P&G's Gain brand enrolled comedian and actress, Wanda Sykes, to help consumers find their perfect scent match.

On the brand's YouTube channel an interactive video questionnaire features Sykes as a virtual matchmaker ("like Cupid, for your nose!"), guiding users through a tongue-in-cheek personality test to determine the Gain variety scent best suited to their likes.Continue reading...

Everyone knows the funniest Americans were born in Canada, so why not leverage that to bring a few tourism dollars north of the border?

Now playing in New York City: a series of spots featuring Canadian expat actor Eric McCormack, pitching the great white north to Manhattanites and visitors. The "Canada for Fun" tourism and branding campaign, from a consortium of Canadian tourism boards, aims to boost awareness of "why Canada is such a fun place to visit." It just launched in the New York metro market on NBC-owned TV stations; online at CanadaForFun.com and YouTube, where you can watch more of the spots; in taxis (where this expat Canadian caught the campaign); and on digital signage in commuter rail stations such as Penn Station. 

"Humour is an intrinsic part of our culture and is a great way to give Americans who haven't had a chance to visit Canada an inside look at their northern neighbours. We hope they enjoy Eric's take on our myths and realities," noted Greg Klassen, SVP of the Canadian Tourism Commission. Follow along on Twitter: @canadaforfun and #canadaforfun 

P&G and Walmart aren't the only brands putting the "mobile" into their marketing mix by hitching their brands to the food truck craze.

A new kind of chuck wagon hits New York City today as financial services brand Charles Schwab invites locals to their “Oh, Chuck! Truck” on June 13-14 for the chance to win $10,000 in a Schwab Brokerage Account. 

The campaign is part of Schwab’s YouTube video series, “Oh, Chuck! I Blew My Cash,” which features Chuck proffering financial advice to people confessing to unfortunate purchases causing regret and angst.Continue reading...

Applebee’s is not only a neighborly restaurant brand, but it's virtually friendly, too, chatting away on Twitter and Facebook to connect with customers. Now it's purporting to parlay its social media savvy with a tongue-in-cheek campaign. “Life Is Better Shared” is a series of social media tutorials, riffing on our obsession with living life online and scoring a wacky, humorous, double-play. 

The main message being proffered across multiple channels including YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter, and Pinterest is “to promote Applebee’s as the number one spot in America for women to enjoy a much needed girls night out – any night of the week,” with an Applebee’s Girls Night Out Goddess as hostess. Grab your BFF’s and 'enjoy delicious food and tasty drinks.'"

The secondary message:  “While sharing online is rad, sometimes life is better shared offline. A little more face time and a little less Facebook can do the soul some good. That’s what this campaign is all about - spending time offline at Applebee’s with your BFF’s. Talking without the use of abbreviations. Actually laughing out loud instead of just LOLing. Sharing those dirty little secrets with your besties you would never share with your entire social network.” And, of course, ordering entrees and apps to share with those besties over girl's night out drinks at Applebee's, right?Continue reading...

As New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg responded to criticism of his proposed ban on sugary drinks bigger than 16 ounces with statements of support, the inevitable animated version from Apple Daily's NMA.tv was released today. Hear more, in Bloomberg's own words, at this week's AllThingsD D10 conference.Continue reading...

Looks like BMW may be coming around to seeing things Audi's way — at least when it comes to advertising in the United States — by adding a light dash of humor to its marketing messaging.

The two German brands are duking it out for global leadership in luxury sales. But two things about their brawl are clear: BMW leads by a big margin in U.S. sales. And Audi leads by a big margin in use of humor in American advertising.

Notably beginning with its highly regarded "Godfather"-style commercial that debuted during the 2008 Super Bowl, Audi regularly has applied humor in its U.S. TV advertising, in part to create a premium image apart from the stuffy "old luxury" positioning of BMW and, especially, Mercedes-Benz.Continue reading...

Marmite is considered a yeasty feast by some, and ick-inducing goo by others, but love it ior hate it: the iconic British brand has earned a reputation worldwide since its conception in 1902. 

Marking its 110th anniversary this year, Marmite is tipping its cap to another iconic British brand celebrating a major milestone this year: Queen Elizabeth, who celebrates 60 years on the throne at her Diamond Jubilee on June 5th.Continue reading...

“Waiting for a mate to pay you back? Let the boy sort it out for you,” is a humorous push by Barclays for Pingit, the person-to-person mobile service for sending and receiving money for free, to anyone with a UK current account and UK mobile phone number.

The TV commercial, promoting the Barclays Facebook-hosted Pingit app, features a menacing child aggressively asking an adult office worker to repay a pizza debt using the Pingit app. The promotion lets users send custom versions of the video to friends who owe them money, encouraging them to settle via Pingit.Continue reading...