I know you, Heinz Tomato Ketchup

Ah, Heinz Ketchup, people of all ages love the stuff and it is so woven into the fabric of our lives, into our collective psyche, that it doesn't even need to be shown - at least that's AMV's idea. Plus, I'm a sucker for a good song in a commerical. This one stuck in my head and I downloaded it from iTunes. It adds that nostalgic element to the ad - all those meals you've had that just wouldn't be the same without Heinz Ketchup.

Can't find a video to embed so follow this link to AMV's website

Ring My Bell!

It's Eazy Beanzy with Heinz baked beans in a snap pack snack pack. I think this ad is actually two years old plus, but they've relaunched it on TV and it's the first time I've seen it. Positioned to appeal to every bean lover: the stay at home mom, the money-saving student, the working professional and the retired pensioner, this catchy jingle makes me want to get up and shake my booty! I love the detail in the creative for each of the four audiences from the decor of their kitchen, the make of their microwave, the way they make their tea and most importantly the way they eat their beans of toast. Yum yum, get me a snack pack.

There's always Schweppes

Clever and funny this ad by Mother is positioned at your standard over-worked, middle class suburban parents and aims to resonate with the typical (over-the-top in this case) ordeals they face daily while raising a family. It's simple, to the point and memorable - very well done.

Train like a famous athlete - with adidas

This campaign makes me want to download the adidas miCoach and get exercising right away. Then again, it's directed at someone just like me who takes their exercise seriously and can't afford to have a personal trainer they work with multiple times a week... Plus, putting celebrity athletes in the commercial always adds that aspirational element.

Virgin says, Don't Go Zombie!

www.dontgozombie.com

What a great viral game that ties in major cultural trends to promote Virgin trains to English young professional. With the array of zombie movies that have appeared over the past few years - 28 Days, I am Legend, Zombieland, Day of the Dead - and the emergence of Google Street view in our everyday lives, this game communicates Virgin's promotional message - don't become a commuter zombie, take Virgin trains - effectively and maintains Virgin as a culturally relevant brand in today's marketplace.

What I especially like about this game is that you can enter your postcode into Google Maps which creates a personalized gaming experience for each user - you're fighting zombies on your recognizable neighborhood streets. Additionally, you're promoted to invite your friends on Facebook to save you from your zombie fate (if you loose) or challenge your high score (if you're particularly skilled) which ties in the highly relevant Social Media aspect. Then again, tying in Social Media is pretty essential in any campaign these days.

Well done to Virgin's digital agency Elvis.

On me 'ead with Dominos

I love it when I see American brands adapted to the English market. In celebration of the World Cup, this Dominos viral game has you heading the football to collect points. If you win the game's 'Cup Final' you're entered to win one of 25 £100 pizza parties. Special coupons and discounts are given out along the way in return for data, what else? Reminders to order online are a constant on the microsite and of course, don't forget to share with your 'mates' on Twitter and Facebook. This is a tidy little piece of user engagement which hits all of the current marketing trends: World Cup fever, social media, viral games and the all-important data collection.

Check it out: http://www.onmeead.co.uk/

Mars' Singing for England

A bit of a delayed post but here's Mars' World Cup ad which uses famed Jamaican-born English footballer widely considered one of the country's all-time best wingers. He reprises his role in New Order's 1990 single World in Motion (see minute 2.30). It's a catchy, patriotic and nostalgic song that associates Mars with England's World Cup aspirations.

Kit Kat, in a World Cup of trouble

When I first saw Nestle's Kit Kat ad which allied itself with English football fans across the country in support of England in the 2010 World Cup, I immediately added it to my list to update on brandopoly. However, I wrote my whole blurb and never posted it because I just found the 'Cross Your Fingers' ad rather uninspiring. Also, their microsite wasn't loading and I just decided the whole thing was a flop.

However, in last week's issue of Marketing, the front page article was about how Mars and The FA are considering legal action against Nestle for what they consider to be a breach on sponsorship rules.  Basically, they claim Nestle is guilty of 'passing off' an association with the England team despite not actually being an official sponsor.

But there's more. Marketing says that Mars undertook similar 'ambush marketing' tactics in the 2006 World Cup in Germany... despite not being an official sponsor of Team England at the time. Woops...

Nestle of course maintains they have not breached any third-party rights and although I certainly can't claim to have read The FA sponsorship contract, I would have to say that Nestle does a pretty good job of avoiding the World Cup altogether. Never is the World Cup or South Africa mentioned and all football shots centre on the Premier League.  Let's see what happens...

Kit Kat ad below. Mars ad to follow.

BP's digital brand voice

Is BP's digital brand voice at risk from a Twitter imposter that has amassed a following twice that of the petroleum supplier/Gulf Coast destroyer's own official feed? Apparently not because the other day BP told AdAge that they might not take it down. They said "People are frustrated at what's happening, as are we, and that's just their way of expressing it." If you take a look at @bpglobalpr you'll see the imposter tweets are quite humerous with gems like

"Catastrophe is a strong word, let's all agree to call it a whoopsie daisy."

"Proud to announce that BP will be sponsoring the New Orleans Blues Festival this summer w/ special tribute to Muddy Waters."

"Jelly beans, roller coasters, pizza and trampolines. Without oil, none of these would exist. Just something to think about."

However, according to Twitter the name @bpglobalpr isn't legal if it's not an official BP tweeter, they need to say explicitly that it's fake - which they don't. BP condoning this feed will certainly not help them improve their currently terrible reputation, in fact it only perseverates their image as an uncaring, money-hungry, environmentally unfriendly oil company. Why don't they start a retailiation tweet about their clean up efforts? Keep the public informed and try to reposition themselves in the mind of the American public.

Will be watching to see how long @bpglobalpr lasts...

Clever TFL adverts

These TFL adverts have been on the tube for months and I've finally gotten around to uploading my iPhone pictures onto the computer. I love the way they've used the iconic multi-colored lines to represent everyday activities that can require the use of the London Underground. I think these ads are both simple and clever and easily get the message across. Realy like them, especially the shopping/bar code one.