Mental Shavings
By Frank J. Oswald
Now that candidate Barack Obama has become president-elect Obama, look for a wave of congratulatory ads that promote progressive ideas and causes, from alternative energy funding to shelter-dog adoption.
Here’s the latest example I’ve seen, courtesy Tappening, a group that’s urging consumers to stop buying bottled water, and to use tap water instead.
TreeHugger.com
By Brian Merchant
In what’s being described as a ‘wild postings’ campaign, the anti-bottled water company Tappening will fill top markets, including Washington DC, with ads that congratulate Barack Obama on becoming the next President-elect. And the ads are debuting four days before the election.
It’s a brazen publicity stunt, sure—but the most effective advertising campaigns are often exactly that. In fact, Tappening’s previous semi-controversial ad campaign suggested that the candidates both had a drinking problem–they were drinking bottled water.
DMNews
Coverall Health-Based Cleaning System
Franchisor’s integrated campaign cleans up
Situation
Commercial cleaning franchisor Coverall Health-Based Cleaning System introduced a new, proprietary cleaning system this summer designed to eliminate germs at offices.
“Lost productivity due to illness costs businesses $150 billion annually,” says Llora Wonder, VP of marketing and communications at Coverall.
While the company’s previous marketing efforts had focused on business-to-business publications, it was looking for a way to make its latest launch really shine.
Creativity Online
By Jim Hanas
Win or lose, many marketing experts agree that Barack Obama’s campaign for the presidency will provide the blueprint for political campaigns to come. There is the message and design discipline, the embrace of social media, and—most importantly—an openness to the idea that candidates, like brands, are built from the bottom up rather than the top down. As Scott Goodson, founder of agency StrawberryFrog says, “He is not a brand in the traditional sense, he is a cultural movement.” Call it Politics 2.0.
Headed by chief strategist David Axelrod and manager David Plouffe, and with help from new media director Joe Rospars—who powered Howard Dean’s web-savvy 2004 presidential bid until the squawk heard round the world—and Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, the Obama campaign is the first to “get it,” as ad types like to say. Even the “O” logo seems to buck political design conventions, although it is probably the least of the campaign’s innovations. “The execution of the Obama campaign—both online and off—has been impressive,” says AKQA global CD Rei Inamoto. “Not only is it one of the most integrated campaigns that I’ve seen recently, but also, it’s the most savvy one out there that embraces all media.” The campaign has inspired and embraced ideas from the creative world—from Shepard Fairey’s iconic “Hope” posters to will.i.am’s “Yes We Can Video”—and demonstrated a willingness to speak directly to supporters, announcing the selection of Joe Biden as Obama’s running mate, for example, via text message. Says Mark DiMassimo, creative director at DIGO Brands, “the Obama brand is the social creation of the community rather than the creature of the media or ad people of the campaign organization itself.” And this bottom up approach, tethered to an ascendant movement for “Change,” is what truly sets the campaign apart.
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Got your attention? That’s the brilliant tagline of a new campaign from the folks behind Tappening, a grassroots effort to tell Americans (and the world) about the dangers of bottled water and encourage them to switch to tap water. I have written about the campaign before as a good example of cause related marketing that encourages people to take action. They are continuing the effort with a very topical campaign designed to generate awareness and perhaps influence legislation as well. The campaign uses powerful facts delivered through blog posts with headlines such as “40% of bottled water IS tap water” and a simple website designed to give you enough ammunition not just to become more aware of the issue, but also to retell it to others. At the end of the day, it’s a useful example for marketers not only for taking on a good cause, but doing it in a way that makes it likely for people to not just support the effort, but also tell others about it. They are meeting the most important criteria for effective word of mouth marketing … actually giving people something to talk about. Oh, and by the way, McCain has a drinking problem too - here are a few more ads from the campaign:
Adweek
By Eleftheria Parpis
NEW YORK DiMassimo Goldstein’s “Tappening” campaign, the New York agency’s nine-month effort to encourage people to drink tap water rather than its bottled equivalent, takes a political turn this week with new ads that proclaim both presidential candidates have “a drinking problem,” which is revealed to be: “Bottled water.”
The new ads, which begin running in swing states in October, kick off the agency’s second national campaign directing consumers to Tappening.com. They feature silhouettes of John McCain and Barack Obama drinking bottled water. “The candidates will focus on key environmental issues,” reads the copy on one ad showing both nominees. “Bottled water should be one of them.”
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