Coke To The Rescue

In the wake of Typhoon Yolanda, Countries and organizations are jumping on board to send relief to those affected by the disaster. Even Coca-Cola is getting involved. Well not all of Coke, just Coca-Cola Philippines along with its bottling partner Coca-Cola FEMSA. But they’re not just sending money, or ice cold soda-pop beverages. They’re cutting all advertising and sending the budget they would normally spend on giant red billboards, to the suffering Filipinos.

At this point, this isn’t the freshest news, and we could have guessed that people are upset and calling it all a PR stunt. You know what I think? Well, actually, I think they’re right. I think Coca-Cola (Philippines) may have found a chance to do something a little different for once instead of using that multi-million dollar budget to remind everyone that Coke still exists, still taste the same, and still rots your teeth.

But who can blame them? I’m sitting here on my ass not helping the cause. To be honest, I haven’t even given any likes. The least I could do is give a few likes. Right?

Whether or not this actually is just a form of advertising or public relations, they’re still acting. They’re not making videos showing them rebuilding houses, or infographics about how much money they’re donating in comparison to how big the typhoon was. They’re not really talking about it that much at all (or are they?). They’re over there helping and making change.

The thing I have to ask, is why isn’t this an international brand thing? Why couldn’t Coca-Cola halt their advertising, which doesn’t hold any particular message, and help out? No one is going to forget about Coca-Cola for the next few months. Coke could stop advertising for a year, and no one would forget about them. If they donated the something like $4 billion advertising budget to the suffering people, that will get them remembered.

As long as people still order Rum and Cokes, that’s enough advertising as it is.

Superbowl calls for Superads

If you consider three months close-by, then Sueprbowl XLVIII (48) is just around the corner, and Fox has already puts its pricey 30-second space on the market. The space has been on sale since May, and there’s no doubt that spots are in the making.

I don’t want to come here today, beat the dead horse, and rant on why good advertising (or should I say visually stunning and funny 30-second videos) shouldn’t be reserved for one night of the year. I’m just hopeful we’ll see some cool stuff this winter.

Last year there was a lot of talk about the advertising let down that happened last Superbowl. For once, those who watch just for the ads ended up talking more about the game the next day.

Us ad fans don’t even need to watch the actual game to see the ads. The minute they air, they’re uploaded to Youtube. Websites showcase the best and worst and the Tumblr Social Justice League rips apart the controversial.

In an industry that thrives on the new, maybe this year will bring more interactive and web content to the table beside the Buffalo wings and chips. How many people will be streaming the game via their desktops, or missing the live action by following play by play from feed on their smartphone and tablets?

Oreo set the bar high, and I hope other advertisers are ready for more impromptu advertising. I certainly am.

Let’s go out and get a nice, clean, well-stacked burger – Said no one ever.

One of my favourite things about the ads we see is that fast food ads are so beautified even though we all know it’s a load of B.S. (beef shit). No one is upset or let down when they order their Big Mac only to find that it’s leaning to one side, spewing chopped lettuce all over, holding two thin slabs of beef. So why do advertisers continue to take this approach?

It was not long ago that I ordered my usual at McDonalds: two McDoubles, sometimes dressed as a Mac, and found it didn’t look like the masterpiece they show in the ads. No surprise. It also wasn’t a slouching sandwich like we now expect to get. It was a decent looking burger. Real mediocre. In my eyes, the eyes of a young man who loves his tasteless, unhealthy food, this is a wonderful sight. If only I had taken a picture.

The approach they should take is the approach that will get a response from the people who love a dirty burger. The guys and gals (mostly guys) that don’t get the salads, or the fancy sandwiches that fast food joints are offering to avoid the messy lawsuits when heart attacks happen on site.

Burgers aren’t supposed to be works of art that look perfect and stand 5 inches tall. They’re supposed to be messy and falling apart. You don’t eat a burger with a fork and knife. You eat them with your hands (which don’t have to be clean) and lick the grease and ketchup from your fingertips afterwards.

This approach should be the mediocre burger. Not mediocre in taste, mediocre in shape, and posture. The approach should portray the real thing: a beef patty between two buns with all the other crap hidden within.

Even the gourmet burger shop The Works, known especially by the Ottawa crowd serves its exotic burgers imperfect, because, like I said, it’s the way they’re meant to be.

It’s 2013 and advertisers are still trying to make mouths water with incredibly unrealistic expectations. It’s lame, it’s not creative and no ones watching anymore.

Everyday, us humans (probably pigeons too) see thousands of ads. There’s almost no way of ignoring them. The thing about most ads is, even though you looked straight at them, you don’t have to look at them, read them, whatever. There’s a billboard up ahead. Close your eyes kids.

Television ads can be avoided by a swift change of the channel, magazine ads can be ripped out, and transit ads, well, you might have to close your eyes and miss your stop.

There is, however, a type of ad that get’s right in your grill, right in the way of what you’re doing. They are the worst ads in the world. They are pop-ups. I’m not talking about the kind of ads that pop-up onto another window, starts talking you, scaring the shit from you. Those ads are gone after quickly hitting the ‘X’ in the corner.

The worst ads in the world are the ads that pop-up onto the page you’re on. The page you’re reading, watching, doing something on. It pops-up, delivers some lame message, and then laughs in your face as you attempt to find the close button. That close button is never in the traditional right hand corner. We always find ourselves scrolling down to the end of the page, or heading to Contact Us where it’s waiting in patience. Not really, but you get my drift. These ads are the ultimate interruption, the ultimate piece of work that makes advertising bad. But they don’t have to be, because as long as it costs money to own a website, companies will want that spot.

Since companies will want that spot, why can’t they use that spot and reward you for being the victim. For the past three years I’ve been told, as a future advertiser, I need to reward the audience. They’re taking their sweet time to stop and look, I need to thank them for their time by delivering something good and effective.

This is when the client needs to back down and let the creative folk do their work. If a company sends you a bad ad in the most annoying way, they’ll be remembered for the wrong reasons.

Recently I saw this ad from IKEA. Right off the bat you can notice that it looks good to the average eye. Then once when you start reading it, you can relate to it. Unless you’re living alone, everyone shares a bathroom. So not only is there a compelling truth there, there’s even a concept. A web ad with a concept: a rare breed.

Web ads are annoying. There’s no way of getting around that. So if we’re going to annoy our audiences, we should give them something they want to see for those few seconds before they run away. That’s being remembered for the right reasons.