the television.

Don't click to pull back the curtain

Heineken Valentine Viral

Ads of the world posted this Heineken viral ad for beer gloss intended for the UK market.

This ad is further proof that most consumers don’t really like beer. They like beer brands. Brand image in the beverage industry is important because the drinking is social and speaks to consumers’ socio-economic status. Heineken has done a great job of taking advantage of this in the US market.

Drinking an imported lager makes consumers feel well informed and even cultured. Heineken has great brand elements- the red star is super cool, the green bottle looks good and the label suggests some kind of brewing tradition. Even the name suggests the old country. In addition, the advertisements always have great production value they are witty and impeccably targeted.

As a result, Americans love to be seen drinking Heineken. They bring it to fancy parties that their friends throw. Most bottle service bars only stock Heineken and Amstel Light (a Heineken product) and one other import like Corona. I doubt anyone ever drinks Heineken at home when no one is looking but, nonetheless, the brand has a great market position and sells lots of beer at high price points.

However, in Europe it’s just a normal domestic lager. It’s analogous to how Bud stands in terms of brand equity and price in the states. Its mass produced at a big factory. It doesn’t have any local appeal. It’s just Heineken there and it gets corny domestic advertising that looks like Bud Light’s ads. This ad is gross and appears to be targeted at 16 year olds.

How good do you feel about paying 7 bucks for Heineken at the bar now?

Real DJs Buy Two

Again, I'm no Ansel Adams but I wanted to touch on what I think is one of the more ingenious p.o.s. elements to date.

Baltimore Breakbeat Records was a label that put out Baltimore Club music and held a considerable amount of street credibility in the Mid-Atlantic region. What better to leverage your street credibility than to tell your consumers to buy two of what you are selling in order to be real? Thus, "Real DJ's Buy Two." A ring around the label reminded consumers that they need two copies in order to live up to the quality of the product. This may or may not have cross over appeal. It works for vinyl records because it makes sense to have two copies (djs have two turntables after all) but maybe someone else should try this too.

What if florists had a campaign for Valentine's day that stressed that men that really loved their girlfriend/wife/whatever bought two dozen roses? Up the ante so one just isn't good enough anymore. "If you really loved her, you'd buy her two dozen."

If you really love yourself some candy, you buy two packs of Skittles. "Real Candy Aficionados Buy Two."

Challenge these consumers to get on your level.

You might think its silly but you won't be laughing when the scenester at the bike store sells you two fixed gear bikes.

Nescafe vs. Starbucks

When I walk down the street in my neighborhood in Washington, DC and I see print ads written in Spanish I think to myself, “Now these people get it.” For the record, if you are buying media in Mt. Pleasant and your ads are in English, you’re probably doing it wrong. I was excited to see a Spanish Nescafe ad in the street today. Then I took in the message and was even more impressed with the company’s marketing.

Across the world, Nescafe is the undisputed king of instant coffee. When Starbucks rolled out a single serving instant product this year it tried to position the product as innovative and groundbreaking. However, the Starbucks product is almost identical to Nescafe including the individual packets it comes in. This is big for Nescafe in the states because its single serving product never had the traction here that it enjoys in other places including coffee countries like Columbia.

It’s not hard to imagine Nescafe brand managers scratching their heads regarding how to break into the market for coffee that Starbucks has created in the states over the past two decades. American’s would have laughed if Nescafe tried to create points of similarity to Starbuck’s with its soluble product. But then it happened, Starbucks entered Nescafe’s market. When Starbucks enters your market and rips off your product down to the pos you suddenly have a legitimate point of similarity. By the way, this isn’t Starbucks taking on a mom and pop. Nestle is a giant.

Nescafe is going for it. They have a print campaign up around public transportation terminals. The one above shows the two products stating that Starbucks is a lot of money and that Nescafe is a lot of flavor. Head on. Our product is like Starbucks, but better (sorry for the glare in the photo it was a bright time of day and I'm Amsel Adams.)

It seems to be hitting its demographic, which probably isn’t the same as Starbucks’, with the message, “We’re as good as Starbucks and cheaper.” Who knows, maybe Nescafe will convert some Starbucks customers but the campaign is more likely to leverage the Starbucks equity to grow the market in lower end single serving instant coffee. I say this because you see the Spanish ads and the ads are at the bus stop etc. Good for Nescafe. I think its product is underrated and it’s great to see it take advantage of opportunities that Starbucks creates.