Alzheimer's Society Helps Canadians Remember

According to the National Institute on Aging, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia among older people. As the disease progresses, it destroys memory and basic thinking skills, making it difficult to conduct even the simplest of tasks.

While just about everyone has heard of Alzheimer's, the understanding of this disease is somewhat limited. A recent study by the Alzheimer's Society of B.C. actually revealed a troubling lack of awareness about Alzheimer’s disease among Canadian Baby Boomers.  

So, they set out to make Canadian Boomers more aware of Alzheimer's by constructing a 30-foot wall - made up of 1,000 yellow sticky notes - that spelled REMEMBER in downtown Vancouver.

According to the group: "Each of the 1,000 removable sticky notes has its own reminder printed on it: Don’t forget the Investors Group Walk for Memories. The public will be encouraged to further aid their own memory by taking a removable sticky home with them. As the sticky notes are removed, the display will eventually fade like the memories held by a person living with dementia." (For more information, go here.)

What a great awareness-building idea. Now, if we can just find a cure... 

Ashley Martin: Banned or PR Stunt?

It's all over the news today - Fox has rejected Ashley Madison's Super Bowl spot.

Over the years, we've come to expect that a handful of ads will be censored by the networks. In Super Bowl 2010, PETA, KGB, and Go Daddy all had ads that never saw the light of day on Super Bowl Sunday. 

In many ways, we enjoy watching these ads just as much (or in some cases, even more) than those that are aired on Super Bowl Sunday. For instance, look at the number of YouTube views for three of last year's banned commercials:

PETA            160,783
KBG             332,713
Go Daddy     930,714         

While viewership may not be in the millions, remember that each of these views came at no cost to the company.

People wonder why or how these ads flew through the approval process in their companies without raising a few eye brows. Well, the plain and simple truth is this ... they didn't. Many, if not all of these companies, never expected the networks to approve their ads for the Super Bowl.

Think about it, does a company like Ashley Martin really want to spend $3 million for 30 seconds of fame? Or would they rather pay the production costs to create the ad and then wallow in all the free publicity?

My money is on the latter. 

P.S. By the way, I just helped them achieve their goal by writing this blog. 

Target's Big Baby Billboard

On New Year's Day, Target Baby launched a birth announcement campaign to welcome babies around the world.

From December 31 through January 6, proud moms and dads headed out to the Target Baby Facebook page to enter the name, weight, and birth details of their baby. Once created, they could share their customized digital baby announcement with family and friends via Facebook, twitter or email.

But, that was just the beginning...

Parents could also submit their baby's name for inclusion on the "Big Baby Billboard,"  a 40-foot high refrigerator magnet located in New York and Los Angeles.  For five days, workers continually changed the billboard to reflect the birth details of new baby after new baby, like:

Matthew J. Leonard

8 lbs 5 oz

December 10, 2010

12:46 am

Barnstable, MA

Or...

Kylie Lynn Vasquez

7 lbs 14 oz

November 28, 2010

12:47 am

Annaheim, CA

The purpose of this changing act?

To capture a smidgen of the joy that new parents feel when their baby enters the world and pass it on to others.

Birth announcements ... courtesy of Target.

German YaLook.com Begs You To Take A Look

 

The German fashion apparel website, Ya Look, serves up a positively charming print campaign that begs you to learn more about what they have to offer.

YaLook.com is a recent online start-up in the German market. Its portal showcases the fashions of more than 60 trendy brands, like Diesel, Lagerfeld, and Kookai. 

The challenge:

How do you entice people to visit your new website?

The answer:

 
Use some of the fashionable clothes you're selling to create "fashion faces." 

The critique:

 
Let's face it - This is fabulous!

Caribou Coffee Turns Up The Heat

Everyone knows that Minnesota can be darn cold during the long and dark winter months. I'm sure many a traveler stops at the drive-through of the local Caribou to get a steaming cup of coffee on their way to work ... not only for the much-needed jolt of caffeine, but also as a morning dose of toasty warmth.

But, how about travelers that are forced to brave the elements and ride the bus to work every day? Well, Caribou Coffee has found a clever way to comfort those unfortunate souls.

In order to promote their new line of hot breakfast sandwiches, Caribou has literally turned up the heat in Minnesota area bus shelters. Bus travelers can now warm up while waiting for their bus ... in the giant sized oven provided by Caribou.

A cozy, warm way for Caribou Coffee to serve up its marketing message, while simultaneously endearing the target to its brand.  Nicely done, Caribou!

AT&T Lets You In On The Joke

Have you ever felt left out of a joke?

Such is the case with the latest commercial from AT&T.

A carpool full of business people are driving along, when one man's phone dings. Ah, a message has arrived!  He opens the message and breaks into uproarious laughter ... all while his  business associates sit by numbly, wondering what is so hilarious.

Moments laughter - after their messages download on to their phones - they simultaneously break out into riotous laughter. 

Only then are we let in on the joke. The voiceover tells us, "Don't be left behind. AT&T - the nation's fastest mobile broadband network - is getting faster with 4G."

I love this commercial. It is a far more effective way to tell me that AT&T has a fast network than lulling me to sleep with maps and diatribes on the speed of their network. AT&T picked a great straight man for the part, a pseudo-nerdy looking guy with a booming laugh, who begs you to listen and watch ... waiting until we, too, can be let in on this great joke.

Bing Offers a Cure For Search Overload

Everywhere we go, we are assaulted by messages.  So many messages that sometimes we feel paralyzed. 

So, we go to Google and search for answers. And instead, we get pages and pages and pages of possible solutions, leaving us even more paralyzed than when we started.

How do you cull through all the data to make a decision? 

Just who should you trust?

In steps Bing ... with a cure for search overload.

With a series of truly funny ads, Bing illustrates how confusing information can be when we receive too much of it. Whether delivered through their supermarket, pregnant, cell phone, stock brokers, or traffic jam ad, Bing intrigues you just enough that you remain focused on the TV all the way to the end of the ad. 

Then the payout.

A super comes across the screen, laying out the problem: 

What has search overload done to us?

Then the solution:

Bing & Decide

I absolutely love this campaign.  A meaningful message poignantly delivered with a twist of humor. Bull's eye.