In what can only be described as a brilliant PR stunt, earlier this week Burger King publicly reached out to McDonald's with their proposal to create 'The McWhopper'. 

On Wednesday the fast food chain advertised their intent to combine their infamous burger with Mcdonald's iconic Big Mac. This would be for one day only to mark and raise awareness of Peace day, which is held annually on September 21. Apart from running ads in The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune, BK set up a dedicated website which suggested opening a pop-up restaurant with staff from both companies creating and selling 'The McWhopper’.  Naturally the sales would be donated with 'Peace One Day' being identified as the charity of choice.

Shortly afterwards, Mcdonald's ceremoniously declined the offer on their Facebook page, stating “We love the intention but think our two brands could do something bigger to make a difference.” This was both a sly dig at Burger king and a statement that begrudgingly recognised the brilliance of their closest rival's marketing ploy. 



Many voiced their opinions of the proposed collaboration on social networks. According to social media tracking firm, Spredfast, Burger King has been mentioned in conversation 42 per cent more than McDonald’s. Moreover, the hashtag ‘#McWhopperProposal’ was used 9,198 times with ‘#McWhopper’ in second with 8,341 mentions and ‘#SettletheBeef’ in third with 2,882.

The fast-food chain saw an opportunity to use social media not only to promote the brand's CSR, but also take a clever jab at its main competitor. As Jim Rudden, chief marketing officer of Spredfast, puts it; 

“This move is on-brand for Burger King...consumers love to see brands having some fun with one another on social media...Social media can be a real catalyst for change and this is an example of that. They've got my attention, for sure." 

But as much as I think it is an excellent PR stunt, part of me can't but resent the fact 'The McWhopper' will never be made. And I don't think I am alone in my disappointment.

Centred on the idea of 'Discovery', Apple has launched its first campaign for Apple Music. The three new ads are part of Apple's ongoing attempt to differentiate itself from market-leader Spotify. Despite having its own online radio station, Beats1, and signing exclusive release deals with popular artists like Taylor Swift, the platform is still struggling to lure users away from its more established rivals. As a result Apple have now turned their attention to their service's unique ability to help us discover new music (even though I am pretty sure that is what Spotify Radio is for?).

The three ads, by TBWA\Media Arts Lab, are 60-second spots which feature up and coming artists such as James Bay and Leon Bridges, as well as relatively unknown acts like Flo Morrissey and Ibeyi. The ads are shot in black and white thus stripping away the air of stardom and allowing viewers to connect with both the ad and the artists.

The feauture ad, 'Discovery', has the type of voiceover that one has become accustom when watching an Apple ad. Once again the narrator is able to take a simple concept like, new music discovery, and turn it into something so abstract and profound. Coupled with the naked portrayal of the artists, TBWA\Media Arts Lab is capturing the experiential nature of music, suggesting Apple Music is more than just a streaming service; Apple music understands the artists. It understands the fans. It understands music!

The other two ads feature artists. The first one James Bay and the other Norwegian producer Kygo. These ads are only 30 seconds but stay true to the theme of the longer "Discovery" spot. The ads feature the artists' music and a brief overlay of their Apple Music pages highlighting the connect feature. They then end with the strapline which all three ads share; 

“All the artists you love and are about to love. All in one place.”

This new move by Apple has come at a time when skeptics have suggested that Apple have missed the 'streaming' boat. However, recent events suggest there might still be hope. It's exclusive release of Dr Dre's first album in 16 years, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard charts, was streamed 25 million times in its first week on the music platform. So I guess only time will tell if Apple can live up to its position as"the next evolution in music". And if these ads are anything to go by they might yet silence their critics.

After the launch of their TV ad for their global "mankind" campaign in July, AirBnB have now began their out-door campaign. Ensuring that the adverts speak with a single voice,the posters echo the sentiments of the TV advert, which features a baby walking towards a windowed door as a voiceover invites viewers to explore the essence of mankind.  The ads want us to find out how kind the people of this world are by.......sleeping in someone else's bed? Ok, say what you want about the underlying message, but how the message has been presented is intriguing.

The posters typically feature two things; the brand logo and the hashtag. Some people may think that TBWA\Chiat\Day had run out of advertising ideas, but far from it. Often an ad can say too much and requires so much thought on the part the viewer that he/she becomes disinterested. On the contrary, these posters epitomise simplicity. One logo, One hashtag. And in some cases its either one or the another. Instead of boring the individual, it piques their interest. What is this mankind thing all about? Even if you had seen the TV ad you still might not put two and two together, so you are equally left bemused.  The technique being employed here is "pull" marketing. As modern consumers we don't just sit back and let the adverts tell what the best products are, we find that out for ourselves. TBWA\Chiat\Day are utilising our new found desire to be in the know by inviting us to go exploring. By saying very little and just giving us a hashtag, they are coaxing us to pull out our smartphones and search for it on twitter. You can look at this in two ways: Clever marketing or lazy marketing. I for one think it's genius!

Companies better not underestimate the power of social media after recent events saw average joe, Dan May, pit two of the biggest mobile companies up against each other. The end result was O2 grovelling at Mr May's feet. Well ok, they didn't exactly grovel but they did give him free pizza for a year!


So what happened?


The saga all started when O2 offered its Twitter followers free pizzas delivered to their offices.


It was simple, all they had to do was was reply to O2's message with their location and a hashtag, and then a lucky few would win the pizza.




Danny boy thought he would try his luck and won, but no pizza followed. Disappointed and hungry he took to twitter to share his dismay with his phone company, threatening to leave.

Sensing a moment for a PR stunt, rival mobile company Three swooped in to save the day, sending Dan some pizzas while throwing in their #makeitright hashtag in the process. Genius.




Realising their mistake O2 ceremoniously apologised and were forced to go all out by offering Dan free pizza for a year.



However, the damage had been done. Three have been painted as a cool brand who live up to their tagline #MakeItRight, and probably picked up a few more twitters followers along the way. Sadly, O2 are seen as the villain who make promises they can't keep, which is not the perception you want as company who is in the business of selling pricey phone contracts.

The lesson to be learnt here is take you social presence seriously and monitor how you appear to the consumer on all media platforms. And for goodness sake, if you promise someone free pizza you better make good on that promise!

Just as people are jetting off all around the world in search of their piece of the sun, Amazon have launched their #haveKINDLEwillTRAVEL advertising campaign in the UK. Rather than just capitalising on the "catching up on some reading" fever which infects many a holidaymaker; Amazon are promoting the Kindle as the ideal companion for the modern globe trotter. The kindle is being advertised as the essential accessory for the hipster's travelling kit, and in an attempt to paint this picture, the ads feature subjects who clearly subscribe to this in-vogue bohemian lifestyle. The broadsheet newspaper ad features a young mum and toddler reading a kindle as they travel around South America in a camper van (I don't think you can get more hipster than that!). Or you may have seen the posters dotted around London's underground. These  show a young girl a stones throw away from the minarets of Istanbul rocking oversized headphones, ripped skinny jeans, and oh, of course her kindle. The message is a simple, yet convincing one. You too can be as cool as these guys. All you need is a kindle. 

The use of organic, real-life photos in these adverts and their 'too cool for school' subjects, are not the essence of this campaign's brilliance. It is Amazon's use of social media. Amazon want you and I to spread the message and help them to convince our peers that travelling without a Kindle is like travelling without a passport. It can't be done! A lot of companies are only just coming round to the idea of using twitter to get people involved in their campaigns, let alone Instagram! However, the online retail company is truly tech savvy and is fully embracing the reach that the photo-based social network has. Using the handle @AmazonKindle, Amazon are posting images of the kindle taking in the sights in different locations around the world. At the same time they are encouraging Kindle owners to post their ‘Kindle travel’ pics using the hashtag #haveKINDLEwillTRAVEL. The company who realised that they could out price highstreet retailers by going online, have also cottoned on that social media is also a money saver. Inviting your paying customers to spread your message is not only cost effective, but due to social media's global reach, a domestic message such as this has the chance to go international. Looks like Amazon might be onto something ;) 

Yes, he's back! After a hiatus of almost 18 months Gio Campario, played by Welsh actor Wynne Evans, has returned to grace our TV screens once more.

The return of the star of Britain's most annoying TV advert was precipitated by a 24-hour series of on-screen teasers, before the full length ad was aired during ITV's Surprise Surprise. 

Personally, I thought that upon his return I would be running for the hills, but there is something about the opera singer that is soo infectious!  He is officially Britain's marmite, but the only problem is we can't decide whether we love him or hate him!

Why is that? Well, the advertisers behind the campaign knew what they are doing. But after you read how they did it, they might need to go into witness protection!

Put simply, they wanted to annoy you. These guys sat down and conceived of the best way to disrupt your TV watching experience. They saw it as the only way they were going to get your attention in age of social media.

Nowadays, we seldom find ourselves with the need to sit and watch the ads on TV because there is such much going on in cyberspace. During the ad breaks we all reach into our pockets and pull our smart phones to find out what new excuses our "friends" have come up with to take yet another selfie. 

So how are advertisers going to compete with our smart phones, tablets, and laptops....by playing dirty!  The sound of Gio bellowing out his infamous line "Go compare, Go compare" is enough to raise the head of any digital native!  The song is annoying enough to get stuck in our heads and for us to share our annoyance with friends.

Therefore, from the advertisers' perspective they have done their job. They have got our attention. We are able to recall the ad and the company. And most importantly, we are sharing this information with others. You have to admit its pretty clever! But that still doesn't explain how after they have got our attention they were able to keep it?

Throwing some humour into the mix is always a good start. The clever thing about this campaign was that the advertisers embraced the fact that they had potentially created the world's most annoying TV ad. Watching people who are equally annoyed by the singer attempting to get rid of him in the most elaborate and funny ways, keeps us involved in the campaign and we find ourselves actually enjoying the ads.

But this was not enough for these advertisers, they wanted to use our own feeling against us. Watching Gio repeatedly being down trodden, leaves one feeling, dare I say it, sorry for him. Yes, without us knowing it the villain we all loved to hate managed to find his way into our hearts. Even though you think Simon Cowell can be a right *bleep* sometimes, you know that X factor was never the same without him. And I think the small screen has felt the void left by the big welshman.

So, begrudgingly, one says "Welcome Back Gio!"