It’s Christmas Time

Now that Thanksgiving is over Christmas is up – it is time to put away the pumpkins and put up the Christmas tree, our stockings, the lights, the village stores and so forth. This year, however, we have an unexpected helper. Wondering who that might be? Well, let me help you – she lives at the North Pole and her husband is an all-times children’s favorite. Yes, you guessed correct, I am talking about Mrs. Claus, Santa’s best helper.

This year, thanks to The Home Depot, Mrs. Claus will be helping us decorate our houses. Want to know how, then go to http://www.thddecorations.com/. There guided by the competent advices of Mrs. Claus you can check how different decorations would look on your house. For the exterior, you have a choice of four different types of houses – Victorian, Colonial, split-level and a ranch. Choose the one that looks most like your own house and go ahead and try putting on it different types of light sets. You don’t have to wonder any more whether or not a garland would look nice on your porch. Now with a little imagination and Home Depot’s help you can give it a try – virtually, without spending any money on decoration you later figure you don’t like. On the website you can play around putting up and down different types of light sets, you can also see how they would look together. In addition, there is all other things that you might need to decorate your yard – pre-lit pine wreath, pine garland with clear lights, all different types of inflatable Christmas characters, illuminated candy canes, and so forth, and so forth. You can as well decorate the interior of your virtual house. Here you can choose between several different Christmas trees and of course, such Christmas classics as the Poinsettia, stockings, lights and lots of different little figurines that bring the holiday in the house. The rooms you can play around with are the foyer, the living room and the dining room or, in other words, the ones that are usually exposed to the most Christmas decoration.

If you love the way your newly decorated “house” looks and you already started thinking of all the stores you’ll have to visit before you have everything you need to turn your real house into a holiday fairy, you don’t need to worry any longer because you can find all decorations you have used for your virtual house at The Home Depot stores. To make things even easier, the creators of the site have included the option “Print Shopping List” so that you don’t have to take the risk of forgetting some of the items you will need to turn your house into a Christmas wonderland. To make things even more viral, you are also able to send your favorite masterpiece (from the interior or exterior of the house) to a friend. The site also provides visitors with a link to The Home Depot Web site, a store locator tool and the opportunity to purchase a gift card. You could as well take a sleigh ride with Mrs. Claus or read through her holiday classics on how to prepare your home for the holidays without spending a lot of time, effort and (of course) money.

This site is not only a great complement to The Home Depots TV spots featuring Mrs. Claus, it is a wonderful marketing tool on its own because it is interactive, relevant to the visitors’ needs and timely. It is also very entertaining and fun to play with.

And just in case you get sick of Mrs. Claus’s sweet talking all the time – you can always mute the sound. Enjoy your decorating.

Casino Royale – Jackpot for Product Placement

Over the years there have been many heroes who have saved the world from the evil forces. But only one has a reserved place in the hearts of generations of movie goers. Bond, James Bond – the top secret agent who is always there to save the day. Now he is back and so are many of the brands that have been featured in previous James Bond movies, some going as far as Bond’s debut in “Dr. No” in 1962.

Bond is one of the first franchises that began integrating brands in the movie’s plotline long before this became a dominant trend in Hollywood. And its producers, EON Productions, have often been criticized for that. Critics accused EON for partnering with too many brands on Bond fare so this time the studio has made the “conscious decision” to have fewer bigger partners, according to Keith Snelgrove, senior VP global business strategy of EON Prods. Only six brands make an appearance in the movie this time – Ford, Heineken, Smirnoff Vodka, Sony Electronics, Sony Ericsson, and Omega. According to Snelgrove EON accepts "very, very little straight cash" for integrating brands into Bond films. In his words, what they are looking for is not money to finance the shooting of the movie but cross promotional advertising dollars to ensure a huge opening weekend. Industry specialists say that the six brands featured in the movie spent a total of more than $100 million on media and other promotional support for the movie, which made its debut in cinemas around the globe last Friday. This is nearly as much as the ten tie-in partners on “Die Another Day” spent in 2002.

Besides cross promotional dollars, brands like Ford and Sony are also providing a tremendous cost savings to the filmmakers by supplying the production with high-ticket items at no cost. Ford supplied the production with about 125 vehicles, including Bond's pricey Aston Martin DBS, while transporting cars to the Bahamas, the Czech Republic, Italy and England.

Heineken, which is back as Bond's beer of choice for the fourth consecutive film since first appearing in 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies," is the first promotional partner ever on a Bond film to shoot its commercial on the set of the movie and is the only partner on "Casino Royale" to feature a lead actor in its ad campaign. French actress Eva Green appears in character as Vesper Lynd in the Heineken spot, which also features the original Bond theme song.
Ford, whose vehicles first appeared in "Goldfinger" in 1964 and in 17 other Bond films since, is back with Bond behind the wheel of the new Aston Martin DBS, which makes its debut in "Royale." The automaker's new 2007 Ford Mondeo, the first car Bond is seen driving in "Royale," also makes its first appearance in the movie. Ford built several of the new DBS and Mondeo models especially for the film since they were not yet even in production.
"We want to have cool stuff in our film that's not readily available," Snelgrove said. "Bond needs to be driving the greatest and the newest cars." Ford's promotion is limited to Europe, where the Mondeo will be sold.

Smirnoff Vodka, which debuted as Bond's vodka of choice in "Dr. No" and appeared in every Bond flick except "Die Another Day," is back with a full scale global promotion. Omega, which has gilded Bond's wrist since "GoldenEye" in 1995, is selling two new Seamaster 007 limited edition watches as part of its promotion.

Sony Electronics, whose products first appeared in "Die Another Day," is offering Bond fans a collection featuring 007 branded models of VAIO TX and UX series ultra-portable PCs, Cyber-shot digital cameras and Micro-Vault media storage devices as part of its promotion. Sony Ericsson, whose Bond debut dates back to "Tomorrow Never Dies" in 1997, is selling special versions of the K800 and K790 Cyber-shot camera phones.

It is the first time the Sony companies, whose association with Bond predates Sony Pictures' first-time involvement with the franchise, are selling licensed product based on an entertainment property.

The European Commission Decides – Let It Be

Last Monday, November 13, the members of the European Commission, the communications regulator of the European Union, reached an agreement regarding product placement rules for film and television. The new regulations would allow for product placement in all fictional shows with the exception of news and programming for children. However, there is a strict requirement that the name of advertisers be disclosed at some point during the show. According to some critics of the proposals, they are still years away from approval, because before the suggested corrections of the existing law can go into effect they will face major tests before the European Parliament; in addition they need to be approved by the 25 national governments, as well.

Called The Television Without Frontiers Directive, the rules are a revision of standards dating back to 1989. According to communications specialists the update is necessary in order to take better account of new "on demand" technologies that allow viewers to chose what they want to watch and when.

"My aim is for Europe's audiovisual content industry to flourish under one of the most modern and flexible set of rules in the world," said Viviane Reding, the commissioner for information. "The new rules should open up multimedia opportunities, boosting competition and consumer choice, while promoting public interest objectives such as the protection of minors and cultural diversity." However, Reding adds that although the new rules approved of the introduction of the American practice of product placement in European programming, the regulations would still ensure that the EU television market remains distinctly different from its commercialized American counterpart. The commissioner says that the goal is to introduce a new European television model where content drives advertising, unlike in the U.S.-style television where, according to Reding, the content revolves around advertising.

Another major change the new rules will bring regards the limits on advertising. According to the Directive commercial breaks are to be kept to a maximum of 12 minutes an hour, although more leniency is granted on the number of ad slots allowed. Films and news programs will be allowed only one advertising interruption every 30 minutes of broadcasting. The same applies to children's programs lasting more than half an hour. Presently there is a 20-minute gap between advertising breaks, except for films, where the breaks must be at least 45 minutes apart. Broadcasters had long sought more flexibility for ad breaks.

The new directive also divides the media into two distinct categories. The traditional TV programming with a controlled schedule is labeled “linear” and offerings like IPTV and mobile telephone programming, which viewers can watch at their own pace are categorized as “nonlinear”. Legislators agreed to limit the extension of broadcasting regulations to the new media industry. The new rules will be restricted to on-demand television-like services. Some media and technology companies have warned that the new regulations could restrict the growth of emerging media formats like video broadcasts through the Internet and mobile phones. They claim that EU proposals ultimately could mean less investment in an area that has enormous growth potential. In response to these warning, European government officials said that they introduced the new regulations because they are conscious of growing revenue in the United States, with some studies showing that product placement advertising there has been rising by an average of 21 percent annually since 1999.

The European Parliament began the first of a series of votes on the review last Tuesday, November 14. It should be going to the plenary session of the Parliament in mid-December and it is foreseen that the entire process should be completed by May 2007.

Show Me What You Got

Ten years after the debut of his first album and almost three years after his retirement as a rapper, Jay-Z is ready for a come back with his new album Kingdom Come expected to be released on November 21. According to the rapper, currently the president of Def Jam Records and owner of the apparel line Rocawear, his decision to return from retirement was dictated by the need in the rap industry for “certain events” that would help sustain the industry and keep it alive.” You need [Dr.] Dre albums, you need Eminem albums you need 50 [Cent] albums, you need big artists, you need major events that happen... So when I look at it in those terms, I believe that an album is needed."

The debut video form the album, Show Me What You Got, ran on MTV for the first time on October 16 and since then has attracted a lot of media attention. Unfortunately (for the artist), the song has been mentioned mainly in articles about blatant product placement. The fact that made some critics write sharp comments on the video is that the release of Show Me What You Got coincided with the announcement that the music/fashion/basketball mogul had signed a deal with Anheuser-Busch to become co-brand director for their Budweiser Select label. Interestingly enough, the video, starring NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Indy Racing’s Danica Patrick, has Bud Select logo worked into various scenes, such as on his speedboat or in a cloud formation in the skies over Monaco. What is more, on the day the video was released on MTV an ad for Bud Select appeared for the first time during Monday Night Football. Even the most naïve person would think that this is already too much of a coincidence. And the media are not among the most gullible, nor do they leave such things unnoticed.

Another fact that could hardly remain unnoticed is that Dale Earnhardt Jr. (already an odd choice for a Jay Z video) is sponsored by Budweiser. This turns Show Me What You Got from a pure commercial into “an act of corporate synergy”, according to GIANT Magazine which also suggests that the deal between the rapper and the beer-manufacturer has been planned way in advance.

And if this were not enough, there is another alcohol brand reoccurring in the video – Armand de Brignac Champagne, or as Jay-Z poetically calls it in the lyrics of the song – "Gold Bottles of that Ace of Spades." The PR agents of both Jay-Z and the luxury champagne manufacturer were fast to deny that the appearance of the easily-distinguishable golden bottle both in the lyrics and in the video was a “a case of product placement as Armand de Brignac and Jay-Z have not entered into any agreement, sponsorship or otherwise."

However, it is interesting to note that Armand de Brignac Champagne became a signature brand of the rapper only after a very public split between him and Cristal winery’s managing director, Frédéric Rouzaud. The reason for the split was the fact that Rouzaud did not want the name of his premium champagne so closely associated with the rapper. In response to that, in the climax of the video of Show Me What You Got, Jay-Z makes a show of rejecting a bottle of Cristal and instead choosing Armand de Brignac. Unlike his colleague form Cristal, Armand de Brignac’s President/CEO Brett Berish said that “We're delighted to have someone of Jay-Z's stature include Armand de Brignac in the first video for his new album.” He continued to mention that the rapper has always been known for his excellent, hard-to-satisfy taste and the fact that he has chosen Armand’s Champagne was a proof of its excellent quality. Berish ended with the comment that “Armand's unmatched taste and package are a perfect fit for the video.”

No matter whether this was another carefully planned product placement or simply a way to punish Cristal’s arrogance, one thing is for sure, demand for Armand de Brignac Champagne, which is making its debut in North America this year, is now on its raise, undoubtedly due to the appearance of the “Gold Bottle” (a.k.a. “Ace of Spades” or simply “Ace”) in Show Me What You Got.

Stain Art

Do you remember the last time you noticed a stain on your cloths and you thought “Oh, that’s really cool!”? Or maybe the last time you saw an ad for a washing machine on TV and you thought it was really exciting and entertaining? No!? Then you definitely need to go to www.stainart.com and let electric appliances manufacturer Siemens convince you that stains and washing machines can actually be fun.

StainArt.com allows visitors to try their artistic abilities on a white t-shirt with a wide variety of stains, ranging form soil and grass to baby food to eggs. After you have created your stain masterpiece you can submit it to a gallery where other visitors to the website can see it and evaluate it with grades from 1 (poor) to 5 (masterpiece). As all viral sites, StainArt.com also offers the option share with a friend, either to make them create their own "art peices" or at least vote for yours so that you have a chance of winning. The best creation (the one that got the highest score) will then be featured in the ads for Siemens’s new auto stain removal washing machine, which according to the manufacturer is “the world’s first washing machine with autoStain Removal to remove up to 14 different types of stain, without the need for special detergents.”

The site that greets visitors with the catchy "How dirty can you go?", was created by the Turkish agency Nexum Creative for Siemens Appliances U.K. was launched less than a week ago, on November 7. And even though that, according to the Adverblog, the idea of the online contest is not extremely innovative, it seems to be appealing to consumers because there are already more than 230 “art pieces” in the gallery and I have to admit some of them are really good.This is the winner so far with a score of 134. I, personally, had a fun time creating my own t-shirt and cleaning it, with Siemens’s new washing machine, of course, whenever I was unhappy with the result.

Server Mechanic – In the Real and in the Virtual Worlds

What is the most efficient way to attract computer geeks to play a game? It seems Affinity Internet came up with a very creative solution – create a game where they get to be … computer geeks!

Recently the leading web site, ecommerce and online marketing service provider for web professionals and small businesses launched Server Mechanic, a Flash-based advergame that moves IT professionals through four levels of speed-based, on-the-job scenarios that become increasingly more difficult. The IT-focused game will test players’ technical skills and allow them to win big prizes. In the first level called “Find the Beep” and designed in Pac-Man-style the player has to identify the broken server. Next, is a code-off where players race to enter a specific computer programming code. At all times players are threatened of being electrocuted.

Server Mechanic is a combination of brand and direct marketing and it has been designed to promote Affinity’s Web hosting service – www.gate.com – in an entertaining way. According to John Enright, vice president of marketing at Fort Lauderdale-based Affinity, “It’s [Server Mechanic] a balancing act. The No. 1 objective is that it’s entertaining. Our second objective is to get our message across.” Enright realizes that if the advergame seems too commercial and is not entertaining and fun enough to play the click rates and its chances of success will substantially decrease.

Server Mechanic keeps track of up-to-the-minute online rankings of the fastest players and their best times. At the end of each week, for nine weeks, prizes will be awarded to the top players with the fastest times. Awards will include the Xbox 360, T-shirts, domain names and free Web hosting service with Gate.com. At the end of the competition’s run, the player with the best overall time will automatically win a 32” LCD HDTV. In addition to that, every competitor is eligible to receive a 90-day free trial hosting with Gate.com, desktop wallpaper or be eligible to win an Xbox 360 via a random drawing. Unsurprisingly, since the purpose of the game is to increase awareness of and traffic to www.gate.com, the winners will be announced on the web site at the end of each week.

Even though there are ads for the game on selected tech sites and blogs, Server Mechanic relies mainly on the viral appeal of the game to grow its reach. The game provides players with the standard opportunity to send a link to the game to a friend, as well as the chance to challenge a friend to compete against them in real time over the web.

While lead generation is an aspect of the campaign, the company is hoping that the theme of the game – server mechanic as action hero – carries a deeper message to its audience. Executives at Affinity hope that the game will help them express their admiration and appreciation of the day-to-day efforts of this often invisible office heroes - the sever mechanics - to keep operations running smoothly.