Svedka Girl vs. Heineken Girl

So. It's sexist. But we consumers want to see a wrestling match or pillow fight between Svedka Girl and Heineken Girl. Please commence production.

Page Interrupted

So here's our first film from This Team is Not Yet Rated Productions: It's called "Page, Interrupted." It got us into the New York Finals for the 48 Hour Film Project.

48 Hour Project Dry Run

So we practiced making a movie or the 48 Hour Project (June 15-17). It's hard. But we followed the rules and started with pulling "Superhero" out of a paper bag full of genres. It was tough, but we're a scrappy, rag-tag band of misfits, and we just might pull it together for the big game. Its not compelling content, I just want to put it out there. Cheers to "This Team Is Not Yet Rated"

Award Shows are relevant, dammit! Volume 4.

Look, I don't want to be the guy who's all about awards, I just keep stumbling opon this stuff--sorry. But alas, via 9:01am, found out that the Emmy's have stepped up and welcomed broadband programming into its pool of contestants. This is like the first person to ever scream to a crowd, "hey guys, electricity is great, you know?" and the crowd cheers back, "here here! three cheers for electricity!"
But it's promising, because they're on to something with their criteria:“With broadband, the scope is global, the concept universal, and the community, all-inclusive. The amateur is the professional is the consumer. From the small screen to the smaller screen, NBC to MySpace, on television and online, the only differentiation worth making is good content from bad,” said Christie Morrongiello, Manager Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards, NATAS.
Well put Christie, good content is compelling content. and its the only thing that will survive when broadband and tv are the same thing.

Shell Oil takes a good swing

I got a copy of the long (9 minutes) version of Shell's Eureka in my Wired mag. I watched it, so what? Also, there were 2 print ads to go with it throughout the mag. Also, the video is easily found online and TV. So good job Shell. Although, they didn't buy the search, so I ended up with sleeping bags at first. ANYWAY, it's a good effort. The movie was a bit obvious and chocked full o public relations. But, entertaining and free. I'll dub this compelling content because they covered their bases by making sure messages matched across media, and because they did a movie, however short, with high production value and effort.

Reviving the Phone

So I saw an ad for the MTV Movie Awards on the side of a phone booth. It read, for a good time call 1-877-SARAH-07. With Sarah Silverman in the picture. Brilliant.
How many times do we advertisers ask people to txt "bllsht" to 4553? Or to check out this website.com, next time your at a computer, ok?
No, this ad reminds us that phones are in all our pockets, and that a phone number is still useful. Oh, and it was entertaining. Sarah Silverman is so freaking funny. I called 6 times to hear all the different messages. Anyway, its compelling content because I got to be entertained walking down the street for a free call, and I got a message to watch the MTV movie awards, which I might do because, again, Sarah is so freaking funny.
My complaint: Why couldn't I find an image of the poster online? That's called impressions people, and the more you make available said impressions for distribution the more you get. Is it that hard?

Award Shows are relevant, dammit! Volume Three

So I went to the one show last night. And I was getting really mad, because on top of the 30 or 40 pencils TBWA\Chiat\Day NY took home, I thought they were going to give best in show to the same set of ads.
But alas, One Show, you've shown me that you can honor good advertising. Skittles and Combos are great, I mean great commercials. But the Best of Show award went to
"Tate Tracks" for the Tate Modern Museum, by Fallon London. Phew, that was close. I'm so glad it won. They asked musicians to come to the museum, pick a piece and write a song about it. In order to hear the music, you had to go to the museum and stand in front of the piece. The important thing is that people who came were truly interested, truly compelled, and exactly the target. No sweepstakes, no tv commercials, just Compelling Content at its best.
FYI: Volume 1, Volume 2

Via BeyondMadisonAvenue, I was exploring this viral campaign. The creators claim its part of the "Never Hide" big idea for RayBan. But I ask you, where is the website url, or even a logo? As for the action, where is the hiding (or the actively not hiding)? It's cool, don't get me wrong, but it is in no way compelling content. I think people will like it, and buzz will ensue, so that's a plus. And as a lifestyle piece, I think they're right on the target. But what does this video tell me about shades, or more specifically, RayBans and me together?

ThoughtEquity will help us be better

I'm interested in this business model. Stock video will be quite helpful to creative presentations at ad agencies. And as we work out the kinks of trying to put :30 spots on the internet, and work towards more useful time parameters (:10 spots, or 2 min content heavy messages, perhaps?), having a wealth of videos clip together will move us forward as advertisers. This itself is not compelling conent, but it is a means to which we can create compelling content.
I met some of the crew from TE last night, I asked them if they fund shoots, and they said that's next. Right now they're trying to gain stock and sell the idea. Also, I think its cool that they have National Geographic, HBO and the NCAA on their roster. This is a possible stream for organizing and distributing the millions and millions of hours of useful footage out there.

Because sponsorship works sometimes

Just stumbled upon QDNow, it's a site that hosts 5 different quick and dirty (currently audio) podcasts. The most famous of which is Grammar Girl. The CONTENT part is that this is very useful, very digestable podcasts about interesting things, e.g. Money, Law, Manners and Second Life (I know, it's different). The COMPELLING part is that I am totally (surprisingly) willing to listen to a :30 endorsement of the sponsor at the beginning of the podcast. If this were a preroll ad on a youtube video, or a movie trailer I'd kindly tell the sponsor to suck it, and not watch the video, not enough interest to suffer for it. But with Grammar Girl and Law Lad, the content is so useful and diverse, I am more than glad to hear an ad message. And thats how it should be, people. Give us useful, free, interesting stuff, and we'll hear your pitch. Easy.

What I've learned so far

Here's a snippet from Wikinomics, which I'm reading in order to be more compelling in my daily life.
I've learned that companies need to open up and share. That's basic. But here's 5 points that make it make sense :
-"[Allowing people to get into your company's guts creates] the rapid diffusion of best-practice techniques and standards;
-the stimulation of new technological hybrids and recombinations
-the availablity of 'just in time' expertise and increasingly powerful tools for conducting research;
-faster positve feeback cycles from public knowledge to private enterprise, enabled by more nimble industry-university networks;
-and increasingly horizontal and distributed models of research and innovation, including greater openness of scientific konowledge, tools and networks" (page 156)

People want to be involved with your company's product-- the authors of Wikinomics remind us that:
"there are systems of value other than, or in addition to, money, that are very important to people: connecting with other people, creating an online identity, expressing oneself--and not least, garnering other people's attention." That is, if you want them to volunteer their time to make your product/offering better for all, give them credit, at least. (page 206)

Ill report more findings as I find them.

Award shows are relevant, dammit! Volume 2

Last night, R/GA took home the top prize, "The Grandy" (and a championship ring) at the International Andy Awards. The winning piece--in the pool with the Skittles TV campaign (TBWA\NY) and the Safe Happens Integrated campaign (CP+B)-- was NikePlus.

This is HUGE people.

The Andy's Jury recognized that this is the next step in advertising--collaboration. I've been preaching it since I started reading Wikinomics--but collaboration and community are where it's at.
R/GA and Nike developed this product together. From the beginning. It's not like Nike delivered some shoes with iPods and said "hey sell this." No, they sat down--agency and client--and built a product around an idea, from the ground up, together. And the results were amazing. As for community, the premise of the whole product was built around community. You upload your runs, and view other runners stats, share routes, have time races, and support of all kinds. From the shoes, to the iPod that tells you how you're doing, to the website and widgets that you use to keep track, to the other users who become your friends supporters, you live with this product. Its compelling content at its finest.

CGC Parameters: A step forward

I like what I read in AdFreak about Cuervo's new site that creates a video chain of people taking shots of the NightEnder known as tequila. What's compelling about this is the guidelines--start the video getting the bottle from your right offscreen, take the shot, pass it to your left offscreen, keep it under 10 seconds. Its great that the creatives thought of giving direction to make a truly collaborative "shot chain" that syncs itself. When given complete freedom, people will give soooo many varieties of the assignment--which is great, but not for an engaging stretch of time. Also, everyone is going to watch this thing to see themselves, so they have to watch the whole thing. Its a well planned execution. I also think its cool we can see people actually drinking the product, unlike in TV and Print.

Last Night's News

Saw this car chase. Pretty funny. Not compelling content, but good advertising nonetheless. Thanks to AdFreak for the story.

Second Life is not washed up

They say its losing steam. The problem is that the community doesn't take kindly to transplanted marketing. That is, when a company just puts up billboards in SL and doesn't really offer any incentive for visiting its island--then nobody visits. Btw, this rant is inspired.
One attempt was by Nissan who let Avatars play with remote controlled cars on its island. The problem is that you can't take it with you. Why not? I should be able to keep the remote controlled car and drive it around any other islands. That way, when other avatars see it they can say "hey I want one," and I'll say, go to Nissan island, they're giving em away." Also, every time one of those cars bumps into someone, that's data... the car can report who interacted with it, who is where at what time...but alas this is not the case, it lives on the Nissan island, and no one cares. Marketers can harness Second Life if they stop trying to recreate real world campaigns that don't offer utility. Utility. Look it up.

This might work

So, I watched some Joost this weekend. Some of the shows didn't work, but hey, it's beta. But the programs I did see were high quality video and good production value (storyline, etc.). But who's paying for it? Garnier (shampoo people) are responsible for Fight TV, as far as I can tell. They had a "brought to you by Garnier " CG at the beginning, and then the show started. Now, one problem is that shampoo and fighting don't match, so I wasn't compelled by the sponsorship. And, there was a commercial break in the middle of the show. Only one :30 spot. So I think this might work--it was too short to fast forward through, just long enough for me to get the message. So I think that's how it should go--one sponsor, one commercial--no harm done. Let's just hope that the sponsor to content relationship is a little more understandable in the future, ok Joost?

Stay Tuned

So I just got an invite from Alex, the Wired Jester, to beta test Joost. I am excited to explore this platform. Check out the ad, its good. I will be sharing my insights shortly. Also, I want to comment on the idea of letting people beta test. I'm sure that's old news. But I'm not usually a person who runs into those types of invites... so there must have been tons out there, and I'll gladly take part in the conversation. Good prelaunch marketing: give people your product. Duh.

Big Media and Social Media in one? Oh, boy.

Via the MIT Convergance Culture Consortium (Pete, you probably know this site). I found a strong effort by NBC to be cool.
So what they've done is create a platform for fans to talk about NBC's content. Still not to where we should be, according to Tapscott and Williams. But, they get something: that people want to talk about this content, and that NBC should host it. What's missing is the ability to mash up your own The Office highlight reel, or to link your OWN blog to the site (currently only NBC blogs are there). If they want people to get really involved, they have to open up their content more. I think it won't take off. If people have to have a seperate profile that lives only amongst the NBC network, then they won't want to have to fill out another form. Also, Im going to guess (with 99% accuracy) that they will screen posts--effectively dashing any hopes of truly fruitful dialogue between NBC and fans.

Award Shows are Relevant, dammit.

If your in advertising, you've chimed in at least once about Award Shows and their importance. I think that they are important and here's why. This year's Andy Awards has recognized an important campaign, Pontiac's Motorati in Second Life. So, jurors like Mark Tutssel, Ty Montague, Pete Favat, and Andrew Keller have awarded this campain an Andy for its creativity. So, stay with me. IF these CD's recognize this type of new marketing, they will in turn relay this to their staff. And, as creatives do, those who study the awards annuals see this, they will also recognize it as well. THEN, they would put things like Second Life and social networks and etc, in their arsenal of work to present to clients. Eventually, more clients will buy into this as a viable media, and it will get the necessary funding to expand towards its capability. See how that works? So, love awards shows, because they foster creative growth.

Building the tree of specificity

This site is a case study in grass roots marketing. Explore the site, and come back for my comments.
Ok, you back? So ESPN sucks. If I want to really hear about the Cleveland Browns, I have to wait for ESPN to assign a writer to the Browns and to write some interesting stuff (i.e. never). But I could also refer to this sports network and find the podcasts in my area, created by fans of my team.
So, apply this to a sponsorship stream. If I want to advertise next to Browns content to reach Browns fans today, I have to hope they see my adwords next to the ESPN article. But, reaching those who have actively sought the Browns podcasts on CSN, then I've reached a very engaged and willing audience. Even further, I can reach out to the podcasters themselves and say, hey, I run a pizza shop, let me sponsor your next tailgate party with your listeners. It really is a great business model, and its finally relevant to specific audiences, not just the faceless cold ESPN content monopoly.

So this is TalkShoe. Its a place to participate in Live Podcasts, and to chip away at the old media business model. I like the idea that people can engage in creating podcast content, because dialogue is valuable. Why its compelling: you can find podcasts you would not download, but gladly give a listen to, since its streaming. Also, particularly for sports, it creates an old, but timeless radio talk show format into modern techonology.

It will blend, my friend

Ok, so this guy made a really strong blender. To prove it, he blends shit (iPods, baseballs, whatever). Then he puts the video on his site, willitblend.com. Done. He blogs about it, so that people can suggest items to blend. He posts regularly, to keep people invested. And the whole time, we're being entertained by a blender, and this blender is for sale. Oh, did I mention he's had over 3 million viewers? How much does a media buy with 3million promised impressions cost? Probably a thousand times more than whatever it takes this guy to make this site. Perfect, if you ask me, and you did.

Purina knows pet owners

The team at Purina is tapping into a market of fanatics (as pet owners tend to be) by providing more content. If I had a dog, I would listen to Snouts in Your Town to find out about dog events and places in NYC. If I had a new puppy, I would listen to Complete Puppy care. All podcasts have the Purina logo, but only some are produced by Purina. They looked around and found people who already have the passion and the podcast, and hired them. Its so freaking obvious--this works in tech, advertising, sports, and any other interest that relies on passion to be interesting. This is a good example of how opening dialogue with consumers creates more, richer, relevant content. Compelling content, if you will. And yes, you will. The only problem is the podcasts aren't on the front page, where they should be, but rather found here.

This will be on TV tomorrow.

So I saw this on YouTube, you will too. Not really compelling conent, per se. But a good social commentary from Alanis. Its unusual to see musicians make fun of eachother in the Weird Al Yankovic style.

I like the orginal better, its more authentically ridiculous.

The original:

My Humps Video

My Humps lyrics - Black Eyed Peas lyrics

Black Eyed Peas Music Videos

Music Video Codes by VideoCure

Sprint Ambassadors

Whoa, just saw this story about the program from the man, Joseph Jaffe. This is a great freaking idea. Sprint takes people who are customers (who must have some sort of loyalty already) and gives them shit. Here, Sprint says, take this and play with it, just for being you. And if you like, tell others. Simple. Done. I am seriously considering Sprint now, not because of their ads from Chiat, which are great. But because Joseph Jaffe says so. I respect his opinion. His message is more valuable than any broadcast media buy. More companies should use this idea.

Compelled, but not satisfied

The outer cover of this week's Adweek has an ad for Mad Men, a tv show about advertising premiering this summer. The Ad itself is interesting because its relevant to me, and all the readers. The only call to action was AMCTV.com And when I arrived--nothing. I had to search for Mad Men, and when I did I found an emailing list signup. Couldn't they at least write a little paragraph? Im sure that whoever pitched the idea to AMC came up with some sort of synopsis. Im just saying, I should be rewarded for my extra step. Something to recognize my active interest.

We're all experts, really, we are.

I'm reading this book. I have a little snippet for you: "...as a growing number of firms see the benefits of mass collaboration, this new way of organizing will eventually displace the traditional corporate structures as the economy's primary engine of wealth creation." So, Viacom, so old model business, open up your content and let us help you, or witness your own demise.

San Franwheresco?

I went to a NextNY event recently. And it was good, real good. People, New York is where the tech wave is brewing. There are so many minds in this city, and it seems they're all up to date.
You should check this group out, cause it might make ya rich. BTW, they have both a blog and a wiki. I think that wiki's in any shape or form are useful to community (Wow, what a profound statement, Tony!)

Justin.tv is the logical next step

So Justin, how was your day? Don't answer that, I'll get the highlights from the viewers. So we've come to a point beyond everyone's 15 minutes on to 10 plus days of fame now. Justin strapped a camera to his head, and he's been on .tv ever since. Think about all the product placement! Although not compelling, I found myself giving Justin about 12 minutes of watching him on a couch talking to some girl. It will be interesting to see how/if this blows up.

Drew, thank you for saying what we've all been thinking, in the Dub Style.
This is a video by the author of ToothpasteForDinner, a dangerously addictive web comic. He and his woman Natalie Dee, live in Columbus, the creative center of America. The point is I keep coming back. And so should you.

ZeFrank

Who is Ze Frank? I should look into him, because he's one of Creativity's top 50. It seems he's all content. That's awesome

Welcome to Compelling Content

This is Compelling Content. I hope (instead of tapering my interest) to build an evolving collection of marketing that works. Anymore, an ad is not enough. Consumers need to be engaged, whether its a fun site e.g. Monk-E-Mail, or independent content like Bud.tv. If its done right, marketers win my attention, and that's compelling content.

He's got the idea. Not the money, but the idea

It seems the creator of Sudoku missed out on all the royalties to be gleened from the American market. But his comments show that being happy to provide content to users is of greater value than dollars. That's the future people.