I’m writing this post late in the game here. And if if it’s true that I’m late in the game in writing this, then what I’m about to write will probably be proved to be true as well.
The recent episode involving blogger Amy Jussel and mega-store Target, which was then followed by an outpouring of outrage from the blogosphere shows me that many of us are overestimating our power.
We’ve got so caught up in our pop-culture bullshit that over half of the kids in their later teen years don’t know about the murder of over 6 million Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, and Slavs. Great. What’s the latest on Paris? On Lindsay? On Britney?
Even ESPN and other football anchors were talking about the Tony Romo - Jessica Simpson relationship.
Arnold Worldwide has a “Truth Group” division that teamed up with Michael Franzini, an Emmy Award winning director that has produced work for MTV. So, again, for MTV’s Think Project they’ve created a couple of compelling spots to see if they can get teens to actually think. It will be a tough job. Because their parents often don’t think either.
Here’s one ad:
2 Comments » Posted on January 30th, 2008 by Jonathan Trenn
We’re getting some responses from our outreach effort for Firebrand. Some are impressive. Some aren’t. Some are downright funny.
Shel Holtz likes the idea a lot. He opines that it isn’t that we don’t like commercials; it’s that we don’t like their inerruptive nature. True. Especially when the commercials suck.
C.C. Chapman thinks the concept of Firebrand is cool, although he’s remaining cautious overall. But he thinks the idea of tying in past Super Bowl games to this year’s Big Game is a great strategy. C.C., being a Granite Stater living in Mass. is staying true to his New England roots and predicting a Patriot blowout. Good man!!
Steve Hall of Adrants is less kind. He’s trying to gauge when the Firebrand will flicker and go out. That’s odd, because Steve is usually never cynical. A warm and fuzzy guy.
Shari Leventhal, CMO of Firebrand meets Steve head on in the comments section.
And Agency Spy plain hates us. But that’s cool. We don’t know who or she is.
Yeah, I know. You hate commercials. You hate the sudden interruption of your favorite show to see three, four, or five thirty-second poorly created hard-to-differentiate video presentations on a product you don’t like, don’t want, don’t need, or don’t use.
Me too.
You want to get back to the show, the game, the newscast. See the bad guy get his ass nailed, the final two minutes of the tight game, or news on the latest scoop on the election cycle. The last thing you want to see is a series of presentations about pills that can make you pee better, a car that supposedly makes you cool, and a law firm that chases ambulances.
Me too.
But every once and a while, you’ll watch something that will catch your eye. It will make you laugh. Chuckle inside. You’ll be able to relate to it. Or you’ll be impressed because it’s impressive, not because the commercial is trying to pretend that it’s impressive with itself. Or you’ll think, shit, how did they do that?
Me too.
If that’s what happens, then that’s a commercial that will likely end up on Firebrand.
2008 is going to be a bloody great time to be a “digital marketing” — be it new marketing, new public relations, or online metrics and measurement. I can’t see anything more legitimizing than having Accenture join the fray. Welcome, Accenture! Memetrics is a bloody great name, IMHO, because I am a real meme-lover. Via the Jupiter Research Blog.