Although it no longer has the surprise factor it had, as it’s been done many, many times since, its still probably the biggest and most prominant of these types of promotions. But what sort of ads does it produce? Nothing brilliant in my opinion – then again, few ads are these days. Mildly amusing in a slapdash humour way.

I think I like the grandmother and baby one best, closely followed by the dudes with their voice controlled phone, although i think that would be better without the clising scene. The rest, nothing really to shout home about.

Haven’t we all wanted the vending machine to do just that little bit more, happy when it makes a mistake and accidently gives you 2 chocolate bars, or whatever you were after. Here’s a surprise machine that gives you more, an extra can, some popcorn and cupcakes galore (mmm, cupcakes )

It’s a simple idea, taking the digital into the physical and spreading a little bit of happiness to a few directly and delivering a smile to a lot more through the video. I wonder if it’s going to turn up somewhere else. (I’m also wondering how they managed to concince the college to put a hole in the wall, or was it in front of a door!)

via Ben

In the publicity, they have focused primarily on the methof of prodcuing the ad, rather than the ad or the product and they seem to be happy with it

“The new ad demonstrates we are relevant and current to our target market, and we are confident that it will herald a successful campaign for the Peperami brand and the legendary Animal.”

I’m obviously not target market as the ad does little for me, but it is in the style of the previous work. maybe far too close, as Adliterate says, #

Fourthly, surely crowd sourcing should be about engaging the wisdom of the crowd to create something new and interesting but what we get here is a ‘90s Lintas ad that’s not quite as funny or interesting precisely because it’s a retread of old work and an old idea. ‘A bit of an animal’ was powerful for the brand when it was conceived because it broke the conventions of the category’s advertising and, along with Tango and Pot Noodle (both from my alma mater HHCL), rewrote the rules of advertising for a generation.

there’s nothing new in the ad, it’s not a new way of looking at the product, just a continuation. Should this new way of idea sourcing generated a new way of looking at the product? Maybe, but I’ve not seen the brief and I have no idea what they asked for. But I don’t agree with some of Richard’s other points. This is not an engagement campaign, to connect with the fans. People who love Peperami do no appear to have been involved in the process, inthe same way as Doritos have done, with public voting and commentary. Idea Bounty is crowd-sourcing from the creative industries, not from brand advocates; as a process it’s taken over a year, with the first announcements about it in August 2009. That’s not a consumer campaign, that’s just a new way of sourcing your marketing.

One of the sponsors this year, is Actimel, one of the ‘pro-biotic’ drinking yoghurt with lots of live bacteria, and they’ve been busy setting up Twitter and Facebook profiles promoting the cycle ride.

Twitter

It’s a fairly new account at ActimelUK and the main focus is a contest, where you can win a trip to Paris the weekend of the ride, where I’m guessing you’ll get to see the final part of the ride. You just have to follow them and tweet to them about what your morning would not be complete without, (coffee, it has to be coffee) to be entered into the random draw. The account is chatty, responding to entries and comments whilst slowly following people to get the word out.

Facebook

You can also enter the contest via their Actimel Facebook page. On their the conversation is a lot more product focused than the Twitter feed, although it seems to have a change of policy or writer recently as the earlier posts were more random.

This seems like early steps into social media marketing for the brand and so far they’re heading in the right direction, taking it easy, not doign follow spam and trying to find their voice. It’s not an easy product to work out how to use social media, as how many people really want to talk about a yoghurt drink, but by focusing on the associated benefits and a great sponsorship, they’re on the right track

Another video from the Cadbury’s Glass and a Half Productions that on the face of it, is just another quirky, fun ad. Dig deeper however, you’ll see that this is that start of a two year campaign for the brand as they start the lead up to the Olympics as a sponsor

The site is Spot vs Stripes, which is going to be the hub for all the action.

We think games are great. They get people playing, they bring people together and sometimes they even reveal an undiscovered talent. That’s why, with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games around the corner, we’re launching Spots v Stripes.

We’re asking the nation to choose sides and split into Spots or Stripes in order to play what’s quite possibly the biggest, longest game ever.

It leverages the main social tools, with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube been drafted in. Pick your side, play the games and add your points to the team. Some of the games will be on the site, although they’re not quite ready yet as the only one mentioned is still not active. Others will call for your participation,the first being to make a video of you throwing things, load it up and get people to vote on it. There’s going to be new challenges every three months. They’re also taking the games on the road, with city challenges throughout the summer.

First impressions were underwhelming. I wanted to play now, in front of the computer and it’s not possible yet. I can read all the information, and there’s a lot that seems to be dotted around the site, or I can get out and make a video. I can join the Facebook group, but again, there’s little to do there. The site itself left me slightly confused about why I want to join the team, what’s in it for me, what it will add to my life over the next 2 years apart. I know it’s all about the gameplay, the taking part and the getting out and doing things, but I’m left feeling a little meh about the team aspect.

I like the idea, but I want more – now. They could have waited a while to allow the online games to be there – or more likely, started earlier in development It’s going to be interesting to watch the idea grow from its slow start.

Ghana is the heart of Cadbury Dairy Milks Fairtrade Cocoa and so the track celebrates all things Ghanaian: its people, its rappers, its dancers, its cultural figures and, of course, its cocoa beans.

I love this. Just completely takes the piss out of most other beer ads! It’s doing a conventional ad in a way that makes you want to watch it. You know what’s going to happen but you want to know what they will say about it. Via Ben

The Plot

Set in the near future, it’s all about identify theft. You’ve been ‘recruited’ as a mole for the Serious Fraud Squad and have to try and get access to the boss. It’s in 3 chapters being released over the next few weeks, so you have to wait and remember to come back for the next episode.

The Interaction and Gameplay

It’s all shot in the first person, so you are the hero in this story. You get to upload your image which appears in various places, id cards etc throughout the story. There’s a further level of connection if you decide to use Facebook as your login, where it will pull information from your profile and insert into the narrative. I;ve tried this before with Prototype Experience (blog post and it added little given my paucity of information).

However, I was underwhelmed by the gameplay. There are a number of points where you have to make a choice to drive the plot, go one way or the other, but most of the time I’m just watching a film. Maybe I just chose the ones that had the straightest path through the story, but I did not feel I added a lot. I wasn’t doing anything, just watching with the occasional click. I though there was no personal involvement. I’m hoping this will get better and they’ll be asking more of me. They’ve had to balance accessibility and ease of play and it looks like they’ve chosen the easiest route – no puzzles, little thinking required, just sit back and watch.

To play the game, you have to have bought a bag of Doritos and enter the code from the bag. There’s obviously peril involved, as you are given 6 lives per Dorito code; to get more lives you have to buy more snacks. That’s the better deal than the ones where you have to enter a code from every single time you enter; at least you get the chance to survive throughout and win a variety of prizes.

The Competition

It’s complicated. The main contest seems to need you to guess the name of a mystery flavour, an option that is provided right up front, so it appears to be a wild guess with no clues. If you do, you get the chance to win £20k. Everyone who does enter gets added into a separate draw. Then there are prizes awarded whilst playing the game, which are just awarded randomly. Doritos have partnered with O2 for some of these prizes. There’s a final contest for those who complete the 3 episodes, where a draw picks someone who then gets to pick a mystery envelope form a range containing various amounts of money.

The Branding and Production

Absolutely superb. The site is high quality, the story line is good, the filming looks excellent. The Doritos brand is embedded throughout the story, from subtle touches of having bags of the crisps being eaten by characters. The bags – and the competition – are a key plot story so it’s completely integrated. I’m slightly surprised that they allowed the brand to be so integral in a story about illegal activities (based on some recent experience) but feel that’s the only way to get it into the story without it feeling shoe-horned in, so well done that brand manager.

The Pitch

An lovely email (from someone I know) which has obviously gone through the marketing review given some of the slightly over the top hyperbole presented. The best touch though is that the team involved has obviously thought about digital outreach from the start. I’m provided with a PR code to play the game; on entering I’m told I’m not eligible for prizes. It’s been coded in from the start, which is impressive.

Summary

A high-production value movie, with interesting touches and a strongly integrated brand. overall, I liking it a lot.

That’s the only one in the weekly charts, but coming on strong today is this one for Captain Morgan, a lovely little chat up line; it does not appear to be an official upload, but it’s still pulling in the views. Right on brand message.