Advertiser vs. consumer

By Mrinal Khullar



This is a great clip that captures the issue we IMCers are battling regarding our approach to marketing communications. I think it accurately and hilariously depicts how out of touch with consumers mainstream advertising can be. It also points to the importance of having a dialogue with consumers versus a one-way relationship. Other than the humor, I think this clip truly emphasizes the importance of what we’re studying here at Medill. Understanding consumers as more than demographics or psychographic descriptions is critical to our process. Certainly, database information on purchase behavior is imperative to our understanding. But so is getting to know consumers as people first, consumers second.

Mrinal Khullar is a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University’s Medill School. She can be reached at mrinalkhullar2011@u.northwestern.edu.

It's time to move beyond stereotypes

By Diana Lopez Negrete



Kraft Foods recently debuted a series of television ads for its Athenos Hummus line that are not only sexist but also blatantly racist. However, according to a Chicago Tribune online poll, people are not offended by the ads. In fact, the Chicago Sun Times gave the ads a B+, saying that they are “creative” and “provocative.” To which I wonder, did someone receive a big box of Athenos Hummus to try?

I find this type of marketing to be not only irresponsible, but also dated. Relying on cultural stereotypes and sexism as sources of humor is offensive and, frankly, boring. Ads in this vein are not “provocative” or “creative,” but rather, unoriginal in developing ideas and provoking a media response. Not only that, they lack an ability to connect with the audience on a deeper level.

Call me crazy, but the "Yiayia on Fashion" ad really does not have me running to the store to purchase Athenos Hummus. In fact, it's trite and sexist. I certainly do not want my hummus purchase to remind me that my grandmother thinks I look like a "prostitute." Typically, when I host a party for my friends, money is not exchanged for sexual favors. Rather, we laugh and tell jokes over wine, cheese, and maybe some hummus. However, I might re-think that purchase at this point.



As for the "Yiayia on Parenting" ad (above), why is being called “wife” emasculating? Is it because a man’s place is in the office and a woman’s is in the home? What is this, 1955? Should I wear an apron to class as well? As more and more women choose having a career over staying home, someone has to raise the children, be it their father, a family member, or a nanny. If a man chooses to stay at home with his children, more power to him.

In 2011, it's sad to see that cultural and gender stereotypes continue to be perpetuated in ad campaigns. We live in an incredibly diverse world with so much rich material to draw from. Racism and sexism have been done. If I could insert an eye roll here, I would.

What Kraft should have done is eschew these stereotype-laden ads for something more creative. To those people who think they are “provocative” I must ask: why do you consider racism and sexism provocative? A little more creativity on Kraft's part would have gone a long way.

Diana Lopez Negrete is a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University’s Medill School. She can be reached at dianalopez2011@u.northwestern.edu.

Marcom this week: From A to zinc – 3/4/11 edition

Although Charlie Sheen’s rants made more than enough headlines this week, marketers managed to squeeze in a few of their own. From the announcement of Apple’s iPad 2 to the latest research on what consumers want from brands online, here is a look at what happened this week in the integrated marketing communications industry.

iPad 2 raises the bar for marketers
In case you missed it, Apple announced its next-generation iPad on Wednesday. The lighter, thinner, faster tablet arrives March 11 with a price tag of $499 for the 18GB Wi-Fi version. More important than its new software and front- and rear-facing cameras is the fact that the iPad 2 is driving the post-PC conversation forward at full speed. Just a day after Apple’s announcement, Gartner lowered its growth forecast for worldwide PC shipments in 2011. Looks like the iPad is well on its way to bridging the gap between laptops and tablets, which means it’s time for marketers – who haven’t done much to test the tablet waters – to take notice. Faster browsing means a host of new apps are probably already in development. However, if PC alternatives are the future, then how do marketers get on board in a meaningful way?

For brands, it’s all about being "liked"
Take note marketers: consumers want to hear from you when online – if you’re offering discounts. This is the latest finding of a new Ad Age/Ipsos Observer survey of digital-media habits. Facebook was a clear winner, with 41 percent of respondents preferring to receive communication from marketers via this platform. The runner up was Twitter, which received 18 percent of the vote. Coupons are the most sought-after item, with 65 percent of respondents hunting for online discounts. In fact, for most respondents, this was the reason why they “liked” a brand on Facebook. Not surprisingly, only 22 percent of respondents cared about customer news, a reminder that pushing self-promoting content won’t win a brand many friends.

Taco Bell: Where’s the beef?
This week, Taco Bell debuted a series of commercials in response to a lawsuit claiming its beef isn’t beefy enough. According to the ads, Taco Bell’s beef is comprised of 88 percent premium ground beef and 12 percent signature recipe. Viewers are encouraged to visit the fast-food chain’s website to view the entire ingredients list. Overall, the ads aren’t very interesting. We probably would’ve dismissed them with a shrug had it not been for the commercial’s inopportune airing on Sunday evening during a repeat of Fox’s new animated series, "Bob’s Burgers." Titled “Human Flesh,” the episode is about a misunderstanding surrounding the beef content of Bob’s Burgers signature hamburgers. (Sound familiar?) The first ad to air during the commercial break? Taco Bell, of course. Bad timing for the brand, and a big “oops” for Fox.



Marcom This Week: From A to Zinc is compiled by the Vitamin IMC editorial team. They can be reached at vitaminimc@gmail.com. Miss your vitamins last week? Visit the “Marcom this Week” archive.

TooManyAborted.com should not have approved this message

By Shakerra Grays

This billboard reads: “The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb.”


Since seeing a tweet of this billboard the other day, I’ve found it hard to get it off my mind. I find the statement inflammatory, irresponsible, offensive and shortsighted. Upon researching this organization, I found that TooManyAborted.com was created by The Radiance Foundation, a pro-life/pro-adoption organization founded, run, and supported by African Americans.

This billboard (which is one of many) does nothing to communicate the organization's mission or to move it forward. As a marketer I understand that need to get immediate attention and the inclination to use shock value to break through the advertising clutter. However, this is a cheap trick to get attention. Is it worth it? I don’t think so.

I clipped this directly from TooManyAborted.com:

VISION: We seek to eliminate the destruction of Life by focusing on solutions that empower women, men and children (born and unborn).

MISSION: TooManyAborted.com educates the public about abortion’s impact on the African-American community via accurate and documented statistics, historical perspectives, thought-provoking videos, and personal testimonies. We strongly encourage adoption and provide connections to local resources. Through speaking events and media campaigns, we expose the distortion and destruction of Planned Parenthood and its abortion advocates.

Fine. Fair enough. Pro-lifers have a right to their opinion. I’m also quite aware of Margaret Sanger’s views, eugenics, and the shady history of Planned Parenthood’s agenda for poor women of color. It is not my intention to debate the morality of abortion here. I am purely interested in the message.

I question what black woman would see this billboard and know that this organization seeks to help her. The statement on this billboard makes the mother the villain. It perpetuates the idea that black mothers are irresponsible, negligent, or somehow unable to responsibly carry a child, much less raise one. This billboard is judgmental and hurtful. TooManyAborted.com, you missed the mark here. And I suspect that in the process, you’ve alienated the very population that you seek to educate.

TooManyAborted.com should be more thoughtful about the messages they send out and be clearer about who they are. If they continue with messages like these, they will degrade their cause, erode their credibility, and be seen as part of the very problem that they seek to solve.

Shakerra Grays is a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University’s Medill School. Follow her tweets at http://twitter.com/ShakerraG.

2011 Brand Bowl Showdown: Groupon vs. LivingSocial

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!

Heineken, give yourself a good name

By Kate Hellman

While participating in a panel at the Albert Lasker event hosted by Medill last October, Susan Credle, creative director at Leo Burnett USA, made a comment that really stuck with me. She said that a product or brand is not the only thing we serve when we advertise: “I think we have to serve the community…the world…[and] the people. Which is that we are inviting them to public spaces not unlike architecture.”

It’s true that great ads enhance public space. They make you stop, think, and look, like good art. Other ads seem to have mindboggling disregard for the notion of advertising as a public space.

That is why the Heineken TV ad “The Tiger” leaves me feeling violated in my own living room. The ad shows a man at a wedding reception. He spots an attractive woman, and we assume he will go straight for her. Instead, he charms her by asking an elderly woman sitting next to her to dance (after leaving her with a Heineken, of course). Now, if this ad had been muted, I too would have been charmed off my feet. After all, what woman doesn’t appreciate an attractive gentleman? But then, the ad turns itself on its head. The voiceover says, “There are two types of tigers. One that goes straight for the prey and one that makes the prey surrender to him.”



I hope I speak for women and men alike in that calling a woman “prey” is not just demeaning; it’s sick. As a noun prey means "an animal taken by a predator as food" and conjures the image of a helpless animal being attacked and mauled to death. In a world where women are brutally raped and killed every single day, making a woman analogous to prey is beyond appalling.

The last shot of the ad displays the campaign’s theme, “Give Yourself a Good Name.” Well, Heineken, here is my suggestion to you: Take a cue from the classy man in your ad and give your own brand a good name. Simply substituting the word “lady” for “prey” would accomplish this nicely by bringing women back to human status.

Your ad is shown in public space, where women exist as 50 percent of the population and also happen to be some of your most loyal customers. I would really love to be able to drink a frosty Heineken tall boy without envisioning myself dead in a forest with flies buzzing around me.

Note: Very recently, Heineken changed the word “prey” to “prize.” While not quite as tasteless as referring to her as prey, it still leaves her as a possession to be conquered.

Kate Hellman is a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University’s Medill School and can be reached at katehellman2011@u.northwestern.edu.

Noodles in Nigeria: Adapting to cultural change

By Lenny Layman

“Did you know that IndoMie (an Indonesian brand) instant noodles are a big hit in Nigeria?” said Eugene, between mouthfuls of rice.

“Really? But why?” I asked.

“Well, the company’s really smart,” he replied. “It marketed the noodles to kids at first. The product’s novelty and great taste attracted an immediate following. The kids then pressured their moms to buy the noodles for them. Even the men now love noodles ‘cause they’re much faster to prepare than their normal meal.”

It was my last night in Singapore, my native country, and I was in the company of old school friends. The next morning, I would be returning to the United States, where I’ve lived for the past eight years. As I looked around at my friends—a mixed lot in terms of ethnicity, nationality, marital status and the industries we work in—I reflected on the rapid changes in Singapore I’ve observed every year during my return visits.

For most of the ‘80s and ‘90s, American and Japanese culture dominated Singapore’s retail environment. Today, Chinese and South Korean influences permeate mainstream tastes in food, entertainment and consumer electronics. The expatriate community has also broadened beyond Americans, British and Australians to include Mainland Chinese, Indians and even Russians.

Big changes. My advice to those marketing products in Asia:

• Identify commonalities in target audience to achieve effective segmentation.
  Consumers are inundated by choice in a region heavily courted by global brands and local variants. To rise above the noise, effective segmentation based on a sophisticated understanding of audience behaviors, values and attitudes, alongside demographic attributes, becomes key. I’ve seen too many ads that still “push” product features. Few “pull” the consumer in like this ad by the late filmmaker and former creative director at Leo Burnett Malaysia, Yasmin Ahmad.

• Adapt concepts to resonate with target segments.
  At my first job at an ad agency, each launch campaign was executed in multiple languages: English, Mandarin and Malay. Concepts were adapted, translated and tested to ensure cultural relevance. Imagery was carefully chosen so as to not offend.
• Connect with customers where they are most comfortable.
  Asia is a region of diversity beyond language and culture. The rate of adoption of new media channels and technology varies too. While the Internet and self-service kiosks are popular transaction mediums, the older generation still prefers lining up at post offices and banks. From a media standpoint, the environment is littered as much by electronic billboards, similar to New York City’s Times Square, as by flyers and pamphlets painstakingly distributed by hourly paid workers.

Right: An underground train station becomes a canvas for the latest Hollywood offering.

So what does this all mean for a marketer? Understanding consumers remains a priority. However, with changes in the population, it’s even more important that marketers themselves evolve. It may be advantageous to learn Mandarin to embrace the tide of change that is China. As a parallel, I’ve noted how my Chinese friends, whose work has taken them to Indonesia, have adopted Bahasa.

If an Indonesian brand could successfully penetrate a West African country, odd pairings in other parts of the world certainly stand a fair chance. Marketers simply need to listen, communicate and interact with consumers.

Lenny M. Layman is a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University’s Medill School and can be reached at lennylayman2011@u.northwestern.edu.

The Pepsi Refresh Project: Inside the Secret Formula

A Conversation with David Dreyer of TBWA\CHIAT\DAY

In January, Vitamin IMC ran a post about Pepsi’s decision to spend millions on a program called the Pepsi Refresh Project instead of investing in its traditional Super Bowl advertising spots. Little did we know that the concept was developed by a team from TBWA\CHIAT\DAY Los Angeles that included Medill IMC alum David Dreyer. Vitamin IMC Social Media Director Anne Mahoney was fortunate enough to have a conversation with David on the strategy and IMC elements behind the successful project.

On Strategy

“Pepsi wasn’t going to be the first to do philanthropic work or social media, and didn’t want to be a ‘me too’,” said Dreyer.

So how did TBWA\CHIAT\DAY propose capturing the essence of the Pepsi brand in an authentic way that resonated with consumers?

“Pepsi has always been at its best as a catalyst for change. In the Great Depression, it doubled the amount of ounces for the same cost. During World War II, it adopted its patriotic red, white and blue colors. It was always leading culture.”

The Pepsi Refresh Project was an idea formed from consumer insights. The Pepsi Refresh Project gives financial grants to anyone’s causes or ideas that gain the highest number of votes. With enthusiastic support from Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi and company bottlers, the TBWA\CHIAT\DAY developed its rollout plan to the public.

“It was very deliberate – a marathon and not a sprint,” said Dreyer. “Refresh was launched in 2009 when we talked about it [to the public], and in 2010 we acted on it.”

Grant submissions began online in January 2010, with a cap of 1,000 on a first-come, first-serve basis each month. To give an idea of how popular the Pepsi Refresh Project has become, that 1,000-submission quota was reached in 30 minutes when opened for April.

On Engagement

The Refresh Project gives Pepsi the extra marketing power Super Bowl commercials fall short on – customer engagement. Where companies pay millions for celebrities to endorse their brands, Pepsi now has celebrities coming to them wishing to participate. Rihanna, Jenny McCarthy, Eva Longoria and Mariska Hargitay are just a few who have submitted grant ideas.

A great example of how the Refresh Project has helped its consumers is the case of Johnny Greenshield, a 14-year-old who won $25,000 with his homemade video of a new aerodynamic hood invention for buses.

On Demographics

When I think Pepsi marketing, I think of Gen Y as the ideal target audience. David had an intriguing response to that assumption.

“Pepsi symbolized youth, but some of its most loyal consumers are boomers. It needed an idea that bridged gap between millennials and boomers. Both groups are powerful agents of change, but because of psychographics rather than demographics.”

Do you think that boomers are too far outside of the internet age to participate?

“The majority of ideas are submitted by boomers, and they are the fastest growing demographic on Facebook,” Dreyer continued. “They have time, are computer-savvy, and it’s a way for them to keep in contact with friends and family.”

The Pepsi Refresh Project is an integrated marketing campaign that we’re continuing to keep an eye on. I’d like to give my personal thanks to David Dreyer for sharing his insights with Vitamin IMC.

--Anne Mahoney

***

Anne Mahoney is the Social Media Director of Vitamin IMC and a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University’s Medill School. In the 90s she tried to win Deion Sanders gear through the Pepsi Stuff promotion. She can be reached at AnneMahoney2010@u.northwestern.edu.

Pepsi’s Super Bold Cause Marketing Move

It’s tough to imagine the Super Bowl without the Pepsi ads. Full of pop culture, sex appeal and charm, the spendy spots are being benched this year in favor of a new marketing plan. The soda giant is instead re-funneling $20 million of its advertising dollars to the “Pepsi Refresh Project,” awarding grant money to community projects selected by its consumers. The Wall Street Journal offers a comprehensive piece on the decision, but here’s my perspective as an IMC student, armchair advertising critic and Pepsi drinker.

In its current stage – before consumer engagement, attitudes and profit margins are calculated – Pepsi’s strategy is downright applaudable. It likely wouldn’t have had the same effect just two years ago. Back then, we Americans basked in frivolity. Paying $2.7 million for a 30 second first quarter belly laugh was pure bragging rights for many a company. Sure, Pepsi also was likely backed into spending binges by direct pressure from Coca-Cola. To remove themselves from competition on the biggest advertising platform in the world must have more than a few Pepsi executives biting their nails right now. But my prediction is this: it will be worth it, and here’s why:

Word of Mouth. People will talk about the Pepsi Refresh Project because it’s unconventional, risky and doing some good. If it’s possible to change attitudes, this program has more potential than a short-lived advertisement. Remember Mister Splashy Pants?

Social Media. There’s potential for Pepsi to have a bonanza here. Cause marketing works when people are given the power of participatory influence. Viral engagement will lead to an “everybody wins” scenario, including consumers and the communities being served. Oh, and more brand equity isn’t bad, either.

Legacy. If this concept is ultimately profitable, it will not only be a success story, but one exemplifying a true change in consumer behavior. Although copycats will follow, I think Pepsi will be preserved as a heartfelt pioneer because of the level of risk taken on with this program.

So Pepsi, good luck to you. The bubbly Super Bowl ads will be missed, but the Refresh Project is definitely going to be fun to watch.

--Anne Mahoney

***

Anne Mahoney is the Social Media Director of Vitamin IMC and a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University’s Medill School. She is hoping to watch the Vikings take the cake at the Super Bowl this year. She can be reached at AnneMahoney2010@u.northwestern.edu.

'A hole' breaks through the clutter

“A Nasty Commercial” - The Huffington Post

"Juvenile" - BNET

"Fast-Food Smutfest" - Advertising Age

"Tasteless and stupid" - Brandfreak.com

These are just some of the reactions to Hardee’s “Name our holes” campaign launched over the summer. No stranger to controversy, Hardee’s has a reputation for provocative commercials. Hardee’s is trying to be a guy’s guy and appeal to young, hungry dudes. So low-brow humor seems to be a fit with the brand’s desired personality and appeal to the target market.

The Holes campaign was to promote Hardee’s biscuit holes with icing. The A-hole vs B-hole commercial turns the blind taste test on its head in an unexpected and funny way. It is so simple and obvious it’s surprising that no one had done it before. It goes beyond low-brow humor to actually being witty. The commercial leads the viewer toward the joke, but the naughtiness of A-hole vs B-hole happens in the mind of the consumer. The interactive nature of wit is a pleasurable pay-off for the viewer – and they get a good laugh.

The commercial is also successful because it breaks through the advertising clutter in a way that makes consumers receptive to the message. As Beryl McAlhone and David Stuart state in their book “A Smile in the Mind”:

What a witty approach does is to focus as much on receptiveness as on what is to be received. It creates a welcome for itself. This is like persuading the goalkeeper to stand aside before you shoot at the goal.

Clearly the critics of the Hardee’s commercial couldn’t see past the so called sophomoric humor to see the commercial for the witty and clever piece that it is. But that’s okay, because the 525,700+ people that viewed the YouTube video did.

--Marina Molenda

Can Break-Dancing Babies Refresh the Evian Brand?

This week, Evian is launching a global advertising campaign entitled "Live Young" aimed to counteract the effects of the recession. Because of its premium price, Evian sales have been hit hard and it only holds 0.6% of the bottled water market. The campaign centers around adorable break-dancing babies who demonstrate the benefits of Evian's minerals in a video that is on a path to become a viral hit.



Complimenting the video is an interactive website with interviews, music, wallpapers, and links to Facebook profiles created for a few of the babies. Although Evian is bound to make a splash with this cute and amusing video, the rest of the campaign may fall a little flat. What would better help Evian's effort is if they provided additional tips on how to "live young" on the website. Consumers may be initially drawn in based on the premise of the video, but interacting with babies is not going to forge a strong association of Evian with living young in consumers' minds. Evian should consider partnering with a healthy living organization to provide tips on other ways to keep your body healthy and feeling younger. This will help position Evian as a lifestyle brand, more than just the bottled water brand that has minerals.

And they should also consider expanding their social media strategy. Being friends with a cute baby isn't going to convert consumers to loyal advocates. What would be better is to create a fan page for the campaign that incorporates more information on ways to live young and encourages interaction and user engagement. Letting consumers share ways that they live young will keep the campaign around for a longer period of time.

So what do you think? Will you buy Evian now with your anti-aging creams? Or is this just another cute dancing baby video?

--Stacy Cohen

Enter The Snuggie

Did someone say the economy isn’t doing so well?  Despite non-stop news coverage, it is easy to play pretend and assume the economy is just fine.  To the perpetual optimist, it might seem like an anomaly in an otherwise stable system. A sign appeared recently – an undeniable atom bomb to any marketer who was holding on to naivety.  That sign was no less than the Snuggie – the blanket with sleeves.

When the Snuggie showed up with the above 60 second infomercial on high-rated prime-time programming, jaws dropped.  It was the ultimate sign of an economic crisis in the U.S. In relation to how marketing is all connected, this signified a dramatic change in marketing behavior. IMC seeks to understand how marketing works together and is affected by changes in consumer and market behaviors. The following chain of indicators reflects a nationwide crisis on a very significant level.

Last June during the beginning of the 2008-2009 upfront, everything was business as usual.  Television CPM’s were up – and advertisers were shelling out hefty budgets.  A few media companies were even going so far as to hold back some of their upfront inventory in hopes for even higher scatter prices later in the year.  It was a bold move, but why worry?  By the time the upfront closed in August, advertising budgets for most networks met or exceeded expectations.  It wasn’t long before that decision to hold back inventory came back to bite the media companies in a hard way.  The network’s projections of lofty increases in the scatter marketplace turned to begging.  Couldn’t anyone buy up some of that unsold inventory?  Enter the Snuggie.

What about the rest of the advertisers out there – why aren’t they buying?  In February 2009, P&G decided to take nearly all of their available upfront options, despite promises days earlier that budget cuts would not occur.  This pulled millions from the market and started what MediaWeek would call “The Start of the Stampede.” Combine unsold inventory with increased budget cuts, and you have a very nice buyers market.  Enter the Snuggie.

What is really concerning about the Snuggie on primetime was the fact that it was an infomercial.  Previously, major networks like CBS and FOX would have scoffed at the idea of cheapening their image with QVC-type advertisers.  But considering the issues discussed, beggars can’t be choosers.  Desperation leads to difficult decisions – and desperation doesn’t come from a mild economic downturn.  It implies a full blown crisis at hand, something the Snuggie has helped all marketers come to terms with. 

--Guest Contributor: Jeffrey Mulcock, IMC Graduate Student

If I Made a Commercial for Trader Joe's

A fan of the niche grocery chain Trader Joe's surreptitiously filmed the following "commercial" for the store:



I find this video fascinating. Not only does it show the control that consumers wield over brands, but it portrays Trader Joe's "flaws" in a honest yet affectionate manner, in a way that the company likely never would.

When I posted the link on my personal blog, a friend of mine -- and daily TJ's customer -- wrote me a lengthy email about how much she loved this "ad":

All of my favorite things are always GONE, never to be seen again. Oh how I miss you, "Middle East Feast" and that turkey rollup sandwich, whose clever name now escapes me.

For niche brands like Trader Joe's, customers love them, warts and all, and this video playfully pokes fun at everyone involved.

I haven't read an official response to the ad from TJ's, although I noticed that the Trader Joe's Twitter account encourages watching the video by linking to it directly. Their implicit endorsement and 53,000+ views of the video make this a highly intriguing "campaign."

Now if only we could get a Trader Joe's in Evanston...

-- Colleen Maley