Chrysler Group – The Magical Turnaround

Recently, Ad Age named Chrysler Group “Marketer of the Year”. A
Frenchman, Olivier Francois, rebranded the bankrupt Chrysler with two
major advertising campaigns, turned around Americans’ opinions, and
magically increased sales by 37%. The result is almost unbelievable.
According to Automotive News Figures, Chrysler’s market share went up
from 8.9% to 11.5%; unit-sales growth jumped to 37% from -4% in 2009.
Additionally, the brand loyalty rate, which measures the second purchase of
a Chrysler, doubled from 15% in Q3 2009 to 30% in Q2 2012, as reported by
automotive researcher Polk.

The incredible success began with Super Bowl commercials in 2011 (“Born
on Fire” ft. Eminem) and 2012 (“Halftime in America”). Both ads conveyed
a powerful theme of the pride to be an American and the rebirth of a new
Chrysler. They were built on stories, rather than the product itself. Take
“Born on Fire” as an example, it uses a tough male narrative to tell the story
of the Metro City where Chrysler is born and made, “it’s the hottest fire that
makes the hardest steel”. The images in the commercial are almost cold
and heavy, but later we see flashes of Detroit’s fields of excellence that
are cleverly chosen, such as ice-skating. The two minutes’ commercial is
a condensed history of Detroit, with undeniable strength through the pain.
Our advertising mentor Sean Fitzpatrick introduced the commercial as an
example of his model for effective advertising. “Your character is shown
when you are brave enough to tell the world what you’ve been through, and

to admit that you had a hard time”.

The story clearly resonated with American audience and evoked ardor in
the breast. As a result, the dealership’s situation dramatically changed
from struggling to “keep their head above water” to tripled sales of Chrysler
200 in a short period of time. According to Mr. Francois, Chrysler already
“started a conversation. And conversation is paramount”. Now the final part
of Chrysler’s trilogy becomes another reason to look forward to Super Bowl
2013.

The accidental cartographer

Maps are awesome!! I love vintage maps, hand-drawn maps, and metro maps. I collected city maps in Europe!

Plus Ultra

I have always loved maps. During my childhood summers in Canada I collected illustrated maps of major North American cities, meticulously hand-drawn and painted by the aptly named company Unique Media. Somewhere stashed away in my cupboards are aerial depictions of Toronto, Vancouver, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, along with more general maps of the US and Canada. Unique Media also did a fabulous world map, which graced the wall of my bedroom in the days before Plus Ultra.

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{from scratch holidays} Embroidered Jar Lids

Very cute! I wish I had smart hands like ths

from scratch club

This year I have every intention of making Christmas gifts from scratch, or at least putting significant thought and effort into each gift

My Dad is a chef and food is one of the things we truly bond over. We value each other’s opinions equally and consult each other constantly, whether it be cooking techniques, new flavor combinations, or food safety.

For Christmas I want to gift him my absolute favorite spice blends, in our house we use them (four in total) almost weekly. The first blend is called Black & Red and its a spicy pepper blend from Penzeys. Second, a blend called Arizona Dreaming from Penzeys that we absolutely love with chicken. The third and fourth are two blends that we made up/adapted over the years and one is amazing for burgers and the other is especially fantastic for ribs. Given my recent, never ending, and undying…

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Beautiful Jewelry Ads

[Pocket Music Station] The xx – VCR

Presidential Campaign via Narrowcasting

Since political parties are purchasing most of the television inventories as we approach the 2012 election, online-video inventory has become an alternative place for candidates’ 30-second ads. Mixpo, an online-video-advertising technology company, has determined that the spending in 2012 could be seven times what it was in the 2008 presidential election. As a result, there may not be enough online ad inventories in November to satisfy demand in some states.

Starting from the introduction of web-based advertisements in the 2004 election, political parties have issued tailored ads to target specific audiences, a process known as narrowcasting. Although the predicted $35 million spent on streaming online video in the election cycle is still a fraction of the $5.6 billion on television broadcasts, the online-video consumption is growing rapidly and making an impact on people’s decisions.

Other than online videos, politicians are leveraging the power of social media like never before to connect and build intimacy with the public. For both presidential candidates, social networking platforms have become a crucial battlefield that they cannot afford to lose. With the in-depth data analysis of the online audience, the candidates are able to adjust their messages to cater for many different tastes.

This shift from broadcasting to narrowcasting illustrates how presidential campaigns are beginning to target based on demographics or behavioral characteristics. Media outlets have been allowed to deliver messages that are designed for specific target audience. What happens if we are only exposed to information that has been preselected for us? When news and commercials are busy producing their own facts and reality to appeal to the believers, can we still see the truth? Decision-making never seems easy, but making your own decision has become more difficult than ever.

What Happens When a Commercial Goes Viral

The brand new Chanel No.5 commercial starring Brad Pitt recently went viral online, receiving over 5.6 million views on a single YouTube video. This is the first time that Chanel hired a spokesman for its signature fragrance. In the past, their spokeswomen have included famous, beautiful women such as Nicole Kidman, Estella Warren, Carole Bouquet, and Audrey Tautou, who all represented the feminine and sophisticated charm of the perfume. However, Brad Pitt, named twice “Sexiest Man Alive” by People magazine, has brought more discussion, controversy and awareness to the timeless fragrance more than anyone above.

In the video that has been madly talked about, Mr. Pitt presents himself with a deep, masculine feeling and makes a mini-pitch about his perspective on life, journey and fate. The new commercial does not look remotely similar to previous ones, which had fancy, extravagant settings and a romantic storyline. The ending line also transforms from “her kiss, her smile, her perfume”, to “my look, my fate, my fortune”, in order to keep the marketing language aligned. Unfortunately, the many viewers did not buy the idea of him telling his life story (in a minimalist version), and they complained about his distracted, awkward look. Now it is confirmed that even negative comments can successfully draw so much attention.

Naturally, viewers do not simply stop here. A great thing about the Internet era is that people are free to express their sarcasm or praise through user-generated content. YouTubers around the world have enjoyed making parodies of this commercial. Here are a few notable and amusing examples, some of which might serve as inspiration.