Molson – Tapping into Canadian culture

The following is a review of some of the most recent Molson Canadian advertising campaigns. Starting off, of course with the most popular of all, the “I Am Canadian” campaign.

Molson Canadian is not the greatest beer out there. It’s not even the greatest Canadian beer. In fact, in my opinion, it’s actually a pretty lousy beer. Yet, it’s appropriately named “Canadian”, which naturally gives them the opportunity to do some really great advertising work in relating to the rest of the country.

“Get a Mac” campaign – Time for a change?

As I sit here blogging on my Mac, it got me thinking about the Mac vs. PC debate and more importantly, Apple’s “Get a Mac” advertising campaign. We all know the campaign, we all know the characters, Mac played by actor Justin Long and PC played by author and humorist John Hodgman.

When the campaign first hit the air in 2006, I thought it was brilliant. Personalizing both the Mac and PC brands as they had with the two characters was perfect. Mac was the trendy, cool, young computer while PC was the stuffy old businessman computer. Apple had characterized their brand perfectly, and characterized the PC brand, less than favourably.

Best McDonald’s Ads

So last week, in the Creepy Baby Ronald post, I briefly discussed the marketing powerhouse that is McDonald’s. Well, as promised, today’s post is about some of the best advertising that they have done. Below is a collection of print ads from The Design Inspiration that I think you may find interesting.

As always, feel free to post and comment on your favourites.

World Wildlife Fund hijacked

So I first saw this ad for the World Wildlife Fund a couple of days ago and thought, what the majority of people thought, that it was tasteless and will no doubt upset a lot of people. However when I first saw it I had no idea it would create the attention that it has.

With information being so accessible on the Internet, it’s no surprise that it took a couple of days before the traditional media caught wind of it. But despite the World Wildlife Fund’s best efforts to separate themselves from the ad, it has brought them significant negative publicity, being discussed on major media networks such as CBC and NBC.

MOTOROKR: Thank God for Rock N’ Roll

Motorola had launched the new MOTOROKR phone by aligning themselves with rock music lovers, promoting the July 13 International Day of Rock in their posters.

The posters, which show what should be a typical rock n’ roll setting, instead show a garage band made up of bagpipe, harp and accordion players, and a teenager’s bedroom postered with tuba, trumpet and accordion music stars. Not the most traditional of ‘rock stars’.

The headline reads “Thank God for Rock n’ Roll”.

Have a break – Kit Kat bench ad

Quick hit for Friday.

I saw this outdoor ad for Kit Kat and wanted to share it. The ad is a park bench disguised as a giant Kit Kat bar, with the line “Have a break. Have a Kit Kat.”

It is a great idea and I like the execution of the ad, as the bench actually does look like a giant Kit Kat bar. Also, and more importantly, the ad reinforces the brand message of taking a break by inviting people to take a break by sitting on the bench.

Gatorade – The G campaign and the launch of G2

I’m sure by now you’ve seen the ‘What’s G?’ commercials for Gatorade. The campaign started out with several teaser print ads and a teaser SuperBowl commercial to generate buzz and excitement.

The campaign was developed by Los Angeles agency TBWA/Chiat/Day. The teaser print ads were very simple. Featuring just the letter ‘G’ and nothing else. As the campaign moved forward, the mystery grew larger. At this year’s SuperBowl, a 60-second teaser commercial aired, featuring some of today’s most notable athletes and a voiceover explaining the answer to ‘What’s G?’

Branded keyboard

QWERTY stands for Quaker, WordPress, eBay, RollingStone, Twitter and YouTube?

Introducing the branded keyboard. Brought to you by industrial designer Ignacio Pilotto, this keyboard replaces the letters on a traditional keyboard with brand logos.

The keyboard, which contains some of today’s biggest brands, is meant to cause us to recognize the brand logos instead of our own alphabet. This would be the epitome of brand recognition, when your logo represents a letter in the English language.

Part 2: Rubik’s Cube advertising

Yesterday’s Rubik’s Cube campaign was interesting enough for me to look at some of the other campaigns they have done. To my delight, they have done some pretty good work. After a little bit of research I came across this campaign for their 25th anniversary back in 2005.

Discombobulated Rubik’s Cube advertising

Are you like me and absolutely hate Rubik’s Cubes? I can’t stand them. Yet every time I see one I can’t help but play with it for 15 or 20 minutes before throwing it back down in a fit of frustration. What’s their deal? Sitting there, urging us to solve their impossible puzzle.

What if other things in life were as disarranged as a Rubik’s Cube? That’s the approach the following campaign takes. And as much as I can’t stand the toy, the ads are pleasantly disturbing.