Mac vs Mac?

As I sat back bored by my girlfriend’s irrational obsession with Heroes and related crap Monday night tv, the sudden sight of a rotund, balding clay figure lightened up my otherwise, mind-numbing night of heroes vs. villains. It wasn’t Santa, who widened my eyes with delirious holiday joy – but, Mr PC dressed in his snowflake sweater.

His endearing character, brown insurance salesman-like clothing, lack of reasoning, and look of incompetence has made him the unlikely hero of the Mac ads. “Mac” on the other hand, played by the smug Justin Long, doesn’t have any endearing qualities.

So I find it strange that Apple pays money for these ads to be produced – and not Microsoft. Sure, “Mac” is a great representation of the classic Mac consumer – white, mid-20s, and deliberately dorky. But is Apple trying to market Macs to already-bought-into-the-unstoppable-machine Mac fans or is it trying to sell to non-Mac users to grow market share?

TBWA/Chiat/Day – the architect of the campaign – has created a character to represent a rival company that has a deeper, more complex, more loveable character than the client’s representative character. So if you can’t feel attached to “Mac,” why would you buy a Mac? Perhaps, Apple should rethink “Mac” when their growth has flat-lined, the economic recession is haunting the country, and PCs – which have maintained 7% growth – continue to be the cheaper option.

A 'Whopper' of a Mistake?

Burger King has gone all out on a path that was recently taken by Dunkin’. This time however Burger King has decided to take its taste test (Whopper vs. Big Mac) to the “Whopper Virgins” of the world: Transylvanian farmers, Thai Hmong tribesman and Greenland Inuit. What an idea!!!

Various world food groups and human rights groups have denounced the ads , created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, calling them ignorant and offensive, amongst other things. The word "colonialism" and "orientalism" have also popped up a few times.

Some industry people believe the ad campaign is merely to create controversy. Clearly, BK underestimated the level of negative reaction that would be generated. Like Dunkin’ BK already has a strong brand. A controversy about its ads exploiting ethnic groups could never be thought as being in line with its brand strategy.

I am thinking more about Whoppers today than I normally do but I’m also thinking of Burger King in a completely different light – one that is neither positive nor appetizing.

In a world of ever-growing political correctness is it safe for powerful brands to go out and push the boundaries or is this solely for the ‘new brands on the block’ that have less to lose? Will you always be upsetting somebody no matter how you advertise, or are there just certain boundaries that you don’t cross?

It's Great Coffee (statistically speaking)

How many times do companies need to tell us what tastes good, or in this case, 16% better?

TV, radio, print and the Internet have been bombarded recently by the "Dunkin' tastes better than Starbucks" ads. But the fact that Dunkin' took this oft-traveled road has surprised me. People inherently are connected to a brand through emotion, not statistics. This has been proven with many a failed brand-building attempt especially in the cosmetic and household cleaning markets.

So what is different this time? First of all Dunkin' is a very strong brand. A new entrant into the "Morning Cup of Joe" market advertising this way would get little positive results. Secondly, Dunkin' has gone all out. Their website Dunkinbeatstarbucks supports the other media well with anti-Starbucks propaganda and the ability to send an ecard to your friends convincing them to stop drinking Starbucks(I hope my friends have less time on their hands).

So perhaps the campaign isn't as clear cut as showing statistics and trashing the other brand. Dunkin' have intelligently created an emotional connection by 'rallying up the fans' and declaring war on overpriced coffee(a few cents more than Dunkin') , comfortable seats and ambient lighting. With the way the economy is going more people may be turning to the cheaper, less flashy alternative for their morning cup of coffee.