Heineken is keeping it real

Perhaps a little like Dave Chappell's sketch "When keeping it real goes wrong", this holiday season Heineken is taking a different approach to draw attention to it's brand.

Heineken is highlighting the social dangers of drinking too much; however instead of going for a tear inducing, heart-aching story/warning, Heineken is keeping it light and humourous and (in my opinion) doing a pretty good job.



They've created a TV ad that drives drinkers online to a micro-site knowthesigns.com where they can play a game of spotting the people who drank too much. The object of the game is to spot the typical characteristics that all of us have had to deal with when we've gone out with friends including: the crier, the flirt, the fighter and the groper. All the kinds of people that we really don't want to deal with and will/have ruined our nights.

Beyond the game Heineken is leveraging this other media as well. They have an iPhone breathalyzer app and a "tag of shame" app that users can download to their social media site and actually tag pictures of their friends being TG (That guy or That girl)

Launching during the prime holiday season, at a time when office parties, friends are celebrating and family is getting together Heineken is offering an interesting spin on marketing of one of the worlds favourite beers. They are keeping the fun, lighthearted and interest while maintaining a drink responsibly message.


Warning: No heartstrings were pull in this campaign.

Autoban for the better and having Fun

The fun and quirky car company that brought the world the Beetle and other fun zippy cars like the Rabbit is taking their marketing beyond cars but keeping the fun.

Volkswagen. The Theory of Fun.

Busting out some truly innovative ideas VW is getting people in Stockholm to have fun and do good. Check out these spots that have gone massively viral:

Staircase


Garbage Bin:




But here's the thing: Volkswagen is a car company, their main objective year over year is to sell cars, is it not? So how are they selling cars when their marketing campaign doesn't include any? Even their website thefuntheory.com offers more videos and a chance for people to submit their own ideas for awards.... and NO cars.

For a young urban professional, they are buying the brand. Yes, of course the typical factors play into their choice (price, features, safety, size) but they will look to and lean on the brands that speak to them.

What is interesting though is their dig for a deeper connection through the additional layer of "doing good". It's a fairly common belief that the younger generation is more deeply concerned about social issues (obesity, environment, helping others). Car companies are often vilified for being massive polluters and supplying the world with polluting machines. So it's interesting that VW is taking this perspective.

Are they smart? Risky?

Will we see these in Toronto, Vancouver or anywhere in North America?

Even the billionaires of the world are being hit by this global economic crisis, so it's a very good thing that there exists a website where they can auction off their one of a kind luxury items to raise some cash AND ensure their precious items are given a good home.

Welcome to Billionairexchange, the luxury online auction site. Here the billionaires of the world can bid on and sell items ranging from castles, to diamond encrusted iPhones, to armored luxury vehicles, even a mexican resort is up for sale.


All one has to do is sign up for a membership; however, the price isn't shown because (I assume) "if you have to ask, you can't afford it".



What is interesting about the site is ease and ability a user has to buy advertising space. The prices are all laid out and based on impressions. Users can purchase leaderboards, features or sponsored links. Pretty interesting way of selling the media space as it seems they are cutting out the media companies and have made it really simple for their users.

I currently have my eye on a sweet diamond iPhone 3G, so if you're looking for my xmas gift, that's a good place to start: check it

Imagine a world where the hot "spot" is the size of a city

Imagine the whole city as a hot spot. That would be pretty great right? Sitting on a park bench reading the paper online or stuck at Davisville station in the morning streaming online video.

Seems like a pretty good idea but will it happen?

Well, sitting at home watching TBS... I mean PeachTree... I caught one of the many Atlanta area ads but this time, instead of catching one of the irritating college ads to study at home and earn a degree - it's so easy!... this time i caught one for clear.com

Boasting super fast internet access in approximately 9 states, clear offers consumers internet everywhere based on data usage. Clear states "With CLEAR 4G WiMAX, you'll always get crisp, super fast mobile internet, regardless of where you are in the coverage area."

I have to admit, I am not an expert on this kind of technology, but it seems like it is similar to smart phones that access the internet... payment is based on a data plan/usage and the service (4G) is just a little jacked up.

How long until Canadian major markets get this and who is going to do it? Rogers with the largest, fastest network? It'll be interesting to see how this develops....

Here is the ad I saw:

Athletes as brands and selling them.....

Steve Nash the basketball star, Canadian and brand?

A great (but long) article posted on the Canadian marketing website, Marketing Mag.ca explains the evolution of athletes from brand promoters to brands themselves. Not very long ago Michael Jordan was just breaking through creating the Air Jordan brand with Nike.

Now athletes are brands themselves. Steve Nash is one of the most viral of these brands and is successfully leveraging his celebrity, awkward humour and viral videos to really make a breakthrough impact which is doing a great job at creating an image for himself and the products he promotes. Professional salaries are rising and so are the sponsorship stakes... not to mention the egos, yet somehow Mr. Nash is managing to keep it lighthearted.


Check out the full article here

Here are some of the Steve Nash videos. Two are for Vitamin Water and another is just fun:

"Web 2.0 way to get your vitamins" (Shamwow/SlapChop Parody with 50 Cent)


"I've been hired, naturally...." (Parody of the Office)


(Step Brothers Parody)


The Steve Nash brand is fun, entertaining and in good taste. It'll be interesting to see how athletes promote themselves after the success of Mr. Nash and his kinda awkward videos. Check out the article above for a deeper insight and other expamples of athletes promoting their brand.