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Instead of posting its Super Bowl spot on YouTube – or NOT posting it at all, which seems to be popular with other advertisers – ETrade posts these “outtakes” instead.

It gets people buzzing about the new baby spot without actually showing them the commercial.

I guess we’ll have to wait until Sunday to see the finished product, but in the meantime we can get our baby fix with these:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Ev5HgGACg[/youtube]

A sign of the times perhaps? Cash4Gold.com is running a Super Bowl spot featuring Ed McMahon and MC Hammer.

The New York Times has a good piece today about the spot and the “funny but not flippant” tone we’ll be seeing Sunday: see it here.

And here’s a previous ADWire piece about the toned-down nature of advertising these days. 

I was going to post the spot here, but it seems that it’s been yanked from YouTube and the Cash4Gold.com website too just in the past hour or so. Replaced with a “Come back February 1″ pop-up box. (A personal note: I know you want your ad to make a “splash” on Sunday, but why bar it to those of use who will promote it for free in other ways??? This is so frustrating. )

This is not a political plug, simply a opportunity for readers to learn how to effectively use new technology to generate brand loyalty. Below is an excerpt from an email we received promoting a free digital marketing seminar. I thought it would be valuable to pass it along for everyone to have the opportunity to participate and learn.

—————————————————
Obama’s leadership team developed an extraordinary digital strategy to build a world-class online community and generate a brand loyalty program with unprecedented success. During a time of economic downturn, organizations need improved ways to build brand loyalty through the use of social networking and development of online communities. Learn how your organization or company can adopt the tactics of the Obama campaign to achieve success. Some of the concepts brought to you by respected thought leaders and experts in the industry include:

• How to use Facebook to build a community and meet marketing objectives
• What you need to build a successful corporate blog
• How to maximize website ROI and drive real results
• How to create online branded content to accelerate sales
• How to start “The Rave” and get your biggest fans to tell your story

 Digital Marketing World Spring 2009
“Winning Against the Odds”
April 1, 2009
Location: right at your own desk

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SoBe has learned about how to not only create a splash within the Super Bowl with what the company is tagging as “The First 3-D Commercial Ever” but also with the elements that will make it a viral – and hence, a national – campaign.

The “Lizard Lake” spot (featuring Ray Lewis) already garnered a mention on the Today show this morning, and You Tube has the spot as well as a nifty “making of” mini-documentary.  Whether or not the ad is actually good or sells product doesn’t really seem to matter.

On its website – www.SoBeWorld.com – the company prominently displays the spot, tells people where they can get their free 3-D glasses , even links to the commercial’s song via iTunes.

So far, from what I’ve seen for this year’s Super Bowl, SoBe is alone at the top of the “Buzz” heap.

But don’t count out E-Trade and those “baby” spots…more on that later. Here’s what SoBe’s doing:

2-D Spot: 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v6StsEKZu4[/youtube]

Making Of Doc: 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct5Iy9saNu8[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqT2xbODNr8[/youtube]

Ah, PETA. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals…and apparently vegetables. The group submitted a particularly risque ad for the Super Bowl, which was rejected.

The campaign went viral and now is replicating across blogs and news sites across the Internet. PETA officials claim they were “shocked” that the ad was rejected. But they seem to have put their hurt feelings aside rather quickly in order to capitalize on the buzz around the ad and its rejection.

Go to the PETA site if you want to see the spot. Fair warning: It is definitely a provocative ad.

Here are a few of the examples of the PR the group is collecting:

MSNB’s Ad columnist questions PETA’s motivations here.

The New York Post gets into it here.

And, Whoppi Goldberg does a parody and the gals on the View spend 4 minutes talking about it:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihDLLM7F26E[/youtube]

PETA’s Big Gamble

While the exposure hasn’t cast a particularly beneficial light on PETA, they’re likely reaping the benefit of millions of new hits on its website (where the ad is prominently displayed).

By getting new visitors to the site, PETA will probably convert at least some into advocates for its positions. PETA’s betting on converting more people than it offends – a gamble not many organizations will take.

UPDATE: I should have paid closer attention to the YouTube tag. The ad below is indeed from the 2008 game. Am searching for the 2009 spot and will post it as soon as I find it. Thanks to “dm” for alerting me.

Hyundai is taking on Mercedes and BMW with its new Genesis sedan. The company has reportedly booked five Super Bowl spots to introduce the model to American viewers.

The spots are decidedly NOT like those posted on ADWire yesterday – they’re sedate, even boring, with tranquil music and a soft-spoken announcer.

The question is, will people actually hear them amid a Super Bowl party’s din? And, if they don’t, will the on-screen images and text convey enough of the product’s benefits to get people interested in the car?

The script for the spot is positioning the Genesis against the Mercedes S & C class sedans. But that really doesn’t come across in the spot, in my opinion. My guess? These ads will likely be some of the least-recalled on Monday morning. Check it out for yourself:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNTxi47Zib0&feature=related[/youtube]

Sunday…Sunday…Sunday – the Holy Day of television advertising cometh. Here are ads from CareerBuilder’s and Pedigree…just make sure you’re free to laugh out loud.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBl3FOKgs1A[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl0×3LlWIig[/youtube]

If you’re in the market to drop $3 million NBC still has 4 Super Bowl ads to sell.

Read Ad Age’s complete coverage here.

Watch ADWire in the coming days as we uncover other Super Bowl spots and discuss strategy and tactics. We’ll also have analysis of what worked and what didn’t on Monday.

Marketing via email is an affordable marketing tactic that frequently scores a big return on investment. Some quick tips for how to improve your email marketing campaigns:

Back to Basics: Email Marketing

Start collecting email addresses – ask customers to “Join” your email list to receive “exclusive” offers and updates. Always make sure you have an opt-in list vs. just blindly signing clients up for your information.

Say “thank you” - when they sign up for your email information on your website, be sure to send a “thank you” email confirming their sign-up and giving them the option to “opt-out” if they want. This is another point of contact for you to those interested in your products or services – and frankly, saying thank you is just common courtesy.

Hone your list – regularly review bounced email reports to update your email lists. Who’s not opening your messages? Who is responding to your offers? Consider segmenting your messages and sending customized offers to the different segments of your list.

Create a calendar – set deadlines for when you send emails. To set a calendar, consider internal events (sales, product announcements), external events (major national events like the Super Bowl, industry events, etc.), even seasonality (like spring trends).

Design for all – make sure your email message can be viewed as text-only or on a browser, depending on recipient preferences. Avoid JavaScript or any other scripting – these are frequently screened out by email spam filters now.

Get their Attention – put your company name in the “from” field. Keep subject lines short and action-orientated. Use text instead of images at the top of the email so it can be seen in the reading pane no matter how it’s being viewed or if the web-based email client has disabled the images in the message.

In between the glimpses of history, some special ads created for the Inauguration appeared (most notably from Pepsi and Phoenix University):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zraEXjaBp68&feature=channel_page[/youtube]

See the Phoenix University ad here.

Also saw quite a number of advocacy ads from the AMA, environmental groups and labor unions. This is a trend that we should probably get used to, as the Obama administration encourages broad-based participation by Americans in their government.

The national ad world is talking today about ABC cutting it’s rate for ads during the Oscars and about Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercials in wake of their takeover late last year by InBev. But for many business owners, these are insignificant topics versus their Monday-morning concerns.

So, let’s get back to basics.

Starting today, ADWire will publish some basic tips on media relations, web development, video production, graphic design and advertising.

Of course, we’ll continue to report on advertising trends and share some of the cutting-edge creative that catches our eye…but these “Back to Basics” posts will be focused on tips you can put to use right  now, today, to improve your marketing and advertising. To that end, let’s look at tips on dealing with the media.

Back to Basics: Media Relations

• Know before the interview what you want to get across – practice your main statement.

• Be honest.

• Avoid overly technical or complicated language. Keep it simple.

• Be emotional & positive; show your pride in what you’re talking about.

• Don’t wait for the right questions – you are the expert!  If the reporter doesn’t seem to understand or have the correct background information, take the time to explain a technical process.

• You are always “on the record.” Do not ask the reporter to go off the record for background or sensitive information. (This point is debated among PR practitioners…if you’re not an experienced media maven, I would err towards always being “on the record” versus going “off record.”)

• Use analogies and stories whenever possible – instead of saying “47,000 square feet,” say “the size of a football field.”

• Remember when speaking to reporters, you are really speaking to their audience, who are asking, “what’s in it for me?” Your answers should reflect their interests.

• Smile and breathe.

If your marketing budget has had a haircut recently, e-mail is one of the best tactics you can try (or use better, if you’re already doing it).

A 2008 Direct Marketing Association (DMA) study puts the ROI (return on investment) for each $1 spent on e-mail was $45.06. That’s a margin any CEO would like.

E-mail marketing is easier to do now than ever before, and its response rate and ROI consistently perform better than nearly any other marketing tactic. There are e-mail service programs (ESPs) out there that make it easy and effective for your business. Here are some suggestions:

• You can choose a stock template or have one custom-designed so that it matches your corporate branding (I’d suggest the latter to keep your marketing consistent).

• If you have a customer/prospect database, ESPs can manage your e-mail lists easily. Uploading, segmenting, deleting are all tasks that literally take a few mouse clicks.

• If you don’t have a customer/prospect database, get one!  Start mining your own data for e-mail addresses, ask for it in all intake forms or call sheets, ask for email addresses when you’re at trade shows or other industry events.

• You want to send your e-mail to “warm” prospects as frequently as possible. Outside lists are available but sending to these lists dramatically increases the likelihood your message will end up in the “spam” folder.

• Segment your lists how it makes sense for your sales cycle. Perhaps you’ll be at a show in Cleveland in two weeks and want your prospects in that region to know – e-mail makes sending a message to them easier than ever. Or maybe you need to segment based on “past clients,” “current clients” and “prospective clients.” I’m over-simplifying what these programs can do…suffice to say a list can be segmented however it makes sense for your business.

• Once you segment, customize your message. E-mail recipients respond in larger numbers if the offer is customized to them and their needs.

• Provide valuable content. You don’t just want to “blast” them with an offer. Give them content they’ll find useful…and maybe even pass along to colleagues or friends. (And yes, your e-mail service provider (ESP) .

• Review your ESP reports. ESPs can provide you with open rates, bounce rates, who forwarded the message, when people opened the message and which links they clicked on. Over time, you’ll be able to see which links/offers/messages your list is responding to and customize future messages based on that information.

Bottom line? If you’re looking for a good bang for your buck – 45 times more – look into e-mail marketing.

UPDATE – Here’s a link to some predictions on e-mail marketing in 2009 by Elie Ashery, President and CEO of Gold Lasso, LLC.

Microsoft Corp. just released a new way of tracking online campaigns that goes beyond the current “last ad clicked” standard. The “last clicked” standard has been in use for the past decade, virtually all ad campaign reporting methodologies associate sales, leads and Web traffic simply to the last click or ad exposure.

Microsoft’s new technology, Engagement Mapping, takes into account for the first time all the various online touchpoints and interactions a consumer experiences before an eventual sale.

Bad news. Good news. No news. Whatever news you may have about your company and its prospects these days…SHARE IT!

Your employees and your customers deserve to know about nearly any situation in which your company finds itself. And, in the long-term, honest communication is more valuable to everyone than trying to “shield” them from reality.

Quality. Value. Trust. These are the new keywords. Hiding the bad news will only breed mistrust and hurt feelings.

And don’t just let them hear from their managers or the employee newsletter – your communication commitment needs to extend all the way up to the CEO, who should be your Communicator in Chief. CEOs absolutely need to spend a significant amount of  their time communicating with stakeholders – particularly now.

Here’s a decent piece that ran in Chief Executive magazine last month if you want more tips.

Bottom line, get your message out there today…even if you’re not sure what that message might be next week.

Do I amuse you? Well, if you’re watching television, reading the paper or listening to the radio these days, the answer is probably no. The news is grim just about anywhere you turn, and advertisers are taking on a more somber tone too.

But what about that Grandaddy of Buzzy & Funny ads, the Super Bowl on Feb. 1? This is where advertisers pay upwards of $3 million to present their funniest, most outlandish spots to 140+ million viewers.

But can funny work given the country’s current mood? Seriously, what’s worse than someone who tries to make you laugh when you’re mad or depressed?

Some of the industry’s prognosticators are predicting that advertisers will try to be funny without being “flippant.” The mood of the Super Bowl ads often sets the creative tone for the remaining 11 months of the year.

My guess is funny will still rule the Super day, though, and humor in advertising can certainly make your spots stand out. Some tips on being funny in your local or regional ads:

1.  Aim to entertain. Look at a funny spot as being entertainment with the added benefit of selling.
2. Don’t be obnoxious. Spots that rely on toilet humor, for example, likely won’t reflect well on your brand (unless you’re selling toilets or something related to toilets). Which leads me to…
3. Pick humor that relates to your product. Don’t do a funny spot set in an office if you sell construction supplies.
4. Funny is simple. Simple things like burgers and bowling alleys lend themselves more easily to funny messaging. Everyone knows what a bowling alley is. So if you have a product or service that requires an explanation in addition to a sales pitch, funny might not be the way to go.
5. You’re not laughing. Ever tell a joke to one person who found it hilarious and then tell the same joke that fell on deaf ears? Well, funny is, more than anything, subjective. Keep your humor broadly appealing. A lot of the ads that show up on the “Top 10 Most Hated” ads were meant to be funny.
6. Don’t expect magic. Funny ads will increase recognition, and probably build goodwill for your brand. But consumers rarely buy based on funny ads, so make sure you have other elements in your marketing campaign that can influence purchasing decisions.

In 2009, we can expect consumers to spend less. We can also expect a return to “basics” of family, value and community-mindedness, with less obvious luxury-brand consumption.

So what does this mean for your brand? MediaPost Friday published an insightful piece that included comments by brand analysts from Landor Associates, one of the country’s top brand consulting firms. Some snippets:

Brands will have to make their messages simple, honest and clear, says Landor Associates analyst Susan Nelson. “Non-essential product features that encourage consumers to trade up will be even less successful than usual,” she predicts.

Says Landor Associates Chief Marketing Officer Hayes Roth: “When the market turns south, the business in quality socks goes up. Maybe you’re buying a luggage tag from Coach rather than the thousand-dollar purse; people want to be seen as frugal to a certain extent, less flashy.”

“If you look back eight years ago, the iPod emerged after the economy last hit the skids; it was an example of an inventive product that had something to offer in a compact mode and was a hit,” says Roth. “So I’m a big believer that in times like these both tried-and-true brands that stick to their knitting and don’t get thrown off course, and brands that emerge with a better idea will fare well.

Click here to read the whole piece.

Bottom line?

• Quality & Value will rule in 2009.
• Remember who your customers are & what they want.
• Keep your brand promise clear & consistent throughout the year.

A couple of new commercials have hit the air the past few days from major national marketers like Pepsi and Allstate. Now that the holidays are over, retailers are licking their wounds, and people are starting to ask the question: What Now?

• Some will put money in their mattresses and stock up on bottled water and canned food.

• Others will, undoubtedly, look to the new administration with hands outstretched, looking for yet another bailout.

• Still others will turn face 2009 with optimism and hope – and even capitalize on the opportunities that these tough times present to all of us: A potential green technology revolution and local, grassroots efforts to improve our own communities are just two that come to mind.

It seems that the market and the American psyche are – and will be – working together to realign our priorities. This will likely mean less disposable income spent on things we don’t need, true, but more time spent getting to know our neighbors and experiencing a shift in our thinking about what represents success.

These two commercials have captured that emerging sentiment and, while they’re ultimately about selling something, they appeal to the values that will pull us out of the pickle in which we find ourselves:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh4h1S4_5Wg[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW5XmsG8kJ0&feature=channel_page[/youtube]

Survey after survey has shown that consumers spend more money with businesses that are committed to a cause. So look at your business’ position in the market and your marketing and ask yourself:

• No one likes to walk around afraid; how can you contribute to this New Optimism in your messaging?

• How much more effective can your advertising be if you’re seen as a partner in this new reality instead of a creature of opportunity?