Superbowl Ads: An Overall Lack of Connection

written by Priyanka Patel

The Super Bowl is the highlight of the season among football fans, but for a lot of people the enjoyment of watching the Superbowl is watching the ads and not the actual game. Many people watch to see how creative the ads will be, and advertisers buy these Superbowl slots to try and connect with the nearly 100 million people watching, hoping that in turn, it will create ROI for their products.

Superbowl XXXVIII had 98 million viewers, 20 % that were 18-24, 8 % of whom were Hispanic, 10 .2 % African American, and 4 % Asian, but I felt that this year advertisers neglected to target the diverse young adult market except for a select few. The 18-24 market spends $122 billion a year, including $24 billion in discretionary spending and the three minority markets (mentioned above) also have considerable spending power - about 2.2 billion , so why would advertisers’ choose to ignore them? I'm confused (as a 23 year old market researcher), as to why advertisers would not try to expand their market in a time where ad budgets are shrinking and they need to get the most “bang for their buck”?

There were a few ads that I thought targeted and connected well with the 18-24 year old demo and they are the following:

CultureLab’s Top Superbowl Spots



1) Cash4Gold
2) Doritos
3) Bud Light (this only should connect with 21-24 year olds! LOL!)
4) Bridgestone
5) GoDaddy.com
6) Toyota*

The reason that I feel these commercials resonated with Gen Y is because of their quirky humor mixed in with their originality which us Gen Y-ers typically like. As with the Bud Light, Doritos and Bridgestone spots there was effective use of humor throughout the commercials. I also believe that they were able to connect to Gen Y because they made use of popular celebrities, such as MC Hammer (Cash4Gold), Danica Patrick (GoDaddy.com), and Conan O’Brien (Bud Light), which in this celebrity obsessed culture, resonates with young people today.

• I also want to give Toyota a BIG shout out for being the ONLY advertiser to display any form of multicultural sophistication. They ran a :30 ad from African American agency, Burrell Communications during game time. Toyota should be commended for using an African American targeted spot as a general market spot. It is frankly surprising that when 22% of the people who watched Superbowl XXXVIII are minorities, this is the only spot done from a multicultural point of view.

So here are the spots that in my view, did not deliver for my 18-24 year old set:


CultureLab’s Worst Five

1) Budweiser (the Clydesdale spots)
2) Coca-Cola
3) Pepsi
4) Hyundai
5) Denny’s

The reason that I chose these as the worst commercials is because they lacked excitement and were not particularly relevant to young people. For example, the Clydesdales did not relate to the product; many Superbowl viewers were too young to recall the older commercials referenced and weren’t able to connect the dots between the Clydesdales and Budweiser. Same thing with PepsiCo, where they tried to connect the past generations with the new generation by using Will.I.Am, but the music and pictures were only somewhat recognizable (I am not sure if anyone of my friends really know who Bob Dylan is), and therefore; hard to connect with me as a Gen Y-er. The Coca-Cola, Hyundai, and Denny’s commercials were just plain lackluster.

Overall, I thought the ads this year did a mediocre job at targeting 18-24 year olds, but did an even worse job connecting with multicultural 18-24 year olds. If corporations want to increase their chances for making their revenue targets in this incredibly challenged economic climate then they definitely should aspire to be more inclusive in their messaging and outreach.


To see the ads yourself, check it out at:http:// www.adage.com/article?article_id=134136


Footnotes:
http://www.quantcast.com/superbowl.com#demographics
http://www.lanzagroup.com/ultima-hora.php?id=403
http://www.targetmarketnews.com/storyid02050901.htm
http://www.quantcast.com/superbowl.com#demographics
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NEWS/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=835
http://www.indusbusinessjournal.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=E8CD3B33FC7543A5947D92FFFC477CAF&AudID=FEA03865A7CD48368F4997E1F3EE878E

Urban Elegance-Trend to Watch For!

In our Twenty Trends to Watch For in 2009 we made mention of a developing trend of African American/Urban elegance in fashion, and music videos. What jazz musicians used to call "clean" is back in vogue. Check out this new video from one of the godfathers of the progressive soul movement, Raphael Saadiq. It is retro yet modern which kind of describes what the new "urban elegance" is all about.

The Post Bush Era of Global Sobriety

Well, it is over and the real work begins. This has been a remarkable time for our business, for our nation, as well as the world. It has been an extreme time, as we watch the promise of a new year deteriorate into cancelled projects, whacked client budgets, and uncertain futures for businesses like ours. However, our experience is not unique, many American businesses and global businesses are faced with the same thing.

This is our new reality, and after listening to the new President’s inaugural address, it is most likely going to be worse. Welcome world to a new era of global sobriety. No more living on the credit cards, bottle service in the club, $5,000 Gucci handbags, home equity loans, etc. etc.

As marketers, we must face this new world of lower expectations, lessened consumerism, and consumers who are challenged to make ends meet. How are we to live? Or thrive even? Here is what is important for strategists, and marketers to consider:

1) The economy is not going to bounce back soon
2) Lower priced CPG’s will reign, and private label will surge
3) Branding advertising campaigns will lessen in importance, BTW, Pepsi just wasted millions of dollars on their new Happiness campaign!
4) Agencies who focus on direct, grassroots marketing, internet, CRM, and expanded niche markets will do well
5) Madison Avenue and The GOP must retool or they will die, non-diverse organizations will look out of touch in this new era.
6) You must really think globally and understand different cultures
7) Get comfortable doing business with the Fed as they will be the BIG spender these next few years
8) Don’t be selfish, the era of individualism and greed is over too, Gen Y has helped us understand collaboration better
9) Reward creative people. What better time to be creative than now. Be creative!!
10) Finally, this goes to my Latin American, European and Australian brothers and sisters, challenge yourselves to be like America and give YOUR immigrant groups, African descendents and indigenous people equal opportunities in business, advertising and media representation. America should not be the only example of success when it comes to equal opportunity.

We welcome your comments. Please post them!

CultureLab’s Trends to Watch For in 2009

#1 Rockstar and Skater Hip Hop will continue to gain in popularity (Lil Wayne and Kanye respectively are the icons: watch for Charles Hamilton, The Knux, 88 Keys, Black Milk, and B.O.B)

#2 Classism is the new racism

#3 The 90’s grunge era will influence in ‘09 as the 80’s did in ‘08

#4 Sneaker Brands to watch: Supras, adidas, Yums, and "Vulcanized" Shoes [See Images Below]

#5 Streetwear brands to watch: Rowdy, KR3W, Volcom

#6 Twitter goes to the masses

+

#7 Classism, Ethnicity, and Lifestage will creep into online social network choice: Facebook: older, more affluent and more educated, MySpace: younger, less affluent, Black and Hispanic skewing

#8 C.R.E.A.M., Wu-Tang’s mantra will ring very true in ’09, cash will be king!

#9 Creativity in digital hustle

#10 Prepaid Cell Phone service will explode as the economy continues to slump

#11 Smartphones as status symbols

#12 Rise of the Black and Hispanic geeks

#13 Asian pop culture will continue to grow in popularity

#14 Renaissance of creativity in business, politics, music, and entertainment: watch for new music genres, new art forms, new ideaologies, and new ways of film-making

#15 Low budget but creative aesthetic in fashion, film, and music, “Thrift Chic”

#16 The urban elegance movement flourishes, i.e. Obama, Diddy, Maxwell
#17 Big Government will be cool
#18 The role of narrative and storytelling will grow in all art forms and advertising/promotional outreach

#19 DIY- arts and crafts

#20 Common Craft-style "what is" and "how to" videos will become an increasingly popular resource for education of online applications and communities


CultureLab is a full service research agency that focuses on the multicultural young adult consumer. Our segments of focus include Asian American, Urban Hispanic, African American and Urban White 18-34 year olds. We tapped into our network across the country to come up with our trends to watch for in 2009. Our clients include general market advertising agencies, corporations, beverage marketers and government entities.


[photos by: Martinchox, kikfoto , Elliot.P, ThisParticularGreg, clementpetit2, irrezolut, saturnism]

Youth Interviews 2

Youth Interviews

written and videotaped by Priyanka Patel and Errol Veloso

Recently, at Culturelab, we have added a new method of research to our repertoire: Video Blogging, to stay up with the times. In our first of many installations, we have gone around the Dallas area to interview youth on their lifestyles.

We learned some of interesting things when conducting these interviews. For example, the youth that we spoke to were really feeling the effects of the economic downturn, instead of it being something abstract to them. Surprisingly (or maybe not so much so) they were either cutting back their spending in order to prepare for worse times ahead or getting extra work to support their lifestyles, throwing that theory out the window that youth don't plan ahead for the future.

Some trends that we learned about from these youth is that the old school 80s music and fashion are back in. This was illustrated from the music they listened to, that incorporated electro in their music, to their fashion seen through the types of wayfarer glasses (think Tom Cruise in Risky Business) they were wearing. Another important thing that I learned from these youth is that they develop their interests based on what their friends are doing and heavily rely on them for advice for most everything that they do.

As trends continue to evolve, we at Culturelab hope to stay on top of them in the coming weeks and months ahead. Stay tuned!

Technorati Tags: video blog, youth trends, interview

Yes We Can and Yes We Did!!

written by Kevin Walker

photo by: Wendy Piersall

OK, we are just now recovering from our incessant celebration since Tuesday night!! What a remarkable night Tuesday was. We can kind of think now, so here are a few thoughts:

The Barack Obama campaign has been the best business school case study EVER--of how to market a product and convince people to "buy." The campaign was also a great case study in the use of new media to connect to people and galvanize them around a cause. I will forever remember the 3 a.m. text message I received announcing that Obama chose Joe Biden as his VP running mate.

The Obama campaign provided all of us with a textbook example of mastering the online/offline worlds of millennials. Their use of web video, Youtube, emails after key campaign moments, and texting, was done in the organic way that most Gen Y'ers use them.

One of the most brilliant decisions the Obama team made was hiring the co-founder of Facebook, Chris Hughes. With his innate knowledge of the dynamics of online social networks they were able to effectively use the communication tools that young people use on a day-to-day basis. They used the web as a mobilizing force to organize grassroots activity organizing 150,000 meetings via the internet over the 21 months of the campaign. They also perfected the pioneering work of the 2004 Howard Dean campaign in the use of the internet as a fundraising mechanism. I am sure that ALL marketers will be analyzing the success of the Obama campaign in the use of new media.

Consistency in your brand and in your marketing strategy means a lot! Even when things were not looking too good after the McCain team's pick of Sarah Palin, the Obama campaign stuck to their strategy and chose to focus on their issues and not the opposing team's personalities. The Obama campaign fully understood what people were looking for during these difficult times.

Knowing the mindset of your targeted consumer is perhaps one of the greatest tenets that the Obama campaign exploited. They fully understood that the majority of Americans were ready for a change so they branded the whole campaign around CHANGE. As most of us knew when McCain adopted the Change mantra, it was disingenuous to say the least. We could go on and on about how brilliantly Obama demonstrated how well they understood the mindset of the people.

As Russell Simmons has so famously said, "Do You!" Obama definitely did himself! He was calm, funny, corny, confident, serious, and he consistently reached out to ALL Americans, not just his base. Even when folks like me wanted him to get rougher with the opposing team, he remained true to himself.

Obama is the right brand for America in a time when America has dramatically slipped in global stature. Being a global citizen benefited Obama greatly in his outlook and ability to connect with all people. I will go out on a limb and say that being a global citizen and being bi-racial will make Obama one of the greatest statesmen that the world has ever seen.

Finally, the most striking thing about Tuesday night's selection of the new American President was that it was a total validation of Richard Florida's theories about The Rise of the Creative Class (please read his book by the same name). Obama is a Creative Class President from a Creative Class city, Chicago! Did you see how fantastic downtown Chicago looked as a background for the acceptance speech?!

Many states that McCain won-the so-called Red States-did not have Creative Class cities. Texas with Austin was the exception but that is it! Also, many of the states that McCain won were southern and Great Plains states with homogenous populations, many rural areas, and declining populations (West Virginia, Kentucky, North Dakota, Alabama, etc).
The Blue States, on the other hand, were states with large populations of young people, heavy concentrations of universities, and very diverse populations.

Also, those who supported Obama were urban AND suburban educated whites, Hispanics, Asians, and African Americans. So, Obama is a President for the urban, young, globally conscious,enlightened, diverse and progressive people-THE REAL AMERICA. This is the CultureLab demographic! Obama is symbolic of what our Agency, CultureLab, represents: the reality of the diverse New America/New World that we live in. Like Obama is the right President for this new era, we are the right Agency for Clients who want to connect better to young, technologically savvy, globally conscious, and multicultural people in this new era.

Please also see: Youth Vote Record Turnout

Obey Giant- Vote for Change Video Postcard

The following video is a part of Obey's Vote for Change Video Postcard campaign co-directed by Shepard Fairey and Melissa Balin. "The grass roots viral political action campaign," speaks volumes about the power of Web 2.0 and why Obama has registered with so many people in this era of new media.


Click here for more videos from Vote For Change

Twitter for Business

With the advent of Web 2.0, not only has the functionality of the Internet been enhanced but it has also changed the way we interact as individuals, and on a mass scale. Almost inevitably, it has also affected the way some business approach their customers. In many cases, companies use social networks to communicate to consumers at a more personal level. An example of which is Twitter. [See video below]

As the video explains, Twitter is a social network service that revolves around the question: “What are you doing?” And since its launch in 2006, Twitter has amassed a huge following, generating millions of users online.

It is based on a simple concept, but has evolved to serve a variety of functions for companies including consumer insight. Many large companies, such as Dell, JetBlue, and Comcast, have realized the business worth of services like Twitter and have utilized it to their advantage. In this post, we will briefly explore the different uses of micro-blogging for the enterprise.

Internal Communication

Riding on the success of Twitter, several startup companies have emerged with similar services focused on efficiency in the workplace.

Yammer, winner of the TechCrunch 50, is a social network service identical to Twitter that is focused on helping "companies and organizations (be) more productive through the exchange of short frequent answers to one simple question: "What are you working on?"

"As employees answer that question, a feed is created in one central location enabling co-workers to discuss ideas, post news, ask questions, and share links and other information. Yammer also serves as a company directory in which every employee has a profile and as a knowledge base where past conversations can be easily accessed and referenced." [CrunchBase]

Social Text, another social network tool, combines the functions of Twitter, Facebook, and Wiki’s that is, again, meant to streamline tasks and increase productivity. [See video below]

Customer Service

With millions of users sharing information on Twitter, companies have realized the wealth of information being shared on Twitter, and have utilized it as another branch for customer service.

Take for example the case of Comcast.

By monitoring Twitter messages, otherwise known as Tweets, companies are able to analyze and gain info in regards to: customer insight and competitive awareness [See article] It is notable that "the attention to Twitter reflects the power of new social media tools in letting consumers shape public discussion over brands." [BusinessWeek]

Marketing

Recently, marketing has been a growing appearance on Twitter. Through Twitter, businesses are able use the site as a platform to broadcast deals, coupons, and other promotions. With the amount of advertising on Twitter, there are even tools and services to help businesses advertise more effectively. Cherp, for example, is an agency that does exactly that. Cherp consists of marketing professionals that offer services in "branding and marketing to promote on Twitter." [Profy]


With the many products of Web 2.0, it is always important to stay within the know and take these as opportunities to enhance business.


For more on Twitter in Business visit: Is the Enterprise Really for Micro-Blogging Tools Like Twitter?

The Return of Electro

written by Errol Veloso and Kevin Walker

Photo by: Maschinenraum

Brush up those robot skills, electro is making a comeback! A renewed interest in this genre among underground and mainstream artists has fueled the revival of the electro music style. Characterized by use of mainly electronic devices, such as drum machines and synthesizers, this genre has no set template allowing artists to freely explore and experiment whatever their imagination comes up with.

The electro genre hit full swing back in May 1982 when Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force debuted "Planet Rock." The song essentially paved the way for other genres including house, techno, and hip-hop. Today, electro comes full circle, utilized by many up-and-coming and established artists as the main direction or as an element to integrate with another genre (electro/hip-hop). Although mixing electro with hip-hop has been around for a while, there has been a recent influx of songs with an electro influence.

Photo by: jurvetson

One notable case involves the Louis Vuitton don, Kanye West. His 2007 hit single, "Stronger," is a perfect example of the use and integration of electro. The song features a vocal sample from Daft Punk’s "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," and retains the electro/house direction they intended. Kanye’s version combines electro with hip-hop creating a fresh take on the genre.

The move to utilize the original electro/house song is credited to A-Trak (Kanye West’s DJ) after introducing Kanye to the original track. A-Trak, who is known to "ride the line between hip hop and electronic beats," [1] played a key role in Graduation influencing the music direction of the album. On A-Trak’s blog, he makes a bold statement about the current state of music today, saying, "no longer is it a crime to mash a hip-hop acapella into a techno track."[1]

In the video interview below, A-Trak briefly explains his transition to electro (3:50)

Another more current example is up-and-coming music group Chromeo. The duo, consisting of Dave 1 (A-Trak’s brother) and P-Thugg, first formed in order to explore the sub-genre of electro-funk. The two have solid backgrounds in hip-hop, but made the transition to electro-funk. Their latest release "Momma’s Boy" has been featured on FNMTV, and continues to gain popularity.

For a closer look at Chromeo please visit www.killahbeez.com

Next generation of Electro Boogie masters:

• Sa-Ra Creative Partners – LA Based production trio that specializes in the retro futuristic sounds of early 80’s funk.
  

Taz Arnold of Sa-Ra, Kevin Walker of CultureLab, and Shaafyq of Sa-Ra

• Dam Funk- LA based producer/DJ, single handedly has been the chief promoter of retro electro-boogie.

Other examples of electro in 2008:

• John Legend ft. Andre 3000- Greenlight

• Common ft. Pharrell- Universal Mind Control

• Kid Sister ft. Kanye West- Pro Nails

[1] www.djatrak.com

Top Fashion Trends Among Urbanized Youth and Young Adults

Late 80's-

• The Look: Bright vivid colors, leggings, shutter shades, retro track jackets, and colored skinny jeans are just a few example elements to this style. Fanny Pack of MTV's America's Best Dance Crew is a clear representation of late 80's fashion in the new era.

Photos by: icanteachyouhowtodoit, Kerosene Photography, Molly Bewigged, childish.idv.st

Urban Streetwear/Skate Punk-

• The Look: Independent urban labels (Huf, The Hundreds, Crooks and Castles), graphic tees, fitted caps, and exclusive sneakers (Nike SB Dunks, for example). The Urban Streetwear and Skate Punk styles are interchangeable, borrowing various elements from one another (with the exception of skinny jeans, which is a fashion component of the skate punk look.)
  

A sub-genre to this fashion style brings back retro accessories, such as "Dookie-Rope Chains" and Cazal sunglasses, to 2008.

Photos by: childish.idv.st, harry525, mr.l, 416style

"Gettro"-

• The Look: Fitted shirts and jeans, v-neck shirts, flashy jewelry, and wallet-chains. "Gettro" is a coined-term [1] which refers to a mix of Ghetto and Metro fashion styles. Music artist, Lil' Wayne is among the current celebrities sporting this style.

Visit links below for photos and video:

Lil Wayne- Gettro
Lil Wayne Fashion
Fitted jean + wallet-chain


Metro Casual-

• The Look: Primarily dark colors, dress shirts, vests, fedora hats, fitted jeans, and converse sneakers.Photos by: icanteachyouhowtodoit, Hubert Duong
  

[1] Credit to: Brian Surigao

Google Chrome

written by Priyanka Patel
photo by Matthew Oliphant + Pascal H

You usually don’t have a comic book where the heroine/hero is a piece of technology, but you do with Google Chrome. Google has recently come out with a comic book explaining their new browser, Google Chrome. It is touted to be the browser that deals with “the next generation of web applications that aren't even possible in today's browsers” according the Google Blog.

The beta phase of Google Chrome was released September 2, 2008 and will soon be released to everyone to download.

Google Chrome’s features include:

• Tabbed browsing where each tab gets its own process, leading to faster and more stable browsing. If one tab crashes, the whole browser doesn’t go down with it.

• A distinct user interface that places tabs on top of the browser window instead of right below the address bar.

• An “incognito” mode that lets you browse the web in complete privacy because it doesn’t record any of your activity.

• A new JavaScript engine built from the ground up for speed.

• Malware and phishing lists that automatically update themselves and warn you of bad websites.

• A default homepage that displays your most commonly used sites and other personalized information

Google Chrome Screenshot:

It sounds too good to be true -- I’ll have to wait and see.

Tags: Google, Chrome