By: Mary Catania
Think Like an Entrepreneur & Artist
The Creative Process: From Nothing, Something
Check out the San Diego Design Film Series. I can’t wait to see what this documentary says about the creative process and how we as writers, artists, photographers, and designers create our own epiphanies.
Puppy Love: Why Dogs Always Win in SuperBowl Ads
Pair Passenger’s sappy song with a yellow lab puppy who falls in love with Budweiser’s strapping Clydesdale horse and you get yourself the highest rated commercial spot in the Superbowl.
Yes, this spot was more memorable than the actual game this year. The beauty of this piece is that the visuals do all of the speaking. There is no noisy voice-over distracting us from the unusual love affair between a perfect puppy and handsome horse. This doting dog is so in love that he breaks free of his farm, scurries under a fence, and busts into a barn, for his irresistible equine. Would a man ever do that for you ladies? People go nuts for puppies in general, but unusual pet couples are even more endearing. PBS, ABC, and BBC dedicate entire episodes to animal odd couples. We are fascinated by the inter-species bond, and how friendships form under the most unlikely circumstances.
As the Passenger lyrics play “Only you know you love her when you let her go” and the poor little puppy is whisked into the backseat of the car with the door shut in its wrinkly face, we can’t help but feel the pang of love unrequited. Did you ever have to leave someone too soon? Before it felt really over? After all, Budweiser is trying to tell us, it’s those “almost relationships” that hurt the most. So why not grab another beer to forget about it? #bestbuds.
So when will Carl’s Junior learn that scantily clad tanned blonde bombshells pounding burgers on top of shiny new cars won’t make us rush off our lazy boys and race through the drive-thru? We know deep down we aren’t going to run into the front cover girl of Maxim at the pick up window, but instead, a middle-aged woman will hand us our saturated-fat-laden charbroiled burger with her eye twitching and a missing yellow tooth. Put a puppy in the spot, however, and I would get there a lot quicker.
According to Time Magazine, Anheuser-Busch’s “Puppy Love” ad, developed by the agency Anomaly, was voted the top commercial during the game by viewers on Hulu. It also earned the top spot on USA Today’s Ad Meter, which is calculated through online surveys of Super Bowl viewers each year. The spot is also dominating the other ads on YouTube, where it has racked up more than 37 million views since Wednesday, and it’s easily lapping the other ads in terms of social activity, according to media metrics firm.
Now that’s nothing to “let go” about.
Writing: Do What You Love, Love What You Do
Boost Your Bottom Line: Mobile Marketing for Entrepreneurs
Grow Your Enterprise: Social Media For Entrepreneurs Workshop February 1st
Lulu Lemon: Know No Bounds
Lulu Lemon creatives know yoga. They also know no bounds.
I stumbled upon this eblast today: “know no bounds.” If you aren’t a yogi, this model is attempting to do scorpion pose, an advanced posture in yoga. The camera has captured her right before she will bring her left leg up to join her right. It’s a beautiful balancing posture.
As a yoga enthusiast, I look forward to receiving eblasts from Lulu every couple days. While many retailers use pretty models with zero muscle definition, Lulu scouts strong and powerful yogis, women I see myself next to in Vinyasa class everyday. Women with fortitude and focus and discipline, who aren’t afraid to sweat and get their hair messed up and do crazy inversion and fall on their faces after attempting handstand after frustrating handstand.
Othertime, Lulu tells me about the newest fashions they are offering for each upcoming season. I love the pops of hunter green seeping into their clothing for the fall:
While other times, they send me instructional videos on how to improve upon one of my favorite yoga poses, the wheel:
The creatives behind Lulu are geniuses: they keep their consumers engaged and coming back for more. I crave their clothing AND their advertising.
Enough With the New Year’s Advertisments
Now that we are all back from our long, relaxing, alcohol-ridden, cookie-consuming, indulgent holiday break, we have to revert back to our daily routine. That means eating a well balanced diet, frequenting the overcrowded gym, and working on new projects. That also means boring.
Advertisers love seasonal campaigns. They jump at any and every opportunity to sell their product in a new way that corresponds with the time of year. The New Year is a time of self promise and hope for a better future. What better way to sell your products than jumping on the happiness and positivity bandwagon frame of mind? What advertisers don’t realize is that every retailer out there is putting out the same exact message. And its annoying. And redundant.
Below are sample e-blasts I have received over the last 24 hours. What ones do you find most intriguing, if any? My favorite was Meetup.com’s ad because it tells us to do something completely outrageous: break our resolutions. Quit my job?! Eat More?! Drink More?! Of course these are appealing choices. Meetup.com is catering to our vices, and our nature to want to socialize and continue the ephemeral holiday extravaganzas. This is how we as advertisers should be thinking. Give your audience something unexpected, novel, and entertaining. Stop copying the masses.
Home Care Product Advertising: Fill Your Home with Love
Can I Email You The Receipt?
Retailers are getting smarter.
Here I am, standing in line at Macy’s purchasing a cocktail dress for my friend’s birthday party in downtown San Diego. The cashier rings me up and asks me politely, “Would you like the receipt emailed to you, or in the bag?”
Next, I head to Urban Outfitters and buy a funky shirt dress, perfect happy hour attire. Again, the same words float through the retail air when the cashier completes my purchase: “Can I email you the receipt?”
A few days later, I am taking my French Bulldog Bleu to the VCA in Hillcrest for his annual shots. The vet techs want to know if they can email the receipt to me instead? And I think, sure, that way I have a record of his office visit.
Emailing receipts is Eco-friendly, but is it email friendly? For people like me who love to be inundated with frivolous eblasts from countless companies everyday, I don’t mind giving out my personal email. I like checking out different offers, looking at pretty pictures, and well-written copy.
But what about the consumers who are more private about their private email accounts? They don’t realize by forking over their email address to Macy’s that their inbox will be invaded with 20 percent off coupons, annual holiday sales, and more.
Good advertising practice, or bad?
