El Gaffney

A Presentation for Planners

This Sunday morning I’m feeling inspired by Kevin’s surprise at seeing a post on a planning blog about planning, excited by happening across a presentation on the subject by my long-missed colleague and friend Guy Gould-Davies, and guilty about not having posted in almost a month. So I’m going to go ahead and embed GGD’s slides.

It’s a great primer for those just starting in the discipline and reminder for the rest of us to act not just as problem solvers but also change agents.

Tags: fallon, Friends, planning

Leaving Viral Back In 2009

Here’s a post I meant to write at the beginning of the year, but I never got around to it. Thanks to the “#snowpacalypse” in NYC (or few inches on the ground), I had a bit of time to aggregate links last week. Now that it’s Friday I have a bit more time. So let’s get down to business.

I, like many planners, having been keeping track of and keeping my clients up-to-date on the content online that’s spreading across many people for a while now. It started years ago as a way to shift the conversation away from “We want the next Tea Partay” to “what’s right for us and our audience and what would they want to pass along” by providing examples with various levels of taste, humor, shock, etc. Plus, because the majority of “viral successes” come from individuals, it was helpful to start looking more closely at what companies were doing.

Read full article here

Fast forward to present. Thankfully we don’t get too many briefs with “viral” as a deliverable anymore. But for those who do, there’s been some great thinking about the problems with the term/request done by Faris, Bud, Paul and Ivan. However, I still do collect examples of (mostly) brands’ attempts to produce (mostly) video content to be passed around…and rack up that coveted 1 million YouTube views.

Since I had all these links in my delicious or email, I figured I’d put them all in one place and share them with you – just in case it’s useful in any way. Without further ado, the 2009 “viral” year in review:

Q1 kicked off with Mini has some fun with the “Is it fake?” theme of many viral videos. Geico feeds off the equity of the Numa Numa Guy to create a hit video (though other videos leveraging memes that they put on their YouTube channel “itsthegecko” had significantly less views). Nike had Taylor Momsen (from Gossip Girl) do some parkour to avoid the paparazzi. Ray Ban “Never Hide Films” (behind the catching sunglasses video which has over 4 million views) came back in early January with another video, which did not get quite the same response. Cadbury, on the other hand, came back strong (after the drum-playing gorilla) with “Eyebrow Dance” and got a lot of views.

Then, there were the commercials, which were heavily spread online like McDonald’s Fillet o’ Fish commercial, which has a techno song remix as well. Though, Pharrell trying to get the Mickey D’s in Paris airport gained more traction. Then, there were ones that just didn’t stir up the controversy they had hoped to, such as Domino’s CEO going hard at Subway.

After his death at the end of June, it was no surprise that Michael Jackson was all over the Internet. Millions of views for everything from this old Pepsi commercial to this Twitter mashup to the tribute by Philippines detention center inmates, who are more famous for their original Thriller performance.

Back to brands, Samsung put out this LED sheep thing which got tons of views. Then followed up with more crazy stuff at a trade show. I know it’s a TV campaign, but the geeks went gaga for this Intel work. And sticking with tech, peeps have been all about Xbox’s Project Natal and its first official look. T-Mobile is back (in the UK) with a follow-up to their train station dance, getting a crowd together to sing “Hey Jude”.

There’s what Nike did for Free And what FC Barcelona’s coach put together with Catalonian TV before playing Manchester United in the Champions’ League Final, which was inspired by this.

Remember the EA Sports response to Tiger Woods superfan and YouTube user? They tried to build off it (but less successfully) with this before the Open. And I think Gilette’s still sour that Philips had such a hit with their body groomer (“Shave Everywhere”) work a few year’s back and came out with this “manscaping” tip video. But that’s probably better than the Comfort Wipe infomercial out there and Burger King “Square Butts” (Sponge Bob + Sir Mix-a-lot) commercial, both of which have been racking up views online.

Of course you’ve seen “I’m on a Boat” by Lonely Island, but even better is this a Capella version. Plus, on the subject of singing (or lip-syncing in this case), here’s a kid who produces and broadcasts his talent from the Apple Store.

There’s the Kanye interrupting Obama mash-up and likely the most viral video as of the year (parodied on NBC’s The Office): “JK Wedding Dance“.

Nike, EA and RayBan returned with Skateboarding and Ice Cube, FIFA 2010 and a SxSW video respectively.

Discovery Channel launches a bunch of mini-clips for Shark Week. Disneyland brings us a magical (come on, don’t be a hater) proposal. Evian helps you feel young…with roller-skating babies. And MSI gives us “Guy catches laptop with his butt.”

United Airlines gets firsthand experience in the power of the customer and a PR nightmare when they broke a dude’s guitar. The Muppets sing Bohemian Rhapsody. There’s a Christmas Light Hero and a Gap commercial tribute.

Over the holidays, we had the option to stay warm by the fire or with your Weezer Snuggie. But, as NYC Health advises, stay away from the soda (WARNING: KINDA GROSS). And if we ventured out, we could have brought some money for the Salvation Army and ImprovEverywhere. While brands were not pumping out as much online video content as in past quarters, there was this nice set of videos for Google Chrome.

And there you have it. Say goodbye to 2009 (again)..and (now) to “viral.”

Tags: brands, videos, viral

How to Get an Entry Level Job in Advertising

We have groups of students come in to get an inside look at an advertising agency (and drop off their books/portfolios) fairly often here. Last week I spoke a bit with prospective planners in the graduating class of Miami Ad School. That’s when I decided I should write this post. Today’s when I’m actually getting around to it.

I had fully intended to write a list of advice for those children hoping to be advertising’s future. As recently as when I interrupted myself writing that first paragraph to type this fun use of “JOB”:

Embrace the best of what it means to be JUNIOR
Find OPPORTUNITIES where they’re not obvious
Take a BOLD approach 1 out of every 3 attempts

But I’m realizing more and more that my opinion may not be as valuable as I think it is. It seems they’ve heard it all before, and though I make it a point NOT to talk about the difficulty of finding a job in this economy, I don’t get the sense that I’m helping. Even when I give these students a short list of tangible action items (Mike K. would be proud), there’s still no inspiring going on. And when I boil it down to one thing—it’s all about forming relationships—it somehow feels both too narrow and broad.

Plus, there’s lots of recommendations and information out there on this subject already—on the web, in-person, from industry experts and insiders, from your parents. There are books on cover letters and blog posts claiming they’re a waste of time. There are resume services and professional networking sites and job posting sites.

In a lot of ways, I feel like it has gotten so easy (with the amount of options and ideas out there) that it is almost impossible for these students to find direction and focus. And in a lot of ways, I feel like the singular and uncompromising focus on being a “planner” is part of the problem. I, like many I know in planning departments, not only weren’t sure they wanted to work in advertising but also had no idea what planning was/that it existed. I mean, these wannabe-planners have already been to school become planners, so how do you suggest they may be better suited for an account or creative position? Or a job outside of advertising? The easy answer is: I don’t. But I do seed the idea that you can be strategic in just about any career you choose.

And I do believe in the J-O-B and forming relationships (vs. networking) advice, and I cannot overemphasize the importance of embracing “Junior.” That doesn’t mean accepting shit work or buying into the “paying of dues.” Fuck that. It means bringing enthusiasm and fresh perspective to projects. There’s nothing worse than the student that’s already jaded about advertising and trying to relate to me on that level. I love this shit and when I don’t it’s because of people’s complacency or egos. If you’re genuinely looking to learn AND teach (through work ethic), you’re already a step ahead of many of your counterparts.

Another thing that will keep you ahead of your entry-level job competition: doing what some would call “little things” in an interesting way. Honestly, doing them – period – puts you in a small elite group. I may not provide the silver bullet to getting a job when you come in, but I always provide my contact info and an open invitation to get in touch. And what do you think happens every time? The same thing that happened last week. I get an email saying, “I’m sure your inbox is filled with emails after our visit, but I wanted to drop you a note to thank you for hosting our me and my classmates…” or something similar from…3 out of 20 students. Really? Come on, you can do better than that. I don’t need appreciation or hand-written notes, but even after all these times, I still expect the next group will take me up on my offer to start communicating – especially if they’re dying to get into planning like they claim.

But I digress. The third paragraph was going to say this:

So instead (rather than write up advice – oops, my bad), what I’ve decided to do is share something that I’ve kept stashed deep down in folders on my hard drive. Something I’ve saved and shuttle from computer to computer. Something that, quite frankly, makes me cringe when watching it. It’s not embarrassing as much as it’s painful. But as painful as it is to see, hear, know is now out there for judgment, I think it’s important for those looking to get hired as well as those hiring.

It’s the video I submitted at 21 years old to be given the chance to participate in “Account Executive Survivor” at a boutique NYC ad agency called DiMassimo (now DiMassimo Goldstein). It’s the start of my journey through advertising. Things to note: I lived and worked in the agency for a week with 7 other people. I came in second place. I wasn’t hired to be an account exec; rather, I was hired as a copywriter/new biz person/receptionist for $27.5K. I took this ambiguous position that I just as easily could have viewed as beneath a Georgetown grad in title and pay. And perhaps most importantly, an agency (Mark and Lee) took a chance on hiring me WITHOUT PREVIOUS ADVERTISING EXPERIENCE, invested in my development and allowed me to find my place in this [insert adjective here] industry.

Okay, no more delaying the inevitable. (Sorry for the crappy quality – I don’t have the original videocassette tape.)

That’s the last time I watch it…and hopefully the last time you do as well.

Tags: advice, jobs

Ads, Brands, and ESPN: A Presentation

I just returned to the office from giving a guest lecture at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. The audience was first-year students in Professor Ansari’s Marketing class, which is part of their core curriculum. That means, they have to be there whether or not they give two hoots about this fuzzy stuff. And at 9AM, at that. However, I must give credit to the class – they were surprisingly awake and engaged from the get-go, and they asked very smart questions. All A’s, I say. (Unfortunately, I have no power to do such a thing.) So thank you to them, Prof Ansari, W+K, and ESPN – nothing makes up for lack of new thinking better than some “This is SportsCenter” spots. Thanks to the blogosphere and plannersphere, from whom I’ve learned (and stolen) much to make this presentation. And thanks to my parents, who as educators themselves, have instilled the importance of, and inspired the passion for, teaching. (Yes, I know it’s only a presentation, not an acceptance speech for an award show.) Enjoy and please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or on SlideShare. I’d like that.

(Note: Many of the slides contain hyperlinks to videos. Also, I have no idea why that clip art heart shape would upload properly. But I’m done trying since it’s not relevant to the pres. Plus, it’s only getting further away from Valentine’s Day.)

UPDATE: Many people have told me they need the VO with this or even the notes, and unfortunately I don’t think there’s a way to upload it with them. But in the absence of each, I must clear up just one misconception – I’m not feeling that State Farm spot creatively or strategically. Of course I understand that it was just to get the NFL sponsorship across; however, I used this slide to make the point that advertising is not the end game – that it must serve the brand, connect to your memories of the brand, etc. In hindsight, that was probably not the best example or title of that slide for those reading it. Thank you, Clay, for bringing it to my attention considering I got the idea to use when he and an ex-colleague bashed it on the same day.)

Tags: ads, b-school, brands, espn

Inbox of Immaturity is Back…Kinda

Sure, it’s nice to have a handful of time-wasting links in one place; however, I started to find that by the time I posted them the links were old news. Therefore, I think I’m going to resurrect the Inbox of Immaturity on Twitter.

But given it’s a snowy Friday morning, I figured I’d give you a couple cozy videos. Plus, I wanted to ask (in an accusatory way): How have none of my “friends” told me that these exist? Natalie and Rashida. Come on. Sure, there’s funnier stuff on the site but seriously. My favorite of the three:

As for one of the best series of videos on FoD, Zach G. is back with his third installment of “Between Two Ferns.” This time with John Hamm. So you know, it gets a little inappropriate at times but the “Websites” part is classic.

Tags: actors, comedians, funnyordie, ioi, zachgalifianakis