5 Blogs Before Lunch

Networks Are Serving-Up Cause-Related Programming to Entice Advertisers

NBC Universal, CBS and Discovery Communications have begun creating TV and online content and programs around social causes such as health and the environment, and presenting the content to advertisers as opportunities to associate their brands with important social causes.

For instance, Campbell Soup will advertise its line of reduced-sodium soups on health-related content on NBC's "Today" show.

It is all being done, of course, with the hope that advertiser's will spend more for targeted content.

From WSJ.com: "Our holy grail is to purchase by behavior and consumer interest," says Peter Gardiner, chief media officer for Interpublic Group's Deutsch. Mr. Gardiner earlier this year bought a package on behalf of Eastman Kodak across a wide swath of NBCU properties that focused on programming of interest to women, and says Kodak spent "double what it was planning to spend with NBC" because of the ability to better target its pitch.

Of course the print magazine world has been doing this for decades. Publishers announce their editorial calendar to advertisers hoping that specific editorial content appropriate to the advertiser's brand will entice them to spend in that particular issue.

So, I guess it is about time network TV caught up with print magazines!

An Adults-only Version of Disney's Snow White Featured in an Australian Beer Ad

Doesn't everyone know not to mess with the Mouse?

Disney who has not yet made a public statement is reportedly ticked off that an Australian beer ad for Jamieson Brewery's Raspberry Ale depicts Disney's beloved and wholesome Snow White in an "adults only" situation with the Seven Dwarfs.

The ad features a Snow White lookalike lying in bed blowing smoke rings with seven undressed dwarfs. The ad campaign for was created by the Australian advertising agency The Foundry to promote the beer as "anything but sweet" with a maiden they call "Ho White" and seven dwarfs renamed Filthy, Smarmy and Randy replacing Sleepy, Happy and Doc.

The campaign was rolled out online, in liquor stores and on bar coasters.

Sources: Sydney's Daily Telegraph and New York Daily News

Coca-Cola Encourages Portion-Control with New 90-Calorie Mini-Cans.

The soda giants have been under attack lately for contributing to a nation of obese soda drinkers.

Yes, Diet Coke has been around for years, but many do not like the taste, and some suggest that diet sodas can make you fat too--thanks to those sugar-craving artificial sweeteners.

So, Coca-Cola is introducing 90-calorie mini cans to encourage lovers of Coca-Cola to keep drinking--but just not so much.

Think of the new 90-Calorie mini cans of Coke, Sprite, Fanta Orange, Cherry Coca-Cola and Barq's Root Beer as "portion control in a can."

Other CPG companies are trying the same "eat/drink less, but still buy our product" with 100-calorie snack bites and the like.

Coke's 7.5-ounce cans will first be rolled out in New York and Washington D.C. in December, with a national roll-out by March 2010. The smaller cans will come in 8-packs (rather than the traditional 6-packs).

Source: That's Fit

The concept is Coke's way of saying, a little sugar is OK. Keep drinking Coke.

Coke is also reportedly shifting the nutritional information onto the front of their soda labels, all with the goal of being the best health-conscious citizen it can be.

Of course the cans will not replace the 20-ounce sodas.

Bloomberg Acquires Businessweek...for the Price of a NYC Apartment

For a price tag of a New York City apartment, news service Bloomberg will acquire BusinessWeek from publisher McGraw-Hill Companies.

The price tag is reportedly somewhere between $2 million and $5 million, along with the assumption of the magazine's liabilities.

As context, $2 million right now could also buy you a rather ordinary 3 bedroom 2 bath apartment on the Upper East Side.

Reuters is reporting that the magazine, which could lose as much as $40 million this year, could be retitled Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

Bloomberg, of course, is controlled by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The company's chief content officer Norman Pearlstine, who will become BusinessWeek's Chairman said: "The interaction with Bloomberg News is going to be all pervasive. We will have editors from Bloomberg News and BusinessWeek working together.

Does Cleavage Belong in Automotive Advertising?

There was a time when beautiful women were used to sell cars. Whether scantily-clad and draped across the hood of a Pontiac, or part of the "Toyota Dancers" at the auto show, women were objectified in the marketing of automobiles for decades.

Then came the realization that women were making the majority of the purchase decisions for the family car.

Unfortunately, this fact seems to have been overlooked by the folks at UlsterTrader.com, a used car Web site in Northern Ireland.

The company created an outdoor advertising campaign featuring an image of the cleavage of a woman wearing a white bra with the headline: "Nice headlamps. What do you look for in a car?"

The British advertising watchdog organization, The Advertising Standards Authority, has banned the ad. The ASA said the poster "caused serious offense to some readers and was likely to cause widespread offense," the story said.

"We considered that the image of the woman's cleavage coupled with the strapline 'Nice Headlamps. What do you look for in a car?' was likely to be seen to objectify and degrade women by linking attributes of a woman, her cleavage, to attributes of a car, the headlamps, in a way that would be seen to imply a woman, like a car, was to be selected for those attributes," the watchdog said.

Source: BBC News and Weird Car News

The Pistachio Industry is Using Sex, and Levi Johnston, to Repair Its Salmonella-Damaged Reputation

The $800 million U.S. pistachio industry has a brand reputation problem.

The recall of 2 million pounds of pistachios after last April's salmonella contamination scare cut sales (year over year) by 20%.

To help fix the problem, they've turned to marketing, and a message whose message is to bring a little sex into the pistachio industry. It is the first time they're using broadcast advertising on a national basis, and they're spending $15 million on the effort.

And they've invited Sarah Palin's former grand-baby-daddy, Levi Johnston, to help bring home the message.

Johnston is starring in his first TV spot. In it, he's standing next to a bodyguard as a voice-over notes: "Now, Levi does it with protection."

Er, that's how he cracks open pistachios, that is — wink, wink.

Source: USA Today

Goodbye Gourmet, Cookie, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride. Conde Nast Makes Some Tough Cuts.

Gourmet, Cookie, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride are all being shuttered.

All are were Conde Nast publications. They employed about 180 people.

It is hard to imagine the world without these publications, but it seems like a sign of the times.

The announcement follows reports of ad pages at 14 of Conde Nast's 23 print publications falling by more than the industry average of 29.5% in the second quarter (says WSJ.com).

Gourmet. "the magazine of good living" has been around for 68 years, but will be gone soon. The transition leads to the question...who will replace the quality, professional content of Gourmet, and the others.

Does "Made in Florida" Have Meaning To Consumers? Florida's Natural Hopes So

Florida's Natural is up against PepsiCo's Tropicana and Coca-Cola's Simply Orange--to venerable competitors.

So, the juice company is trying to put the squeeze (sorry, I'm feeling punny this afternoon) on the big corporate competitors with a "Made in Florida" campaign.

You see, Simply Orange and Tropicana import some of their oranges from Brazil.

It is spending its entire fourth-quarter ad budget on a "Read the Label" message touting that it is made only with oranges from Florida.

It remains to be seen whether consumers will be swayed by the appeal to home-grown oranges, especially if they don't live in Florida. Typically consumers are only swayed by campaigns when they can see a tangible benefit derived from the message. Are Florida oranges fresher than Brazilian oranges? Are there jobs taken away from Americans when oranges are imported? Are Florida oranges healthier?

The Florida's Natural ads don't get specific about any advantage. Instead, they use a vague reference which I suppose is supposed to suggest there is something unseemly going on with the competitor's products: "There's something your orange juice isn't telling you, at least not where you're likely to see it."

According to Advertising Age, beverage experts say it's unlikely the campaign will make a significant dent in market share against leaders Tropicana and Simply Orange, though the approach does provide Florida's Natural with a point of differentiation in a competitive category. "Maybe three, four, five years down the line, if they continue to build on this, it may be a way to gain share," said Joe Pawlak, VP at Technomic. "But, in the short term, they'll see minimal gains."

The Washington Post breaks-up with the L.A. Times, then partners-up with Bloomberg

The Washington Post and Bloomberg are teaming up to launch the Washington Post News Service With Bloomberg News, in January. The partnership will supply publishers with economic and political coverage. The news comes as The Post announced just this week that it will end its joint news service with the Los Angeles Times.

From the WSJ:
The venture -- called Washington Post News Service With Bloomberg News -- will be available beginning January and will stress political and economic coverage. In addition, the Post and Bloomberg will produce a business-news page for the Post's Web site, and Bloomberg will distribute Washington Post news through its Bloomberg Professional subscription service. That service provides data, analytics and news geared to financial-service professionals.

Chili's "I want my baby back, baby back, baby back..." Jingle Is Back

There is something undeniably magical about a commercial jingle. The ability for a tune that's associated with your brand to stick in consumer's brains is worth its weight in gold.

Clorox's "Mama's got the magic," Band-aid's "I am stuck on Band-aid brand 'cause Band-aid's stuck on me" come to mind.

A more recent "hit" jingle is the casual dining-chain Chili's "Baby Back Ribs" jingle.

"I want my baby back, baby back, baby back..."

Infectious, yes?

Last used in 2006, the restaurant chain is bringing back the successful jingle as part of a strategy to revive a brand, beaten-down by the recession.

Not only is Chili's bringing back the jingle, it is changing the way it prepares its burgers and ribs, and making sure all customers are greeted with a cheerful "Welcome to Chili's" upon entering its restaurants.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Chili's stopped using the ribs jingle in 2006. The reason according to Chili's president Todd Diener, was because "at some point, you have to give things a rest,,,With the reintroduction of our ribs, we thought it would be apropos to bring it back."

"I want my baby back, baby back, baby back..."

Clorox "Hasn't Got The Magic" With New Ad Running on "Mad Men"

There is something missing from Clorox recent ad campaign. And, it might be the right message for their audience.

If you watch the 1960's advertising-themed show Mad Men on AMC, chances are you've seen a commercial for Clorox featuring a man’s white, lipstick-stained dress shirt, with a title card that reads: “Clorox. Getting ad guys out of hot water for generations.”

It is a fun ad, and highly relevant to the content of the show. And, the show might even match the demographic that Clorox is trying to reach. But the question is, is the message relevant to Clorox's core audience?

Let's face it, Clorox's core demographic is moms. Remember the "Mama's got the magic" jingle?

Despite all of the role changes in American society, the vast majority of people who do the house cleaning and laundry (the prime need for Clorox products) are women--in particular, moms.

So what good is an ad on Mad Men that suggests that Mom's husband is cheating on her?

Is it suggesting that women should look the other way from their philandering husbands? That's insulting.

Or is it suggesting that philandering husbands should pick up a bottle of Clorox bleach, and starting taking care of their messes themselves? That's unrealistic.

And, on top of it all, who cleans pressed-white dress shirts in a home washing machine anyway? Isn't that why men frequent the dry cleaners?