Dog TV??

Well, it’s official.  The world has run out of ideas.  I was reading a blog that was talking about a channel available on Cox and Time Warner cable in San Diego called Dog TV.  Sound good?  Well, if it was a channel that was all about man’s best friend I would think it was a great idea too but that is not what it is about.  It is, ready for this….. a channel FOR your dog to watch!

You heard me; it is for your dog to watch.  It is scientifically tested to be interesting to your dog.  They claim that your poor dog is home all day alone and is bored so they developed a channel for them.  Only in America!  Think your pooch will get bored with the content, not a chance because “DOGTV is working hard to produce fresh content all the time, so your dog will always get new, exciting visual and auditory stimulations."  How would you advertise this service?  The sad thing is, I bet their successful.  I am willing to bet that there are people out there willing to pay a monthly fee for DogTV. 

It is a pay channel so that is how they make money but let me ask you this, would you leave your TV on all day so your dog isn’t bored?  I didn’t think so.  The blog even mentioned that   “For the busy dogs on the go, DOGTV also offers a YouTube channel and a Twitter feed ”  What’s next, driving school for Fido?  You could even check out their web site at www.dogtv.com

"California Doge Tune Into Their Own TV Channel." www.adlab.blogspot.com. N.p., 02/March/2012. Web. 27 Apr 2012. <http://adverlab.blogspot.com/>.

Too Much Dorito?

I don’t think there’s a brand that keeps reinventing themselves more than Dorito.  As far back as I could remember, which by the way, is pretty far, Doritos has had some pretty funny commercials.  I remember the funny ones from the 1970’s with Avery Schreiber.  He was the guy with the big mustache that crunched into a Doritos and made them look so good.

Today, Doritos has taken their image beyond branding and taglines, they even offer a different chip.  40% bigger and 40% cheesier.  Being in advertising I struggle with the concept of making such major changes to your product.  Is it good to keep changing your campaign?  Is it OK to change the size and flavor of something that has worked for you for many years?  I am no expert but I would have to say the answer is yes.  

Fans of your product will try anything new you put out.  Let’s face it, if you don’t want the bigger, thicker, cheesier chip, you could still buy the original version.  The commercial that they have matches the boldness of the new product, a truck jumping over a ton of buses.  Guess what…there's even a china shop right in front of them too, bet you could guess what happens.  What you can’t guess is what the china shop has stored in the back room, brilliant!  You’ll have to watch to find out.

I say congratulations to Doritos for being innovative and jumping out on a limb.  I for one, can’t wait to go shopping this week to see if I could find a bag of these over sized, over flavored, novelty snacks.  I’m sure they won’t be as good as I expect them to be, but that isn’t stopping me from buying them.  Wow, the power of marketing, I know they won’t be that good but I’ll buy them anyway.  Crunch on!  

Thielman, Sam. "Ad of the Day: Doritos." adweek. N.p., 20,April 2012. Web. 20 Apr 2012. <http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-doritos-139753>.

Regulations For Internet Alcohol Advertising

I love seeing commercials for beer or liquor on TV.  They always seem to be well thought out and let’s face it, when it is time to have a drink, it means the work day is over and it’s time to relax.  Commercials like that are bound to make you happy.  Well, I was just reading an article on Adweek that talked about the new rules that the Federal Trade Commission is requiring. 

“Over the years, alcohol advertisers have adopted more stringent guidelines concerning ads in media where 70 percent of the audience is 21 and older, up from a 50 percent threshold prior to 2003.”  That was fine for then but with the explosion of mobile Internet capabilities, the rules are changing again.  The fed’s don’t want marketers to advertise this type of material to people under 21 years old.  The major advertisers must now “detail their use of digital marketing and data collection practices.” 

In 2008, only 2% of the major advertiser’s budgets were used for Internet advertising and other digital placement.  Now with the web being full of “social media” those numbers are changing.  There is a study going on called “Alcohol Marketing in the Digital Age” that catalogued the digital and social media strategies used by the most popular brands.  They are not fooling around, they want to keep the Internet a safe place for those of you that are not yet 21 years old.  Never mind all the other stuff that goes on in cyberspace, but at least you won’t be tempted to drink a beer.

In any event, I guess it is good to keep an eye on the things they could keep an eye on, no reason to fill up space with beer ads if the majority of the people seeing the ads can’t purchase your product legally.  I, on other hand welcome the advertising.  I only wish they would throw me a coupon once in a while.

Bachman, Katy. "FTC Broadens Study of Alcohol Advertising Agency eyeing ads seen by underage audiences." adweek.com. N.p., 12 April 2012. Web. 13 Apr 2012. <http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ftc-broadens-study-alcohol-advertising-139546>.

Out With The Old

Crate & Barrel started in 1962 as a 1,700-square-foot store in the Old Town section of Chicago. It now has more than 110 locations in the U.S. and Canada.  They are known for their house wares and home furniture and have spent relatively little on media each year—about $3 million in 2011.  All of that is about to change. 

They recently got rid of their lead agency called Dangel, which is in Lake Forest Ill. And have replaced then with a company called TBWA\Chiat\Day in Playa Del Ray, Calif.  They are expected to spend around $10 million to start.  Most of Crate & Barrel’s advertising dollars have gone to printing costs, catalogs and sales circulars particularly. Their plan is to spend money on a mix of media channels while they attempt to attract younger shoppers.

This new advertising partnership was just announced today and I believe it will make a world of difference for their sales.  Crate & Barrel is turning 50 years old and they need to widen their target audience.  Advertising to younger customers means advertising where they are looking, seems simple to us since we are advertising majors and part of a cool group like Radvertising on Facebook, but to them it is something they have just figured out.  Whenever a product or company changes something about their image or packaging, or they come up with a new “off the wall” campaign, it seems to breathe new life into their position in the marketplace.

I’ll be looking for their new ads.  I’m anxious to see how “TBWA\Chiat\Day” tries to attract younger people.  Happy Birthday Crate & Barrel!   

McMains, A. (2012, April 06). Crate & barrel finds new lead agency tbwa\chiat\day la succeeds phenomenon. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/crate-barrel-finds-new-lead-agency-139458

New York Is Getting A Facelift

The yellow taxi cab is an icon in New York City.  You see them all over the place, breaking the laws of Physics and going faster than any posted speed limit I’ve ever seen.  It is very convenient to stick your hand out and grab a cab, especially if it’s not such a nice day and you need to get somewhere in a hurry.

Nissan is starting an advertising campaign to celebrate what the fleet of taxi’s will look like in 2013.  The promotion started Monday and features the “Nissan NV200 van, which in May won the Taxi of Tomorrow competition sponsored by New York City.” (Elliott)  The campaign is being produced by TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles, the longtime creative agency for Nissan North America.   The campaign includes billboards, events, social media, promotions and signs, many of which will be placed atop existing taxicabs. 

 The campaign has two goals. One is to encourage visits to the NV200 taxi that will be on display at the 2012 New York International Auto Show, to be held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from April 6 to 15. 

The other goal of the campaign is to connect in the minds of consumers the selection of the Nissan van with what has been the theme of the Nissan campaign since August 2010, “Innovation for all.” (Elliott)  A couple of ads in the taxi campaign explicitly link the contest to the Nissan brand theme. “Innovation for NYC,” one headline reads. Another ad asserts that the cab “goes to the corner of innovative and cool.” 

Other ads are lower key and humorous. “All hail,” one headline declares. Another confides: “Kept it yellow. Changed everything else. Nissan taxi of tomorrow. Coming 2013.” A third ad calls the NV200 “Taxi 2.0.” An element of the campaign that may draw attention is a billboard with an oversize sliding door, evoking the doors of the van. “The future of the auto industry?” the headline asks. “We can take you there.” 

 

And there are plans to give away to passers-by near the Javits Center foam fingers that can be used to hail cabs rather than root for sports teams. There will also be giveaways of gift cards worth $15 to apply toward cab rides.

Of course Nissan is trying to promote their other models to the general public but the power of advertising is still strong in America.  People pay attention to what is going on in NYC and Nissan knows that.  Get their attention with a promotion that involves the big city and then say, “Oh yeah, by the way, we also offer there other great models that aren’t yellow.” 

I look forward to seeing these new taxi’s in use, I will be on the lookout for them and will surely hail the first one I see in the coming year, that is of course if the world doesn’t end on December 21^st 2012 let’s not forget about that. 

     

Elliott, Stuart. "Nissan Promotes Next New York Taxi as a Sign of Its Innovation." New York Times.com. N.p., 22/03/2012. Web. 31 Mar 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/business/media/nissan-promotes-nv200-as-new-yorks-taxi-of-tomorrow.html?_r=1>.