The name on the door.

Leo Burnett “When to take my name off the door” from Lobo on Vimeo.

I like my marketing… in bed.

Tell me this isn’t one of the best marketing mobile applications out there? Mattress company, Sealy, takes an overused Chinese fortune cookie joke and turns it into a edgy, viral campaign. Make the writing on the wall of your local coffee shop (aka Jo’s Coffee on South Congress Ave in Austin, TX – duh) into something, uh well… slightly dirty. And then send it to your friends, of course!

I need to make a virus video.

Yes Jen Aniston, in the digital world of advertising and marketing you are insignificant. Kennan Cahill wins.

And this is exactly what I learned after a “professional” week in New York City visiting advertising agencies – talk about good timing finding this video today.

From March 2 to March 6 I hiked around Manhattan with a gaggle of journalism students. We literally looked like a gaggle, with two “mamma” seniors (Morgan and myself) out front who actually knew how to use the subways and about twenty baby geese non-New Yorkers following behind. Over two days we visited eight advertising agencies including VML, MediaVest, Ketchum, and appssavvy. And while each was very different, labeling themselves as PR experts, traditionally focused, or even media buyers, they all had one thing in common – digital campaigns were how they were getting attention for their clients.

Tiny toy soldiers.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

“All of my good ideas are battles.”

via My Modern Met

Being stupid.

Stupid is as stupid does right? Well if that’s the case then Diesel was stupid with “Be Stupid.”

Starting in January the apparel brand used an online, print, and outdoor advertising campign developed by Anomaly London to barrage us with images of teenage girls flashing cameras, the desire to think with our balls, and the idea it was socially savvy to have a hangover.

I can see why groups of protective moms and Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority were pissed.

But stupid is as stupid does. And as a society, we can be pretty stupid. Want to know why were stupid in this case? We bought into it.

Diesel’s “Be Stupid” campaign did exactly what it preached to its clients to do. It acted stupid. It tread the line, it went against middle-America norms, and it made some mistakes. That is what made it work – the company bought in to its own advertised philosophy. By being stupid, Diesel got people mad and it made them talk – that is how to get attention in this age.

And let’s be honest, you can’t really argue with the philsophy Diesel created as the core basis for its ads. The brand asked people to go after their hopes and dreams, to not be stopped by convention, and to not be afraid to fail. Sounds pretty Disney-esque to me…

Add bold colors, bold print, pretty people, and bass-heavy music – it is no wonder the younger set of consumers loved it and, six months later, the campaign is still in full swing.

(Below are photos I took on 5th Avenue of the Diesel store)