Bond! James Bond!

Since the release of Quantum of Solace in 2008, the future of the next Bond movie was cast in a shadow of doubt due to the financial situation of the MGM studios. In 2011 when I was on my way to  work, I heard it on the radio that finally a new bond movie is on the process. The James Bond series has to its credit as one of the longest running film series of all-time and second highest grossing film series after Harry Potter. The James Bond movies are not just about action, but about the style, the Aston Martin with occasional BMW to the signature vodka martinis (Smirnoff being the first in Dr No to Die Another Day)

Product Placement has played an important role in terms of marketing. The history of product placement can be first seen in the book Around the World in Eighty Days. It was announced, in Skyfall that Bond will change his preference of drink to Heineken. I am not sure how this go will down with the hard-core fans of Bond series, but as product placement contributes towards one-third of the Skyfall's budget with Heineken contributing a reported $45 million. The automobiles industry followed by consumer electronics and computers and then beverages are on the top of the lists for product promotion in films.

The Skyfall released in UK on the 26th of October, the premiere in London took place on the 23rd  in Royal Albert Hall which along with the actors was also attended by The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. I have to wait for another week before the film is released in India. With the initial screening to the critic, the film has gained positive review.The first 30min before the actual movie starts, the audience are made to watch commercials of the products, featuring Daniel Craig, that have been used in the movie and are also the core sponsors.

P&G Best Job: Being a mum!

After a few busy months, I finally have some time! I had exams to deal with, work as usual and the Olympics to watch (which I believe was a great show from start to finish!). The entire Olympics event took a lot of brainstorming and effort by all the officials, volunteers and most importantly the Londoners. With 11 'Worldwide Olympic Partners', the Olympics is probably the most appealing event for businesses to show off their brand. 

Proud sponsor of mums

On a Sunday morning with nothing to do, I was browsing through YouTube videos and suddenly an ad by P&G caught my attention. It was titled "Raising an Olympian", which showed the story of an Olympian from the mother’s perspective. One link led to another, and I saw a video which showed the story of 4 different mothers raising there Olympian kids, titled "Best Job" with the tag line 'the hardest job in The World, is the best job in The World. Thank you, Mom!'. This was the kind of video which would get you emotional and bring a smile on your face at the end. The advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy started the campaign on Mother’s Day 2011 and ran it for 18 months on, till the Olympics.

P&G is one of the leading FMCG brands in the world, with its products in almost every household, where generally the lady is the main boss. The campaign focused on mothers who generally make the purchasing decision for the family, to which most of the audience could relate. The campaign was an integration of different forms of communication ranging from advertisements, PR to user-generated social media responses. This campaign aimed at rising a corporate brand awareness rather then its marketing its individual brands.

I really enjoyed the video and did the video touch me? Yes!

 

Old Spice: The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

After a nice long holiday and months of grilling for my exam, now am finally free.

‘Old Spice’ always brings back memories of my childhood when I used to see my father using that great-smelling after-shave lotion from that red bottle. But it isn’t something I would ever think of using as I find myself more inclined towards ‘Gillette’ when it comes to shaving products. Old Spice made a clear distinction of itself from shaving to grooming, yet I was never attracted towards it. I then came across the character know as Old Spice Man played by Isaiah Mustafa as a part of their campaign ‘The Man Your Man Could Smell Like’. It was catchy and funny, and targeted the women in order to create brand awareness. The ad went viral over the internet, creating a huge buzz, generating millions of hits and subscribers on YouTube, several million fan-page followers on Facebook, followers on Twitter and clicks to the Old Spice website.

The credit of the success for the campaign should be given to the small independent US advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy. Another successful campaign undertaken by Wieden+Kennedy was with Nike, whose account they still control, making it one of the longest standing client-agency partnership. The success of the Old Spice campaign can be identified with the ability to keep the audience engaged with the brand through the face of ‘Old Spice Man’. People provided them with requests to do spin-offs on the original advert, and some of them were published on the YouTube channel with a period of 2 days.

The result of the entertaining video of Isaiah Mustafa being topless, wearing a towel, was a success. This also led to several similar fan-made videos on YouTube. Also notable is the spoof created by the Sun using the same advert, but with a topless girl, meant to attract the male audience. The success of the Old Spice campaign did work its magic in turning the brand around, and increased its appeal massively for the younger generation. I did buy the shower gel, and I have to admit, I liked it!

H&M: Marni Collection

What would one do, when one of his favourite brands ties up with a top designer to launch trendier designs? Of course, queue up from morning to get the hands on the product before anyone else does. Well, that’s what I wanted to do last Thursday when H & M launched its Marni Collection. But unfortunately I had to be at work by 8 am. On my way to work, I was envying everyone queuing outside the H & M flagship store in Regent Street, and it was the first topic of discussion with my Italian colleague in my office.

H&M has been known for collaborating with famous designers to produce special limited edition lines. In 2004, H&M collaborated with German designer Karl Lagerfeld, followed by Stella McCartney, Madonna, Roberto Cavalli, Matthew Williamson, Jimmy Choo, Lanvin and Versace to name a few. The special edition lines have been actually integrated to the style of H&M, only making it sexier and in some cases bolder. The commercials of the collaboration have a same format compared to the in-house line of H&M – an artistic colourful video displaying the line of Collection and with the Marni Collection directed by Sofia Coppola (who had previously directed commercials for Dior) appealing to the young and colour loving loyalists.

In an innovative way, H&M is a success story of collaborating with international designers in the field of fashion. During my break at work, I and my Italian colleague tried to shop something from the Marni Collection online without success, because by the time we tried to check out our shopping basket, the products were already sold off. I did pay a little visit after work to get my hands on a shirt from the collection, but was disappointed as all the size ‘S’ was sold off and other sizes are too big for me. So finally, I and my colleague have decided that one of us will take off work to get our hands on the next new collection by queuing up since morning. The next time I blog about a new H&M collection, I’ll have a happier story to tell!

I'm lovin' it, McDonalds!

It’s snowing on my way back from class. It is cold, it’s late, with work early tomorrow morning; but I need my dinner. Then I saw a big illuminated ‘M’ and immediately thought to myself – “McDonalds to the rescue!” Yes! It’s McDonalds. Quick, cheap and filling! McDonalds is a life-saver, especially if you’re a drunk student coming out of a club late at night. Now even my colleague would vouch for that, as he was still hungry and unsatisfied after a Korean dinner gone wrong. We ordered a seafood hotpot, which had left a lot to be desired. And then, there was McDonalds to the rescue!

McDonalds’ story goes all the way back to 1940 as a barbecue restaurant and it remained the largest fast-food chain restaurant in the world until Subway took over in 2011. McDonald’s is a perfect example of a successful franchise, where only 15% is actually owned by the McDonald's Corporation. The McDonald’s slogan “I'm lovin' it!” is consistent throughout the world along with its logo and the theme. The slogan was created by McDonald's long-term advertising agency Heye & Partners from Unterhaching, Germany. McDonald's sponsors events, uses celebrity spokespersons, and has adapted social and interactive media full-fledgedly by prominently using tools of integrated marketing.

However, the course for McDonald’s hasn’t always been smooth. It has been in the eye of the storm far too many times for its own liking, with a history of numerous lawsuits and controversies. There have also been several instances of McDonald’s taking legal action against any restaurant using the word “Mc”. And quite contrary to my opinion, my father can’t stand the sign of the yellow ‘M’, after seeing its presence nearly everywhere, which he believes is a strong overdose of McDonalds. For all its flaws and lack of finesse, McDonalds is a NYSE listed company that has created more than 400,000 job opportunities, especially for the youths, and almost always saves the day when you’re in a dilemma or can’t find a place to eat!