By Carrie Griffith
The battle between the online deal websites Groupon and LivingSocial was one of the most anticipated Super Bowl commercial match-ups this year. Both start-ups used controversial humor in pre-game and Super Bowl spots to get the word out about their daily deal sites. In the aftermath of eyebrow raises and social controversy, did the humor pay off?
Groupon
From rainforest deforestation to mountainous Tibet, Groupon’s three 30-second spots seemed to have questionable (not to mention controversial) starts. Although the introductions seemed inappropriate, they stayed true to Groupon’s brand personality, known for its quirky lead-ins to deal descriptions. Groupon’s spots also gave non-users a good idea of how the daily deal service works. In the pre-game spot, Cuba Gooding Jr. says: “…since 100 of us bought on Groupon.com, we’re each getting an $86 whale-watching cruise for just $49.”
Groupon definitely flexed its new funding muscles—$377 million to be exact— and spent $3 million to produce and air its three Super Bowl spots. For its first offline advertising effort, the start-up partnered with big-name agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky. In addition to Gooding, the spots featured stars such as Elizabeth Hurley and Timothy Hutton.
Living Social
From golf to go-karts to facials, LivingSocial’s pre-game spot depicted the wide range of deals that consumers can find on the website. In the campaign created by The Martin Agency, one man describes how his life has changed through his addiction to the online daily deals website. The man starts out macho and bearded, but through LivingSocial’s daily deals, ends up dressed as a woman. In the wake of social media backlash, it is obvious that LivingSocial made a big mistake in its choice of humor. Stuart Elliot, writer for The New York Time’s Media Decoder, said it best: “Yes, in 2011, advertisers still believe that transsexuals or cross-dressing is something to laugh at.”
The last time these two start-ups faced off, LivingSocial walked away victorious with the title of “Biggest Daily Deal” by selling over 13 million in the $10 Amazon.com flash deal. In fact, LivingSocial used some of the earning from this deal to fund their Super Bowl pre-game debut.
Who do you think won the offline match-up? Let us know in the comments!
Showing posts with label Crispin Porter and Bogusky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crispin Porter and Bogusky. Show all posts
Monday, February 7, 2011
Monday, December 20, 2010
Top 10 IMC campaigns of 2010 (Part 1)
By Carrie Griffith
From ground-breaking viral to deep consumer insights to epic failures, here is our look at the integrated marketing campaigns that made the top of our list in 2010. Check back tomorrow for the the second part of the list!
Most Buzz Worthy – Old Spice: Man You Could Smell Like
To gain relevance and credibility with younger men, Wieden and Kennedy created the “Man You Could Smell Like” campaign for Old Spice. Old Spice tapped into a deep human insight—guys want to be manly—by using a humorous, hyper-masculine character to challenge a man’s most basic insecurities and help him “navigate the seas of manhood.” The Old Spice campaign infiltrated conversations both online and offline, with an 800% increase in Facebook interaction, 140 million YouTube views, and 120K Twitter followers. Did I forget to mention that sales of Old Spice actually increased in 2010?
Brand-Breaking Viral Campaign – Smirnoff: Bros Icing Bros
“Bros Icing Bros” started as a website and launched into a viral drinking game that swept college campuses across the nation. The rules of the game encourage underage binge drinking, which seriously threatened Smirnoff’s brand image. Controversy continues to surround the campaign’s origin—was it a consumer-generated phenomenon? Or was it a calculated risk taken by Smirnoff to boost sales? In response to allegations of questionable guerilla marketing tactics, Smirnoff took down the website (which now states: “We had a good run Bros…”), but the game lives on.
Cause Marketing Campaign – Pepsi Refresh Project
In lieu of a multi-million dollar Super Bowl campaign, Pepsi invested millions to engage consumers in an authentic and meaningful way. With the help of TBWA\CHIAT\DAY, Pepsi launched the Pepsi Refresh Project, which provided a consumer-driven forum for everyday people to post their “Do Good” ideas. To date, Pepsi has granted more than $1.3 million to individuals and organizations that posted ideas on the website. To learn more, check out Vitamin IMC’s conversation about the Pepsi Refresh Project with Medill IMC alum David Dreyer of TBWA\CHIAT\DAY.
Consumer-Centric Campaign – Domino's: Pizza Turnaround
Domino’s Pizza tastes like cardboard and ketchup… and the company execs will be the first to tell you! In its Pizza Turnaround campaign, Domino’s took the side of the brand haters and publicly admitted that its 49-year-old pizza recipe was gross. With the help of Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Domino’s positioned its brand as a partner by listening to and involving consumers every step of the pizza reformulation process. Most marked the campaign strategy as brand suicide, but in a recessionary year Domino’s achieved double-digit same-store sales growth of 11.7% in the third quarter.
Stereotype Buster – Toyota: Swagger Wagon
When you hear the word “minivan” what thoughts immediately come to mind? For most, negative associations arise that usually involve avoidance of owning/driving/riding in one. Among the 20-30 something audience, the minivan is the antithesis of cool. Toyota took a unique approach to combat the stigma that surrounds owning a minivan by turning the stereotype on its head. The Swagger Wagon campaign makes minivans cool by featuring a quirky couple rapping about their family, day-to-day life, and minivan. While the commercial does not position the minivan as a choice car, it encourages families to laugh and be proud to drive a minivan.
What integrated marketing campaigns made your top 10 in 2010? Please share in the comments! And be sure to look for Part 2 of our list tomorrow.
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.
From ground-breaking viral to deep consumer insights to epic failures, here is our look at the integrated marketing campaigns that made the top of our list in 2010. Check back tomorrow for the the second part of the list!
Most Buzz Worthy – Old Spice: Man You Could Smell Like
To gain relevance and credibility with younger men, Wieden and Kennedy created the “Man You Could Smell Like” campaign for Old Spice. Old Spice tapped into a deep human insight—guys want to be manly—by using a humorous, hyper-masculine character to challenge a man’s most basic insecurities and help him “navigate the seas of manhood.” The Old Spice campaign infiltrated conversations both online and offline, with an 800% increase in Facebook interaction, 140 million YouTube views, and 120K Twitter followers. Did I forget to mention that sales of Old Spice actually increased in 2010?
Brand-Breaking Viral Campaign – Smirnoff: Bros Icing Bros
“Bros Icing Bros” started as a website and launched into a viral drinking game that swept college campuses across the nation. The rules of the game encourage underage binge drinking, which seriously threatened Smirnoff’s brand image. Controversy continues to surround the campaign’s origin—was it a consumer-generated phenomenon? Or was it a calculated risk taken by Smirnoff to boost sales? In response to allegations of questionable guerilla marketing tactics, Smirnoff took down the website (which now states: “We had a good run Bros…”), but the game lives on.
Cause Marketing Campaign – Pepsi Refresh Project
In lieu of a multi-million dollar Super Bowl campaign, Pepsi invested millions to engage consumers in an authentic and meaningful way. With the help of TBWA\CHIAT\DAY, Pepsi launched the Pepsi Refresh Project, which provided a consumer-driven forum for everyday people to post their “Do Good” ideas. To date, Pepsi has granted more than $1.3 million to individuals and organizations that posted ideas on the website. To learn more, check out Vitamin IMC’s conversation about the Pepsi Refresh Project with Medill IMC alum David Dreyer of TBWA\CHIAT\DAY.
Consumer-Centric Campaign – Domino's: Pizza Turnaround
Domino’s Pizza tastes like cardboard and ketchup… and the company execs will be the first to tell you! In its Pizza Turnaround campaign, Domino’s took the side of the brand haters and publicly admitted that its 49-year-old pizza recipe was gross. With the help of Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Domino’s positioned its brand as a partner by listening to and involving consumers every step of the pizza reformulation process. Most marked the campaign strategy as brand suicide, but in a recessionary year Domino’s achieved double-digit same-store sales growth of 11.7% in the third quarter.
Stereotype Buster – Toyota: Swagger Wagon
When you hear the word “minivan” what thoughts immediately come to mind? For most, negative associations arise that usually involve avoidance of owning/driving/riding in one. Among the 20-30 something audience, the minivan is the antithesis of cool. Toyota took a unique approach to combat the stigma that surrounds owning a minivan by turning the stereotype on its head. The Swagger Wagon campaign makes minivans cool by featuring a quirky couple rapping about their family, day-to-day life, and minivan. While the commercial does not position the minivan as a choice car, it encourages families to laugh and be proud to drive a minivan.
What integrated marketing campaigns made your top 10 in 2010? Please share in the comments! And be sure to look for Part 2 of our list tomorrow.
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.
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