This Week in Strategy: How do you get a farm girl to like you? A tractor!
Hi Strat Pack,
Stop what you're doing and watch THIS ad for Focus Factor. It's actually nonsensical. It's got Albert Einstein. It's got the worst CGI I've seen since the Rock was a scorpion in The Scorpion King. It's nuts. I can't believe it actually got approved by a real client. And yes, I can confirm I really saw it running on real television. First person that puts this in a brief as creative inspiration and can prove they presented it *unironically* gets $50.
What happened this week that wasn't work related? I don't know about you but I watched 6 episodes of Below Deck, and, um, not much else. But I did learn why Victorian houses are haunted: “the Victorian house became home to psychological demons. Each house was a vessel, a lid clamped down on a stew of powerful emotions, both personal and cultural--fear, dread, trauma, anxiety, disgust, repulsion, grief, guilt--meant to be shoved to the back of a dark closet and forgotten. What the house contained, thought, always threatened to seep out, no matter how strong the desire to subdue and repress it. Like Pandora's box, it exerted a perverse allure, roused the irresistible impulse to raise the lid, peer inside, discover the secret, penetrate the mystery. What haunted these houses were memories that refused to die.”
OK technically it's because Victorian houses used to be the dominant house style in the US, but starting in the 1930s and 40s, that style was replaced by Colonial-style, which was seen as something pure and simple and open--and as something that embodied the American ethic. It was a statement against a particular form of excess, and a declaration that the public outlook was changing. The Victorian-style with its heavily curtained windows and darkened rooms had no place here. But I think the quote above is just a better story. And that's the set of fact's I choose to believe.
Let me tell you about the most important article I read this week: Thank You, Dr. Zizmor. Who is Dr. Zizmor, you may ask? Why, the King of NYC Subway advertisements of course, until he retired in 2016. The newest fashion trend in New York is — unironically, hyper-specifically — New York itself.
[ED Note: Zizmor is the actual only litmus test of "am I a New Yorker". Second ED note: full disclosure, last week, unprompted I bought a Zahadi's t-shirt. It's cool man!]
“This year, I’ve definitely seen more people wearing things you can only find here,” Miyako Bellizzi told me. Bellizzi is the costume designer known for the garish, ultraprecise style of Uncut Gems, which is not just viscerally New York but New York in May 2012, and not just that but New York in May 2012 on 47th between Fifth and Sixth, plus some parts off the LIE. A year into the pandemic, with high-fashion trends nonexistent, everywhere we look people are cloaking themselves in NYC merch — from the average citizen to the hipsters of Bed-Stuy. And not just the classic I️NY tees or Knicks jerseys but hats from Con Ed or their local hardware store. Unable to travel but spared the herds of sidewalk-clogging tourists, New Yorkers have been supporting their neighborhood joints, snapping up polity-branded souvenirs as if we were flyover kids on a shopping spree in a Times Square gift shop.
But also click through and read the article if for no other reason than the phrase Zizmorcore might be coming to a store near you. And for no other, other reason than it's got a great description of the history of Zizmor.
Alright, stop messing around trying to figure out how many times Dr. asked me to star as the "before" model in his ads. Let's jump right in.
1) On advertising fundamentals not changing. Stephen King's Planning Cycle from 1974 [Richard Shotton - Twitter]
And if you haven't already bookmarked and read it multiple times, here's the full JWT Planner's Guide
2) Overcoming an Aversion to Loss [New York Times]
I saw the below in Alex Murrell's excellent Strat Scraps (which I really highly recommend) and it took me down a bit of a rabbit hole into the psychology of loss aversion
Loss Aversion is something really interesting when it comes to marketing products. Byron Sharp is fond of saying "if you want loyalty, get a dog" and for a lot of categories that's fair; it's easy to be a promiscuous buyer. But think about, say, telcom. Or mortgages. Or tax prep. When we're putting our briefs together, we should consider not just touting benefits, but how we can minimize the perception of loss. And really this is true even for categories where there are much more frequent purchases. For example, do I really want to take a chance buying Downy detergent? How do I know that Downy is better than Tide. I don't so I just stick with Tide....
From the Times...
It almost doesn’t matter what change we need to make. We hesitate to change from the current situation because it means having an opinion and making a decision. And with a decision comes the very real possibility that we’ll make the wrong one. Sticking with the status quo feels much better even if we know it’s costing us money.
Just think of the things you won’t do even though you know you should. For example, let’s imagine that a few years ago, you invested in the process of planning and built a financial plan based on your values and goals. Now you have a portfolio of low-cost, diversified investments, but you’re still holding on to a stock your brother-in-law recommended years before that went down right after you bought it. It clearly doesn’t fit in your plan. Every rational thought, every spreadsheet and every calculator tells you that it’s past time to get rid of it, but you don’t.
Making the choice to sell would mean realizing a loss, and I’m not just talking from a tax perspective. To some degree, it means admitting we’ve made a mistake, but we’d feel the loss, too. As we’ve discussed, we’re wired to go to great lengths to avoid that feeling. Once we realize that loss and open ourselves up to the pain of that experience, we’ll discover that we feel almost twice the emotion over a loss as opposed to a gain.
3) Burger King VS McDonald’s: Which Packaging Design Wins The Hearts Of Consumers? [DesignTaxi]
I really like Design Taxi but sometimes they just straight up rip off articles from other publications. (Then again that's literally what I do, so maybe those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones...) I would share the AdAge article this cribs from except 1. I burned through my monthly AdAge article allowance already and 2. I suspect you did too.
According to a survey carried out by Ad Age-Harris, 54 percent of 1,059 adults ages 18 and older from the US preferred Burger King’s new packaging look, while 46 percent chose McDonald’s overhaul.
56 percent agreed that Burger King’s refreshed look made its food more appetizing while 44 percent who chose McDonald’s felt the same way towards the new design too.
In the end, the rebrands seem to have helped both fast-food chains, as 40 percent of the respondents said they are most likely to eat at both chains thanks to the new look.
Look, I'm on record as preferring the McDonald's packaging. I think Burger King did a great job with the logo redesign, but when it comes to their burger wrappers, I don't know, all I see is Snoop Dogg in Starsky and Hutch. Which is to say I think it has a shorter shelf life. The chicken tendies though? Love it. And I do want that crown. Anyway, as mentioned in the past, will be interesting to see what the sales numbers say.
4) Department of Great Work
IKEA Sparks the Home Equality Conversation with Online Game 'FiftyFifty' [Little Black Book] IKEA has always focused on creating a better everyday life at home through good quality, affordable furniture. However, a better everyday is also an equal everyday, and the company believes that gender equality at home is a crucial part in creating gender equality in society. But living on top of each other this past year has brought to light the increasingly unequal division of household work. And this is where Ingka Groupcomes in. With women still taking on the biggest load of work - doing up to three times more unpaid care and domestic work than men globally according to OECD* - Ingka Group is using International Women’s Day to launch an online game to help couples open an honest and fun conversation about how to better balance responsibilities in the home.
Zaxby's inspires random acts of kindness with TikTok challenge [Marketing Dive] Fast-casual chain Zaxby's kicked off a TikTok activation timed to coincide with Random Acts of Kindness Day on Feb. 17. The #ZaxofKindness challenge looks to inspire acts of kindness via a hashtag challenge on TikTok. The brand's videos on the platform and across social media feature Zaxby's mascot Big Z taking part by putting money in random people's parking meters, among other things. Nice.
How Bodyform is bringing the ‘gender pain gap’ to life with new language for women [The Drum] Bodyform is back to bust more taboos with ‘Pain Stories’. The push will also be adopted by sister menstruation brand Libresse and is designed to highlight the ‘gender pain gap’ and support earlier diagnosis for endometriosis (a disorder in which the lining of the uterus extends to grow outside the organ). The ‘Pain Dictionary’ uses real descriptions of pain from people with endometriosis. It includes new words and definitions which have been visualised by artists and creators, whose powerful depictions bring their experiences to life, resulting in a “new verbal and visual language for endometriosis pain”. Powerful. From AMV BBDO
Tyler, the Creator Crafted a Dance Track for Coca-Cola Zero Sugar [Muse by Clio] The artist delivered an appropriately effervescent, sweetly layered track for this colorful, dance-driven two-minute film from Wieden + Kennedy London and director Los Perez. All that frenetic fizzy footwork is geared to introduce a new Zero Sugar formula. Guess it's still got plenty of caffeine! It's mostly an instrumental track—though "Sip sip sips," "Oohs" and "Ahhhs!" bubble up—because drinking a Coke provides "a beyond-words sensation," the soft-drink giant says. That's a bit much. But hyperbole aside, the work delivers a buoyant brand message.
Stop the world I want Nestle [Ads of the World] I couldn't find a great write up, and I don't speak Portugese, so this is what I was able to pull together. Inspired by the expression “Stop the world, I want to get off”, Nestlé created a a commercial where people get stuck in the 'perfect' world of social media. Nestle uses chocolate as a device for us to connect with each other in the real world. It's a very pretty spot. I like it. From Gut São Paulo.
Cadbury Creme Egg and Elvis launch Golden Goo-Beer-Lee Creme Stout – as you do [More About Advertising] Major shoutout to this publication for prioritizing Elvis the Agency over Goose Island the partner in the headline. You never know what’s going to bounce into the inbox but never expected Cadbury Creme Egg spin-off Golden Goo-Beer-Lee Creme Stout. Has someone been raiding the illegal substances cabinet? But no, it’s a wheeze from Cadbury and London agency Elvis in partnership with Goose Island beer. Strictly available to Creme Egg fans over 18, Cadbury says firmly. The new beer is part of the Cadbury Creme Egg Golden Goobilee, a season-long celebration for to mark the brand’s 50th birthday, which began in January of this year. And the work is really fun.
5) Platform Updates
As promised! Let's see what's going on in the world
Twitch's First Transparency Report Is Here—and Long Overdue [Wired] In its new transparency report Twitch acknowledges this difficulty and for the first time offers specific details about how well it moderates its platform. While the findings are encouraging, what Twitch historically has not been transparent about speaks just as loudly.
Can a New Media Company Founded by Olympic Athletes Change How Women's Sports Are Covered? [dot.LA] Olympic medalists Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel and Sue Bird are launching TOGETHXR, created specifically for Gen Z and millennial women. The four hope to elevate the stories and voices of women in sports, as well as intersecting areas like activism, culture, wellness and beauty. Although women make up almost half of all participants in sports, they receive less than 5% of sports coverage
Facebook Shares New Research into the Comparative Performance of Brand vs Direct Response Campaigns [Social Media Today] Facebook recently partnered with Analytic Partners and GroupM to analyze more than 500 Facebook brand and DR campaigns run by 21 businesses over a three-year period. The research took into account the varying approaches, with a view to determining which actually drives more value for a business. So which should you run on Facebook? Well according to Facebook, it's both. Duh. But click through to the article there are some good charts to steal regardless of the argument you're making
Twitter announces paid Super Follows to let you charge for tweets [The Verge] Twitter announced a pair of big upcoming features today: the ability for users to charge their followers for access to additional content, and the ability to create and join groups based around specific interests. They’re two of the more substantial changes to Twitter in a while, but they also fit snugly into models that have been popular and successful on other social platforms.
Google says it won’t use new ways of tracking you as it phases out browser cookies for ads [CNBC] Google on Wednesday clarified its plans for targeted advertising, promising not to use other ways to “track” users around the internet after it ends support for cookies in Chrome by early 2022. The company said in a blog post it will only use “privacy-preserving technologies” that rely on methods like anonymization or aggregation of data. “Today, we’re making explicit that once third-party cookies are phased out, we will not build alternate identifiers to track individuals as they browse across the web, nor will we use them in our products,” the Google post said.
As always, the full archive is available here. Was this email forwarded to you? Want to start getting this on a weekly basis? All I need is your email, everything else is optional. Thanks for sticking around as always. See you next week