Month: December 2017

I’m sure a lot of you immediately rolled your eyes when you saw this headline. After all, advertising as a practice isn’t dead just yet and, in reality, it isn’t going away anytime soon. Advertising is a fundamental part of how brands communicate with customers. So, to say that advertising is on its last legs might seem like a stretch. Allow me to explain why there’s some truth to it.

Advertising still has a certain amount of sexiness to it. Many of us still hold onto a “Madmen”-ind
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AdExchanger |

The past year was a tough one for agency holding companies. WPP, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe, IPG, Dentsu Aegis Network and Havas posted little to no growth in 2017. The agency business has been in flux for years, but 2017 offered the “perfect storm” of challenges that caused growth to stutter, said Greg Paull, principal analyst… Continue reading »

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If you thought mobile transformed marketing and customer engagement, get ready for voice to change everything again.

Thinking back to the early 2000s, people had no idea how complex and clunky Blackberry devices were. It was the “gestation phase” for smartphones — when the platform was new, expensive and difficult to use. Then Apple and Google came along, leapfrogged everyone and drove a massive adoption of smartphones.

The mature growth phase spurred by Apple and Google kicked of
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If you thought mobile transformed marketing and customer engagement, get ready for voice to change everything again.

Thinking back to the early 2000s, people had no idea how complex and clunky Blackberry devices were. It was the “gestation phase” for smartphones — when the platform was new, expensive and difficult to use. Then Apple and Google came along, leapfrogged everyone and drove a massive adoption of smartphones.

The mature growth phase spurred by Apple and Google kicked of
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In its latest New Year cessation campaign, the Public Health England has urged smokers to quit smoking by graphically showcasing the damage smoking causes to the body.

The £1m campaign was conceptualized by M&C Saatchi. The 20 second spot features a lone man smoking outside a building, with the blood vessels in his arms, face and hands quickly turning black as chemicals from the cigarette tar enter his body.

The film is released in tangent with a short film in which Dr Dawn Harper talked to a group of smokers about the levels of carbon monoxide, cadmium and cancer-causing substances called nitrosamines in their blood, and the damage these chemicals can cause to the body.

The campaign’s PR was handled by freuds while Carat handled media buying and MEC was responsible for media planning. 23Red lead the commercial partnerships element.

Martin Dockrell, head of tobacco control at Public Health England said: “Our campaign is to add to that motivation and give extra support to people who want to quit in the New Year. Tar is this generic name we give for all the solid matter that you inhale [from a cigarette].”

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Last week, Facebook made the controversial announcement that it would drop the “Disputed” tag from stories fact checkers found to contain false information. What the platform is really saying: It will
no longer take responsibility for fake news stories – and the damage caused in their wake.

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Allstate’s Mr. Mayhem has been a lot of things over the years, from a deer in the headlights to a falling satellite dish and a wayward college pennant, to name a few. Now, the metaphorical character is making a resolution to cause “no more mayhem” in the new year. But, being Mayhem, he does this with a wink.

A new campaign by agency partner Leo Burnett Chicago finds the lovable mischief, played by actor Dean Winters, stating that in 2018 he’s trying to be a better man and take steps towards self-improvement. Instead of causing havoc, he’ll be helpful, like being the tennis ball dangling in the garage so you pull the car in just right, as he is in the campaign’s new launch spot. That spot also states at the end, “resolutions are made to be broken, meaning we’ll likely see his resolution unravel as the campaign picks up speed in the new year.

In the first phase of the #ResolutionsAreMayhem campaign, Mayhem is put in situations where he is safe rather than reckless. In one, he’s a safety flare with his head on fire. In another he’s the blinking red light of a home security camera. Two more find him being that aforementioned tennis ball and a home-protecting lightning rod. Mayhem seems reluctant in his new safety role but does his jobs willingly.

The campaign, uses Mayhem to tap into consumers’ New Year’s resolution behaviors and keep Allstate insurance top-of mind. Most people start the year with innate optimism to improve themselves/better their lives.

The #ResolutionsAreMayhem campaign kicks off today (December 29), with the second phase launching during the College Football National Championship game on January 8, 2018 on national television. Each spot will feature the hashtag #ResolutionsAreMayhem, a tag that will also appear in digital and social content focused on relatable consumer resolutions, like dieting and exercise. In addition to the new TV ads, fans are encouraged to watch for digital and social components to roll out in three phases: making resolutions, struggling but keeping resolutions and breaking resolutions.

See the spots by clicking on the Creative Works box below.

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Financial security company Northwestern Mutual, with its new campaign “Spend Your Life Living”, aims to reframe people’s idea of planning for their financial futures, and help them feel empowered.

The four spots titled “Backyard Bliss,” “This Call’s for You,” “Fish Out of Water” and “Ocean, Whoa” are created by GSD&M and tap into each of the consumer insights.

 The campaign will kick off on 1st January, 2018. Northwestern Mutual will take over part of the tailgate outside of the Rose Bowl stadium to recreate a massive end zone, encouraging fans to join and share their best touchdown dance on social media with #SpendLifeLiving. The Northwestern Mutual “Touchdown Dance” will also be recreated at the College Football Playoff National Championship game on January 8. 

Aditi Gokhale, chief marketing officer, Northwestern Mutual said: “Our research uncovered the constant struggle Americans are experiencing between living for now and saving for later.People are in a balancing act of how they can enjoy today while preparing for tomorrow, and this results in massive anxiety. This campaign shows how Northwestern Mutual helps our clients plan for the important moments in their lives so they can make the most of every single day.”

“These activations are all about giving people meaningful moments and elevating their experiences at events they are passionate about. They’re already at the game cheering on their favorite college football team, but now they’re able to experience what it would be like to do their own touchdown dance in the end zone. We want this moment to be a special, shareable experience that they’ll remember beyond game day.”

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Financial security company Northwestern Mutual, with its new campaign “Spend Your Life Living”, aims to reframe people’s idea of planning for their financial futures, and help them feel empowered.

The four spots titled “Backyard Bliss,” “This Call’s for You,” “Fish Out of Water” and “Ocean, Whoa” are created by GSD&M and tap into each of the consumer insights.

 The campaign will kick off on 1st January, 2018. Northwestern Mutual will take over part of the tailgate outside of the Rose Bowl stadium to recreate a massive end zone, encouraging fans to join and share their best touchdown dance on social media with #SpendLifeLiving. The Northwestern Mutual “Touchdown Dance” will also be recreated at the College Football Playoff National Championship game on January 8. 

Aditi Gokhale, chief marketing officer, Northwestern Mutual said: “Our research uncovered the constant struggle Americans are experiencing between living for now and saving for later.People are in a balancing act of how they can enjoy today while preparing for tomorrow, and this results in massive anxiety. This campaign shows how Northwestern Mutual helps our clients plan for the important moments in their lives so they can make the most of every single day.”

“These activations are all about giving people meaningful moments and elevating their experiences at events they are passionate about. They’re already at the game cheering on their favorite college football team, but now they’re able to experience what it would be like to do their own touchdown dance in the end zone. We want this moment to be a special, shareable experience that they’ll remember beyond game day.”

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Apple in a recent statement apologized after admitting to deliberately slowing down iPhones with older batteries function and promised to gain back its customer’s trust by improving the performance of the old batteries.

Apple recently admitted that it had slowed down phones with older batteries, batteries with low charge or phones that were cold.

In addressing the admission, it further explained how all rechargeable batteries were consumable components that become less effective as they chemically age and their ability to hold a charge diminishes. “Time and the number of times a battery has been charged are not the only factors in the chemical aging process,” Apple added.

To further rectify the situation which it claims to be clearly unintentional, it is reducing the price of an out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacement by $50 — from $79 to $29 — for anyone with an iPhone 6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced, starting in late January and available worldwide through December 2018. 

Also, early in 2018 Apple will further issue an iOS software update with new features that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance.

Apple said: “Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that. At Apple, our customers’ trust means everything to us. We will never stop working to earn and maintain it. We are able to do the work we love only because of your faith and support — and we will never forget that or take it for granted.”

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