Puma is a Lose-a

By Sportscentric contributor Ben Schuman-Stoler

Note: this is also posted at The Building JJ Collective.



Puma has a history of audacious projects that, for one reason or another, always end up falling short of expectations. Remember those ridiculous one-piece soccer kits they proposed? (Look right.)

Their most recent collaboration with fashion icon Alexander McQueen is another project that seems destined to fall woefully short of their goals.

Dig the "movie"--to call such a project an "ad" would be positively beneath them, ha--above.

Directed by the sooo-hot-right-now Saam Farhamand, this, erm, collection of moving pictures is supposed to impress us with Puma's artistic vision? Their sophisticated attempts at unifying athletic wear with cosmopolitan notions of style and dance?

I can't speak for others, but the lasting sentiment I get from the piece is not inspiration; it's more in the realm of the weird and off-putting. The music is cool, I'll give them that. I would love to partake in an epic, rainy duel with that music in the background. But that's about all this has going for it.

Two words keep coming to mind when I watch this: impersonal and farfetched. Like the "Until Then" ads (below), this piece is impossible to relate to and therefore unattached to my own experience. I am not impressed with the choppy images we get of what might well be impressive human movements.

This does not make we want to buy Puma gear.

We know that Puma is not Nike, or Adidas. They should be saluted for thinking outside the box in their attempts to gain entry into the sportswear circle of gods. And maybe the concept of McQueen's "ManCat" as a "creative reference" (whatever that means) will bring a cadre of fashionistas to Puma. But this piece is, literally, too narrow to grab and incorporate potential customers--it does more to turn them away.

This is Bigger than the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl pre-game adverganza is in full swing. I’m fairly unimpressed with this set of ads (although both the dude in the speedo picking his nails and “I’m good” made me laugh), not to mention just a bit bored with all of the early hype. It all acts as a bit of a buzzkill for Sunday and makes me less interested in joining the horde writing about them.

I'm going to write about the world's biggest Slurpee instead.

In my mind, the Slurpee is one of the great American icons. I would put it up there with Super Rope and Smarties and Razzles and all of the great candy and munchies with fun names that have been around forever. Things that aren’t exactly food but are incredibly satisfying.

Thinking of Slurpees conjures up images of riding bikes to 7-11 on hot days after baseball games. Kids have been doing it for decades and still are. What’s better than a Coke Slurpee on a 90˚ day with the hopes of getting a brain freeze?

Slurpee has always done interesting ads—crazy, even—so it’s no surprise to see them doing something fun and different. What is surprising is to see it in Australia. They love it down there. They should. It's brilliant marketing because people are talking about it around the world and it's impossible not to know who it's for. Those Aussies do Slurpees proud. A lot more buzz than what most of the Super Bowl ads will get, and a lot less expensive than $3 million.

Hail Slurpee.

The hype before the hype

The Super Bowl advertising hype is ramping up. Not only will brands be duking it out for the best ads on the game telecast, they’re going head to head before the game even starts to get the early buzz. It’s kind of like the red carpet on steroids.

My favorite clash of the titans is between Pepsi and Coke. As always, they’re looking for an edge vs the other, and the delicious irony is that without knowing it, they’ve spent the past several months developing new campaigns that are mirror images of each other, featuring relentless optimism and unbridled happiness. It almost feels like there are sliding doors between the two agencies and the same creatives are going back and forth doing all the work.

Both sides are claiming they were first, but I’d file this one in the there-are-only-seven-original-ideas-in-the-whole-world department, especially in this year of Hope.

There are the usual differences; like last year’s Charlie Brown spot, Coke goes the way of warm and “ohh…nice…”

And like Pepsi Max’s bobbing heads spot from the past, they go the slapstick route again.

Both fun, with many more memorable ads to come. This one won’t be among them.

I know it's for PETA, but it might be a way to get a whole generation of boys to eat their vegetables...

Move over, Shamwow!

The HAYAE Hall of Fame is going to have to build another wing soon.

Just last week, Shamwow took it's rightful place in the hallowed halls of the HAYAE (Heinously Annoying Yet Amazingly Effective) advertising HOF, heroically hauled there on the back of Vince the Bilingual Pitchman, amid promises of holding 20 times it’s weight in liquid.

Shamwow stands proudly beside Head On and Saved by Zero, and they’re all now joined by the newest awesome member:

Snuggie! The blanket that has sleeves!



It’s not often that a product seemingly inspired by Franciscan Monks sells more than four million units in three months, but it’s not often that you can work on your laptop or play backgammon in the dead of winter without getting cold. How many times have I had to warm my hands over the fire when I roasted marshmallows? Not any more!!

It’s a wonderfully weird product with a wonderfully ridiculous ad to match. And it’s a perfect use for Direct Response TV. Say what you will about DRTV, but with the right product and message, it works, big time.

So I salute you, Snuggie, and feel bad for the people at Slanket, who have much better colors but didn’t have the foresight to make such an obnoxiously terrific ad.

When does LeBron play basketball?

Nike, NBA, State Farm, Vitaminwater, Bubblicious., Tampax…what’s this guy not pitching these days? It’s hard to turn on the TV without seeing him in an ad. He was the top non-golf endorser a year ago and he’s only turned it up since then.

The problem isn’t in the way it’s affected his performance on the court. The Cavs are a game behind the Celtics in the East, and Lebron is second in scoring in the league behind D-Wade. So he must be getting some practice in somewhere.

The problem isn’t in sponsors’ ability to do very good ads with the King. You’ve seen the NBA ads. You’ve seen the Nike ads. And you’ve probably seen this new State Farm ad.



Fun. Some terrific moments (I especially like him rejecting the field goal). But I’m not so sure about the wrap-up and how it works for State Farm. What exactly are they selling? The NFL? State farm? Sundays?

Therein lies the problem: I’m not sure he’s figured out how to develop and nurture his value for each specific brand he endorses.

Or his ability to effectively deliver a message that helps to sell and promote each specific brand.

Sounds too marketing-ese and over-analytical? Should we just watch an ad and if we enjoy it be happy with it?

Not so fast. I’d argue that you swapped out the Nike logo for the State Farm logo for the NBA logo in those ads above, the ads would still work. None of those brands has developed an insight about Lebron and connected it to the brand to make it completely ownable. I’m not the only one who thinks so.

So maybe it’s not that he’s being overused; it’s in the way he’s being used. Wonderful ads, to be sure, but better insights would create better value.

Quick.

I would be remiss if I had anything more to say about Miller’s new campaign than this:

Brilliant.

Another one for the HAYAE

Another candidate for the HAYAE (Heinously Annoying Yet Amazingly Effective) advertising Hall of Fame.

First there was The Clapper, then there was Head On. Saved By Zero carried the torch for a bit, but I’m not sure any of them can hold a candle to our friend Vince and his Shamwow!!!!



You follow me, camera guy? You bet I do! And I don’t even have a camera! I love this spot. I could watch it over and over. It’s cheap, it’s human. Vince is the three-card-Monty guy and Monte Hall charmingly rolled into one. But that’s not even the best part.

Vince knows Spanish! (Warning: This one’s longer)



I don’t know if they sang Saved by Zero en Espanol, but this dude’s the real deal, slinging the lingo as if he were born south of the border.

And of course, you know it’s entered popular culture when people start making parodies. (WARNING: expletives galore)

Well done, Shamwow. I dare anyone out there to tell me it’s not a horribly brilliant ad.