Summer Hiatus

School's out. Most of the authors of this blog have either graduated or are in summer school and will graduate in August. I do not teach PR Campaigns in the summer, so this blog is going on hiatus. We'll be back in the fall with a whole new set of authors. Please visit us then.

KIA Soul hamsters meet Apple I-pod

KIA Motors has recently launched a new marketing campaign for their new car, the Soul. It features dancing hamsters rocking out to music playing from their Apple I-pod. The 60-second commercial spot has been created by an independent, Los Angeles based, creative agency David&Goliath and is targeting the Gen-Y consumers. It generates thousands of hits on youtube and Kia already has 5 more commercials planned, each playing a different genre of music. Paid space is extremely expensive these days and I believe the synergy between these two companies will usher in a new generation of advertising and marketing tactics. It seems that promoting just one brand will possibly become a thing of the past.

In Your Face Myspace

With our generation's technological speed we all foresaw the decrease of MySpace's popularity. While MySpace owners may consider the medium to be the essence of social life on the Web as well as the paradigm of all social sites, there's a sign that its use may now be reserved solely for young teens, people attempting to sustain old friendships and those who just don't know that better media exist. Myspace may still be the most popular medium in number, but activity is quickly decreasing and News Corp. is grasping for a way out.

The founders of MySpace are being bumped for the moment so that 4-year owner, News Corp., can attempt a revamp of the most dominant social networking site in the U.S. The stepping aside of Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson, whose contracts weren't due to expire until October, represents a pivotal test for the viability of social-networking sites. While social-networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook have exploded in popularity in recent years, they have struggled to generate the kind of revenue and earnings prospects that can sustain them as businesses over the long haul.

News Corp. now aims to show that a large conglomerate, with a portfolio that includes many old-media properties including newspapers, can succeed at that task.
People familiar with the situation said News Corp. was completing a deal to name former Facebook Chief Operating Officer Owen Van Natta as chief executive to succeed Mr. DeWolfe. He would report to Jon Miller, the former AOL chief executive who was recruited to join News Corp. this month in a newly created position of chief digital officer.
News Corp. sees MySpace as critical in its transformation from a conglomerate of traditional television, movie and newspaper businesses to a new-media titan. But while MySpace grew quickly following News Corp.'s purchase, last year its revenue fell short of executives' targets, according to people familiar with the matter. News Corp. also owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

MySpace is still the dominant social-networking site in the U.S. But its U.S. audience has fallen this year. In March, MySpace attracted 70.1 million unique visitors, down 3.6% from a year ago, according to comScore Media Metrix. Meanwhile, Facebook is nipping at its heels. FacebookMySpace's world-wide audience a year ago, and is growing fast in the U.S., with 61.2 million unique visitors in March, up 72% from a year earlier. Facebook also has made international expansion a priority, pressuring MySpace surpassed .

Pepsi Sucks

Pepsi has gotten themselves into quite a conundrum after disappointing a crowd of New York Yankees fans last week.

Pepsi had promised to hand out free tickets to the first 250 people lined up outside the stadium where a seat can normally cost upwards of $150. Eagerly the fans began to line up and before Pepsi knew it they had their 250 fans. The only problem was that Pepsi didn't have the tickets.

After hearing that only 100 fans would be let in the crowd became unruly and instead of championing Pepsi and drinking their complementary sodas they began pouring them onto the ground in front of the stadium while cheers of "Pepsi sucks, Pepsi sucks, Pepsi sucks" rang out.

Pepsi, in an attempt to quell any negative effects from this attempted to remove viral videos from internet sites such as YouTube and Break! only to anger fans more. 

Now after attempting to promote their product Pepsi is faced with an even larger PR issue.

Miss California's Bust

So, if you haven’t heard, everyone is upset with the answer Miss California gave to Perez Hilton’s question about same-sex marriage. When she was asked how she felt about gay marriage she clearly stated she was against it. From the way she was raised and how she believes the country delegates things, she doesn’t believe in gay marriage at all. I was a little taken back by her answer because she is representing California and a gay man is the one who asked her the question.Also the fact that there were many gay men who were helping her with her pageant and some of the judges were gay also.

I understand she should have her own views and feelings, and doesn’t have to like gay marriage. But with how the world is evolving and people are states are starting to allow gay marriage you have to have some leverage on what your answer to that sort of questions would be. She doesn’t have to like gay marriage, but she also needs to understand that people and rules are changing. She could have worded it differently I guess, but still her answer kept her from winning in my opinion.

Sprite makes mini reality seres for Facebook

Now that the Internet has completely changed the face of PR and Advertising, clients need more than the traditional push. If you want to be sure you are reaching the proper audience, you've got to find a way to align your brand with their interests. Music has become an increasingly popular tool for sparking an interest in teens. More interactive online campaigns are being launched on sites like Facebook because the most effective way to get a teenager's attention is to put an ad on the websites they spend a lot of time on, not the television.
This is the logic that the Coca-Cola Company used when they decided to underwrite a new online reality series called "Green-Eyed World", to promote Sprite to the teenage audience. The series follows Katie Vogel, a young pop singer, on her aspiring road to fame and allows viewers to rate her music and befriend her on Facebook.
The series is as “reality”as it gets, starting with the first episode in which Vogel’s boyfriend breaks up with her. She gets upset, calls a friend and then coincidentally picks up her guitar and has the perfect song to play for the cameras.
What I found interesting about the video, was the lack of in your face product placement or logos. The Sprite logo only appears at the beginning and very end of the video. Throughout the episode the closest thing to product placement was simply the recurring color green.
I think Facebook is a reasonable place for brand placement, but companies still need to use precaution. Right now the ads seem to be compatible with the format and context of the site, but if they get carried away it might turn users off. Everyone remembers what happened to MySpace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6xROceeXac

BK Texican Burger Causes Controversy

Advertising Age recently published an article about the controversy that the new BK Texican Burger had stirred in the its ads. The 30 second ad reveals a Mexican luchador and an American cowboy. After the commercial was aired across Europe, Ambassador Jorge Zermeño wrote a letter to Burger King's Spanish operations stating that the ad was offensive to Mexicans and damaging to the country's image. The defamation of the Mexican flag alone is a great offense to not only Mexicans, but the country's law.

BK has been known to put out unusual and controversial commercials. For example, the SpongeBob BK commercial. I think that BK should be more considerate of hurting reputations and watching others they anger through their unique ads. More research should have been put into action when considering the European audience. Burger King spokeswoman said, "it was our intention to promote a product whose culinary origin lies in both the American and Mexican cultures, and was meant to appeal to those who enjoy the flavors and ingredients that each country offers." This is inaccurate in several ways that do not reflect any truth whatsover. WOW...