Camp Gyno: My New Favorite Ad

It's honest. It's true. And it includes the word "vagina" several times without anyone cringing. I LOVE THIS AD!

My New Favorite Commercial: OH YEAH!!!

Touching Survivor Story Told Differently

I saw an article on another site about this ad from Arnold Palmer Hospital and had to give it a look. It's one of the best hospital pieces that I've seen done for a few reasons:

1. It's very emotionally compelling. I was choking back tears at work, but mostly because I loathe crying at work for any reason. 
2. The doctor appears SANS lab coat and tells his personal experience with Chloe and her father. He doesn't present her like a case study. He appears human.
3. So many hospital ads feature the patients. While this ad does have Chloe's story in it and does include shots of her parents, the only voice you hear is the doctor's. 
4. It's simple and it's short. Too many online videos try to viral but fail because they're too damn long. The average person will watch videos without clicking off that are about 3 minutes long MAX. 

Having worked on medical patient stories for a good part of my career, this one hit home and not only touched me, but made me want to replicate it. But here's something that every PR/ Marketing/ Advertising person struggles with: how do you find these stories? So many times, they go untold simply because they don't float around to the right people. But when they do. . .Magic. I say this because everyone has a job that they hear interesting things at. When you hear them, do me a favor and tell someone in your communications or PR/marketing department.

What do you think? Is this video a touching success or just like everything else?

One Word: Snarky

I saw this video a few days ago and it continues to make me laugh so I am sharing it. This is for all those social media managers and PR people who WISH we could respond like this. And kudos to Bodyform for having the guts as a brand to do it. It's hilarious! And for the agency who executed I'm sure it was the one time their client said "make us a viral video" and they did.

I especially love the blue water she drinks from. It's a snarky and awesome video. You're welcome.

For the background on what prompted the video, here you go.

There's One Rule

I was cracking up watching a Little Caesar's commercial the other day and Chef asked me to replay it. Not only did he chuckle, but at the end he said "That's my friend!". Turns out one of his buddies, a funny dude who occasionally does gigs like this, is the guy who must abide by one rule. Check it out and chuckle.

And I Thought It was Hard Sleeping With Pixie Bobs

Try a rescue panther! Chef and I are loving some of the new Geico ads. Well, I'm not sure if Chef loves them, but he knows that quoting them will crack me up.
 

How 'bout some Ronald TONIGHT?! This is one of my friends' go-to karaoke song. I will never look at it the same way again.

Pitch Perfect Advertising

I saw this video tonight watching the World Series. It's about a guy who decided he was going to win $1 million by learning to play a video game and win a content to pitch a simulated perfect game. It's a pretty long ad in TV terms-- about two minutes--and it aired during the world series, so I'm sure it cost a pretty penny, but I have to so that it was spot on. Google has been making some great ads lately. The one where the dad sets up a gmail account to email his daughter from birth? Brought tears to my eyes.

I don't know who's doing their advertising now (and if you google it, you get a bunch of results about "adwords"--coincidence? I think not), but the ads are well done. The question becomes: does google--whose consumer services are free to use--need to advertise? Are they losing market share or is this a tactical move to protect it?

Either way, I think they're good. Check out tonight's ad here--and GO CARDINALS!:

  

My New Favorite Commercial- Thanks, VW!

This has been blasted all over lately because of the Star Wars thing coming out, but it is so cute that it gets me every time. Enjoy!

Is Jess a Boy or Girl? Burning Questions in Advertising

I have seen the Domino's commercial on many occasions and thought: Is Jess a boy or girl? It takes a few moments before I seem mostly settled that Jess is a girl. Then I think: Why would an ad agency or Domino's put Jess in a commercial if they knew this would be debated? Is that part of the transparency or a ploy?

Either way, I'm still kinda a fan of the idea of putting out good and bad stuff about your product, especially one so bemoaned. As long as there continue to be improvements to the product.

What do you think? Is Jess a boy or a girl?

UPDATE: Chef asked me to think higher on this blog post and not just to pander to the basic question. So, here's the updated call to action:


Did Domino's add Jess to accurately reflect their employee base or was it a ploy to spark debate and appeal to more pizza buyers?

Women make 80 cents to the dollar, what's up with that?

I realize that women's rights and the underrepresentation of women in high levels corporate America is not a new obstacle, but I was reading a new article on it, so it came to mind. Apparently women are up to 80 cents on the dollar for the same work. What's scary is that while women are about half the work force, they make up only 3 percent of the CEOs at the top 500 companies.

Even looking at where I work which is about 90 percent (or more) female, the majority of men who work here hold management positions. It makes me wonder what it will take --or rather how long--before leadership at all organizations are more reflective of society. It's also weird that one of the areas that I am in is one that has basically equal representation and earning potential (Advertising and Promotional Managers). I always wonder what industries or areas are dominated by females and why. Non-profit tends to be predominantly female and I think it's our incessant need to feel like what we're doing has meaning to it.

Either way, it's a continuous struggle and not one that's likely to be solved during my career--although I'll keep wishing it would.