Love = Football

I have been very impressed with Puma's latest marketing push, targeting footballers gearing up for the World Cup. Naturally, I've admired a lot of W+K's work for Nike in the past, but Droga5's latest Puma viral video, "Puma Hard Chorus," did an excellent job of using its timing and appeal to the soccer community to make a big impact.

As soon as I opened my email yesterday from Creativity Online, my eyes zoomed to the Puma blurb with a picture that resembles a scene out of one of my favorite movies, Green Street Hooligans (If you love soccer as much as I do and you haven't seen it yet, please do so). After clicking on it, I always try to watch the video before reading the review. The hoard of English blokes singing the cheesy Savage Garden song completely tone deaf was hilarious in itself, but when put in the setting of an English pub, you can't get the horrid song, and the images, out of your head for quite a while.

After the serenade, it reminds you that Valentines day, this Sunday, just happens to fall on a game day. There is also an Italian version. Check them both out on the Puma Football site, where you can see the rest of their Love = Football campaign.

The World Cup is just around the corner.

Brand Bowl 2010!

Another Super Bowl has come and gone, which of course beings the onslaught of discussions, reviews and analyses of the game and the commercials. I decided to give my two cents via blog. As usual, Budweiser's millions of dollars were successful by producing humorous, memorable ads, but I was most impressed with Google's, which was incredibly clever at what seems like a brilliantly low production cost.

While it didn't boast humor or being risqué, I found it to be the most creative. I was truly impressed with the concept of telling a short story simply just through Google searches. Even some of the Typer's emotion was expressed through the mouse's motions and pace of typing. Not only was a short story told in a clever way that grabbed attention, some of Google's functional attributes were expressed through these searches such as the misspelling corrections, translations, and maps, without overtly saying, "Hey, look at what our product can do."

While I feel that a lot of people can identify with "Googling," it appealed to me especially with my familial ties to France (my Dad was raised in Paris and I have gone back to visit multiple times) and my own use of the search engine. In my quest to study abroad next year, among many other things, I constantly use Google to look up surrounding attractions around locations, and frequent the "street view" to really see what the places may look like. I also use the translation function to translate entire webpages after trying to figure it out for myself. And yes, I ditched Firefox/Safari for Chrome and never looked back.


Besides this spot for Google, I also enjoyed the Flo TV ad. I'm a big fan of compilations of historic, monumental moments that evoke a lot of emotion from viewers, hence one of my previous posts about the Nike "Courage" spot.

Lace Up To Fight AIDS

When I was in NYC over my Winter break, I popped into the Niketown there. It resembled more of a dance club, complete with a DJ, lights and attractive employees, than a sports store. But of course, Nike is much more than a sports apparel manufacturer, right? One thing I found in the soccer section, which was about four times as big as the section here in Seattle's Niketown, were small boxes of red laces, which supported AIDS relief in Africa. Then I picked my head up, and sure enough, Didier Drogba was staring at me from the wall with a pair in his hand, twisted around like a cat's cradle (I think that's the game that kids played back in elementary school, right?). So I ended up buying a pair.

Later, I notice a few players wearing them while I was watching a few English Premier League matches on TV. Then I saw a great YouTube video promoting Nike's push for the "Lace Up To Fight AIDS" campaign. I wonder if it aired in Europe, since I certainly haven't seen it on any of the U.S. networks. It of course features Nikes most renowned sponsored athletes- even Kobe Bryant.

I have to give Nike credit on this great community outreach program. They sure have came a long way since before the WTO conference here in Seattle when every one was up in arms about their sweatshops in third world countries. Granted they're no where near perfect when it comes to this, but I applaud their effort to gain more brand loyalty through a this "lace up" campaign. Apple does the same with their (Red) iPods, but making something so inexpensive that most can afford benefit a global problem, and show personal support for it through a concept as simple as a set of branded shoe strings is brilliant.