Redbox

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Technology is opening up opportunities all around us, all the time.

it is possible to see these changes as doors closing (ask the music and print industries), but do not be fooled: doors are only opening.

Could an American been convinced in 1995 that Blockbuster would be challenged as the movie rental king, falling from the top of it’s market, to hardly relevant, to bankruptcy in the next 10-13 years?

It is amazing to think that not too long ago Netflix was it. Netflix was the top of the movie rental pyramid very recently – renting movies had been revolutionized, thanks to technology, Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings.

Mobile computing devices quickly made the web technology that made Netflix less relevant, and out of nowhere came Redbox.

It is difficult for most people to imagine what will come along next to dethrone Netflix and Redbox. It might be 15 years, or it might be 15 minutes.

The key is to understand new technologies and where they are going. Otherwise new ideas become another person’s catapult and all of the marketing dollars in your war chest cannot keep you from joining Blockbuster on the island of forgotten toys.

Another Knock on Newspapers

Online Newspaper Ads

The print industry is dying, if it is not already dead.

Everyone knows this. It is fact.

So, it will not surprise anyone when I point out that Newspapers are doomed. I am not looking for applause or an award with this post. But I do think that my reasoning here is a little bit different than what most folks expect.

Without further ado, let’s add one more item to add to the, “Well, shucks! Looking back on it, doing ________ wasn’t very smart, huh?!” list: Bungling of online Newspapers in their infancy.

Advertisements have been a huge part of Newspapers for years. People are used to seeing ads all over the place while they are trying to read their paper. Shoot, some people even look forward to the flood of ads (and coupons) that arrive with Sunday’s bulging paper.

The next logical step is to make ad revenue a cornerstone of the online paper business, right?

Well, maybe. But also, maybe not.

Print ads in the newspaper never flash, pop up, or get inadvertently clicked – taking you to another page entirely. Print ads might be stupid or pointless to some people, but if they are annoying at all it is a fraction of the amount that online ads test consumer’s patience.

I am tired of getting a pop-up every time I click a story. I am tired of having five ads on a page that get in the way of navigating it. I am tired of in-window pup-ups that come with music and video that ruin everything I was doing.

But most of all, I am tired of businesses (especially those that should have seen it coming and been at the top of the wave) not understanding the internet.

Screen shot 2013-04-16 at 6.13.51 PM

There are some good signs for online papers – The New York Times (which operates a site that is pretty clean and add-free) and other papers have had small successes with subscription systems, for example. But there are far more alarming signs than positive, comforting ones.

To the print industry’s credit, they have not sued their customers. Yet.

On the other hand, perhaps annoying, alienating, and just plane not understanding them (or even taking the time to try)  to the brink of trusting http://www.ihategov.net is crime enough.

Limited Edition

Want to make someone feel special?  Just make something that is special.

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And what’s one good fast way to make something special? Add the phrase, “Limited edition.”

Of course. Marketing is so easy!

…Pretty soon everything is limited and exclusive and special. And next thing you know, nothing is.

the surface

I’m not sure whether the new Windows tablet, The Surfacewill live up to the hype or not. Either way, I really like this TV. spot for it.

I’m usually the biggest hater on Microsoft and most things Windows (lack of innovation is my largest complaint), but I have to give this ad high-marks in the following categories:

Music – I do not know who is responsible for this, but the music in this ad is perfect. It comes on strong, rises when needed, and sets an evolving mood better than 99% off the other ads out there.

Timeliness- This spot fits the current vibe of a large segment of “the cool kids.” I am not one of these kids, but I see them around and they are going to love this ad.

Eye-Candy – This thing looks smooth, clean, and crisp. Microsoft is normally the opposite, so I am impressed doubly in this area.

 

We’ll see very soon if The Surface is a passable computing device pretty soon, but until then I am happy to applaud this commercial for being anti-Microsoft in all of the best ways.

marketing 101

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This is marketing at it’s finest. And possibly at it’s most subliminal. These folks were two of dozens of artists I met the other day during an event for my day job. The others? I don’t know, I can’t remember them all. Their press kit stood out too. I’ll listen to them before the other demos I received. Whether I like the music is less relevant. No band can make me like their music. But they can make me listen to it (first, on their terms).

iPhone 5

 

Whether or not you are a fan of the iPhone 5, Apple, or Apple products in general, you have to give it to this commercial for being clever, leveraging the GSIII’s strengths, and being honest.

How often can one say that about a commercial that appears to be putting down its competitor? The honesty of this ad is what impresses me most.

The iPhone 5 is not a bad phone. It just does not display the same innovation Apple used to be known for. Apple garnered most of their cult following by not even bothering with thinking outside of the box, but instead wondering away from the box and drawing their own.

The iPhone line, and the company in general, is now so entrenched in the box that they would rather sue their competition than out innovate them. That is not the Apple I know.
The punchline at the end of this ad is when the people the GSIII user is saving a spot for in line finally arrive, they turn out to be his parents. To be honest, most middle-aged to 50 and 60 year olds that I know with smart phone have iPhones. This punchline is more than a jab. It is a very accurate summery of the product line and company.

The GSIII does more useful, attractive things than the iPhone 5 does. Apples most recent phone might be the lightest smart phone ever, with a large screen than other iPhones. but it is still so far behind the GSIII that Apple has only one company to blame if it falls flat: Apple

 

the test of ownership

I mentioned on Monday that I have been seeing three really great car commercials recently. The first two are Dodge Dart commercials. The third is this beauty from Chrysler.

The Test Of Ownership


The writing in this ad is strong. Really strong. This thirty second version is more powerful to me than the other versions I have seen because it is short and impactful.

Think about the word “Ownership” for a moment. Without you even knowing it, that word triggers all kinds of little emotions and reactions in your brain.

But as good as the writing is, the imagery is what really makes this ad for me.

I can’t look away. I feel like they put an amazing amount of emotion into 30 seconds. The editing, pacing, and direction are a head above 99.9 per cent of commercials on TV.

I hate bad ads as much as the next person. But I will give credit to skillful, crafted ads like this anytime they come around.

The problem? They almost never do.

the art of the dart

I have seen three very good car commercials recently, both from Dodge for the same car: The illustrious Dart. (I will post about the third one later this week.)

These two advertisements are awesomely irreverent, fun, goofy, and fast-paced. Best of all though, they are catchy.

 

How To Change Cars Forever:

 

I cannot stress the importance of being catchy in this day and age enough. Perhaps catchy is not the right word anymore. I have heard people use “Stickiness” and others. I have yet to find the word, but how ever you want to put it, your marketing needs to have staying power in the mind of your audience.

In music, they call them ear worms. You know, those songs that get stuck in your head for days. Those tunes that are sitting in your brain when you wake up, and when you are trying to fall asleep. For me, part of the success of these new (fabulous) Dart commercials is their brain worminess.

 

How To Make The Most Hi-Tech Car

 

They are not the funniest or most clever commercials. But they are so fast-paced, clean, and smile-inducingly familiar that I cannot help but think about them long after I have seen them. The music is perfectly matched to the vibe of the ads. The first commercial, How To Change Cars Forever, is crafty, artful, brash, and more clever every time you watch it.
I cannot say whether or not the Dodge Dart will change cars forever, but their ads just may change car ads in the near future.

back on it!

Ok, I’m back. I know I only had a few readers to begin with but I was away longer than I originally posted. I thought I’d get back into the swing of things around the beginning of August at the latest. Here it is, the end of September and I have posted once since June. That is all about to change.

Thank you for sticking with me!

killer heat

 

I am several years late to the party in breaking this commercial down, but oh well.

It was easy for me to dismiss this commercial the first million times I saw it, but once realized it was real, I paid closer attention.

This ad, and the series of Tundra ads it belongs to, are an effort not to confuse consumers or distort the truth. Big, loud, boisterous, and “manly” almost to a fault, the one thing “Killer Heat” is not is deceptive. And that makes it refreshing.

Advertisers try every moment of every day to demonstrate why the product they are pushing is special. With all of that effort, an extraordinarily small number of ads and campaigns actually accomplish the feat of honestly, accurately demonstrating the product.

Back in 2009, an author on the Tundra-fanatic website Tundraheadquarters.com wrote: “If there’s anything wrong with the “Killer Heat” commercial, it’s that it takes a real truck person to understand just how amazing this stunt was.”

While the above notion is accurate, the whole point of the commercial was likely to stand out to truck people.

As the quote suggests, “real truck people” will understand the commercial on a level most others will not. And for those folks, the Toyota Tundra will hold a special place in their minds (and, if  Toyota is lucky, their hearts) as they continue to think, learn, and talk about trucks. This is the sign of a truly great advertisement and advertisement campaign.

A round of applause for Toyota, their Tundra, and Saatchi & Saatchi (the ad agency behind the campaign and ad). They brought some heat back in 2009 – heat that still airs on television sets across the country frequently today.

Killer.

 

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