Clever Cats!

In the same week that a rover named Curiosity is roaming Mars and a lion was reported to be loose in Essex (it turned out to be a big domestic cat), Prince Harry was snapped playing strip billiards in a Vegas hotel room. No wonder August is called 'Silly Season'.

The clever cats at Lynx capitalised on the news with this topical ad:



This is a prime example of newsjacking (riding on the back of a relevant news story to promote your brand). It's on brand, on message and timely.

Well done, Lynx. Have some (virtual) kitty treats and a tickle behind the ears for your quick thinking.

Your homework: Watch the news with an eagle eye. When you see a fit with your product or service, think of a creative way to use it.

Bottoms up!

The trend for 'top down' marketing communications has almost completely switched to 'bottom up'.

This week, I saw a VO5 customer on TV, demonstrating 'The secret to getting a 40s look*'. The ad ended by inviting viewers to share their own demos online.

It's just another example of how things have changed since the days when people used to demand "we want real people" in the catalogue, but sales dropped compared with the same outfits on professional models (while the photographic 'hassle factor' increased exponentially).

Now, we the people make the ads.

It's over to suppliers to make good enough products and provide good enough services, and we'll sell them for them through word-of-mouth and social media.

*Sorry, I can't find it on YouTube.

The editor must be on holiday. It's the only possible explanation.

The banner headline on the front page of my local paper screams:

'FIND OUT HOW AREA'S OLYMPIANS PERFORMED'

Surely they intended the word 'area' to be replaced with the name of the local town? At least replace it with the word 'our'!

Maybe it's commonsense that's gone on holiday.

What do you think?