"Let Go" and Have a Glass of Bubbly

This campaign called "Let Go" launched a few months ago in the United States by Italian company Martini & Rossi, for Asti brand sparkling wine. This ad campaign was the first they have had in ten years. This campaign aims to capture the essence of Italian life and follows a beautiful, stylish young woman through the busy streets of Rome as she carries a large handful of golden balloons. Once she arrives at her final destination, she gives balloons to a few other party quests. The Martini image becomes a party that every viewer wants to be invited to. The cork is popped on the bottle of Asti and then she releases the balloons into the air, as they magically transform into bubbles. The ad is mostly visual and doesn't have any speaking, only music. The theme of the commercial is "Let Go" and captures the Italian lifestyle attempting to make the consumer want to "Let Go" and enjoy the luxurious and Italian way of life as they drink Asti... not only during celebrations such as parties and New Years day, but everyday.





In what ways does this campaign capture the essence of Italian lifestyle that it hopes to portray to the U.S. market? What kind of problems could a brand face when launching an advertising campaign in another country? Can you think of any products that may have had to change their advertising plans for international marketing purposes?

Source: http://www.adweek.com/aw/video/adoftheday_player_page.jsp

Allstate Mayhem

The Allstate Insurance Company has been running an advertising campaign using it's "Allstate Mayhem" character to forewarn consumers to "expect the unexpected" when dealing with vehicle accidents. In this commercial a business executive finds out the markets have plummeted losing him large amounts of money, causing him to spill his coffee and burn himself. Slamming on his breaks in pain, the driver behind him rear-ends him resulting in the collision. The message of this commercial is simple, expect the unexpected. Getting Allstate Insurance will "protect you against Mayhem, like me". This tag-line delivers the conclusion for this commercial and leaves the customer with a humorous message.

Can any of you relate to these commercials when considering car insurance? Do you believe Allstate is making a relevant connection with accidents and the insurance you purchase? I would love to hear your input!

Shark humor

This week I decided to ask my roommate about her favorite commercial. It's interesting to see what commercials people remember and which ones just don't stick. This one came up in conversation...shark humor. Snickers is playing off this fictitious idea that sharks have human capabilities and are being used as market research. It puts an interesting twist on the typical person to person market research commercial. Have you seen any commercials lately that put a humorous twist on something usually quite average? Or are there certain commercials that really stick?

Poetry In Motion

Recently, fuel prices in the U.S. have been of paramount concern in the media. So much in fact, over 100,000 Facebook users agreed to not purchase fuel today as a boycott to these inflated prices. This post is not in response to this activism, but to a fantastic advertisement sourced from the LeMay Car Museum's Facebook page.



The commercial appeals to visual perception and auditory senses with the combination of orchestral engine noises, wickedly exciting high-speed cornering, and the classic Rosso Corsa 'Ferrari' red color streaking past magnificent monuments. Considered one of the most expensive commercials ever, the footage was shot on-site in Rome, Monaco, Sydney, New York, and Hong Kong. In addition, Ferrari has assembled a broad historical collection of some of their most coveted vehicles. In order of appearance, the 500 F2, 312, 312B, F310B, F2002, and F2007 exemplify Ferrari's venerable racing heritage originating in 1947. By combining their brand equities, Ferrari and Shell targeted customers by depicting the enriching capabilities of using Shell fuel and providing a correlation to street vehicles.

As a point of information, Ferrari and Shell did not maintain a continued relationship during the sixty years they've worked together. An Italian oil company, Agip, provided fuel sponsorship for Ferrari during a number of seasons instead of Shell.

What do you consider to be the most appealing aspect of this commercial?

As a viewer, does this advertisement encourage you to buy fuel from Shell service stations?

Approved by YiaYia

The new ad campaign run by Kraft Foods for Athenos hummus and yogurt products, has sparked interest as well as controversy. The ads feature a Greek grandmother figure named "YiaYia" and her traditional views on life. Three different spots incoporate YiaYias views on parenting, relationships and fashion. The theme for the commercials is that YiaYia is a fan of "simple, respectful food made the Greek way." She doesn't approve of anything her family is doing. She criticizes their lifestyle choices including, style of dress, living together before marriage, and being a stay-at-home dad. The only thing she approves of is Athenos.

In this first spot YiaYia tells her granddaughter how she feels about the way she dresses. YiaYia criticizes her granddaughter saying she, "dresses like a prostitute."






In this second spot YiaYia tells her son how she feels about his job. YiaYia insults her son, saying he is like a woman because he doesn't work outside the home.




These advertisements have sparked controversy in the Greek community. Some feel these ads are stereotyping Greek language and culture. According to Maria Anagnostopoulos a program director at the Greek Institute, "These commercials are not appropriate from a Greek perspective." Others feel that this advertisement is creative and lighthearted. Kraft Foods felt that this would be a viral campaign and strike interest among their target market of 20 year olds. Kraft wants people to see the commercial as fun and said the Greek-Americans they tested the commercial on thought it was humorous.


What target demographic would Kraft be trying to attract with these ads?
Do you think these Athenos ads are.. Creative? Funny? Controversial? Something else? Why?

New Windows Phone Ad: Consumer Generated

Microsoft. Windows Phone 7. One of the newest products released from the Redmond, WA software giant. Microsoft has an advertising budget of approximately $500 million dollars set aside for its Windows Phone 7 alone; comprised of television advertisements, billboards, radio, and most predominately the internet. But this video stands out from the rest...can you guess why?

It is 100% consumer generated. The creator of this video Brandon Foy has no relation to Microsoft. He merely created this video for a case study on his own and the response has been extremely positive. People everywhere are begging Microsoft to contact this individual because of the way it showcases the beauty of the product. With the amount of money being set aside for marketing this new Windows product, how do you feel about an exciting new video that has Microsoft rethinking their marketing campaign? The importance of consumer generated advertising is beginning to become a norm in the way we rethink our strategy.

Below is a clip of one of many Windows Phone 7 commercials.


How do you feel about the first video being consumer generated and free, versus the last video which is part of a multi-million dollar campaign? I would love to hear your opinions, thoughts, and feelings toward this rapidly growing trend of consumer generated marketing. Lets here what you think!