Happy New Year from KeySplash Creative

Happy Holidays from KeySplash Creative

Axe Webisodes Still Going Viral Years After Launch

Back in 2006, the marketing team behind Axe Body Spray, deodorant and shower gel decided to create some webisodes.  Clearly targeted at men, the webisodes were funny, depicting news reports about the effects of Axe products.  It’s been about two years, and the videos are still going viral, making the rounds across the Internet to people who have yet to see them.

Both videos are amusing and borderline inappropriate for PG audiences.  I suppose you could say the same thing about most Axe commercials, too.

Check out two of the Axe webisodes below, and you’ll see why they’re still popular online.  A mix of humor and shock value along with content that is still relevant two years later make these videos somewhat timeless.  Truth be told, they could have been made today or five years ago.  Since content lives online for a very long time, creating timeless viral videos can impact your brand and your business for many years to come.

Warning: the first Axe video gets a bit distasteful toward the end, but is otherwise fairly harmless.

Warning: the second Axe video is a bit more crude in parts, but overall, only mildly distasteful.

Sprite Green Packaging Mimics Lemon Juice

I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but the packaging for Coca-Cola’s new Sprite Green product looks a lot like a lemon juice bottle (at least from a distance).  It could be an intentional subconscious connection to the “naturalness” of Sprite Green which does contain 5% lemon juice, or it may have been a mistake.  Either way, it’s a nice package. 

I suppose the bigger question is whether ten years from now we’ll learn that Truvia (the natural sweetener used in Sprite Green instead of sugar or an artificial sweetener) is actually bad for you, like saccharine and some other artificial sweeteners.  That’s another story entirely though.

What do you think of the packaging for Sprite Green?  By the way, here are some lemon juice bottles for comparison.

 

Hat tip to The DieLine for this post topic.

Over 1,000 Brands Per Day and Counting

In case anyone hasn’t seen it yet, I have to share Tanner Woodruff’s homework for a course in the Visual Communication Design program at Arizona State University.  He was asked to create a clock and retail or shipping packaging for that clock for the industry of his choice.  Tanner chose to create a clock for identity designers.  He logged all 1,035 brands he interacted with in a 24-hour period (at least as many as he could write down) then created a clock to represent those brand interactions.

It’s so interesting to see one person’s daily interaction with brands visually like this.  You can follow the link to view more pictures of Tanner’s brand clock and the packaging for the brand clock and to read about how he came to create it.

Hat tip to Brand New for this post topic.

Image: Tanner Woodruff

HubSpot’s Hilarious Inbound Marketing Viral Video

I think every marketer will find this video as funny as I did.  Check out Rebecca Corliss of HubSpot singing about the horrors of inbound telemarketing to Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know.”

10 Advertising Words to Avoid in 2009 on Today Show Website

KeySplash Creative President and CEO Susan Gunelius recently wrote an article about the 10 Advertising Words to Avoid in 2009. 

First published on Entrepreneur.com earlier this month, the article has been picked up by another of other websites including the Today Show, MSNBC, Washington Post, Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Small Business. 

Follow the links to read the article to make sure you know which words to steer clear of in the coming year.

Image: Today Show

Six Degrees to Barack Obama – Time Magazine Person of the Year 2008

It’s certainly not a surprise that Time Magazine chose Barack Obama for its 2008 Person of the Year title.  What is unique about this year’s announcement is the interactive web page that Time created showing how every other Time Magazine Person of the Year ever named can be connected to Barack Obama in 6-degrees or less (just like the classic game, 6 degrees to Kevin Bacon).

The web page adds a fun, interactive element to the annual person of the year announcement, and I have to give Time props for putting it together.  You can follow the link to view the interactive 6 degrees to Barack Obama page.  Once you get to the page, hit the Enter button to enter the site, and then select the Skip Intro link if you want to skip the introduction and go directly to the interactive 6 degrees to Barack Obama page.

What do you think?  Clever and cool, huh?

Image: Time

20% Discount on Harry Potter – The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon Available Now

I’m going to be the Keynote Speaker at the Harry Potter MPA Program which is part of the annual Harry Potter Education Foundation (HPEF) conference in July 2009, Azkatraz. My publisher, Palgrave Macmillan, is offering a 20% discount off of my book, Harry Potter: The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon, to complement the event. You can get all the details here.

If there’s a Harry Potter fan in your life, this book would be a great holiday gift! And if you just find branding and marketing success stories fascinating, as I do, then you might want to pick up this book for yourself!

I hope you enjoy it!

Image: Susan Gunelius/Palgrave Macmillan

2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid – No Wonder U.S. Auto Companies Need a Bailout

If you had any question in your minds that U.S. auto manufacturers are completely clueless, the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid from General Motors will certainly make it clear that these companies do not deserve a bailout.

At $72,000, the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid is probably meant to say, “Look at me!  I’m rich and I care about the environment.  Aren’t I wonderful?”  However, when I see this car, I think, “Look at me!  I leased the heck out of this car and now the bank is foreclosing on my house, and I hate the environment but this car makes me feel a little bit better about it.”

The new 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid improves fuel efficiency by 50%.  That means the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid gets a huge 21 miles per gallon!  What do you think?  Does GM deserve a bailout?

There is simply no doubt that U.S. automakers still don’t get it.  There’s a reason why the Toyota Prius is growing more popular everyday and large SUVs are being traded in for smaller cars.  Why can’t U.S. auto companies figure it out?

Update: The 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid has been named to the Yahoo! Finance Best and Worst of 2008 list as the worst car of 2008.

Image: General Motors

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