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06
Feb
12

SUPER BOWL 2012 – THE COMMERCIALS: PLAY BY PLAY

By Jay Weise 1 Comment
Categories: Advertising, Facebook, Marketing, PR and Social Media
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Everyone’s got their lists – the best, the worst, the funniest, the cutest, etc. My approach was totally different.

Here’s my play-by-play/color commentary on all the commercials shown during this year’s Super Bowl. I was live posting these on Facebook during the game and there was plenty of debate. Real-time discussions were very interesting and many comments are still coming in.

What is below is just a quick thought on each commercial’s ideas, production value, brand stewardship, effort, etc. and finally a FINAL SCORE of each and how I thought it scored 1 to 10. 10 being the best.

Suzuki “Sled”
THIS WAS MY FAVORITE! It was great because it was unexpected, unlike most of the other commercials that you knew what was coming. The music got you to tap your toe and snap your fingers, the dogs were great bouncing to the music along with the driver, of which had a great smile, and you could tell he REALLY BELIEVED in the decision he made. He knew he had made a great decision for his family…even though his wife may not understand…the family would be in a better place with this car.
FINAL SCORE: 10

8:14pm
DETROIT/ DIRTY HARRY: ANY COMMERCIAL ABOUT THE REVITALIZATION OF DETROIT, I LOVE IT. The messaging is SO strong and I love the way they have positioned themselves with IMPORTED FROM DETROIT.
FINAL SCORE: 9

8:10pm
CADILLAC: really? if you have to call out your competition (BMW 3 series) in your commercial, you’ve already lost. Nice try GM.
FINAL SCORE: 4

8:00pm
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE (SMART PHONE): A PHONE WITH A PEN? I HATE MUSICALS….and especially the ones that include spontaneous flash mobs of singing people. AND it looks like this spot was shot on the same back lot in LA as the Budweiser commercials.(Just saying.)
FINAL SCORE: 5

7:55pm
CAREERBUILDER.COM/ MONKEYS : monkeys, deprecating humor = funny. Funny gets you points for the SB voting.
FINAL SCORE: 7.5

7:53pm
KIA/OPTIMA/MISTER SAND MAN/ADRIANA LIMA/ great production value! great idea: concept: ok.
FINAL SCORE: 7.5

7:49pm
BUD LIGHT: HEREWEGO THE DOG! I think my little boy needs a dog. Just like this one. Oh…and since there’s a dog in the commercial it will do well in the voting….
FINAL SCORE: 8

7:45pm
HYUNDAI/ONE WORD GENESIS COUPE: weak…348 Horsepower…now that’s impressive. I didn’t know they could make a Hyundai with such a strong engine…but isn’t a little overkill for that brand?
FINAL SCORE: 6

7:38pm
DISCLAIMER: MOVIE TRAILERS AND ‘THE VOICE” commercials DON’T COUNT AS SB COMMERCIALS…even though the Betty White commercial for THE VOICE was adorable…any thing with her in it always gets props.

7:36pm
HONDA CRV/FERRIS BUELLER/Matthew’s Day Off: finally they showed it….deep into the 2nd half….2 minutes into the 4th quarter: I think we’ve all seen this commercial at least 27 times with all the press it got this week. Great idea: comfortable production value: the only thing that would have made it better would have been a cameo appearance by the wife (Sarah Jessica Parker)
FINAL SCORE: 8.5

7:31pm
THE NFL: ONE OF THE BEST SPOTS YET! Using the history of the league in a great progression down the field was genius. How could anyone deny the richness of the NFL’s history and it’s promise to continue the this rich tradition. Hats off to the NFL. FINAL SCORE: 8.5

7:25pm
BRIDGESTONE TIRES #2: Nice evolution of the campaign. Production value: spot on. Keep up the great work Bridgestone!
FINAL SCORE: 8.5

7:23pm
BUDWEISER #2: BETTER THAN the first ad…more relateable to most people watching. I didn’t understand the 2011 music in a commercial that didn’t obviously get past the early 1990s? Nice evolution of the campaign AND with some of the same venues as the first commercial..the time evolution connection is subtle but well done.
FINAL SCORE: 7.5

7:18pm
GE #3: Great Pride in America’s manufacturing! This campaign will be around a while. I approve! I wonder if Jack Welch had anything to do with this new idea.
FINAL SCORE: 8

7:16pm
ACURA NSX/JERRY SEINFIELD; FUNNY…HUGE PRODUCTION FOR CAR THAT’S NOT REALLY FUNNY. Acura’s NSX is one of the worlds most spectacular cars and they pitted Leno and Seinfeld against each other. Sort of on target.
FINAL SCORE: 6.5

7:12pm
CENTURY 21: SMARTER. BOLDER. FASTER. : eh…Deon Sanders was in his 2nd .
FINAL SCORE: 4

7:10pm
OIKOS GREEK YOGURT: Any time John Stamos gets knocked out, it’s a good thing.
FINAL SCORE: 6

7:07pm
COKE POLAR BEARS #3: COKE MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER: duh?!
FINAL SCORE: 8

7:05pm
CAMRY/REINVENTED...wa?
FINAL SCORE: 7.5

7:03pm
FIAT/ABARTH: You’ll never forget the first time you see one. A nice way to keep your attention. Gratuitous legs, heels, cleavage, and a mini car tearing it up on a closed course.
FINAL SCORE: 7

6:58pm
COMCAST: SUPER MONSTER HOUSE RACING!!! by Xfinity! Comcast: Great production value, simple idea, effective:
FINAL SCORE: 7.5

6:42pm
TOYOTA CAMRY/THE CAMRY EFFECT: send us your story: Hasn’t this been done a bazillion times? the real story here is the fact you can ‘Shazam’ (http://www.shazam.com/) this commercial on your smart phone to enter the contest: something that’s NOT BEEN DONE AT ALL! for new technology efforts:
FINAL SCORE: 8.5

6:28pm
JUSTFAB.COM : it’s a shoe commercial for a website: boring: production value low.
FINALS SCORE: 2

6:26pm
AMERICAN FAMILY INSURANCE: People talking on a white background. no production value w no concept.
FINAL SCORE: 1

6:25pm
OFFICE DEPOT: free pc tune-ups as told by an elf-like store associate and NASCAR driver: boring:
FINAL SCORE: 2

6:22pm
HALF TIME COMMERCIALS: NFL.COM FANTASY: EH. A little too ghetto for me.
FINAL SCORE: 5

6:19pm
ETRADE: SPEED DATING BABY: stick with what works. last years commercials were better: this iteration lacks real humor. Maybe eTrade needs to move on from the talking babies.
FINAL SCORE: 3.5

6:17pm
DORITOS #2/BUNGIE BABY: funny: Customer created: not bad: Taunting is always appreciated in my world:
FINAL SCORE: 6

6:14pm
CARS.COM/MY CONFIDENCE/FLOATING HEAD: funny, a little creepy.
FINAL SCORE: 5

6:13pm
SKETCHERS: MR. QUIGGLY: funny, unexpected, and it features a Tone Loc tune…good but not great.
FINAL SCORE: 7.5

6:10pm
TELEFLORA/Valentines: Give and You Will Receive: Genius to use one of the hottest super models in the world (not to mention, a Victoria Secrets model- ADRIANA LIMA) and the only line in the commercial is a great one. Small production but a Big Idea:
FINAL SCORE: 8

6:06pm
CHEVY SONIC: It’s amazing what a car company will do to appeal to its demographic. I guess they want to be like Red Bull.
FINAL SCORE: 6 (FOR WOW FACTOR ONLY)

6:03pm
COKE POLAR BEARS #2 NO DROP: Cute. Nice idea. SUSPENSEFUL I’m a COKE man so their brand promise lives strong in this commercial: AGAIN!
FINAL SCORE: 7.5

6:00pm
H&M: BECKHAM UNDERWEAR  Does everyone really need to see Beckham in his tightie whities? I thought H&M was a ladies clothing store?
FINAL SCORE: 2

5:57pm
VW BUG/FAT DOG: Back better than ever: Nice idea. Emotional. Everyone loves dogs…I love VWs so I’m biased that I like the commercial. but the switch into the Darth Vader/Star Wars…whats up with that? a flashback to last years Kid Vader commercial?
FINAL SCORE: 7.5

5:51pm
TAXACT.com FEEL THE FREE funny story, great suspense…I’m sure their servers just exploded.
FINAL SCORE: 7

5:47pm
GE TURBINES #2: Turbines that make the beer…Budweiser Beer. Great idea to make GE relevant in today’s world. Too bad I can’t afford to buy a turbine.
FINAL SCORE: 7.5

5:45pm
DORITOS/MAN’S BEST FRIEND : I have a cat and I think it was funny! I think this was one of the customer created commercial.
FINAL SCORE: 7

5:44pm
BUDWEISER: Since 1876: Great production, HUGE PRODUCTION… and amazing how the shaving cream stayed on the guys face! It’s no field goal kicking Clydesdale, but good.
FINAL SCORE: 5

5:39pm
LEXUS GS: THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING: of what? Big/cool production for a car that looks like the rest of the pack.
FINAL SCORE: 2

5:38pm
GO DADDY.COM: .co – we all know there’s never ever going to have anything revealed in these commercials so why bother watching them.
FINAL SCORE: 1

5:36pm
BRIDGESTONE TIRES #1: Good, funny idea to make a point. Cameos by Deon Sanders and Troy Aikman.
FINAL SCORE: 6

5:31pm
COKE POLAR BEARS: Cute. Nice idea. I’m a COKE man so their brand promise lives strong in this commercial.
FINAL SCORE: 7

5:28pm
BEST BUY: All mobile phone carriers are available at one store. Who cares…the word on the street is that Best Buy is going out of business soon.
FINAL SCORE: 1

5:26pm
M&MS/Chocolate Naked M&M: Funny! not to mention the Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle song…who wouldn’t like an M&M commercial.
FINAL SCORE: 8

5:23pm
BUD LIGHT PLATINUM #2: An evolution of the first spot, but no real idea here, just people at a party…just like half of the other beer commercials on tonight.
FINAL SCORE: 3

5:21pm
PEPSI/ELTON JOHN: Pepsi for All: I’m a Coke drinker so this commercial did nothing for me, but it’s always amazing to see Flava Flav pop up in the weirdest places. Elton John was cool, but the lady that sang for her Pepsi(Huge production for little pay-off)
FINAL SCORE: 1

5:18pm
AUDI HEADLIGHTS/VAMPIRE BONFIRE: really? I could see this idea coming from a mile away, corny, less than appropriate for Audi’s brand:
FINAL SCORE: 3

5:15pm
BUD LIGHT PLATINUM: huge production for little pay-off, a new beer intro needs more.Why would I buy a beer that is portrayed as something crafted in a high-tech foundry? It almost looked like a cell phone commercial.
FINAL SCORE: 2

5:14pm
Hyundai: Rocky Movie Theme Song: toe tapping idea, little payoff.
FINAL SCORE: 5

10
Jan
11

Ted Williams – You Know You Love His Story!

By Jay Weise 1 Comment
Categories: Advertising, Marketing, PR, Public Relations, Social Media and Uncategorized

Ted Williams’ rise to greatness in our little advertising world bubble is one that I can only smile about.

The fact that one of his first new voice over gigs is for Kraft Mac & Cheese….even makes it better.

You know you love it.

07
Jan
11

starbucks changes logo: will people notice?

By Jay Weise 1 Comment
Categories: Advertising, Business Strategies, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media and Twitter
Tags: , , ,

Starbucks recently revealed it’s logo change. The new logo completely drops the name Starbucks Coffee from logo and boils it down to the siren, from the center of the previous logo.

The evolution of the Starbucks logo. The latest drops the name.

My first thought: Starbucks is changing its to reflect its new product or services offerings. This seems to be a valid reason, right? Starbucks does offer more than coffee; pastries, some music cds, etc. so the logo shouldn’t be limiting in the product offerings… but don’t most coffee shops?

My second thought: Is this mark, the siren, as it is now, a strong enough graphic for the company going forward? We all know how Nike dropped the word Nike and only uses the mark, the swoosh, in it’s branding. In the case of Nike though, the swoosh is on the side of the shoe and is a prominent mark that everyone (and I mean everyone) on the Earth know without the name included.

Is the Starbucks mermaid as recognizable? Will people notice this logo with the same fervor as the Nike swoosh? AND, is the mermaid the part of the logo that should have been the new essence of the brand? Yes it’s more interesting than the words, but is it more instantly recognizable or the part of the logo people will be looking for when needing coffee?

Here’s my thought process: I’m not a fan of the siren…no loyalty to the mermaid, that’s all. So making it the primary mark doesn’t resonate with me.  My general rule for logos: the simpler the better. Yes, this logo is simpler, but reducing the logo down to what it is now, doesn’t seem to simplify it because it  is still too busy and has too many parts. This logo, as it stands without the words Starbucks Coffee isn’t as strong as before. Maybe it’s all the loose openings around the logo. It doesn’t seem as tight and solid as its predecessor.

What do you think about the new logo? Will you even know where Starbucks stores are located without the old logo? Will you even notice?

We’d love to hear your ideas, so post a comment on The Side Note Blog, send us a tweet @Weise_Ideas, or find us on Facebook: Weise Communications.

Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO talks about the new logo.

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, election, Facebook, Followers, Twitter, Uncategorized and YouTube
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 and Uncategorized
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 1 Comment
Categories: commercials, Stunts, Video Ads, Viral, Web sites and YouTube

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, business to business, business to consumer, Businesses, Creative, Media and Uncategorized
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.

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