Based on the reactions I got from Twitter this has happened a lot of times already in the last few months. I don’t have a clue why the PNP or Makati city government hasn’t done anything to effectively put a stop to this so I hope this blog entry will just serve as a warning to everyone out there who passes by Guadalupe bridge. Always keep your doors locked, don’t bring out your cellphone unless you really need to, and be attentive during the ride.

While hundreds flock the streets of Cairo to unseat Mubarak, shoe mogul Kenneth Cole sends out a tweet which promotes his spring 2011 collection and connecting it with the recent Egypt uprising plus the hashtag: #Cairo. Talk about timing. And like any controversial tweet, it goes viral and forms flash mobs that began ganging up on him. The tweet read: “Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at http://bit.ly/KCairo -KC”

Anyway, Cole has deleted the tweet and offers this apology on Facebook: “I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I’ve dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate.” The first reply to his apology sets the tone for most of the others: “You are an asshole! No excuses.”

Here’s a reply to his post:

While Cole’s tweet is simply an “humorous” attempt to lighten up things, it’s obvious that he’s not aware of the recent news in Egypt. This is a fine example why CEO shouldn’t practice their copywriting skills on the Web, and a social media manager should be at the helm instead. It’s not everyday that a CEO puts a brand in jeopardy, most of the time it’s the customers that give them bad pr. The way I see it, Kenneth Cole just self-destructed. What are you going to do now, Mr. Cole?

May 6, 2011 – Thor
May 20, 2011 – Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
May 27, 2011 – Kung Fu Panda 2
June 3, 2011 – X-Men: First Class
June 17, 2011 – Green Lantern
July 1, 2011 – Transformers: Dark of the Moon
July 15, 2011 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II
July 22, 2011 – Captain America: The First Avenger

2011 is officially the comics year for Hollywood! Marvel and DC will be making tons of money in the next few years since they have a lot more of characters that they can make movies of.

The old style of advertising is known to interrupt you, to give you pause so that you look at the product being advertised and can get connected with a brand. But with 27 minutes of ad time per prime time hour (GMA 7), average of 3 ads per page on newspapers and all these billboard cluttering the road, people tend to just zap them all out (from their minds) completely…unless you compel them enough to interrupt their zapping abilities and create a connection.

A couple of days ago NMP launched an article about the difference between Flashy versus Brilliant concepts and ideas, this time around NMP will showcase some ads that we feel breaks out of the ad clutter. Sit back, enjoy and be entertained.

CHEERS AD

The brief of this ad is fairly simple: how do we creatively introduce this product in a country where there are so many restrictions in promoting alcoholic beverages. One such restriction is the beer cannot be seen being held, poured or drank in a public setting—not even in celebratory occasions. So the ad agency handling Cheers thought of taking the product out of the equation to get past the restrictions. What happened is just phenomenal! Cheers to that!

TMOBILE

Nothing is more powerful than the truth. And when your motherhood statement is directly shown and experienced by genuine people (not paid actors), then you have a very powerful campaign. “Life’s for sharing” is Tmobile’s tagline for this campaign. See how an innovative spectacle created such a big buzz online and offline.

GNC BURN BAG

Very simple promotional effort done creatively goes a long looong way and the guys at DM9 Jaime-Syfu (a local company) showed us how with these nifty bags. The insight and the message is clear and the play of the material is just so fun that merely having the bag incentivizes customers by a long shot.

MCDONALD’S FREE COFFEE

This one is just pure genius in my opinion. The agency responsible for this campaign elevated “sampling” to a new experience. I’m guessing the brief was pretty simple: we want to promote our new coffee and have people try it for free. A normal promotional agency would probably set up sampling stations and promo girls/guys handling out flyers. Check out what these guys did. Now, isn’t that just a wakeup call for the industry?

WHY SO SERIOUS? ALTERNATE REALITY MARKETING FOR THE DARK KNIGHT

Probably the most innovative marketing strategy to promote an already famous franchise name: Batman. What 42 Entertainment did was phenomenal and transformative. In an almost full 360 effort, 42 entertainment piqued curiosity of would-be-viewers and at the same time involved them in spreading the news of The Dark Knight to America (and because of the wonders of the internet, to the World). From innovative and transforming websites, to real-life role-playing games, to getting a free phone so Joker himself (or Harvey Dent) can contact you and rally you up and your friends to go out on the streets and wreck havoc (or stand for truth) until the final battle emerges in The Dark Knight movie itself. The planning and creation and step-by-step involvement of fans to rally a cause (even if fictitious) is just mind boggling. Truly immersive marketing!

Check these sites out :
www.whysoserious.com
www.ibelieveinharveydent.com)
www.waynefoundation.net/

In a similar effort the game Batman: Arkham Asylum employed an almost similar tactic of creating fictional real-websites that enhances your gaming, in this case, Batman experience: www.arkhamcare.com.

How about you guys? Do you have any ads in mind that really blew you away in terms of creatives and execution? Hit up the comments below with links if you do