Useful Advertising - Lowe's & UHAC

Here are a few examples of brands providing advertising that is genuinely useful to the viewer/user.

Every few months there's a new digital marketing platform du jour that's billed as the 'next big thing' for marketers.  Oftentimes brands attempt to shoehorn their messages onto the platform in rather awkward ways.  In short, many brands and marketers forget that just because you can, doesn't mean you should.  With that in mind, it's nice to what Lowe's is doing on the latest platform du jour, Vine.  As you know Vines are restricted to 7 second clips, so Lowe's is providing convenient little tips and lifehacks through quick hit Vines.  Very nice use of the platform.  See below and head over to Digital Examples to see more examples of Lowe's Vine postings.



On a completely different note, check out the work from Draftfcb Toronto on behalf of Canadian Union Hearing Aid Center.  I won't say more as I don't want to spoil it.




Posted by: Reuben Halper

Movember - David's Big Problem

A bunch of us around the office raised a nice chunk of change for Movember (BTW - it's not too late to donate to the Google UK team or me directly).  I was shocked to look at the Movember.com leaderboards and see that Canada is crushing the rest of the world in terms of money raised. I suppose it should be no surprise that the best creative (IMHO) supporting November comes from the Canadian arm of creative agency, TAXI.  Check it out below...so good.
via Leon Bayliss

McDonald's Gets Transparency Right (after getting it wrong)

Here's a nice effort by McDonald's Canada to be transparent and respond to questions/concerns from customers.  This comes a few months after the Twitter #McDStories fiasco.  The #McDStories was promoted tweet centered around the idea that 'when you make something with pride, people can taste it' and invited Twitter users to submit their stories.  No doubt they expected stories of love, laughter and general culinary delight.  Within minutes it'd been highjacked by such lovely recollections as 'Watching a classmate projectile vomit his food all over the restaurant during a 6th grade trip.' (@jfsmith23).  Needless to say McDonald's pulled the plug on the campaign very quickly.


Now McDonald's Canada (and their agency Tribal DDB Toronto) has taken the lessons learned and launched the McDonald's Canada 'Your Questions website and Youtube channel.  The premise is simple:  'Ever wanted to ask us about the food in our Canadian restaurants?  Now's your chance! We'll answer any questions about our food - even  the tough ones - then post a personal reply from McDonald's Canada.'  


In an extreme act of transparency, they're committed to answering each and every question.  Certain handpicked questions such are being answered with an in-depth behind the scenes video.  A great behind the scenes video answering the question 'Why does your food look different in the advertising than in the store?' has racked up million of views and is an incredibly interesting look at what goes on during a food photo shoot.  Check it out below or head on over to the McDonald's Canada Youtube channel to see more video response videos.


Again, this is a really nice effort to actually engage in meaningful dialogue with customers in a completely transparent manner.  This is increasingly important in light of the recent customer satisfaction index that ranked McDonald's last in satisfaction amongst fast food chains (though those results may just be for the US).  Then again McDonald's was just named the most effective global brand for the second year running at the Effie awards.

via Leon Bayliss

Skittles - Touch The Rainbow

Skittles (and their agency BBDO Toronto) cleaned up at Cannes last year, winning a Gold Lion in the Film Category and a Gold Cyber Lion for the now famous 'Touch The Rainbow' campaign.  My personal favorite was the Skittles Touch: Cat spot featuring Zach Galifianakis as a half-man/half-cat (see below).


Now Skittles & BBDO are back with another series of 'Touch' videos that are bizarre as their predecessors.  All five can be seen in the playlist below.  My personal favorite is the Zombie Tennis video.  Personally I don't find the latest videos as impressive.  Then again, they set the bar pretty high as the previous 'Touch' campaign that surprised and delighted viewers with the unexpected nature of the spots.

BONUS: The Best April Fool's Day Joke (excluding Google)

Google always goes big for April Fool's Day & this year was no exception.  The 8-bit Google Maps, the Youtube Collection, & Google Racing were all genius, but I also loved this April Fool's Day Joke from WestJet.

Introducing Kargo Kids.  So good:

'...with plenty of toys and a state of the art feed trough, your children will be able to run, play, scream and eat all they want, while you enjoy your flight in peace and quiet.'

Two Compelling PSAs - OCD & Alzheimers

Here are a couple of recent PSA's that have really impressed me.  No, I'm not talking about KONY.

The first PSA is from the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation.  Developed by McCann Digital Israel, it compels you to repeatedly watch the video to get the message.  It's a nice way to demonstrate what people afflicted with obsessive compulsive disorder must go through on a day to day basis to complete even simple tasks.


The second PSA is from The Alzheimer Society of British Columbia.  Created by Rethink Canada in support of Brain Awareness Week (who knew such a thing even existed).  In this beautiful spot, we're taken through a lifetime of memories seen through the lens of neural imaging.  The spot urges the audience to protect memories and support Alzheimer's research.  Watch it below, and then watch it again. Seriously.


Supporting Articles:  AdFreak | AgencySpy