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The art of advertising

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

super-bowl-logo9 Advertising is an art of its own. The television is a canvas and when some people stare at a commercial they see creative brilliance, while others see nothing special. Even though we all watch commercials throughout the year, the Super Bowl is the one occasion when our expectations are high. On this day, viewers want to see Van Gogh and Picasso, not little Timmy’s stick figures. This year the commercials were, arguably, far from creative genius. In fact, some have gone so far as to say “not one commercial during this year’s Super Bowl was great.” The same man that spoke these brave words, Bart Cleveland of AdAge, has a theory behind the lack of creativity and it all lies in the numbers. Cleveland claims that the standard :30, :60 and :90 spots are too constricting for true ingenuity to shine. With commercial timing scheduled down to the second, there is no room for an artist to move in order to create a masterpiece. It’s an interesting theory, so we’re curious – what do you think?

Posted in Talk | Comments

The real Super Bowl winners

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

Now that the Super Bowl is officially over, it is time to assess the winners. I’m not talking about the Steelers or the Talkies winners, since so much has been said about them already. Instead, I’m talking about the participants in the Super Bowl who have gained records, buzz, press, money and even fame through their association with the big game.

1. NBC – With a record high price tag of $3 million for a :30 spot, NBC set a new Super Bowl advertising record with $206 million in sales. Clearly “recession” isn’t in their vocabulary.

2. NFL – Despite concerns that the Cardinals and Steelers wouldn’t be able to pull in a large audience, this year’s Super Bowl attracted an average of 98.7 million viewers, which sets the record for the largest TV audience ever to tune in to an NFL championship.

3. Twitter – This year the Super Bowl was just as much about the ads as it was the football game, and Twitter was the place to be for all the advertising buzz. Characters like the E-Trade baby and SoBe Lifewater lizard created usernames on the micro-blogging website to communicate with consumers and get feedback about their commercials. Between the tweets, hashtags and @ replies, Twitter users posted over 49,000 tweets relating to Super Bowl ads.

4. Joe and Dave Herbert – Never heard of these guys? Well neither had we until yesterday when USA Today announced that the brothers’ homemade Doritos ad scored the number one spot on their Ad Meter. This kind of win is exactly what Doritos wanted and to thank the Herberts, the company is rewarding them with $1 million.

5. Talk, Inc. – Ok, so we didn’t exactly break a record or anything, but the Super Bowl Talkies was a major hit for us. Web traffic to our blog increased substantially, hundreds of people checked out SuperBowlTalkies.com, dozens of people logged on to chat with us and the media coverage was incredible. All in all, Talk was definitely a Super Bowl winner!

Tags: NBC, NFL, Super Bowl Ads, Talkies, twitter
Posted in Marketing | Comments

Talkies commentator talks Super Bowl advertising

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

Now that the Super Bowl is over, some of us are proud that the Steelers’ won, others are still pouting because the Cardinal’s lost and many are wondering what happened to good advertising? This lingering question was exactly what was on my mind at the end of the 4th quarter on Sunday. Because Talk hosted an event dedicated entirely to Super Bowl advertising, I had spent countless hours researching participating companies, searching for leaked commercials and finding the latest buzz on everything related to Super Bowl ads. The pre-Super Bowl attitude was positive, so I was looking forward to creative executions, side-splitting humor and, of course, famous faces.

As the first quarter passed and then halftime, I realized that my hope for true advertising entertainment was dwindling. Sure, the Clydesdales were cute, and the Bridgestone Potato Head couple made me giggle, but there wasn’t a single ad that made me excited or kept me laughing beyond the :30 spot. I’m not sure if advertisers were trying to play it safe or the usual creative brilliance was lacking, but I can only hope things get better for next year!

Tags: Super Bowl Ads, Talkies
Posted in Marketing | Comments

Finding Mr. Right in 30 seconds

Friday, January 30th, 2009

super-bowl-logo9 For all of you single ladies out there, I’m sure you would agree that finding a good man to settle down with is a difficult task. Many of you have probably tried numerous resources to find Mr. Right including dating websites, blind dates, speed dating and even those awkward referrals from friends and family. Well Amy Borkowsky feels your pain, because she too is a single girl looking for her perfect mate. She has taken her hunt to a new level by asking for donations and sponsors to contribute a total of $3 million to help her find a man. The money will be used to buy a :30 spot during the Super Bowl that will advertise herself to an audience of about 60 million men. She claims that dating is a numbers game, and she’s certain that a Super Bowl spot will increase her chances of finding “the one.”

Despite her clear determination, raising $3 million is no easy task and with only two days until the big game, Borkowsky has only raised $6,205. Even though she won’t be getting her :30 of fame, the money will be given to United Way. Maybe next year Amy!

Tags: Amy Borkowsky, Super Bowl
Posted in Talk | Comments

Introducing your game-day commentator

Friday, January 30th, 2009

super-bowl-logo9 Hello world, my name is Holly and on the day of the Super Bowl I will be the go-to girl for all your commercial commentary. During the Super Bowl Talkies Awards, I’ll be spending my time on SuperBowlTalkies.com with all of you chatting about the best and worst of Super Bowl commercials. As the youngest and newest member of the Talk team, I’m excited to play such a crucial role in this year’s Talkies. Personally, I’m a huge fan of dumb humor seen in many Anheuser-Busch commercials, particularly the Will Ferrell spot from last year, but I’m also a sucker for pet ads like first-time Super Bowl advertiser Pedigree. Overall, I’m just a huge ad-dork, and I truly enjoy watching commercials.

Critiquing 67 ads is a tough job but someone has to do it, and I sure don’t want to do it alone. Join our Talkies live chat on SuperBowlTalkies.com on Sunday any time after 5 p.m. and let me know what you’re thinking.

Tags: Super Bowl Ads, Talkies
Posted in Marketing | Comments

Size doesn’t matter

Friday, January 30th, 2009

super-bowl-logo9 It is quite obvious that Talk isn’t as big as Tampa Bay & Co., and our Talkies event is only a fraction of the size of the Super Bowl, but despite these apparent differences, both companies are implementing the same tactics to get the word out about their event. As the host of the 2009 Super Bowl, Tampa Bay is helping visitors find information about the city and the big game on their blog at VisitTampaBay.com/blog. Similarly, Talk has been blogging like crazy on TalkIncBlog.com, discussing everything related to Super Bowl ads, which is the focus of the 2nd Annual Talkies Awards. If reading blogs takes too much time, event goers can check out the latest info in 140 characters on Twitter, where both companies have been tweeting away. Finally, Tampa Bay and Talk have Facebook pages where fans can find anything and everything they’re looking for from event times, blog links, Twitter links, photos and more. The moral of the story is that no matter your size, social media is adaptable and useful and all companies should take advantage of this virtually free resource.

Tags: Super Bowl, Tampa Bay
Posted in Talk | Comments

A monster of a competition

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

super-bowl-logo7 This year the Super Bowl is revealing a showdown that is, arguably, much bigger than the Cardinals vs. the Steelers. It is a competition of creativity, wit and job searchability. In case you’re confused, I’m talking about the advertising match-up between CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com. Both job search websites have been actively approaching the Super Bowl with contests, interactive websites, and commercial teasers, but there can be only one winner.

My prediction? Monster doesn’t stand a chance. CareerBuilder has created a hilarious website that allows you to send anonymous tips to your friends or co-workers via one of their wacked-out office workers. In case you’re sarcasm isn’t up to par, you can always use one of their premade tips, which are sure to make anyone laugh out loud. The company has also utilized social media by giving Facebook users a chance to send a “creepy co-worker” as a virtual gift. Monster attempts to be clever by allowing people to apply for a fake job in hopes of winning $10,000, but considering 2.6 million people lost their real job last year, I’m sure they would rather fill out a real application. For now, we only have the pre-game chatter to go on, so watch the game and read our blog on February 1 to see what really goes down.

Tags: CareerBuilder.com, Marketing in a Recession, Monster.com, Super Bowl Ads
Posted in Marketing | Comments

SuperBowlTalkies.com is ready to roll

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

talkiesrgbsm After weeks of blogging about the 2009 Super Bowl Talkies Awards, the time has finally come for (drum roll please) the launch of SuperBowlTalkies.com! It’s true, the site launched today and it is packed full of entertaining features that will keep you in the know about everything related to Super Bowl advertising. Here is a list of features that you should check out:

Video posts → These videos include everything from the best of last year’s commercials to the never-before-seen 2009 spots. Oh, and they’re updated daily for your viewing enjoyment.
Talkies Blog feed → With all of the buzz surrounding this year’s commercials, Talk has been working hard to keep up with the latest Super Bowl news. In order to keep you informed, all of our Talkies blog posts are fed directly to the site and for even easier access you can subscribe to our blog right from SuperBowlTalkies.com.
Talkies Live Chat → Everyone has an opinion and we want to hear yours! Chat live with Talk employees about the best and worst in Super Bowl advertising.
Super Bowl Polls → Here at Talk we’re curious creatures and we’d love to know what you’re thinking. Tell us how you feel by answering our poll questions and then see how your answer compared to the rest.

Tags: Events, Super Bowl Ads
Posted in Marketing, Public Relations | Comments

Nashville talks languages

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

Talk is all about talking. Particularly, helping companies talk in a way that communicates a consistent brand message. Yesterday, citizens of Nashville, TN needed no help relaying their city’s brand message when they declined a proposal to make English the city’s official language. As a place that welcomes all nationalities, citizens of varying backgrounds joined in support of preserving that image. Confirming English as their official language would force immigrant workers to forfeit use of their native tongue and could discourage international businesses from investing in the city. One proposal opponent was quoted in the New York Times saying, “People here said Nashville is a warm, welcoming and friendly environment that celebrates diversity.” As a self-proclaimed melting pot, Nashville is making sure its brand continues to talk in multiple languages.

Tags: branding agency, Nashville
Posted in Branding | Comments

Miller strikes back with 1-second ads

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

super-bowl-logo4 Every year Anheuser-Busch comes to the Super Bowl with their advertising guns loaded. In addition to having classic Clydesdales, gut wrenching humor and top-notch celebrities, the company also holds the title as the biggest spender, buying nine spots during the upcoming game. As the 2009 Super Bowl approaches, we are all anxiously waiting to see what shenanigans the company will surprise us with. Well, everyone but Miller High Life. The struggling MillerCoors brand is lashing out against its much larger competitor with one-second ads that will run during the pre-game show on 25 local NBC stations. Miller’s website claims, “Paying $3 million for a 30-second commercial makes as much sense as putting sauerkraut on a donut. Actually, even that makes more sense.” For a rather quick laugh, take a look at all of their one-second commercials at www.1secondad.com.