Well, there go the predictions. 2008, global warming on every celebrity and politician’s, lips, and not a green promotion in sight. This year’s promotion entries include the usual charities, but not a single brand attempting to wrap itself in the green thing to prey on consumers. That’s really encouraging.
I’m right about the social networking idea, but that’s not really surprising. This year the entries include the expected user-generated content asking for homemade videos (Doritos, a bread company, beer brands,candy) but also one truly breakthrough technology idea: for Colgate Max, users blow into their cellphone to make the image on a web banner freeze over with ice (the USP of Colgate Max, apparently). It’s only the beginning: already being discussed at the festival is using the same technology to upload a picture of yourself to appear in the banner ad you’re watching. Don’t know if this will win an award, but it deserves a shout out for being innovative, effective, and, well, first. That’s a pretty rare thing in the cluttered media-rich world we live in. Another breakthrough web promotion was entered for the video game Resident Evil. Since the popularity of this game has been eroding, they figured out a way to get some guerrilla style attention: they let users upload a picture of themselves, which was then made into a grotesque zombie and forwarded to their friends. It made each participant a faux character in the game, and was really weird to look at as well. And it was simply executed, too. A great example of generating word-of-mouth naturally; if your idea is cool enough, and relevant, users will find it, and embrace it. If not, well, you probably should be looking for a better, more organic idea in the first place.
And as I guessed, ambient media is featured in many promotions. My favorite this year is for Pepto Bismol from NY: they placed pictures of people over the washer windows in laundromats, so it appeared like the churning laundry was the person’s stomach. Great placement. And a car manufacturer from Amsterdam promoted its long-lasting gas mileage buy placing 5-foot bags of candy at the checkout at gas stations. But the most surprising entry I saw was for a tattoo parlor in Hamburg. They created lifelike pierced nipples and suction-cupped them to mirrors in club bathrooms. Very well-targeted, and created a lot of buzz, according to the entry.
This year there are 1,097 entries in the promotion category. As we saw last year, not every entry is deserving of an award. The Lions competition is a creative festival, awarding the best, most innovative ideas on the planet. There are plenty of solid ideas with great results that wont come within a sniff of a Lion, because they lack one key element: DIFFERENTIATION. Sifting thru 1,097 entries requires the jury members to search out the programs that stand out and surprise, not leverage an existing tactic regardless how well it’s done. That’s why there are few games or sweepstakes that get recognized. Each year at least a dozen are entered, from all around the world, but few of them have a simply understood, breakthrough element that makes them standout. Most of the games/sweeps entries rely on a borrowed equity character to carry the creative load, like Shrek for McDonalds, or futbol for 6 european entries, or The Simpsons for a good dozen entires this year. All of the programs are impactful and memorable, but few of them feature innovative media or tactics. And that’s what the jury is anxiously looking for.
Speaking of The Simpsons, it was an obvious equity partner for many US brands last summer. But none leveraged it better than 7-Eleven stores, who turned themselves into Quickie Marts for the month of July, complete with Super Squisihies and plenty of donuts. Im not sure if the international jury will understand the impact of this idea, but it deserves some credit. They leveraged the property better than any of the other partners, right down to the revised tagline: “D’oh Thank Heaven for 7-Eleven . . . “
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