Test Drive a Real Car Online

In a creative new internet advertising campaign, Mitsubishi is taking the online car shopping experience to a whole new level. From your own home one can control a real live car. You can drive a car using your keyboard and drive through a controlled course. This ad campaign takes consumer engagement to a whole new level. I've seen advergames where you drive a fake car around a virtual world, but being able to control a real life car from your computer? That's genius! Granted you don't get the feel of actually test-driving a car, but as far as getting the word out about your product, job well done Mitsubishi.

Top 10 Viral Ads

This is by far one of my favorite posts so far. The Times online has ranked the Top 10 most viral ad campaigns of all time. They give a short description and tell how they went viral. My favorite campaign on the list is the Diet Coke and Mentos campaign. If you don't know what happens when you combine these two top products in a 2 liter bottle, then you've lived under a rock the last 10 years. According to the Times, the campaign wasn't even planned. The fact that this happened by accident just makes it that much better. Someone posted a home video of an explosion made by combining mentos in a diet coke bottle. The videos went viral as nobody thought it could really happen. Before Coke or Mentos could get a hold of it, there were thousands of online videos and even coke/mentos explosions matched to opera music. All of the sudden people are talking about the two products more than the companies could have ever wanted.

Here is the rest of the list

Doritos

"Change the Game"

Doritos has always been a game changer. From having the funniest commercials to the most energetic ad campaigns, Doritos has always done it's best to be considered the cool snack. If you visit their website, you will be immersed in the many different ways that Doritos convinces users that they are indeed the cool chip. From movies, games, users video clips, advergames, and other forms of consumer engagement, Doritos proves once again that it is the cool chip. I'll be back later. I'm going to the store for the new doritos combo flavors bag. Did I mention that there is a 3D side to their website? oh yeah...

Nike+

Nike has combined advertising and exercising in a way that engages the consumer.

Using Nike+, nike has engaged a entire new consumer base to their business. More and more people want their friends to see how much they ran and post their recent run results on facebook. Not only does this require the purchase of multiple Nike brand products, but it can become addictive to compete against your friends in your exercise routines. The more you work out the more nike products you'll be introduced to on you Nike+ account. Eventually you'll be a running/walking advertisement for Nike products. This is exactly what Nike wants and it's exactly what Nike will get. Excuse me while i go for a run. You'll see my results posted later.

Oceanspray Looking for new Demographic

Oceanspray

I recently saw an ad for Oceanspray on tv. The ad was short and sweet. "Our stuff is good. Check us out on facebook and twitter. That is all." This new type of television advertising says a lot about the direction advertising is going. More and more ad campaigns are completely web-based. I took a minute to visit the facebook and twitter page for Oceanspray. You have an option to sign up for news, specials, recipes or just comment on their products. This way of engaging the consumer is all the rage and I'm sure that you'll see more and more of this in the future.

Randall's Gas Savings Ad

Randall's

If you go search for the local weather on weather.com, chances are you'll get all kinds of household items advertisements thrown at you. This is no coincidence. These ads are targeted to the normal viewer of weather.com. One can infer that if someone is planning their day, then they plan other things as well. Why not plan your gas budget and grocery store visit while you're checking the weather for you day. On my last visit to weather.com, I saw an ad for Randall's and a coupon site for groceries. Next time you are checking the weather, see if the ads on the page are relevant to what you are planning that day. I think you'd be surprised.

Targeted search results

Search for "new car purchase" on google.com

What comes up? ford? chevrolet? GM? BMW?

No, what comes up is a list of different places to get new info on new cars. This is a form of searching that predicts what people are looking for based on what previous people clicked on after searching the same phrase.  Apparently, according to google.com, most people looking for new cars are in fact looking for information on new cars more than actually looking for new cars. This is one form of Smart Search. Recording and tracking people's search results and preferences on results can help in advertising. Car companies know not to waste money on paid search results and google can charge more to car information suppliers because they can prove that users are looking for those sites over actual car buying sites.

ESPNW

ESPNW

Espn.com is my home page. I love sports. I also have always wondered why women's sports have not had the same coverage that men's sports do. The obvious answer is money. But I have always thought that a good advertising campaign combined with good timing and good athletes in the leagues could provide the window needed to advance women's sports. Espn has taken this step while the NFL and the NBA have their ridiculous quarrels over who gets $20 million and who gets $21 million.


 Introducing ESPN W partnering with Gatorade. The women's world cup is more popular than ever and Gatorade and ESPN are taking this opportunity to engage as many consumers as they can in women's sports. This campaign has great targeted ads that lead to a creative website featuring current sporting events in the world of women's sports. there's money to be made here and if anyone can do it, it's ESPN and Gatorade.

Credit Scores

Equifax

You have probably seen ads on the internet that ask you if you know what your credit score is and where to get it. These ads are prevalent on most major news sites like yahoo.com, cnn.com, msn.com and others. These ads target internet surfers who care about current events, news, quirky stories, etc because if you care about those things, you may care about your own current events, news, credit score. Having a good credit score affects your future. Most of these free credit report score ads feature some sort of scary statement. These things could be something like "are you going to miss out on that house?" or "how bad do you want a new car?" Using scare tactics to get you to discover your credit report may not seem right, but it works. Most of us have clicked on one of these ads.

Online Education

University of Phoenix Online

As more and more people are looking for a new way to advance in the workplace or find new jobs, people are looking for more options to educate themselves. You have probably seen the University of Phoenix Online advertisements before. They usually say things like "learn from home" or "add more to your resume." This advertising campaign leans heavily on the fact that a large chunk of people using the internet are in the demographic that is looking for a job or more education. There are so many job seekers and people looking to add to their resume during this recession that online advertising is a great way to attract students to the University of Phoenix.

Jobs Ads on the Internet

Jobs Ads

More and more ads on the internet are targeting job seekers. There's no coincidence that with the current economy and rate of layoffs that so many job advertisements are prevalent on the internet.  Nearly every page I visit asks me if I'm looking for a job or happy with my current. This is one way that one can look at internet advertising and get a sense of what's going on in the economy. Have you noticed more job seeking advertising recently?

Go Pro Youtube Video

In this video, a seagull picks up a camera, flys around and then carefully puts the camera back down. Careful bird? Or good ad campaign?

GoPro cameras has a history of youtube ad campaigns so it is believed that this is a GoPro advertising campaign. GoPro is a maker of small, high quality digital video recorders. This is a great way to get the news of your product out. Make a video and don't say anything. Just let the curious minds of the internet public do the work for you. After the video goes completely viral with speculation and ideas of who is responsible, then GoPro will come out with official releases about their product.

This type of advertising is cheap and effective. It targets the electronics using demographic who spends a lot of time on Youtube uploading their own videos and watching other people's.

Next Simpsons story line: Nedna

Nedna

"You decide. Will Ned and Edna stay together or separate?"

The Simpsons has been around a long time. The series has been running new episodes with great success for 22 years. For the first time that I can remember, they are letting the viewers decide where the series will go next. Will long time characters Ned Flanders and Edna Krabappel become a long-term couple or will they end their relationship? This is the choice for fans to make online at the Nedna website. Using a more modern form of advertising is one way that a show that was once headed for the classics channel to attract new viewers. The modern television audience wants to be involved in the programming. Using consumer engagement in their online advertising campaign, Fox will be able to attract new viewers.  Even more, when you make a decision on the website, you are given all kinds of options in staying involved with the show. "Like us on Facebook." There's also "I'm pro/against Nedna Wallpaper" for your computer. The website also encourages you to come back and participate in the future of the show. This form of advertising has become really popular with the younger generations of viewers. Involve me or I'll go somewhere else. Make me part of the process or else I'll find someone who will. Look for more shows and more internet ad campaigns just like this one. It makes for a good story that the show that has been around forever will still be around for a long time because it is willing to change and go with the flow.

Creepy Ads

Study Shows Targeted Ads Make Users Uneasy

 

 

 

In a recent study, 59% of people surveyed stated that they did not like companies tracking their tendencies to aid in ad targeting. Apparently advertisements are getting creepy Are ads getting creepy? Are more targeted ads invasive or useful? I tend to find them useful, but only because I'm familiar with how they work. Take Gmail as an example. Open a message and then check out the ads that are showing on your Gmail page. Odds are they are relevant to either the email you have open or other emails in your inbox. The best/worst part, depending on your view, is that over time these ads will become more and more specific to your likes and dislikes. Google does this by tracking which emails you open and read and which you discard or filter without even opening. By storing more and more data about you and your email preferences, Google can target ads that some seem to find invasive.  However, this is a great thing for advertisers. They can spend less money and be more effective than in the past. Some consumers though see this as an invasion of privacy. What if I see ads about my illness or about family matters? So you're concerned that Google may recommend the Cancer Treatment Center of America as an option because you have gotten several emails lately with keywords "cancer," "terminal," "won't live long," "funeral planning," and "dad's illness." Why does this bother you? Personally if Google wants to personalize my ads and keep me interested in the otherwise seemingly pointless ads, I'm all for it. This means I won't have to look at annoying Victoria Secret ads. Wait...maybe this thing is evil after all.