The Dallas office of Rapp Collins Worldwide sent out a CD as a holiday card. Developed under the auspices of creative director Helene Cote, the item contained a link to a Web site that generated holiday haiku. The idea was for recipients to create a haiku and then e-mail the creation to a friend. The agency claims that the holiday card not only shows its media-neutral capabilities, but also is a great example of viral marketing.
Haiku, for those who don’t recall, are three-line, seventeen-syllable Japanese poems, which include such elements as seasonal words and a pivot word. The seasonal word alludes to a month or season (here, the holidays). The pivot word moves the poem from the first half to the second.
“Snow-capped winter days,” reads one holiday haiku. “Beside golden cantaloupes/Pine trees in taxis.” Another runs: “Tiny razor blades/Incredible harvest moon/Paintings on horseback.”
OK, so there are no pivot words and the seasonal words often refer to the wrong season. But the non sequiturs and imagery that seem, uh, rather Scrooge-like are more bothersome. Somehow we don’t have visions of tiny razor blades dancing in our heads on Christmas Eve.
A sudden Rapp at the door
Winter
Does not preclude cherry blossoms
Nevertheless, Rapp Collins Dallas maintains that the card was a great success.
Network
