Posts tagged with "Ad Age"

Above, the limited-edition kicks promoting Heineken Silver. (Photo source: Heineken)

Beer here: Limited-edition kicks promoting Heineken Silver are designed by the Shoe Surgeon

August 4, 2022

Getting beer on your shoes might be a hazard of sticky-carpeted nightclubs, but having beer in your shoes? It’s a fashion statement, according to Heineken, reports Ad Age.

The brand’s Asia Pacific branch has created “Heinekicks,” a limited-edition line of sneakers that feature soles injected with Heineken Silver, a new lighter brew aimed at Gen Z. 

The brand teamed up with sneaker designer Dominic Ciambrone, aka the Shoe Surgeon (who’s designed kicks for the likes of Drake, DJ Khaled and LeBron James) to create the shoes. The campaign comes from the agencies, Publicis Le Pub and BBH Singapore.

According to Heineken’s statement, the point of the kicks is to illustrate the idea of “walking on beer” and create an “unexpectedly smooth and unique” sensation while you’re on the go—mirroring the “smooth” taste of Heineken Silver.

The design itself also reflects the signature colors of the brew, with a green lenticular upper, and silver and red accents. And built into the tongue is a removable metal bottle opener.

“Partnering with Heineken for their new beer was a fun challenge,” said Ciambrone. “We both share a passion for innovation and pushing boundaries and created a design to reflect that. The shoe not only embodies the energy of Heineken Silver, but literally carries it. I can’t say I’ve ever designed a sneaker that contains actual beer before.’’

The “Heinekicks” will drop in Singapore in the fourth quarter; 32 pairs have been created, seven of which are up for grabs.

Meanwhile, they can be seen on display from August10-16 in a Singapore shopping mall, the Limited Edition Vault at  313@Somerset, as part of a “Project Future” exhibition organized by Cultural Cartel x Tomorrow Lapse.

Research contact: @adage

Photo source: British Airways

British Airways recreates famous NYC photo to mark the return of transatlantic travel

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September 27, 2021

British Airways is marking the return of Brits to the United States with a tactical ad that cleverly recreates an iconic New York City photograph, Ad Age reports.

The creative—running in paid social, press, digital out-of-home, and on BA’s own channels—debuted two days after U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision ton Monday, September 20, to let vaccinated British visitors into the States starting in November, in an easing of coronavirus rules.

Although Americans have been able to visit the U.K. over the summer, there has been no reciprocal arrangement and the ruling paves the way for airlines to ramp up their transatlantic schedules.

WPP’s Team Horizon, run out of Ogilvy London, took the famous photograph “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper,” originally shot by Charles Clyde Ebbets during the construction of Rockefeller Center in the 1930s, and digitally altered it so that all the construction workers in the image appear to be looking up to the sky to a plane overhead. Photographer Adam Hinton was charged with matching the ad to the original image in painstaking detail.

“t doesn’t get any bigger or more iconic than the route to New York and the USA re-opening—it’s fantastic news after such a long wait to fly and we wanted to re-create an iconic image to match.” said Jules Chalkley, chief executive creative director at Team Horizon, in a statement.

Research contact: @adage

Graphics source: Scroll

Twitter acquires Scroll, an ad-free news reader

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May 5, 2021

Twitter  has announced the acquisition of Scroll, an ad-free news product—and word is that the social media giant expects to pull the service into a new subscription offering being planned, Ad Age reports.

To date, the app, which launched in January 2020, has offered subscribers the opportunity to get ad-free access to hundreds of websites, for $5 per month.

Scroll works with a handful of publishers—among them, Vox Media, BuzzFeed News, Business Insider, The Atlantic, and USA Today—and offers stories from those publishers to paying customers. It does not block ads; rather, it works with its expanding group of publishers to take the ads down in exchange for a slice of the subscription fee.

Scroll keeps 30% of the subscription fee and distributes the other 70% to the participating sites, based on which articles users view.

Scroll will temporarily halt new subscribers while its 13-person team joins the social media company, Twitter said on May 4 in a blog post. Deal terms weren’t disclosed. Scroll, which has offices in New York City and Portland, is backed by investors including Union Square Ventures.

Twitter has spoken publicly about its interest in selling a subscription product, and is considering a number of options. The San Francisco-based company also recently acquired Revue, a newsletter startup, with plans to make money from subscriptions. Twitter envisions the two products working together, and says users may one day pay to read newsletters or stories from certain publishers directly on Twitter without any ads.

“For every other platform, journalism is dispensable,” wrote Scroll CEO Tony Haile in a blog post. “If journalism were to disappear tomorrow their business would carry on much as before. Twitter is the only large platform whose success is deeply intertwined with a sustainable journalism ecosystem.”

The social media company is looking for ways to expand business outside of digital advertising, which makes up the bulk of revenue. Advertising can be inconsistent and Twitter said last week that ad sales got off to a slow start in 2021 thanks in part to civil unrest in the United States and delayed public events, like Hollywood’s Academy Awards presentation. A subscription business would offer a more steady and predictable revenue stream. Scroll is Twitter’s sixth deal in the past six months.

Research contact: @adage

Illustration source: Advertising Age

Ad Age: Five big trends in Sunday’s Super Bowl LV commercials

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February 8, 2021

When the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hit the turf at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 7 for Super Bowl LV, many viewers will be watching the advertising spots as avidly as they watch the plays.

According to an analysis by Ad Age, this year, there’s no question that the pandemic has affected what we’ll see during the commercial breaks. From who is in—and out—of the Big Game, to the tone of the spots and who is being featured, this year’s commercials are poised to look vastly different. Among the trends we’ll be watching are the following, the global media brand predicts:

Big void. There will be a void in some typical Super Bowl categories: Think soda, cars, and movies. Neither Coke nor Pepsi will air commercials for their flagship cola brands; nor will automakers Hyundai and Kia light up the screens with their latest models. Currently, just five car commercials from three nameplates (as well as Vroom, the online auto dealership), are expected to run.

 Super Bowl LV also will be light on trailers for blockbuster movies, as many theaters remain shuttered and productions continue to be delayed. Last year, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios, Marvel, and MGM all aired commercials. Currently, Walt Disney Studios is the only studio expected to air trailers during the game, although it remains to be seen if any others have bought in.

Of course, the biggest brand to announce its absence on game day is Budweiser, which will be watching the Super Bowl from the sidelines for the first time in 37 years. Other brands sitting out include Avocados From Mexico, breaking its six-year streak; and Hulu, which has aired commercials during the last four games.

Newbies. Nineteen marketers set to make their Big Game debuts, compared to 11 first-time advertisers last year, Ad Age reports.

Brands like Scotts Miracle-Gro, e-commerce platform Mercari, online job site Indeed, online car dealership Vroom, online freelance platform Fiverr, DraftKings, DoorDash and Uber Eats, saw their businesses grow in 2020 thanks to a shift in consumer behavior amid lockdowns. Similarly, buy now, pay later firm Klarna and trading app Robinhood also have witnessed a change to how people want to conduct their finances.

While it’s likely most of these companies won’t turn into regular Super Bowl advertisers, their presence this year will certainly serve as an opportunity to put some of these brands on the map.

Small business support. As part of their Super Bowl campaigns, several marketers are showing their support for local and small businesses, which have been particularly bruisedfby COVID-19.

 DoorDash’s commercial celebrates the businesses in your neighborhood with a new take on the Sesame Street classic song “The Neighborhood,” while Uber Eats is looking to persuade Super Bowl viewers to eat local with its ad reuniting “Wayne’s World’s” Wayne and Garth.  Klarna is supporting small, women-owned and minority-owned businesses in its social media push around its Western-themed ad.

What’s more, part of Verizon’s campaign will aim to help small businesses achieve long-term survival. It includes a benefit concert immediately following the Super Bowl headlined by Alicia Keys, Eric Church, H.E.R, Brittany Howard, Luke Bryan, Brandi Carlisle, and Jazmine Sullivan.

Inclusivity. Amid the renewed social justice movement, some 2021 Big Game advertisers have worked to become more diverse in the creation and production of their ads. There’s still a long way to go, but more brands have made some strides this year.

Amazon’s Alexa is embodied by actor Michael B. Jordan, who is backed up by  a predominantly Black cast. Several prominent Black stars—among them, Don Cheadle, Daveed Diggs and Lil Nas X—star in commercials for Michelob Ultra, DoorDash and Logitech, respectively.

Dan Levy, who represents the LGBTQ+ community, is featured in M&M’s spot. And Toyota tells the story of Paralympian Jessica Long.

In its first-ever Super Bowl ad, ndeed features a diverse group of job seekers—nearly all of whom are real people using the site. The message: Indeed finds jobs for all people.”

Nostalgia. From remakes of classic songs to some unlikely pairings, Super Bowl advertisers will look to bring viewers back to some happier times. Cheetos plays on Shaggy’s 2000 hit “It Wasn’t Me” for a humorous ad starring celebrity couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, who illustrate  how to try to convince someone else you didn’t swipe their snacks.

 In other spots, Uber Eats reboots “Wayne’s World,” which rose to fame on “Saturday Night Live” in the late 1980s.  Dolly Parton turned her iconic “9 to 5” song into an anthem for the side-hustle in Squarespace’s ad with the title “5 to 9.” And a grown-up version of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” is the soundtrack to Shift4Shop’s Super Bowl ad promoting its sponsorship of the first civilian mission to space.

Finally, Bud Light resurrects some of its classic Super Bowl ad characters, like “I love you man” guy, Dr. Galazkiewicz, the “Real Men of Genius” singer and Cedric the Entertainer, who last appeared in a Bud Light Big Game ad in 2005.

Research contact: @adage