Anyway, a conversation about creating something (an ad, event, application, etc.) that makes “a brand statement” – gets people talking and shows them a company’s values, personality and/or mission – led me to think about some of the work that’s broken through and resonated with me over the last half year or so. You guys and dolls in advertising have probably seen most, if not all, of these but figured I’d post them for the other nine visitors who aren’t scouring award show winner lists. Plus, I truly believe it’s important for everyone in our industry to talk about the work we see out in the marketplace – whether “creative” is in your title or not.

The idea that sparked this post originally is closest to the Coke example in that it’s a stunt that documented made for some pretty interesting video. What I love is how Heineken thought about their audience and decided to use the people who have the most influence over their soccer fan consumers to reach them.

Also in the sports world (my world) are Gatorade’s Replay, Nike’s Chalkbot and Puma’s Hardchorus. Definitely check these out – they’re really fun.

Given my history working with The Islands Of The Bahamas’ tourism board, I can’t deny last year’s big winner on awards show circuit. Here’s its case study video:

Other award winning ideas brought to life that I admire are BK’s Whopper Sacrifice, Axe’s 100 Girls and our Old Spice Swaggerize Me.

Lastly, two very different uses of film (hundreds of very short clips to show off a limited-run of shoes and one long tale about whiskey) have caught my eye and sucked me in. They are New Balance’s 574 Cilps and Johnnie Walker’s “The Man Who Walked Around The World:

P.S. Kevin, there’s your credit list.
P.P.S. W+K London just released an extended version of Impossible Dream for Honda.

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.”

One issue many clients seem to have with actions is their limited reach. “That’s awesome for those twenty individuals but what about the other twenty million.” Word of mouth is tough to track, especially offline. That’s why it’s helpful to capture these actions in picture of video form. To tell the story. To share it with a broader audience. To enable them to share in it and share it with others.

Experiences plus Content. When done right, it’s like Jay-Z and R. Kelly (the best of both worlds). When done wrong it can look staged (reactions rehearsed). It can look selfish instead of generous.

Here’s one I saw this morning that, in my opinion, works.

Red Bull is a company I’ve felt does this particular thing (amplifying experiences) really well. It creates real world events that, whether tens or thousands attend, tell a story to millions about their brand.

T-Mobile in the UK offers a couple examples of bring people together to do something and developing content off it. And, of course, there are the masters at ImprovEverywhere, who do this often – sometimes for (a bit of) good but mostly just for fun.

Brands understandably want to get credit for their actions/the experiences they provide. But let’s not let that become the driving force for doing.

But that’s not to nitpick or twist words. It’s just to build and ultimately get me to a point about how in social media or traditional media: If the goal is to move away from being a faceless corporation—or in more positive terms to be human—, then you should empower your employees to bring to life the personality of the brand. Whether they become faces of the company or not and whether you do it on Twitter or TV, it still about people. And when you encourage/enable them to add their own unique personalities to the mix, that’s when you get something really special – like @JetBlue which updates who is on Twitter duty or one of my all-time favorites, Southwest’s David Holmes:

You go airlines!

(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.)

Here’s the pillar spot, which incorporates athletes at least (and comments are split 50/50)…

And three others.

There are so things I’d like to say this experience, but I’m trying to wrap things up) get out of here for the holidays. Thus, I want to make just one clear point: Sometimes when it makes perfect sense, you really lose. And sometimes when it makes no sense, you really win. And sometimes when it fits exactly or doesn’t fit at all, you actually tie.

Crystal clear?

No. Okay, well, here’s some advice for Louis V and other advertisers out there. Just because you make a cinematic ad (style and message), it doesn’t mean it’s right for the cinema (media). Furthermore, just because you think your target is “sophisticated and upscale,” it doesn’t make people at “more artsy theaters” the appropriate audience for your advertising. In fact, I’m really having trouble thinking of any theater or movie it would “work” for. Going to see a movie is social; it brings people (from diverse backgrounds) together for shared entertainment. (Not to sound like the speech given at every Oscars ceremony) Even someone who is compelled by the “journey” story (or even enjoys its music selection), is not going to do so in a crowd of strangers. Especially at this economically-difficult time, I can’t think of anyone who would self-identify as a fan of that brand.

I have been meaning to write this since seeing Slumdog Millionaire on Saturday night at the Angelika (highly recommended by the way) when after 4 indie previews were followed by the ad embedded above. It was met with an “Are you serious?” moment of silence, followed by a barrage of laughter and conversations (at least in rows near me) about the ridiculousness of LV’s communications. I can’t imagine the reaction would be any different elsewhere, so it’s crazy to think they’ve been running these since at least this May.

In fact, I would argue they actually disrupted my journey into a movie-going mindset (suspending disbelief, being open to being moved, etc.) with this unbelievably silly and self-important move.

Please tell me I’m not alone.

First, Russell Davies writes about Booklert, which allows authors to track the rank of their book(s) (or competitors’) on Amazon and receive updates via email or Twitter. As Mr. Davies notes that this is the type of thing a major book business should have thought of to offer as a service to its authors.

Second, Brand Flakes for Breakfast posts about the Awesome Highlighter, which allows you to highlight the exact text or image that you want someone to read/see on any site and them send them a new highlighted link. As BFFB wonders, “why isn’t Staples sponsoring these guys?” Taking it one step earlier, why didn’t they come up with it?

I’m out of town for a friend’s bachelor party starting tomorrow, and thanks to Mike’s Hard Lemonade I have a better reason. Not quite a utility as much as entertaining and somewhat useful content (made for a good OOO email). If only they embraced the 4-day weekend like I am.

I think more words are linked than normal text. It’s late.

P.S. Admittedly this is a bit of a stretch for this post, but why isn’t Sharp or some other HD TV company coming up with (via Consumerist) such an interesting way to explain the HD difference?

So it was with great interest, enthusiasm and yes, shock that I heard a couple weekends ago Comcast was jumping into Twitter. I have Time Warner, who I, of course, despise—the guy who replaced my second cable box was more than pleasant and only a bit late yet he also acknowledged that “all these new DVR boxes are havin’ problems”—so it is no direct help to me. Yet, I figured I’d holler at @comcastcares to see how this experiment may work.

In no more than 10 minutes I had these responses:

I’m sorry but that is aweso- I mean fantastic. Hopefully it will invest more heavily in this space (perhaps IM service like Delta has now) and apply what it learns to enhance customer service across the company. Who knows how quickly they can start to change its perceptions on Brand Tags.

And yes, I also know this is not the biggest piece of Comcast news today.

Anyway, this morning I caught up on some hot RSS action (I still use Netvibes) as well as started to prepare for the IOI. That’s when BFFB tipped me off to this pretty awesome interactive piece from Uniqlo promoting its t-shirts. I created my loop using a series of 1-4-3’s as a shout out to the beeper code for I luv u. Yeah I just did that – two u’s…not to be confused with the two yoots or youth-s as Someone else’s Cousin Vinny would say. Without further Freddy adU:

So go make your own if you’re bored or straight chillin’ on a Friday.

The publication of its Passover haggadah by the Joseph Jacobs Advertising Agency beginning in 1934 made Maxwell House a household name with many American Jewish families. This was a clever marketing strategy by owner Joseph Jacobs, who hired an Orthodox rabbi to certify that the coffee bean was technically more like a berry than a bean and, consequently, kosher for Passover. Maxwell House coffee was the first to target a Jewish demographic, and the haggadah continues to represent a synthesis of American and Jewish interests.

After gorging ourselves, we went back to the living room and relaxed—this time to something other than Pope TV—and brainstormed the big evening event. Predictably, we found our way to Fandango, picked Forgetting Sarah Marshall, went and didn’t regret our decision for a minute. Heavy Recommend for my weight at the time and level of enjoyment. That’s all I’m going to say. I don’t want to spoil any amazing scenes, cameos or one-liners. Go see it.

One of the other benefits of going home—besides eating like a king, suburban running, getting out of the city and generally spending qt with the fam—is picking up some new reco’s and ideas from each of them. (Hence, the “As Discovered” rather than “As Seen” post title.)

1. How I Met Your Mother (Sis reco): I’m sure many of you are reading this and wondering how it is possible I’m only catching onto this in its third season. I’m sure others are thinking I jock (yeah, I was back on Long Island) Jason Segel. Hopefully there are a few of you whom are looking for a sitcom to get into and I just tipped to view. Because it’s fantastically current and insightful. Who doesn’t love NPH. (No, that wasn’t a question.) Especially since he now blogs Doogie-style. Who doesn’t love a good Canadian viral success like Robin Sparkles. (New video features the Beek from Dawson’s Creek.) I want your life!

2. Cash Cab (Dad reco): I only saw a couple episodes of Cash Cab: After Dark (where the prizes are greater because it is later), but was sold. All the talk of surprise and delight recently, this is a show that delivers (even if some of the cab-goers are pre-screened). A general knowledge trivia show that starts the second you get in the cab and ends when you reach your destination (unless you get three strikes and the boot out in NYC) with a host, Ben Bailey, who as a comedian has the perfect sense of humor for it.

3. Limoliner (Mom reco): It’s a 28-passenger silver shuttle that goes to and from the Hilton NY and Hilton Boston with business-friendly wi-fi, outlets, news TV channels in headrest and reclining leather seats as well as complimentary snacks. Though none of us have actually taken this service yet, I may give it a shot on Thursday as I head to ROFLcon. Who’s coming with me?

And just like method was the brainchild of an ex-planner, Eric Ryan, help is too! (Yay for us! Boo that we’re didn’t come up with it first! Reminder that every competitive landscape review/analysis we do for a client is an opportunity!) Anyway, I first read about this company yesterday in a post on coolhunting, and the first line—”Richard Fine, one of the founders…”—made me stop and think: That name sounds really familiar. A few seconds later, I was checking the site for his info and found it in the press kit. A minute later, I was checking my gmail for past correspondence. The connection was made and confirmed: That’s the dude who rejected me at an interview for a job at an innovation consultancy back in 2005. April 22, 2005 to be exact. (Gotta love the Gmail…and the Drake.)

I wish I could have waited for the 3-year anniversary to post this, but then you’d be behind the news. I don’t remember much from that interview other than the sweating and how out of practice I was. (Yes, excuses! But I got my first job by sending in a video of me dressed up as Joe Millionaire then living, working and competing in an agency for a week. So a 30-minute, 360-degree brand experience-grilling was a bit out of my comfort zone to say the least.) I also remember him asking me about Tropicana’s packaging and me saying something about maybe they could update it to a perhaps a vibrant orange. WRONG! (He honked my nose like Ralph Macchio did to Chozen as Daniel LaRuso in Karate Kid 2 - “Live or die, man?” Anyone?)

Now I (and you) can see, he’s a truly a fan of simplicity. Not only does he respect the white space, he has thought about the way people interact with products in the health space and found an opportunity to offer something better (for headaches and cuts currently). Look out for them in boutique hotels and design stores for now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if these get greater distribution soon.

Also, I was talking with Clay and Eric about a side project (that hopefully I’ll be featuring in a very near Do Day) for which one of them asked for a picture and a logo. “A logo?,” I thought, “I guess I can hit them up with the El Gaffney side profile with drawn in mustache image.” Though while it was done by a real designer (at my first agency), I felt a bit naked. Why didn’t I have a logo? (Daddy, I want a golden ticket!)

Then, that same day, I saw Eric’s post about Logobama over at Marketing.fm. This site has meets people’s profile (logo) needs in such a smart and easy way—and more interestingly, the idea to create this site seems to have stemmed from online observation…

We’ve been noticing a trend of people displaying their support for Barack Obama’s Democratic presidential campaign by using his logo as their avatar, or visual representation on the web. We thought, ‘what can we do to show our support?’

So we created Logobama, a place for you to create your own custom Obama logo and use it wherever you want. As Obama says, ‘we are the change we have been waiting for.’ That’s what Obama is representing… someone who wants all of us to participate in changing the world. And together, we can make this change, one logo at a time.

It let’s you personalize his logo and download it at full size or for a variety of other places web-goers will likely have profiles. (i.e. YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, etc.) Here’s the one I created:

Yes, very much in the spirit of “A More Perfect Union”. And yes, I did have cornrows for a few days…until I started feeling gross and getting headaches.

So, all that said, I think as more and more young people grow up with many profiles and understanding the many dimensions of their online experience, they’ll naturally think about themselves as brands. They’ll know that while there are many profiles and dimensions, there is only one them (ME)—there is not your personal persona (friend one is different from family) and your business face, which you can present to each appropriate audience. And they’ll learn quickly how to and be equipped to manage their brands. And yes, they’ll probably have logos (and the skills sets and tools to make their own). So, I still want mine…and perhaps a more unique photo while we’re at it.

As we continue to explore ways to better measure the results of viral beyond visitors, views, “sends”, and friends, I thought I’d at least do my part to support the brands (and agencies) that are, as Bruce Dickinson would say, “exploring the space.” I may not have run to Office Max for binders lately but hopefully parents did. (It seems they’ve got some good results.) Now, I’ll order the pizza; you go get the K-Y.

In case you don’t click the link, here’s the deal. Reebok partnered with Graphic Designer/Associate Director of Research at MIT Media Lab, John Maeda, to create a limited edition (100 pairs) sneaker (based on the Reebok Ventilator). They are calling it the Reebok Timetanium, and it not only sports graphics based on John Maeda’s original algorithms and computer code, but the inside of the shoe is actually lined with his own hand-written calculations. Take a look:

So at 12:03, I’m on the site seeing if there are any left. There were 5. I think, these kicks are mad ugly. I watch him talk about the shoe. I think, that’s a pretty tight story. Then I start convincing myself that owning a great marketing/infosthetics/design/simplicity case study is worth the money. Then I worry that I’m going to miss my opportunity. Then I realize I’ve never purchased shoes or any clothing besides custom t-shirts online. So I go check my closet for the size of my Reebok Pumps. 10. It’s worth buying this type of thing (one that I usually have to try on first) online. It’s a good learning experience I tell myself. Then I purchase. Then I can’t believe I just spent $179.23 on a pair of sneakers. Who do I think I am? Turtle? But they’re “limited edition”, and it’s like owning a piece of history…I guess.

Now I’m hoping they fit but cool if they don’t because it’s all about the experience. I’ve been on a buyer’s roller-coaster ever since. I’ll let you know when they arrive.

I’m a big fan of the tagline, “Tastier than Filet Mignon” – which Papaya King has patented (1975) by the way. Especially since I recently read a good post called if taglines were honest. While this may not be 100% true and tested, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. Another classic: Carlsberg’s “Probably the best beer in the world” was love at first site (sometime around 20.02 I saw it in on a coaster in an Irish pub in Spain) and has been a favorite of mine since.

The “look and feel” takes me back but not in a they have old food type of way. More nostalgic and makes me want to hit it up on the way home. I also think there’s something appealing about having numerous and diverse messages on one skyscraper. Of course they are all related to the products PK offers, but I like the lack of single-mindedness and waiver back and forth between the line. (Yes, I know this little game is not typical.) It also find it interesting that these messages don’t just highlight the frank and the fruit drink, but really hit you with all types of “sell”: aggressively calling out the competition (“I don’t want to get a movie hot dog. I want a Papaya King Hot Dog.”) and even sticking it to Slim Jim (“They’ve got snap!”).

Anyway, that’s all. Just a little tired of putting up ads from Apple and Dove and Sony. Wanted to shout out some more obscure advertising companies out there.

We’ve seen more examples of this type of branded utility lately, with Charmin’s Times Square toilets to Nike+(iPod). These types of branded utilities pull in customers, rather than push a message out to them. It makes a deeper connection with them or becomes more integrated in/important to their lives. So if that is the goal, then the strategy is to understand people better and discover meaningful ways in which they can contribute to their lives. Arguably this should be easier for the customers a brand already has, but sometimes these are the people that feel ignored as brand look to get more awareness, more trial, and more acquisition.

However, over the course of the two-week U.S. Open, I saw and took part in a brand executing on the idea of branded utility to near perfection. That brand was American Express. Amex has long been a sponsor of the U.S. and long had an obvious presence on the grounds; yet, these past couple of years they have leveraged a major sponsorship in a bar-setting way. Instead of being happy with logos galore and a couple of booths, they have extended this through truely valuable brand experiences…and they have made both their customers feel valued and provided utility to all tennis fans.

This year, they offered branded utility in two main places: Flushing Meadows (the tournament site) and Madison Square Park and Rockafeller Center (in Manhattan).On the Open grounds, two things (utilities) really stood out: Radios at the Open with commenting by John McEnroe and TVs for other courts for cardholders. Additionally, cardholders got access to advance ticket sales (a utility for cardholders) and the U.S. Open club for eating better food with less of a wait.

In Madison Square Park, the main attraction was their live screening of the tournament on a big screens, where on those beautiful days (which lucky for the Open organizers, all of them were) people gathered to watch together. They had big tourney drawsheets up as well. Additionally, however, they offered all park-goers the opportunity to get an on-site Serve Analysis from a tennis pro as well as the video tape sent with more comments. Sure the comments are the same for everyone through email, but you get and have the video forever.

So you can tell I’m a fan of how Amex made being useful a priority. My only question is: Did all this utility come at the cost of entertainment? Of course, they had an amazing on-site presence for the over 650,000 attendees (it is the most attended annual sporting event in the world). But should Amex have spent a little more money trying not to annoy the around 100 million people who tuned in (many for most days and nights) with the same Johnny Mac commercial at every break for two whole weeks of matches? (By the way, is dispute resolution the most important message for Amex to get out these days? And if so, wouldn’t have sponsoring the ball cam and challenges been more appropriate? They couldn’t have outbid chase, who now has a 5-year deal on the review cam?)

Either way, I applaud Amex – tennis clap…and it seems to be applying this same customer understanding to other areas of business. Recently I read on Zeus Jones that Amex’s iPhone price protection covers the recent drop in price.

If anyone has other example of Amex’s branded utility at the U.S. Open or otherwise, or of the exact opposition behavior or policies at Amex, please comment below. (Sorry for all the or’s. Oops I did it again.)

Well, those who know me like Top Friend on Facebook well probably know that I’m all but addicted to Vitamin Water. I got hooked—I suspect but unconfirmed like many other Gen GuYs (see left-side for description) have—hearing in college that Revive (fruit punch flavor in the purple bottle – think the fact that there’s at least 3 ways to talk about the product and probably 4 if you include leading ingredient) was great for curing hangovers. One successful trial later I was hooked. Then I started trying other flavors convinced that getting my daily reqs of vitamins so easily was a godsend. (Beer + Wingos didn’t feel like my source of vitamins A-C.) I liked the way I felt afterwards – never too full. And gradually I started to truly prefer the taste, replacing more sugary OJ and Gatorade, which had occupied close to 75% of my fluid intake other than water. So for about 6 years or so now I’ve been as I said a real fan.

Today on my way up to a client meeting I grabbed a Multi-V (still my V-dub of choice). In the car I drank and chatted just like every other time. I glanced at the Nutritional Facts like I always do to reconfirm I’m making such an intelligent beverage choice. And I turned past the witty paragraph story about the Jetsons and the pill that’s a 3-course meal…and wait, I’m actually not satisfied. Seriously, 6 years of being content reading the same nonsense and today I got a bit frustrated that Vitamin Water has not updated its package. Not frustrated enough to remember when I got back to the office…

But then I went over to my friend Leland’s blog to see if he’d written anything about last week’s conference. And to my surprise saw this post. This is probably the post I would have liked to write, but may have just ended with something like this: Is it time for Vitamin Water to change its packaging?

I have used Vitamin Water as a clear example of a brand that understands the value of its package as its most important form of communication. Now I wonder if they just got lucky. I wonder if they are scared of change because of its success. I wonder if by the time people have consumed so many that the package starts to annoy them, they are so loyal to the taste and the behavior of getting their daily vitamin intake each day through this source that they wouldn’t change – I don’t think I’m going to wipe Essential out of my life tomorrow. OJ was still found guilty. But still I’m ready for some new entertainment – and hey, I don’t remember the last time I talked about VW (recommended a flavor or had a conversation about the brand other than the “It’s bullshit” comment from a med school friend every so often). I think getting a more positive pass along going would be worthwhile – and new stories would be an easy way to do it. And I’m not talking about David Wright and Kelly Clarkson stories. Weird me out. Please!

So read about people’s new expectations for brands and communication, packaging in particular, there. And tell me what you think – Should Vitamin Water change the stories? Any other part?

While the new Oxy site overall is spectacular (sorry, Seinfeld repeat on Fox again last night…for “real”), this little piece really seemed strange. I feel like even if Mom’s did do this, it may have a negative impact on Oxy – the son’s would never want to do what mom says. Then again, mom’s the one driving to the dermatologist and to the mall, helping you pick out clothes from Aeropostale. So when it comes to this part of puberty, mom’s got your face – she’s your style consultant that helps you look nice (while the Axe deodorant makes you irresistable – that’s how it works in middle school these days right?). Although because it changes audiences throughout (sometimes talking to mom’s, other times to sons) I found the experience a bit disjointed, it usually changes from room to room appropriately and there’s a ton of entertaining and interactive content and features. And I found a new tune on the kid’s iPod. For IOI (or just guy) purposes, I’d recommend the pool.

Seriously though, I wanted to document this collaboration as one of the most interesting and well-executed in my (short) marketing memory. This is truly an idea that must have been fought for and I’m rooting for. And so far it seems to be delivering the goods.

As you can see on Brand Flakes for Breakfast – a new favorite site – hats off to the team behind the Simpsons for continuing to make great decisions in the company they keep.

I’m going to play their old Nintendo game where spray paint solves everything.