Things I Adore: Part 5

Natural Photographs

I read another blog article about Elles' use of untouched and make-up free photographs in a recent issue.  How fantastic!  Too often, we forget that the models and actors/actresses in magazines don't really look that smooth and blemish-free.  They have moles, warts and pimples just like you and me.

While it's important to put your best foot forward; do you need a new face too?  I recently tested this with a couple of my own photographs.  I ran them through photoshop.  Here are the before and after effects:

I guess I'm lucky because there isn't too much to cover, but even so...  I like my real face.  Yes, I have a few freckles and a flat mole on my nose, but they add character.  What is so wrong about being unique anyway?  Why airbrush out the features that make you different?

Do you like au natural?

Things I Adore: Part 2

"Where's Waldo" Advertising:
Eye-catching ads and how to make them.

Every day I drive, flip and surf past hundreds of advertisements and I know I'm not the only one. They are everywhere; on my TV, in my mail, and along my commute. Most of the time, I don't even realize they're there. After a while, the modern mind just tunes them out. But what about the rogue ad that catches my eye? Usually, the ad has to be oddly placed or extremely daring for me to notice it. It's like the book "Where's Waldo" where one out of hundreds of zebra-clad look-alike cartoons fill the page, but only one is right. Here are some examples of 'Waldo' ads:

These ads; that were seen by many in Chicago, were created by using a stencil to pressure-wash the dirty sidewalk. Best of all, the ads are non-destructive, legal and very cheap to create.

BBDO created these ads for FedEx Kinko's using over sized highlighters and correction fluid to catch the attention of New Yorkers. Another example of non-destructive, creative and legal 'Waldo' ads.

In Japan, Nintendo commissioned ads on several subway cars as a way to boost sales of the system. A 'Waldo-esque' use of existing space that's legal and affordable.

Mini Cooper hit it "spot on" with this funny Canadian ad complete with traffic cones. Be wary of splash-back should you hit a cone on this 'Waldo' course.

This ad for Tin Foil is so 'Waldo' I don't know where to start. How about with the price? Dirt. Cheap. This American ad is more effective then 100 billboards, but for a fraction of the cost.


Finally, this Proctor & Gamble ad in Bangkok uses tangled wires to advertise their line of de-tangling hair products. Don't try to read the copy, this 'Waldo' is foreign.

So, how can you create 'Waldo' ads for your company?

1. Look at your product(s), are there any everyday places, structures or settings that LOOK like all or part of your product?

2. Are there any everyday places, structures or settings that SMELL, TASTE or FEEL like all or part of your product?

3. Are there any places, structures or settings that look like the OUTCOME or PROBLEM your product addresses?

4. If representing a non-profit, what place is appropriate for spreading awareness that would have the biggest impact? Is there a PLACE, TIME or SCENARIO that relates to your service/issue either positively or negatively?

Once you have some ideas, ask yourself:
Is this legal?
Is this cheap?
Is this bold?
Is this ethical?
Will we reach our intended audience?
Does this fit the brand personality?

If you answered yes to all the above questions, then you are well on your way to designing the next 'Waldo' phenomenon.

Happy hunting!

P.S. If anyone has seen more ads like these, include a link with your comment. I'd love to see what catches your eye!

Faux Online Experts

Blogging Should Require a License
The information age is thriving, but are we really learning anything of value?

I am not an expert. To be an expert, I figure one has to be immersed in a field for many years. While I may not have decades of work experience, I am schooled enough to easily determine whether a resource is credible.

The blog post titled "17 Strategies to Killer Ads" has been RT'd as an authority enough to grab my attention, and when I read it I threw up a little. Poor grammar and spelling aside, what are these gentlemen talking about?

Here's an excerpt:
"In the Advertising world, the creative process look like this: Strategy > Concept/Idea > Campaign & Tagline > Executions. You can see, the Strategy is in the most beginning of an entire idea and it is an approach, based on market research and insights, as to how a product or service will be positioned/repositioned. After reading The Advertising Concept Book by Pete Barry, we have an overall look at 17 different strategy for killer ads."

First off, the creative process as proposed by Roger von Oech (which is used by many Fortune 100 companies) looks nothing like what Harman and Penter (the minds behind 17 Strategies) outlined. Creative process; within the advertising industry, is the procedure used to find unique ideas or re-imagine old concepts. According to Oech, it consists of Research (Explorers)> Visualization (Artists)> Evaluation (Judges)> Presentation (Warriors).

Secondly, strategy is a plan-of-attack. This list doesn't show strategy, it shows the attention getting device/style. It shows HOW the message can be presented to pique interest and capture attention. Simply choosing one of these examples is not strategy and if the wrong device is selected the ad will fall flat with the target audience.

Finally, I feel obligated to caution fellow advertising professionals from distributing poor information. I saw this article (and others that are just as questionable) pop up on the feeds of some very sharp minds and that tells me that either:
A. People are not really reading these articles before forwarding them.
-or-
B. People are not fact-checking these articles for credibility.

In summation, as a basis for this post I used one hard-cover book and two online dictionaries to verify my conclusions before rebuking the authors of "17 Strategies to Killer Ads." Merriam-Webster, MAANZ Glossary and the textbook "Contemporary Advertising" by Willaim F. Arens are legitimate and credible sources. While I am only joking about blog licenses, I do feel that writers need to have more than one source when 'blogging to instruct' and making information up is not a good way to establish your expertise.

Things I Adore: Part 1

To hit the ground running on "Things I Adore," we'll begin with hoax marketing.

What is hoax marketing? It's where marketers cause a stir over a perceived threat that turns out to be a product launch. Now, before anyone gets alarmed... there are ways to do this right. Be cautious though. 'Hoax' the wrong people and it can cause a lot of problems.

A good case study is the Mobile Phone Virus hoax. Basically, targets received the following message on their cell phone: "Outbreak: I'm infecting you with t-virus, my code is ******. Forward this to 60022 to get your own code and chance to win prizes. More at t-virus.co.uk."

It wasn't a virus at all and gamers know that the T-virus is from Resident Evil; a gaming franchise that is older than most of its fans. CE's fatal flaw was poor instruction. As a result, some people did get alarmed. What did they think was going to happen? They told 17-yr-old gamers to forward the message to everyone.
Grandma doesn't know what the T-virus is!

Some recipients even called tech support worried that they had been infected with a REAL virus. (That is hilarious, by the way.) But trust me when I say, the appropriate targets for this campaign would know better. Why am I so sure? Because I am in that target. Gamers know the difference between a real virus and advertising. We live on the computer, console and iPhone.

The fact that anyone was concerned tells me CE didn't provide an appropriate call to action.

The strategy was sound but the execution was flawed. Infiltrating ONLY their tech-savvy target audience would not have caused a panic. Regardless, the game made major headlines and word spread like wildfire. Mission accomplished, albeit a little clumsily.

Things I Loathe: Part 5

*Cue the dramatic music* This is the last segment of "Things I Loathe." Peek in later this week for the first of my "Things I Adore" series.

Tonight I will be blogging about Agency Slogans. You see them at almost every advertising agency, and some of them are just plain horrible. In this post I will review a few and tell you why I think they are missing the mark.

Blueliner- "Acting outside the box"
Oh I get it!! There's a box that contains all the other agencies, and you're on the outside! Sharp. Cliches can backfire, and I feel this one doesn't do Blueliner any favors. They are smart, savvy Internet ad men who are at the top of their game, yet they use an arcane expression? That doesn't make any sense. I would go with something more progressive and tech-based. Something like "Experts in Cyberspace Navigation" or "ROI- Redefining Online Integration." Something clever.

Young & Rubicam- "Resist the Usual"
What!? Oh, you're creative. Why didn't you say so? I thought you only created advertising for companies run by aliens or the mentally challenged. Yes, I know Y&R is a top-shelf agency... but their tag line still stinks. It doesn't say "We're creative" it says "We're strange...or you're strange..either way, someone better be weird or we won't work." Isn't advertising supposed to reach 'normal' people? It sounds like you're limiting viewership from the start. How about "Big Apple-sized Ideas" or "We are aliens" (the second one would definitely set you apart). Y&R's tag line sounds contrived...trying too hard. Nobody likes that.

AD Lubow Advertising- "Advertising that moves people"
What are you saying? Really. I should run your site through the BS checker program from the last post. Your slogan means nothing. Not a thing. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy for about five seconds and then you realize that it said nothing. Empty words designed to make you feel good about AD Lubow. But it fades. Fast. Go for genuine impact, people. Try "Advertising that stuns" or "Water-cooler Worthy Creative." At least those statements have meaning.

I could go on for hours, but let me finish with this:
Slogans should be as creative, real and persuasive as you are. If your slogan is weak, then you look weak.

Things I Loathe: Part 4

This pseudo-rant series is quickly coming to a close. Only one more posting to go, so stay tuned for the last update to "Things I Loathe."

Originally, I had intended to write about a totally different topic, but after reading Beyond Madison Avenue, I have decided to blog about 'puffery'.

Fluff works its way into everything we; as members of the pr/ad/marketing machine, do. So, as a test of the Gobbledygook Grader I will run two examples through the system.

The first content tested is from a marketing blog. It scored 77 out of 100 with the following stats:

Word count	428
Sentences	41
Link count	2
Readability (minimum education needed)	9th Grade

This content contains 1 word that is considered gobbledygook (it is overused and lacks specific meaning).
Eh, not bad.

The next sample is from a marketing publication. It scored 82 out of 100 with the following stats:

Word count	676
Sentences	45
Link count	0
Readability (minimum education needed)	1 Years Undergrad

This content contains 4 words that are considered gobbledygook (they are overused and lack specific meaning).
Uhh oh, not good.
According to David M. Scott, the these are the most ambiguous words of 2008.

Just to make sure I am not a culprit, I'll run my own posting through the system.

This post scored a 51 out of 100 with the following stats:

Word count	201
Sentences	24
Link count	6
Readability (minimum education needed)	11th Grade

This content contains 0 words that are considered gobbledygook (they are overused and lack specific meaning).

I will reward myself with pie.

Things I Loathe: Part 3

Behold the third installment of "Things I Loathe." If you like what I have to say stay tuned for parts 4-5 and its natural counterpart: "Things I Adore."

I will be limiting these posts to communication-related topics to keep myself from going off on too many tangents.

I absolutely loathe bad photoshop jobs. Apparently I am not the only one, since I found a blog dedicated to seeking out the worst of the worst. In most of the cases shown on the blog, these 'oopsies' were for MAJOR publications. Places that have multiple people looking at your work before it goes to the press. The most recent 'whoops' was in Sports Illustrated. Really, SI? Are you telling me NO ONE saw that?

Sure, graphic artists are people too (maybe), and make mistakes because they are not perfect... but I can do a better job, and no one is paying me tens of thousands of dollars. I feel that they get paid well enough and have enough people looking over their shoulders that this shouldn't happen. Hey, here's a tip: Pay a good photographer to take the SHOT YOU WANT, and there won't be any photoshop problems!

Furthermore, I know my way around Adobe enough to remove every pimple and blemish from my headshots for the rest of my life, but is this much photoshopping really necessary? Put the mouse down, people. There is no need to mess up a great photo over one pimple or thick waist.

Things I Loathe: Part 2

Prep yourself for the next installment of "Things I Loathe." If you like what I have to say stay tuned for parts 3-5 and its natural counterpart: "Things I Adore."

Keep in mind that I will be limiting these posts to communication-related topics.

I was reading this blog about some of the worst websites the writer has seen. Now, individuals might have an excuse... they might not be technologically savvy, just made a site to try it out, or they got ripped off when they hired a buddy to do it. However, companies have no excuse. Guru.com, craigslist.org, and elance.com have people waiting for gigs who can get the job done. Why would you allow your brand to be represented with crap online work? Are your products that horrible?

Beyond bad websites, there are companies that don't understand how to PROPERLY integrate social media. They either use it to blast out their messages or flood the web with their presence on every site they can create a user name on. Don't these social media managers even make an ATTEMPT to understand the community they are pouncing on? Do you walk into a party, kick open the door and start talking about how awesome you are? No. Well, at least I hope not. You wouldn't be invited to any parties after that.

Hey companies, do it right or don't do it at all. Cheap websites and a 'fake friend' social media presence doesn't make you cool. Really. It doesn't.

Things I Loathe: Part 1

I've decided to start this blog with a segment that I have delicately named "Things I Loathe." If you like what I have to say stay tuned for parts 2-5 and its natural counterpart: "Things I Adore."

Keep in mind that I will be limiting these posts to communication-related topics, as that is my field of expertise.*

On to the topic at hand:

I decided to embark on this blogging journey after reading this post.

My initial reaction was, "Why does such a thing exist? Who needs that many acronyms!?" We don't. Not if you want anyone to take you seriously. Would it really kill you to write out the whole phrase? We already have contractions, people. Let's not get greedy!

Then I was reminded of a story where students in New Zealand were granted permission to use 'text abbreviations' on exams. You can read the story here. Unbelievable. What is even more ridiculous is that professors might have to use the above translator to decipher the .com-isms! It's a shame that academic institutions would tolerate informal speech in a formal setting, but now it appears that corporations are easing off as well.**

There is NO excuse for this behavior. Most people have a high school education these days; write like it. You are not saving money and time by using text-speak. Practitioners simply make themselves look unprofessional and uneducated. Leave the LOL, OMG, TTYL, :), <(*.*)>, and gr8 to the teens.




*No, I don't think I'm an expert (yet). If you have a better word to describe "the topic I am most interested, schooled and versed in" then please share with the class.
**Since I don't see a 'verified by' check mark, I will give a lot of leeway as the company may have been represented by an impostor.

Welcome to My BlogFolio

Before I graduated, my professor told me that within a few years everyone would have online resumes'. I believed him. So, since November of 2008, this blog has served as a simple online portfolio.

Hiring managers loved it! Their only critique was that they didn't get a very in-depth sense of who I am. I realised that I was ONLY using Blogspot for something other than its intended purpose. I was not leveraging its full potential. So, consider this posting my introduction to 'the well-rounded view of my professional self.'

Enjoy!