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Remember how you felt about computers from the ‘80s or cell phones from the ‘90s? You thought of them as ground-breaking, big ideas. Eventually, us marketers will start to feel that way about the recent “Old Spice Guy” media stunt, too.

You all know the story by now. During the Super Bowl, the Old Spice Guy sprung to life via a very creative series of commercials by ad agency Wieden + Kennedy. They featured a sexy, charismatic character – along with great writing and execution – that got people talking. The commercials became so popular that the character has gone on to develop a huge following on YouTube, Reddit, Facebook and Twitter.

So what was the agency and brand team to do with a commercial character that obviously struck a pop culture nerve? They did a simple and brilliant thing – they took the traditional, advertising format of a static, network commercial and turned it on its head by giving the campaign the appearance of being tailored for the consumer and the moment. They did this by hiring actor Isaiah Mustafa for two days to directly respond, in character, to select consumer, media and celebrity social media requests through a series of “almost live” mini commercials. From one studio location, the commercials were written, shot, edited and distributed in almost real time, allowing the agency and brand team to break through the preverbal “third wall.” Alyssa Milano, Demi Moore and George Stephanopoulos took the bait, and the Old Spice Guy ran with it.

The results were enormous. Old Spice body products’ sales rose 107 percent during the past month, the brand’s YouTube channels were viewed by more than 58 million people and Isaiah just signed on to appear in a movie starring Jennifer Anniston. But the big question for marketers is, “Where do we go from here?” It will be difficult for other brands to replicate this execution exactly since the stars truly aligned for Old Spice. It had a great commercial concept, a pop culture-friendly character and a developed social media fan base that responded to him.

So take a cue from the Old Spice Guy. It’s important for brands to think about media convergence now. A brand directly communicating to consumers in real time is a practice that has been happening for a while and continues to evolve. However, the big challenge will be transforming traditional marketing platforms, such as television commercials, and making what the Old Spice Guy did in two days, happen every minute, every-day.

How brands and marketers will exactly meet this emerging consumer interest in a tailored, real-time approach depends not only on technology but how creatively we use it.

-- Mark Malinowski, Vice President

Mobile is hot right now.

It’s not exactly breaking news, we know. But just in case you haven’t considered integrating mobile into your communications strategies, here’s some recent facts and figures that might make you stop and think.

It’s everywhere you want to be: Apologies to Visa, but thanks to GPS technology, consumers’ favorite brands are literally everywhere they want to be. Mobile apps with geo-targeting technology allow consumers to interact with their favorite brands from anywhere in the world, whether it’s finding the nearest store or checking in at a local hot spot. In fact, companies will spend close to $4 billion on location-based mobile technologies by 2015.

It’s one-stop shopping: It’s not all ringtones and horoscopes. Consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with using their mobile phones to make non phone-related purchases, too. Ten percent of Americans use their phones to receive coupons and discounts or buy goods and services. The numbers go up for smartphone users. Half of iPhone and BlackBerry owners use their phones for mobile commerce.

It’s better than sex: Is that text message really that important? Apparently it is. According to the Retrevo Gadgetology study, one-in-10 Internet users under the age of 25 claims he or she would answer a text message during sex. One-in-four would even do so while using the restroom. When you gotta text, you gotta text.

It’s memorable: Mobile may be the third screen, but it certainly doesn’t finish last when it comes to advertising recall. Research firm Insight Express found mobile ads to be more effective than online ads in consumer ad awareness and message association. And, not only did consumers remember mobile ads, it turns out mobile ads are more likely than online ads to lead to greater purchase intent and brand favorability.

It’s a nonprofit money-maker: In the wake of January’s devastating earthquake in Haiti, the American Red Cross raised $32 million through its text-to-give campaign – the most successful mobile philanthropy effort of all time. If there is anything good that can come out of the disaster, it’s that Americans have found a new means of donating to important causes. Almost one-in-five are more likely to text donations to their favorite nonprofits after hearing about Haiti's mobile fundraising success and 19 percent would prefer texting to alternative donation methods.

The Super Bowl is the greatest advertising spectacle of the year. But were Sunday's commercials everything we hoped they would be?

Cone folks weighed in on the hits and misses of Super Bowl XLIV's commercials. Check out the video below to hear what they had to say:

What do you think? What made you laugh, cry or just scratch your head? We'd love to hear.

One-in-five Americans will be tuning in to this Sunday’s Super Bowl just to watch the commercials. While this may not be good news for Manning and Brees, Madison Avenue couldn’t be happier. You might say the Super Bowl is the Super Bowl of advertising, and brands lucky enough to afford 30 seconds of our time know there is a lot on the line this year, as always.

Viewers’ expectations will be just as high for the Budweisers and the Coca-Colas as they will be for the Colts and the Saints. So the big question is, what can we expect from the commercials? Will advertisers go for the easy laugh? The warm, fuzzy feeling? The sex appeal? We’ll have to wait a little longer to find out, but in the meantime, some early buzz provides some clues.

1. Through the roof: At least the costs will. A 30-second commercial in Super Bowl I cost around $40,000. Forty-four years later, advertisers are shelling out $2.6 million.
2. Social: If you don’t have a social media presence this year, you don’t have a commercial. Brands are leveraging the hype around the big game to preview commercials on their Web sites and Facebook pages to engage consumers via multiple touch points. Look for online/on-air synergies from Budweiser, Coca-Cola and Monster.com.
3. Old school: What’s old is new again. This year we’ll see some old favorites with a modern twist. LeBron James and Dwight Howard take the reigns from Jordan and Bird in McDonald’s “Nothin’ but net” commercial, and Boost Mobile brings back the 1986 Super Bowl Shuffle featuring some of the original Chicago Bears rappers.
4. Controversial: Whether it’s CBS’ much maligned Super Bowl PSA or risqué ads banned from the game, this year’s commercials aren’t shying away from controversy. Former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow will star in a pro-life PSA for Focus on the Family, but GoDaddy.com got its “Lola” ad nixed. Gay dating Web site ManCrunch.com was turned away because ads were sold out, but site reps are alleging discrimination.
5. Consumer-generated: Why pay an ad agency when your consumers can do it for you? Doritos and CareerBuilder.com are hosting contests to find the best consumer-generated commercials. The winner gets the most coveted ad space on earth.
6. Au naturel: Although not completely nude, it’s certainly close enough. Dockers, CareerBuilder.com and Bud Light will get as close to naked as possible with a barrage of underdressed advertisements.
7. For a drive: Toyota might be mired in a recall crisis, but that’s not stopping the rest of the auto industry from getting in the game. One-in-six commercials this year will be car commercials. Expect to see Volkswagen, Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Dodge and Audi.
8. At each other: Indianapolis and New Orleans aren’t the only rivals facing off this Sunday. It’s the battle of the online job-search sites, too. Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com go up against each other, along with Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper, Denny’s and Taco Bell and Doritos and Pop Secret.
9. To Hollywood: It will feel like the Academy Awards are being hosted in your living room. Celebrities will be all over this Sunday’s commercials pitching everything from real estate to chocolate bars. Will.i.am, Chevy Chase, Gene Simmons and Abe Vigoda will walk the red carpet.
10. Away: Long-time advertiser Pepsi will forego the $2.6 million spot this year to focus its resources on its new cause marketing campaign, the Pepsi Refresh Project. Now that’s money well spent.

Not one to shy away from a little “friendly” competition, Verizon is at it again. Instead of its foe-du jour, (Comcast, around these parts) this time the telecommunications giant is taking on Apple and theiPhone. Recent commercials for Verizon mobile phones feature a play on Apple’s “There’s an app for that” tag line. Boasting a far greater coverage network than AT&T – the exclusive cellular provider for iPhone – Verizon heralds, “There’s a map for that,” to show the coverage disparity.

It seems Apple is the punching-bag-of-choice these days. The popularity of the revolutionary iPhone has prompted attacks from the likes of Verizon and BlackBerry, while long-time rival Microsoft launched its “I’m a PC” campaign in direct response to Apple’s Mac computer ads featuring actors Justin Long and John Hodgman. Microsoft’s newest marketing campaigns may be focusing on the launch of its Windows 7 operating system, but they still manage to allude to its self-proclaimed superiority to Macs.

Image Credit: PC World

Taking the opportunity to go on the offensive again, Apple is set to launch attack ads attempting to lure PCers to the Mac by shining a light on Windows’ susceptibility to viruses and complicated interface. If consumers are looking to upgrade old computers, this is as good a time as any for Apple to try to winsome converts. But why the decision to use such contentious marketing messages?

The London Times blames it on the American economy. According to a Times interview, “In tough times, marketers know that people become more rational in their decision-making, so they're somewhat more susceptible to being told straight out: ‘This product is better than the other one.'” Be careful what you say in the heat of battle, however; incense your competitor enough and you could end up with a lawsuit. Gatorade didn’t take kindly to advertising claims from Powerade and ended up going to court and involving the FDA over the matter. Subway even sent Domino’s a cease-and-desist letter (the pizza chain subsequently lighted it on fire in its next commercial).

Although it’s unlikely Apple will sue or be sued, the battle for computing and mobile supremacy rages on as consumers hold tight to their wallets. Who will be the next to take on the world’s most admired company?

We all know the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but for marketers, it’s more a question of getting to his wallet. And, the answer? Apparently, it’s a good laugh at his friend’s expense. At least that’s what these brands targeting the 18- to 34-year-old male are hoping for:

• Captain Morgan is literally “Calling All Captains" after launching an online tool that that lets users send prank voicemails to their friends. The messages range from angry bartenders and boyfriends to the “hottie” from the bar last night. Messages can be personalized by adding the recipient’s name and even references to clothing worn the previous evening.
• Those who’d rather place live phone calls should download SpoofApp to their phone. SpoofApp lets users change the Caller ID display of the person they're calling and can even alter the caller’s voice to sound like a man or a woman. Every call can be recorded and played back later, just in case it wasn’t funny enough the first time. (iPhone users, however, are out of luck. SpoofApp was rejected by the iPhone App Store.)
  

As recent research demonstrates, there’s a definite ROI for humor marketing. According to a Canadian study, 67 percent of Canadians say humor is the secret ingredient that makes an advertisement most persuasive, more than overt sexuality and celebrity endorsement. (That’s too bad for Australian beer Skinny Blonde, whose temperature-activated bottle label features a curvy blonde who loses her bikini top as the bottle gets colder.) And, a 2009 behavioral study published in Psychology and Marketing found humor can indeed increase ad and brand recall when it’s unexpected and related to the product.

Using humor in marketing certainly isn’t innovative, but Captain Morgan and SpoofApp have taken an innovative approach to a tried and true tact. By allowing users to continuously interact with their brands, they’ve extended the humorous moment beyond an advertisement and turned it into a memorable (and lasting?) experience.

Brands all over the world are exploring their inner-musicians. In an attempt to appeal to tweens, teens, Millennials and pretty much any music fan out there, brands have turned up the music in their promotions and programs.

JetBlue recently launched “Live from T5,” an online contest that will choose musical acts to fill the last five slots in its Live from T5 concert series held in its T5 terminal at JFK Airport in New York.

Disney starlet Selena Gomez is the spokestween for Sears’ “Air Band Casting Call,” a competition to find a fifth member for its Arrive Air Band, which will be performing at the MTV Video Music Awards.

In Canada, Bud Light is introducing its “Bud Light Lime Summer Tunes” promotion to reward Facebook fans who petitioned to bring Bud Light Lime to Canada. Facebookers have a chance to win free downloads of the top 10 songs as selected by the brand’s fans.

The “Bacardi Bat Project” commissions new songs from up-and-coming music artists and makes them available for download via popular music blogs.

Not wanting to pay music artists to appear in its Chinese advertising, PepsiCo launched a music label in China to develop its own crop of music stars.

Through its "Adopted Bands" program, Denny's sponsors bands to eat for free and host after parties at local Denny's restaurants while on the road.

These days, an MP3 player is as indispensible an accessory as a cell phone – and in many cases is a cell phone, too – and brands are seizing the opportunity to appeal to a younger, hipper, music-loving crowd. It looks to be a win-win for the brands and the bands, but will it be music to consumers’ ears?

1. Fierce competition: Rivals square off
2. All aTwitter: Brands find clever ways to use Twitter
3. Everywhere you want to be: Marketers going mobile
4. "Video killed the radio star": Marketers are turning to Web video
5. I hardly recognized myself: Brand revitalizations

“There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” Words to live by for the Burger King advertising folks. The latest entry in a long line of Burger King ads offending consumers takes aim at the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. She is featured sitting atop a ham sandwich in an in-store advertisement captioned, “a snack that is sacred.” Burger King quickly removed the ad after many complaints that it was offensive toward Hindus, many of whom are vegetarians.

But, Burger King is not new to the controversial advertising tactic. Anyone remember the “I like square butts” commercial? If you don’t, it’s probably because it was pulled from the air shortly after its debut, blamed for being sexually overt and targeted toward children. And, how could we overlook the recent BK Super Seven Incher ad?

All this talk of distasteful Burger King ads got us thinking. What’s the most offensive advertisement of all time? We took a quick office poll.

Here are some of our top picks:

• Carl’s Jr. “Paris Hilton Car Wash” commercial
• GM “Robot Suicide Dream” commercial
• GoDaddy.com “Congressional Wardrobe Malfunction” commercial
• Motrin “Mom” commercial
• Pepsi Max “Suicidal Calorie” ad
• Quizno’s “Toasty Torpedo” commercial
• Snickers “Mechanics Kiss” commercial

And, an oldie, but a goodie:

• Marlboro cigarettes baby ad

What’s your pick for most offensive advertisement of all time?