Too Cool for School, but Not Really.

So the other day one of my professors mentioned http://www.absolutads.com/.
Some 100 of them are now saved on my computer waiting for me to make them into a background for my wallpaper.
Yes, they are that cool.

Since I'm still trying to figure out an organized theme to write about continuously in this blog, I think for today I'm going to write about a cool current event in advertising that I just read about off of AdAge's Twitter/Website. Maybe I'll have a cool current event of the day and then talk about whatever else is going on in the advertising part of my life. I think that sounds good.

So Honda just launched this campaign called "Rhymes & Reasons" for the Accord, since their sales the past few months have been absolutely dismal (along with most other companies, I would assume. Oh economic crisis, how we wish you would abate...). They signed an underground, not-really-heard-of-by-the-mainstream hip-hop artist named Mickey Factz, a 30 year-old man who works a day job as a paralegal in New York. The campaign features a 30-second spot that leads viewers to a microsite on which Mickey has an episode of his online show, "Rhymes & Reasons," along with a blog, music, videos, and information about the Accord. The campaign mostly preaches spending wisely, and Mickey's raps and advice center around how to spend less and save more in this economy. He handles problems from callers whose money woes leave them with seemingly no alternatives; however, with Mickey's advice, these alternatives seem almost obvious. For example, instead of spending money on taking your girlfriend to the movies (where you can't even talk to each other), why not go for a walk in a nice park? Cheap, and maybe even more fun.

It's interesting that Honda is trying to bring back the hip-hop fad that is losing its luster in today's world of jaded teenagers, but Mickey's down-to-earth, educated style might actually be a hook for some teens who need money-saving solutions just like the rest of us, without having to ask their parents for that extra $20. It seems like Honda is genuinely interested in helping people overcome this woeful economy rather than just promoting its own products, though tying the two in together certainly couldn't hurt them. Since the Accord embodies all the aspects that Mickey asserts (a smart, cheaper, more sensible alternative than something large, flashy, and expensive), the campaign fits well together, and hopefully it will work for this company that's trying to help both itself and others in these times.

Granted, I'm a little biased because of the fact that I own a [lovely red amazing] Honda Civic myself, but a smart campaign is a smart campaign. http://rhymesandreasons.honda.com/

Now, as promised, here are the 6 creative concepts I presented in class the other day for one of my possible campaigns. My product this time was the New York Philharmonic (couldn't really resist, being a cellist and all).
1. Have pictures made out of or with parts of orchestra instruments. For example, an ad where the Statue of Liberty is playing the violin, the Coke ad in Times Square is held up by a bassoon and a trombone, or the subways are actually flutes.
2. Have sort of a nondescript background with headlines as the main event depicting an interesting historical fact about the times in which pieces were composed, or an interesting reason as to why pieces were composed. For example, Elgar's Cello Concerto in A minor was written during World War II as a requiem for the end of civilization. Why wouldn't you want to see/hear that? (Plus, it's absolutely breathtaking and moving.)
3. Have the same type of look as the ads in 2, but instead of facts, have quotes from poetry depicting music. For example, Act V of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice is one of the most prevalent examples of music in poetry ever.
4. Life without music. Just imagine it. It would be life without sound. For TV spots, the plan would be obvious- silent commercials with people looking bewildered and sad, along with trying to play instruments that don't have any sound, etc. For print, have pictures of instruments with no players, players with no instruments, something that is obviously musical with a headline of "Imagine this in silence." or something like that. The goal is to make people appreciate music and want to hear more of it, and hence buy a ticket to the New York Philharmonic.
5. This one was just silly: have a big picture of a person that you would or would not want to go to an orchestra concert or opera with. For example, you could have Average Joe Sixpack on a page with "Places you wouldn't go with him: to the orchestra concert," or Queen Elizabeth with "Want to meet her? We know where she'll be."
6. Along the same general lines as numbers 2 and 3. Have a picture of a composer (cropped interestingly, of course) with a headline or some copy describing an interesting fact about them or snippet from their lives. For example, Tchaikovsky always held his head on with his right hand while conducting with his left whenever he conducted concerts because he was genuinely afraid that it would fall off (yes, Tchaikovsky was slightly crazy, but he was also an incredible genius when it came to music).

See you tomorrow, kids. :)