I love advertising- almost too much. I love figuring out how a brand can fit into an experience vs. around it, or even worse, bastardizing it. I understand and respect the need for old school push advertising to tell people what they need to know (in those cases, I hope the messaging and standalone experience are good). I have also seen how the inability to approach things differently and fall back on old ways can destroy what the people love and engage with.
It’s not just advertising, it cuts deeper. It is a case of integrity of the show/vision/concept hit head-on by the revenue police/turnip squeezers. And in my opinion, very short-sighted turnip squeezers. The big asks, that appear to be the sticking point:
– Remove 2 minutes of show so more ads can be jammed in
– More product placement (they already do quite a bit)
– Cut 2 cast members to keep costs down
Where is a mediator when you need one. There has to be a solution that makes the writers and the (cable) network happy while still offering brands meaningful ways to wide the wave of success Mad Men has. Or it’s a case of old school thinking- convention tells AMC that it’s one of the longest running cable shows out there and the numbers say the run is almost over, now is the time to squeeze as much money as we can, consumer/viewer experience be damned. I hope they figure this out without losing a writer or characters (until the time is right in the story).
My advice to networks (who are still a very important part of experiences and will be until they become too easy to side-step): Stop forcing appointment viewing, stop shoving more noise into the mix, and stop trying to squeeze the life out of everything so early.
I hate everything (every little thing) about the pretentious, over-priced, self-indulging campaign for Fage yogurt. It actually makes me angry when it comes on. I may stop watching Food Network until the campaign ends. Watch it first, but be warned it may invoke unexpected anger, and then I will explain the 5 reasons I hate it.
Now, simmer down. And see if you agree with my rationale.
1. It is pronounced fa-yeh. As obnoxious as that is, fine, it’s a 50 year old brand that isn’t changing its name now. But it’s new to the US. One would think the agency and brand manager would seek a campaign that educated consumers about the brand, the name, the product. How does one know how to pronounce the name? not from the video, not from the missing URL in the video (see #2), and not from conversations they hope to have started- if there are people who like the brand (despite the campaign) and are talking about it, odds are they are pronouncing it incorrectly.
2. A classic case of creative developed by a self-proclaimed visionary stuck in an agency that wishes they were doing something else with their lives (like making movies most people won’t get). It’s 2011 and somehow a brand was convinced to spend a lot of money on a video they were told was visually stunning, broke through the clutter, elevated the brand to a premium level, made yogurt art… whatever load of bullshit they bought, the place in which the client was misled (and in my opinion the agency failed) was when they convinced the client that you don’t need to make it easy to get more information. Someone lied to the brand/client and told them that people would seek them out after such strong and compelling copy coupled with the visuals. A cow shaking its head in milk + the plain manifesto = a consumer jumping online to find out what this amazing commercial is for. The problem, you can barely read the name on the label, there is no URL, no Facebook URL, no way of even knowing that it’s yogurt. Hey, old school creatives- get over yourself, and thinking that adding Facebook, URLs and the like are beneath you. Which brings me to #3
3. It’s Greek Yogurt. Not just yogurt, not sour cream, not ice cream, not anything else that a consumer is forced into guessing. I like Greek yogurt. It is becoming a trend in the US. Why, for the love of everything holy, is Fage wasting money running :60 second spots that don’t mention it is Greek yogurt (or even a yogurt), the reasons why you should care, the benefits of it (there are health and taste benefits), the fact it was born in Athens, where to find it, that it is a 50 year old brand…or at least where you can go to get that information?
4. The copy & casting. I have written before about the importance of casting the right people, in this case it is about casting the right voice. Go to the website (I’ll give you the link, since the video and YouTube page don’t tell you how to get there – FageUSA.com – the site and the Facebook content are so stereotypically created for “the grocery shopping mom with 2.5 kids and/or the single yoga enthusiast.” The plain manifesto (as I am calling it) is read by a man with a tone that enrages me. I don’t know why, but it does. Maybe because it sounds like a Levi’s rip-off and I love that spot. And the copy is unrelatable and misguided. Hey Fage, you are yogurt. You are not changing the world., saving the children or creating a movement to make the world a happier place to live- bring it down a notch.
5. And finally, I hate this because of the :60 second spots, the over-priced video, the campaign the brand manager purchased. It makes me mad when brands spend their money in foolish ways – and furious when agencies convince them to.
Note: When I wrote this, I didn’t know what agency did this campaign, I refused to google it. But I have since googled it. It makes me even more upset. They know better and have done better. [disclaimer: i work in advertising. at an agency. not at the agency that did this campaign.]
Confession time. I follow Boy Meets World on Facebook (yes, they do have a Facebook page). Who doesn’t love reliving tender moments between Topanga and Cory? You could imagine my excitement when I saw the announcement that season 5 was coming out on DVD (she types sarcastically). A few facts…
Boy Meets World had 7 seasons.
Boy Meets World debuted in 1993
Boy Meets World ended in 1999
People who are in High School today were not born yet
To buy season 1-4 new it will cost you $20. Used $10.
Someone explain the DVD ecosystem to me? Why are shows like this wasting time on physical DVDs? Why wouldn’t ABC go down the path of upping the streaming content available on their site? Distribute it to other sites? Negotiate a deal with streaming site? Sell it on iTunes? Someone please show me research in which consumers are asking for physical DVDs of old shows and I will listen, but for now I am not buying that this is a good business decision or want from consumers. They may want and watch the content, but not as a DVD.
Look at these solution orientated students… Think about how much toilet paper/paper towel will be saved by not taking the extra piece to open the door. Not to mention, all the germs floating around in the petri dish we call public restrooms. http://www.toepener.com/
the world according to schmogel. 
