YouTube is making a play for developing custom content or content that can't be found elsewhere online as it defends its competitive video position against rival Hulu. Part of that defense is the YouTube Screening Room which has been around since 2008, but appears to be making a comeback with YouTube finding new sponsors to promote the films.
What is the Screening Room? From the channel's description, it features "top films from around the world to find the audiences they deserve... While the majority of these films have played at international film festivals, occasionally you'll find films that have never before screened for wide audiences."
Today American Express is sponsoring the Screening Room, but last Tuesday Lexus did its marketing sponsorship duty and brought the Screening Room content to the YouTube audience with a front page banner ad, intro commercial before the film played, and some banners promoting the all-new CT200h filled the screen.
I'm sure many of you remember Volkswagen's "The Force" Super Bowl commercial. If you do not, you can read about it here. You know you made an ad that resonated with the public when you get some parodies on YouTube. The best one by far is this Toyota example that brings a bit of automotive recall hijinks to the mix.
This is all part of Buick's transformation or is it reclamation as the brand moves upmarket as a premium brand. This is the segment brands like Lincoln, Acura, Infiniti and to some extent Cadillac has played in for the past couple decades. Some people also call them segment affordable luxury. It's that awkward place between general consumer and luxury consumer vehicles, essentially the brands that cannot directly compete with the likes of Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Lexus; although, Lexus is a primary target of all these brands. Lexus breaks convention as they have beaten the Germans in some vehicle segments.
Buick wants to own the Premium space and as Cadillac continues to evolve and yes become a direct competitor with German luxury brands, now is the time for General Motors to show keeping the Buick brand, after closing several others, was a good decision. Fortunately, the products are getting better but the brand itself still has a major way to go as it assumes a more lofty aspirational brand identity.
The Human Highlight Reel campaign is a fairly typical attempt at facilitating the brand change. I'm sure the consumer research came back showing that Buick considers or the aspirational customers Buick wants to attract are free thinking (think brand agnostic), self motivated people who don't want to follow the herd. As a way to attract these consumers, the brand is trying to appeal to that person through inspirational content that shows the spirit the brand wants to embody or at least thinks its desired customers embody.
I'll admit it is personally difficult for me to see Buick as anything other than my mom's car. She had a nice, yellowish 1976 Buick Skylark coupe. It was mom's car from 1976 until the late 1980s when she finally sold it. Amazingly, it looked just as good the day she let go of it as when she bought it off the car lot. I definitely get my cleanliness when it comes to cars from my mom (my dad's Nissan Sentra had several weeks old McDonalds bags and various trash all over the floor. No wonder they got divorced.)
Fortunately, others may be more open to the Buick brand than I am and fortunately too they are making some solid products to back up the marketing change, because it doesn't matter how bad you want to attract new customers - you have to have the right products to meet the desired change.
Celebrity is back. Okay, it never really went away, but it seems there is a new spin on how to get celebrities interested in trying out a new car. Pair the celebrity with an interesting personality who can keep the conversation interesting and also find some time to highlight the features in the car.
For Lexus, the formula centered around the attractive comedian Whitney Cummings driving celebrities - from all walks of life - including a skateboarder, actress, and a social media author in the all-new CT 200h. The CT 200h is a new hybrid hatchback that arrives at dealerships in March 2011. There isn't much new with the CT 200h, but Whitney is a great host and makes most of the videos watchable. She definitely is the star more so than the car.
The CT 200h campaign is called the Darker Side of Green, but they extended the campaign by calling the drives Darkcasting. Why Darkcasting? It is described as "the first ever in-car after-dark talk show." I'm sure the claim of "first ever" will go unchallenged. Each drive takes place at night and the cast is Whitney as passenger and her "celebrity" driver.
You can see social media author Brian Solis in this video:
Chevrolet Casts "The Perez Hilton of the East Coast"
Chevrolet includes lifestyle and celebrity blogger Micah Jesse as a key person in their latest campaign Cruze-Arati.
Unfortunately, Micah mistakenly assumes he is doing the "first mobile talk show." Perhaps he can claim the first ever in-car daylight talk show. I'm fairly certain that claim is still available.
Micah does an in-car interview with "celebrity" Kelly Bensimon from the Real Housewives of New York City.
One odd difference is how Micah interviews Kelly on the side of the road. Did Chevy's lawyers not allow the interview to happen while the car is in drive?
Cruze-Arati is a bit more than just in-car interviews. In fact, most of it revolves around six topical experts talking on subjects like Technology, Music, Sports and Fashion. It's mainly about socially active people driving around in a Cruze and showcasing some "crazy" stories around each of the topics. There is even a Twitter account, @Cruzearati, to follow all the antics.
The technique used is similar to when one looks straight at the sun and then closes their eyes. Once eyes are closed, an image of the sun is captured as an afterimage. Don't believe it? Try it when the summer comes out in six months or look it up on Wikipedia (remember that site? The one that now sounds like WikiLeaks.)
BMW took the afterimage effect to a new place where they quickly flashed a bright light during an in cinema commercial and then the commercial asks the audience to close its eyes. Those who closed their eyes saw the afterimage of "BMW". It's a pretty cool idea; though, it isn't something that is easily portable as the projection of the logo requires a full installation behind the movie theater's screen. So scale is an issue.
Fortunately, we can all enjoy the concept via YouTube even if YouTube is unable to burn the BMW letters into our eyeballs. Maybe someday...
Jalopnik summed it up pretty well yesterday when they posted an article entitled "The Toyota Highlander Is Breeding Assholes" about the new ad campaign for the Highlander. It's a bit harsh, but it gets to the point and made me wonder if right now is the best time to be promoting obnoxious, stuck up children who look down on others in older cars.
The premise of the ad is that a child does not want their parents picking them up from school in an old station wagon. It's embarrassing when a dad pulls up in a Buick Roadmaster while the Toyota family's child has a shiny new Highlander SUV to brag about.
What Toyota forgets is that a Buick Roadmaster can be very cool. In fact, really cool in a fun car enthusiast way; hence, the headline slam from Jalopnik.
What bothers me most about the ad is its timing.
At time when frugal spending is in vogue, it is a bit counterproductive to insult families who are being sensible driving used, most likely paid off, cars. Though, I'm not surprised a car company is promoting buying a new car. Increasing used car sales or promoting keeping a car that is a decade plus old isn't good for business. Insulting frugal families isn't good marketing either.
I have enjoyed the Gymkhana series from DC Shoes featuring its co-owner Ken Block. In fact, in my best of 2009 Gymkhana 2 made the list. Unfortunately, Gymkhana 3 - the first to feature the new Ford Fiesta - is a sad sequel. There are no amazing moments, the car is a sad prop, the Ford logo gets its moment across a couple pairs of silicone mounds and there's enough black lighting to satisfy any college stoner's decorating needs.
Now to be fair this is Part I: The Music Video Infomercial alluding to the hope something great may come in a future part of Gymkhana 3, but starting out this way is no way to build interest for future episodes.
Gymkhana 1 was amazing. Gymkhana 2 kept it interesting and had a few great moments. This however is just sad. This is Gymkhana's Matrix Revolutions.
Nothing is really wrong with the rap by Cool Kids and the video is well shot, but it lacks any of the appeal or the fascination from the other Gymkhana videos and the Fiesta doing the electric slide in a few frames doesn't help.
One YouTube reviewer sums it quite well, "less rapping, more driving."
Perhaps all of this is to make the shoes and clothing more the star than the car, since this is an ad for DC not Ford and, if that is the case, the production team has done its job. They've turned the cool automotive lust of Gymkhana into a clothing commercial.
Dodge is extending their "Freedom" TV spot with a new online video that has an elderly woman stopping by antique stores to get an appraisal for a photo of George Washington and a few colonial soldiers posing next to a Dodge Challenger.
I do enjoy the attempt to extend the campaign online with a video that pokes fun at the absurdity of the commercial's concept and it does show Dodge has a sense of humor about the idea (how could they not?) However, I wonder if the video is funny enough to get any significant views.
It's charming for a second, but I'm not a die-hard Dodge or Challenger fan so I'm not really the target audience for the video. It had only 100 views when it showed up in my recent Channel updates screen on YouTube; though, the video has only been live since late yesterday.
So you love the cute hamster ads Kia has been rolling out for the Kia Soul campaign, but you don't have $15,000 to buy a car to show that love. Well, Kia now has a solution - Hamstar! Hamstar is the campaign interpreted into cotton t-shirts with a hip outline of a hamster head.
I really love how Kia has owned this campaign by demonstrating several ways to engage with their younger fans. Whether it was the tour promotion, Facebook game, or the Moochie YouTube video series, Kia has kept their presence high as it targets the youth market.
Now if only someone can tell me why Hamstar needs a Twitter feed? @HamstarClothing is up and well doing nothing since a few promotional tweets and announcing to all 24 followers that the store is live; it's last tweet on July 21st. Oh well, I guess this helped check the "social" box on the marketing campaign project list.
Still, I really like the idea of adding a line of clothing to help further the campaign; though, one wonders if too much will make Kia "the hamster car maker"?
A few people have asked my thoughts on the Toyota Sienna campaign, particularly the idea of positioning a minivan as a “Swagger Wagon.” Well I have to say I love it. It is becoming one of the best campaigns of 2010.
Why?
1.) It gives the vehicle a distinct personality. This is rare these days. Most marketing today is about showcasing individual features of the car. Here Toyota is focusing on giving their minivan a unique positioning statement.
2.) It mocks the target consumer in a way that even the audience it is trying to reach finds it fun and unoffensive. Anyone buying a minivan has surrendered to a life of sacrificing style for function. Toyota’s marketing team has built off this surrendering by having some ridiculous fun with the parents by blending the hilarity of rapping middle-age parents, focusing on the lifestyle as if it is something to be desirable, and still maintain the product benefits to the consumer.
3.) The two actors are perfectly cast. Someone shared with me that they come off as “asshats” but I think they embody the sense that parenting has become too serious and really needs to relax. After years of parents over nurturing their kids, the time has come to get back to focusing on the needs of the parents and some relief from child rearing.
4.) Oddly enough it creates a sense of pride in the vehicle. The Sienna is no longer just another minivan it is a “Swagger Wagon” and that identity will stick. Good or bad, it will and those who buy one will find a sense of pride in owning it. Imagine pulling up to the next family holiday party in your Swagger Wagon. Now that’s style over function.
To launch the latest music video for the campaign, Toyota bought a roadblock on YouTube’s home page that featured a banner with an integrated video taking people to the Sienna YouTube channel. I looked at the ad unit early yesterday morning and there were around 40,000 views o the video. Tonight there are 466,748 views! A very impressive feat for a one-day home page ad unit; though, it wasn’t only the ad. Toyota received a lot of buzz coverage from the major and minor automotive blogs and some other media outlets because the video is actually entertaining.
The most impressive contribution, I didn’t once think about Toyota’s recall issues while watching it.
When you're a super car, the 60-second spot just doesn't give you enough time to showcase how awesome you are. The Pagani Zonda R released a new 3 minute video to do just that, showcase everything that is amazing about their latest sports car. Fortunately, if you produce lust-worthy, high-speed, rare vehicles the thought of getting someone to sit and watch 3 minutes of online video is not that difficult.
When planning a marketing video for online consumption, the length of the video is a very hot topic. Will people really sit through this? It's a valid concern and a lot of times most video marketing efforts could learn a lot from the brevity of Ernest Hemmingway, while the creative team gets lost in the complex expression similar to that of William Faulkner. Say things with fewer words, fewer images and more people will watch, unless you are a super car.
If you are a super car all bets are off. The advice of "keep it short" is nonsense. This video from Pagani could've been 10 minutes or 15 minutes and I still would've watched the whole thing. Unfortunately, most products don't elicit such dedication, patience or passion.
P.S. - I only did this blog post so I could talk about a sweet Zonda.
Unless you live under a rock, you might know that Apple launched their latest device the iPad last Saturday. Along with the Apple hype and a lot of varying opinions about what the iPad means to computing, some automakers took the iPad plunge and did some marketing around the launch.
“Who reads a 300-page manual, anyway?' asked Mr John Krafcik, chief executive for Hyundai North America. 'Instead, they'll have a gorgeous colour touchscreen loaded with the manual, as well as photos of the whole Hyundai line-up.'
That’s right if you just bought a $50,000 plus Hyundai you’ll be reminded that you’ll be sharing the dealership service lane someday with a Hyundai Accent. Regardless, Hyundai definitely made the biggest PR splash with their iPad owner’s manual announcement with coverage across every major automotive blog, NY Times, USA Today, LA Times, and even several International publications.
Personally, I could care less about the iPad manual in the Equus. I'm more interested in how cool the backseat seating is in the Equus Long-Wheelbase edition.
Cadillac took a more expected path by being the first automaker to integrate fully into the new platform’s software/hardware capabilities with their integration into a trendy publication application for iPad called Cool Hunting. This probably would’ve been bigger news if Hyundai hadn’t usurped the car plus iPad news. The Cool Hunting application brings together some interesting style, hipster, trendy news stories and then integrates the CTS Coupe and CTS-V Coupe products into the app.
Lincoln and Toyota also showed up on the iPad with some media buys that coincided with the iPad launch. Funny thing though is that Toyota didn’t get much attention for its ad buy; rather, any Toyota buzz came from a custom stereo installer who modified the dashboard of a Toyota Tacoma to do the first iPad in-car installation. This in-car install had more buzz than the Hyundai Equus iPad manual news and made the installer the big buzz winner of all things iPad automotive related.
Lastly, some more gratuitous marketing ensued at the New York Auto Show that’s going on at the same time as the iPad launch. Volvo shared some pictures of their auto show models holding an iPad and I guess talking about how naughty the new Volvo S60 is or is it how naughty one can be in a Volvo S60? Oh well, it doesn’t matter because their effort worked and I made this attempt at iPad brand-association my blog post’s lead image.
It’s refreshing talking about Toyota without mentioning their recall nightmare. Okay, that was one mention. The new Sienna minivan campaign just launched and it is providing some decent ways for a brand to leverage their online properties to further promote an attempt at a viral video campaign.
The videos are cutesy comical takes on parenting and mocking the “look at me” parents who are all about style and self-congratulatory recognition. Actors Brian Huskey and Rachel Drummond play the part well. The ads are well done for what they are; though, some wonder if the timing of this campaign couldn’t be worse. Toyota is trying really hard to get people to think of Toyota beyond just the recall as they heavily market their brand and the Sienna during the Olympics.
Bill Green, who writes one of my favorite ad blogs Make the Logger Bigger and co-hosts the AdVerve Podcast, writes “After seeing mommy get a timeout, Toyota’s getting too cute for its own good, especially given their recent troubles. All brands on deck means they should be focused on rebuilding rep across the board, not glossing over a recall problem by pushing happy minivan families.”
I’m not sure I agree. Toyota still has to promote its new products even with a major recall. Sure the Sienna stuff is tongue-and-cheek at a time when the company needs to be very stiff and serious, but the Sienna campaign was in development long before the recent recall news and the work does fit well in the minivan segment.
Let’s face it anyone buying a minivan has already given up on being cool and probably feels smart choosing a minivan over pricier, less practical SUVs and CUVs that dominate the driveways of most families. So what better way to endear yourself to your buyers by making fun of the superiority of style conscious sport utility parents by applying that attitude to minivan drivers? Also, taking a few liberties with the “fun” of parenting is not a bad thing either.
This is not a new concept for the Toyota Sienna. Sienna’s last effort in 2007 included ads that ran on a similar theme, but slightly reversed. Instead of the parents mocking the kids, the kids mock the parents as in this commercial featuring some ungrateful kids whose new playhouse doesn’t feature leather seating surfaces like their comfy new minivan.
What I like best about the campaign is not the witty writing of the commercials; rather, the digital connection of various web properties is well executed by the online team. The campaign is made available through a branded YouTube channel that also promotes connecting to the vehicle’s Facebook fan page and links out to more information at the Toyota website.
Unlike most auto manufacturer shopping sites, the Sienna vehicle page clearly connects to the campaign and promotes the accompanying social websites; though, the call to action to “watch more Sienna commercials” on YouTube is less than exciting on a vehicle’s landing page. It’s a bit we really love our ads now go watch them and see how smart we are.
Even so, the vehicle-landing page communicates clearly and connects with the campaign in an uncluttered way while promoting a connection with the brand in social media. I really like how the communication happens across Toyota’s site, their Facebook fan page, and the YouTube channel. It is all nicely integrated and finds a way to bring the whole effort together even if it is distributed across the web.
The online flow isn’t revolutionary. It’s simple, not overdone like Sienna's “Making It Rain” ad.
The Dodge ad "Man's Last Stand" was just begging to be mocked and mocked it has. McKenzie Fegan, a New York producer, created "Woman's Last Stand" in response to the Dodge Super Bowl spot.
Unfortunately there is no car featured in a woman's last stand though plenty of snarky lines are featured in the video spoof. A few lines from McKenzie's spoof include, "I will assert myself and will get called a bitch... I will assure you that size doesn't matter... I will see Paul Blart: Mall Cop twice."
I do hope I get credit for spoofing the Dodge ad first. In my Super Bowl ad review I made the following suggestion:
Personally, I felt the ad followed a common theme of Super Bowl marketing: It’s okay to make fun of boring middle-aged men. It’s the last segment of the population that is fair game to mock. Can you imagine the uproar if this concept were reversed?
Women staring blankly at the camera with voiceover by Weed’s star Mary-Louise Parker saying, “I will get the kids ready for school, kiss you goodbye and rush to get ready for my job. I will pretend to understand why you care if a team wins a game. I will fake an orgasm this weekend.” Oh wait, maybe this concept does work. Now what car would go roaring down the highway in the female gender version? BMW Z4 sDrive 35i with a manual transmission to beat the pants off that automatic only offered Dodge Charger.
Others Weigh In
Creative Officer and Chief Social Media Officer for Mullen, Edward Broches (@edwardboches), comments on the spoof and original Dodge Super Bowl ad in his blog Creativity Unbound:
"In fact you could argue that based on the type of guy Dodge appears to be “targeting” whatever attention this video generates is a good thing, reinforcing the brand’s desired image. You could even go a step further and argue that Dodge and its agency Weiden and Kennedy would have been smart to inspire the creation of this and similar opposing messages in order to generate buzz and call further attention to the original spot. Alas it turns out they’re not quite that clever or surreptitious."
I guess Edward doesn't read my blog on a daily basis. Big shock I know. But Dodge and Weiden+Kennedy were smart enough to create an opposing message ad. Sure it's not exactly what Mr. Broches alludes to, something in a similar vain of a Woman's Last Stand; instead, Dodge decided to give women their own sense of attitude in the "We Make Getaway Cars" spot featuring a fed up woman who does a burnout off into the night, leaving her sniveling man behind in the smoke of burnt rubber.
Whatever the response, the Dodge Super Bowl ad definitely made its mark on popular culture and is starting to separate itself from many of the forgetable ads from a week ago. Perhaps Dodge and Weiden+Kennedy actually know what they are doing and are creating ads with some attitude and differentiation that demand attention and, yes, even mockery.
It’s no secret that Toyota is dealing with a major company issue as they respond to unprecedented criticism for their accelerator pedal, hybrid braking and floor mat recalls. One unexpected fallout from the recalls is the end or momentary suspension of Toyota’s brand campaign “Beyond Cars.”
The Beyond Cars website was taken down last week as the company responds to all things recall. When asked why the Beyond Cars was no longer available, I was told it was done “in an effort to make sure the recall info is present, we are currently driving all traffic to the recall site,” according to a representative from the @Toyota Twitter account.
According to Toyota’s press release, the Beyond Cars website invited “visitors to share their ideas for working together to create a better tomorrow.” Visitors could freely input their own ideas, but all entries were moderated and approved before posting.
One wonders if the concept lost internal support with the recall fiasco causing so much negative press for the company. With site moderation Toyota was able to control what would be published to the site, but would site coverage by blogs and other social media conversation mock the concept of talking about a better tomorrow, one that might include Toyotas that were not accelerating beyond the driver’s control?
With any user-generated site, the big question for clients is how thick is your skin when it comes to hearing what your customers, advocates or anyone stopping by has to say. Apparently for Toyota their skin is thin, very, very thin. With site moderation, they controlled what was posted. Even so, once the recall came the brand decided to take down the site entirely probably to avoid any possible negative connotation with the idea of a better tomorrow or negative reaction to Toyota moderating comments.
As an outsider, this shows there really isn’t much of an appetite for user-generated commentary at Toyota. Recalls are definitely a difficult time for any company. Would it be any different with other automotive companies going through this kind of public scrutiny? I’m not so sure it would be any different.
Beyond Cars may return after the recall dust has settled. When asked if it would return the Toyota representative told me “we're going to re-evaluate our plans for the site at a later date.” In the meantime, Toyota is working on its own “better tomorrow.” The world will have to wait.
“In September of 2008 we carved grooves into a quarter mile stretch of asphalt on the outskirts of Lancaster, CA. The goal was to create an experience that embodied the connection Civic drivers feel with the road.”
Honda’s creative musical road idea was an interesting, fun way to express the connection a car has with its road and what its drivers experience as road, car and driver connect in one simultaneous beautiful experience. To bring that experience to life, Honda cut grooves into a road in southern California and create a YouTube channel featuring the original TV commercial and several documentary short films explaining how it was done.
A new online experience on Honda’s Civic shopping website extends the idea in a new way. Website users can now create their own virtual musical road where they can plot different notes on a road and playback the version they made on the “Grooves Game” website.
The experience is an interesting way to bring new life to the original idea and bring an user generated, interactive experience to make the idea more personal. Of course, to make your own song, that’s worth listening to, it helps to have some musical experience. My ability to create a musical road sounded as muddled as the thuds I hear on my daily “musical” expression on the pothole-ridden roads of Michigan each morning.
Supposing you can actually create a new tune that’s worth listening to it is a shame the Honda Grooves Game doesn’t let one share their creation. The only share that can be done is an email sharing form that sends the website link for friends to create their own song.
In an age where most sites share through social media properties, it seems odd that Honda didn’t allow for an easy way to make that happen or a simple way to share a person’s own musical road. This would have made the experience more interesting. Perhaps budget or timing prevented such expression.
Overall, the idea is great way to extend a real-world idea to a digital idea. Unfortunately, without some stronger social sharing or allowing people to express their own musical roads, the site loses its power to be more compelling.
A few of my thoughts Toyota's handling of its recall online is yeserday's ClickZ: News and Expert Advice for the Digital Marketer. The article "Toyota Goes Digital to Communicate Recalls" touches on a few points I made in my discussion with journalist Jack Marshall. He did an excellent job highlighting the key points.
Here is the ad Toyota is using in their news network media buy. The messages are very clean and simple without a lot of branding or visual pizazz, which of course is very appropriate in these situations.
A new Toyota sponsored ad unit bringing in top rated articles on the social linking site Digg is also being used by the brand to direct consumers to Toyota recall information.
Also, the Toyota Recall landing page is clean and simple to understand, especially the prominence of what vehicles are recalled. The question of what vehicles are affected is always the first question of any owner. So, it is great seeing the clarity of that message come through on the Toyota recall landing page.
Overall I think Toyota is doing the right thing in the online space. Their messages are clear and the ads are showing up on just about every online news story I read about the recall.
I will add one last thing that is briefly mentioned in the ClickZ article. Toyota UK has some excellent video communications they have posted on YouTube to let consumers know how the company is responding to the seriousness of the situation. The videos come across in a genuine way that removes the hysteria that might of ensued.
Dodge has answered back after receiving probably what they expected, some backlash for portraying men as wusses who can't make their own decisions and treating the Dodge Challenge as a "Man's Last Stand" car. The female gender answer is a commercial that's on Dodge's YouTube channel called "We Make Getaway Cars."
The ad features a woman who resembles actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. She is having her belongings thrown from a second story window by her boyfriend/husband/brother/dad??? It's not really clear what is going on, but the flannel shirt wearing woman gets into her Challenger SRT8 and roars away with onscreen copy reading "We make getaway cars."
I love the attitude of this ad, but it's not clear what she is getting away from not that it really matters. Making a fast U-Turn looks cool and the idea of getting away is also a positive.
I do love how the Dodge brand is having fun with their identity and trying to create a certain attitude that has disappeared in an industry where everything's gone green. There is just something refreshing and different with this latest effort from Dodge's new agency Wieden+Kennedy. This shouldn't be surprising to those who know automotive marketing history. Wieden+Kennedy was the firm featured in the book Where the Suckers Moon about the marketing efforts of Subaru in the early 1990s.
I don't think we are witnessing a similar story as Where the Suckers Moon, but I do believe we are experiencing some solid marketing from a marketing firm that creates some distinction for a brand and the latest from Dodge is doing just that. Now if only Dodge had competitive products to market, it would be even more interesting.
Volkswagen’s new advertising agency Deutsch is proving it can be as irreverent as Crispin Porter & Bogusky with their first ad campaign for the VW brand featuring a foul-mouthed senior citizen named “Sluggy.”
What's this all about? It's derived from the game of "Punch Buggy." Punch Buggy supposedly started in the 1960s and according to Wikipedia is "a car game generally played by young children in which participants lightly punch each other in the shoulder upon first sight of a Volkswagen Beetle while calling out 'Slug bug!' or 'Punch buggy!' in reference to the Beetle's nickname, the Bug."
Sluggy is fabricated as the person who started the game of slugging a person every time a VW passes by. It goes something like this: If a VW car, of any model or year, drives by you get to punch a person. Hopefully, the person being punched understands what you are doing and no one loses a tooth.
Sluggy's Videos, Tweets and Blog Posts
The videos are definitely entertaining. The concept reminds me of a popular cultural icon on Twitter called @ShitMyDadSays that features quotes from a curse ridden old man who makes outlandish comments about life.
The game comes with some rules developed by Sluggy with a companion blog and Twitter account (@SluggyPatterson) to assist people who want to learn the game. Rules include where to hit a person, three hits when seeing a VW with Hawaii license plates and many other tips for extending interest in the game.
Making the game real with evolving rules and the ability to ask questions that may spawn more rules is an excellent way to extend the online experience. First of all, it brings life to the game for people who want to play. So watch out if someone slugs you as a VW Jetta drives by.
The use of social media to ask questions, clarify rules and interact with the personality of the concept is interesting and better than most of the social media campaign outreach we usually see in the automotive industry. Here VW can have conversations with fans of the campaign instead of just simply pimping the website or YouTube video links. There is a natural conversation that exists with this idea and it lends itself well to platforms like Twitter and Posterous.
Obtuse Online Media
One area that could use some work is in the online media marketing of the campaign. I found the campaign from a banner ad on Yahoo! mail. The ad had the confusing message of "PunchDubDays" with a circle and a fist next to the text and copy saying "We're taking a hit for you."
The campaign’s message is a bit difficult to comprehend. Perhaps it's designed to be obtuse as a way to get people to learn more about PunchDubDays, but this seems weak compared to doing something a bit more playful in the ad placement. Creating some visual interest instead of the logo and campaign headline might be more compelling to draw people into the fun of the concept.
Other than the minor messaging issue, the campaign is well executed in the social space, it taps a cultural trend of listening to old men with no filter, and the writing in the videos is stronger than VW’s sister brand Audi’s Green Police campaign.
"The Green Police is, in many ways, a representation of the impact every day choices have on the environment- from choosing paper or plastic bags at the grocery store and drinking bottled water to the type of car we drive," said Scott Keogh, chief marketing officer, Audi of America. "The star of our ad is the Audi A3 TDI, awarded the Green Car Journal's 2010 'Green Car of the Year' award, and clearly a great option for customers who want to be greener without sacrificing the thrill of driving."
So is the Audi Diesel campaign not making traction? Or is this just some really obscure experiment that is acceptable during Super Bowl commercial folly? I get the make better “green” decisions to better the planet, but I don’t know how watching a bunch of fake cops talk about how many napkins I’m supposed to take when eating a burrito will increase interest in Audi’s A3 TDI. Perhaps that is coming on Super Bowl Sunday.
I get that it is supposed to be satirical, but it’s really boring. It lacks the fun and good writing of Audi’s other recent viral video concept “Meet the Beckers.”
“trying to save the planet with recycling and saving napkins is like bringing a dustpan and brush to an earthquake”
“Aren't napkins compostiable [sic], recycleable [sic] and most are made from recycled material? Sometimes environmentalists need to pick their battles. Stupid stuff like this is a waste.”
“wouldn't it be better if places just switched to cloth napkins if dining in?”
“Manbearpig approves of this message!”
The other issue is the use of “Green Police” for the campaign. The phrase "Gruene Polizei" is well known as the name used for the Nazi police force due to the green uniforms they wore. Fortunately for Audi it is well known by history buffs and not the general U.S. population; though, some articles are already getting published discussing this as a potential public relations snafu for Audi’s otherwise innocuous campaign.
Sure the Green Police title will get some negative buzz but I doubt it will have much impact on the campaign. The bigger issue is around whether this police parody will have any impact on getting U.S. consumers interested in Audi Diesels.
Today American Express is sponsoring the Screening Room, but last Tuesday Lexus did its marketing sponsorship duty and brought the Screening Room content to the YouTube audience with a front page banner ad, intro commercial before the film played, and some banners promoting the all-new CT200h filled the screen.
