If fast food could talk...

So some of you might know that for my final dissertation Im looking at how the animal rights organisation PETA could adopt a new strategy and method to change people's views on veganism. The challenge for me? I love meat. And have no intention on changing my mind any time soon. As Ive looked at PETAs work and other animal rights charities, Ive noticed the overuse of shock tactics are leaving viewers feeling uncomfortable and ashamed, which nobody should be made to feel about something that society has taught us. In particular I watched this video from Mercy for Animals, an organisation I was unaware of until now. With the aim to expose what really goes into fast food meat, this talking sausage tells his dramatic life story and the horror he's been through. As I watched the video I wondered how it was going to make an impact, and suddenly the screen splits to the video footage of trapped animals and meat being processed. And now Im left feeling shocked and disgusted by the concept. But its not going to stop me from eating fast food. Although many campaigns can make people question themselves as meat eaters, a lot of the time all it does is spark conversation for a short amount of time. If animal rights organisations are serious about turning more people vegan, they need to understand that lecturing them and referring to them as 'animal abusers' is not the way forward. Stop trying to think of controversial adverts and the craziest publicity stunts and start educating people on how they could do better. 

The Harlem Struggle

I have to admit when I first saw the Harlem Shake I spent good hour after watching all the videos on Youtube, thinking of ways that I could recreate my own. But today I came across a slightly different version of the dance that has sparked controversy worldwide. The Dutch Parkinson's Society released the video, 'Worst Shake Ever' that shows society chairman Eric Roos, shaking out of control after not taking his medication. Designed by Saatchi and Saatchi the strapline reads - 'Shaking, fun for some … daily struggle for others.' With the aim to raise awareness of the disease, the video has received mixed reviews with many feeling offended and finding the overall approach distasteful. Personally I think its genius. The fact that Saatchi and Saatchi have acknowledged the success of the Harlem Shake and applied to an organisation that struggles to gain media attention at the best of time, is brilliant. Tapping into worldwide trends is something that more brands should be taking note of, whether it be social, cultural or environmental. With over 90,000 views its clear that they have reached their goal of raising awareness even if it has caused a stir. 

Durex delivers.

When I first started watching this I thought this definitely had to be a joke. But no Durex really are about to create the best delivery service yet, SOS Condoms. For those unfortunate situations where your not quite prepared, the new location based app service discretely delivers condoms within the hour between 4pm and 4am. Accomadating to the universal issue of never having a condom when you need one, Durex in Dubai are the first city to be blessed with the new campaign. But visit the website and vote for the city you want to next have this service and you too could be saved from that awkward situation. Whether it be a pizza delivery or being pulled over by the police, Durex are there for you. Demonstrating their ability to always be ahead of the game, as cheesy as the video is, this is probably one of their best ideas yet. Get voting if you want London to be the next place. 

http://www.sos-condoms.com

Infographics

So Ive finally sent my dissertation to print, the thing that has been driving me crazy for the past few months. I mentioned in my previous post that I was looking at ways in which brands could use location based advertising to target customers passing by. To be honest I have actually really enjoyed writing about it, although slightly sick of it towards the end the idea of geofencing could be the future of marketing. This might not make complete sense as you've not read my dissertation but here are some infographics I designed to sum up my whole idea. Enjoy, and let me know your thoughts!

Hijack

So for the past couple of months Ive been writing my dissertation on the use of geofencing. For those of you that don't know geofencing is location based promotions sent to your phone via text. Quite a few brands have started using it like L'oreal, Starbucks and the North Face offering coupons, discounts and brand information. As Ive worked on my report Ive realised how successful geofencing could actually be in the future, however one thing that Ive noted is if brands want to move forward with the idea they need to be different. 

In South America Guetamalean shoe brand Meat Pack have set the path for all those considering location based marketing.The shop chose to use the app Hijack to create a much more innovative way to earn discounts. Every time a customer entered a competitor’s store, they would receive a message with a timed discount, starting at 99% off and slowly ticking down until the customer raced to the Meat Pack store. According to marketing blogger Mark Brill, ‘The campaign saw over 600 people ‘hijacked’ from stores and the fastest to get there managed to received an 89% discount.’ The idea of not only taking potential customers out of competitors stores but actually lurring them into your store with a timed discount is genius. Possibly one of the cleverest ways Ive seen a brand increase footfall and in return sales. 

Wimpys Braille Burgers

As sad as it sounds one of the things I look forward to at christmas is getting books for my course, I cant justify spending my own money on them so its nice to get them as presents. This year I got the book Goodvertising, which is literally like an encyclopaedia of advertising. Ive already managed to read it back to back, and found so many new things. Starting with the Wimpys braille burgers.

Wimpys aim was to let visually impaired people know that they offered braille menus in all of their restaurants. So to spread the word with the help of Metropolitan Republic, they built braille burgers using the sesame seeds on the buns. Reading '100% pure beef burger made for you', they sent them to three of the biggest blind institutions in South Africa and let 15 blind people finally see what they were eating. When I read about this I instantly thought how powerful and simple the idea was, although as mentioned in the video it was only small gesture, its executed brilliantly and brought together with a genuinely moving video. Nice to see fast food chains finally doing something sincere with their marketing. 

Its the motherhood, its another hood.

For a while now Ive been meaning to do a blog post but time has been limited with the large amount of work I have to do. And probably down to the fact that every time I sat down to write a post, I had nothing to write about. Listening to music on youtube I came across one advert I chose not to 'Skip' and actually watch. Known for their witty and funny approach to advertising, Fiat have released the Motherhood rap advert. Listing everything a mother has to go through from spending three months in pjs to swapping your sexy handbag to a snot stained sack, the advert features a range sharp lines with a catchy tune. Clearly targeting the everyday mum, Fiat barely promoted their car throughout the ad and focussed on appealing to a potential consumer. Really refreshing way for a car company to engage with its audience, hats off to Mother for creating what is being described as 'viral video gold'.