Go ahead, have the bone-In filet!

Today SportsCentric takes a break from being centered on sports, but to stay focused on marketing, we’ll talk about one of the unrecognized victims of the economic meltdown:

Expense accounts.

The handsomely postured, starched collared and pillbox hatted employees of places like the Peninsula and Joe’s Stone Crab are feeling a little lonely these days, but the happy, efficient folks at Chili’s and Chipotle and the Inns Holiday and Hampton can’t wipe the smiles off their faces. Airlines are missing you but video conferencing is loving you. Sorry about losing your premium status at hotels worldwide. There’s always 2010.

How many times have I sat at my local Starbucks and heard two newly-minted sole proprietors hearken back to they days (well actually, last year) when they got “$55 bone-in filets at Joe’s—the ones that were only on the dinner menu but my guy would get em for me at lunch…”

Well, not that many times. But I do know that these days, a lot more business lunches are taking place at Roti instead of Rosebud. $45 for a steak in 2007 was not a big deal for a person wooing a new client or getting more business from a current one. But in 2009, that’s a little harder to justify. You should be more resourceful these days, right? Get the business without spending too much. Invest your brainpower instead of your credit power.

The smart and talented folks at Maloney and Porcelli understand that.

So they’re making it a little easier for you to enjoy one of their gorgeous well marbled steaks with their online Expense-A-Steak Headquarters.

With this playful expense account tool, you can have it all. They provide you fake receipts from fake places like Office Supply Hut, but the best part is the doggie bag: They’ll put your leftover steak in a Chipotle bag, so not only can you head back to the office with a new client, you can do it with a clean conscience.

Talk about a stimulus package...

I shouldn’t admit what this new site from Puma makes me wish for. But it’s definitely not a fiscally responsible wish. If Puma has its way, a lot of people out there will be cheering for the stock market to keep taking its lumps. And I may just be one of them.

It starts with the hallmark of success, especially for something viral. Simplicity. You can describe it in one line: If the stock market goes up, a hot model puts clothes on. If the stock market goes down, a hot model takes clothes off.

Simple.

And of course, when they strip, they wind up in their skivvies. But there’s not just any underwear underthere; it’s Puma Bodywear. It’s nice looking stuff. And it’s featured very nicely, in a way that gets your attention.



The models are there all day and all night. You can watch them toss in their sleep if it’s nighttime. And be all playful and modelly during the day as they wash cars and jump on trampolines.

And of course, as they say on the TV, “there’s an app for that.” With the iphone Puma Index app, not only can you have scantily clad reminders of the stock market performance, you can save money. According to Darren Rovell of CNBC, when you show the Puma Index app at a Puma Store, you get 20% off.

This may finally get me to pay more attention to the stock market. Or buy an iphone. Or both.

Thank you, sports

Sports has the power to make you smile like an idiot.

Bloopers and amazing plays, no-hitters pitched and broken up, diving catches, ridiculous dunks, moves that can’t even be described. Favorite teams winning championships after long draughts (a Cubs fan can dream, can’t he?). Little else can make us grin from ear to ear as consistently. Or as stupidly.

There’s so much crap in the world, and there’s plenty of it in the world of sports. But for the most part, sports saves us.

So I forgive this spot all of its faults and thank EA sports for making me smile.



I forgive the cliched track, and the poorly obscured faces, and some pretty shaky mattes and composites.

Because I love the magic they created. Especially the casting and the wardrobe.

I love the mother and daughter who beat the Williams sisters and I love their Sunday-at-the-public-courts outfits. Ditto with Steve Nash and his hoodie-wearing teammate who couldn’t win a game of HORSE at a nursery school. And the kid skating with unbridled purpose and joy in the Red Wings sweater and blue jeans.

Nobody in the cast would’ve made it anywhere near callbacks for a Gatorade commercial but they’re perfect for a spot that makes us all believe we can play with the big boys and girls.

It all just makes me feel good.

I admit that the music, while cliched, gets the goosebumps going. And there are inspired effects-created moments, like when Ben Roethlisberger rubs his hand on our bearded friend's head.

And the way the product is introduced is smart, especially snuck into the middle of all the feel-great celebrations.

We could all use as much joy as possible these days. I want me as much as possible. Thank you, sports. Thank you, EA.

It's a good time for the great ads of McDonald's

It’s not often that we at Sportscentric step away from sports. And never before have we left the fields of play to enter a fast food emporium. But two wonderful new films from McDonald’s have forced us into their waiting arms.

Did somebody say McDonald’s?

Sorry.

But yes, it’s McDonald’s with two new pieces of human communication that tickle your fancy and just plain made you smile and feel good. Isn’t that what McDonald’s is supposed to do?

Waitasec. On second thought, we can talk about McDonald’s and sports. They joined together in one of the most famous TV commercials in history.



First of all, MICHAEL: WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!?!

Sorry. Lost myself for a second there in the dizzying array of colors in MJ's shortpantsuit.

It’s classic McD's advertising. Just kind of makes you smile and feel a warm fuzziness for the brand. Kind of like this new interactive billboard in London's Picadilly Square.



It’s whimsical, surprising, and engaging. I watched it a couple of times. I could've watched it more. I'm sure many people will.

And while the London billboard is the future of marketing, there’s always room for a good ole TV commercial. Especially silly ones that just make you giggle.



This work is good for people from 5 to 50. I first saw the fish spot over my son’s shoulder on his computer. It does what great McDonald’s advertising—and in this day and age, what any great advertising should do:

Connect people of any race creed shape age or gender to their product. When it comes to the work McD’s is doing, they’re hitting nothing but net.

And PS, I'll pay 100 bucks for MJ's shortpantsuit.

The best sports campaign. Possibly ever.

Anybody feel like laughing? Go here. Check the continuous playback button, and enjoy.

Thank goodness for This is Sportcenter. Arguably the best, longest running campaign on TV.

Thank you for mascots in the bathroom, gymnasts cartwheeling through cubicles, and 7’7” basketball players trying to dance to hip hop.

Thank you for getting to the heart of what a brand should do: connect to their target in a memorable, ownable way.

Thank you for getting to the essence of great advertising: finding an insight and bringing it to life in an unexpected way.

Thank you for selling us your product in a way that we can’t help but love it. The product, of course, being the anchors, who portray themselves as funny and human and silly and just gosh darn likeable. People who we’d want in our living rooms every night.

After fifteen years and hundreds of spots, the campaign is still not stale. In fact, it's fresher than ever. I felt compelled to write about the campaign when I saw this spot on TV.



And thank you for this one, from 1997. One of my favorites:



As long as there’s sports, there’s fodder. And with annoying sports news like Manny getting busted, Brett dangling his arm in front of the NFL, and LeBron sauntering to his official coronation, I’ll say it again:

Thank goodness there’s This is Sportscenter.

I find it especially useful in October when the Cubs do their thing, and I really need something to laugh at.

Old School goes New School

I am not what they call an early adopter, but I like to think I embrace new stuff quicker than the average suburban dude in his 40’s. That said, I can’t help being Old School in many ways. I still hate the DH, I think the skirts (aka shorts) basketball players wear on their bottom halves belong on a Jean Paul Gaultier runway, and it annoys me that the size of some people’s drivers are bigger than Art Donovan’s head.

I like things that have been around for a while and are still really good. James Bond and Sloppy Joes and Iambic Pentameter and wine.

And great product demos, when they’re done well. Not Shamwow well. Tastefully well.

From Tide in the late 80’s to the iphone today, there’s nothing like the power of turning on the camera and showing what a great product can do. A demonstration that convinces you this product does something you really need. Or you really want.

But how do you do great product demos in the exploding world of new media? Here’s one answer.

Thank you, Puma, for focusing on one compelling reason to believe we should buy your shoes, and demonstrating that RTB in a fun, captivating way. It’s very smart. Great use of Usain Bolt (although not as good as Gatorade’s use of him in their Quest spot), and hey, I guess I never really thought a sea urchin would be that heavy. Or that Puma had such cool, light shoes.

You learn something new every day.

Why the Cavs should thank Heineken

One of the great things about YouTube is its ability to anoint certain pieces of video as immediate classics. Word spreads faster than the meanest of all pig viruses, people watch, and buzz explodes. In many cases, spoofs are created. That’s how you know you’ve really made it.

Such is the case with what may be the latest classic, the Heineken “Walk-in Fridge” commercial. If you haven’t seen it, we hope you’ve been enjoying your time in your cave. Here you go:



What a great spot. So so simple, so on strategy, such wonderfully over the top performances. A joy to watch, and your next Gold Lion. If you’re not jealous, you're pulseless.

So what happens next? Of course, regular people like to get involved:



And competitors:



And as always, a little too late and not nearly as good as the first one, the originators need to strike while the fridge is cold:




But clear and away, my favorite is this long form version for the Cleveland Cavaliers.



I love that they weren’t afraid to retell the story a bit, that they made it into more of an intriguing mini-movie, and that they got all the players involved. The fact that all the players did it, and had fun doing it, shows them as a tight knit group who are here to have fun and play ball, not necessarily in that order. No tightness there. Doesn’t bode well for the Celts, Magic, or Lakers.

I see a future video with the same format and a different ending: Cavs players in their locker room, going nuts again, this time pouring Heineken on each other and hoisting a very large trophy.

Kobe, it's not too late to grab your video camera and give it a shot...

30 x :01 > $3 million

I love the recent news about Miller High Life’s sales going up as a result of their 1 second ads.

It’s proof that while good ole’ traditional tv advertising may not be dead, smart, inventive tv advertising is alive and well. The big ad agencies can create all of the consumer validated packaged goods crap they want; I don’t think tv advertising will ever go away, primarily because of terrific thinking like this.

You’ve probably seen the Miller High Life 1-second ads, but if not, you should. They’re just plain fun. And extremely successful.

They didn’t get there by luck. They wouldn’t exist if not for the well-established, clever campaign starring the Miller High Life delivery guy that’s been running for a while. This is one of my favorites. It’s a wonderful, insightful commentary on sports and the corporate world, and it sells the product.



That’s a hard working ad.

So now they take those ads to the next level. The idea of 1 second ads is absurd, but the truth is, it’s more about the buzz vs. the ads themselves. Especially when the campaign is touted as a better way to spend money than the $3 million they would have had to spend to get national presence on the Super Bowl. It’s the publicity they were after, and publicity they got. Before and after the Super Bowl.

Oh, that and a whole lot of sales.

You can talk drinkability, and you can talk frost brewing and cold mountains, and I’m sure consumers told Bud and Coors that they want to hear about that stuff.

But it’s fresh, unexpected Ideas that connect people to brands and convince them to form relationships with brands. It’s hard for a consumer to articulate that. Luckily, it’s real easy to watch 1 second ads.

Let's hear it for the Nobodies

I have one thing and one thing only to say about the Super Bowl advertising because I’ve heard and talked and read enough about it.

Bravo to the nobodies from nowhere, the unemployed Herbert brothers from Batesville, Ohio, who bested the behemoths of advertising to capture the coveted top prize in the USA Today Ad Meter. Bob Lachky may jokingly say that he wants a recount, but with Bud’s streak being broken at 10, you know he’s not a happy guy. Same with the bosses at Pepsi who expected to come out on top and be showered with all of the bonus PR.

And their agencies aren't feeling too hot either.

For good measure, let’s watch again, and enjoy the never-gets-old comedic power of a crystal ball in the nuts. Watch and learn, ad guys. Watch and learn.

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.

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.

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.

Why is this athlete smiling?

Sometimes you can use sports to sell stuff that has nothing to do with sports. Best example is probably the Super Bowl, but here's another. A wonderful campaign from Kuala Lumpur for a fabric softener.

No words, but do you get it? Of course you do. Tough guys unable to prevent themselves from hugging someone they should be pummeling because the should-be foe's uniform was washed in Softlan Eltra.

Another ad in the campaign is just as fun. Well done, Y&R Kuala Lumpur. Could you come over here and teach the GoDaddy and Sales Genie folks a few things?

A brilliant holiday message

You may have seen this already—891,706 people saw it before me on Youtube, and it was in Adage.com, and countless other sites and blogs—but it’s a wonderful piece from an agency called AKQA, a global shop that’s kicking serious ass as we hurtle toward the new age of communication.

If creativity will rule the future of marketing regardless of what media is employed, these guys will be the Kings and Queens. Although I’m hoping next year they go old school and haul out the egg timers for a rousing version “I have a little Dreidel.”

Ralphie sells the Bushes

Up until last week, I was one of 37 people in the United States who hadn’t seen A Christmas Story. Another of those 37 was my son, so we decided to join in the fun and watched it over the weekend. Just in time, too, to really appreciate some fun ads for the Greenville Drive, a minor league team playing in the South Atlantic League.

So many factors go into making a great ad. One is topicality. Nike is very best brand at making ads at the right time. I can’t find the ad I really want to find—the one during the last baseball strike asking the players to come back—but here’s an oldie that took advantage of the news at the time:



They struck while the iron was hot, for sure.

The ads for the Greenville Drive strike while the iron is hot, but in a different way. At a time when every single media outlet in the world is red and green and covered with Christmas, the Drive also goes down that road, but makes their ads stand out by referencing A Christmas Story. So smart. Even the copy is smart. My favorite, of course, is the play on the leg lamp. Love the spikes.

If I lived in South Carolina, I’d buy me some tickets. That and a Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle.

Stupid Brilliant

“Whopper Virgins” is on the air.



Attention getting, yes. Not often do you get to see costumed, toothless citizens of the world in a charmingly confused state, picking apart buns and pickles and greenish beef patties as they try to figure out how to eat an American fast food burger.

Breakthrough? Check.

But it also feels a bit perplexing. Is it serious or funny? They sure seem to want us to take it seriously. Especially when they put a lovely long form film on their website.

But in the ads, they use a the big over the top voiceover and cinematic music that make it feel goofy, and it all just feels kind of schizophrenic. And silly.

Which may be irrelevant if all Burger King is doing is, once again, trying to get noticed in a broiler full of fast food sameness, zeroing in on their irreverence-loving target, and getting more attention than their competitiors.

The campaign may be stupid, but those guys are brilliant.

All hail the Virgins!

More brilliant marketing from Burger King.

What is the purpose of great marketing? To get the people who are most likely to purchase your product to like you.

If you’re trying to win a popularity contest, you can’t piss people off, but Burger King understands that for their purposes, it’s not about getting the whole world to love them. It’s about nailing their target with a relevant message.

Burger King has been exceptionally good at this over the past few years. And now they’ve taken the god ole’ taste test to a whole new level. “Whopper Virgins” hasn’t even been rolled out yet but the teasers are already generating tons of news, lots of chatter, and a good deal of controversy.

Last time I checked, breaking through and getting noticed is another thing great marketing is supposed to do, especially in a category as fiercely competitive as the fast food burger wars.

Once again, the King rules.

Great ads in any language

Taking a cue from the unexpected “Bike Hero” video, let’s take a break from advertising that’s purely about sports, and travel around the globe for some fun stuff you may not have seen.

Starting in Romania, where, apparently, frat guys make ads:



Still, it's kind of funny. By the way, the end title means "Do as much as you can while you're young."

And on to Johannesburg, where a concept that’s arguably been done before surprises you into getting hungry for a burger.



There’s one word understood across the world for wonderfully simple ideas done well:

Cool.

Don't pet the messenger

Bad economy got you down? With marketers struggling to find the right messages to encourage optimistic attitudes at the cash register and beyond, here are some thoughts and suggestions to provide a bit of impetus to get folks motivated again.

The first comes from the last President to broadly inspire Americans to work for change, John F. Kennedy. He borrowed from the Chinese to make his point.

If you work at Procter and Gamble…or are in the do-it-yourself hair dye racket, then the sight of stocks plummeting makes your spirit soar.

And if, perchance, you just can’t get away from the badness out there, and have to face up to some unavoidably unpleasant facts, then you do have a good option: Send a puppy to do your dirty work.

You know what they say: The cuter the messenger, the less likely he’ll get shot.