Tag Archives: Marketing Daily

Is the Meta/Coinbase Anti-Scam Campaign Itself Just a Brandwashing Scam?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and poking around MediaPost’s Marketing Daily, when I came across Danielle Oster’s piece about a new anti-scam campaign sponsored by a bunch of scam-prone companies.

Tech Against Scams Coalition Serves Up ‘Scamberry Pie’

A group called Tech Against Scams Coalition (TASC) has launched a holiday scam prevention campaign as several companies involved in the group face lingering accusations of inadequate internal fraud prevention.

Launched in 2024, the cross-industry group includes representatives from companies including Cash App, Coinbase, Match Group, Meta, and Ripple. TASC partnered with Stereo Creative and media agency Noble People on the campaign, which the groups say was designed to inspire conversations around online fraud prevention.

According to Oster’s report, the campaign consists of “a social media ad . . . influencer partnerships, a food truck activation in Los Angeles . . . a Primrose Hill Bakery activation in London . . . and partnerships with community-based organizations such as AARP.”

So what are we talking here, Doc – mid-to-high five figures, plus creative fees? Isn’t this whole thing just a bargain-basement play for news coverage?

– Sam the Scam

Dear StS,

From all appearances, you’re right on the money.

Here’s the social media ad . . .

Not to get technical about it, but the video’s “Scam Fast Facts” are on-screen for all of three seconds, and the Scamberry web address appears in the tag for maybe two.

Feels kind of, well . . . scammy?

What’s most likely to happen is that the giveaways will get two minutes one night on local newscasts and the campaign will be over before you can finish your scamberry pie.

Meanwhile, here are some recent headlines you might find relevant.

Meta reportedly projected 10% of 2024 sales came from scam, fraud ads

Lawmakers pressure dating sites as $1.3 billion lost to romance scams each year

Coinbase phishing scams steal $65M in two months . . .

The Doc’s diagnosis: This Scamberry campaign is hardly gonna bury many scams.

Does New York’s SoHo ‘Fertility Concierge’ Really Need a 42-Foot Billboard?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and poking around MediaPost’s Marketing Daily, when I came across Les Luchter’s piece about a billboard currently looming over New York’s SoHo neighborhood.

Let’s talk about the high price of eggs these days!

No, not the eggs now selling for more than $9 a dozen in New York City.

Rather, the “fertilized, not scrambled” kind, as touted on an attention-grabbing billboard which went up mid-February in New York City’s Soho neighborhood.

A 42-foot-tall photo of Stefen D’Angelica, best known for his stint on Discovery Channel’s “Naked and Afraid of Love” dating show spinoff, graces the billboard. D’Angelica, clad only in boxer shorts, holds an egg carton over his crotch. Under that, the board reads, “Fertilized, not scrambled.  @getlushi.”

Don’t even know where to start here, Doc. Maybe with the egg carton/crotch thing?

– Egged On

Dear EO,

Yes well let’s start at the beginning.

Lushi, for those of you keeping score at home, is a “fertility concierge platform” for egg freezing and IVF. About its name: “The Lushi is a rare breed of chicken known for laying blue eggs, with only a limited supply produced in its lifetime.”

That mirrors, according to Lushi’s website, “an important truth about women: they are born with all the eggs they will ever have, a finite resource that is both precious and powerful.”

Okay then.

Luchter’s piece also notes this: “D’Angelica is ‘pretty well known in the city as a very eligible bachelor,’ [Lushi founder-CEO Jessica] Schaefer points out, and the billboard has resulted in significant boosts to both Lushi’s website and social media, with ‘very high’ engagement.”

Checking in with the 42-Foot Himbo, a Google search for Stefen D’Angelica Lushi yields two links – one the MediaPost piece, the other an Ads of the World review.

Moving on to your local fertility concierge (available in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and Austin), here’s the @getlushi Xitter feed.

(To be fair graf goes here)

To be fair, Lushi’s Tik-Tok feed has five followers.

The Doc’s diagnosis: Seems Lushi’s marketing could use a bit more fruitfulness of its own.

Do We Really Need PRE-Teasers for the Next Round of Super Bowl Ads?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and clicking through MediaPost, when I came across Steve McClellan’s Marketing Daily piece about a new ad for – not Pringles, not Pringles’ Super Bowl ad, but Pringles’ teaser campaign for its Super Bowl ad.

Pringles announced earlier this month that it was advertising in the upcoming Super Bowl, which will mark its eighth straight appearance.

And now the Kellanova brand is beginning its teaser campaign – giving hints and snippets about the ad’s storyline.

It released a “pre-teaser” on social media this week with a close-up of two uniformed actors (maybe you’ll recognize them) in a patrol car. Through the car’s radio you can hear a dispatcher telling the two officers of “reports of objects flying overhead.”

What the hell, Doc. Is there no limit to the Big Game adstravaganza?

– Stupor Bowl

Dear SB,

You are correct. We have officially entered the age of Super Bowl Ad Nauseam.

Fox Sports, which will broadcast Super Bowl LIX, has been running a teaser campaign since May, as John Sigler reported on Saints Wire.

FOX Sports released a teaser trailer for Super Bowl LIX starring their mascot “Cleatus the Robot,” who found himself wandering the desert after Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. The hitchhiking robot was picked up by revelers in a party bus, complete with a brass band, Mardi Gras beads, and a pet snake, before they hit the road for “New Orleans or Bust!”

Cleatus got himself a tattoo along the way and several weeks ago was wandering around the bayou asking for directions to the New Orleans Superdome.

Oh, yeah – Cleatus has also been seen clomping through the New Orleans Saints team store, for those of you keeping score at home.

Circle of (marketing) life, yeah?

The Doc’s diagnosis: Get ready for a lot more of this teaserpalooza. There’s no bottom to that well.

Do the New McDonald’s Billboards in the Netherlands Pass the Smell Test?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and poking around MediaPost, when I came across Tanya Gazdik’s Marketing Daily piece about a new ad gimmick debuting in Europe.

Remember Smell-O-Vision? It’s coming to billboards!

McDonald’s is trying it out in the Dutch cities of Utrecht and Leiden.

“The plain red and yellow billboards don’t use a single word or image to advertise McDonald’s offerings—and they don’t need to,” according to Fast Company. “Instead, the billboards pump out the aroma of warm french fries to passersby, who seem to instinctively know the scent of a McDonald’s french fry compared to any other form of fried potato.”

I dunno, Doc – kind of reeks of desperation, don’t you think?

– Odor Eater

Dear OE,

First off, this is shaping up to be the Year of the Billboard, no? It started with smackable billboards that dispense Heinz ketchup packets, as the Doc noted last month. Now it’s smellable billboards, which McDonald’s is promoting with this YouTube video.

The Mickey D billboards represent the olfactory extension of audio spotlight technology employed in supermarket advertising, which Evan I. Schwartz detailed in a 2004 MIT Technology Review piece: “Known as directional sound, it uses an ultrasound emitter to shoot a laserlike beam of audible sound so focused that only people inside a narrow path can hear it.”

Now we have directional smell. Ain’t progress grand. Then again, when someone comes up with Chanel N°Fry, you’ll know they’ve gone too far.

What’s Up With Those Heinz Billboards That Dispense Ketchup Packets?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and checking out MediaPost’s Marketing Daily, when I came across Erik Oster’s piece about a new hands-on approach to outdoor advertising.

Heinz Gets Confrontational With ‘Smack For Heinz’ Campaign

At Louis’ Lunch, in New Haven Connecticut, designated by the Library of Congress as the Birthplace of the Hamburger Sandwich itself (although the claim is, at best, unsubstantiated) “no ketchup” is a cardinal rule. Prominently placed signs near the register make the policy abundantly clear, and patrons who have attempted to bring their own bottle into the restaurant have been known to be unceremoniously tossed out of the establishment.

The historic hamburger hangout is just one of the places targeted as part of a “Smack For Heinz” campaign running across film, OOH, digital and social media elements on Instagram and TikTok. The brand installed “smackable billboards” that dispense ketchup packets outside restaurants known for their rules against the condiment.

I dunno, Doc. Is that how you want your condiments delivered? What’s next – a block of salt, a hammer, and a chisel?

– Talkin’ Smack

Dear TS,

Just to establish a baseline, that’s the sugar pourer in use at the Doc’s house. So we’re not exactly new-fangled in matters such as this one. Or slap-happy.

Regardless, here’s the Heinz spot, which begins outside Louis’ Lunch. According to MediaPost, “it appears the restaurant may have been closed during filming — and the billboards appearing in the initial launch video weren’t around for  long.  According to the New Haven Register, the billboard briefly appeared outside the restaurant on March 7, but was quickly removed.”

The ad also features several ketchup-scorning Chicago hot dog joints. According to Carolyn’s Cooking, a true Chicago-style hot dog is “topped with yellow mustard, bright green sweet pickle relish, chopped white onion, tomato wedges, a dill pickle spear, sport peppers and celery salt.” Not a ketchup bottle in sight.

As for Louis’ Lunch, here’s what the burger place says about its ketchup-busting policy.

Louis’ Lunch is committed to serving a classic hamburger that is made with a proprietary blend of five cuts of meat, ground fresh daily. We want you to experience the meat’s true flavor, so we serve it on white toast and only offer cheese, onion, and tomato as garnishes.

One person on Reddit said, “we were told that there was no ketchup in the 1800s so we couldn’t have it now.”

As Layla Schlack reports at the New Haven Register, “people will be able to use the website smackforheinz.com . . . to report restaurants that don’t serve Heinz ketchup. The company will set up the pop-up signs that dispense packets at a select number.” (That website is currently a placeholder, presumably until the official campaign’s debut on April 2nd.)

The Doc’s diagnosis: Smack For Heinz works on the billboards, but the website should really be snitchforheinz.com. Or would that leave a bad taste?

Really? An Ad Where Pubic Hairs Sing Out Against Body Shaming of Women?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and tooling around MediaPost’s Marketing Daily, when I came across this Todd Wasserman piece about a new ad from Gillette.

If you were waiting for a full-throated defense of pubic hair, this is your spot!

Gillette has released an ad, via Grey, New York, that celebrates the care women take in shaving their pubic region. The animated ad is a sequel to its spot last year that made a sort of “Schoolhouse Rock” take on the same subject.

Like the song in the first ad, the latest is sung from the point of view of a pubic hair.  “You can find tutorials for the masses for doing brows and curly lashes,” sings Princess Nokia. “But influencers won’t mention me. Is the word ‘pubic’ blasphemy?”

I don’t know from blasphemy, Doc, but the whole thing sure seems hair-raising to me.

– Razor Geezer

Dear Geezer,

Yeah, this one is definitely on the cutting edge.

But let’s not be trimmers (“a person who alters his or her opinions on the grounds of expediency”). Here’s the ad that ran last year.

You should watch the spot – it’s actually pretty clever.

This new ad, though, seems less clever than . . . um . . . assertive?

The Doc is quick to note that we are decidedly not the target market for this campaign, so what do we know. The reaction on YouTube is mixed, but definitely tilts positive.

So . . . let a thousand pubies bloom?

Why not.

Why Is Bill Nye The Science Guy Greenwashing for Coca-Cola?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and scrolling through MediaPost’s Marketing Daily, when I came across this report by Todd Wasserman.

Bill Nye Stars In Questionable Coke Ad

With Earth Day about two weeks away, Coca-Cola has released this video starring Bill Nye, who says that “together we can close the loop” on waste.

The video, by Mackinnon & Saunders, discusses “Creating a world without waste,” and an animatronic version of Nye talks about how we can reuse plastic. “It’s an amazing material,” he says.

In the three-minute video, Nye also says this: “The good people at the Coca-Cola company are dedicating themselves to addressing our global plastic waste problem. They know they have a responsibility to help solve this issue and their goal: A world without waste.”

Is this the real thing, Doc?

– Bull Nigh

Dear Bull,

Good question. Let’s look at the video, shall we?

Cute, engaging – and pretty much total propaganda, as Molly Taft details in this piece at Gizmodo.

Bill Nye, the Sellout Guy

In a new video, TV’s favorite scientist parrots hackneyed lines about “the good people at Coca-Cola” and their near-useless recycling efforts.

Bad news for everyone who loved watching Bill Nye the Science Guy during middle school science class: your fave is problematic. This week, Coca-Cola, one of the world’s biggest plastic polluters, teamed up with TV’s favorite scientist for a campaign to create a “world without waste,” a joke of a corporate greenwashing campaign.

In a video innocuously titled “The Coca-Cola Company and Bill Nye Demystify Recycling,” an animated version of Nye—with a head made out of a plastic bottle and his signature bow tie fashioned from a Coke label—walks viewers through the ways “the good people at the Coca-Cola company are dedicating themselves to addressing our global plastic waste problem.”

Problem is, as Taft notes, “[Coca-Cola] produces about 3.3 million U.S. tons of plastic packaging per year, and has been named one of the most polluting brands in the world by multiple different audits.”

Even worse:

Coca-Cola has also said it has no plans to stop producing single-use plastic, because, it claims, customers simply don’t want anything else. If Coke had a history of fighting for beneficial recycling policies, one ad might not be a problem, but representatives from the company were caught on tape as recently as 2019 lobbying against bottle bills that would reward customers for recycling but tack an extra charge onto the company.

To recap: Molly Taft’s Gizmodo piece on Coca-Cola’s recycling record is the pause that depresses.

The Doc’s antidote: Try one of these Ethical Soft Drinks listed by Moral Fibres.

(Once again: Dr. Ads is not a licensed physician. But bottoms up!)