Tag Archives: advertising

Happy St. Patrick’s Day from Baby

Or shall we say “beannachtaí na féile pádraig!”? Either way, we hope you’re being a stereotypical celebrator of this Irish holiday–wearing all of your green garments, either drinking or at least thinking (daydreaming?) about drinking a Guinness, and insisting that your grandfather’s cousin’s uncle was half-Irish, so you are in the clear. For this fine holiday, we thought we’d share some of our favorite St. Patrick’s Day themed adverts from recent years.

St. Patrick’s Day is all about tradition, and we think this ad for Fujifilm from last March appeals to the nostalgia of bygone celebration. The copy, though somewhat hard to read, speaks of a distant memory that so many can relate to, conceptualizing the timelessness of a Fujifilm photo.

(Source: Coloribus)

Following the theme of tradition, McDonald’s clever promotion for its Shamrock Shake plays on the annual dying of the Chicago River. We’ve heard the shake isn’t quite appetizing, but really appreciate the advertiser’s optimisation of placement at a spectacle that gathers tens of thousands every year. The Shamrock Shake “spilled” into the River for the past two years.

(Source: Ads of the World)

The following ad from Durex employs the stereotypical Irish phrase “to be sure, to be sure.” We like the use of white space to make the product the main spectacle, and assume the green condoms are meant to resemble four leaf clovers, creating a second layer of play on “getting lucky.”

(Source: The Chip Chop Awards)

Finally, what would St. Patrick’s Day (or advertising, for that matter) be without Guinness? We love this one, calling all to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day like a “real holiday,” and we couldn’t agree more!

So, as Durex advises, have a fun, safe St. Patrick’s Day!

Product Placement: Don’t Overdo It

In a much-anticipated move, communications authority Ofcom finally lifted the ban on product placement advertising on UK television, a law that was officially instated on 28 February. And finally, the first legal product placement was featured on This Morning in the form of a Nescafé Dolce Gusto Melody II coffeemaker.

It seems quite anticlimactic, doesn’t it? That’s because it’s not very exciting– those of us not ashamed of our affinity for American television have been buffered for this advancement for years.  Product placement has been commonplace among our advertising counterparts in the US since the 80′s – you may have noted American Idol judges’ preference for Coca-Cola, Gossip Girl’s endorsement of Verizon, or even Jerry Seinfeld and friends’ love for Junior Mints.

We are all for product placement when done subtly and tactfully. It can be a great opportunity for the product to be seen and buzzed about as long as it doesn’t affect the content of the program. For instance, Britney Spears may have made $500k on her video for Hold it Against Me, but the product placement was far too much, making the video look like cheap advertising for Sony, PlentyofFish.com, and Make Up Forever.  However, here we are writing about it, so we suppose the point was made. Nice one, Brit. In the end, we look forward to spotting those sneaky placements in our favorite UK shows, and following up to see if there are any changes in sales for advertisers.

And what would Friday be without us sharing an ad campaign we enjoyed this week? We love this one from Oreo which gives a twist on their newest tagline “Milk’s Favorite Cookie.”

Milk’s Favorite Pampering Technique

Milk’s Favorite Breakfast

Milk’s Favorite Cookie

Though we would have liked a line that flowed better than “pampering technique,” overall the campaign seamlessly tied creativity with a great product shot.

(Sources: GOOD and Ads of the World)

Super bowl ads

In the US, the Super Bowl is a big deal for corporations in term of advertising. And it’s not just about paying billions to broadcast your regular ad, oh no it’s much more than that. The ads have to be entertaining, and funny most of the time. There was over 30 of them, but here are our favourites. You can check the rest there.

 

(Source: Ads of the World)

Faber-Castell ad campaign

Here is a brilliant ad campaign for the pencil-maker giant Faber-Castell.

We love the concept, it’s very clever and fun. And it makes pencils more exciting than they actually are.

And it works very well with the shark.

Plus the dog is very cute.

(Source: Ads of the World)

Intel’s viral movie

Intel is going viral with this great video made to promote the new Intel core i5 processor. Its title, The Chase, is pretty self explanatory. Based on action scenes from spy movies, it shows a woman trying to escape what we assume would be 2 gangsters.

But how does it actually relate, and sell the processor? Well, it’s all in the way it’s presented, as it’s not your regular James Bond movie. The story is moved from apps to apps, using each software’s attribute (eg. Google Streetview) as part of the story, to obviously show the benefits and performance of the new product.

It’s very well made, and will definitely make a fair bit of noise, although it hasn’t yet been picked up by many websites/blogs, which we think is quite surprising?!

 

(Source:  Zeutch)

Merry Christmas from Baby!

Two days to go to Christmas! Unfortunately this means we shall be off enjoying the holidays, and will only be reporting back in the new year, probably a few pounds heavier after all the over-eating that goes with Christmas.

The whole team is wishing everyone a very happy Christmas and new year.We are very much looking forward to 2011, as it looks like it will be filled with a lot of excitement and opportunities, and we are wishing everyone out there the same.

Here is a little something we found online we thought was very clever and amusing: the Santa Brand Book by the Quietroom.

Enjoy and see you all in 2011!

A2591 strips brands down

Design firm A2591 has offered an interesting take on popular brands’ packaging, from Nutella to Mr. Muscle.

Their philosophy is very similar to ours: simple sells. These products that we know so well, however, are all but simple: logos are overshadowed by pictures, bright colours, text, etc.

They thus decided to strip packaging down, getting rid of the not-so-essential parts, and keeping… well pretty much logo and background.

Result is great for most of them, especially Lindt, which ends up looking more upmarket than the actual packaging. We’re sure this would work pretty well.

Minimal is good, and it’s something Corn Flakes, etc, might want to consider? Any favourites?

(Source:  A2591)

Absolut Vodka’s stylish bus stops

Absolut Vodka is reinforcing their status as a very cool brand by re-designing bus stops in Chicago. The starting point was som of their special products – Absolut Twist, Absolut Bloody and Absolut Lemon Drop – and their specific styles andpersonalities. From there, they developed the designs, not just for the posters, but for the entire bus stop, transforming them into some sorts of boudoirs.

It implied re-designing the whole bus stop, from covering it with posters, to painting the poles accordingly, changing the seats into matching chairs, and even planting lemon trees on the roof!

Each style represents the personality of each product pretty accurately. We definitely wouldn’t mind waiting for the bus at one of those, especially as some of the chairs look pretty comfortable.

 

(Source: Zeutch)

Non-Sign II – The anti-billboard

This amazing billboard, designed by Lead Pencil Studio, an art and architecture firm, can be found at the border between US and Canada. Well actually, would billboard be the appropriate term for the installation? Billboards are generally associated with advertising, but here, the fuzzy frame resembling a cloud of insects, highlights the lack of commercial space, in some sort of threatening way.

 

However, here is how Lead Pencil Studio explains it:

Borrowing the effectiveness of billboards to redirect attention away from the landscape… this permanently open aperture between nations works to frame nothing more than a clear view of the changing atmospheric conditions beyond.

So not so anti-commercial in the end. Still, we think it does make a point. Art tends to do that. What’s surprising though, is the fact that the federal government sponsored the installation!

We find it quite beautiful, but also unsettling in some way, probably because advertising is sort of our thing.

(Source: Co Design)

The BRIT awards get a fresh new look

We are getting really excited by the re-branding work conducted by Music for the BRIT Awards. Their approach is really interesting: rather than re-designing the trophy entirely, which would then be fixed for the next few years, they have decided to strip it down, so as to give the opportunity to famous designers or artists to dress it again, giving it a fresh look every year!

Its new shape, made of porcelain, is very modern and silk, and we love it even when plain! But what’s even more exciting is that for this year’s awards, they got Vivienne Westwood to dress the trophy. The sketch of it looks great and we can wait to see it finished!

The homepage of their website is obviously dedicated to their success in winning the pitch, and they’ve done so in a cool and engaging way: a list of the different stages of the pitch process, and what followed. And some of them are linked to online news articles referring to their work. An interesting way to brag about their success, but who can blame them? Their concept is actually great, and they deserved the attention!

(Source: Creative Review)