Jaffe Juice

Tiger did it v2.0 (your turn)

After much nudging and prodding to produce another example of consumer generated content, I have finally given in and put this together. The inspiration once again is the magnificant Tiger Woods (and somehow Chris DiMarco) who - despite the commentary - just did it (again)

Like last time, I have taken the video uninterrupted, and with only minor audio editing right at the end, left the moment to your heart's interpretation...with one twist. Instead of my ending, I'm going to let you come up with the ending.

This is in fact a brand experiment in co-creation, which draws on the old print example of "choose your own caption," with the winner getting some kind of prize. My hope is that you'll submit your own captions and the winner will be rewarded by Nike in the form of completing the commercial and putting it on air (or at the very least on their website)

Just do it.

A conceptual flaw in TV's business model

I got to thinking....which is a pretty dangerous thing to do I know.

The TV model is predicated on a Fall thru Spring season - September thru May. The best (arguable) content is committed to this period and bulk of the dollars are likewise invested against the programming.

Only just recently (led by FOX) have we seen a staggered distribution of new series, but this is still more so the exception than the norm.

So here's my thought: consumers don't stop purchasing between May and September. Sure they go away and take vacations; certainly schools are on break and yes, the weather is warmer and people tend to spend more time outside, but still...somehow products/goods/services get bought and somehow consumers are getting the kind of information and persuasive or influence necessary to make these purchases (just ask GM)

I'm not going to go to the obvious assertion, namely that they're on the Web consistently (even though I just did), but for now...I just wondered if this further underscores the lack of efficacy and/or efficiency of the TV model. After all, if the number 1 performing show during this hiatus pulls in a meager 11 million...either this shows that consumers are getting their media fix elsewhere or that the inflated sums of viewers during the rest of the year is just padded with waste, fluff and fat...or both!

Am I making any sense?

Get a blog...get a life

The good folks over at Adrants posted this interesting piece on agencies' websites (they suck btw) and suggested the blogging route. I had earlier posted this piece which draws its source from across the pond (credit to Adverblog) and basically states, you had better walk your own talk if you want to be taken seriously.

...but back to the Adrants piece. No question that agencies can and should do better, but is a blog the answer?

1) If you blog it, will they (dem clients) come? Yes, if its being written (NOT GHOST WRITTEN) by someone like Lee Clow for example.

2) How authentic is it really going to be? Part of a blog's attraction is its honesty and let's face it, advertising isn't exactly about telling the truth (at least until Dove tried it) My fear is that it would be self-serving with a capital BS.

My finger slipped

A new study documents that all is not yet lost for the ailing 30-second spot at the hands of the carnivorous DVR predator.

As reported in the Hollywood Reporter, Frank N. Magid Associates revealed that more than half (55%) of DVR consumers have at some point stopped fast forwarding in order to watch a commercial message.

I don't know about you, but this tells me virtually nothing, except that from time to time remote controls that have too much fried chicken grease on them succumb to the occasional slip of the finger.

In all seriousness, this has obvious and important implications for creatives (are you paying attention?) in the way they produce and build 30-second spots or derivations thereof. The more iconic they are...and (ironically) the more persistent the brand identifiers and/or integrating elements are, the more likely they will be to capture the attention of the multi-tasking demons that we fondly refer to as consumers.

It completely destroys the traditional method of leading up to an a-ha type reveal, followed by obligatory logo flash and toll-free/website afterthought.

It also doesn't exactly help the brand sans rockstar status and/or a proven track record of commercial excellence.

I also wouldn't go betting the farm on just over 1 in every 2 consumers WHO HAPPEN TO BE IN A FAST-FORWARDING FRAME OF MIND. (Excuse the caps, but think about what we're up against)

Hey, but that's just me.

Posts you may have missed

Bloglet was down since Friday, so in case you didn't catch these posts, here they are again:

Brief the impossible brief - BMW askes agencies to cure AIDS, Cancer and combat poverty in Africa (oh and also come up with a few ads that don't feature long and winding roads)

On the wings of a dove - Reality Advertising takes a turn for the better!

The Engagement Wars - Court TV moves beyond reach (which they never had in the first place) to offer their advertisers value in the form of delivering engagement

Comcast's Brian Roberts takes credit for jaffe's ideas - Not really, but he has zoned in on a massive opportunity - the "convergence" between search and video...on TV

The BIG Sessions - VISA's Jon Raj interviews Bigwigs in the industry (he made an exception with me) and delivers them to your ears via podcasts

You can't bullshit a bullshitter

To my loyal Jaffe Juice readers, you would no doubt have picked up on a semi-recurring gripe of mine when it comes to the hypocrisy of the ad business: If you're so damn good at building brands, breaking through the clutter, coming up with big ideas, integrating "down the line" (whatever that means), why the hell then do you so suck at promoting/advertising yourselves?

Case in point is the double-edged sword of a website: it is front and center and 110% transparent to all who may care to cast their wanton glances its merry way.

Here's a piece from The Independent in the UK which passes its judgement on a slew of UK-based agency sites.

Hmmm - maybe I'll do the same with the best that this side of the pond has on offer. Watch this space. It's not going to be pretty.

On the wings of a Dove

I've been following the Dove thread for a while now and truth be told, haven't blogged it yet because I've been too excited about it...and wanted my post to be "just right", but then thinking about it, realized that procrastination would be tantemount to the lies, misdirection and bullshit that has come from Madison Avenue for too long now through retouched photography, use of starving beautiful people (AKA models) and all the other falsehoods associated with portraying things not as they really are, but how they would be in Utopia (which when last I checked was not a town in suburbia)

Here's a good piece written on the subject in Slate.

I take my hat off to the folks at Dove for their honest (some might call it risky, but not me) incorporation of real people in their most recent campaign. How novel...use the very people that you would hope would buy your product. Doesn't take a genius to realize the value in migrating away from fooling people and insulting their intelligence to respecting them through authentic messaging.

It's part of a very strong trend which underpins the new consumerism brought about through/by new marketing: "consumers aren't as stupid as they used to be" iow, fool me once, screw you! You don't get a second chance anymore...

Brian Roberts take credit for Joseph Jaffe's ideas

WOW, what a compliment! Not only has Chief Exective of Comcast, Brian Roberts, read my book, but he's actually taken some of my ideas (Pages 162-164) to heart (and taken credit for them, but that's ok...although I would like him to pay me my dime!)

In this Reuters article, Roberts talks about how search is coming to a TV near you. The digitization of all content (specifically video content on or off TV) is going to pretty much change everything.

"If you're going to bring Internet-like capabilities to television, eventually, search is going to be as critical to the TV as it is to the PC"

New Section on Jaffe Juice: Opening Remarks to Court TV

Engagement. A word that you had better get used to hearing over and over again. So much so that I've created a new category here on Jaffe Juice, "The Engagement Wars" so you're always just one click away from any and all things engagement-oriented.

Opening remarks to Charlie Collier, EVP and GM of Advertising Sales at Court TV, who in his interview with Brian Steinberg at the WSJ, talks about how he is dialling into 2 of the 3 nodes of the new marketing trinity: REACH, CONNECT (and EFFECT)

In a secretivesque pact with select agencies (apparently forged in blood), deals are based in terms of minimum audience size AND viewer attention. The methodology is based on Nielsen retention numbers and 11 other herbs and spices (read: you gotta pay to play)

Charlie...I'm engaged. Wanna do lunch? On or off the record. Give me a buzz.

Brief, the impossible brief - an open letter to BMW

Dear BMW,

I recently read the highlights of your RFP as per your confidential memo to a handful of agencies, thanks to our friends at Adweek, and I must say it was priceless. Almost as funny as Wedding Crashers actually.

Your brief is interesting to me as it contains a truly rich dichotomy of the verbiage which I think both extol what is wrong with the business today...and at the same time, what needs to happen in order to rescue and resuscitate it. So my question is...which one will it be? Will the real BMW please stand up. I'm eager to know whether - behind the Select Resources International facade (in other words, did the write the brief or did you) - there is a client truly committed to change and new marketing...or just one intent on lip service.

South Africa (my home country) has had a love affair with your brand for the longest time and not coincidentally, I recall some of the most creative, landmark advertising for BMW which I believe dialled into the very challenge you've cited in your brief i.e. creativity (which) has not kept pace with engineering, hence the perceptual parity which you refer to, but I digress...