FineTune... can't find a tune.

FineTune is pretty good, but it's no Pandora. I was playing around with FineTune and I am sort of an indie music fan, so I search one of my fave bands and found to my surprise it was not available. So I began searching some more and they didn't have quite a few bands I really love, like Susanna and the Magical Orchestra.

Before Pandora became ilegal in Canada*, I had an awesome time creating my little profile of music on it! It made wonderful suggestions, introduced me to many new bands and versions of songs I didn't even know existed! I could literally type in ANY band and it would compile a huge list of similar bands using the music genome project, a mathematic system for determining musical similarities.

The case of Pandora really shows off how the internet can bring us all together, but also tear us apart.

*Because of licensing restrictions, Pandora is available only to users whose location is reported to be in the USA by Pandora's geolocation software.

Social Media for the Win?

Apparently! Barack Obama has changed the way people win elections in the United States. Using social media to expand his campaign into new and untested media strategies. At the end of the campaign, using Facebook he was able to out perform John McCain as follows:
Traffic to his own website: 2x
Total # of YouTube viewers: 4x
Facebook Friends: 5x
Online Staff: 10x

It turns out that social media is a useful tool! Who could have guessed?

Kit Kat Guerilla

The Kit Kat Bench is pretty awesome! I would try to eat it. Or at least attempt to lick it. This isn't the only example of guerrilla marketing, but it is one of the most interesting I've seen. Kit Kat developed more than one bench. They don't usually have a whole lot of outrageous advertising, but lately they have begun branching out. Who doesn't like Billboard Extensions? The simple addition of a snowboarder has turned this simple billboard from ordinary into guerrilla advertising.

This new Kit Kat campaign is the first in an all new and unexplored advertising campaign that they are trying out. In Australia it seems they have invented a new game complete with mascot. It will help promote the launch of their brand extension "cookies and creme kit kat" and the game is Jenga with CANDY! You can play it online with Hans Fagerlund. The new game is called Chunga!

The agency has developed a completely integrated campaign including TV spots, facebook apps and online content. They have created an entire backstory for the lead character and made him into a celebrity for the campaign.

The campaign doesn't really seem to incorporate the guerilla advertising benches that were created, but it's all an example of the new direction that Kit Kat is trying to get into. For years kit kat ads have been a little "out there" and now they have ventured into beyong their comfort zone. Kudos to you Kit Kat... now all you have to do is sit back and wait for more.

Note: The Whopper Sacrifice has been shut down.

The Angry Whopper?

What is Burger King doing to itself?

First the Angry Whopper and now the Whopper Sacrafice (What others have to say)? It's too bizarre to handle. Burger King has taken many strange turns over the last few years, with the introduction of the actual Burger King, who makes appearances at drive through windows, pool parties and sporting events. Now they have created an "Angry Whopper" a spicy variation of the old favorite that has brought with it an interesting if not misguided campaign. The thing that interested me most was the variations they chose to display among the different cultures. The British and Canadian ads are nearly identical, save a few british accents. The ads that were featured in the US were selling the Angry Onions. The German campaign on the other hand is filled with leather and bondage, not something I associate with my fast food restaurants.

I understand the need to tailor the message to each cultural audience, but what is with the deal with German fetish ads? It seems out of character for Burger King who are usually a little quirky and silly.

What is it about Germany that keeps Advertisers on the toes of their spike heels? Is Germany a cultural mystery for us or is more research necessary? Have we possibly found their Kryptonite and are exploiting it for our own sick devices?

I wish I knew which Agency produced these ads and which research techniques they employed to discover the fetish culture of the German people.

It turns out that after a little digging it was a Miami based Ad Agency known as Crispin, Porter + Bogusky that came up with the Return of the King... the Burger King that is, they also created a viral campaign devoted to the "Subservient Chicken". They were also the clever masterminds behind the new Angry Whopper campaign and the mysterious variations therein. Many blooger have declared the ads a triumph, but it still begs the question: What's with all the leather?