super bowl XLIII (2009) tv ads : doritos score big

this is one the top ads during the super bowl. what makes it more interesting is that madison avenue didn't make them.

Dallas marketer scores Super Bowl winner with Doritos ad contest

Andrew Robinson underestimated the power of America's imagination, and he and his client couldn't be happier with this miscalculation.


The 50-year-old senior vice president of the Marketing Arm created a contest three years ago in which ordinary Joes submit homemade commercials for Doritos. The top entries air during the Super Bowl.

Robinson and his team suggested a twist for 2009: Frito-Lay would pay a million-dollar bonus prize if a "Crash the Super Bowl" ad was voted the most popular ad during the big game.

That would mean dethroning Budweiser, the decadelong king of USA Today 's Ad Meter, which monitors the responses of a focus group to ads aired during the Super Bowl.

Robinson – and Frito-Lay – never imagined that a homemade ad would beat the high-paid minds of Madison Avenue.

Two self-described "nobodies from nowhere" did.

"It's absolutely the best million dollars we've ever spent," says Frito-Lay spokesman Chris Kuechenmeister. "Anybody here would tell you that."

Joe and Dave Herbert, unemployed 30-something brothers from Batesville, Ind., made marketing history with a funky 30-second spot called "Free Doritos!"

It featured a Dilbert-looking guy predicting free Doritos for the office, then shattering a vending machine with a crystal ball (really a snow globe).

The brothers spent $2,000 – mostly for food for the crew and five panes of glass – to beat out 51 high-dollar contenders for Ad Meter's most-liked spot.

Other indications that it won viewers' attention: More TiVo customers replayed the Doritos snow globe ad than they did Steelers linebacker James Harrison's 100-yard dash for the end zone. Doritos got the biggest image boost in a Super Bowl research survey by comScore. And the ad won YouTube's Ad Blitz 2009.

The going rate for big-game airtime was $3 million for a half-minute, so this was no small gamble on Frito-Lay's part.

It also paid for the second-place finisher, "Power of the Crunch," to get 30 seconds of fame. A guy eating Doritos magically causes a beautiful woman's clothing to fly off, an ATM to dispense a flurry of money and a policeman to turn into a small monkey. When his Doritos bag is empty, the guy gets hit by a bus.

That spot finished fifth.

Competing with pros

"We've always been blown away with the creativity and the passion of Doritos fans," says Kuechenmeister. "They showed this year that they can compete with the best in the business."

The Marketing Arm handles all of Frito-Lay's promotional advertising, Robinson says. Crash the Super Bowl is an evolution of his initial work on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl that began in 1995.

Back then, it was just him. Today, nearly 60 agency staffers are assigned to Frito-Lay's account. Nearly a dozen worked on this year's contest.

Robinson came up with the quirky campaign in 2006 as a way to engage Doritos' core consumer – young males. It's open to everyone, but most of the entries – and all of the finalists – were submitted by men.

Millennial guys – those under 28 – instantly shun advertising that even hints of marketing mind control, says Robinson, the father of three sons ages 7 to 19.

"They live in this hyper-life. They have their iPods on. They're doing IM and watching TV while doing their homework." Robinson says, sitting in a Marketing Arm conference room in downtown Dallas.

"What better way to show your authenticity than to provide the opportunity to produce your own commercial and have it aired on the biggest advertising stage of the year?"

But when he presented the idea to Frito-Lay, almost everyone was taken aback. They asked Robinson if he really thought any of the commercials would be worth millions to air. He confidently assured them that creative geniuses were just waiting to be discovered.

"In reality, I had no clue," Robinson says.

When the "really God-awful" entries started rolling in, Robinson was certain his agency would be fired. "But slowly, as we drew closer to the deadline, they got better and better."

Expectations exceeded

That first year, Marketing Arm winnowed 1,000 entries into 20 potential finalists. The Doritos brand team picked five that were put on a Web site for public vote.

"We were trying to manage expectations," Robinson says. "No matter what anyone says, you're advertising in the Super Bowl, and you're worried about that Ad Meter. Someone has to finish last. And you hope to God it's not you."

For the first and second years of the contest, Frito-Lay's top online vote-getters finished fourth.

"The mojo on the brand started to come back," he says. "It's been kicking butt since then."

In the months ahead, the two Super Bowl ads and the other three finalists will air as part of a national campaign, Kuechenmeister says.

Planning for next year will start in April or May, Robinson says. "This is not official, but the nice thing about finishing No. 1 is it sets up pretty easily as 'defending the crown.' "

As for a repeat of the $1 million bonus, both Robinson and Kuechenmeister say we'll just have to stay tuned.

source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/chall/stories/DN-Hall_11bus.ART.State.Edition1.4bcc92e.html

guitar hero tv spot - enjoying heidi klum's inner rockstar, inside or out, more or less

we had a guitar hero ad featured here in WAWAM! early this year during the finals of American Idol. that ad had david cook, one of the finalists appearing in the ad which was aired during the AI finals. david cook's ad was a hit and made a buzz specially among women. (read it here: http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/guitar%20hero)

heidi klum has a similar ad for guitar hero. it's just that as far as i am concerned, this heidi klum is much better to watch. it's great to see expose her inner rockstar in a tv ad, the one inside or out, more or less. well, here it's less. we would have wanted it lesser but if they did that, we won't be able to see the ad on tv. it will be banned.

this heidi ad is essentially the same david cook ad. watch this heidi ad and it is obvious why that cook guitar hero was a hit among women as i am sure this heidi ad is a hit among men.

it is true what my ad agency told me before - having less is much better.

cadbury - "kurot sa puso" ("pinch on the heart") tv spot

this must be one of the best "kurot sa puso" tv spot i have ever seen. ("kurot sa puso" literally means "pinch on the heart", which actually means it's something very emotional or it's tugging at your heart strings.)

when i saw the ad, i reached for the kleenex and some chocolates.




this ad i think is one of the best examples for the expression, "thinking out of the box". the other question in my mind though is this --- when will they show the singer? if that's the drummer, i want to watch the singer perform!

it's amazing how this combines "kurot sa puso" and humor in one ad. this was one ad where i was laughing from start to finish! cadbury made a lasting impression in my mind!

apple vs microsoft advertising war

Microsoft Enlists Jerry Seinfeld In Its Ad Battle Against Apple
By SUZANNE VRANICA and ROBERT A. GUTH


Microsoft Corp., weary of being cast as a stodgy oldster by Apple Inc.'s advertising, is turning for help to Jerry Seinfeld.


The software giant's new $300 million advertising campaign, devised by a newly hired ad agency, has been closely guarded. But Mr. Seinfeld will be one of the key celebrity pitchmen, say people close to the situation. He will appear with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates in ads and receive about $10 million for the work, they say.


The new ad effort is expected to use some variation of the slogan "Windows, Not Walls," according to several people familiar with the matter. Those people say the point is to stress breaking down barriers that prevent people and ideas from connecting. The campaign, said to debut Sept. 4, is one of the largest in the company's history.


The attempted image overhaul comes as Microsoft executives privately acknowledge that Windows -- the company's most important brand -- has grown stale and has been battered by Apple's "Mac vs. PC" ads. Those ads, created by Omnicom Group Inc.'s TBWA/Chiat/Day, feature a nerdy PC guy getting upstaged by a hip Mac counterpart.


Microsoft's immediate goal is to reverse the negative public perception of Windows Vista, the latest version of the company's personal-computer operating system. Windows is Microsoft's largest generator of profit and revenue, accounting for 28% of the company's revenue of $60.4 billion in the year ended June 30.


The software has sold well, and Microsoft retains an overwhelming share of the market for operating system software over Apple. But Apple's computer sales have been rising, and Vista is dogged by the notion that it has technical shortcomings and is hard to use. Apple's latest Mac vs. PC ads take swipes at Vista. Microsoft says early problems with Vista have been largely alleviated.


While Apple's digs at Microsoft through its advertising campaign have been vexing, Apple is on a hot streak with its products that Microsoft hasn't been able to match. Apple's Macintosh computer business is dwarfed by Microsoft's share of the PC software market, but it has been gaining on its larger rival, accounting for 7.8% of new PC shipments in the U.S. in the second quarter, compared with 6.2% during the same period the prior year, according to research firm IDC. The vast majority of the rest of the market is made up of Windows PCs.


During the second quarter, Apple said it sold 41% more Macs than it did during the same period the prior year; that compares with growth of 15.3% in total PC shipments world-wide, according to IDC. Apple's desktop and notebook computers have won converts among onetime Windows loyalists.


Crucial Role


Microsoft's campaign highlights the crucial role of Windows in the company's broader efforts to expand into new areas. Money from that division is invested into other areas, such as online services that are crucial to Microsoft's long-term growth. Windows is also a bedrock product for sales of other Microsoft software, such as the Office group of programs.


"They are not seen as cool," says Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, a New York branding firm. "Apple is cool. Can anyone even recall a Microsoft ad? No." Apple and its brand-obsessed CEO, Steve Jobs, have been producing distinctive advertising since its famous "1984" campaign, which debuted that year in the Super Bowl.


In an email to Microsoft employees in July, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer wrote, "Now it's time to tell our story."

He added: "In the weeks ahead, we'll launch a campaign to address any lingering doubts our customers may have about Windows Vista." He said that later in the year the company will roll out "a more comprehensive effort to redefine the meaning and value of Windows for our customers."

Microsoft's large business-to-business presence has always made for a difficult marketing mix with consumer branding. Windows is used by both constituencies.

Mr. Seinfeld is just one piece of the makeover. The campaign will likely include videos of recent consumer focus groups that Microsoft held. In the studies, participants -- who said they had negative impressions of Vista -- were shown a version of Windows called "Mojave." After trying Mojave and liking it, the participants were told that the software was actually Windows Vista.
The campaign is the brainchild of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, a Miami-based ad shop that has helped revitalize brands such as Burger King. Microsoft hired the firm earlier this year after considering several ad agencies including WPP Group PLC's JWT, Publicis Groupe's Fallon and its longtime agency Interpublic Group's McCann Erickson.


Big Test

The campaign is a big test for Crispin Porter + Bogusky. In choosing the firm, a unit of MDC Partners, Microsoft broke from McCann Erickson, which has managed the software maker's previous efforts including the 2002 "Realizing Potential" Microsoft corporate ad campaign and the "Start Something" campaign for Windows XP in 2005. McCann remains on Microsoft's agency roster working on other Microsoft ad duties such as Xbox.


While Crispin Porter + Bogusky has won awards for its Burger King ads, which highlighted the company's king pitchman, not all its pitches have hit the mark. The agency had come up short on its work for Miller Lite with its "Man Laws" ad campaign that featured boxer Oscar De La Hoya and actor Burt Reynolds. The work failed to increase sales. The two companies eventually parted ways.


Even though Mr. Seinfeld's popular sitcom stopped production in 1998, the 54-year-old comic still has major appeal with consumers, according to Davie-Brown Entertainment, a marketing company owned by Omnicom Group. The comedian ranks 41st out of more than 1,900 celebrities in terms of broad appeal, the firm's data show.


Still, after 10 years of reruns and only occasional appearances by Mr. Seinfeld in the media, keeping the franchise fresh with younger adults is a concern. Last week, Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Television, which distributes "Seinfeld" in U.S. syndication, announced the "Seinfeld Campus Tour," in which it's sending a 60-foot "Seinfeld"-themed bus to U.S. colleges to drum up interest in "a new generation of viewers," a spokeswoman said.


Mr. Seinfeld had been a spokesman for American Express, and his "Superman" commercials and Web videos in 2004 won raves. People familiar with the Microsoft campaign say that the company was aware of trying too hard to pander to youth, so didn't want a celebrity that was too hip, or a possible flash-in-the-pan.






source:
thttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB121928939429159525.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

read more posts on this microsoft and apple ads here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/i%20am%20mac%20i%20am%20pc

australia's hahn beer - next in WAWAM!