Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Social Networks, Beer and Razors

+When Brands Need Buddies - Connecting with social networkers can be easy-peasy or a PR.
Colleen DeCourcy, chief experience officer of advertising agency JWT, is likewise critical of efforts that rely on consumers to create ads. She says the future of advertising lies in managing what she calls the "grid" of touchpoints that exist on the Internet. She adds that agencies would do well to hire "digital anthropologists" who are skilled at understanding that grid and working within it.

"Consumer-generated content, as the litmus test for success in online advertising material, is on the way out," she says.

Of course, not everyone agrees. Kevin Nalty, a marketing executive at a pharmaceutical firm and amateur filmmaker whose Punk'd-style YouTube clips led to a deal with Mentos and a seat on the creative advisory board of xlntads (a consumer-generated advertising platform), says user-created ads aren't going anywhere for a while. "It has taken big agencies a decade to build up expertise around page search," he says. Following this logic, there should be a market for consumer-generated advertising for at least the next five to 10 years, he adds.


A-B follows brewers like Samuel Adams as it launches its seasonal Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale, which will be available on tap and in 6-packs. It's the first in A-B's series of seasonal beers, which also includes Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale, Spring Heat Spiced Wheat and Beach Bum Blonde Ale.

Remington's Pick-Up Line Contest Tags New Shaver Launch.
which has just launched a new shaver for young men called Code, is running a contest designed to save the young men (and women) of the world from the worst of them.

Remington's best and worst pick-up lines ever contest is the latest entry in personal-care theater--a long line of ads that use shaving products to help men either a) attract young women or b) fend them off. (Remember Hai Karate?)

The current leaders in the race for young men's attention include Unilever's Axe, with its wild "Boom Chicka Wah Wah" ads, Procter & Gamble's TAG with its "You've been warned" positioning, and Philips Norelco with its viral videos promoting, um, manscaping.

Remington, marketed by Spectrum Brands, hopes to capture some of that buzz. It says the Code electric shaver is the first-ever specifically engineered for a younger man's face, and "features a dual-stage cutting system that handles multiple-day growth and gives guys a close, comfortable shave that will leave women swooning."

Guys can enter their best and worst lines at getthecode.com. At the end of the contest, which runs through Sept. 30, the top 10 most voted-on pick-up lines will be selected to win a new Remington Code shaver and 10 personalized T-shirts featuring their winning pick-up line and a matching illustration. Since the launch a week ago, the site has generated about 100,000 visits, and more than 12,000 votes.

No comments :

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...