Headspace

This post will focus on the app Headspace - I am so excited to be visiting their office today. In preparation for this visit, I was required to give the app a try first and I am glad I did because this is a pretty great guided meditation app! So I tried out a couple of level 1 meditations and this post will be more about the experience, what I like about the app, what I think could be improved.

The meditations are 10 minutes long and has a gentle male voice (not sure if it can be changed to a female voice) guiding you through the meditation. This really helps because there is no pressure of getting anywhere on your own as listening to the guidance helps you go with the flow and ultimately you do reach a place of calm..

The thing I found most interesting about this experience was that I was told not to try to ignore or get away from the background noises in the room I was sitting in (I mostly did this in the LMU Library), but rather to pay attention to the noises and in terms of my mind, letting it do whatever it wants to do really.

This took out the pressure that I needed to do a certain thing which actually makes it harder to actually getting to doing it, rather, the freedom allowed to letting my mind wander and paying attention to the background sounds allowed me to get to a calm place faster and helped me in being more mindful of my surroundings.

There is obviously a lot more to explore about this app as there are soundtracks available for sleeping,  sport on the go, fear of flying, cooking and eating. They also have a couple for unguided meditations which is great - because sometimes I am just curious if I can get some place without being guided and on my own journey.

What I would like to see incorporated into the app are soundtracks for studying or stress. Being so close to finals week - I am stressed and constantly working, pulling all nighters and I feel like having a couple of options for this will be very helpful! Also, to go through other moments in life, there could be soundtracks for sitting on a beach and meditating or being on top of a mountain or being in the forest. There could also be mood themes such as to overcome anxiety (which I have plenty of), sadness, frustration, stress, fear, paranoia and other such areas. 

Apart from that, I am glad I took this opportunity to try this app. It is a pretty great app that I would definitely recommend to the people around me to try out! I would give this app a 4.5/5 stars and let's remember that there is still plenty of room to expand.

Red SOLO Cup

Seriously... no matter which part of the world you are from, you recognize these! The wonderful thing about the red solo cup is it pretty much sells itself and needs little to no marketing. It's received a ton of free marketing everywhere from college campuses, to tween movies, music videos, you name it!

We learn about the 4Ps in marketing - this is a case where the 'P'roduct embodies it's brand asset which is essentially the color red. Red is a powerful color, it immediately grabs attention and stands out. But apart from this reason, I've always wondered why these cups were so popular. I mean we have seen the blue version of these cups as well, but they pretty much occupy a far less significant portion of the market share. I mean, you probably haven't seen them unless you folks in college got really fancy and creative with your weekly beer pong rituals.

Turns out that the color red also represents the flag of the United States! This perfectly explains why this is the favored choice for a cup in this country. You go 'Murica! 

This product is so simple, yet classy. It doesn't need fancy packaging or advertising to sell itself! It is a great reminder to brands that simplicity can be key and quality is most crucial.

April Foolin' with SodaStream

This April Fools ad by SodaStream is so fun and mildly convincing! Beyond being throughly entertaining, SodaStream manages to translate it's reason to believe - advocating the use of tap water and Sodastream for hydration instead of plastic bottles and the pollution that they bring - into this April Fools ad pretty smoothly.

The aesthetics and the production of this video is truly marvelous. Beyond that, it remind me of one of our own M-School's Marketing for Good project done by predecessor cohort - "Tap That".

While the ad was only done as a prank, it manages to garner attention and leads on a website. If the viewer watches the video long enough, the mystery is unraveled by Paris Hilton herself. It definitely brings brand awareness and recognition to SodaStream - prior to this ad, I did not know of the brand myself. 

The fact that this ad clearly stands out among the other April Fool ads this year has definitely impacted the brand positively as this video has been making rounds on social media!

VICKS - India

This is an ad for Vicks for their campaign #Touchofcare in India. This ad has gone viral on social media and is a piece of art in the sense that it is very rare that a brand in India takes up a social awareness cause as its primary marketing tool - let alone a cause centered around LGBTQ issues. Let's remember that same sex marriages are still not legal in India and transgenders have been extremely stigmatized and marginalized.

The ad centers around a true story about how a transgender woman adopts an orphan in India and against all odds, manages to raise her as a single parent. The ad is beautifully done, in the sense that you go through the Hero's journey and can truly feel the emotion, though the hero is not revealed until near the end of the ad.

This is necessary not only to feel the emotion behind the story but also to strike a chord among people who do hold stigma against transgenders in their hearts - because who cannot feel that they are on the wrong after watching this - love is universal and we are all people, we all die, we all have the same color of blood. We are really not that different in essence. Everyone is capable of good. 

The primary audience of this ad are the mass audience that you can tap on TV - this makes sense as Vicks is more of a necessity product that most households in India always keep in their medical kits at home. Although, the makers of this ad definitely took a bold step in bringing out this issue to the masses while knowing that there is mass social stigma against these groups of people. What adds to the emotion and makes it more real is the fact that the actors are the real characters behind the story. 

The risk seems to have paid of brilliantly as the ad has close to six million views - just on Youtube - it has been released less than a week ago! This does not include the views garnered on broadcast television, which is possibly much higher. 

Unfortunately I could not find the agency that is responsible for this ad - which I shall be updated once I find out, hopefully!

The Fearless Girl

Most of you have heard of this piece! McCann (client - State Street Global Advisors) has the wonderful privilege of coming up with this powerful installation of the 'Fearless Girl' staring straight ahead at the 'Charging Bull' on Wall Street. The installation is a representation of the fact that women are indeed powerful and fearless and urges to have that translated into roles/positions of power on Wall Street. 

The primary target for this work happens to be major financial corporations with their head offices, often on Wall Street. But honestly, considering the number of tourists who walk past the place everyday, it is a huge awareness/recognition campaign even otherwise. The insight behind the piece is that women may be smaller in size, but pack a punch!

Not surprisingly, the statue was an overnight sensation - considering the location. Also, the sculptor of the statue deserves a round of applause for not messing the facial expression up - it conveys the right kind of emotion (subtle, gentle, yet strong and fearless conveyed through facial expression and body language). This is probably the best advertising the Finance industry has seen in a while - if not EVER. So that's groundbreaking! 

The fact that a girl child was chosen rather than a grown woman is to indicate a better future than is present currently. People also tend to relate to children better - having been children themselves and parents. I mean, which parent doesn't want to see a future like that for their kids? 

The timing of this piece is noteworthy too, set on the cusp of International Women's Day which also increased its relevance and as a result, engagement. Overall, this is what marketing right looks like! I for one hope that this statue is never brought down and continues to stay put up as a symbol of women's struggle to rise and be taken seriously.

The New York Times

Truth, it's hard to know these days.

In the age of technology, one would assume that the truth is more accessible to us than ever. And yes, though accessible, it has become hard to know what the truth really is! Thanks to fake news, thanks to alternative facts, thanks to the million opinions on any given topic spread across the internet...

This is where Droga5 comes in to help The New York Times get down to the insight that truth is the ultimate reality and the pursuit of truth is worth fighting for.  Faith in conventional media in regard to its communication of 'The Truth' has been eroding, more people (specifically millennials) are choosing to look elsewhere to find the truth - often on the internet or other non-traditional outlets. The problem is these outlets are often filled with mere opinions and in some cases, outright lies. This is exactly why 'The truth is more important now than ever'.

This is a brilliant campaign aimed at restoring people's faith in The New York Times' content. The key strength of this campaign is that it has nailed the insight behind why people don't necessarily go to it seeking the truth. Now, it is on the right track to target these individuals with the right message. 'The Truth is Hard. The Truth is Hard to Find. The Truth is Hard to Know' - this we can all agree on.

I also like that the ad doesn't necessarily take a political stand - this means that it is tapping into a bigger market by not alienating any section of society (although, people are so sensitive these days, you never really know for sure!). It asserts the importance of independent journalism and credible media in this day and age.

A LOVE SONG

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, let's talk about love. If anyone truly deserves our love, and all of our love - each and every single one of our's - then it has to be our planet! Our existence and survival would have simply not been possible without it and so, our planet must be celebrated!

This campaign by the Climate Coalition, comprising of over 100 UK based climate-related organizations, aims to send that message across.. 

The video is a poetic narrative of everything that we love about the planet and take for granted, which eventually breaks into a song, a love song.

The most obvious strength of the campaign is that the visuals are stunning and the narrators are well-known and respected. The narrative itself is beautifully executed. 

It targets a wide audience, at a time when the climate change conversation is extremely crucial, yet ridiculed by startling number of individuals who are hold true power to make a difference with regard to the issue.

Engagement is key and the more people that engage, the more people that become aware and most importantly, the more people that take action - the better our chances of survival. And that is exactly this campaign's objective. 

GETTING NAUGHTY WITH SNICKERS

Sports Illustrated issued it's annual Swimsuit issue and Snickers took it upon itself to make it a parody! 

Snickers and Sports Illustrated have a relationship - a relationship that is three years old where one constantly is reminding the other of the consequences of not eating. A truly contrasting yet harmonious partnership!

This year's marketing campaign tries to convey what happens when an editor who is mightily impaired by hunger tries to put a magazine together - he/she ends up using an less than ideal substitute for the back cover. 

The campaign plays on the idea that most of the models who appear on Sports Illustrated are hungry due to the fact that they look so thin. It is a humorous dig at the image that Sports Illustrated portrays - and one that works harmoniously well surprisingly!

It seems to target the type of individual that reads Sports Illustrated, probably male in his 30s who is fond of an active lifestyle. This works well as I feel like Snickers is more preferred by males and those who are fond of an active lifestyle would surely not starve themselves and can find humor in Snicker's positioning - 'a snickers a day keeps the hunger away', which works pretty great for Snicker's!

The strength of this campaign lies in that it seems to know it's target audience pretty well and that humor almost always works! A potential weakness (if at all) is that Sports Illustrated readers are limited, therefore, the campaign's scope isn't as widespread as, say, a Superbowl commercial.

SUPERBOWL SUNDAY

FYI: The only reason I watch Superbowl is to check out the ads. Fun fact: Until this year, I didn't know Superbowl was about about football.

That aside, I knew this year's Superbowl ads were going to be interesting given the political climate in the country right now. We were told several times at agencies as well as in class that brands were going to try to take advantage of the political environment to take a stand in order to appeal to their market and that is pretty much exactly what we saw - a lot!

Perhaps one of the ads that was discussed the most is the Budweiser commercial. 

The commercial follows the journey of Budweiser's founder - an immigrant from Germany in the 1800s. Once he sets foot in American soil, he is met with disdain and made to feel uninvited. Despite the setbacks, the man overcomes and manages to build the Budweiser empire. 

His story is extremely relevant in the current political context, where 'immigrant' is made to seem like a dirty word. Truth be told, America has been enriched by countless immigrants with big dreams similar to himself - I mean, Elon Musk is an immigrant! America is pretty darn lucky to have him if you ask me. 

However, the commercial was met with backlash from Trump supporters who perceived it to be taking a dig at Donald Trump's political position on immigration. There were several tweets on those saying that they disagreed on Budweiser's position and that 'they wanted LEGAL immigration' - fair, but I don't understand the hate. In my opinion, Budweiser wasn't trying to take a political stand, but rather, was sending out a positive message that ambitious, driven people (including immigrants) add value to the American economy and society. 

The good news for Budweiser is that a lot more people positively aligned themselves with the message than otherwise. Besides, it might make little difference to Budweiser in terms of sales considering how much Americans love their Buds (Trump supporters included)! 

84 Lumber's commercial is also one with a huge political message. Interestingly it was also a commercial that received backlash from both democrats as well as the republicans.

The commercial follows the journey of a mother and her daughter as they embark on the long and arduous journey of trying to cross the border in pursuit of the American Dream. When they finally they approach the border, they are greeted by The Wall and are torn apart with despair. 

But their journey doesn't end. They find a huge door on the wall and it opens to let them in. The commercial ends with the slogan, 'The will to succeed is always welcome here'. 

I personally liked the commercial - although I can see how it might have been confusing to a lot of people. The leftists assumed that it endorses the idea of The Wall whereas the right-wing came to assume that it promoted illegal immigration. 

For me, the ad came across as very middle-ground. 'The will to succeed is always welcome here' but it has to be done through the legal channels aka The Door. Sadly, for many that door doesn't open as easily as it does in the commercial - may be that is for the best, but, may be if only the door had a little more compassion in some cases, may be if only the door could know who has the will to succeed. If only. 

Overall the Superbowl ads and their reactions summed up the mood of all factions of the American society - and that's at least a good thing representation wise, HA!

SONIC SWEETNER

Scientists have tried to correlate the connection between listening to music and taste perception. Apparently, listening to a certain kind of music while eating/drinking may have an effect on the way your food/drink tastes to you - for example: High pitched musical notes make people perceive food as sweeter. 

Shanghai's Xin Cafe recently put this to test in their campaign that was aimed at reducing sugar consumption among the Chinese people. Customers would plug their headphones at the base of their coffee cup which has an embedded soundtrack and listen to it as they sipped their drink. About 63% said their drinks tasted sweeter.

 The increasing rates of obesity in China, thanks to western-style fast foods and sugar based drinks has inspired Xin Cafe to come up with this campaign with the help of their marketing agency - Beijing Dentsu. 

The campaign was mainly targeted at Xin Cafe's customers - Xin Cafe is positioned as a creative workspace and as a result, it made sense to come up with a creative idea in order to make people more aware/conscious about overconsumption of sugar. The creativity, appeal and engagement of the campaign has garnered a lot of attention, and it's message has extended itself beyond Xin Cafe's customers making the campaign a success!

In terms of weakness, the only one I can think of is that people perceive music very differently - therefore, I am unsure how much of a difference this might make in regard to overconsumption of sugar. Although 63% is a fairly good statistic to show that a difference was noticeable, I find it difficult to imagine a world where we would have to plug in a pair of headphones every time we drink coffee for example, in order to consume less sugar. What if I want to listen to some jazz while I drink my coffee instead of high pitched noises? 

Regardless, this was a very interesting marketing piece and something that I would be very interested in participating to see the difference for myself!

To see if it works for you, find the soundtrack here: http://xincafe.cn/sonicsweetener/en/

Sandy Hook Promise

BEFORE YOU READ ANYTHING BELOW, I URGE YOU TO WATCH THIS VIDEO

Where do I even start!? I am so glad to get the opportunity to post this ad for my last 'Work of the Week' this year! 

As I was watching this video, I was carried away by Evan's story just like most of you, not paying any heed to what was happening around him. Just like how most people are so lost in their own bubble and do not care to look around and notice what is happening around them. If we only paid more attention to our surrounding environment, understand what's wrong and take an immediate action, most of the problems we face today would drastically reduce - including gun violence.

Thank you BBDO New York & Sandy Hook Promise for such an effective, hard-hitting awareness video! It is beautifully executed - as a viewer, you really don't expect what's coming at you (just like how students at Sandy Hook Elementary School didn't see it coming). And that's what creates an impact, because in a sense, as a viewer you go through a similar shock  and trauma (although to an infinitely mellow sense) that the victims have been through. Later, we are toldwhat can be done to prevent such incidents from happening - by just paying attention and taking timely action.

Sandy Hook Promise says 80 percent of school shooters and 70 percent of individuals who completed suicides told someone of their plans before taking action—but all too often, no one intervenes.

Unicef - Violence Against Children

This Unicef PSA conveys the message that violence that children experience scar them for life and carry over as adults. The ad shows us that many people elect to get tattoos representing sentimental value or happy memories, whereas, children do not elect to get these scars but are marked by scars they don't ask for - it's a beautiful visual representation of the emotionally scarring reality that child violence has on its victims. 

David Beckham has been an UNICEF ambassador for a long time. I don't particularly support using him as an ambassador as he has been overused by countless brands before, so his image and his representations are somehow lost in my mind - I wouldn't remember what brands he represents as he has been the image for too many of them to remember. However, since this ad required the use of tattoos and David Beckham has tattoos - it is an interesting way to tell a story and make a point.

Allegro

I've never heard of Allegro before - I learnt that they are a popular online marketplace in Poland. In this holiday ad, they are trying to appeal to the English. The ad is a story about how an elderly Polish man is trying to learn English, through ordering an 'English for Beginners' course on Allegro. Later, he buys a suitcase on the marketplace and travels to Argentina, to meet his grand-daughter who he has never met before and who, by the looks of it, doesn't speak Polish. 

The story is really touching and cute. It's about the role English plays in unifying people around the world as the world continues to get smaller. It is also about the divide that exists between the current generations and the older generations - not just the digital divide but also as a result of the natural synthesis of societal norms.

The ad makes a personal connection with its audience. In the end it asks in Polish, 'And you? What are you looking for?' - this doesn't just mean materialistically but also in terms of personal life goals.  

This ad definitely made me seek out who was responsible for such a touching ad - which in this case meant seeking out Allegro.

Wendy's + Sriracha

I've never been to Wendy's or know much about their food - I assume they are just like every other fast food chain in the USA. However, I do know plenty of Sriracha addicts - my boyfriend being one of them. To those who don't know, Sriracha addicts are just like ketchup addicts, except magnified ten fold. They want Sriracha on literally everything - their eggs, chips, pho, may be even ice-cream, who knows!

Which is why I think these series of videos on Youtube (I haven't posted them all there as there are too many of them - feel free to go check it out!) is a job well done, because they really understand the Sriracha lover! They have nailed their target customer and truly understand what that target customer wants - which is Sriracha in literally everything.

Whether Wendy's truly speaks Sriracha is something I cannot tell before trying them out, but my boyfriend looked wildly interested when I was watching their Sriracha ads.

Animals in Ads - John Lewis

John Lewis' 2016 Christmas spot features a bunch of animals -- a boxer dog, two foxes, a badger, a hedgehog and a squirrel -- bouncing on a trampoline. But, only the dog is a real-life animal, and even most of what we of the dog is his digital double.

All the other animals were CGI renderings. The opportunities to advertisers due to such technologies are huge. It raises the question if there will be any need for real animals in the future of advertising.

While it is said that sometimes using real animals gives a better effect in comparison to using CGI, I must disagree on an ethical level. I am strongly against the use of animals for human exploit - be it in films, advertisements, circus, magic shows or any kind of activity deemed for human entertainment.

Technology is a gift in the sense that it can draw attention and an emotional connection that (most) humans naturally have towards animals for human purposes without exploiting these animals. And John Lewis is setting a good example of how this can be accomplished - the pay-offs were huge. 

 "Buster the Boxer" is already John Lewis's most-shared Christmas ad of all time, with over 1.1 million shares and 53.5 million social media views -- and it's only mid-November.

Gopro Hero5

Go Pro came out with this new ad for the Hero5.  It is made using scenic, beautiful GoPro shots which is an appropriate way to create an ad video for a camera company - using their own cameras! It adds a personal touch and brings out a flavor about what the product is all about.

The fun music and a leisurely, adventurous vibe of the video is an accurate portrayal of what the brand/product is and what it stands for.  GoPros are usually used when embarking on a leisurely adventure - regular iPhone cameras are inconvenient during these times and so are heavy old DSLRs. 

The ad also takes on an interesting personality as nature and adventure are interesting endeavors. At this point of time, there aren't too many brands that play-off these aspects - the only other brands that come to mind who have adopted a similar approach are The North Face and Redbull.  So, there is still plenty of room to play with here!

Microsoft Surface Studio

It's Apple Vs. Windows. And this time, Microsoft seems to be doing something right. Comparing the new Macbook Pro to the Microsoft Surface Studio, you'd have to admit that Surface Studio kicks Macbook Pro in the tooshy! It is not that hard to come to that conclusion even for a hard core Apple fanatic. 

This video by Microsoft further reaffirms this statement. The perfect ad for the perfect potential breakthrough product. The way it has been captured is very visually stunning and stimulating. The background music is a whole another conversation. It is perfect for the style of  visual representation in the video. 

Besides simply being visually appealing, the video does a beautiful job of showcasing the functionality of the computer. This is, IMO, the best way they could have done the video, as people need to see that to switch their loyalties from other products such as Apple - just any entertaining and captivating ad won't do. 

Overall, it has me convinced. I'd shell out my money to buy this versus the new Mac & if it can have this effect on me, I'm sure it has that effect on many others!

What's Burger King going to be this Halloween?

McDonald's.  Because that's the scariest thing BK can think of - it's lead competitor.

I love BK for how they try to collaborate and poke fun around McDonald's in the most creative, non-offense, yet persuasive way. 

This stuff is seriously attention grabbing - people are not going to forget this immediately and move on with their day. It demands more than a quick glance!

It was funny to watch people wonder if it was actually BK or McDonald's.... That's what a Halloween Costume done right looks like!

Also, what I love about this is: it doesn't seem like it took a lot of money to make the costume itself and the promotional packaging materials! The most effective use of money to target and grab the attention of a good size of people during the festive season seems to be what BK was going for. 

And on that note...

Have a Spooky Halloween everyone! Stay clear of the clowns.

'Difference Makes Us' - Etsy

The latest Etsy ad looks like a lesson on subcultures in materialism...

Etsy is one of my favorite shopping sites ever - it fulfills my unique materialistic needs. If Amazon is Caesar salad, then Etsy is possibly one of those unique salads you only get at a mom and pop restaurant (okay, this may not be the best metaphor but it's what I've got right now).

Perhaps that's why it took forever for them to come up with a global advertising campaign - Etsy is generally not perceived as a shopping site for the masses but rather those people who have a distinctive taste materialistically (I choose to call this materialistic subculture).

Handmade and vintage items may not be for everyone - but money is for everyone and Etsy needs that money from as many people as possible to thrive (i.e, their objective).

It is clear that Etsy wants to expand it's target market beyond the occasional flower children who shop there. So with it's latest marketing campaign (as you can see from the ad above), it is coming out and saying 'We don't just cater to flower children, we also cater to hipsters, goths, punks, religious people, the organized, the unorganized, the underage, you name it! So just shop with us and give us your money'.

If you had to pick a coffee mug to describe yourself - which one would you pick?

I believe Etsy's present campaign is true to it's brand - Etsy feeds on difference and expression of one's truly unique individuality and this campaign communicates that to it's audience - that difference makes Etsy possible.

#CatsNotAds Project

#CatsNotAds started off as a fundraising campaign by Glimpse Collective (a group of friends who want to use creativity for good - much like our very own M-School's Marketing for Good project).

What did they do? Replaced 68 Tube Station adverts with pictures of cats!

'CATS' is surprisingly Glimpse's first project - which stands for 'Citizens Advertising Takeover Service'. What are their objectives?

1) To inspire people to think differently about the world and realize they have the power to change it - aka using creativity for good aka marketing for good aka what I do in M-School.

They asked themselves "imagine a world where friends and experiences were more valuable than stuff you can buy". I suppose this can qualify as experiential marketing and this specific campaign targets commuters who commute through the Clapham Common Tube Station.

Marketing has become so much about trying to sell you 'stuff' but the most important things in life are the kind of things you cannot buy at a store. Why shouldn't marketing focus on the more important things in life?

My mind screams 'where is the $$$ in that!', but hey, it could be fun and you don't always get paid to have fun.

2) Raise $30500 to aid future campaigns to create 'glimpses' of a world where things could be better and in the process, make it better.

Here's a glimpse of a better world: catflaps for gateways!

Seriously though, wouldn't it be great to not worry about that gadget we don't need or that body we don't have and simply look around us and just feel good

The cat lady in me is biased of course. But the point of this campaign are not the cats themselves (cats=publicity, we all know how much the internet loves cats) but the idea that public spaces should make the public feel good rather than insecure or bombarded. 

              So let's get set and get out there and make a better world!!!!