Thursday, October 7, 2010

Iconic Ad Campaign: Got Milk?


















In 1993 , as Americans switched to Soft Drinks, Health Drinks and other beverages  the sales of Milk took an obvious hit. This was the time when dairy processors in California decided to get together to fund a non profit marketing board – well to market Milk obviously. 

The Marketing board – christened California Milk Processor Board , hired Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to come up with a campaign to market milk to the masses. Out of this exercise came the most successful and longest-lasting campaign of the CMPB – Got Milk?





The first advertisement ran on October 29, 1993 and was directed by Michael Bay.


The ad was at the top of the advertising industry's award circuit in 1994.

The ads would typically feature people in various situations involving dry or sticky foods and treats such as cookies and peanut butter. The person then finds himself in an uncomfortable situation due to a full mouth and no milk to wash it down. At the end of the commercial the character would look sadly to the camera and boldly displayed would be the words, "Got Milk?".
The campaign’s immense popularity is also attested by the fact that countless celebrities from different walks of life have been willing to endorse the ads and appear in them. 

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Nike Write the Future Football WC 2010

Each world cup/Olympics throws up its share of Ambush marketing and this one is no different. Nike with the help of their long time agency -- Wieden and Kennedy have made this their non World Cup , World Cup campaign.
The 3 minute video version of this campaign has already set a record for the number of hits and features Rooney , Ribery , Drogba , Ronaldo along with Nike ambassadors Federer and Kobe Bryant.

The director of this 3 minute spot is Alejandro González Iñárritu best known for movies like Babel , 21 Grams and Ameros Perros. The Adidas Fast Vs Fast Ad with its hyperreality video that seemed to capture the mind when it came along , now pales in comparison to this campain.






The print ad version of the campaign lacks the impact of the Video Ad , and the execution is also not all that perfect -- Considering that the rival team also wears Nike shoes and their swoosh seem much more prominent than the one on the statue. A pedestal of some sort , would have also made a nice touch.


The series of ad features Wayne Rooney , Robinho , Ronaldo , Drogba and Ribery.




Thursday, June 3, 2010

Print Ad: Mercedes Benz Sprinter Van

One of the newer ads on the blog. Ad for the Mercedes Benz Sprinter Van, trying to indicate the extra space in the van. The ad is slightly weird for me because , the spatially challenged person that I am, I find it difficult to understand if the ad shows the entire Van Size or just the size of the back of the van.

Trying to play on the age old concept that vans are for Sport moms -- Tennis moms or Soccer Moms. Cliche'd






















Copy: Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van
Plenty of Room



Some other links that might interest you....

More Print Ads

Video Ad: Bridgestone Superbowl Ad

First superbowl ad on the blog... might not be the best Superbowl ad but a really interesting one from Bridgestone. The CG Animals just love to scream their hearts out.

Vintage Ad: Volvo vs Mercedes

This is how you use the marketing campaigns of rivals against them. Quite the anti-thesis to Avis -- We try harder campaign but works just as well.



Part Copy: It's Starting to sound like Mercedes-Benz is engineered like one other car in the world.
Its Curious.
Mercedes-Benz claims to be engineered like no other car in the world.
Yet recently , they've spent millions of dollars emphasizing such attributes as safety, durability, and longevity.
Qualities long associated with another car maker.
Volvo.


Some other links that might interest you....

More Vintage Ads
More Print Ads

Vintage Ad: Pizza Hut




Copy: Everyday 70,000 people wait 20 mins for this Pizza. (It must be worth the wait)

Video Ad: Ericsson : One Black Coffee

This ad came out in mid 90's when India's cellphone market was largely niche. By todays standards the phone is a brick but was very small for 90s. An ad that immediately brings a smile to your face.





Some other links that might interest you....

More Video Ads

Vintage Ad: Flit

Flit, launched in 1923 and mainly intended for killing flies and mosquitoes, was mineral oil based and manufactured by the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. The campaign was famous for its Quick , Henry, the Flit Slogan and for the drawings of Dr.Seuss in the ads.



Print Ad: Heinz Tomato Ketchup

Another classic ad from Heinz indicating just how thick the sauce is.. The fork stands on its own.

























Some other links that might interest you....

More Print Ads

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Outdoor Ad: Nike

Its World Cup time and how could we not have a few football related ads. This outdoor ad from Nike is created from football prints to look like  Ronaldinho, Tevez and Aguero.



Video Ad: Dairy Milk Gorilla

Having heard In the air tonight by Phil Collins in the Michelob ad, it is impossible to not have this ad on the blog. THE most famous ad featuring the song --- The Gorilla.



The Ad is done by Cadbury's in house production unit called -- A glass and a half full

A mashup of the ad featuring Bonnie Taylor





Some other links that might interest you....

More Video Ads

Video Ad: Michelob featuring Phil Collins

A classic ad from the 80s from another beer brand from the Anheuser Busch Stable -- Michelob. Quite a few celebrity singers have endorsed Michelob over the years. This one features Phil collins while there is another that features Genesis as a group.




Some other links that might interest you....

More Video Ads

Outdoor Ad: Lego :Builders of Tomorrow

Lego created this outdoor ad as part of their Builders of Tomorrow campaign.






A very nice tribute to Charles C Ebbett's Picture of " A Luncheon atop a Skyscraper (New York Construction Workers Lunching on a Crossbeam)” taken on the 69th floor during construction of the GE Building at Rockefeller Center in 1932.


Print Ad: Fedex

More Print ads from this campaign of Fedex










Some other links that might interest you....

More Print Ads

Video Ad: Bacardi Mohito Ad

This was one of the ads that used to appear pretty often when I was in US in 2006 and 2007. Mostly During timeouts in the Football Matches. A very stylish way of saying that Bacardi Mohito keeps the party running without saying it in so many words.

Bacardi Mohito Ad




Some other links that might interest you....

More Video Ads

Print Ad: Absolut Feng Shui

The TBWA folks who started the Absolut series of ads and the concept behind it in the 1970s must have very strong pattern recognition and cognitive abilities. The kind of places where they find an Absolut bottle is amazing. One ad showing Feng Shui or Vaasthu Shaastra.


Some other links that might interest you....

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Video Ad: Cocoa Pebbles Hulk Hogan

This is the ad that has Hulk Hogan fuming currently. He has sued Post cereals for having a character that resembles him and shares the name that he used during his earlier days in wrestling ( before Vince Mcmohan suggested that he change to a more Irish Sounding name -- Hulk Hogan) without his permission.






Guess ,the Hulk is more p*ssed with the fact that Hulk Boulder gets pounded by Pebbles and Bam Bam after having Cocoa Pebbles in the Ad.

Some other links that might interest you....

More Video Ads

Print Ad: GE Dr.Seuss

Dr.Seuss before he became famous for The Grinch who stole Christmas , Howard hears a who made his living by drawing ads for GE , Standard Oil and Flit. Here is one such ad  depicting a human extolling the values of GE's Electric Wiring system to Hades.



Some other links that might interest you....

More Print Ads

Print Ad: Heinz Hot Ketchup

Often the best ads are the simplest to understand. This ad by Leo Burnett for Heinz Ketchup is one such ad. The Ad shows the state of a French Fry after it was dipped in Heinz Hot Ketchup.




Some other links that might interest you....


Video Ad: The Cog

The sequence starts with a transmission bearing rolling down a board into a synchro hub. The hub in turn rolls into a gear wheel cog, which falls off of the board and into a camshaft and pulley wheel. The camshaft swings around into the centre section of an exhaust pipe mounted on top of an engine crankshaft assembly. The exhaust in turn swings round to knock, which in turn swings into the first of a series of valve stems. The valve stems roll down a front bonnet placed on top of an alloy wheel rim, releasing an engine oil dipstick with a throttle actuator shaft on the end. The disptick flicks over an engine cam cover into a radiator. The radiator overturns, falling onto a wheel balanced on top of a water pump housing. This wheel rolls off and knocks into the first of a series of three weighted wheels, which roll up a ramp into a brake disc.

If you still don't know what I am talking about take a look at the video. One of the best ads of all times and one of the most award winning ads.




It took 606 takes to get the video right but it was worth each try. The final ad that was screened for the first time during an ad break of the Brazilian Grand Prix was such a runaway hit even the rival ad company bosses were indicating that it was one of the best ads that they had seen.

Some other links that might interest you....

More Video Ads

Print Ad: Fedex

A couple of ads from Fed-ex series that is minimalistic but drives home the point beautifully




Some other links that might interest you....

More Print Ads

Sunday, May 30, 2010

5 Things you might not know about Guinness: 3








Guinness has also been referred to as "Black Stuff" and as a "Pint of Plain" - referred to in the famous refrain of Flann O'Brien's poem "The Workman's Friend": "A pint of plain is your only man."

 When things go wrong and will not come right,
 Though you do the best you can,
 When life looks black as the hour of night -
 A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.

 When money's tight and hard to get
 And your horse has also ran,
 When all you have is a heap of debt -
 A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.

 When health is bad and your heart feels strange,
 And your face is pale and wan,
 When doctors say you need a change,
 A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.

 When food is scarce and your larder bare
 And no rashers grease your pan,
 When hunger grows as your meals are rare -
 A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.

 In time of trouble and lousy strife,
 You have still got a darlint plan
 You still can turn to a brighter life -
 A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.


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5 Things you might not know about Guinness: 4







The Sinking Bubbles


A long time subject of bar conversations is the Guinness cascade, where the gas bubbles appear to travel downwards in a pint glass of Guinness.

The effect is attributed to drag; bubbles that touch the walls of a glass are slowed in their travel upwards. Bubbles in the centre of the glass are, however, free to rise to the surface, and thus form a rising column of bubbles. The rising bubbles create a current by the entrainment of the surrounding fluid. As beer rises in the centre, the beer near the outside of the glass falls. This downward flow pushes the bubbles near the glass towards the bottom. Although the effect occurs in any liquid, it is particularly noticeable in any dark nitrogen stout, as the drink combines dark-coloured liquid and light-coloured bubbles.






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5 Things you might not know about Guinness










Dorothy L. Sayers -- The English Crime Writer, poet, playwright , essayist and translator collaborated with John Gilroy to create the Guinness "Zoo" Campaign Variations of which appear even today.



One of the Jingles that Sayers wrote for a toucan




If he can say as you can
Guinness is good for you
How grand to be a Toucan
Just think what Toucan do




Video Ad: MRF Nylogrip Ad

The ad that featured the synthesizer of AR Rahman




An early 90s ad for MRF -- The Ad was done by Bharath Bala ( of the Maa Tuhje Salam Fame) and features the synthesizer of AR Rahman ( when he was Dilip). Not sure if the music itself is by ARR due to the very high usage of the Synth in the music. ( would be great if someone could verify the same)

A very cool ad for that era -- featuring the most stylish bike at that time -- The Hero Honda Sleek. The Ad also does a very good job of indicating the strength of the tyre very very subtly/ The ad shows that the tyre is very sturdy even when there is a lot of water and unmatched grip even on the sand. Overall nothing unique if you look at present day tyre ads, but was a very nice ad for that era.

Wonder why MRF have to resort to Blimps when they can make ads like these.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Video Ad: Volkswagen Golf

One of my favourite ads. Super idea to bring a contemporary feel to the classic Singing in the Rain song.





David Elsewhere was the man behind the freestlye dance featured in this ad.

Vintage Ad: Speed Kodak

A lot of the earlier print ads were just lot of written information with visuals that captured the imagination of the people. One of the few ads from the early aviation era of 1900s which had more space for visual that the word.




Speed Kodak ad...





Friday, May 21, 2010

Ideas Recycled: Cost Cutting by Budweiser?

Budweiser has traditionally been at the forefront of creativity in ads and it is quite surprising that they would reuse one of their older ads from NFL for a worldwide event like the football WorldCup of 2010.

Could have been a simple case of cost-cutting where Budweiser did not want to spend for a new ad before the World Cup itself.. but it is sad to see brands like BUD recycle ads for different events( and no this is no internet Meme -- it is an original ad)

The Original Stadium ad made for NFL about 3 years back




The New ad made before the drawing of the lots for Fifa World Cup 2010




Tell us what you think.. Are recycling of ads from different events across different Geographies a good idea? Does it keep the cost down? Does it hurt a brand that presents an image of being at the cutting edge?

Fast Vs Fast Adidas WC 2010 Ad

The first of the World Cup 2010 specific ads that features on this blog.





-----------------------------------------
The names behind the ad
-----------------------------------------
Project F50 adiZero: Fast vs. Fast
Client adidas International
Creative agency 180 Amsterdam
Executive creative director Andy Fackrell
Copywriter Peter Albores
Senior art director Martin Terhart
Senior producer Joe Togneri
Digital agency 180Riot
Digital creative director Todd Bois
Director of digital planning Michael Aneto
Digital producer Peter Bassett
Production company Knucklehead
Directors Johnny Green, Gary Shore
Producer Matthew Brown


Comment:
A superbly executed ad that wouldn't be out of place in a Wachowski Brothers World... a beautiful Moriconnesque background score enhances the voice over and the hyper real video effects.

Leave your thoughts behind in the comments section.

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