Safety Becomes Sexy

Virgin Atlantic's new #VXsafetydance video is tearing up the internet, with over 6,5 million views just a few days after its release. "It is interesting. Addictive. Highschool-Musical-ish" describes Aden Hepburn, one of the guest writers of Digital Buzz. Taking the form of a musical, the safety video celebrates the experience of flying, with a focus on the fundamentals of safety that only a company like Virgin can pull off. 

Few companies have the musical roots that Virgin has. It's that background which gave the company its hook for the video. But it's also the company's focus on the customer that gives Virgin an edge. They want the experience to be different for Virgin customers than it is on other airlines. Virgin is a company with a culture that invents new ways of connecting with people; they are first and foremost appealing to customers more than anything else. 

And whilst Virgin (by law) has to show its passengers safe practices for flying, there is no Federal Aviation (FAA) rule that says the damn things have to be something that reminds us of some soulless bureaucracy. As explained by Alex Williams of TechCrunch:

"Consider the world we live in and it's sometimes astounding how little fun there is in the way the enterprise treats its customers. 'Big data' helps feed 'human capital management solutions'. 'Social media' is a cure all and 'private clouds' help technology companies sell hardware for what amounts to glorified data centers. The terms are just meaningless. Maybe it's time to ditch the mumbo jumbo double speak and just get up and dance."

I think it is a big, big win! 

Have a look at the behind the scenes. It gives some incredibly interesting insight into the motivation behind the video and the complexities of how it was produced. 

Selling with Selfies!

This print campaign, which was awarded a silver at this year's Cannes Lions is one of my most recent favorites. Created by Lowe Cape Town, the campaign uses doctored photographs to prove that "you can't get any closer to the news". It has been dubbed the "selfies" campaign, because of the obvious nature of the photograph - whereby some of history's most famous appear to be taking "self portraits". The ads feature Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, Jackie and John F Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Beyers Naude, Desmond Tutu and the iconic Times Square kiss. 

People magazine in the US described the campaign as a "new take on iconic photos" and "if history took a selfie". 

The agency had this to say about the campaign, "Every journalist knows the key to a great story is getting it, as they say, straight from the horse's mouth. A first hand account. Not from bystanders or passersby, but from the person, or people, who are at the heart of the story. In this way journalists are able to provide much more detailed, in-depth and insightful accounts, which consequently means readers are better informed. every story deserves a first-hand account."

Later on this year, Lowe Cape Town released a radio extension of the 'selfies' campaign. What it aimed to do put the newsmaker at the centre of each story, and had them deliver the report themselves. The two ads below feature Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille and former ANC Youth League president, Julius Malema. 

Do you know what your marketing is doing? Adobe is here to help!

Releasing their new 'Marketing Cloud', Adobe humorously makes the case that their new product's suite of services - from campaign analytics to media optimization and more - could help you avoid disastrously misinterpreting customer data and give you a better handle on just who, exactly, is clicking those banner ads of yours. The fictional product in the spot - a set of hardbound encyclopedias - is the kind that seems unlikely to enjoy a sudden sales spike. But that's just what happens - or at least appears to happen. The punch like at the end of the ad reminds you not to make too many assumptions where your marketing is concerned. "Do you know what your marketing is doing? We can help!"

The spot was created by San Francisco agency Goodwill, Silverstein and Partners, and features Oscar nominated Michael Lerne (over-eager, but under-educated Encyclopedia CEO). Enjoy!