Can’t afford $3 million for your very own Super Bowl ad?

Tired of the advertising chaos that ensues on Super Bowl Sunday?

You might want to consider doing what Subaru, Hershey, and Mars are doing – become a sponsor of Puppy Bowl VI instead.

Major corporations are taking a pass on Super Bowl ads this year in favor of a smaller, yet more focused audience.  Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl is now in its 6^th year, and is an increasingly popular alternative to football mania.  (If your household is like ours, we switch back and forth, catching some Puppy Bowl action DURING the Super Bowl ads).

This year, Subaru will launch their new “Dog Tested. Dog Approved” commercials during the game.  Hershey’s will sponsor a Twizzler-branded blimp (piloted by hamsters) that will provide the Puppy Bowl’s first-ever “aerial footage, along with a Kit Kat halftime (yes, cute kittens will be the halftime entertainment).

“Our goal is to emotionally connect with our customers rather than all customers, and the Super Bowl is an all-customer type of medium,” said Subaru spokeswoman Heather Ward for an article in Advertising Age.

Right on, Heather.  Pick your market segment.  Then OWN your market segment.

Something tells me these advertisers will have better ROI on their Super Bowl Sunday ads than the actual Super Bowl advertisers.

And who better to give us a review than Professor Sarah Haskins?

My favorite online TV personality (and brilliant writer) shares her take on what we learned in 2009, and what we have to look forward to in 2010.

In the end, all we can say is that it’s going to be another interesting (and probably controversial) year in marketing to women.  We can always count on that.

Apparently, it sold more jewelry than even JC Penney could have predicted, so this year they’re back with “Return to the Doghouse.”

This episode brings back some favorite characters, including Donny – remember good ol’ Donny?  Well he doesn’t disappoint.  But can he redeem himself?  Watch and see.

JC Penney has also expanded the campaign this year, with a website where ladies can submit their own “case” for review.  A clever bit of technology, that.

And while I wouldn’t think of entering my own husband for such embarrassing come-uppance, I think I may be in the minority.  Last time I looked, there were 9,728 cases on the docket.

This new ad for the Amazon Kindle takes a different approach, showing you how it sparks your imagination.

The ad is brilliantly conceived and directed by photographers Angela Kohler and Ithyle Griffiths, and stars Annie Little, who also sings the soundtrack.

My favorite part? Showing that the female imagination isn’t limited to fairy princesses – it’s just as comfortable in the worlds of bush pilots and Davey Crockett.

In my estimation, a miniature masterpiece.

Well, I do.  Most of the time, anyway.

I’m a strong believer in using the Neighborhoods of Women as a guiding principle in creating your marketing and advertising messages.

One neighborhood per ad, with a laser-like message.

Yet still, there are a few precious examples – as rare as unicorns in Times Square – that achieve the unthinkable.

Take a look at this TV commercial from 2003, for Dutch Boy’s “Twist ‘n Pour” paint:







In 30 seconds, the ad projects persuasive messaging out to all four types of female consumers – sometimes with words, sometimes without.

Regal Queen (spontaneous)

Vibrant colors, a latin-based music track, and fast-cut edits.
(Hey! This painting thing could be fun!)

Healer (humanistic)

A multicultural trio of women, all smiling and moving in sync.
(Yo, girlfriends – painting party this weekend!)

Warrior Princess (competitive)

Script: “Now, there’s a paint CAN that’s as great as the paint that’s in it!  Introducing the NEW Twist-‘n-Pour container, only from Dutch Boy.”
(That new container looks like my detergent bottle – why didn’t I think of that?)

Guardian (methodical)

Script:  “Easy to hold…  Easy to open…  Easy to pour. For a Dutch Boy Twist-N-Pour paint retailer near you, visit dutchboy.com.”
(Wow, no muss, no fuss – that’s as efficient as you can get.  I need to get more info on their website.)

When Dutch Boy introduced the new “Twist ‘n Pour” container in 2003, it cost $2 more per gallon than their same paint in traditional metal containers.

The paint flew off the shelves.  Dutch Boy tripled their revenue in one year.

The ad is a miniature masterpiece – 65 words, powerful imagery, and a soundtrack that sticks in your head.

But don’t try this at home, kids.

Unless you’re an advertising genius, I still recommend one neighborhood – one message – per ad.

What other TV ads have you seen out there that ring the bell like Dutch Boy – that have achieved the elusive goal of marketing to all women at once?  Share them here!

Lots of folks are pretty peeved, evidenced by the comments on YouTube and Twitter. And therein lies the beauty of “controversy branding.”  Pepsi’s milquetoast apology a few days ago seems to be its way of saying, “Sorry, suckers – the app is a HUGE hit and getting a lot of attention.  If you think we’re gonna pull it down, you’re crazy.”

A confession: I downloaded Before You Score.  And while I consider it to be on par with the fart machine app, I have to say that the creators did an impressive job with cross-referencing technologies.  If Pepsi was smart, they’d use this expertise to create a kick-ass app that boasts some value power for its female customers.

What do you think of the Before You Score controversy?  It seems to have rung the “get attention” bell for Pepsi.  In the long run, will it be worth it for the company?  Did the company achieve the balance of controversy vs. short-term memory of the consumer?

A movie that had never been made.

Then again, maybe not.

This straight-faced presentation from 2007 had many people thinking the mini-movie was, in fact, real. (Is that a whiff of Orson Welles in the air?)

Scorsese did a brilliant job of invoking the spirit of Hitchcock.  He also incorporated the music of composer Bernard Herrmann, who was responsible for scoring the biggest hits Hitchcock ever made.  (Hermann also scored Scorsese’s Taxi Driver.)

If you’re a fan of Hitchcock, Scorsese, or Herrmann, hit the PLAY button, sit back, and enjoy 9 minutes of fantastic fun.

If you consider yourself a film freak (like me), see how many references to Hitchcock movies you can find.  There’s even a secret reference to Herrman – a visual cue for a non-Hitchcock movie he intended to score, but never did.

Without stealing her thunder, take a gander at her new blog post Marketing Cars to Women – Toyota = A; GM = D.  Holly takes the newest TV ads from each manufacturer and shows you the difference between male and female communication styles.  The differences can be subtle but unquestionably have a powerful influence over female customers.

Indeed, it is.

Take a couple of minutes to watch this beautiful narrative about how the power of words can change a reader’s perception, and persuade her to take action.  Then, think about the messages you relay every day to your customers.  Are there changes you could make and, as a result, reach more people with more impact?  Food for thought.

Using an “action speaks louder than words” example, Dave illustrates the importance of having one – and ONLY one – idea per ad.

It’s highly tempting to want to stuff everything you possibly can about your business into the space available.  But what has more impact – one, laser-tipped idea that the customer can grasp, or a dozen ideas sprayed across the room like buckshot?

One idea.  One small part of your message.  Build your house of marketing brick by brick.