Sprint, the US cellphone network, launched today a pretty hilarious campaign that gives you the opportunity to ruin your precious video on YouTube to advertise Samsung’s new Instinct phone. Twenty bucks to make for the first 1,000 participants and $10,000 for the winner. A brilliant and shameless exploitation of user-generated content.
via Creativity’s blog.
As Donald Gunn taught us in 1978, one of the master formats of advertising is “associated user imagery”. This kind of ad “showcases a type of people it hopes you’ll associate with the product”, in order to transfer the qualities of the people to the product you are trying to sell. In fact, I think this is the format Renault Koreos’ advertisers used to create the following TV ad I just saw last night. The only difference is that here instead of people they’ve got cars.
For the first 47 seconds, this 60-second video promotes the new French SUV in Italy using vintage footage about old Renault models, soundtracked by the irresistible “I’m free” by Rolling Stones, and then finally switches to the brand-new gas-guzzling beast rescuing the old sisters from muddy troubles, concluding with a reassuring voice saying: “4×4 outside, Renault inside”.
I’ve had three cars in my life,and two of them were Renaults. Watching the first 47 seconds I was carried away by all that technicolor galore. But when I saw the 4×4 entering the scene, I jumped on my sofa in disbelief. Even if every single second of the ad was trying to convince me, and was doing it well, then that Renault just didn’t fit it in the picture. Do you remember that classic IQ test question asking: “In this set, which object does not belong?”, that’s how that SUV popped up to my eyes.
In Italy, SUV sales have increased fourfold in a decade, but this growth is parallel to also two other things: the awareness that this type of car is not suited for the European city and that a low-gas/low-emission economy is fast becoming a stark reality.
Releasing a SUV now (emitting 230 g/km CO2 when the limit for 2015
is going to be 125) for the first time in 2008, when even GM is is closing four SUV plants, doesnt fit in the values the Renault brand has long being associated with: vision, innovation, casualness, and daring.
Investigating about the concept of this car I found this old post
describing the Koleos prototype with these words:
The new concept car also offers prompt response and driving pleasure, with a hybrid power unit that combines a two-litre 16-valve turbocharged petrol engine with an
electric motor.
So what happened to the hybrid SUV? I have yet to find an answer.
I think that never like today paying attention to your brand values and your audience (and reality) attracts more money than a good ad. And looking at this 1973 Renault 4 (190g/km) retromercial had me dwelling on another question: what in the world we need SUVs for?
Some people are really good at their job, and that’s sexy. One day I’ll post a Missed Connection for all of the eMarketer employees.
Not surprisingly, around 85% of studied population across all age groups would not buy online because they prefer to see the product first. Hence the importance of reassuring your consumers, especially 1st time buyers or product trials. Zappos’ success was mainly based on their no-hassle free returns.
My dear favorite Canadian clients, we’re definitely working on that FREE RETURN stamp that we talked about during our last meeting in Montreal and will submit it to you before the end of the week!
Not only the idea behind this book is genius, but you don’t have to feel bad for purchasing another designer book that will probably never leave your bookshelves, since the £3 cover price all goes to UNICEF. A brillant idea developed by James West, who graduated from the University of the Arts, London (LCC) and worked at the London branch of design studio Pentagram before setting up Create/Reject.
Two drop-down menus (one for quantity, one for delivery destination), 2 buttons (buy it, pay) and some straight-to-the-point witty copywriting. So good it’s annoying.
I was bitching about Levi’s lame attempt to do some viral marketing recently. I’m glad they proved me wrong with this new video. A pair of jeans, some duct-tape, a bottle of helium gas and a pretty brave actor willing to take off, literally.
Reminiscing on the old economics class I had, one concept that always comes to mind is Adam Smith’s invisible hand. Adam Smith determined that economic balance is regulated by a natural force that keeps things in shape. I remember at the time that I thought on how this applies to other areas of society – such political, sociological or technological terms. But I will not digress into those sectors – those have already been explored by specialists far more knowledgeable than me. Instead, I’m focusing into what I know best – the Web. I believe that, like in economy, there is an invisible hand regulating the online world – but exactly how and to what extent?
As I mentioned before on my Generation Nostalgia post, the future generation is still going to be information addicted – via blogs, wikis and forums, but with a different approach. We are living the peak of Generation C, where everyone is entitled to an opinion and where the opinion leaders are still focused around a few major players such as the Fake Steve Jobs or Kevin Rose. But more players are rising and each blog on the blogosphere, as each article on Wikipedia, is a certified user generated and validated source of information. And this leads to the inevitable question – what is considered a reliable source of information nowadays? More and more kids are using Wikipedia as a bibliographic reference in school work – how are we sure about the quality of the information they used?
The next generation will, in my opinion, gradually overcome this problem via a natural selection. As opinion leaders rise in the net, so will the filtering as to separate the bookish information from the regular opinion. The wannabe’s will fall as crowds will gather around the true opinion makers. Sure, this already happens to some extent nowadays – that’s why some blogs have so many visits versus others who don’t. But in the next generation, the Oldies – who will be Teachers at that time – will be able to look at your grandkids assignments and say “So you got this from Wikipedia. If it’s not written by X, Y or Z, then it’s not 100% true!”. What’s the difference from now? In a nutshell, the naiveté from the current internet users and general offline world will be replaced by a refiner sense of fidelity towards information, thus generating not only User Generated Content, but Validated User Generated Content – like a certification that will be required for blogs and sites to be considered a truly reliable source of information.
The Cannes Lions 2008 International Advertising Festival is over…
Gifted creatives are lining up at the airport and gossipping in the frequent flyer lounge…
The Media Grand Prix is a mix of mobile/digital, good old traditional advertising group workshops praise social media and interaction, outstanding online campaigns like ‘HBO voyeurs’ are awarded because they extend offline, media planning companies claim to produce branded entertainment, print campaigns include interactive mobile tags, design is finally officially a media, pure 30” tv ads are scoring more on youtube than on TV and the Film Grand Prix goes to viral movies like ‘Gorilla’ from Cadbury or Halo 3 sequel!
What is sure here in Cannes this year, is that nothing is sure anymore. Short lists and winners are troubling even to creatives used to this cultural mashup.
Communication is changing and so is the Cannes Lions festival. In this battle of creativity, countries and agencies that used to be award-winning machines are being left behind. This year, the real winner is the consumer! He finally gets what he wants: Great interactive branded entertainment across all media.
Instead, we’re gonna promote these user-interface elements that will come super handy next time you work on some wireframes or prototypes. Pre-made menus, buttons, carousels for your websites and iPhone and smartphone-specific items, generously shared by Yahoo!, in their Developer Network section. Among the files, they’ve even included the most common grids for you, designers.
You can download the editable PDF files, the PNG and more formats here. Store them preciously.
Save more sweat, browse the Design Pattern Library before trying to reinvent the UI wheel. What’s a pattern?
Patterns are optimal solutions to common problems. As common problems are tossed around a community and are resolved, common solutions often spontaneously emerge. Eventually, the best of these rise above the din and self-identify and become refined until they reach the status of a Design Pattern.
Drag-and-drop modules, navigation tabs, object ratings, vote-to-promote, many designers already did the head-scratching, and best practices are shared from A to Z.
(inspired by today’s Creative Techs’ Quick Tips)
I’m sure many of you know cases of true “web2.0″ examples. Places where people share information and knowledge with the whole world.
Well for me they are like the first settlers, communities that are setting the example of what the Web will, in my opinion, eventually become: mankind’s collective super-computer network with every built-in software you might need, storing every piece of data you enter. All we’ll need is a screen, a keyboard, some pointer device and Internet connection. Take Google Docs for example - a perfectly acceptable “office tools” suite, fully functional and free.
And of course, it can only happen with the People’s goodwill. With the sharing of information. Share, share, share. If you have it in digital, tag it and share it.
Those of us who are fortunate enough to have an Internet connection now have so much information on our hands, we don’t know how to handle it. And many don’t realize it yet. Although it is right there, at your reach, as a sign of the spirit of generosity and constructiveness the web is meant to represent.
Special thanks for MIT, for releasing OCW (MIT OpenCouseWare). Free lecture notes, exams, and videos from MIT with no registration required. Information from over 1.800 courses available for me and you. Dig in and take all the knowledge you can.
MIT is a member of the Open CourseWare Consortium.
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