Much Ado About Nothing…

What is the most appropriate way for retailers to address customers during this heightened season of religious sensitivity? Do they go with the generic, boiled down “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings” or the more pinpointed “Merry Christmas”, “Happy Hanukkah” or “Happy Kwanza”? Big decisions, big debates, big dollars at stake.

Not sure what all of the hub-bub is about. Every passing year, the intensity of the debate seems to get stronger. And this year, the debate rages on…

A brief article in Time Magazine this week noted how the American Family Association's Project Merry Christmas was targeting stores like Lowe's for advertising "family trees" instead of Christmas trees in its catalog. This actually forced an apology from Lowe’s, citing a “proofing error”. Heightened sensitivities indeed.

The same article referenced that seasonal sensitivities are not unique to the United States. A story out of Australia made headlines worldwide after a department-store Santa reported being told not to say "Ho, ho, ho" for fear of offending women. (no joke)

Retailers usually set the tone for the debate early in the fourth quarter with the directness of their advertising. In a pluralistic yet ego-centric society such as ours, it’s a risk major advertisers take by focusing on one segment of the population (Merry Christmas) rather than the population at large (Happy Holidays). However, an overwhelming majority of Americans celebrate Christmas as opposed to their non-Christian counterparts. A national telephone survey by Rasmussen Reports supports this, as 67% of Americans chose “Merry Christmas” to the alternatives.

Now in full disclosure, I’m Jewish. I don’t celebrate Christmas. And I may be in the minority here, but I never really took offense to those wishing me a “Merry Christmas”. I never “corrected” them or attempted to insert my “Jewishness” into the situation, and usually replied in-kind (i.e. with the same verbiage wished upon me). However, there are many out there who do not agree and will rebut anyone who says “Merry Christmas” unto them with a “Happy Holidays” response. I see both sides of the argument. But this is supposed to be a season of harmony, of peace on earth. Therefore, I believe that during this time of year, it is just easier if the minority capitulates to the majority. Now, those who know me know I’m all for a good fight, but I’ve been living with this all my life and have just found it easier to roll with the punches than to take an affront to something so harmless as Christmastime advertising and peer-to-peer well wishing.

For marketers, though, this is a complicated and hyper-sensitive season. I believe that a direct approach is the best approach. Since, as stated above, an overwhelming majority of Americans celebrate Christmas, advertisers need to direct their ad dollars towards the majority. Makes perfect sense to me. Why would Target create a “Happy Hanukkah” broadcast TV campaign to cater to less than 10% of the population? Besides, this year Hanukkah will be over long before Christmas even starts (Dec. 4 – 12). Hardly worth the advertisers’ effort.

Really, the only thing that gets me in an uproar is the debate itself. My thoughts—a Christmas tree is not a Holiday tree or a Family tree, it’s a CHRISTMAS tree. A Christmas wreath is not a Holiday wreath or a Seasonal wreath, it’s a CHRISTMAS wreath. And the likes of Santa Claus need not be matched with the creation of a Hanukkah Harry or the Kwanzaa equivalent.

For me, images of Santa Clause hocking everything from Q-tips to car stereos do not offend me. And though I know he isn’t talking directly to me or my “people”, I can’t imagine a holiday season any other way.

Jason Cohen, Director of Marketing/Interactive

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Indie-Ads

You’ve probably seen this DeBeers diamonds commercial. It features both an ugly necklace and a beautiful cover of Cat Stevens’ How Can I Tell You. I find myself excited for the commercial breaks during my primetime favorites (Pushing Daisies, The Office, and House—for anyone who’s interested) because I know this commercial will come on (DeBeers has bought a lot of broadcast time), and I’ll get to hear Chan Marshall’s sweet mellow voice warble those sweet lyrics one more time.

Never heard of Chan Marshall?

You’re not alone. She’s the front woman of a band called Cat Power, who despite having recorded nine albums, are anything but mainstream. For some incredibly frustrating reason, they haven’t released their recording of How Can I Tell You. Trust me on this one; I did a lot of digging, at which point this blog topic came to be. Most people aren’t familiar with the band’s name so they have to remember the product the song is promoting in order to get the right results from a Google search. Now that’s what good advertising is all about. It doesn’t have to be an immediate call to action, just a call to remember. The use of little known or underground bands in commercials as a means of accomplishing this is becoming quite a trend. See the following for proof (if for no other reason than to have a good song stuck in your head):

JCPenney, featuring Regina Spektor’s Music Box

Old Navy, featuring Ingrid Michaelson’s The Way I Am

Target, featuring The Icicles’ La-Ti-Da

M&M’s, featuring Iron & Wine’s cover of Such Great Heights by The Postal Service

These ads are for enormous corporations and use the music of bands and vocalists who are not well known (by Billboard 100 standards, anyway). The music in these ads is quirky and catchy, pop-ish but not bubblegum, and most importantly, pretty underground. Here’s why it’s effective:

1.) People like underground. It makes us feel cool to like stuff that other people don’t know about yet. It is the reason we have variations of snobs—film snobs, video game snobs, book snobs, restaurant snobs, rock snobs, jazz snobs, sports snobs, etc…. An unfortunate human tendency, perhaps, but one that gives advertisers a ton of material. Create a connection between your audience feeling cool and your product, and you’re golden.

2.) People like mystery. There is an incredibly intriguing element of mystery and story involved in a song you can’t quite identify, especially one you end up humming all day. Once the audience associates that mystery and intrigue with a product, they’ll remember it.

3.) People like personal. Quirky & catchy songs sound personal. Everyone knows Target has a store on every street corner in America. Using a song like La-Ti-Da helps each Target store seem like the neighborhood mom & pop shop—much more personal, much homier. Make the ad feel like something that is being shared with each audience member individually, and a personal investment will develop.

It wouldn’t work if a Britney Spears song was used. Why? Well besides the fact that she’s crazy, she’s everywhere. Too public, not personal enough, too mainstream, not mysterious, and certainly not quirky. Advertising with indie alt-rock songs is all about getting into the audience’s head from underneath. Fortunately for DeBeers, the ugly necklace is probably selling like Cabbage Patch dolls because it does just that.

P.S. For all of those of you out there who've seen a commercial and wondered, "Who sings that song?", here's your one-stop shop for answers: http://adtunes.com/.

Maggie Ross, Production Coordinator

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Advertising is Child’s Play

Like everything else on Earth, advertising changes, adapts and evolves to stay new and to keep its purpose from becoming extinct. The most primitive form of advertising comes in the form of a sign that was hung outside shops hundreds of years ago. Those signs eventually turned into newspaper advertising, magazines, outdoor, radio, television, the Internet… the list goes on.

We are always looking for new and exciting ways to get our message to the consumer. High-end technologies and flashy gadgets that promote our message and wow viewers. This was true of the television at its inception, but today advertisers need a new way to reach their target, so why then have they looked back nearly 2,000 years for inspiration?

The zoetrope was invented as a children’s toy in the 1830s by George Horner. However, the earliest known zoetrope was created by a Chinese inventor in 180 A.D. A zoetrope is a cylinder consisting of static pictures and slits cut vertically in the sides that can be spun to make the images appear to be moving. Zoetrope translates from Greek as “life turn,” as you turn it, it comes to life. Now imagine you are inside the zoetrope with life-size pictures and live-action animation.

This antique toy has become the inspiration for a new form of advertising. The concept is simple – place linear pictures along the walls of subway tunnels in a way that makes them come to life as passengers pass by in the subway cars. However, execution may be a bit tougher. A twenty second ad consists of a string of pictures stretching about 1,000 feet and is made up of approximately 4,800 frames in 3 foot boxes.




Two of the pioneering companies are Canada’s Sidetrack and Submedia in New York, and a few of the many advertisers that are already partaking include Microsoft, Target, Lexus, and Coca-Cola.

Transits have swallowed an initial cost of up to $1.4 million, but are seeing an amazing return on investment because the price of placing an ad is running anywhere between $35,000 to $250,000 a month.

If you’re interested in experiencing this “ground-breaking” advertising all you have to do is take a ride on the Red Line in Washington D.C., Chicago’s “L” Train, or trains in Boston, New York, London, Tokyo and others.

--Nick Piche, Copywriter

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