Flight safety videos that redefine mile high entertainment

International airlines Air New Zealand and Volaris are creating a stir as they guide their passengers through flight safety procedures in new, more -ahem- attractive ways.

Most frequent flyers have learned to either tune out the drone of the crew member chanting the never-changing flight safety procedure or to fall asleep instantly as the video generated safety message whirrs into existence.  This two to five minute window has always been poorly utilized.  Here, airlines have the (almost) undivided attention of most flyers, and they are choosing to spend it spewing out boring and sometimes unintelligible versions of the same flight safety speech from 1914.

Flying to the rescue are New Zealand and Mexican pioneers; they are offering revolutionary ways to create fun and safe flying experiences for their customers while soaring their public image to heights above their competitors.

April Fools! Google takes a few moments to spread some joy

Google took a moment today to make us laugh by circulating a fake product video as well as an unusual video recap of YouTube’s past 100 years.

Google is known for taking this fine holiday to its very limits.  In 2006, they gave us Google Romance which offered a dating ‘search’ service on the Google home page.  Gromance let us believe that ”Dating [was] a search problem” and that we could “solve it with Google Romance.”  The most well-known Gprank has to be its 2007 April Fool’s Day gag, Google Paper, a service that allowed Gmail users to add emails to a paper archive -a service that sent the Gmail user a paper copy of the selected email via snail mail.

Click here for a complete list of Google’s past April Fool’s Day Pranks.

This year, Google’s much anticipated gag product video comes to us as the new Gmail Motion service.

Altoids pokes around Facebook for the next viral video

With the help of  ad agency, The Evolution Bureau, Altoids has released a music video poking fun of our stereotypical Facebook friends.  The question still remains: will it be enough to go viral?

One week since it was uploaded to YouTube, the “tribute to the stars on Facebook” remains at only around 65,000 views. With lyrics that put some very real feelings into words, it gives us a catchy tune as well as a cathartic laugh as we agree with its stereotypes.  I had my moment of laughter when one of the “stars on Facebook” came to us in the form of “The Foodographer, oh you know this guy!  He’s got 42 pics of burgers and french fries.”  After several years of laughing at my very own Foodographer, I am glad that this song is giving me the chance to share my frustration/laughs at his millions of food-related photographs.

Public reprimands Bing for socially irresponsible tweeting during Japan earthquake relief efforts

A tasteless tweet from Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, has left a bad taste in the public’s mouth.  With thousands dead or missing in the wake of Japan’s recent 8.9 earthquake, Bing social media managers were busy at work masking self-promotion with Twitter relief efforts.

As rescue and relief aid efforts were underway, Bing joined in and asked its Twitter audience to support Japan by retweeting their infamous tweet:

How you can #SupportJapan – http://binged.it/fEh7iT.  For Every retweet, @bing will give $1 to Japan quake victims, up to $100K.

This move was quickly criticized by the public for being “tacky,”"self-serving” and “insensitive.”

“We’re Not the Same,” Say Marketing, Ad, PR and Brand Recognition Departments

In my job search I have come across quite a few marketing positions that fall quite short of the actual definition of marketing.  Others are looking for associates in their PR department to fill what seem to be nothing more than cold-calling positions.

I understand that nowadays PR/AD/Marketing/ Brand Recognition agencies need to be versatile and that technology has blurred many of the lines between the respective fields.  Nevertheless, if you do not understand these powerful communication tools, it could be keeping you and your company from achieving the best possible results.

Here is a visual description of the four that has been floating around on the web.

Nestle Kills Orangutans and Muzzles Facebook Communication

Shortly after Greenpeace released an extremely graphic video accusing Nestle of importing palm tree oil from suppliers that are destroying the home of endangered orangutans, a legion of consumers descended upon Nestle’s Facebook page.

The offending video created a public outcry as the actor literally takes a bite out of a kitkat/orangutan finger.  Greenpeace had sent out a clear message: Nestle is killing Orangutans by contributing to the destruction of their home. This public cry quickly reached the official Nestle Facebook page.  The outcry took many forms; one of the most popular was this photoshopped image of the KitKat wrapper.

Hey there, Copy Cat: T-Mobile’s Recycling of Mac vs PC

Today’s blunder comes to us form the world of TV advertising.  If you have not had a chance to catch one of  the new T-Mobile television ads, just think of Apple‘s famous Mac Vs PC bits and slap on the T-Mobile logo.  That is exactly what the advertising team that pulled off this doozey was thinking. They incorporate the insanely hip lead actor (actress in this case), white, minimalist background, and yes even the oh-so inspiring trademark jingle.  Check out the video and you be the judge:

Communication Gone Loko

College students everywhere are still reminiscing about the days when they could find “real” Loko at the local liquor store.  The original formula is long gone and I may know why.

Four Loko and its creator Phusion Projects were under scrutiny from several different organizations for being in the middle of quite a few dramatic episodes on different college campuses.  When companies need help with crisis management they contract a strong PR team whose normal response is to:

• NOT panic or respond defiantly in the face of accusations.
• Never lie.
• NOT assume an angry, almighty or negative posture — at any time.
• Show good faith in answering negativity with clear, accurate and relevant  information.  (Fineman PR)

Unfortunately for Phusion Projects, they hired a PR team that did not read my post!  An Edelman PR (one of the big names in independent PR firms and Loko’s new crisis manager) representative asked the Seattle Weekly to change the wording in one of their recent online stories covering the alcohol content of the product.  The Edelman representative then committed some poorly thought out word vomit which caused even more dubious glances to be cast on Four Loko and its place among other alcoholic beverages.

Walking the Line

Jobsintown.de is the German version of Monster.com.  Their slogan: Life is too short for the wrong job, runs alongside several distressing photographs of men and women working dead-end jobs inside of everyday machines.  Through my time spent working and studying in Germany I realized that Germans appreciate sincerity and realism in their stories. (For instance, in their version of Cinderella the sisters mutilate their feet in order to fit into those fancy glass slippers. Yikes!)  So when I came across this campaign I immediately saw the simple, sincere, German beauty in it.  It successfully walks the fine line that many other Shock Ads slip on.  (See Tobacco Ads)

Going Viral

The numbers speak for themselves:

• Number of Old Spice videos made: 180+
• Number of Youtube Channel video views: over 196 million