Stoke This

Everyone loves a good apology. And boy is JC Penney sorry for all of the branding / positioning changes they made…at least that’s what a recently released ad tells us.

JC Penney is the latest brand to hop aboard the reconciliation train, hoping the underdog undertones will resonate with today’s consumer. The commercial begs former customers to “come back to see us” – a desperate request that follows their financial downfall under a new CEO who tried to makeover the retailer a la Target. A soft-spoken voiceover plays over almost-cinematic visuals of “real” people living their lives with no real imagery of the store itself. The entire spot is dedicated to publicly acknowledging their mistakes as a company, offering an apology to its customers and letting them know that they want to be part of their lives again. 

News followers know the brand has brought back their “old” CEO, but this ad doesn’t tell us how changes will be made. Other than seeing their hip “new” JCP initials logo in a box replaced by the brand’s traditional, written out “jcpenney” logo.

But are they really sorry? Just a few days after this highly publicized mea culpa, the ad (formerly at this link) has been taken down. Just in time for JC Penney to upload a new “Thank You” commercial. While we don’t want the brand to wallow in self-pity and we appreciate the “Thank You” message, taking away the commercial is almost like taking away the apology itself.

So for those who haven’t seen it or want to remember that JC Penney is sorry, here’s a link to the video of a news station playing the video.

~ Nicole Mazewski, Account Coordinator, The S3 Agency

[Editor’s Note: Oh, and by the way…JC Penney, you might want to update your YouTube channel to include your new old logo as well.]

If only respectable media could be as selective about their advertising as they are about their editorial. Imaging the impact of that content! Sadly, even powerhouses such as The New York Times are in danger of existing – a far position from being able to tell less-than-creative advertisers to shove off. Case in point: this ad for Loft, Ann Taylor’s lower-priced retailer, that accompanied my NYT e-blast.

Now THAT is some lazy advertising, my friends. Just because the headline rhymes, is in hot pink and you put an exclamation point at the end doesn’t make it exciting or good. Blasé also rhymes…and it describes the ad that apparently notices the model is wearing something crocheted. Something I can barely see because of the bland color of the model’s outfit that supports the bland headline. And THIS is supposed to get my attention? (For good reasons, I mean?)

Come on, Ann Taylor, I expect better from your advertising campaigns… ~ @AdvertGirl

From digital world to real world, Nike’s new app takes design inspiration and personalization to a whole new level. “Nike PHOTOiD” uses color inspiration from your personal Instagram photos to customize sneakers in their Air Max line. Simply select your favorite Instagram photo and Air Max sneaker… Voila! Your custom shoe appears.

Personalization is always a hit, so naturally I had to try it out. Inspiration: a picture of my baby girl. Results: a seriously fun pair of sneakers that would no doubt remind me of her.

What are you inspired by? Try it out for yourself: photoid.nike.com

~ Stefanie Fernandez, Account Supervisor, The S3 Agency

Virgin America Takes Social Media to New Heights

Leave it to Virgin to develop a cheeky video with founder Sir Richard Branson to promote Virgin America’s new Seat-to-Seat Delivery service, “Red.” In the video “Sir Richard Branson’s Guide to Getting Lucky”, Branson explains the concept in his terms –and then suggests using Red as a a lower cost alternative for non-gazillionaires.

Using the Red inflight entertainment system, passengers can single out a fellow traveler seated at, say 35A. Using the seatback touch screen, one might then select their seat number and send over a food or drink item. Should 35A be interested, both travelers can continue their conversation via text chats on the Red system. 

You never know what might happen at 35,000 feet. But Sir Branson does.

~ Sandy Storey, Account Supervisor, The S3 Agency

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=M_Bes6P2isY

Tag – Instagram’s It!

Instagram (owned by Facebook) recently added a new Facebook-like tagging feature. This new feature offers brands higher visibility on the photo-based platform – which has 100 million users. The new “Photos of You” element allows any Instagram users to tag any other Instagram account in their photos, elevating the social aspect of this visual network. This means Instagram accounts of businesses, products and services can tag regular users, celebrities, athletes, etc. Because Instagram is known for its cool, beautiful and often edgy imagery (as are many ad campaigns), it makes total sense that these photo-sharing images are organically crossing over into the advertising domain.

For example, if Jimmy Choo were to tag Beyoncé, she could choose to add the photo to her stream, exposing the ad to her 3.6 million followers. Regular users like us can now tag their favorite drink of the morning, brand of jeans, restaurant chain – you name it. 

Instagram sees this as a way for consumers to interact with brands. With users now able to not just tag “who”, but the “what” (and the “where”, too), this update is a game-changer. And it’s a sure sign that businesses should rev up their Instagramming.

The photos in the “Pictures of You” section will become public to Instagram users on May 16, giving users a little time to figure out the features and privacy settings.

~ Meredith Aman, Account Supervisor & Instagrammer, The S3 Agency

A picture is worth a thousand words – and sales of many more cylinders of lip gloss than that, I’m sure – with the new Burt’s Bees “Nature Knows Color” spring ad campaign. We’ve heard of rosebud lips before, and here Burt’s Bees has the model’s lips growing out of an actual flower stem. Her lips are perfectly red, thanks to the all-natural color of her lip gloss. This is a simple, beautifully executed ad that clearly portrays the brand’s USP with an “instant get.” I love everything about it, including the logo location that eschews bottom right-hand corner placement – and instead takes on headline prominence, clearly the object of the model’s admiration in appreciation for her bee-stung lips. ~ @AdvertGirl

Web design is a very tricky thing. It is by far the fastest evolving creative medium on the planet. In less than 10 years, we went from using tables to organize our website layouts to creating multi-dimensional, immersive, and interactive website layouts.  This award-winning website by Fox Home Entertainment is an excellent example of how far we have come.  They created this stunning HTML5 parallax scrolling site, which takes a tour behind-the-scenes of how some of ‘Life of Pi’s’ most amazing moments came to be.

Parallax scrolling is the latest trend in the web design world and for good reason.  The effect creates a sensation of depth (3D) and a much more interesting browsing experience. 

Get your scrolling finger ready and click on the link below to experience this engaging site: http://journey.lifeofpimovie.com/

~ Walid Elshahed, Web Designer, The S3 Agency 

This ad from Vodafone – “The Kiss” – simply sucks you in for a minute:30. Gorgeously crafted, it’s a beautiful expression of love. What an amazing way to elevate the message of a plan offering limitless talk & text. Props to the agency (Grey in London) for coming up with it – and to the client for approving it. ~ @AdvertGirl