Flotsam and Jetsam from 2001
The Most Representative campaign of 2001? My vote goes to the offer from Eli Lilly and Co. and WebMD Corp. for a free month’s worth of Prozac.
That one had everything: A strategic partnership. The integration of online and offline communication. And free antidepressants. Good riddance, 2001.
The year began with Burger King selecting a new agency and ended (at least we think) with Pepsi wrapping up its review. In between came thousands of layoffs, millions in reduced expenditures, and scads of negative publicity from the McDonald’s scandal.
That last one easily wins Story of the Year honors for the attention it received from the mainstream media and for the scrutiny it forced on administration practices industry-wide. The impact it had on promotion agencies alone was enough to make it worthy. (By the way, the number of FBI indictments in the case is now up to 51. As one of our staffers asked, “Did anyone ever win anything legitimately?”)
The Most Incongruous story? While the majority of brand marketers sweated through several rounds of staff reductions and budget cuts, Microsoft Corp. kept bragging about the $500 million it’s spending to launch Xbox. Let them eat cake, indeed.
Meanwhile, the Most Relentless story of the year was the rise in event marketing. If America’s parks and parking lots get any more crowded, a 25-market mobile tour will be as newsworthy as a 10-percent-off sale.
Speaking of discounts, the Most Optimistic story of the year was the one delivered by the coupon industry, which practically welcomed the recession with open arms — filled with charts outlining redemption rates in past downturns. Economic trends, apparently, were made to be broken.
Here’s a few other notable stories:
Do You Have an Uncle Jerry? A mall in Taiwan staged a random drawing to give away 100 SUVs to shoppers. The name of one couple was picked six times.
The Bloody Truth Memorial: The story about a Hooters employee suing one restaurant after she received a “toy Yoda” instead of the Toyota it promised to the top-selling waitress. Forgive me, but aren’t all Hooters’ waitresses “top-selling?”
Best Would-Be Tie-in: Chrysler’s attempt to ride Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by giving away free audiobooks with test drive (See Campaign Trail). Hey, it was worth a try.
Can We Have That One Back? PROMO’s April 2001 issue devoted two pages to the ambitious joint venture unveiled by Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola. The October issue featured a dozen lines about its demise. We should have applied our “Internet Rule,” which mandated little-to-no coverage of online start-ups until their performance suggested they might be around for awhile.
But a Little Credit For: The Internet Rule, which saved us from writing about Flooz.com and Beenz.com until the November 2001 issue, when their shutdowns signaled a trend in third-party online currency systems.
Wasn’t Worth the Space: Carson Daly’s lawsuit against Motorola (and agency Zipatoni) for reneging on terms of his endorsement contract. Gee, Carson, couldn’t you have been satisfied with the Reggie, pro, and Globe awards your work earned?
Deserved More Space: Allied Domecq’s Oct. 31 christening of 141 Worldwide global marketing services agency for all brands that receive marketing support. Rectifying this is one of my New Year’s resolutions, so stay tuned.
Equal Time
Dear PROMO,
On behalf of the entire staff here at JDK Products, I would like to apologize to Mr. Peter Breen for “rubbing” him the wrong way with our Magnetic USA Car Flag (Basic Instinct, November 2001). True, the 600,000 units we sold in four weeks resulted in a check for $40,000 from JDK Products to the [World Trade Center] relief effort, but I am sure that it pales in comparison to the amount Mr. Breen has donated thus far.
I would also express my regrets to the families of the more than 200 American workers who were gainfully employed in the production of these flags. To them I say, “Sorry for dragging you into this scandal.”
My “anything for a buck entrepreneurism” always seems to be getting me into trouble. In last week’s edition of the Beijing Weekly News, the editor wrote a scathing rebuke of my company for not employing Chinese factory workers. So I guess that means I now have to apologize to the fine citizens of the People’s Republic. And for good measure I’ll also apologize again to Mr. Breen for being too American. After all, this country is a melting pot and I had no right to be so exclusionary.
So in summary, I will enthusiastically encourage your readers to avoid purchasing my flag at any cost. And to the many people who wrote me letters of praise in September for providing them flags during their time of grief, I say to you, “keep your heads low and stay out of range of Mr. Breen’s elephant gun. I’m sure he’s got plenty of bullets left.”
Cordially,
Jay Kamhi
JDK Products
