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The Super Bowl Ad Without a Product; Learning From the Machines |
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Celebrities are brands, stars are becoming marketers, etc. etc. etc.—but Rihanna is executing on another level. The Fenty founder is in talks with LVMH to create a fashion line under her name, WWD reports, likely to coincide with the release of her next album later this year.
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Pras Michel in last year's Super Bowl ad for Blacture. PHOTO: BLACTURE
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Fugees co-founder Pras Michel advertised in last February’s Super Bowl to promote Blacture, a media platform for black voices that he expected to make live by March. It still hasn’t arrived.
“This was a little bit of a more ambitious undertaking than we were expecting,” said Blacture’s Josephine Zohny, describing “a series of little heartbreaks along the way.”
There’s not much precedent for buying Super Bowl spots without offering the products advertised soon after—definitely within a year. “The challenge for a Super Bowl advertiser is you’ve got to move quickly to convert the interest and the excitement,” marketing professor Tim Calkins said.
Now Blacture is on track to debut in the first half of 2019, said Ms. Zohny. It may run an ad in next month’s Super Bowl, she added.
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A scene from Gillette's controversial digital ad. PHOTO: PROCTER & GAMBLE CO.
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Nearly three-fourths of consumers call Gillette “socially responsible” in the wake of its #MeToo ad “We Believe,” up from about 55%, according to a survey of 2,200 people conducted Tuesday and Wednesday by Morning Consult.
But the survey also showed how the reaction fell along political lines, with 73% of Democrats giving it high marks and 48% of Republicans reacting favorably, Morning Consult found. About 26% of Republicans rated it highly negative, compared with 8% of Democrats.
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PHOTO: RICHARD B. LEVINE/ZUMA PRESS
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Some marketers are trying to take machine learning further by learning from the machines.
AI “might say, ‘Change tactics here or change audiences or pricing or some kind of element,’ but it doesn’t necessarily say why,’” said Hannah Mirza, former global head of media partnerships at MediaCom.
Sometimes not knowing is fine, E*Trade executive Lauren Radcliffe said in a story for WSJ Pro Artificial Intelligence. Brands can set AI loose to chase relatively straightforward goals like finding qualified prospects to open accounts at certain levels, she said.
But you'd better interrogate an intriguing result or finding. “That’s where the people come in,” Ms. Radcliffe said. “I would never trust a machine to analyze that level of data ever.”
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Since the Super Bowl is all about fun (no politics allowed!) there will be an ad about expense reports. [Adweek]
Celebs are suddenly rapidly confirming for the Super Bowl, most recently Michael Bublé for PepsiCo’s sparkling water brand Bubly [Ad Age], Ludacris appearing for Mercedes-Benz [AJC] and the Backstreet Boys joining Chance the Rapper for Doritos. [Adweek].
Walmart won’t create a streaming service aimed at “Middle America” after all and instead is sticking with Vudu, the ad-supported video and movie rental service it bought in 2010. [CNBC] |
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As alcohol sales slip, Molson Coors is marketing kombucha and Diageo wants non-drinkers to make cocktails with an alcohol-free gin alternative. [WSJ]
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Brands have visions of powerful “influencer commerce” on Amazon, but its influencer program remains mostly lists of stuff participants use. [Digiday]
Chevrolet pulled its latest “Real People, Not Actors” ad after Ford, Honda and Toyota challenged its claims, though Chevy says the move is just to make room for Silverado ads: “We have not altered our marketing campaign because of any concerns with the accuracy of our ad content." [The Detroit News]
Hey, it’s Friday: Watch a “Real People, Not Actors” parody. [Zebra Corner]
Note: We’re off Monday to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day. See you here Tuesday.
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