Earlier this week, the FCC announced that it would be reviewing rules on how TV shows inform viewers of in-show advertising practices. IE: that Gossip Girl episode that was pretty much an hour-long (and delightfully drama-filled!) Victoria’s Secret commercial may be the sort of thing that comes with a disclaimer in the future.
The Washington Post quoted FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin explaining, “We want to make sure consumers understand and are aware that they are being advertised to. We ask how we should update our rules to reflect current trends in the industry.”
In a way, he’s right: it’s probably better to be safe than sorry when it comes to transparency.
On the other hand, I’m a little bit offended that they feel the need to warn us of these things. How many people really don’t think that Victoria’s Secret paid to be mentioned 9 bajillion times during a much-talked-about primetime show? And if they don’t realize it, is it really hurting them?
If a marketer is clever enough to organically integrate their product into a show, kudos to them: I think it makes the show more believable because, yes, real people do shop at chain stores and drink Coca-Cola and eat at McDonald’s…though maybe not the people on Gossip Girl. If you’re getting your brand name out there without annoying consumers and maybe even adding to their favorite shows, I would call that great marketing, and not a threat.

If you are still recovering from Cannes and looking to see more legendary marketing campaigns, I recommend a visit to The Museum of the City of New York to see its latest exhibit “Campaigning for President: New York and the American Election.”

Opened last evening, the exhibit runs until November 4 and chronicles each US election - beginning with a commemorative button from George Washington’s inauguration in 1789 - and is a fantastic and rigorous collection of the posters, pins and other campaign materials: license plates, masks, pantyhose, fans, dolls, hats and paper dresses. More impressive perhaps is that most of it comes from one man’s personal collection; the late Jordan Wright began the collection at 10 years of age!

Unlike the pushes we feature in The Work, there was no ROI gained from this campaign paraphernalia. However, the results for 43 out of the 44 races that the exhibit catalogs are in - and from a marketing standpoint there are some interesting conclusions to draw from the evolution of creative to the use of a competitor’s slogans and imagery to directly challenge claims.

As New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was at last night’s opening, pointed out one of the more remarkable insights is how little has changed in American politicking. “You can see the best and the worst of campaigning in this exhibit,” he said. Bloomberg’s company sponsored the exhibit.

Creativity doesn’t happen in a vacuum, but I bet sometimes creative directors and copy writers wished it would, like when a project forces them together with someone who’s not exactly like-minded.

This week’s DMNews features a Q&A on the creative process with Gary Scheiner, who is executive creative director at TBWA/Worldhealth and director of the John Caples International Awards. One comment that didn’t make it into the article was about how Scheiner is careful not hire “assholes.”

“I spend way too much time away from my wife and kids. I don’t want to spend it with people who piss me off,” he said.

His sentiment is probably shared by many. CNN reports that a recent MSN Zogby data poll shows 20% of workers say their co-workers have at least one habit that drives them crazy. According to the poll, 15% of workers find their co-workers’ constant complaining annoying and 13% are frustrated by colleagues passing off work. Other irritants included gossip, talking too much and eating smelly food.

-Chantal Todé

Despite the fact that they’ve been around for what seems like forever in the world of Internet marketing, online classifieds are having a moment, as DMNews reports in this week’s news analysis.

However, the quick syndication of content enabled by Web 2.0 that’s driving many of the new deals in this space has the potential to also produce some conflicts of interest. This could become more apparent as the number of deals proliferate, lessening the control some publishers have over where their ads wind up.

For example, last week the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Wal-Mart Stores has removed links between the paper and the retailer’s classified advertising listings on its Web site. The newspaper’s management decided the unique content of the paper’s classified advertisements would be compromised by allowing Wal-Mart to use it.

Wal-Mart’s classifieds listings is powered by Oodle.com, which the article says uses a standard programming protocol to seek permission rights for searches and indexing of classified advertisements.

-Chantal Todé

Changes at TBWA, as Corey Mitchell will leave the Omnicom agency, where he serves as president of TBWAChiatDay. Mitchell will leave in September to join MRM Worldwide’s New York office as executive vice president, managing director.

MRM Worldwide in New York does advertising for Microsoft, Intel and Mastercard,among others.

http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=84929&Nid=44002&p=913321

Advanta has released a new Platinum Business Card for Online Marketers, offering cash back rewards for a variety of Web-focused activities.
The card caters directly to bloggers, online marketers, Web site operators, etc. by offering 5% cash back on the first $1200 spent in “bonus categories,” said categories being: online PPC advertising, eBay fees, Web site hosting, shipping, USPS, computers and office supplies, cellular services and gas. Other purchases can earn 1% cash back. Cardholders can also choose to receive travel rewards, if cash isn’t really their thing.
I’m curious to see how Advanta will market the card. Will they take the traditional credit card route and send out a direct mail campaign, or, since they are looking for online-savvy customers, will they stick to a Web-based campaign?

Mike Myers’ new film, The Love Guru, hits theatres this week. The Canadian Austin Powers star (and huge Toronto Maple Leafs fan), plays an Indian guru who is hired to help a lovelorn Leafs player repair his love life so the Leafs can compete for the Stanley Cup.
The NHL and Paramount Pictures have entered into a marketing alliance in support of the film. This includes co-branded TV spots, unique NHL.com content and retail activations. During the recently completed Stanley Cup playoffs, promos aired in playoff teams’ arenas and during game broadcasts. NHL Clubs also offered fans fans co-branded giveaways, including passes to screenings of the film and promotional items.
Oh, as a Western New York expatriate and Buffalo Sabres fan, I’d like to point out that the crowd scenes for the movie were filmed at the Air Canada Center in between periods of a 7-2 Leafs loss to the Sabres.

Times are hard, budgets are tight, yet the storied Cannes thoroughfare La Croisette is throbbing with DM creatives (among those of other channel persuasions) hotly debating the work up for contention.

The results are out for the Direct and Promo Lions; JWT Mumbai snapped up the former for the Times of India Newspaper entry “Lead India,” and New York’s BBDO triumphed in the latter for the HBO entry titled Voyeur Integrated Campaign. The Cyber Lions winners will be announced on Thursday.

Meanwhile, for local flavor, I highly recommend Matt Shirtcliffe’s blog. A judge at Cannes this year, Matt is the executive creative director of Proximity Canada – and a truly splendid fellow. Yes, the entries are funny, but there’s also some great insight about the state of creativity in various markets.

I just got a call from Dunn Data Co., formerly Mal Dun Associates. The Brewster, NY, based company suffered a power outage over the weekend and does not expect it to return until late this afternoon.

A company spokesperson said that it wanted clients to know that e-mails and phone calls to the company cannot immediately be returned. The company’s Web site is also temporarily disabled.

Lightning over the weekend disabled several Nassau County homes and businesses.

…perhaps it will work for the UK’s House of Lords? I’m speaking, of course, about reaching out to youth about politics through YouTube and other online social media.

Today the Associated Press reports that Britain’s House of Lords is aiming to soften its image with young people through a series of video shorts highlighting the legislative body’s import for British history. The effort - which will consist mainly of interviews done with a pop music background - is also coupled with a newly launched House of Lords blog.

Using blogs, music videos, virtual worlds and video games is a tactic that many US marketers of finance and insurance products are investing in to appeal to youth. Recent examples include Wells Fargo’s virtual world for smart spending and Bank of America’s use of Mo Rocca’s comedy in online video ads.

There is an assumption that this sort of initiative is necessary to entertain Millennials in order to get them to pay attention to issues like voting, banking and health insurance. Strange, this group demonstrates a desire for voice in government as well as personal wealth and health security. Should these “boring” topics really be a tough sell?

Results from these campaigns are still emerging and carry an important takeaway. Companies that enter into a new medium and slap some glitter puff paint to an unchanging corporate message (Who remembers The Hub?) still seem to fail with Generation Y. But companies that focus their appeals to youth around a solid value proposition for the always-plugged-in consumer (Great example: WSJ’s Loomia) are merely leveraging new channels to build their street cred with youth.

McLuhan was right: the medium is the message. But marketers should know that their message has to stand up in any medium with buying power, and the only way to do that is understand the product or service’s value for the audience.

For more thoughts on social media’s role in marketing’s future, check out next week’s Gloves Off debate: “What works on social networking sites?”