Remember back when United Colors of Benetton ads were controversial, eyebrow-raising, and just kinda awesome? Remember back when Benetton was a relevant name in the clothing industry?
This was pre-internet, before our laptops told us exactly what to wear and where to buy it. You had to work for it. For many non-big city Americans in the 80’s and 90’s, the only exposure to interracial open-mindedness they ever got was from walking by the Benetton window display at the mall. Sad, but better than nothing.
Benetton delivered a vision of tolerance. Even if that tolerance was mainly for really well dressed people. United Colors. Black, White, Asian, Native Americans all dressed awesome and just …hanging out? It’s easier to create that sort of cultural/fashion mash-up in 2011 because of the access we all have. But back then, that angle was hard.
Yeah, well, they’re back. Benetton just released this “Unhate” ad campaign that definitely harkens back to those days when their ads opted for shocking pictures that didn’t actually contain any clothing. They seem to be reclaiming the throne they created as a company that sells stuff, yes, but also has a message. Seems this time around, all they need is Love.
And kissing.
The ads feature world leaders smooching. Of course, It’s already caused some controversy…they’ve taken down a picture of the Pope kissing an Imam. God forbid. But we’re writing about it here, so they still win with that loss. There’s all sorts of stuff to explore on the website, including a kiss wall where you can upload your own pics.
So let’s check it out … and take a moment to tip our marketing hats to a company that deserves credit for creating a slightly more tolerant world, even if it was all just to sell more red sweaters.
If you’re into business startup stuff, then you should check out this solid series of profiles of entrepreneurs of all shapes and sizes as they spill the beans on what they did, didn’t do, wish they’d done, etc., etc. They’re short—2 or 3 minutes. It’s an easy way to get inspired over coffee to stop sitting around drinking coffee and get off your ass and start a company. Techcrunch sets up the series better than we can so we’ll let them explain it:
“…Sprinkle Lab, launched a series last week that aims to speak to anyone and everyone interested in the world of entrepreneurship. The series, called “Now I Know”, will be releasing a new episode every Monday and Wednesday for the next six weeks that contains a lesson learned, a memorable experience, or personal philosophy from different notable figures in the tech space. It’s slightly reminiscent of The Startup Kids, but instead of focusing on young entrepreneurs, it shares musings on the big issues the tech industry faces today, dished out by experts — of every age.”
See, we told you they would do a good job explaining it. One of the reasons we dig it at Creative Asylum is because we are launching our own web series very shortly called “Available Light: Creative Conversations from the Cat and Fiddle.” Basically once every 2-3 weeks or so (damn, will we regret putting THAT in writing), we will be posting another profile of a smart, creative person who is making a mark in the world of marketing, TV, film, art or music. We do the interviews at our local pub, the “Cat and Fiddle” (BTW – we also use available light. Hopefully the name of the show now makes sense).
When we discovered Sprinkle Lab’s “startup version,” we were happy to see we weren’t the only people out there making content for the love of making content. Look for “Available Light” on this site soon — and thanks to Sprinkle Labs for creating “Now I Know.” Now we know.
Let’s just leave taste out of it for a few minutes. You can’t deny Kevin Smith can sell. To his critics, the fact that he gets to make movies at all is proof of that. And since we are a marketing agency, it’s worth a moment to consider the new models of film marketing being pushed forward by the likes of Smith, and to some extent his 90’s indie rival Ed Burns. These guys have come to the conclusion that the studios still haven’t completely wrapped their brains around — everything’s changed. There are big films and small films, and sometimes small films shouldn’t be sold the same way as big films. The movie business is unique in that way. They charge the same for a surf and turf with champagne at the Palm as they do for a number three combo at McDonald’s. With “Red State,” Smith owns his film and has taken the marketing over, doing it his own way (which in his case is a nationwide roadshow and non-stop podcasting) and saying to the public: who wants a Quarter Pounder?
Just check out Kevin Smith’s “Red State of the Union” podcasts. It’s a fascinating look into the rapidly shifting landscape of movie marketing. No studio. No major marketing. No outdoor. No print. Not even an opening weekend push. You don’t have to listen to the podcasts and there will be no quiz, but it’s relevant. It might be a glimpse into the future of selling movies.
Who was the famous writer that said “What my wife never understood was that when I was staring out the window, I was actually working.”
Was it Dostoyevsky? F. Scott Fitzgerald? Dr. Suess? Socrates? Was he even married? We digress. The important thing is that apparently staring out the window is extremely important to the creative process. While this may be filed under “duh” for many Creatives, Wired Science did a in-depth and entertaining look at the mechanics behind zoning out that’s worth a read, if only for a well-researched justification for the last 2 hours you just wasted. It will make you feel better.
We’re here to help.
We stumbled upon a very cool app for both the PC and Mac called Ommwriter. This word processing app/program makes one of the most painful, arduous and soul-crushing—writing—kinda awesome. Basically it creates a visual interface for writing that is very Zen, very clean and very icon-free. Sort of like the way your apartment looked before you ruined it and tried to “decorate.” Full of clean promise. No bad art or prop books you’ll never read. No magnets on the fridge or stacks of empty DVD cases. But what’s really cool about Ommwriter is the sound it makes when you write. If you’re wearing headphones, it creates an audio soundscape that echoes the pace of your typing with a variety of customizable music and effects. Very soothing. Helps with focus.
That said, you might have to keep an eye out that your scripts, proposals or blog posts don’t come out overly minimal, vaguely Haiku-y or about yoga. Calibrate with Red Bull and you’ll be back where you started. Either way, it’s an interesting idea.
We hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween! We sure did. Our employees really turned on the creative for costume contests in both LA and Panama. Highlights included Bender (from Futurama), Altair (from Assassin’s Creed), Joaquin Pheonix, Peggy Bundy, Alice in Wonderland, and Beetlejuice. Not to mention a few zombies and ghosts here and there. Check out these creatives who escaped the asylum:
CA Panama (top) and CA Los Angeles (bottom) get into the Halloween spirit
We’ve noticed more than one instance of brands offering personalized virtual products via Facebook lately. Is this the next big trend?
Heinz UK recently unveiled a campaign in which you can send a friend personalized “Get Well” soup. The gesture is currently available in two flavors: Cream of Chicken and Cream of Tomato.
Get well soon!
Another big brand jumping on the personalization bandwagon is none other than Coca-Cola. Coke Australia has launched a viral campaign, encouraging users to share a virtual Coke. 150 of the most common names will even be printed on bottles and cans and sold at retail outfits. Would you want a Coke with your name on it?
Share a coke, mate.
Now that iPhone 4S’s have officially flooded the market, much has been said about the new voice interface, Siri. Turns out, Siri can be a bit cheeky at times, thanks to some fun Easter eggs. If you’re bored, ask Siri where you can find a good scotch, or try telling Siri that you need to hide a body. And then check out this and this for a few laughs.
Siri has a sense of humor
The GLEE Give a Note contest is now in voting phase. Check out all the awesome videos submitted and vote for your favorite! You, too, can lend a voice to the cause by helping deserving music programs receive up to $50K from a total $1M prize pool. Music education in this country is in peril, but now there’s a way you can make a difference. Vote, share videos, and get more information on how you can help.
Have you voted yet?
by Danny Johnson, Partner & Founder
Creative Asylum has taken on some incredible not-for-profit clients in Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the National Association of Music Education. Both have noble missions – saving kids’ lives and saving arts and music education in public schools. Our goal for both is to harness the social web to create long-term, virally fueled fundraising movements. It’s a huge mission and one we’re super excited about.
As we look for ways to break through for our clients, the topic of integrating cause marketing into social gaming arises frequently. And the more research we do into this, the more we realize how very new the subject is – there is no truly mature data or case studies on this yet. We’re generally finding there are 2 different levels here: truly integrated efforts and more perishable, “stunt” oriented efforts.
If it’s a quick, targeted donation campaign, you might be well served by a campaign like the one Activision did with WOW and Make-A-Wish: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/11/11/virtual-wow-pet-sells-out/. It worked. They sold a lot of pets. The key is really all about delivering value to an audience large enough to move the needle. However, this campaign had a bit of backlash to it, which is always the danger when you mix a for-profit and not-for-profit effort.
There are also companies that specialize in cause marketing social games that are specifically designed and built to drive donations. There is even one built specifically for our client, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals: https://www.facebook.com/hospitopia?sk=wall. Of course, the challenge here is building a game experience that is robust enough and evolves quickly enough that it can compete. That takes money and time, and unless it’s a major game company, it’s going to hurt. We’re looking at these, but we can’t find any examples of recent games that made a big impact.
And that’s what it’s really about, right? Making a big impact. The one thing we see across the board in all cause marketing/gaming successes is VALUE – you’d better deliver something…an experience…a goodie…that is of meaningful value to the audience or you are dead. And to do just that at a cost that makes sense for a pro bono client within a small agency like ours.
So here’s a call to the Zyngas, the Playdoms, the Playfishes of the world – you have a chance to use your audiences to make a huge difference in the lives of kids. We’ll be calling you, and hopefully you will pick up the phone.
- Awesome #YouTube visualizer! http://t.co/ju6y9Csx 2012-2-16 20:26
- Cooking classes, right from your own kitchen, thanks to Google+ Hangouts. http://t.co/wA7y7JR0 2012-2-16 15:07
- #TheEatery is not just another food app—it helps you accurately judge your eating habits through community ratings. http://t.co/t2Ax6TqL 2012-2-15 19:40
- More updates...