Google+ Puts Out a Negative Ad

Okay so we all have heard of Google’s umpteenth attempt at social media with their new, not so totally failing Google+. Well they’ve been advertising it a lot since it came out of beta and their newest spot for it is…interesting. It’s highlighting a very real, very negative aspect of social media and turning it into a positive thing. I guess? Watch the link below and see what you think for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sVf3UaZePC8

So, I’m guessing they are targeting men, since most women wouldn’t find having a man stalk them and finding out their interests a good thing. From what I’ve seen and read, the user base of Google+ appears to be a majority of men users, so I guess this is saying with Google+ your stalker-ish behaviors can lead to a relationship, because you can find out about her likes, interests and hobbies, and eventually move up this shallow woman’s (she only begins to like him after she finds out he has a car and ski-house) list of suitors.

If it is targeting men, it certainly seems to be alienating women. It’s one thing for an ad to not appeal to a certain demographic, but this ad would make me want to never join Google+ if I was a women, so I’m not sure many would be too enthusiastic about joining after seeing this ad, but that’s just one 20 year old male’s opinion. Although, maybe women have accepted that creepy guys are a part of social media and this ad is showing them that they can pick them out and alienate them from the rest of their circles.

It probably seems like I’m hating on Google with my last two posts, when in reality they are one of my favorite companies. It’s probably because I hold them to such a high standard that I pick on them. Oh well hopefully we can start seeing some high quality Google ads once they start to lighten up on this Google+ venture. Until then, maybe I shouldn't say too many bad things though, since I am using their blogging service. 

Poking Fun at Apple

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNxDd3l0lEU&hd=1

So that spot up there is one from one of the largest phone manufacturers in the world, Samsung. During the spot, Samsung pokes fun at iPhone users and how blindly they will purchase Apple products. It's a very nicely shot ad, but is the message really that good?

If you watch this ad, your basically watching it because you are already a fan of Android. There is nothing said in the ad that really makes you think, "wow, the Samsung Galaxy SII is an amazing fun, with cool features". They mention the big screen, and... that's it. Some could argue that having a much larger screen isn't actually that big of an advantage, as some people prefer a smaller, more portable phone. Personally, I do believe that the Samsung GSII is a better phone, but I've been using the Android OS for over a year now, and have never been a fan of the iPhone, but I digress.

So what was Samsung trying to accomplish with this video? They don't show off the software, the hardware and really just poke fun at a possible target audience and demographic. The first time I watched it, I loved it because that's what the commercial was doing, making fun of iPhone users, but when I took a more critical look at it, you do see some holes in the premise.

On Friday, December 2nd, I was looking forward to going to Google in Toronto and talking about the marketing of the Android operating system in the Canadian market, but unfortunately that part of the trip was canceled. From now on, only time will tell what becomes of the Android operating system (and it's dominating North American market share).

The "Huh?" Heard Around the World

After being a hardcore internet user for the last, oh too long really, I still get a kick out of seeing its power, and its ability to make anything it wants popular. This is a story about a struggling actor, an AT&T commercial and a social media site. It all started on Monday, November 7th when a Reddit user named "Naterden" posted a link with the title "Hi Reddit. After three years of auditioning, I booked my first commercial. I say "Huh?" in this AT&T spot. Just wanted to share." And that was that, or so an outside observer would think. But Reddit isn't very conventional, and, it has a spontaneity about itself that no one can really judge. Some things go unnoticed, other things can become huge, this happened to be the latter. Within a few hours the AT&T spot was flooded with comments about how much they loved the "Huh?" guy. By the end of the day the video that had previously had less then 1,000 views, spiked to over 750,000.

I really like this story for 2 reasons. The first is because it shows off the power of social media and because I was in on this from the beginning and was one of the first users to help spread the video. And it really is a testament of today's society about how anyone can become a star for 15 minutes. Websites have been reporting on the story, and I'm sure advertisers are scratching their heads wondering why this one? And even though I was part of it in its early stages I can't even say for certain why it happened, but it's always nice to see a struggling actor get some recognition.

I can only imagine that advertisers will try and cash in on this, by posting similar stories in the coming months, but the thing that marketers never seem to understand is that you can't force viral, and in all their attempts in all the years they have never been able to fool the websites that aggregate the viral content of the web. So although they may try, I doubt it will ever be as successful (if at all) as the original "Huh?" guy.

Here's Adweek's  take on the story, followed by the commercial itself.

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/single-grunt-random-actor-makes-att-spot-explode-136465

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh2IXbi2ZCE&feature=youtu.be

Let's try this thing out...

This is an animation I got off of YouTube, it's entitled Obvious To You. It's a private video that not many have seen, so enjoy.

I love this video, mainly because I think everyone in a creative field has experienced this. It especially applies to people in advertising because there are always those moments when you have inspiration for an ad and you really don't feel like sharing it because you think it's too obvious but, in reality, it may be a point of view, or compelling truth that no one in the group has thought of. Anyways, this video really inspired me to be more vocal about my thoughts and ideas about certain advertising projects that take place in a group setting.