The Stackpile

VW, Apple, and Budweiser, these are the first three companies that come to mind when I think “unique advertising.” I drive a VW Jetta, I work on a MacBook and own two iPods, and well…I may enjoy a Bud Light or two from time to time. The fact that I have purchased these products based on my love for their advertising is no coincidence.

Budweiser’s TV ads are always the top picks among consumers when the Super Bowl ads air, and the radio spots are no different. In case you have not heard these hysterical ads, they salute “Real Men of Genius.” For example, they salute “Mr. Over Zealous Foul Ball Catcher,” “Mr. Fancy Coffee Shop Pourer,” or my personal favorite “Mr 80 SPF Sunblock Wearer.”

“Today we salute you, Mr. 80 SPF Sun Block Wearer.
(Mr. 80 SPF Sun Block Wearer)
There are 24 hours in a day. You’re wearing 80-hour protection. If the sun fails to go down, you’ll be ready.
(Don’t forget the moonlight)
Your coconut-scented force field blocks out all the sun’s rays … and any stray rays from another sun … in another galaxy.
(You’re a STAR!!)
30 SPF? Please! You might as well be wearing cooking oil.
(Something smells delicious)
So crack open an ice cold Bud Light, Mr. 80 SPF Sun Block Wearer. In fact, feel free to crack one open at high noon … in the middle of the Sahara Desert.
(Mr. 80 SPF Sun Block Wearer)”

This radio campaign is so popular they even recorded a 3 CD box set for those of us who loved the commercials so much. Yes, I bought the 3 CD set for $10.99, and no it doesn’t get old. This campaign has such a huge following, many people (or those who just love Bud Light) have set up web pages dedicated to the “Real Men of Genius.” You can talk about your favorites and download all 65+ ads for endless listening on your computer. When the first CD was released in December 2004, it sold 100,000 copies in it’s first three weeks! That is incredible! When was the last time you heard of an advertising campaign selling 100,000 copies of their latest radio ad or jingle? While there is much debate about informational vs entertaining advertising, I think the entertaining campaign won this round.

Posted by Kristin on September 28th, 2007
Filed under Advertising, Branding, Fun | No Comments »

Nolita, a high-fashion Italian clothes label, launched a new ad campaign this week. The campaign features an anorexic model (an oxymoron, if you ask me). This woman has been anorexic since age 13. Her name is Isabelle Caro and I’d love to tell you more about her disease but her blog site is in French (a language I don’t speak). Isabelle has peaked my interest because her story of anorexia is not one that began because of the modeling world. Rather, the modeling world embraced her despite her disease. And, now she is helping to leverage the controversy over too-thin models. Interesting, right? But to what extent is Nolita going to push the envelope on this issue? And, why did they decide to spend time and money on a campaign that lacks deliberate call to action? According to The Wall Street Journal, Nolita is running spreads in Italian newspapers and posting billboards in cities such as Milan. The copy that appears on these ads is, “No. Anorexia.” Ok, great. I agree, now what? Can I donate? Can I sign a petition? Can I ban a competitor’s clothes line who employs anorexic models? Is there a high fashion label out there that doesn’t employ anorexics (even if it is to raise awareness of the issue)? Seriously, how is Nolita moving the issue? What is this shock value worth? What’s the shock going to inspire people to do? Voice their feedback on Nolita’s website? Then what? What action will Nolita take? Purpose, people, purpose! We need purpose. But most of all – more important than anything – we need to get to the bottom of anorexia as a disease. Whether a by-product of the modeling industry or a by-product of a poisoned childhood, it doesn’t matter. What matters is how do we get the women of the world to love Twinkies the way I do?

Posted by Marrianne on September 27th, 2007
Filed under Advertising, Design, Media, Photography | No Comments »

I don’t think I’m the last person to have heard of Adblock, but judging by the amount of coverage I’ve been able to read about it today, I must be pretty close. In case you’re one of the few behind me on this one, Adblock is a plug-in available from Firefox that does, well, exactly what you’d expect something called Adblock to do. Which is interesting, but hardly surprising to anyone familiar with technology, advertising, or the kind of personality that is attracted to pushing the envelope in either field. It seems like there wasn’t a lot of lag time between the advent of pop-up ads before we were offered pop-up ad blockers. More recently, I’m remembering that within two months of launching the iPhone, a hacker found a way to bypass the device’s network restrictions. Technology not only challenges itself, but challenges other industries as well. And in the advertising industry, we’re generally up to the challenge.

Inherent in being creative and capturing attention is the ability to find new and unexpected ways to reach people. I have no doubt that as ad-blocking technology becomes more pervasive, our industry’s response will become more sophisticated. In fact, some of the groundwork is already being laid as marketers launch new ways of presenting themselves through user-generated content and social networking. With about 2.5 million Adblock users worldwide to date, we’ve got some time to prepare for this next wrinkle in the growth of online advertising. Until then, we can continue to read about Adblock and browse through all the Google ads for ad blockers that run adjacent to the articles.

Posted by Kelly on September 17th, 2007
Filed under Advertising, Marketing, Miscellaneous, Search Engine Marketing, Web | No Comments »

A lot of us here at Stackpole were excited by the announcement of the new iPod touch last week. I’m always happy to have a new toy to lust after, and from first glance, the iPod touch, like the iPhone before it, looks like it won’t disappoint. But the announcement of these new device could have larger implications beyond that of shiny new toys to play with. They could bring a whole new set of considerations for web designers.

The iPod touch brings WiFi capability to iPods for the first time. As a result, it incorporates mobile Safari, a nifty version of the Mac web browser, designed especially for the mobile experience. When it was first introduced with the iPhone, Apple hailed mobile Safari as “the most advanced web browser ever on a portable device.” It wasn’t just hype. Mobile Safari (in conjunction with a high resolution screen), lived up to its billing. Websites look very much like they do with a desktop browser. There are exceptions, of course (lack of Flash support being the most glaring), but all in all, mobile Safari puts the web in your hand.

Because of this, some observers were a bit confused when some websites released iPhone-optimized sites soon after the device’s launch. Some of this reaction can be seen here and here. Why would a iPhone-optimized version of a website be needed, if mobile Safari was so darn good at bringing users “the real web?”

This development should not be that surprising. Despite how good a browser it is, mobile Safari is still a web browser for a mobile device. Because of this, the experience will never be the same as it is on the desktop. And nor should it be. The mobile experience has its own set of considerations and challenges. The mobile web experience means small screens, less time to dally, and (often-times) slower connection speeds. Even a great browser can not compensate for these factors.

Does this mean that developers will have to offer iPhone/iPod touch optimized versions of their web sites? Well, sort of. Many sites currently offer mobile versions of their content. Mobile web design is gaining more and more attention from the web development community. There are many reasons to offer a mobile version of your web site. Perhaps your site offers special appeal or use for mobile users. Perhaps, your site is highly bandwidth intensive and requires a more streamlined version that won’t choke mobile browsers. Or perhaps your site incorporates a layout that is too dense for the smaller screens of a mobile device. These are all legitimate reasons to explore adding a mobile version of your site.

But what gets developers knickers in a bunch is the possibility of creating versions of sites designed solely for mobile Safari. To some, this is a move backwards to the days when sites were designed solely for one type of browser. It easy to see the root of these concerns, but they ignore the fact that Apple sees the web as an application environment for the iPhone (as well as the forthcoming iPod touch). The only (authorized) way for third-party developers to put their wares on the iPhone is to develop them as web applications to be run through mobile Safari. As a result, most of the best iPhone-optimized web sites aren’t really web sites, per se. It would be more accurate to label them web applications designed specifically for the device.

Some may see this as a matter of semantics, but I think it really helps frame how web developers should view the iPhone and iPod touch. I would agree that creating a version of a site specifically optimized for the iPhone seems to be a bit overkill, especially if the intent is to simply make a better mobile web experience for visitors. If that is the true intent, your resources would be better served by developing a mobile version of your site that is designed with all mobile devices in mind. It will still work great on mobile Safari and you wouldn’t be excluding the large number of the non-Apple mobile community. Mobile Safari users who want a more robust, desktop-like experience, can still choose to experience the “full” version of the site, if they so choose. On the other hand, if you want to offer an experience that utilizes the unique qualities of the iPhone or iPod touch (the higher resolution screen, the touch screen technology, etc), develop a web application that takes advantages of those qualities. These web applications shouldn’t be a stripped down version of the full site. Rather, they should be robust applications that offer visitors a unique experience that really takes advantage of what these devices can do. We already seeing some really cool stuff and there will only be more as more people get ahold of mobile Safari.

These are interesting times. Only time will tell the true impact of the iPhone, iPod touch and mobile Safari. Until then, it will fun to see how it all shakes out.

Posted by Trev on September 11th, 2007
Filed under Design, Web | No Comments »

In a recent Forrester Research study on the effects online word-of-mouth advertising for automakers is really about the effects of a new media form – consumer generated media. As the online audience continues to grow, word-of-mouth has taken on a new form through internet forums, blogs, wikipedia, discussion lists, email chains, personal websites and more. This consumer generated media (or CGMs) is clearly effecting the purchasing habits of car buyers as found in this recent study, but the impact on public relation and other purchasing behaviors is endless.

Posted by Christina on September 3rd, 2007
Filed under Marketing, Web | No Comments »