One man’s hellish experiences with his girlfriend each month has given UK maxipad maker Bodyform the opportunity to make fun of itself while boosting its image simultaneously. 

Last week, Richard Neill posted a rant on Bodyform’s Facebook wall, saying that Bodyform had been lying to consumers for years by showing women having a glorious time riding bikes, rollercoasters, dancing, and parachuting during their “wonderful time of month.” He was, frankly, jealous, he wrote. But then he found himself with a girlfriend and he discovered that she “changed from the loving, gentle, normal skin coloured lady to the little girl from the exorcist with added venom and extra 360 degree head spin.”Continue reading...

Veuve Clicquot’s new community platform, called (wistfully, enticingly) Wish You Were Here, is an invitation to share inspiring moments that celebrate the spirit and lifestyle of the brand through photos and videos — and virtually hobnob with the beautiful people and party-hopping jetsetters who embody the brand.

The Instagram-like social initiative is the latest in luxury house’s expanded effort to centralize and showcase its 100+ global programs, events and initiatives. And in further proof of its efficacy as a brand engagement tool, VC's Wish You Were Here video of a sponsored boat race last summer (below) has been recognized by the iPhone Film Festival in the best branded content category.Continue reading...

Yahoo! and BBDO just completed a joint study which revealed that 95% of consumers “crave” engagement with brands and that leveraging storytelling on paid, owned and earned media (POE) “through the prism of a dating relationship” will increase marketing success.

"Humans crave stories and advertising, at its best, has always been about the business of storytelling to build brands," said Simon Bond, CMO of BBDO. "However, given the new media landscape of paid, owned and earned media, branded storytelling has changed forever. It's no longer what you say, but how you say it."

For more on the best practices for brand storytelling (one hint: don't shout!), click below.Continue reading...

What do Coca-Cola and NASCAR have in common? Devoted, passionate fans, and a lot of brand synergies, which stands to reason given that Coke is the official soft drink of NASCAR.

The brands just teamed up for the “Coca-Cola NASCAR Trivia Game,” which generated over 500,000 total video views in June and nearly 20,000 “Likes” on Facebook.

Featured on the homepage of NASCAR.com and Yahoo.com, visitors were given multiple-choice questions from the last decade of the sport’s history, aided by NASCAR video highlights of memorable races and events. Players received points for each correct answer, redeemable for NASCAR Pit Shirts and DVDs.Continue reading...

No sooner did Oracle announce its acquisition of Sun than the brand's rivals began sounding the alarm. According to Information Week, Sun competitor IBM is pitching “Sun-set specials” and running ads bashing Oracle. HP, another Sun competitor, is piling on with its own ads attempting to win over Sun customers.

Oracle wasted little time countering with an ad that assures Sun customers the new owners intend to aggressively invest in Sun hardware and software: "We're in it to win it. IBM, we're looking forward to competing with you in the hardware business."Continue reading...

As President Obama launches a new offensive in selling his health insurance program, he might find several branding basics helpful.

First: Make a compelling argument. Merely complaining that the old system is broken is as effective as a laundry commercial that shows only the results of the brand’s competitor. Most people are creatures of habit, who prefer to complain rather than change their behavior.

So the President must do more than explain where the current health care system is headed. He needs to contrast that with the benefits of his plan: What are the savings in cost, time, red tape? In other words, what’s in it for me, John or Jane Taxpayer? Continue reading...