Okay, that’s it. Google is officially pissing me off. Don’t get me wrong now, I love the way their algorithms point the way to the lyrics of the entire Britney Spears oeuvre within seconds. But I don’t appreciate the way they seem to have recently dialed up their keyword and search history stalking. Yes, I said stalking.
Over six months ago, I was looking for some Crocs for my little guy. I used Google to find out what styles were available. I bought him a pair. Done? Not if Google has anything to do with it. Now, no matter what site I wind up on, I’m assaulted with Crocs banners. It’s relentless, and guess what? Now I’m so annoyed, it’s having a reverse halo effect on the brand. I’m starting to hate the sight of their logo.
This degree of micro-targeting leaves me cold. Ever send a message through Gmail, and notice how the surrounding ads immediately change to reflect the content of your email? I know, they’re just using an algorithm. No one is being hired to reading my email content and respond physically (I hope). But it’s hard not to feel like we’re hurtling faster and faster toward that Blade Runner dystopia where bombardment is the key to selling.
I work in this business, so I’m probably supposed to rejoice every time there is a new ad unit offered to “broaden the client offering.” Ads on toilet paper? Or in between each individual slice of bread? Hey, I would not be surprised. It’s innovative, right? At any rate, my message to advertisers would be this: once you’ve sifted through mountains of data and tracked prime placement, practice some restraint. Over-compensation can have adverse effects. Good work, placed strategically will resound better than middle-of-the-road messaging placed everywhere.
Now if someone could give me an idea of the most annoying way I can deliver this message to the CEO of Crocs, I’d really appreciate it.
As we stare into the face of the Mayan apocalypse, our minds turn to two heavy questions to consider: the best ads of 2011, and what will shape the industry in 2012.
Thankfully, there are those across the blogosphere who have taken up the gauntlet, exploring each of these questions in detail. We rip off the work of these fine people for your reading pleasure today.
The Globe and Mail’s Top 10 ads of 2011 – A roundup of some of the best examples of :30 storytelling from last year.
Ace Metrix’s top ads of 2011 (based on focus group reactions) – A list of ads that ranked highly in focus groups for attributes such as “relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc.” Creatives, beware.
JWT’s 100 things to watch in 2012 – JWT offers up a cool Slideshare presentation forecasting the hot new trends and events of 2012, from Cloud computing to The Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary tour.
Five social media trends for 2012 – A new whitepaper from The Social Commerce Summit explores the state of the union in social media. Note: free registration is required to download the whitepaper.
It’s 2012, which means the world’s about to end. At least that’s what the Mayans and Roland Emmerich would have us believe. Whether or not you believe that we’re facing impending doom in the near future, there are some people who do. And it turns out there’s a new onslaught of apocalyptic products for these people to buy.
It’s not uncommon for people to create their own “survival kit” by stocking up on bottled water, non-perishable food and remote generators. But that’s not going to cut it for people who genuinely believe the apocalypse will happen this year.
That’s where the Survival Condo comes in. It’s a classic example of leveraging zeitgeist to generate product demand. The world’s population might be wiped out, but the affluent, forward-thinking family will still be able to enjoy life in the opulent luxury of a renovated missile silo. But I wonder: is a product like this really filling a need for some extremely niche market? Or is it just something to throw away a million dollars on?
And how absurd are both of those questions?
To me it doesn’t seem reasonable to use the end of the world as a way to convince people they need certain products. It’s just an eye-rolling kind of fear-based marketing. I don’t see how buying everything I can find on 2012supplies.com is going to adequately prepare me for something so routine as another Armageddon.
Food for thought: The spy who sold out
Forgiving a pretty face
Facebook to agencies: how will people share your story?
Is “The Pitch” an accurate reflection of our industry?
6 Comments
