Tag: advertising

Call it a cliche. Call it gratuitously opportunistic. Call it what you will. But we know that whenever we run a post featuring a new, popular or funny commercial, your clicking fingers get awfully itchy. (Don't deny it. We have the stats to prove it.) Hence, here they are, the best and worst of the Super Bowl ads for 2012 (according to Anthill).

There's something about beer commercials that always seems to elevate this genre of advertising just that little bit above regular commercials. Perhaps it's the vast budgets. Perhaps it's the elasticity of the subject matter. Or perhaps it's simply the inspiration that comes from product testing. (And beer account managers do like to product test. Most days, from... like... now.)

My husband Robert and I started our business only six years ago. We have always used TV and print advertising to drive business, but it has taken a while to get our heads around online marketing. Last week, we attended the Yellow Pages Driving Your Business Series digital marketing seminar in Brisbane, and picked up some really important tips that we can now use in our own business. These are the top six hot tips that we took away from the event.

Billy Tucker is CEO of the group-buying discount website, Cudo.com. In this podcast, he talks with Leon and Garry about Cudo's use of TV advertising to target the average consumer, how this publicity helps merchants find new customers, and the relevance of group buying in the post-GFC era.

Confectionery brand Skittles has already infiltrated the pantheon of unforgettable tag-lines with its 'Taste the Rainbow' slogan. In this nifty 'made-for-YouTube' series of clips, viewers are asked to 'Touch the rainbow'. The concept is simple, novel and we challenge you to not hunger for a Skittle once this "cute but weird kitty cat" has its way with you.

Here’s your brief: You are to create a sign that will be posted in public that needs to do one thing – change behaviour. You can determine the shape of the sign, but it must include only three colours (or less), one graphic and up to three letters or numbers. Now, remember your audience will be very distracted as they come across your sign. They could be in a life threatening situation, and have milliseconds to process your message. Are you up to the challenge?

With the ease and popularity of electronic marketing on the rise, there has never been a better time to take a new look at direct marketing. But to cut through the overload of promotional material, catalogues, brochures and free samples that we are bombarded with everyday, you need to get a little creative, so here are five steps to keep you on track...

How many times have you heard people say, “I’ll wait for the economy to pick-up” or “I’m getting ready for the next big wave”? If you only had a year to improve your business and get it running like a well-oiled, profit-making machine, would you sit and wait for the optimal external factors to arise?

When this commercial for the most recent edition in the 'Call of Duty' franchise was released in early November, I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cringe. The genius of the 60 second advertisement, by Omnicom Group's TBWA/Chiat/Day, is that it's for a video game but does not feature any footage of the game itself.

Siimon Reynolds grew The Photon Group from a two-person shop to an ASX-listed enterprise, employing over 6,000 staff, with a value of $500m at its peak, making it the 15th largest marketing group in the world. He speaks with Jack Delosa about how to achieve marketing success, the subject of his recent book, Why People Fail.

The Old Spice commercial captured the imagination of marketers the world over by demonstrating how clever advertising can be used to bypass traditional media (and the costs). And it clearly sold a lot of deodorant. But there is one more test that any media and marketing phenomena must pass before it enters the Anthill Hall of Fame. And, yes, Old Spice now qualifies.

If you're a sucker for mobile phone technologies, prepare to be wowed. In fact, if this amazing concept phone ever becomes a reality, it's likely that every device you own right now will suddenly look and feel like the single-purpose brick you carried around circa 1990.

We wrote about Coca-Cola's 'Happiness machine' when it first appeared in an unnamed US university campus in January. Indeed, we asked whether it could be the 'worst viral campaign' ever, simply because it seemed so contrived. However, the pimped-out vending machine is back. This time, in Europe.

Google’s acquisition of SocialDeck at the end of August made it the 11th social media-related company Google has snapped up so far this year – five of them in August alone. The buying spree raises questions as to where the company is heading with its much-anticipated play in social networking. What Google needs, and what is not yet evident, is a coherent strategy for social networking that pulls together the disjointed pieces of its growing social media portfolio.

At some point, many small businesses feel stuck – stuck behind a larger competitor with resources that far outstrips their own. All is not lost though because, according to Fiona Mackenzie, these businesses are prime candidates to turn to the Internet which offers a level playing field and where a small one-man band can be bigger than Goliath. Start with thinking small, she tells Anthill.

Move over Old Spice. There's a new viral campaign in cyberland that's stealing your chatter. This addictive 'choose your own adventure' inspired advertising campaign for European stationary brand Tipp-Ex takes the viral power of bears on YouTube (think John West) and adds a layer of interactivity (think Burger King's Subservient Chicken).

This week, the satirical commentary program rose even higher in our approval ratings when it unintentionally became a serious, political production house for the Greens when this 'fake' TV spot was aired on Wednesday night. Regular Gruen panelist Leo Burnett CEO Todd Sampson said on the program to its creators from Sydney agency Republic of Everyone, "It's the best ad The Greens have ever done. I'm sure you'll get a phone call". And they did.

This week, the satirical commentary program rose even higher in our approval ratings when it unintentionally became a serious, political production house for the Greens when this 'fake' TV spot was aired on Wednesday night. Regular Gruen panelist Leo Burnett CEO Todd Sampson said on the program to its creators from Sydney agency Republic of Everyone, "It's the best ad The Greens have ever done. I'm sure you'll get a phone call". And they did.

My business partner, Matt, and I work at MTV, Matt in Digital and me in Marketing. The idea for The Loop was born out of my frustration in finding fresh creative talent - we were overly dependent on word of mouth and incredible people were slipping through the net. On the flip side, Matt, being the digital guy, was constantly being asked by other creatives for advice on the best way to build their own websites to showcase their work online and promote themselves to potential employers. We brought these two frustrations together and The Loop was born.

Rory Sutherland uses the theory of behavioural economics and a number of humorous but valid examples to explain that, when faced with big challenges, the common response of most corporations and governments is to seek big, expensive fixes. In doing so, more obvious and cheaper solutions that stand a higher chance of success are generally ignored.