[ paul isakson ]

Weezer Is The Web

Just a little Friday fun courtesy of Weezer and their new Pork and Beans video.

via

Drench Water: Smart Hydration

Was over on brand new earlier today and came across this ad, which Gareth found via Rob.

I have to say, it's one of the best ads I've seen in a while. It entertained me. It made me smile. It reminded me of yet another reason it's good to stay hydrated. It even made me think kindly of a product that is often accused of doing more harm than good.

(And maybe part of the reason I like it is due to it reminding me of one of my favorite music videos.)

Then I immediately started to question the strategy. (I know. I always have to poke holes in good ads, don't I. Sorry. Can't help it. It's just in my nature to question everything. Anyway...) It's selling a benefit of drinking water, not the brand.

You don't have to drink Drench water to be properly hydrated. You just have to drink water, or any non-dehydrating liquid for that matter, to stay hydrated. And as far as I can tell, there's nothing special about Drench that makes it hydrate you better than any other water.

Now, to Drench's defense, if you go to their site, you'll see that they're positioning themselves around "smart hydration," not just hydration. (Seems like it would have been a great position for smartwater, no?) And using Brains from Thunderbirds as a spokespuppet is quite clever and yet another reinforcement of the strategy.

I think really what they're doing though is not so much trying to own hydration as they are trying to create a unique voice for the brand and basing it on smart hydration to start with.

With bottled water, I would imagine this is actually an imperative in order to demand a price above the low-cost leaders. If it's all just water no matter what bottle it's in, then it will be your marketing that makes people chose to pay more for your brand.

Clearly people are willing to pay a premium for Fiji Water because of the marketing, maybe even more so now that they're working to be carbon negative.

If I look at it in that regard, that they're using hydration as a product-relevant launching point to taking the position of being a light-hearted and fun water brand in category filled with overly-pretentious high-end brands, non-distinguishable mid-tier brands, and several low-cost players, then it all makes much more sense.

Given the slow growth the brand has experienced the past two years, with no TV advertising and a campaign based strictly on hydration, this approach - of developing a fun, interesting and entertaining voice brought to life both on TV and digitally - could be just what the need to get things going.

Agency is CHI & Partners.

Friday Music Video Fun

Slow week this week on the blog. Have been busy at work, but part of that was with a presentation to the agency with some thoughts on "what's next" in marketing which I'll get up on SlideShare and post a little on here. In the meantime, enjoy the Have You Seen In Your Dreams video by Miracle Fortress I came across today...

It's Funny How Things Align Sometimes

Yesterday I shared the little blurb I wrote that appeared in The Next Issue which talked about the amount of content out there and how easily it is now to link one thing to another.

Today, Faris posted on a blatant case of this.

And just now, I went to the YouTubes to see what was on the home page and came across this video:

Which reminded me of another video, that funnily enough, I remembered seeing on TIGS quite some time ago:

Now, certainly art inspires advertising and sometimes vice versa, and these aren't nearly as bad as the case Faris is citing, but it does all make for a fun little coincidence now doesn't it.

Interesting New Justice Video

DVNO by Justice. Directed by SO-ME.

I've started over on my music blog (hoping this one sticks), so I'm trying to post all music related things over there instead of here in order to keep this a little more focused. I've also started a Tumblr stream for random things I find interesting in some shape or another but didn't think belonged on here. Anyway...

Thought this was interesting from a creative inspiration perspective (just like their D.A.N.C.E. video), so it's getting posted over here too. After all, part of the planner's job is to help inspire the creative team, no?

The New Pornographers - Myriad Harbour

Love the illustration and animation in this one from The New Pornographers most recent album, Challengers.

A Little Monday Musical Interlude

Solar, with lyrics. from flight404 on Vimeo.

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Just For Fun: Iron & Wine Live

Sub Pop is sharing a couple live Iron & Wine clips on their YouTube channel. In addition to the above, they've also posted Flightless Bird. Thank you Sub Pop.

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Arcade Fire: Black Mirror Interactive Video

Arcade Fire has done it again. First it was with Neon Bible. Now they're letting you be the studio engineer on Black Mirror. I'm certainly a fan of their music, but am an even bigger fan of what they're doing online to let their fans play with their music videos. Well done, Arcade Fire. Well done.

Adam Tensta - My Cool

Thought this was an interesting video from Swedish hip hop artist Adam Tensta.