Battle of the Sexes

 Okay, who's smarter: Men or Women?

Chances are if you're guy, you answered one way. And if you're a woman, you went the opposite direction. Yes, this war of brain superiority has been waging for quite some time. And certainly there is no conclusive answer. However, Trivial Pursuit is attempting to shed some light on this fight with their very own online experiment.

At trivialpursuitexperiment.com, you can go and try to answer an many trivia questions as you can. The correct male answers are tallied on one side, while the female ones on the other. This challenge is certain to spark debates, bragging, excuses and so on. It also does a nice job of getting people involved with a old brand/product called Trivial Pursuit. Along with every correct or incorrect answer, you are are given a funny youtube clip showcasing men and women doing not-so-smart things. You can even send a banter card to someone of the opposite sex with one of those embedded clips in it.

Watch the below promotional video. It beautifully sets up the battle. Right now the women are winning by a resounding 90,000 points.  Which as a man, makes me wonder "Are they smarter or do they have more free time." Just asking the question.

Bring It To Life

As a strongly biased fan of just about everything Irish (hey, it's my heritage), I will always have a special place for Guinness in my heart... and in my fridge. So when I saw they had a new commercial and tag line, I was instantly pulled in. And much like their very delicious pint, I was not disappointed.

The spot embodies the spirit and life that flows out of every Guinness pour. It begins with a simple action.  It then builds and builds and builds. Along the way, our senses are summoned and enticed. At the finish, there is something wonderful to enjoy. Ahhh... watch this tasty commercial while I quickly head to a pub.

Double Duty

Dr. Elena Bodnar gives new meaning to bra support. Yes, her invention the "Bra Mask" works both as your everyday brassiere and when danger strikes it quickly transforms into protective face mask. Her multi-functioning creation recently won the lg Nobel Prize, for achievements that first make people laugh and then think.

The Bra Mask could be put to use during a fire, a terrorist attack, a swine flu outbreak or anything you've read about in a science fiction novel. And the best part is each cup separates so that you can share your bra mask with a nearby friend. It not only can save your life, but your husbands, too. Once again, it proves why breasts come in pairs. Anyhow, I'm not sure Victoria's Secret will be stocking these any time soon, but I seriously cannot wait for the Direct Response commercial. "Call now and protect the whole family with this 3 pack, "Now this is a wonder bra!" and "Don't be a boob, get your bra mask today."

Nice work doctor.

Theory in Action

Volkswagen  has always been a car company with a strong brand personality. From the Beetle to the Rabbit to the Touareg, their vehicles generally come fully equipped with marketing that is fresh, different and fun.  With their latest initiative, they hold on tight to that image, however, they take an exit off the traditional car category highway and navigate their way into everyday life.

They call it the Fun Theory. It's hypothesis is that "fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better." This is certainly not a breakthrough concept, as parents have been employing this method on their children probably since the dawn of time. "Okay, grunt, here's the game, grunt. Let's see who can throw these leftover Wooly Mammoth bones the farthest from the cave." It is a new idea for a car company and so far I like what they've done. From getting people to choose stairs over the escalator (exercise never hurt anyone) to inciting a greater recycling effort, it's good stuff. Very clever. Very simple. Very fun. And these days we all could you use a little more of that, right?

See more at thefuntheory.com

Because It's Just Fun

This commercial for Coke Zero from Ogilvy Argentina is just too fun to not post. With great animation and catchy music, it's the happy Coke brand we know, served up in a fresh way. The music track is from PowerSolo and it's titled "Canned Love," which seems like an amazing coincidence considering Coke's often aluminum encasing.

Think Inside The Box

A co-worker once boldly proclaimed to me that he liked to think outside the box. I internally chuckled and thought, "Wow, the fact that you used those 4 words makes me really wonder about that." Because as anyone in advertising knows, the phrase "think outside the box" just might be the most overused and meaningless one in the industry. So when I saw this project called Think Inside The Box, I could not help be a little cynical.

However, I quickly changed my tune as I saw what it was all about it. A little agency called Zulu Alpha Kilo from Toronto set up a BOX in Dundas Square. Inside the box, 8 of their employees sat and waited for problems in need of creative solutions. Pedestrians passing by were encouraged to bring any pressing question to the box. It was nine hours of free creative problem solving. Now this is a nice way to showcase the merits of creative folks.

I think clients often look at their agencies simply as ad creators and while that's true, we are also very much in the problem solving business. "Our competition just came out with a cheaper product, what can we do?" "We need more foot traffic!" "We changed our brand colors for the 6th time in 3 years, can you retro fit it?" Every day, we solve problems, both big and small, for clients by using our differently-wired noggins. We reinvent. We challenge the status quo. And we travel down avenues not even on others' maps. Yes, thinking outside the (I refuse to say it) is not just for fun and games, but can provide real solutions.

Below is a link to the site. Watch a promo video and see some of the creative answers they came up with.

thinkinsidethebox

13 Reasons Why

Unless you're Dan Brown or John Grisham, publishers aren't all that likely to put advertising dollars behind your masterpiece. Their marketing plan usually reads: "You're on your own, Shakespeare!" However, thanks to youtube and the "free" factor of the internet, these days a smart viral campaign can economically truly raise awareness.

Thus, before releasing a new fictional book entitled 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Penguin Publishing launched a viral effort to create interest. They hired Grey Advertising, a big-time agency in New York, to make content that would build an audience. The book itself (I have not read it) is about a young girl who commits suicide and made 13 audio tapes explaining why. It's a morbid, yet intriguing concept.

Targeting young teenagers, the viral campaign consisted of sending out 13 tapes with the voice of the main character Hannah Baker. The tapes were unbranded at first to add mystery. Eventually a community of interested folks uncovered the story behind these tapes. They, like good online groupies, began sharing their find with others.

As it began getting viral, Penguin then made the campaign less puzzling for the masses with a dedicated youtube channel. These videos are haunting. And I can think about 14 reasons why if I had a teenager, I might not want them to read a book about suicide. Nevertheless, this campaign did its job. 13 Reasons Why has sold over 200,000 copies and reached #3 on the NY Times Bestseller list. And the reason why it's successful is simple. It's not because it's viral. It's not because it has a youtube channel. It's because the creative, a tape and a voice, did its job of making people say, "I want to know more."