Marobella's Branding SoapBox

Are We Too Paranoid?

On my way to work this morning in Chicago, I heard a news story from my hometown of Boston that there was a suspicous package hanging on the commuter train wires. I thought to myself that maybe some drunk dude threw his backpack up onto the wires. Interestingly enough, my mind went directly to the notion that everything would be OK.

The last thing I would have thought of would be a guerilla marketing campaign gone horribly wrong. Does this picture look like something that is dangerous? Maybe. I guess we can never to be too careful. Should the agency be faulted for hanging something on the train wires, well probably. Boston.com  reported the story. The campaign was for the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. The bad news is that people were late for work and they are probably going to get sued. The good news is that the media coverage they are getting is invaluable.

BREAKING NEWS: Attorney General Martha Coakley said authorities have recovered 14 of 38 packages around Boston that prompted widespread panic and caused traffic shutdowns. Two of the objects were initially reported to police as suspected pipe bombs, said Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, but turned out to be a Turner Broadcasting stunt to promote a cartoon. "This is outrageous,'' Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said of the ploy. He said Turner Broadcasting knew the stunt was causing citywide panic at noon but waited hours to send a one-paragraph apology. "It's all about corporate greed,'' Menino said, adding that responsibility extended beyond those who placed the installations. "The people in the boardroom have some obligation,'' Menino said tonight. An Arlington man has been arrested for placing the "hoax devices,'' Coakley said.

Man, would I be pissed if I was two hours late for work because of a guerilla marketing campaign.

I [heart] My Moleskin

Does this development change the rules for consumer generated media?

Many ad people carry around Moleskin notepads to capture their thoughts, ideas, ramblings and musings. I have many of them around my house and office, each one with a reason for being. Campaign ideas, ideas for the agency, new business thoughts, perceptions on my ee's, personal to do lists, goals and aspirations, places i want to see etc. I especially cannot wait for the US versions of their Moleskin City Notebooks to be released this year.

I thought it was interesting o read about the customer enthusiast site The Moleskinirie on the  The Church Of The Customer Blog and how it was acquired. It was acquired by the company that has the US distribution rights. The site gets 150,000 monthly visitors and weaves in components of consumer generated media, including Flickr and Google groups.

This is interesting.

A company with a vested interest in the communication of the product's brand in the US purchased the property that was created to bring together enthusisasts organically. Does this violate the rules of organic consumer generated media? I think it does. Many companies have been pinged lately for creating flogs that head fake the consumer. This is no different. It moves away from being organic and is controlled by an entity that has a vested interest in the profit of the brand. I understand their decision and even applaud them for making the move. It will be curious to see how it plays out and the company utlizes the property.

Better believe I will be tracking the progress in my trusty Moleskin. 

Say It Ain't So For 'Man Law.'

By now, everyone in the ad community has heard that Miller Lite is pulling the buzz-worthy Man Law campaign that featured an eclectic group, from Carey Hart to Burt Reynolds.

A recent Ad Age article  talks about the decision and why Miller Lite and Crispin+Porter made the decision to pull the campaign. The decision revolved around market share slippage. The campaign is one of the few campaigns of late that had permeated pop culture and created new vernacular for us dudes. The Man Law mantra has been repeated amongst guys every since that campaign began. And, everyone I know that references the campaign knows its Miller Lite. It doesnt seem to have fallen victim to the "I love that ad, but I can't remember what it's for."

I used to look forward to thes ads. Two things about this make me mad. 1. The campaign they replaced it with sucks. GHT vs ITE. Clever, but not as good. 2. I stil have to watch these fucking commercials every 2 seconds: Wendy's $2.99, The Rock Em, Sock Em Robots and Taco Bell with Carmen Elektra..... Ok I like that one. 

Why didn't market share move? Why didn't all of us that loved the campaign go and buy Miller Lite? Why would piss water with hops like Coors Light do better than Miller Lite?

Championship Sunday Link

BrandSoapBox isn't there yet, but give it time.
The Power 150 of Marketing Blogs

Go Bears. Go Pats.

Meth Coffee - Where Is The Outrage?

We, as brand marketers, should make our voice known.

In December, I wrote about the launch of Cocaine The Energy Drink and how we as a society should make a choice whether or not this is acceptable. I walked the fine line in making a judgement on if we should allow a harmless product, like an energy drink, to be named after a very illegal narcotic. I wrote about the shock value and how I can understand why a company would take this risk. Much of the product will be sold in clubs and bars, where Cocaine use is probably also being undertaken - not that it makes it right, however.

But, with the new launch of Meth Coffee , I have to put my foot down. This is over the top. Crystal Meth is more than a drug it is deadly poison that ravages the person. People that are addicted to Meth are in a very bad place in their lives and it is an epidemic in our society. To not only have a coffee named after the drug, but your entire brand image mirroring Anti-Meth websites is unexcusable. My agency, Wirestone, created the Not Even Once website for Tom Siebel and the Montana Meth project. Can you see the similarities in the design and image? What this drug does to the human body is unreal. We should not be popularizing it through the marketing of a product like coffee (or energy drinks).

By having legal products such as energy drinks and coffee named after illicit, very bad drugs - only desensitizes our young people from the effects of the real thing. It puts these words into their vocabulary and the thoughts into their minds. It associates something named cocaine or meth with something that isnt that bad for you. The truth about the real thing is so far from that reality. We should be outraged as marketers, as parents and as members of this society.

What's next?
Heroin Lollipops or Ecstasy Skittles

Perhaps Its Fra-talian?!

As I sit in a Starbucks and write about the ad campaign that takes a shot at their use of language in ordering, I can't help but think of some irony.

Starbucks has done a masterful job at creating a brand language unique to their experience. Sure, others have copied it, but they pioneered the adjective-laden ordering process. It takes people time to learn the vernacular, but once you do - you are on the inside. You are in the know and you are never going back. The point is, go into a Dunkins' and order using the language they use on the Starbucks menu. I have actually said Venti at Dunkins' or even Caribou Coffee and the people behind the counter get physically upset, as if I just said their baby was ugly.

The irony in this catchy campaign from Dunkins' is that while they take a shot at the french-sounding, Italian words used on the menu. After they throw digs and even wonder if it is called Fra-talian, they still named their product a "Latte". Um, guys. Latte is an Italian word. See this entry in Wikipedia referring to the word Latte.

Being from Boston, I do love my Dunkins' Iced Coffee and the Munchkins that remind me of Sunday School, but now that I have a laptop with Wi-Fi, I like sitting in a nice, comfortable high back chair and tossing around a few french-sounding, italian words every now and then.

If I See The Wendy's $2.99 Ad...

one more time, I swear that I will go to their competition every day for the next 30 days. I have been glued to the TV watching the NFL playoffs and that stupid commercial with the two losers in a library eating their fast food comes on the TV. With my 60" screen and Bose surround sound, it starts with the super-loser trying to eat a meal that looks like something in my 2-year old daughters Little Tykes kitchen. And, worse he is making mouth crunchy noises and I hear it surround-sound.

Seriously, since I started writing this post that stupid whistle and commercial has been on 3 times. 3 times in a matter of 3 commercial breaks. Multiply this by all the games that been on and the number of commercial breaks and that is a shit load of mouth noises. Yea, I get it - Wendy's has a huge $2.99 meal. Fire your media agency. They have gone way past the point of diminishing returns with seeding your message, actually to the point of pissing me off.

I now have to hit the mute button when this idiotic, not-creative promotional execution comes on during the game.

Did Starbucks Deny Marines Their Coffee Fix?

This email is a chain letter I received from my Aunt. I find it interesting, wondering if this really happened. Could it have been an investor shorting the stock? Or, how about someone from Caribou Coffee? I guess, what I am saying is that I find it hard to believe that Starbucks would say " we don't support anyone IN the war". Sure, maybe they don't support the effort, but I can't imagine they would be that vigilant. And, the other fear is that a chain email can get started against any brand and go around the world many times over. I support our troops and am grateful that they fight for our freedon everyday.

*STARBUCKS DENIES COFFEE TO MARINES*

Recently Marines in Iraq wrote to Starbucks because they wanted to let them know how much they liked their coffees and to request that they send some of it to the troops there. Starbucks replied, telling the Marines thank you for their support of their business, but that Starbucks does not support the war, nor anyone in it, and that they would not send the troops their brand of coffee. So as not to offend Starbucks, maybe we should not support them by buying any of their products! As a war vet writing to fellow patriots, I feel we should get this out in the open. I know this war might not be very popular with some folks, but that doesn't mean we don't support the boys on the ground fighting street-to-street and house-to-house for what they and I believe is right. If you feel the same as I do then pass this along, or you can discard it and no one will never know.

Thanks very much for your support. I know you'll all be there again when I deploy once more. "Semper Fidelis." Sgt Howard C. Wright 1st Force Recon Co 1st PLATOON

PLEASE DON'T DELETE THIS ... ALLOW IT TO BE PASSED TO ALL IN MEMORY OF ALL THE TROOPS WHO HAVE DIED SO THAT WE MAY HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE TO SUPPORT THEM OR NOT!!!*

The Brand of Underdog

Why does everyone love an underdog? That is a cliche that is bandied about a lot, but what drives it? Why did everyone want Boise State to topple Oklahoma or why did many people root for Florida in tonight's BCS championship. Or, the most famous underdog of all, Rocky Balboa.

Why do we build companies and brands up and then tear them down by rooting for the underdog? Think Microsoft, Google, Wal-Mart - we created these brands by buying their products and now we couldn't care less.

Personally, I like being the underdog. Nobody sees you coming, you can zig when everyone is zagging. You can fly under the radar and perform feats that nobody thought was possible.

"It's My Hand In A Box"

Step One:  Fire your agency and hire a new one
Step Two:  Cut a hole in the budget
Step Three:   Put that hand in the box

Holy smokes, what bad timing for Office Depot and their hand in a box campaign. By now, I am sure many people have seen the infamous D**K In A Box skit on Saturday Night Live. This campaign should be called S**T In A Box. It is awful. Not only is a blatant rip off of Staples Easy button or more like - "Give Us Something Like The Easy Button, Only Not".

For a category leader like Office Depot and their huge budget, I would think their new agency Kaplan/Thaler could do better than that, especially after their fired BBDO. This is their first effort?

I love Office Depot and am really bummed they went this direction in their marketing. Crikey, stick Carl Edwards in your ads and go from there - anything would have been better. And, I didn't even mention the weird coincedence of this looking like the Addams Family hand.