Cultural warrior

Guerrilla warfare. From what I remember from those history classes I took years ago, there are people hiding in the woods, probably civilians, but organized enough that they were very effective in ambushing their enemies. It was a strategy that made a mark on any war in which the tactic made an appearance.

Business loves making reference to war in their strategies, and the advertising and marketing industry decided the sneak attack sounded promising. From this idea, guerrilla marketing was born: sneak up on your audience, get them when they are least suspecting and engage them in a way that is nearly impossible for them to forget the brand.

For the most part this is just fun and creative. It gets people's attentions and starts a conversation. A steaming man hole as a pot of coffee; a huge bottle of white out that apparently painted the lines for the crosswalk; the Red Bull Mini passing out cans of energy. But I think there is a power in this tactic that can really start a movement.

Enter The Girl Store by StrawberryFrog.

I noticed this campaign from the controversy it stirred up. Is it too provocative? I think not. I think it's exactly right. It gets you angry. You should be angry. This is something that we shouldn't just look away from; it's something we can't look away from once those beautiful brown eyes are staring you in the face.

The Girl Store from StrawberryFrog on Vimeo.

This isn't fun. It's real life, and it's presented in a way that the lucky people in America can understand (online shopping).

Sure, catching people off guard is a tactic that any advertiser can use. It's good for a laugh or a wow and gets some recognition. But I like this as an example, because it shows that advertising isn't always trying to win its own battle. Advertising can help fight for the people.

My Favorite Ad Campaign

I would be lying if I told you that my favorite ad campaign was something obscure and artsy. The truth is, I'm in love with the Smell Like a Man, Man campaign with Isaiah Mustafa. You know the one, the third most watched YouTube video of 2010. Look at the video, back at me, now back to the video.



The first time I saw this ad I actually looked at my man, back at him, back at my man, back at him. The husband wasn't impressed. Oh well, I'm the one who does the shopping. Which is exactly why I love this video. It's sexy, so the women are interested; it's manly enough that the men don't object. In fact, many men have a new role model.



It's not enough to just appeal to the ladies. Old Spice (and W+K) had problems. Old Spice was exactly that--old. For many years now, they've been fighting their position as your grandfather's aftershave. The brand was getting its ass kicked by Axe. Everyone knows sex sells, therefore Axe sells. Your grandfather does not.

I'm lucky enough to have gained a contact in Wieden + Kennedy, a strategic planner for this campaign. He gave me a little run down about how the Smell Like a Man, Man came to be. They started by trying to copy Axe, selling with sex. It wasn't working.



So then they tried decided to change it from "old" to "experienced" with a hilarious spot featuring Bruce Campbell.



The problem with this campaign was that they were having a difficult time presenting the different products and different scents. So they moved on. There was a slice of luck with Isaiah Mustafa being so charismatic, but the strategy is spot on.

Even the media strategy was genius. They took Twitter mentions and YouTube comments and turned them into YouTube responses. Zero media buy, limited production budget, huge impact. Every person that got mentioned spread that video as far as they could. It was brilliant.

From @TheEllenShow:


To the unknown Raondy, who doesn't need perfect grammar to be admired by the man:


Unbelievably effective advertising, which is why this has to be my favorite campaign.


Ice cream? yes please.