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Me as of now - Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple & learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
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Me as of now

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple & learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
About Me

Eastern European expat,
MA in American Studies from Europe,
Ph.D. from the School of Hard Knocks
wanna be account planner
Chicago

mkmtoday at yahoo dot com

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Kids And Creatives Say Darnest Things - Toyota Should recall Ad Campaign

As a parent and Adland aficionado, I was intrigued by Toyota efforts to capture hearts and wallets of boring breeders like me.

I use this slightly prerogative term exactly because all the advertising efforts on the part of oh so dependable Toyota appeared to be created by someone actually looking down at the target audience.

CASE 1

Toyota Sienna

Most of Adland folks are familiar with the online Toyota Swagger Wagon video

 where 'Stuff White People Like' (self depreciating embrace of rap lyrics) meet 'Parents Are Not Hip' prejudice to produce a mildly funny viral skit.

 

The message is clear and we suburbia folks get it:

·        yes, we wear white new Balance snickers,

·        yes we don't go to many organic and farm to table restaurants,

·        yes, we are responsible for 91% of all gender stereotypes reinforcing toys (hipster-approved Yo Gabba Gabba ones excluded).

·       

It probably pains all ad land creatives to even read the demographic info on the people who in some case (gasp!) probably watch Fox News and shop at Target (thus a need for a bigger car like Sienna).

 

The campaign TV commercials started from right premises:

·        parents would love not to abandon a sweet ride in order to accommodate kids’ need for space

·        parent do long to recapture their past (pre children) identity

 

But for G-d sake: as a mother I do NOT want to use a car to hide from kids (a mother shown sitting in a parked car alone watching a video in a  spa like robe). All mothers do want to escape from the screaming offspring, but we would MUCH prefer to channel Kate Walsh (in her commercials for Cadillac) racing away for some ‘me time’. See, Kate Walsh is sexy and smoldering, the actress used in Toyota is a lovable goofball. Who do I want to feel like when I am away from kids???

 

Not that it matters what parents REALLY feel – what is important is a cool ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ flavored video supposed to land some ADLAND cred to those poor creatives who had to work on ‘Oh-Not-So-Cool-Brand-like-Nike-or Apple) but on a…van. (their initiate reaction on the assignment was ‘call Sarah Palin to shoot me!’.

 

 

CASE 2

Toyota Highlander

 

Here creatives dropped all pretences and openly tell us 'You don't  know anything about anything. Let’s find a kid who will tell you what’s up.

 

We witness this boy (more liberally leaning viewers could point out his blue eyes and not so diverse skin color) who, like a skillful used car sales person, shames his parents into upgrading to a stylish Toyota Highlander. After all (inserting the tagline) “just because you are parents, you don’t have to be lame”

 

I won’t go into much valid points about a wisdom of advertising a benefit of OUT LAME-ING the Joneses during recession times (see discussion  here).

What irks me is the TONE that was employed by (who else) creatives writing the commercial (I doubt it was an account planner; if so, they better replace him/her with me!)

 

I will let AD LAND  people on a secret: the moment you move to suburbia with kids, you are infected with a virus of lameness (it’s the water! We the parent are still waiting for our Erin Brockovich to learn more about the cause). Only watching Jon Steward and OF COURSE purchasing a Toyota Highlander can inoculate one. Obtaining a Prius, Mac Air and a ‘Keep Calm And Carry On’ can slow the progress of the disease as well.

Image001

But till then, it is separate water fountains for cool people and ‘lame’ ones = parents who won’t (can’t) spend money to live up to the creatives’ vision of hipness.

 

I’d love to finish by presenting some constructive actionable ideas on how to advertise cars to parents..but I am a bit low on cognitive surplus.. you see i am a parent (of two kids under 5)!

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Coming to Slideshare near you...

A sneak preview of my new two projects:

If Sephora is Cola, then ULTA is Pepsi

Random thoughts on ULTA that despite bullish movement on stock market can easily improve, change and conquer undiscovered niches

One question I'll tackle: should ULTA explore the Redbox model?

second project:

I's Not You, It's Me - When a Brand is Forced to Say 'I'm Sorry'

I'll explore a situation when a brand is not necessarily at fault and yet it comes under the storm of public/social media criticism. One of the premises I'll examine is that of many activism movements being rooted in emotions rather than facts...Possible question to answer: Are organizations like Greenpeace a modern version of Crusaders? 

Check this spot for developments!

 

 

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Buddha, cowboys and marketing - thoughts on BP oil spill

As an aspiring account planner/strategist I love me some statistics, metrics and primary/secondary data. There is also nothing like a child-like inner monologue of inquisitive 'But whys?'.

At the same time I do prescribe to Buddhist's parable of a poisoned arrow:

A man has been shot with a poisoned arrow. But before a summoned doctor can remove the poison the poor hap wants answers to several questions. The wounded man demands to know:

-who shot the arrow, 

-what family the assassin came from and what he did for living, 

-the reason he was shot

-the kind of bow that was used and where the poison ingredients came from. 

 

This story is quite fitting for the seemingly never ending conversation in the media on oil spill where all the parties involved follow all the procedures, release great statements and promises, exchange slogans and well-crafted PR statements. In the meantime, the gulf is getting more and more poisoned...

 

But as the parable of poisoned arrow is appropriate to the oil spill crisis, the oil spill itself can be used as a metaphor for any messed up business/advertising situation...

 

Sometimes, as old cowboys used to say, (to avert crisis) you have to shoot first and ask questions later. And if you are shot, get better and then get even.

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Head & Shoulders pitch

Click here to download:
portfolio.pdf (11.92 MB)
(download)

Advertising (Planning) School on the Web project

objective # 1:
“How can ‘Head & Shoulders’ shampoo be seen as the brand men [18-35] should use every day, rather than just on the occasions they think they have a dandruff issue”
objective # 2: 
(that I failed to pay attention to) create a perfect pitch, worth following a tradition of Steve Jobs and (or even more important) Mad Men's Carouselepisode.
more details here.

How would I pitch my idea in the real world:
version 1 (in a video) - I'd:
-deliver the presentation in a sport bar; unexpected place yet vital for the target consumer, would be great to present one of the execution ideas (bottle of Head & shoulders as a sidekick during a trivia game in a pub)
-dress like Robin (which, with the project's deadline around my due date would put ME: the pregnant dressed up presenter in a very post-modernistic commentary on pop culture, but it could be done in other times)

version 2 (in person/group meeting) - I'd: 
-bring plastic toys representing different sidekicks and the heros they support; good start for brainstorming

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We wear short shorts...

a  summary of the discussion on the new Reebok campaign on LinkedIn group Jobs in Strategic Planning.

Q: Reedbok has launched a new collection of footwear for women. Is targeting their campaign to women or to men?

http://bit.ly/bmN4Z3


My take: 


 

I saw those shoes first time at a Self magazine event Workout in the Park in Chicago in a promotional booth. 99% of the crowd: women. 
I see the print ads as definitely targeting women; I do not know why it has not been discussed more that women are the BIGGEST judges of other women's bodies and behavior. The models(' legs) look healthy and not too sexualized - I'd expect that kind of aesthetic in Self or Shape magazine rather than Maxim. 

As for the commercial, I DO NOT like the song accompanying the video - since it sang by a man, it looks like a woman is walking down a street and this guy is 'stalking her' pleading her to 'shake it up, make me feel good' (what???). 

Going back to the original point; it should feel like a product made for women by women (like at the Dove campaign). Here in the States the strip tease/strip pole workshops had its day in the sun NOT because women discovered that it was enticing men (duh), but it became VERY acceptable by mainstream women to do it. The 'dirty sheen of the 'grinding lap dance-like activities' has been shed and replaced by 'I feel so much more empowered', 'I reconnected with my seductive side/became more confident in my body' etc. 

I know that Reebok would not go for it, but I'd angle the campaign more towards 'All my girlfriends hate me now that I have this great body thanks to my toning shoes' and away from 'What men think when they seem me in those shoes...Maybe 'How does she dare to look so good!' tag-line.

Someone's else comment (for a different perspective):

The Models (legs) may not be sexualized but they are sensual, young and firm, pretty edonic if you let me say. It talks 'bout what men are driven mad by (or so they bet for) and what there're really talking is "butts", where both men & women place most of their looks and dreams up on. 

Why do you need all of this to sell a pair of shoes which by the way can't be proven to fullfil it's promise? The answer is: Just another "less effort reward product" directed to less effort human beings. I have had really enlighting experience with this kind of pharmacy products and got to understand this behavior. Then again, there is always a hole for every nail they say but a very noisy campaign at the end.

My answer:

Most 'vanity' products seem to hint at a possibility of cheating gravity, passage of time, genetics, lifestyle. The Reebok's claim of 28% improvement in muscle tone is not the most outlandish promise out there. I won't cry if 'less effort human beings' will try to take a short cut and purchase something that is essentially pretty 

decent quality shoes.



What IS to me quite maddening is how 

marketing of some eco products seem to indicate that purchasing a cup, t-shirt a recycled bag is the way to 'rescue' Mother Earth, leaving consumers off the hook for their real 'eco' obligations. 

 

To conclude, both most recent as well as the 80's campaigns for Nair FEMALE hair removal products are actually quite similar to Reebok's marketing efforts and there is no mistaking Nair's ads for anything not DEFINITELY aimed at women. 

 

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all forms of social media are online water coolers

When I first moved to the US, I was pleasantly surprised with the level of interest people seemed to have in me and my well-being. I considered questions like 'How are you?' or 'How was your weekend' to be an indicator of American colleagues' desire to discuss in detail my state of mind and state of my affairs.

Only later did I crack the code of those conversations - I stopped expecting lunch if someone would suggested getting one 'some time'; I learned that 'it's fine' has a silent 'NOT' in the middle of the sentence (yes, that's how you pronounce it..trust me, I am an English major). 

But what I have learned by trial and error does not seem to really register with social media gurus.  Like with a water cooler talk, they take some slight indicators of liking or agreement to the next level by interpreting those signs to REALLY mean something.  Like with a' I'm on a horse' Old Spice new campaign's phenomena - does it translate to REAL SALES or is it just a water cooler topic? 

When you chat with co-workers (consumers) the fact that they seem to enjoy the conversation does not mean they will help you on the moving day (go to the store to buy the product). 

 

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Random - last year's work poster made in Word

Click here to download:
1_Y_schedule_2009_POSTER.pdf (73 KB)
(download)

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If you want to avoid the Palm's fate, check out my vague yet true brand predictions

Image001

 

Even with just couple months of blogging under my belt, I have a good record of aligning my brands/company predictions with actual outcomes:

 

My take

Current financial situation of the brand/company

I liked Domino’s Pizza

·        quarterly profits more than double to $23.6 million 

I criticized some of the cell phone advertising (especially Palm)

·        Palm on the verge of bankruptcy/merger

 

I wondered about Potty dance (Huggies)

·        Kimberly-Clark's revenue softened in the third and fourth quarters

·        Nielsen Report: Overall, the number of training pants sold is down 10 percent

·        all that despite the rise in US birth rate.

I was as always skeptical about social media

·        Citi’s Twitter Followers: 346

·        Citi: 200 million clients, presence in 140 countries; its asset base of over $1.2 trillion

 

 

 

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Bitter pill - take two a day

As some random readers might know I am looking into breaking into advertising to eventually become the G.O.A.T (greatest of all time - yes, Muhammad Ali and I share a b-day which IS NOT a coincidence)  of account planners.

Fortunately for people in agencies/unfortunately for me I cannot use a rough physical power to convince the HR about my undoubtful innate account planner qualities and Snow White-style dormant skills hat are just waiting to be awaken by a metaphorical kiss of an advertising mentor. 

In the last couple months I was growing more and more irritated with the advice I could find about breaking into advertising. Majority of it lay somewhere between Zoolander's 'Wetness is the essence of water' to just common sense 'keep your eyes open':

 

"...Read all you can. Try to enjoy/hate things you naturally dont, or at least try to understand/feel how others can feel that way..."

"...The 3 Is of a good planner ; Information sponge, Insight distiller, Idea Inspirer..."

"To break in, I would say make yourself as interesting as possible. Dive into culture (people, subcultures, music, fashion, art, tech, sport, art, trends) be a sponge, and broaden your friendships beyond your comfort zone." 


This is MY response I posted on Linkedin's 'Breaking Into Planning' discussion:


I think lots of the advice is focusing on WHAT qualities a planner should possess rather than HOW to convince people who are doing the hiring that you do read a lot, are open to the world, comfortable with being uncomfortable. 


My limited experience w/ the creative world shows that this industry has not escaped the trappings of ‘being stuck in its own silo’. Starting with the jargon that can rival the business lingo of ‘synergy’ and ‘organic growth’ to the pretty homogeneous employee body (esp. on lower rungs) the marketing world ITSELF at times turns out to not be that open to the different points of view or cultures.


I’d love e.g. to talk to someone who broke into advertising after working in customer service/retail for a long time = being interactive with customers without a safety of focus groups or secondary research. 


I’d love to see someone make it in the adland BECAUSE s/he resembles some of the target groups’ members (especially in CPG category). Of course, I’d like to be that person - we will see this summer as I will try to increase my networking efforts. Thanks for reading. 

To add to this picture I am adding a reader's comment from Saturdays' NYT's article on unpaid internships:

Problem is -- if you are middle aged - over 35 and want to change careers -- you cannot find any entry level position because they are all taken by matriculating (non paid) interns. I would be willing to take a free internship (live on my savings) if it would get me in the door but because of the LAWS, I am not eligible. Most of the top tier internships -- including the one for the Grey Old Lady Times -- demand that you are matriculating. That eliminates the hope of changing careers without a huge amount of money to put into going back to school just to land an entry level spot. It is infuriating. There used to be something called, "entry level" -- publishing, media, news, but no more. No more and it is just infuriating. 
Johanna Clearfield

So there it is folks. Another side to the un/employment 'is your career a job or a calling' discussion. Promise to bring more haoney to the next post (of course, over the internet you can' see the crossed fingers behind my back, ha!) 

 

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