At Burns Marketing, we love our smartphones. No, I mean we REALLY love our smartphones. In fact, in the last few weeks we haven’t been able to stop kissing them. If you walked through our creative department recently, you may have witnessed designers, developers, and copywriters working long hours with their lips pressed passionately against the screen – all for a new app called LipTricks that analyzes your kissing technique.
Here’s how it works: When you kiss your phone, LipTricks detects your lip position and movement (if you’re really brave, your tongue is tracked, too) and gives you feedback in the form of badges that you earn for different kiss achievements. Unlock the granny badge with a quick peck, or the newlywed badge with an extra-passionate smooch. You can imagine what it takes to unlock the pup badge. Some kisses need a little bit of planning, like the Cinderella, which requires your lips to be touching the phone at the stroke of midnight. There are 20 badges in all – and a few hidden ones to reward those of you who are extraordinarily gifted.
LipTricks is available for the iPhone and Android devices; download it today. Happy Valentine’s Day from your friendly engagement marketing experts at Burns Marketing.
Every now and then one of the roughly 5,000 ads we’re exposed to in a day make an impact. Whether they make us cry, think, laugh, or miss the halcyon days of our youth, the nine that follow were worth our time.
9. Pampers – Everybody poops. That’s a fact of life – and a best-selling children’s book. Anyway, this Pampers spot rises above the potty humor and focuses instead on the miracle of life without crossing the line from poignant to maudlin.
8. iPad – Apple has given the world incredible technology, but that’s not what they’re selling here. It’s all about the experience. The why. And nobody delivers the why like Apple. What other brand elicits a religious reaction in fans’ brains?
7. Johnson & Johnson’s Campaign for Nursing’s Future – Showing always trumps telling, and this spot is a case in point. From the pace that shifts from the emergency room frenzy to the more subdued scene when the nurse returns to give the patient his good-luck charm, the video captures both the mundane and the meaningful in the world of nursing.
6. Travelers Insurance – A strong concept? Check. Catchy background music? Check. Adorable mutts that inject personality into the exciting world of … insurance? Check. If these ads were about people meeting, falling in love, moving in together, and having babies, I’d have gone to the kitchen for a snack. But dogs (and puppies = BONUS!) keep me in my seat.
5. Jim Beam – Willem Dafoe stars in a liquor ad that looks nothing like a liquor ad. Steeped in deep philosophical thoughts and challenges to make “bold choices,” the spot showcases Dafoe in a number of different careers, from chess player to fashion designer to sumo wrestler. The voiceover notes, “All choices lead you somewhere; bold choices lead you where you are supposed to be.” The implication: those who want to live a bold life choose Jim Beam.
4. Nissan Leaf – What if everything ran on gas? If this ad were any better at depicting a world powered by gas, you’d smell it.
3. Volkswagen Passat – Yes, it’s about the debut of the 2012 Passat, but Mini-Darth steals the show as he tries to exert his powers over an exercise bike, the family dog, and an uncooperative old-school baby doll. Eventually he wins, using the force (and Dad’s stealth remote starter) to fire up the engine. Did I remember the 2012 Passat? Not really. But revisiting an age when dressing up didn’t involve a business suit was fun.
2. Chrysler – Meet the underdog with swagger. This campaign validated Detroit’s flaws and yet, thanks to the puff-up-your-chest undertones of Eminem, made us proud to support a car company vowing to fight its way back to the top of the American manufacturing landscape.
1. Allstate Mayhem – The insurance industry has always been touchy-feely and the Allstate Mayhem ads turn this common approach on its head. Allstate is letting us know that they’ll be here for us when something bad happens. We love that the campaign focuses on the bad and makes us laugh. Chances are you can relate to at least one of the incidents they’ve shown.
Think we missed one? Let us know which ones resonated for you.
So what happens when you take a whole bunch of artsy types to the mountains to perform some manual labor?
We’re guessing lots and lots of whining.
But bless their souls, our Burns Marketing crew is sucking it up this week for a day of grueling volunteer work at Roundup River Ranch – a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses. With our help – or despite it – the camp will be ready for its first summer campers in no time.
And another cool thing? We’re working for you. Just follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or on our blog, and it’ll be like you’re helping in our work. Need to know more? Check out this video:
As you’ve been walking through your office this week, do you keep hearing something… something very faint… something coming from the desks of the women-folk in the building?
Is it the heart-warming Old Spice whistle that you keep hearing?
It probably is.
The spark of the Old Spice commercials (jewel-encrusted scepter) that have snatched the hearts of so many (random crown) have fueled a viral impact unlike we’ve seen thus far (fresh water fish).
But it’s more than Isaiah Mustafa’s charm, perfect smile, abs, freshly washed towel that probably smells like a mixture of Old Spice and fresh laundry (too far?)… it’s the personalized feel of the messages. Yes, Old Spice is speaking to millions of people, but Isaiah Mustafa is simply speaking to me.
A recent study profiled on Marketing Charts shows that promotional e-mails that include links to social networking sites produce an average of 30-percent higher click-through rates (CTR) than promotional e-mails without links. And don’t think one is enough — research also shows that the more social network links you have, the higher CTR you receive.
That’s just the first of many Tweets from BP Twitter impostor, @BPGlobalPR.
With nearly 20,000 followers (and growing), you would think BP would be trying to cap, plug with trash, or otherwise reduce the mess of this feed. But sticking to their traditions, they’re just going to let it go.
According to this Advertising Age article , Toby Odone, a spokesman at BP, said, “I’m not aware of whether BP has made any calls to have it taken down or addressed. People are entitled to their views on what we’re doing and we have to live with those. We are doing the best we can to deal with the current situation and to try to stop the oil from flowing and to then clean it up.”
Entitled to their views, indeed. And this Twitter feed isn’t backing up.
Like any quality perfume commercial, this cervical cancer prevention commercial depicts mysterious glitter and a woman running around cluelessly in some $4,000 dress… only to be disappointed by a bottle of cervical cancer.
This is so weird that sarcastic comments don’t know what direction to go.
Put a dollar in a Coke machine and let the magic unfold right in front of your eyes.
Coca-Cola’s new “Happiness Machine” video shows how they are spreading happiness, as a rigged coke machine dispenses a little something extra to brighten your day. In addition to their tasty beverage, a bouquet of sunflowers, an extra large pizza, a six-foot sub, and even balloon animals were handed through the vending machine door to ecstatic students.
The people at Coke sure know how to put a smile on your face and some extra pep in your step.
Now that you’re jobless, and after all the ridiculousness NBC put you through, are you ready step away from the TV? We hope so.
I’m pleased to offer you a great new opportunity at Burns — as our new Chief Executive Social Media Dignitary. (We can work on the title if you don’t like it. But we think that one has a nice ring to it.) C’mon. You know you want it!
You’ve done a masterful job outmaneuvering the network executives throughout this Tonight Show saga. It’s been awesome to watch. In fact, your adept use of social media has made them look pretty, well, foolish — while creating a tremendous movement for your team. You’re a genius, really.
We think your wit, cutting-edge creativity, and brilliant social media insight will have a tremendous impact for our clients. We’re even proud to offer you carte blanche creativity. Who’s going to say no to Conan? Not us. And not our clients.
So you’re probably wondering, “Who the #$%& is Burns?” Well, we’re a little agency that thinks big, located in beautiful northern Colorado. (Not that you’d need to work from here. We could figure something out.)
Our clients include big names like HP, Intel, nVidia, Vail Resorts, and others — along with a stable of local and regional accounts around Fort Collins, Boulder, and Denver. Like most of the world, our clients are searching for answers to today’s marketing challenges. You know, they’re counting on agencies like ours to launch campaigns like your epic sendoff to NBC. You could make a huge name for yourself in this industry. Not everyone will want a big old middle finger like the one you gave NBC, but we’re pretty sure you’ve got many more huge ideas where that came from.
You’re probably also wondering how much this gig pays. Well, let’s just say it’s an honorary position. However, I’d be happy to give you some profound investment advice, so you can maximize that boatload of money you’re going to get from NBC.
Anyway, we’re sure you’ll make the right decision when it comes to your future. We just hope it’s with us. Call me. We’re open to anything you’d like. We’ll do all we can to make your transition to social media guru as seamless as possible.
With the holidays coming up, there are many people looking for a little kindness in a time of need… and there are many willing to help. To spark the goodness, Yahoo created, You In?”, which inspires people to do a good deed and then post it on the site.
You can read what other people are doing across the country or even in your area using the map.
My favorite so far: One person used his quarterly work bonus to take two unemployed fathers Christmas shopping for their kids.
Want to get involved? It’s simple — do a good deed and share it with others!
