Professional Chaos: Hate something, change something

Drawing inspiration from hate. That’s what Honda UK and Weiden and Kennedy hoped to achieve with an ad campaign launched in late 2004.

The premise:
Rather than introduce yet another diesel engine, a Honda engineer was inspired to break the conventional belief that diesel engines had to be noisy, dirty and lacking in pep.

The campaign:
Bring to market a campaign based on a core theme of Hate Something, Change Something. They raised the engineer, Kenichi Nagahiro, on a pedestal as inspiration to the masses that anything is possible if you hate it enough.

The creative:
Folksy, catchy song aired on radio weeks prior to the campaign launch. People actually called up radio stations requesting it. The launch included broadcast, a Web site and offline promotional giveaways.

I think this campaign lives up to the aspirations of any great work:
- Wrap a brand around a core theme.
- Identify a theme that everyone can appreciate (Hate/Change).
- Inspire and empower everyone to do something about it.
- Be infectious — spirit/theme/music.
- Have fun. Get into it.

I actually find myself humming the song and rewatching the spot just to motivate me. Plus I show it to others to motivate them, too!

I encourage you to check it out and perhaps get inspired…

• The Hate Something, Change Something Web site:
  http://www.honda.co.uk/change/
• Download and watch the :90 sec TV spot:
  http://media.honda.co.uk/campaign/change/ad.zip
• Press Release:
  http://www.honda.co.uk/news/cars/20040924.html
• The Lyrics:
  http://paultan.org/archives/2005/05/22/honda-diesel-engine-advertisement/
• Weiden & Kennedy London — The making of…
  http://www.wklondon.com/asp/download.asp?path=pdf/Making%20of%20the%20Honda%20Diesel%20ad.pdf

Like it? Hate it? Let me know what you think… Please post a comment.
-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional. His observations can be found at NewMediaSandbox.com and Chaos365.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.

Be a partner, not a vendor

The worst kind of client-agency relationship I can imagine in this business is to be treated like a supplier. Just sitting around and waiting for instructions. Then beg to get thrown a bone.

Keep it.

Try to position yourself as a marketing partner, with a vested interest in the success of your client’s programs. Keep an eye out for what your client’s competition is doing. Look for opportunities to cross promote the brand. Try to bring news to the client before they learn about it elsewhere. Eventually you will be recognized as being a valuable contributor.

-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional. His observations can be found at NewMediaSandbox.com and Chaos365.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.

Pair the TikiBar with a major label

Maybe you haven’t seen or heard about it yet, but a highly entertaining video podcast to check out is Tiki Bar TV.

The simple description in iTunes: From the golden era of the lounge culture comes adlibbed tales of bartending tomfoolery.

Simply put, each episode is set in a Polynesian themed Tiki Bar and features several of the Tiki Bar regulars (Dr. Tiki, La La, and Johnny Johnny) face a dilemma that is quickly righted with an unusual cocktail. After a review of the ingredients, everyone drinks and the world is right again. They are funny and the production values are quite good. I find myself wishing that I could hang out with this gang.

This also goes down on my “damn, I wish I thought of that first” list.

Ideally, this is an idea an agency for a popular spirit (rum, tequila, vodka, gin) should pitch. A series of fun, well produced videos that promote how to use the product creatively. I imagine the client reaction might be these characters are having a bit too much fun and slap a PSA under them to remind us all to drink responsibly while sitting at our computers staring at La La.

Be sure to check the TikiBar out for yourself and let me know what you think.

TikiBarTv.com

Aloha!
-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional. His observations can be found at NewMediaSandbox.com and Chaos365.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.

Ask A Ninja - a great example of user generated content

Ask a Ninja has become one my favorite podcasts.
It is so simple, clever and fun. Damn I wish I had thought of it first.

I suggest to watch them all in order, but for a quick fix, check these two episodes out:

Episode 8 “Roger” — Roger the ninja has targeted Mark for a horrible demise — one that would make you hurl.

Episode 17 “Omnibus” — The ninja attempts to quickly answer as many questions as possible. My favorite:

Q. If a ninja falls down in the forest and no one is around to hear him, does he make a sound?

A. If a ninja did make a sound, it would probably be the last sound you ever heard!

In summary: An infectious theme song. An original idea. Hysterically funny. User generated feedback drives the topics the ninja covers. I give it 5 throwing stars!

Tip: Rather than viewing the episodes on YouTube, they all look and play a lot better when downloaded in iTunes first.

What do you think?
-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional. His observations can be found at NewMediaSandbox.com and Chaos365.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.

Be extraordinary

Over the past 3 months I’ve been searching out interesting podcasts to listen to during my long commute. I have to give credit to Peter Levitan, President & CEO of Ralston 360, an advertising agency based in Oregon. I find his 20-30 min podcasts to be focused, relavant, educational and inspirational. Sure, it’s self promoting — great way to share their thinking and philosophy. But I find myself listening to them over again.

In episode 9 he talks about how taking chances, thinking big and asking your self continually “Are we being extraordinary?”. He also quoted Mario Andretti: “If it seems like it’s under control, your not going fast enough.”

Personally I felt charged up after listening to that. It happens too often that our own apathy or client’s apathy sets us down the safe, conservative path. How rare it is to see a client take a risk. But they wont if we on the agency side don’t keep chipping away at them.

Checkout what he Mr. Levitan has to say. Search the iTunes Podcast directory for “360View” and let me know what you think.

-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional. His observations can be found at NewMediaSandbox.com and Chaos365.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.