Throwing $ Away: Levi's Copper Microsite

You know, I used to love microsites. Until building microsites became a unnecessary and/or gratuitous addition to an integrated ad campaign. Case in point, Levi's Copper Jeans site, http://www.metal-denim-passion.com/. Hot models? Check. Snazzy Flash/Actionscript animation? Check. A point? Hmm, you lost me there.

Not only does the site takes a couple of minutes to load, the wait is no where near worth it. A flashy 3D rendering of a girl and guy stripping (not as sexy as it sounds), only to be be swathed in copper armor is all you get to see, and that only takes a few seconds to view. Boo. Give me a game or a customizable jean design or something.

The Odder Adder = An Odd Ad

Ha! Can you see it? My likeness is on a T-Mobile banner ad! Don't believe me? Look a little closer below:

Striking resemblence. no? The bangs, the flat nose, even the smile are uncanny. Except for the fact that the girl sports a stump. I can attest both of my hands and all ten fingers are still intact. Therefore, this model, as lovely as she is, is NOT me. And check out the crappy copy:


"MOM DATED WHO BEFORE DAD? CALL MOM. TALK LONGER. FIND OUT MORE."


Really now. Like this is actually going to sell home cell phone service packages? I know no Gen X, Gen Y or Millenial would be willing to shell out a hundred bucks when they can just call up Maury Povich.


In any case, when this ad splashed on my screen, I quickly jumped over to my coworker's desk to make sure this wasn't some super-duper-targeted marketing campaign. Imagine if your face popped up on every ad you come across on the web.

But if this were indeed a picture of myself, I wonder where it came from. My thoughts can't help but wander to Virgin's lawsuit from using a teenager's Flickr photo without permission for an ad campaign. Over the teen's picture, Virgin wrote, ""Dump your pen friend," and "Free text virgin to virgin" at the bottom. At least my accompanying copy isn't so condemning.

Columbia Career Panel: Notes from New Media

I had the chance to check out Columbia Career Education center's new media panel last night, and while I was there to mine for some (ahem) new opportunities, instead, I ended up gleaning a lot of great industry info from the panelists. If you're interested in a career in new media, it's worth taking a look at their answers below.

Members included:

Maurice Matiz, Vice Executive Director of at Columbia Center for New Technology
Janet Balis, President and Founder of Digital Media Strategies
Shannon Friedrichs, Director of Programming Planning and Strategy for Nickelodeon
Karen Levine, Strategy and Marketing Consultant for Triple Play Consulting
Sean Pfitzenmaier, Co-founder of Social Sauce and www.sosauce.com

If someone were trying to break into the new media, what are some of the requisite skills they should have?

Shane: 1) A background or understanding of engineering/programming behind of how systems work, 2) an understanding of design on the frontend and 3) an understanding of how to market or communicate your product or ideas.

Shannon: A willingness to change. You have to be flexible.

Shane: A hunger for new technologies.

Janet: It would also be helpful to think in terms of big business--if you phrase things in a way to your client or boss that let's them know you have the bigger picture in mind, it helps push your ideas through.

What are some of the buzz words in the new media industry?

Karen: Engagement, monetize (as in how to make something make money), and lean in vs lean back (the interactivity of media).

Shannon: Access points and the writable web. Distribution media vs destination media, which is similar to lean in vs lean back. I think some companies have problems today letting go of their ownership over certain media products (Ed's Note: think SNL pulling episodes off YouTube).

You all mention this hunger for technology--how do you keep up with all the technology coming out? What resources do you use?

Shane: I try to keep up with certain blogs like http://www.techcrunch.com/, a blog about web 2.0 startups, http://www.mashable.com/, a blog about social media and http://www.unionsquareventures.com/, a blog about venture capitalism.

Karen: MediaPost has a ton of newsletters I subscribe to, but hardly get to read, but industry newsletters like that are helpful.

Shannon: I find Google News Product helpful, but http://www.synopsis.com/ is great for those looking to break into the TV industry. They even have a great jobs section. I sometimes check http://www.multichannel.com/, too.

Maurice: I suggest picking 1-3 topics that you love, and focusing only on them, otherwise you'll be overwhelmed.

Karen: Are we overwhelming you yet? http://www.emarketer.com/ has a wonderful newsletter that even has a daily thought. And if you are willing to pay, or if the school has an account, http://www.forrester.com/ is really good. You should also listen to NPR's On Media show on the weekend.

Janis: I find that a lot of executives in both new and traditional media read Jack Myers' newsletter (http://www.jackmyers.com/). He usually breaks stories before everyone else.

Shane, I read an article that the facebooks and MySpaces are going down. How do you feel about that?

Shane: I hope they are! But seriously, it's really interesting to see how today's trend is towards these open API systems. Facebook didn't have an open API at first and now everyone is getting spammed with user-generated applications every day. But open-source isn't the only way to go. Apple has been using a closed-system model for years very successfully--in large part because they innovate regularly on their own. SoSause.com is trying to follow that model. It many ways, it's a gamble, but we feel that this is the opportunity in the market right now so it's a gamble we're willing to take.

Freaky Kittens Sing for Bank

Whoa. There's much to be said about a PROPERLY done viral. And this ain't it. Although there's no doubt Australia's BankWest is paying homage to OfficeMax's Elf Yourself, sometimes imitation isn't the best form of flattery.

Here, instead of your 5-year old niece and nephew shaking her elfin moneymakers, you're treated to a grainy, YouTube-esque video of 3 kittens singing and spelling out your name. But that's only if you listen for it.

On my first go, I couldn't make out a single word being said. The throaty lead kitten could just as well have been voiced by Ronaldo Martinez (you know, the guy with a hole in his throat from the anti-smoking ads) and the left kitten barely pronounces each letter (Was that N-A-O-M-I or A-A-E-E-I?).

If you're going all out with a web viral. At least do the following: a) be relevant, b) have a point that ties into your main message, and c) be quirky in a way that fits your brand. What do kittens on a porn set have to do with banking? Beats me. Maybe I'll just have to visit Australia.

Try it for yourself here.

Jawbone Headsets Pummel, Asphyxiate and Mercilessly Murder Noise

Who knew Bluetooth technology had real teeth? At least in its advertising. Aliph decided to celebrate its latest Jawbone Bluetooth headset with a microsite featuring film shorts from director Sam Bayer. Each piece centers around Jawbone and its ability to eliminate outside noise—so you don’t have to worry about being disturbed by that pesky great white attack in the hotel pool or the two drunken rugby blokes making out next to you at the bar. Brilliant.

But one film really twisted my stomach into knot (see above). Here, an arrogant, racist businessman tears his elderly Chinese dry cleaner a new one right in front of his family, “Medium fucking starch,” he repeats over and over again, “You’re gonna starch my fucking shirt while I wait. Who says I don’t like Asians? Is it betta if I talka at choo lak dis? Oh yeah, me love you long time.”

We’re then interrupted by a ringing cell phone belonging to another patron sitting in the corner. As this second man puts on his Jawbone headset, we’re swept into his loving conversation with his wife while the dry cleaner’s teenage granddaughters jump over the counter towards the businessman, wrap a plastic laundry bag around his head, and administer the hardest, bloodiest, most graphic beatdown ever witnessed outside American History X. Mind you, the violence is completely mute and all we hear is the Jawbone conversation, “I’ve got a surprise for you, baby. I love you when you talk like that.”

I’m not sure if R-rated carnage is any way to sell Bluetooth headsets. In fact, I barely remembered what was being advertised. I was too busy being utterly offended by the businessman’s remarks, which was replaced by nausea at the sight of the his quivering face suffocating in a plastic bag. I know Aliph was trying to go for the shock factor here, but I think they kinda sorta stepped over that blood-soaked line. Is this what advertisers have to do just to be viral nowadays?

Don’t expect me to wait around for the backlash. I think I need a shower.

[P.S. - It's interesting that Aliph/Jawbone decided to host their films on a microsite versus YouTube. That's very BMW circa 2001 of them. I'm pretty sure the above YouTube clip was posted by someone unaffiliated with the campaign, so it would be interesting to compare the traffic between a film campaign done from a microsite versus one done on YouTube. On one hand Jawbonefilms.com is sexier and crisper, but YouTube is embeddable and more viral.]