Final Fantasy... Finally

Some of us may never truly understand what goes on inside the highly complex mind of our sneakerhead brethren and sistren (unless of course you are one yourself), but footlocker has the inside track into their minds and has taken it upon themselves to present us with their findings. The above video as well as two of their other similarly hilarious commercials (Spank and Buttershoes) allow us to examine these sneaker addicts in the many different arenas that makeup their natural environment. We see how these people operate in a school setting, we see how they operate in the comforts of their own home. This is truly ground-breaking stuff, I have to say. If not for their constant shoe fetish, these people could be mistaken for "normal". It is no wonder how for many centuries now this "condition" has gone unnoticed... and even still has not yet made an appearance in the DSM (we can only hope for its inclusion in the 5th addition.)

Below you will find one of the lead brains behind this Earth-Shattering scientific study as he takes us inside the minds of these sneakerheads. Be forewarned however, because what he says might just blow your mind... literally... or, maybe just figuratively... but still. Just be sure to proceed with caution... as this is my final fantasy... until next time my friends!

I had heard about the new Karate Kid and Jaden Smith playing the role of the puberty challenged wimpy kid turned karate warrior sometime in January (thanks to mediatakeout). But it wasn't until the Karate Kid's TV trailer played on TNT during the NBA playoffs did I really take note.

Now that said, what the... (just imagine the word that I wanted to put here for a second)... I mean, are they serious??

First, since the commercial for this trailer has been playing non-stop during the playoffs, I've had no choice but to realize how stupid this notion of moving the "kid" to china really is in comparison to say.. keeping him domestic like the original Karate Kid. But okay, with globalization being such a huge part of the world today, I can see why we move him abroad... and I'm sure getting a financial boost from Asian markets only played an insignificant role in the move (I'm obviously understating that point for purposes of sarcasm.)

Now onto my second and real issue. Why the FREAK does Jackie Chan say, "I will teach you real Kung Fu" (he says this with about 53 seconds on the clip), was it an error, NO! Because as we can clearly see, Jaden is being taught and then later attends a competition for.. (you guessed it) "real" Kung Fu. I'm not sure if the producers, directors, or writers caught this, but... Karate and Kung Fu aren't the same thing. Karate is OKINAWAN/JAPANESE and Kung Fu is CHINESE. Have you ever called a Japanese person, Chinese? Yeah... I bet the guy didn't react too well, did he? Now imagine insulting a man's way of life also. Imagine mixing a Muslim for a Jew. This is basically what this movie is doing.

I heard it argued that the marketers just wanted to make a quick buck using the name and the actors/actresses to score some movie sales. Well, that's logical, but wouldn't it be just as financially sound to call the movie Kung Fu Kid? The target audience that would have tuned in for Karate Kid purposes, would still very likely be made interested and then you also seem to create something new that is somewhat standalone from Karate Kid, but close enough for the link of "kid" to apply. People like new and original, so such a name as "Kung Fu Kid" would have been a NEW franchise, even though its based off of something old. This all while keeping from insulting anyones lifestyle or nationality.

On a side note however, the idiots for this movie, likely realized that the name for the movie was a blunder. As they've already changed the official trailer (which can be seen here), eliminating the Jackie Chan "Real Kung Fu" statement.

So I guess, the next logical question is, "will I be seeing the movie?" Sure. Just because the marketing department failed (IMO) doesn't mean the movie can't be a good "Kung Fu" movie. Though I can confidently say I won't be buying it in theaters... I'll wait for it to hit DVD or cable... because I refuse to make such insulting pockets richer. And that's my final fantasy... until next time.

Sorry everyone, the draft has come and gone and you best be sured that I WILL give each NFL team their grade. But first I wanted to let you know that I started this blog as a class project for my Multi-Media Communications class. And in the class we were responsible for doing a featured article, podcast, and a vodcast. So I wanted to post those for you all to see and critique.

HE Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

“The road is long, with many of winding turns

That lead us to (who knows) where, who knows where?

But I'm strong, strong enough to carry him - yeah

He ain't heavy - he's my brother.

So on we go

His welfare is of my concern

No burden is he to bear

We'll get there

For I know

He would not encumber me

He ain't heavy, he's my brother”

Those are the opening lines for the hit song most popularly performed by the Hollies, “He Aint Heavy, He’s My Brother.” For Thomas Bisogno these words were in his heart in 1985.

You see at the early age of twelve, Thomas’s younger brother, Michael, was diagnosed with a rare form of kidney disease. The disease also negatively impacted Michael’s blood pressure, causing him to develop hypertension. Since that point he had to take various types of medication to treat both of his conditions. Michael did, however, live a happy enough childhood, even after the illness; he played noncontact sports like softball, worked happily at the local Deli, played cards, spent Sundays watching major league baseball with his brother (Thomas), travelled to six flags and sporting events with his friends; he was no different than most other kids his age, except for his kidney issue.

It was at that point in 1985 when Michael’s kidneys finally gave out on him. Mrs. Bisogno (mother to both boys) mentioned to her eldest son, Thomas that Michael was in desperate need of a transplant for him to stay alive and Thomas preceded in doing what was needed for his brother without hesitation. He said to his mother that if he was a match, he would definitely volunteer for the transplant… and he was indeed a match.

It was on a Sunday at Albert Einstein Medical Center in the Bronx, that both Thomas and Michael were admitted. The surgery would be the next day and it was that night that Thomas laid on the hospital bed staring up at the off white ceiling of the room when he first felt anxiety. That off white ceiling was not just so, it was also a representation of the unknown that faced him in the following day; the questions, the doubts, the fear. But Thomas endured that night and came away more focused in his mission, understanding full well his own strength and understanding that Michael was NOT a burden, Michael was his brother.

Sadly though, Mrs. Bisogno, could not be there for her sons on the day of the transplant for she had passed away prior, but Thomas’s sacrifice meant that he was able to at least give life and love to his younger brother. As he was wheeled into the operation room Thomas’s doubts, his questions, his fears all once again flooded his head… and then he remembered his purpose and regained his calm. Thomas woke up after the procedure and spent the next seven days in the hospital occupied by the constant boredom of television reruns and old magazines on the night stand, while waiting for visitors to arrive. After his release from the hospital, for five weeks, he was off of work recovering. His brother Michael was not as fortunate and had to stay in the hospital for three months worth of old magazines and television reruns.

Michael lived for another four years after the transplant procedure took place, dying in 1989 at the age of only 24. His loss was a great loss for the Bisogno and extended family and all of Michael’s friends. But that lost was delayed, even if only for a short time, due in large part to Thomas’s efforts.

“If I'm laden at all

I'm laden with sadness

That everyone's heart

Isn't filled with the gladness

Of love for one another

It's a long, long road

From which there is no return

While we're on the way to there

Why not share

And the load

Doesn't weigh me down at all

He ain't heavy, he's my brother.”

Not everyone possesses the same courage that Thomas displayed when providing life for his brother, but we all have something that we can provide the people in our lives; no matter our race, sex, religion, or relation; we all were born with the capacity to love. When life challenges our morality to love, it is my hope that we are all able to rise above those challenges, but in the instance that we cannot, I hope that we may all remember Thomas’s example of courage and come to rise above our own strengths to love.

So the first round of the NFL draft has come to it's end game and I have to say, it was probably the most surprising and shocking draft that I've ever seen. Of course the first 6 picks started off as planned, with the only slight exception being the Chiefs taking Eric Berry as opposed to going offensive tackle.

So other than the Superbowl, the NFL has probably no greater event in its arsenal that attracts and excites its fanbase more than the NFL draft. The NFL's marketing department understands this and that is why starting this year the NFL has extended the length of its NFL draft. What used to be a weekend event that only die hard fans might spin the entire day watching, the NFL has shifted the event into prime time with the hopes of racking in Advertising dollars and increasing its relevance to casual fans.

So I was like umm... watching the playoffs and what do you know, I see their latest commercials (to see the other one click here) involving a repetition of words with a constant beat bouncing in the background of the video and I have to wonder whether the people who developed this commercial campaign weren't spending the vast majority of their time on failblog and youtube (which if they're a part of my generation, I'm sure they were.) But how about you decide...



Notice any similarities? You see, this is how I imagine the situation went down. We have our creative team (which consists of our copywriter and art director that make the ad) and they have a deadline that they have to meet. It's late, the coffee has run out, no more redbull in the mini-fridge, and the last five hour energy was consumed like.. five hours ago (wow... how doped up on energy were these two?). So our team is tired and they can't think of an idea and one says to another, "dude, let's like totally look at failblog to keep us up" and the other says back, "Good idea Jay, hey you remember that freakin sweet Ellis Lanksder video from a few months back? Was hilarious." and finally Jay says, "who?" So they both watch the video. And go back to their work and then WHAM! it hits Jay, "dude what if we like, had NBA players saying the same thing and stuff, no one would know the difference!" and his buddy exclaims, "Brilliant!"

You see, they didn't expect me to get to the bottom of this, but I did. And I'm bringing YOU, my oh so faithful blog readers, the scoop! Because that's how we roll. But anyways, moving on, be on the lookout for more posts than usual for this week. Not only do we have the NBA playoffs to occupy our minds, but someone (besides the millions of sports analysts throughout the world) HAS to bring you their opinion of the NFL draft. I'm sure you guys appreciated my flawless undercover reporting and are anticipating my playoff and draft breakdowns, but my final fantasy has passed... until next time.

When you're balling, biking, training, etc. just remember that you heard the secret here first! Launching a covert operation into the Nike facility I used my Jedi mind tricks to have that top Nike Executive reveal these secrets... seriously... well basically... okay, well I may have embellished the story a tiny bit.

But how about the ad, Nike continues to impress and add viral videos that serve two important functions 1.) the most important function for consumers, it entertains them and 2.) the second most important function for a company (the first being that the product sells obviously), it provides a unique selling proposition for Nike Air Sneakers. Just as Jordans aren't simply shoes that you wear when playing basketball, but rather shoes you wear when you "Want to be like Mike"; or like BMW isn't just a car but the "Ultimate Driving Machine"; or as I'm sure my lady blog readers will attest to Louboutins aren't just heels, the signature red soles scream "sexy" (and it better for someone crazy enough to spend $1000 for a pair.)

With this video Nike is telling us that "Nike Air" isn't simply some technology that makes you feel more comfortable when balling, training, biking etc. but that it has a greater value. Nike (as the video demonstrates) is taking the mystique (or "air") of its athletes and inserting it into its shoes. And the result is that you, me, and most everyone else will be more likely to buy their products to gain that "air" just like we were with "Air" Jordans... and that's my final fantasy... until next time.

So I'm sitting in my bed during the hour where stars disappear but the night is still here. My lights are all turned off and the dawn is nearing its head to the horizon line. Like every week I find myself tuning in... to my favorite show, Life Unexpected. And no, obviously its not on TV at such an hour. So obviously I'm watching it online (try and keep up, I shouldn't have to explain that to you). So anyways, this was probably the lamest episode to date (episode 8), though not bad by any means. But don't worry I'm not going to ruin it for you or anything. No I'm writing this blog because of one interesting commercial that ran during the online broadcast. How about you check it out, I'll meet you on the other side of the video...



Okay, now is that fair? I just had to spread the message. How do you think I felt. Watching my favorite show and seeing this commercial start and seeing sparkly lights dancing along the wall like butterflies and WHAM! The punch line. They even had the nerve to apologize to me (well you too)! It's definitely an effective ad, I bet you won't forget that every 47 seconds a woman is diagnosed with cervical cancer either, will you? But don't take my tone as meaning I don't find this to be serious, it's very. I wanted you all to be informed in case you hadn't previously known. And just for your information, check this out so that you can learn a little bit more about the cancer. Don't freak out or anything, but definitely be knowledgeable and be safe with your body!

Oh and sorry for being the Debby Downer with this one. I know, not the most blissful final fantasy... maybe next time.

So, I'm sure by now many of you have seen the newest Old Spice commercial "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" and if you haven't then you kind of just missed that huge video above this sentence and you might want to just give up at life... Okay maybe that's mean. I apologize, but anyways moving on... Now what makes this commercial blog worthy is that not only was it hilarious (we've seen that before, think Bud Light); not only was it brand effective (and not just some funny ad); but the firm that made the ad and is in charge of the account, Wieden+Kennedy, was actually forward thinking enough to create an entire campaign around this concept.

Other than the two "I'm on a horse" commercials, they've create a promo that I've seen not only on their website's front page (the video takes a few seconds to start) but also as a banner ad on Youtube. The promo, in addition to being pretty funny, offers us not only the ability to check out "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" but also a service called "My Perpetual Love". The service is supposed to be "guaranteed" to impress your woman; it has you fill out both your name & email and your lover's name & email and then sends ridiculous "sweet nothings" to her (by old spice) from your email. This online service all the while is just one more way to keep Old Spice relevant and top of mind to its customers. An example of one of those sweet nothings is, "I like you so much that just thinking about you makes my heart beat at a dangerously high rate that endangers my life."

Now I'd like to spotlight not just the creativity of this campaign, but also it's media planners and buyers. You literally can't escape this commercial; either from the old spice campaign itself, from the media coverage of it, or from your friends/people you know who love this ad and push it at every opportunity they get (that'd be me). Now the last two reasons are both unexpected touch points. But Wieden+Kennedy has been brilliant in reaching potential customers via their media planning and buying; they first bought space for the NBA All Star weekend (12.4 million total viewers), then continued buying space for the Winter Olympics (which at least 167 million Americans have already seen and has continued to average at least 20 million viewers a night), and then they pair that buying with spots bought on networks that cover the Olympics (such as ESPN). Not only have they had a huge television presence but they've also purchased banner ads on youtube, facebook, and who knows how many other websites. One would have a strong case for arguing that the media planners and buyers made the campaign even more than the creative people who made the hilariously funny commercial.

Wieden+Kennedy in my opinion executed the best integrated marketing campaign that I've seen. I doubt that Old Spice will be able to consistently execute their campaigns on a level consistent with this, but what I do know is that for at least the near future I will be smelling like Jet Fighters and punching instead of butterflies and salt taffy. And that's my final fantasy, until next time... I'm on a horse.

As the title alludes to, I changed my mind. In my last post I mentioned that I missed my one week grace period to jump into the superbowl commercial talk... but hey, people missed their grace periods all the time... I think. Matter of fact, being the last one into the game might just make this post more relevant then all 5000 weblogs, podcasts, and articles that came out the day after the Superbowl. So here we are, my thoughts on the Superbowl Ads of 2010.

My Top 5 Favorite Ads (While Watching Game):

1. "Stranded" Bud light Lost Parody

"Here We Go." I'm not sure about the slogan but this commercial WAS and still is absolutely hilarious! I mean you have a shot of everyone on the island completely depressed and then when presented with the choice to get off the island or to stay and party with Bud light, they constantly choose to party. And the look on the girl's face all the while, just makes the commercial that much more sweet.

2. Doritos, Casket: Guy Gets Dieing Wish

This one was better the first time around but is still pretty funny. The girl is crying her eyes out while the "dead" guy's two buddies explain the situation. I love how its DEFINITELY not serious but yet I can almost picture some guy being crazy enough to do something so stupid.

3. Audi A3 TDI Green Police

I love how this commercial doesn't take the product its introducing too seriously. The product is ECO friendly, but yet it makes fun of the whole movement of everybody going green in a sort of 80s movie theme type of fashion.

4. Doritos, House Rules: "Keep your hands off my momma and keep your hands off of my Doritos"

The commercial definitely has an amateur look to it, but this has to get laughs. I mean, the guy checking out the woman only to have some little kid putting him in his place is just too funny.

5. Coca Cola, "Hard Times" Simpsons Ad

I was never a fan of the Simpsons show, but I love this ad. It has that Slice of Life concept going for it where Coke is there to save the day and it just makes you feel happy to see everyone having a good time and lifting each other up.

Most Effective Superbowl Ads of 2010:

1. Google: Parisian Love

So if you don't get why this ad was the most effective ad than you're an idiot and don't deserve talking to... okay, maybe that's a bit harsh. But comeone, just think for a second, the whole ad has the brand "google" just sitting there in the background, name me another commercial where you've seen the brand logo staring you in the face the WHOLE one minute ad? Count the brand display in each of the following effective ads (other than Coke) and you'll see Snickers has 6 of a possible 30 seconds, Doritos with 6-7 out of 30, Cars.com had only 4 seconds out of a possible minute, and Denny's at 7 seconds of a possible 30. So to expose your target audience to your brand for a WHOLE minute after paying the same thing that everyone else paid, all the while telling a cute story that is uniquely Google... is about as perfect effectiveness as any brand can hope to have.

2. Coca Cola, "Hard Times" Simpsons Ad

This commercial is effective for three reasons; the first is fear, the economic crisis causes us to have a certain level of fear that what's happened to Barnes is a realistic possibility for happening to ourselves; secondly, Barnes is rich enough for the vast majority of Americans to separate themselves from him and to even point the finger in blaming him for his own troubles; and lastly Coke brings it all together, a man who loses his entire fortune can still be happy when given a Coke and some love. When everything is gone, there's always Coke; that's the underlying message. Not only that but just like Google Coke shows their brand logo for just over half of the one minute ad and in a Superbowl where there was no Pepsi, that's huge.

3. Snickers, “Playing football like Betty White”

I may not have found this to be most entertaining but there is already a facebook group for playing football like Betty White. This is also likely to become a small phenomenon amongst sports players. "Playing _____ like Betty White" has started to catch on amongst many different groups already and beyond that whenever you think of doing anything like Betty White, whose there to get that Brand Impression? You guessed it, Snickers is there to get that Betty White impression.

4. Doritos, House Rules: "Keep your hands off my momma and keep your hands off of my Doritos"

Much like the Betty White and Snickers mention. The above quote is catching on and becoming a sort of mini-pop phenomenon. Keep your hands off my momma and keep your hands off my Doritos. Who gets that brand impression? You guessed right again, Doritos, that's who. The only downside to this one is that unlike playing "football/basketball/baseball/etc" like Betty White, keep your hands off of (blank) can extend to any other product and get lost in the shuffle of its own phenomenon, thus giving it less legs.

5. A) Cars. com, Timothy Richmond: With Knowledge Comes Confidence

Just like the David Abernathy ad before it, the ad takes this modern day hero and basically says even this guy uses Cars.com to find the courage to buy a car. The underyling message of course being that the rest of us, most of us not ourselves being heroes, would then definitely be able to use Cars.com to increase our purchasing knowledge and therefore confidence when buying a car. The story style is unique and even without it finishing, it keys you to the fact that its a cars.com ad.

B) Denny’s Free Gland slam. Screaming Chickens

I had to include Denny's also because at the end of the day, they were unique in presenting their message about free grand-slam meals. But more than that, they also increased brand relevance. The free grand-slam is just the promotion but even if the majority of people forget about the free grand-slam that happened on Tuesday, Denny's is high enough in their subconscious that when discussing possible places to eat our for breakfast, Denny's gets the business over other competitors.

Biggest Winners:
1. Danica Patrick-
I may not ever know what GoDaddy is, but I'll never complain about getting a chance to see Danica Patrick on TV. Not only does she maintain and increase her own brand relevance, but she gets PAID by a company to do so.

2. Google-
Not only does Google pay about 3 cents per eyeball, but they had a highly effective ad that in 60 seconds just about destroyed Bing's whole ad campaign against google.

3. The Tebow Family-
So basically Tebow and his mom were having a good time on TV in front of a hundred million people.

4. Meagan Fox-
So if we didn't already know it, Meagan Fox is a national sex symbol whose hotness can cause guys to lose their mind. So... when's her next movie again?

5. Doritos-
So Anheuser Busch paid millions of dollars to not only buy the Superbowl spots, but to have top Ad talent make top commercials. Doritos paid for the slots but had amateurs make commercials for them, paying 25,000 to the top 6 best ideas. There are incentives that if reached could earn the top participant up to two million in bonuses, but A LOT of things would have to fall in place for that to happen (which they didn't). So they ended up getting great commercials, all that were very recognizable and well liked, for a good bargain price.

6. Charles Barkley-
Who cares if he looked a bit stiff in the commercial, the fact remains that as a bad actor, Barkley continues to find work as a recognizable pitchman, and once again gets paid to increase his brand relevance. Whether you hate him or love him, it makes no difference when he's continuing to get paid.

Biggest Losers:
1. Toyota-
You're already having HUGE issues with having to recall over 5 million cars and now in case there were SOME people out there that didn't know anything about the issues, you just communicated to them "Our cars (Toyota) suck and unless you want car troubles then you best avoid Toyota for at least the near future... however long that may be." Before the Superbowl Commercial I KNEW of the issue, but I didn't think it was as HUGE an issue as it is, not only does the commercial make me less likely to buy a Toyota now, but also in the future because who knows when they'll decide to cut back on price by cutting back on say... the effectiveness of their airbag units. Who needs airbags anyways?

2. Ford-
So basically Ford's big idea was to have their spokesman interview people at a gas station about how great ford is? Audi took the same "green" concept and made it exciting and made the product a hero. The Ford ads just had the cars lounging around at a gas station... how exciting. That's definitely a waste of money. They had at least 3 spots that I remember off hand and two spots were the same exact pointless commercial. I'd be furious if I were a Ford Stockholder after that waste of cash.

3. 2010 Census (Government)-
What were they trying to communicate exactly? Not only did they waste money, but whose money were they wasting again? Tax payers? Now you have people thinking (like me) that this was 2.8 million dollars could have went to the school system... do they realize how much scholarships could have been given out for 2.8 million?

4. Dodge-
Dodge just succeeded in offending woman with this ad. Not only that, does the woman buy the car? Because if she doesn't then why are the men in this story putting up with these woman they obviously don't like if they didn't treat them to the car? I don't get it and it seemed a little offensive.

5. GoDaddy-
Year in and year out, I never find out what GoDaddy "is" or "does" from viewing their commercials. All they do is tell you that there are hot girls in their ads that want to be a GoDaddy girl like Danicka Patrick. I hear something about Domain names. They essentially spend millions of dollars year after year to simply tell me about how hot Danicka Patrick is and that's not good business.

6. Joe Montana-
I just don't get why an athlete in their right mind would be allow his name to be mentioned in an ad for Sketchers Shape Ups. Joe Montana was a football player, one of the best quarterbacks of all times. Sketchers is what many look at as a kiddy brand, this just isn't a match made in heaven... at all. I feel like he's ruining his football legacy with an ad like this.

So, I successfully missed my one week window to discuss the Superbowl ads, which sort of sucks because I had my top 10, bottom 10, biggest winner, and biggest loser all chosen... but procrastination got in the way. So since that's old news by now, how about that NBA Dunk Contest?

In t-minus 15 hours, it will have arrived. Greater than any other known force to our television sets (and for that matter computers); yes, that once a year event that inlocks just over 2 of every 5 eyeballs in the US. The Superbowl (the 44th edition) is nearly here. We have two teams; the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints going head to head for all the marbles... but is this the battle that the vast majority of Americans are tuning in to watch is the question?

I have no doubt that America loves its football, but to what extent? Are there more people that watch the Superbowl for the commercials themselves (and in some cases the commercials only) as opposed to the drama entrapped within the actual game? I'm sure we all know (or are ourselves) people who watch the Superbowl only so that afterwards we can discuss the commercials that we enjoyed with friends at our leisure (or some while they're working, but hey, its not like anything bad ever happened when working a construction job and not paying complete attention, right?)

Finding an answer to the above question perhaps isn't the key however. The key, I suppose is the question itself. What does that mean for the Pinnacle of American football, has it become just like Christmas and Valentines Day, completely commercialized? Sure there is always the notion of Christ in Christmas, St. Valentine in Valentines Day, and American Football in the Superbowl... It's ALMOST sad to say (I'm an advertising major so I'm not too sad to say it...), but whether the Colts win (come on Peyton Manning!) or the Saints win (I dislike Reggie Bush), the big winner is in the Ads that spark word of mouth and bought products; that's my final fantasy... until next time.

The word came early in the afternoon from the white house; President Obama, the day before his planned State of the Union Address had to address the media on the tragic sinking (once again) of a ship many thought to be unsinkable. Former president George Bush was also noted of the event by his advisers and once again sat in silence for over 7 minutes while Children read "The Pet Goat." Sadly... his book was STILL found upside down, apparently he still hasn't yet mastered the art of reading right side up (though I guess I should commend him since I find it troubling to read upside down.)