Are Consumer Generated Ads a Good Idea?

In November 2009, right before I graduated from UF, I posted an article about Consumer Generated Ads in relation to the Amazon Kindle. I was absolutely thrilled with the ad. I found it charming and artistic and, above all, out of the ordinary. After last Sunday's Superbowl my opinion on Consumer Generated Advertising has changed; at least enough to say that corporations need to be more strict when it comes to who is creating the advertisements for their brands. There is a lot that goes into advertising. Advertising professionals take a business problem and tear it apart, piece by piece, forming a strategy and developing the best possible solution. They then execute this solution in the most creative way possible, if not the most memorable. 

Don't get me wrong, these spots were entertaining and memorable, but did it leave me wanting to get up from my couch right away and rush to buy the product? Not really. More realistically, it was not added to my shopping list. Looking back on the PepsiMax spots I'm reminded more of a beer commercial than a soda commercial. If the target audience is the same but the product is dissimilar, can the ad be executed in the same way? I'm not sure it works in the same manner and here is why*:

1. Beer is alcoholic. An alcoholic drink is typically consumed with a crowd and found at celebrations. It is fun and adds another level of festivities to a party. Soda is not fun in this same way. It is more "child-like" by nature, consumption of soda alone is not the first sign of a serious disease and therefore generally substituted for water, and it does not add much to any festivity... unless paired with liquor, but that's a different argument entirely.
2. If Beer were a personality it would be manly, burly, interested in sports, fun-loving yet serious, respectable and friendly. If soda were a personality it would be juvenile, entertaining and lively, cheerful, and sometimes refined.

*Of course this is only an opinion, but I'm sure most would agree they cannot be treated as beverage equals.

I feel that the consumers behind the PepsiMax ads were looking towards the "greats" in beverage Superbowl advertising like Budweiser and Coke, but failed to see the strategic juxtaposition between the two types of ads. It appears that they only perceived them shallowly and tried to imitate the type of humor used.

On Feb. 7, in a blog post titled "Consumer-Generated Ads Win Big at Superbowl", Teri Rogers writes:

"This was the first time that Pepsi and Doritos partnered for an event and Crash the Super Bowl was a huge success. Not only did the contest garner a record number of fan submissions, it also generated an unprecedented number of consumer votes. Just goes to show the power of the consumer and how the creative landscape has changed. Not only do consumers want to watch great spots, they want to be a part of the process of not only creating them, but also selecting the winners."

I agree. To an extent, of course. The consumer does have great power over brands, so much that PR agencies exist (take the Kenneth Cole incident for instance). I also agree that consumers want to be a part of everything surrounding the brands with which they identify. However, this has a lot to do with social media as a whole. Consumers are now a very identifiable part of a brand because of and through social media outlets. The degree of separation between consumers and brands is significantly minimized today. However, that does not mean that consumers should be taking the place of advertising agencies when it comes to creating something so vital to a brand's future. 


Here is the Ad Meter on how the Superbowl ads ranked among viewers... what are your thoughts?


Till next time,
The New Ad Grad

A Better Short Story... :)

Andasia®

Bring Out Your Inner Glow ^TM

In a small studio apartment located one block away from Central Park, there lived a lonely lady named Frangella. She moved to New York exactly one year ago to pursue her dreams of making it in the Big Apple. After countless auditions and numerous rejections, she remained a waitress at a local organic café, where her dreams died with her determination- she had simply given up. Now in professional limbo, she dreamed of stability, wealth, and the bottled water that went with it- Andasia®, the water that helps to “bring out your inner glow^™.”

Her shift at the café ended every day at exactly 4:00 p.m. when she would start her 15-minute walk back to her small studio apartment. Once there, she’d sneak past the front trying to avoid her landlady Ms. Tievel, a bitter and evil old maid. When Frangella first arrived in New York, Ms. Tievel let her rent out the small studio in the apartment building for a set price having known her late mother and father. Since then Ms. Tievel had become bitter at her own lack of success and Frangella was the victim of her aggression. She’d demand higher rent at an earlier date, call the police when she had company, would constantly steal her mail and call her names.

Reaching the mailroom without detection meant success, as the door to her apartment was just around the corner. On the bulletin board there she noticed a flier for the 4^th Annual Kiva Wine Tasting; this year her godmother was a sponsor and she’d give anything to go. It was being held in Central Park at 10 p.m. but Ms. Tievel demanded rent today by midnight (two weeks early), which meant another shift at the café tonight to make up her rent in tips. She made her way back to her apartment, defeated.

Once inside, she grabbed the side dish she had made earlier and left again for her godmother’s apartment. They were meeting for their weekly dinner, which translated into her weekly check-in. The dinners began after Frangella’s parents passed and they had helped her through many hard times.

When she arrived, her godmother brought out a bottle of Andasia® taken from her exclusive stock at her boutique and the last VIP ticket to the wine tasting. Refusing to take no for an answer, she dressed Frangella in a glittering dress with sparkling jewelry and a gorgeous pair of black stilettos with a distinct red sole.  She then handed her a check for the remaining rent amount and the small bottle of Andasia®- for brilliance and courage.

“Remember,” her godmother explained, “the rent check must get to Ms. Tievel by midnight or you’ll be evicted.”

Frangella was sent on her way.

Even as she walked towards Central Park, Frangella couldn’t believe this was happening. As she entered through the gates of the park the crowd turned quiet; everyone seemed to be gazing at her: she was stunning. Then the band erupted in a new song and the celebration continued. She felt here, of all places, her dreams would come true. She slowly sipped her bottle of Andasia® water, for tonight, more than ever, she wanted to glow.

A handsome young politician stood across the field. He noticed Frangella walk into the party, select a spot near the dance floor and stare up at the sky, sipping from a bottle of Andasia®. He needed to know her.

Frangella also noticed the young politician. She decided he was handsome with shaggy dark hair, honey-brown eyes and tanned skin. The suit he wore portrayed wealth; his demeanor disproved the stereotype. She returned her gaze to a small star twinkling brighter than the rest, and silently made a wish.

            “Just water tonight?”

He had startled her.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, I just noticed you weren’t tasting the wine,” he apologized.

“Oh, it’s all right, I’m just a little jumpy tonight.” She couldn’t help but smile.

“The name’s William Allen (D-NY), pleasure to meet you.”

“Frangella, but my friends call me Franny.”

Minutes turned to hours, and the night raced by without notice. It was now 11:45 and the alarm her godmother had set rang from her bag.

She panicked, handing him her empty bottle of Andasia®. “I had a great time. I have to go.” With that, she raced back to the apartment, back to Ms. Tievel, back before her bed became a cardboard box in a tunnel of the subway system.

He called after her in vain: he missed his chance. Without information how could he find her? The empty bottle of Andasia® sat knowingly in his hand: Andasia® water was exclusively sold in one boutique. There he would begin his search.

After handing Ms. Tievel the rent check, Frangella returned to her apartment where she collapsed on her bed relieved, only to realize she would never see William again. He was the one, the answer to all her dreams and she had missed her chance. She could not sleep.

Feeling dejected, Frangella rode the subway the next morning to visit her godmother. She had foreseen last night as special and so she must have the answers to Frangella’s questions.

As she approached the boutique, she found William standing by the store window. Their eyes met and she knew he had been waiting for her. In his hand sat her empty bottle of Andasia® and, with a grin, he declared triumphantly, “You left this.”


Till next time,
The New Ad Grad