Author Archive for Jay Weise

12
Apr
10

Nike: Just don’t do it

By Jay Weise Leave a Comment
Categories: Uncategorized

Contributed by Mark Plumb, Senior Account Executive, Weise Communications

Have you seen the first post-scandal Tiger Woods – Nike ad featuring a voice-over from Tiger’s deceased father Earl Woods? The ad is being discussed on talk radio all across the country; it has been the topic of many articles and newscasts. As much as I would like to debate the ethical considerations of using the words of someone from beyond the grave to sell a product, let’s set aside the judgment about whether or not this is in bad taste and focus on the effectiveness of the ad – for Nike.

There is no doubt that this ad rises above the clutter of advertising messages. However, in my opinion, from a business perspective, Nike has simply lost site of the goal of advertising.

When working with clients, we categorize advertising goals to accomplish one or more of the following:

  1. Raise Awareness of the Brand/Product
  2. Identify Position/Image for the Brand/Product
  3. Establish Customer Expectations for Brand/Product
  4. Increase Sales of Brand/Product

It is clear that the ad most likely impacts the position/image of Nike. Using a vintage interview of a father admonishing his son and repurposing it to tie to the current scandal is fascinating, but what does it accomplish for Nike?

When asked about the ad, Nike released the following statement: “We support Tiger and his family. As he returns to competitive golf, the ad addresses his time away from the game using the powerful words of his father.”

Huh?

In some ways, this ad feels like a corporate sponsor spanking a wayward spokesman. The messaging is disconnected from the company. Usually, that makes as much sense and spending money to advertise a product no one wants.

However, Barbara Lippert, Adweek’s Advertising Critic gave an insight into this unusual voyage into brand management on an interview with CBS Early Show (April 8, 2010). From Nike’s point of view, Tiger is too big to fail and they need to prop him up. This is Nike’s attempt to get the scandal over with and begin selling product again.

Simply stated, usually Tiger does ads selling Nike. This time, Nike did an ad selling Tiger.

29
Jan
10

It’s an iPad. Of course it will.

By Jay Weise 1 Comment
Categories: Uncategorized

One of our countries most respected innovators, Steve Jobs introduced the iPad on Tuesday and, as usual, the rumors started immediately about the potential for success. Here at Weise Communications, we (and a lot of other people) had a good laugh about the name and wondered if that would impact sales.

For nearly a year, speculation and rumors about the product were rampant.  All sorts of ideas were out there and included what the name should be (the iTablet was the most accepted name, and we still think it might have been a better choice)…and photos were speculative too….from the badly photoshopped, enlarged iphone to the relatively believable photo of what turned out to be pretty close to the actual iPad.

The biggest questions I heard right after the announcement were of the usual vain from Apple doubters:

  1. Will it sell?
  2. Why this version of a computer?
  3. Does it have a future?
  4. Why this instead of the iPhone or laptop?
  5. Do I need to buy another backpack with a space for the iPad?

My first thoughts are these.

  1. Of course it will sell.
  2. Of course this version is viable.
  3. Of course it has a future.
  4. Of course this work in harmony with my iPhone and laptop.
  5. Of course my backpack will already accomodate the iPad.

Lisa, our Operations Manager, has never used a Apple before. She wants one.

It’s an Apple. Of course she wants one.

Its an Apple. Of course it will be successful. Of course people will love it. People will even love the name (eventually).

20
Jan
10

Twitter influences Massachusetts Senate Election

By Jay Weise Leave a Comment
Categories: Branding, Facebook, Followers, Twitter, YouTube and election
Tags: , , ,

The latest on how social media can make a big difference.

A story in the Wall Street Journal, by Susan Davis, gives great support for Scott Brown’s social media strategy, specifically his use of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, being more effective and making a big difference in the outcome of the Senate Race in Massachusetts yesterday (1/19/10).

Atwitter in Mass.: Brown’s Social Media Strategy Tops Coakley’s

Below is an excerpt from the WSJ story:

A study conducted by the Emerging Media Research Council out today found that Brown had a more effective strategy of using social networking tools including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to promote his campaign and connect with supporters.

Here’s a look at the numbers:

Facebook Posts since Jan. 1: Brown (128), Coakley (58)

Facebook Fans: Brown (70,800), Coakley (13,529)

Tweets since Jan. 1: Brown (142), Coakley (144)

Twitter Followers: Brown (9,679), Coakley (3,385)

YouTube Videos: Brown (57), Coakley (52)

YouTube Video Views: Brown (578,271), Coakley (51,173)

What are your thoughts? Do you think that social media really had an effect on the outcome? What have you seen? What are your experiences? We all know social media can make a difference in an election, but do you think social media changing the election process?

23
Dec
09

Vintage Toy Commercials Just in Time for Christmas Shopping

By Jay Weise Leave a Comment
Categories: commercials
Tags: , , ,

Vintage Toy Motorcycle

Straight out of the “Leave it to Beaver” era, I ran across this great video of vintage toy commercials by John Behrens (2009). It seems to be from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. I love how many of the commercials are totally driven to be sold to boys. Then at the end of the commercial, when the voice-over says, “No BOY should be without X toy,” the same voice then says, “And great for girls, too,” with a closeup of a smiling girl holding the obviously boys’ toy.

The level of technology, if you can call it that, is funny to watch and see how far technology has come since even the ’70s.

Collection of Vintage Toy Commercials

16
Dec
09

The year’s top videos – in under 3 minutes

By Jay Weise Leave a Comment
Categories: Stunts, Video Ads, Viral, Web sites, YouTube and commercials

Just a fun day here at TheSideNoteBlog.com.

Check out this list (one of many I’m sure) of the top 100 online videos from 2009.

The Top 100 videos of 2009 in less than 3 minutes

Now, how many of you wasted hours of time at work watching these videos?

The power of the internet.

Here’s the complete list for your convenience:

1. The Amazing Beat-box Kid2. Elephant Sneezing3. Surprised Kitty4. Weird Animal Gets Tickled5. Cat Kicked By Breakdancer6. Mambo Dog7. Two Dogs, One Cockroach8. So Your Cat Wants a Massage?9. The Horrifying Sleeping Dog10. Baby Does Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”11. David After Denist12. Baby Jack-In-The-Box13. Little Girl Flushes Fish14. Talkative Baby15. The Stay-at-Home Dad Workout16. Dog Freaks Out Upon Soldier’s Return17. Sad Giants Fan18. The Matrix in Legos19. NES Game Cartridge20. Soccer Gutar Hero21. Post-It Note Animation22. Cardboard Animation23. 20-Foot Front Flip24. The Tree Bike Trick25. Bruce Lee Plays Ping Pong26. Man and His Exercise Ball27. This Guy is Good at Everything28. Human Mattress Dominoes29. Little Kid Break Dances on Ellen30. Glow-in-the-Dark Dancers31. Choreographed Wedding Entrance32. Fat Kid Gets Served33. The Crazy Shirtless Man Dance34. Insane Japanese Backpack Commercial35. Ghostbusters A Cappella36. Great Mascot Dance37. Smoking and Singing in the Shower38. Ping Pong Celebration39. Amazing JumboTron Performance40. The Breakfast Song41. Close Call With a Bus42. Man Defies Death Twice43. Woman Passes Out In Front of Train44. Kick to the Face #145. Snooki Gets Punched46. Russian Prank Gone Right47. Accigone48. WoW Freakout49. Bad UPS Man50. Butt Acrobatics51. Bat Prank52. Saving Private Ryan Prank53. Be a Smart Bully54. Fat Kid Sings About Being Fat55. Vanilla Ice Says Sorry56. Extreme Faith57. Jesus Pwn3d U58. Jesus Christ Bail Bonds59. Vince With Slap Chop60. Shamwow Guy in Jail61. Take U to the Movies62. OK GO – WTF63. Billy Mays Re-Dub64. Fat Kid Loves Bacon65. Balloon Boy Pukes66. 80s Video Dating67. Chicken Tetrazzini68. Phillies Fan Ruins News69. The Problem With Live News70. Giant Seagull Ruins News71. Will Ferrell Crashes Newscast72. Students Define Grinding73. Crazy Georgia Fan74. Susan Boyle75. Sharon Osbourne Vs. Charm School’s Megan76. Jimmy Kimmel Vs. Melissa Joan Hart77. Frisky Ewoks on Today78. Kittens! Inspired by Kittens79. Kanye’s Imma Let You Finish80. Mad Men’s Lawnmower Fiasco81. Wrecking Ball Vs. Mini Van82. Conan Hits His Head83. Hot Water Floor Prank84. Terrible Singers, Great Production Value85. Sleepwalking Dog86. Japanese Sniper Prank87. Unbelievable Baseball Catch88. Baseball Spin Swing89. Impossible Baseketball Shot90. Double Bicycle Kick91. Fantasy Football Players Show Off92. 9-Year-Old’s Amazing Hockey Goal93. Oops, Wrong Tackle94. Taco Explodes in Slow Motion95. Crazy Soccer Girl Fight96. Redhead Kid Dances97. Strange Kid Sings98. The Most Drunk Guy Ever99. Risky Business Fail100. Keyboard Cat

09
Dec
09

The evolution of inner space

By Jay Weise Leave a Comment
Categories: Advertising, Business Strategies, Businesses, Creative, Media, business to business and business to consumer
Tags: , ,
The Jaz Drive. Solid State Storage.

The Jaz Drive. Solid State Memory.

After recently purchasing a new external hard drive and being amazed by the advances in technology with respect to cost, I ran across the following infographic and it immediately caught my attention. This infographic shows the evolution of storage media, from the original record players to the latest flash drives and hard drives.

The old rule of thumb has been that every six months technology will double in size or speed and half in price. Well, that may not always be true, but if you haven’t been shopping lately for technology, you’ll be amazed by the current prices.

20
Nov
09

Gap commercial… What is the problem here?

By Jay Weise 13 Comments
Categories: Ads, Advertising, Branding, Business Strategies, Business growth, Cheerleading, Christmas, Creative, Holiday, Marketing, Publicity, Publicity Stunts, Recession, Stunts, commercials and location data

In the last few days, the blog world has exploded in controversy with this new Gap holiday commercial. I saw it on TV last night and I thought there was cool dancing, there must be cheer leaders to pull that off, especially the girl who gets tossed 20 feet in the air at one point, nice sound stage to shoot on, good choreography. I also think the lyrics were fine…except that the Gap is showing its PC side. We have seen mostly PC holiday messages for years now.

But now there are groups (well, one actually: American Family Association – AFA) that are all bent out of shape because in the commercial’s lyrics say “You 86 the rules, you do what feels just right.”

I just dont understand the problem with the commercial. What do you think?

I have to run. I am attending a “Celebrate the coming of Winter with this Winter Welcome gathering” at Stapleton’s town center. Now that’s just another PC name for the lighting of the Christmas lights at my town center.  I hope people aren’t upset when they get there to find out Christmas won’t be mentioned anywhere. What a world we live in.

Here are the lyrics for the GAP commercial:
Two, Four, Six, Eight, now’s the time to liberate
Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, Go Kwanza, Go Solstice.
Go classic tree, go plastic tree, go plant a tree, go add a tree,
You 86 the rules, you do what feels just right.
Happy do whatever you wanukkah, and to all a cheery night.

Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, go whatever holiday you wanukkah.

13
Nov
09

Steve Hayden: Product Focus groups are Silly

By Jay Weise Leave a Comment
Categories: Ad Agency, Ads, Advertising, Brand Loyalty, Branding, Business Strategies, Business growth, Copy writing, Creative, Facebook, NFL, Social Media, Video Ads, YouTube, business to consumer and focus groups

Last night here in Denver, while listening to Steve Hayden’s talk From Big Ideas to Big IdeaLs… (that’s an entirely another blog on another day)…Steve talked about a campaign for Shreddies, the Canadian version of Shreaded Wheat here in the U.S., that used a focus group to learn more about the new Shreadies product, DIAMOND SHREADIES. As you’ll see, people in focus groups are very polite people and will provide the desired response even if obviously wrong. This “focus group” video was then posted on YouTube and was viewed by almost a million people, that’s a lot in Canada, and sales ‘went way up beyond expectations’ after this and the new “Diamond Shreadies” campaign broke. I agree with Steve. It is silly to use focus groups to gain insight into the effectiveness of an ad or when your questions in the focus group lead the people to the answers you want to hear.

See for yourself.

Focus Group Video

Shreddies Commercial

Also, 81 Facebook pages and over 280 discussion groups have been started on this topic of Diamond vs. Square.

Steve Hayden is one of the most revered advertising copy writers since the mid 1970′s. He’s most respected for his “1984″ commercial for the introduction of Apple’s Macintosh computers… an ad that only ran once during the 1984 Super Bowl, and most recently the “Real Beauty” campaign for Dove.

29
Sep
09

Watch out, life comes at you fast. Canon will help slow it down.

By Jay Weise Leave a Comment
Categories: Uncategorized

I’m a Creative Director and I’m also photographer, so when I ran across this commercial for Canon cameras, I was completely amazed.

Canon has a new line of cameras being released and this commercial for the Rebel T1i is great. It’s not only great for its technical achievement, 60,000 still photos to choose from to make the commercial, but for the way the commercial is created.

This commercial consists of 4-5 different scenes of people playing football. A father and son in the back yard, girls flag football in a dusty sand lot, guys throwing the ball around in the surf, a pick-up game in the street, a high school game at night and finally a pro game in a giant stadium. All of the different scenes flow from one to the other, almost seamlessly. While each scene is being photographed by 10-plus photographers, the differing movements and angles of each photographer’s photos create a wild, yet beautiful panorama of images.

CanonComm1

Click the photo to view this commercial

With the advent of the digital camera, the world has exploded exponentially with new and great photography, especially also since the barrier to entry and the learning curve to develop great photos has been lowered exponentially. I love to see great photos. I love to see others revel in their joy of making photos they enjoy.

Maybe this commercial and it’s insight into photographing life will inspire to you get out and make some great photos.

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