Super Bowl Ad Round-up- My Top 5

Posted by Julie | February 8th, 2010

Great game! Ads…well not so much. There were definitely some good ones in there but overall I found the lot pretty uninspiring.

I guess it just goes to prove, once again, that there is no direct relationship between money spent and creativity.

Here are my top 5 picks.

#1 Snickers- I found the use of Betty White and Abe Vigoda to be totally inspired. And what I liked as well was that this gag was not gratuitous. It highlighted the product’s energy benefit.

#2 Google- A beautiful story with the Google service as hero. My only one question mark here is whether it appealed to more casual watchers of the ads. You kind of had to really pay attention to follow the romantic story line. But very simple, elegant and Applesque.

#3 Doritos- “Don’t Touch My Mama”. Long after this one had passed the 8-10 year old boys in the room were still quoting this. My son even said the line to me first thing this morning. While some people might question the violence (slap) and use of a fresh kid, from my perspective it totally connected with the target audience. And again the product was somewhat the hero (at least as worth protecting as the mom!). The Doritos Tim ad was also quite inspired.

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QuickTwist

Posted by Julie | February 5th, 2010

Do these Tiger golf balls cross the line?

These Tiger Woods Mistress golf balls hit the news yesterday and according to the media have at least one of his alleged former mistresses up in arms.

What do you think? Is this a harmless “novelty” product taking advantage of an outrageous scandal or do you agree that there’s something darker at play here? Do these promote violence against women?

Personally I think they cross the line. I have a hard time with the notion of hittin women’s faces -even if it’s done in “sport”.

Wondering  if they will sell and who will buy them.

What’s your twist?

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Make Every Job Count

Posted by Julie | February 4th, 2010

Here’s a great story about the power of one person to brighten the day of so many others. It’s about Johnny, a supermarket bag boy, who decided to make a difference in his customer’s lives and inadvertently started a movement within his store.

Warning, put this on mute while watching. The story is told in screen titles and the music is so cloying it undermines the message a bit.

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More Spicy Video

Posted by Julie | February 3rd, 2010

Yesterday I wrote about using Video to Spice Up Things Up  in your brand communications.

In response, one BrandTwist follower sent me this video from Gillette. It   gives how-to instructions for men on keeping their private parts well-groomed.

I think their phrase “When there’s no under-brush the tree looks taller” sums up the video’s message pretty well.

Spice Things Up with Video

Posted by Julie | February 2nd, 2010

Video is not just for big brands on the Superbowl.

Even so-called “mundane” communciation can be spiced up with a little clever (and inexpensive) video play.

Here’s a great case in point. It’s a video from Image Premiums  a company that sells corporate premiums -products such as USB disks, t-shirts, water bottles, etc.

It’s worth a quick watch.

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Is it Too Late for Toyota?

Posted by Julie | February 1st, 2010

This article in Today’s New York Times about Toyota’s slow response to a deadly problem literally made me sick to my stomach.

The terror that Highway patrol man must have felt as his car careened at 120 miles an hour is unthinkable.

Many brands go through a crisis at one point or another in their history. And it’s not so much what happens but how they react that the public remembers.

The stakes seem pretty high here and the reaction to such a deadly problem too slow.

Will this blow over with a bit of clever PR back tracking or is this just too much for Toyota to recover from?

I am interested in your twist.

QuickTwist

Posted by Julie | January 29th, 2010

How good are you at saying “No”?

In a recent post on What Would Make Women Happier, learning to say no more was ranked as number #9. Interestingly it didn’t make the top 10 for the men’s list.

Personally I struggle with this a lot. It’s just not in my nature to say no. I love to help people and give advice etc. But lately I feel a bit overwhelmed. And when I over commit and end up participating in things I just don’t have the time and energy for I feel worse because I can feel that resentment bubbling up and probably showing through. I am wondering how other BrandTwist readers (men and women) deal with this. Any advice on how decide when to say “no” and how to stick with it?

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iPad: Genius or Hype?

Posted by Julie | January 28th, 2010

Unless you are living under a rock, you have no doubt seen Apple’s iPad launched yesterday.

I am in awe of the design and the user interface.  But as I fight off falling head over heels under the powerful Apple spell…I do have a few questions.
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