Top 10 IMC campaigns of 2010 (Part 2)

By Carrie Griffith

If you missed Part One yesterday, be sure to check it out.

Biggest Flop – Gap Logo Change
Gap unveiled a new logo that it called “a more contemporary, modern expression” of the brand. The change caused controversy unlike any other rebranding efforts in recent years. News of the re-brand quickly went viral, with universal negative feedback from Twitter, Facebook and bloggers. In response, Gap quickly changed course and reverted to the original design. With falling sales in the last couple of years, Gap was struggling to stay relevant. While the logo flopped at an epic proportion, the company reinforced consumer loyalty to its age-old blue-box logo. However, consumer loyalty to a logo does not increase sales. For Gap to resurrect its reputation, it will have to dig deeper to better understand why its loyal consumer base does not translate into sales.



Feel Good Campaign – Livestrong: Chalkbot
The Chalkbot was an interactive campaign that chalked inspirational messages along the route of the Tour de France. The machine sprayed consumer-generated messages from SMS, Twitter, and WearYellow.com in yellow chalk for the world to see. Sponsored by Nike in support of Lance Armstrong and his Livestrong Foundation’s fight against cancer, the Chalkbot campaign was truly the first of its kind to spread consumers' messages of hope and encouragement in real-time.

Shameless Product Placement – Lady Gaga: Telephone
With less album sales revenue coming in to artists, many have turned to video product placements to make an extra buck. Lady Gaga’s nine-and-a-half-minute music video for “Telephone” is no exception. “Telephone” is the first of its kind for product placement in a video, featuring a laundry list of brands such as Virgin Mobile, HP, Monster, Diet Coke, Polaroid, Kraft Miracle Whip and Coors Light. It's rumored that the fee for the product placements covered the $500K price tag for the video. In true Lady Gaga fashion, the video’s shameless product placement pushes the envelope. It's become a viral sensation, nearing one billion hits on YouTube. But I have to ask the question, what did the brands get out of it?



Most Controversial – e-Trade: Girlfriend
The e-Trade babies have been a staple among Super Bowl ads for the last couple of years with amusing spots that are usually earn accolades. However, e-Trade got more than it bargained for this year with its 30-second Super Bowl spot “Girlfriend.” In March 2010, the online trading website was slapped with a $100 million lawsuit filed by Lindsay Lohan for its reference to “that milk-aholic Lindsay.” While the lawsuit was settled out of court for an “undisclosed amount,” the e-Trade brand appears to have survived untarnished with more than 6.5 million YouTube views of this commercial alone.



Best PSA – Sussex Safer Roads Partnership (SSPR): Embrace Life
Most driver safety PSA’s use scare tactics that include frightening and sometimes gory imagery to deliver their message. However, consumers are becoming more and more desensitized to this type of message. “Embrace Life” took a refreshing approach to get viewers to take action. The 1:29 spot uses images of love and family to encourage viewers to buckle up. The PSA, created by Sussex Safer Roads Partnership, was only aired in the UK, but in the past 12 months has garnered over 12 million views on YouTube.



What integrated marketing campaigns made your top 10 in 2010? Please share in the comments section!

Carrie Griffith is a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University’s Medill School and is Vitamin IMC's director of online initiatives. She can be reached at carriehinkle2011@u.northwestern.edu.