You know how you get a song stuck in your head, and you can’t delete it, no matter how hard you try? And it’s never a good song. It’s always something annoying, like Uptown Girl, or Jingle Bell Rock. Or something by Cindy Lauper. That happens a lot. But lately, because I watch a lot of sports on TV, I am tortured by the simple, three-word jingle that I hear at least 5 times every night, and more on Sunday: Saved by Zero. (See? There it is, banging around your head right now.) At first I didn’t even understand what the words meant, exactly, and didn’t really bother to look up to see what product (Toyota) the song was attached to. Over time, though, and after hundreds of airings, it has leaked into my conciousness. Like radiation. Or heat rash. I can’t get rid of it. And all the time I thought I was the only one haunted by this ever-present 4-note attack, until yesterday when the afternoon drive-time sports show in Chicago announced their choices for what they call “dog food songs.” Songs that are annoying, yet catchy, and get under your skin. They listed stuff by the Carpenters, The Guess Who and Grand Funk Railroad. But #1 on their list was “Saved by Zero!” They’re stuck with it too! And so is ESPN’s Bill Simmons! He wrote that he’s gonna buy one of the cars just to drive it thru the dealership window screaming the song at the top of his lungs. And the NY Times named it “Most Annoying Commercial Ever.” And yet it continues. I just heard it again, while writing this, taunting me from the TV in the other room. If this continues we’re gonna have to start up a support group. We’ll call ourselves the “James Blunts.”
Bottled water, under attack because of the environmental mess all those plastic containers create, has turned to advertising to educate the populace about water still being a better choice for you than soda pop. Nestle, the world’s largest supplier of bottled water is running commercials to combat softer sales. Let’s see if the spots can reverse the downward trend.
When the top execs from multinational corporations go to Congress hat in hand for multi-billion dollar bailout money, their pitch is a bit less effective when they’ve stepped off private jets before landing on Capitol Hill.
That’s one of the lessons the CEOs from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler learned this week about the fine art of poor promotion. It’s not the only lesson they should be contemplating in their corporate suites, but it’s a starting point for a reality check they sorely need to make before the next round of negotiations.
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Dunkin’ Goes Chinese The Boston Globe outlines Dunkin’ Donuts plans to market its pastries and coffee in China.
Bloody Good Brand The mega popular vampire story “Twilight” is putting the small movie studio Summit Entertainment on the map. The New York Times has the story.
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A telling sign of the times is the recent news that Google and Procter and Gamble plan to job share in an effort to better target customers and prospects alike. The move is a clear indicator of how old and new school marketing is converging. Leading edge companies are trying to learn form one another to better serve their customers and continue to grow, which in the long run will be good for both firms and should lead to a better ROI as well.
To working stiffs like us, the IKEA furnishings catalog is probably as exciting as the Christie’s art auction catalog is to a multibillionaire: It’s full of cool stuff to buy that you can actually afford. But now IKEA designs have inspired actual works of art from students at the University of Oregon.
Students were to model their furniture projects after a product in the auction catalog from catalog. The pieces had to be based on the Swedish furniture giant’s principals of simplicity, multifunction and affordability. more
