“Celebrate the kid inside”-The Oreo turns 100

On March 6, 2012, the Oreo will celebrate its 100^th birthday. Kraft Foods is holding its first worldwide campaign, which will include traditional and new media, stores, events, promotions and public relations. The best part of the campaign will be the limited-edition Birthday Cake Oreos.

The main goal of the campaign is to frame the 100^th birthday anniversary as a child-like birthday party, rather than the negative view of passing of time. The campaign theme will be “Celebrate the kid inside,” which already appears in video, print, Oreo.com and social media. The company will remain true to its roots while adapting to contemporary needs.

Also, commercials will air in 15 countries, depicting routine adult activities, such as school board meetings and train rides, which are interrupted with children bearing Oreos and milk. The adults will then discover their “inner child.”

Along with media campaigns for Oreo’s big birthday, there will be more than 100 birthday parties held in more than two dozen countries, including Oreo bakeries. Happy birthday Oreos! 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/business/media/the-oreo-turns-100-with-a-nod-to-the-past-advertising.html?scp=6&sq=marketing&st=cse

A marketer's guide to Pinterest

Pinterest is a hip, new and highly addictive social media site. It has been named as the fastest growing social site today. Not only is it for members to pin things that they enjoy, want, need or like, it has now found its uses into the hands of PR and marketing pros and brands, as well.

In the article, Pinterest created a marketer's guide on how to get your brand one that is "pinned" by members. They created a guide that shows all the demographics of the users, which in return, helps PR pros to determine what methods they need to use that will be most appealing to pinners. They even provide statistics and charts that show the growing usage, sign ups and traffic. Other things the marketing guide shows are the companies who are already active on the site, along with lingo to help master the new social platform. It even includes tips and hints on how to make Pinterest work for each brand.

I have no doubt that the social media world is one that will continue to change. PR pros must learn to adapt to new things and stay on top of what is hip and most popular among people. This is just yet another outlet that public relations professionals can begin using to get their brand out among customers.

I think the idea of pinning is great. All they need is one person to "pin" something on the website and it is seen by millions of others. Basically the work is done by the customer. It's just learning the tips and tricks provided by Pinterest already to make your information and visuals searchable and available for Pinterest users to find.

I, myself, am a Pinterest user and every day I find myself searching the site time and time again. It never gets boring because it's always changing. It's growing rapidly, too, and it's something I can see with my own eyes. Everyday when I log into my e-mail, I have numerous e-mails saying that new friends have joined. You can also link Pinterest to your Facebook and Twitter accounts, so even the friends or followers you have on there can see what you have pinned.

I think PR pros definitely need to hop on board with the Pinterest group. It will allow their messages and visuals to spread like wildfire amongst different social media websites.

To see the guide for yourself, visit: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/10976.aspx

Wal-Mart to Give Hollywood a Hand

This article discusses Hollywood's most recent attempt to combat the issues of digital piracy and a fading DVD market. The movie industry is recruiting Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to help attract users to its struggling online video-library service.

The plan is for Wal-Mart to provide an in-store service that will assist customers in registering DVDs they already own with the movie industry's UltraViolet system. The Ultraviolet system is a "digital proof of purchase" system that allows consumers to store movie or TV titles in a free online personal library. Every video that is added to the UltraViolet account can then be streamed over the Web or downloaded for viewing on a computer, TV, or a range of mobile devices by anyone on that account.

By using this system, the movie industry hopes it can encourage consumers to pay for content they might be tempted to download illegally.

Although UltraViolet accounts are free to set up, the process can be troublesome. So Wal-Mart employees will help customers create the accounts, check the DVDs that customers already own and add them to their accounts for a small fee.

Wal-Mart's service will include several thousand movies, drawn from every major studio (Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Brothers Entertainment, Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures, News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox, Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures and Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures) except Walt Disney Co.

An announcement will be made in early March followed by a $30 million marketing campaign.

A Wal-Mart partnership is attractive to Ultra-Violet group not only because the stores are visited 140 million times a week but also due to the retailer's popular Vudu streaming service. The service is the third most popular film rental and download service, according to researcher IHS Inc.

However, UltraViolet's service aquired a bad reputation early on because of glitch prone technology and limited selection cof titles. I think Wal-Marts good reputation from its popular Vudu streaming service and its vast amount of customers will help repair UltraViolet's negative image.

I think this plan to decrease digital piracy and counterbalance the slumping DVD sales is very creative. It gives consumers the feel of downloading and sharing movies with each other without the consequences of illegal digital piracy. Although, there is a small fee I think it's worth it.

Although UltraViolet has been unsuccessful at offsetting decreasing DVD sales, I think its partnership with Wal-Mart will increase its subscriber base and therefore increase its selection of titles. As long as the service is affordable and Wal-Mart helps by making the account set up easier, I think the campaign will be a success.

For more information about the article go to http://global.factiva.com.libproxy.txstate.edu/ga/default.aspx?imt=2&ao=14&aod=1811683

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203833004577249652072048154.html

Ben & Jerry’s ‘Lin-Sanity’ Flavor Leaves Bad Taste

Jeremy Lin is an Asian American basketball player that graduated from Harvard and now plays for the New York Knicks. He is gaining international fame since he became the starting point guard for the Knicks earlier this month.

The Ben & Jerry's Boston Scoop Shops decided to create a limited-edition flavored ice cream, "Taste the Lin-Sanity," in honor of Lin and his rising fame in the NBA at their Harvard Square location to recognize the Harvard graduate. "Taste the Lin-Sanity" had pieces of fortune cookies in it and people were offended by the racial insensitivity caused by the fortune cookies in the ice cream.

The local shop posted an apology on Facebook and Twitter saying they did not intend to offend anyone, they were just trying to honor the rising NBA star since he was a Harvard graduate.

They replaced the fortune cookies in the recipe with bits of waffle cones and the flavor sold out over the weekend.

I think they did the right thing by recognizing the situation quickly and apologizing on Facebook and Twitter to anyone that took offense of the fortune cookies in the ice cream. Even though they are not a media outlet and were just trying to sell ice cream, this should be a learning opporunity for any buisness trying to capitalize on Lin's rising fame and they should think about what they are communicating or putting in a recipe beforehand.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-jeremy-lin-yogurt-20120227,0,1130363.story

http://www.prnewsonline.com/prnewsblog/index.php/2012/02/27/ben-jerrys-lin-sanity-flavor-leaves-bad-taste/

-Lindsey O'Neal

Cruise Ship Adrift in Pirate Infested Indian Ocean

More than a thousand people are awaiting rescue on the Costa Allegra cruise ship after a fire broke out on board causing the luxury liner to lose power.

The ship is adrift in the Indian Ocean more than 200 miles from the Seychelles island nation off mainland Africa, an area that is infested by pirates.

This is the second emergency situation this year for Costa Cruises which is owned by Carnival Cruises. In January, 32 people were killed when the Costa Concordia capsized after hitting rocks off the Italian island of Giglio. Seven people are still missing and presumed dead.

The Italian cruise line released a statement saying no one was injured, and the blaze that broke out in the engine room in the ship's aft was quickly extinguished. A spokesman for the Italian coast guard said the Seychelles Navy is sending rescue vessels-- including tug boats-- and a plane that has spotted the Allegra's location.

The PR agency for Costa Cruises is in major crisis management mode as they now have this new disaster. Although they are stressing that every person on board is safe, this cruise line will have a hard time saving face and avoid getting a bad reputation.

To read more go to: http://news.yahoo.com/cruise-ship-adrift-pirate-infested-indian-ocean-174117815--abc-news.html http://news.yahoo.com/cruise-ship-adrift-pirate-infested-indian-ocean-174117815--abc-news.html

Zac Efron plays it safe ;)

At the premiere of his latest movie, incidentally a children’s film, Zac Efron dropped what appeared to be a condom while walking down the red carpet. In a video that is circling the internet, you can see a slow-motion close-up of Efron handing something to his publicist and then a little golden square fall out of his pocket. To reaffirm this judgment call is Efron’s reaction, when he turns around to pose for pictures he mouths to his publicist what seems to be “oh my god” covers his mouth and then turns around to hide a chuckle. Though it has not been confirmed to actually be a condom, there has also been no denying it. I saw in an article somewhere that some are considering it to be publicity stunt to help Efron prove that he is no longer the innocent little Disney star that he once was. Whatever the plan was, kudos to Efron for a good laugh, it’s nice to see that celebrities can make fools of themselves too!

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/celebrity/news/zac-efron-condom-022312?click=cos_latest

New technology selects advertisement based on your gender

By Rebecca Seay

 A children's advocacy group called Plan has placed a high tech billboard at a popular London bus stop. The billboard has the ability to recognize if the person standing in front of it is a woman or a man. With a 90 percent accurate gender read, the billboard then shows an informational advertisement based on the gender of the person.

Plan's goal is to inform the public of the "plight of women and girls in poor countries around the world." The men's version of the ad is cut down to just statistics rather than a 40 second video that women see. (Does this suggest that men have less patience for women's issues?)

The billboard does not collect any data or store any data, but it still conveys a chilling look into future technologies. Will our advertising turn into what some are comparing to the movie "Minority Report," in which advertisements detect who you are and feed you ads based on your consumer profile?

The article asks if this is an innovative tool in advertising, or just creeping and invasive? I choose the second option. 


Read the full article below:
http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/22/this-london-advertisement-knows-your-gender/?hpt=hp_bn6