It doesn’t really matter which side you fall on regarding Arizona’s controversial illegal immigration law, this ad from a tourism marketing group just over the border was just plain dumb.

[tweetmeme source="admavericks"]

It seems the Tourism Promotion Commission of Sonora, the Mexican state bordering Arizona, thought it would be a good idea to promote tourism by feeding off of the recent Arizona law controversy. A second ad, which followed this teaser the next day in the same paper added the words “Who Want to Have a Great Time” and a reflection of beachgoers in the binoculars made a little more sense (not much), but was still intimidating.

It’s not news that Mexico has an image problem right now. Drug trafficking. Kidknapping. Corrupt police. Gang violence. Much of it is spilling over our borders. So, let’s show an intimidating camo-wearing “watcher” to represent “a great time?”  Not sure which demographic target this campaign appeals to. Maybe the adventurist teens who have always dreamed of becoming a low-level drug runner?

The sad part is, if you visit their website, you get the feeling that Sonora is probably one of the more entertaining and safe parts of Mexico for tourists.

Hey Sonora, round us up some tickets and accomodations for a January trip there and we’d be happy to help strategize with you by the pool with a fruity drink. Until then, we have to congratulate you on being our Worst of the Week.

Author: AdMavericks
www.lessingflynn.com

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

One of our employees left to get his oil changed over lunch today at this Valvoline Instant Oil Change in Clive, Iowa.  His car was serviced at around 11:50.

While he was there, an employee told him, “Your battery is going to die at any time, now. We recommend you replace it.”

He was then presented this piece of paper and was told that the voltage or “juice” left in his battery was low. They handed the piece of paper to him like this:

Then, they made the mistake of giving him the readout to keep, which he unfolded later at the office.

Click the image and check the time stamp on the receipt: 11:18 a.m.

He noticed this when he returned to the office. Then he called Valvoline to ask them about it. He told them about the time stamp issue. He was told by a manager “If the battery tester equipment’s timestamp is off, it’s due to low batteries for the tester.  To which he responded. “Then how accurate are your tests?” Then the manager said, it could be a daylight savings error. To which he replied “Then it would have been 10:18 a.m. because it was an hour off (spring forward).

Sound fishy? When companies do these types of things to a customer, whether with a fake/inaccurate battery test or an air filter that isn’t even their customer’s, they lose trust. Something Valvoline promises.

To add injury to insult, on the way out, Valvoline suggested that he use a coupon for battery replacement service when he returned for his next oil change – at least three months from now.

Wouldn’t it have been better for the manager to invite the customer back to watch as they retest the battery in front of him?

Congrats, Valvoline Instant Oil Change, you’re our Worst of the Week!

Author: Ad Mavericks
www.lessingflynn.com

Never before has winning a marketing or advertising award led us to a Worst of the Week nominee … until today. The Iowa Chapter of the American Marketing Association held their annual NOVA Awards last night, recognizing some of the top results-driven marketing ideas in Iowa. The show, themed “Results are Beautiful” featured beauty queen photo op cutouts, impromptu harmonica, hula-hoop, ribbon dancing and juggling acts and … a dancing transvestite. But it wasn’t until the end of the show, when we witnessed Lessing-Flynn‘s own Jess Held take the stage after winning the “Best of Show” award that things hit rock bottom!  Watch the video (and hang with it until the end) and we think you’ll agree.

[tweetmeme source="admavericks"]

Congratulations to all the winners last night!  And congrats Jess, you’re our worst of the week!

Direct Marketing: Marsh U.S. Consumer

Non-Profit Campaign: Planned Parenthood of the Heartland

B2B Campaign: SHAZAM

Interactive – Social Media: The Members Group

Interactive – Website: Trilix

Special Event/Conference: Lessing-Flynn

Consumer Campaign: Marsh U.S. Consumer

Public Relations Campaign: Pella Corporation

Integrated Campaign: Hellman Associates

Best of Show: Lessing-Flynn (Special thanks to our friends at Ag Leader for working with us on this fun project … and overlooking Jess’s dance “skills”.)

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

No matter what you think of Iowa Governor Chet Culver and the wise band of bumblers who spend a few months every winter under the golden dome just east of downtown Des Moines (and we’re talking about both sides of the aisle here), at least they didn’t hatch a plan to scare the crap out of tax delinquents like the fine elected officials from Pennsylvania.

[tweetmeme source="admavericks"]

Check this out (yes, it’s a real spot):

If that’s not bad enough, listen to the radio spot here.  And, visit the website here. Every state in the country is hurting for revenue right now. And there are definitely people who don’t feel the need to pay their fair share in taxes (although we’re of the opinion here that we’re all forking out enough money to the government, they’re just stupid in how they spend it).  However, if you really know who the offenders are, why not just stop by and pick up your check … and save all the money you’re spending on media to scare the 85+% of the people who are law abiders.

We’ve gotta give some major props to Brushfire – a New Jersey based ad agency who was not only able to win the business over every ad agency in the state of Pennsylvania (where have we seen this before?) but also able to sell this concept to the layers of state decision makers. It’s definitely a bold, attention-getting message.  But playing the George Orwell card?  In a time when there is more distrust in our government system than there has been in a long time, calling your citizens criminals, scofflaws and mooches is just over the top. Anyone disagree?

Luckily, bad boy Pittsburg quarterback, Ben Rothlisberger has been making news lately, or this would be the lead headline for weeks.

Congrats Pennsylvania, you’re our worst of the week.

Author: Ad Mavericks
www.lessingflynn.com
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

This week’s Worst of the Week was recommended by a 20ish year-old, Europe-dwelling style queen who just happens to be a relative of one of the Ad Mavericks.  Yep, she’s from the same audience that the campaign targets – an easy-to manipulate, youthful wannabe who believes her Fabio is just outside the dressing room door, waiting for her to walk out in a new pair of smokin’ hot Diesel jeans.  I’m proud to say – she ain’t buying it!

[tweetmeme source="admavericks"]

In her words … this campaign is  ”incredibly stupid.”

So, imagine you’re a jeans company marketing director looking for a new campaign.  One that’s provocative enough to attract the trendy, rebellious youth market.  One that can stand out against the attention-whoring of competitors like Calvin Klein.  One that can help you sell a $30 pile of denim for two hundred bucks or more.  After all, you’re selling image, not jeans, right?

Then, your ad agency unveils their big idea.  The creative concept that’s going to blow away the responsible adults of tomorrow.  One that’s going to have the double-decaders stupified into forking out the big bucks for a pair of denims.  But Brett Favre Wrangler cool? No, this is geared toward the People magazine-reading crowd who dream about a lifestyle that is void of rational thoughts like: “Wow, isn’t two hundred bucks for a pair of jeans a little over the top when I’m a poor college kid scooping peanut butter out of the jar with a spoon for dinner?”

They unveil the themeline to end all themelines:   “Be Stupid.”

I’m asking people to buy a $200+ pair of jeans and you’re telling them to be stupid?  You hit that nail on the head!

Remember that kid in school who tried so hard to be cool?  They hung around the cool kids. They wore the coolest clothes. They drove the coolest car. But you knew they just weren’t that cool. That’s this campaign. Sorry Diesel, you’re just trying too hard.

In fact, if you’re feeling especially stupid, you can check out all the rest of the stupidity here.

Congratulations to Diesel … you’re our worst of the week!

Author: AdMavericks
www.lessingflynn.com

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

First we hear that AT&T has called for a retreat from its battle with Verizon on who’s 3G coverage is better. Now AT&T has introduced a new social network-y recommendation thingy that integrates with your other social networks so you can recommend restaurants and dentists to your friends (hey, that’s what they say in their video).  What’s the name for this masterpiece?

[tweetmeme source="admavericks"]

Buzz.com.

Not to be confused with recently launched Google Buzz, or earlier, Yahoo Buzz … or the dozens of other “Buzzes” that seem to emerge hourly.

First of all, don’t people already use Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, Amazon, TripAdvisor others to provide recommendations to their friends?  Welcome to the dance AT&T … now could you grab that mop in the corner and help clean up?

But the worst thing is, for all the marketing resources AT&T has to pour into launching and marketing a new brand … the best they could do is a brand name that has already been taken by two of the giants of the internet (and countless other online communities)?  Can you say lame? Confusing? Redundant?

So, we’ve decided to take our Worst of the Week in a slightly different, more proactive direction this week. We’re asking you to put on your marketing hat and give us your best suggestions of what you’d name a new social media recommendation platform from one of the largest companies in the world.  No doubt, when the marketing gurus at AT&T call us asking to buy your idea, we’ll happily split it with you 50/50.

Until then, congrats AT&T … you’re our worst of the week.

Imagine going on your local Hy-Vee grocery store, pushing your cart through the aisles, stocking up on food for your family for the next week or two.  Just as you reach the last aisle and with your basket almost full, an announcement comes over the intercom:

“Due to economic conditions, Hy-Vee will now begin charging $25 for the use of our grocery carts.  Thank you.”

Seems ridiculous, right?  But that’s exactly what social network service Ning essentially did this week when they announced that they would no longer support the free social network service that most of its users have used to establish their own niche “facebook” type online communities.

[tweetmeme source="admavericks"]

How do you blow through 120 million dollars in venture capital funding over six years years with only 170 employees?  Give the Ad Mavericks that kind of dough and we could start a vegetable garden in our parking lot that would have a better return.

Never heard of Ning?  There’s a good chance you’ve seen or even joined one of their more than 2 million community sites.  Meredith (one of the largest magazine publishers in the world) has used Ning sites to build niche online communities – like their 3,000+ member  Farmers for the Future community site.  The new 200+ member Des Moines Social Media Club also built their networking site using Ning.  Ning communities range from those with more than a half-million members, to those with fewer than a dozen and they cross nearly every industry – from healthcare to government to employment to movie fans.

The problem is, Ning didn’t just abandon those smaller networks that were using their service for free (and allowing Ning to sell advertising on the sites), but also has shaken the confidence of even their premium networks that supposedly won’t be affected.  Bad move … unless, perhaps, you’re looking to clean up the financials and preparing to sell out to someone who has already figured out how to convert online eyeball counts into cash.

Do companies have the right to change their businesses in order to increase profit?  Of course they do. But when you make changes so significant that it completely changes the relationship you have with your customers, that’s a sign that your business wasn’t really a business.  It was an idea looking for a business plan.

Note to venture capitalists: if you’re looking for a better place to invest your money, you may want to check out the place Forbes Magazine just named best place for business in the U.S.  You might even find startups that are looking to generate a profit rather than just another round of funding.

Congrats Ning, you’re our worst of the week.

Author: AdMavericks
www.lessingflynn.com

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few days, Tiger Woods is playing in his first golf tournament since falling “victim” to an overzealous press corps that uncovered his multiple extra-marital affairs.  Yep, the same Tiger Woods whose highly-polished image helped make Nike a major player in the golf equipment and apparel business a decade ago.

[tweetmeme source="admavericks"]

So, what does Nike do?  They roll out the Tammy Wynette “Stand By Your Man” tune and run a tv spot that paints Tiger as a shamed victim being lectured by  the voice of his deceased father.  Is that really what you want your brand associated with?  If you haven’t seen it, here it is:

What were you thinking Nike?  You use the voice of Earl Woods’ voice to dress down his son, then present a sad and shamed Tiger like he’s some clueless little child who just got caught with his hand in the candy jar at the local soda shop. Oh, and make sure people see the logo!

Poor Tiger … WAIT!  He’s a 32 year-old billionaire with an army of aides and PR handlers who have carefully shaped his pristine persona as the world’s perfect role model for more than a decade – only to see it fall apart when Tiger is caught with his pants down (literally and figuratively).

Puhlease!!! Give us all a break, Nike, from this ridiculous melodrama … from the “bad guy as victim” mentality … from the advertising and PR shills out there claiming this is the most brilliant, creative ad in modern advertising.  Are you kidding?  This isn’t even the best ad Nike has done.

Hey Nike, it’s not your job to rehabilitate Tiger’s image!  It’s his job to create an image that you want associated with yours!  An image of champion.  Of the ultimate competitor.  Of integrity.  Not one of shame and victimhood.  That’s how endorsement marketing works.

There are so many better and more inspiring people and heros you could have used to represent your brand right now.  And, by not using Tiger in your ad, you’d have been making an even bigger statement to your customers and fans – without insulting and abandoning half of your audience – women – who you’re basically telling “guys will be guys … you’ve just gotta learn to deal with it.”  (Not to say that there aren’t a lot of guys who feel insulted by the trivialization as well).

Was this spot risky.  Yes.  Was this spot brilliant?  Far from it.  It got a lot of people talking (again) about an arrogant, selfish athlete who broke what should be the most important relationship he should have in his life.  And you want to associate that with your brand?

Congrats Nike … you’re our worst of the week!

This story didn’t get any better from our original post on February 5. In fact it got worse. Here’s our Chairman, Connor T. Flynn Jr. with his debut blog post. You know if the old man is blogging, he’s pissed. Without further adieu….

[tweetmeme source="admavericks"]

Nearly 75% of US citizens use the internet.

42% of Americans have broadband connections at home, and the vast majority of Americans have access to broadband somewhere.

The US Postal Service is dropping Saturday mail delivery because usage of “snail mail” by US citizens has plunged significantly.

There’s a huge movement in this country to move to a paperless society.

And now the US Census Results are in …

• One month after the census is launched, 52% of US citizens respond.
• One month from now we will spend more than $1-billion to pay hundreds of thousands of census workers to chase non-responders all over the country.
• 50% participation? … in a day when we’re better “connected” than ever before in the history of this country?
• Pathetic!!

So, I ask …

Why are we still using mostly 1950s strategies and tactics to drive a 2010 campaign that screams for efficiency, speed and convenience?

Why send us a first class letter to make sure Americans are aware the census form is arriving?  Then, one week later, send another first class mailing to deliver the census?

Why spend millions of dollars in boring newspaper ads, TV commercials and other traditional media venues

… instead of engaging, recruiting and incentivizing traditional media and venues to participate in the process

… instead of pushing out a social media action plan that works (Are you kidding me? … 4,000 face book followers out of 300-million people

… instead of incentivizing individuals through social media and other online options.

And I’m just getting started!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations, US Census, you are our “Worst of the Week” – AGAIN!

Author: Connor T. Flynn Jr.
www.lessingflynn.com
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

So, how lame is this?  For at least the tenth straight year, and while everyone else in town is dusting to make room on their award shelves and swimming in the ink of recent press clippings, Lessing-Flynn was shut out at the Ad Pro’s Des Moines Addy Awards. An overwhelming 132 awards this year and we’ve got nothing to put on the fridge … again?  It’s possibly the longest losing streak in advertising history!

Is this what you’d expect from the oldest agency in Iowa?  An agency for decades led by Roy “Tuffy” Flynn, former Des Moines Advertising Club “Ad Man of the Year”?

What could be worse than losing in a competition where there are 21 winners of 132 awards?  That’s like being the last kid in line when they pass out those green “participation” ribbons at the grade school field days, only to have the teacher run out of ribbons when they get to you.

But failure leads to success right?  So, we thought we’d share some insights from this year’s awards and our years of failure:

Apparently it sometimes takes more layers of creative talent than you’d expect to develop award-winning creative.  Our founder, Paul Lessing once said (post-humuously): “Extra layers are only good when you’re talking about cake or chickens.” A quick gander through some of the credits for posters, ads, binders, etc. in the award winners book proves that wrong!

A hat tip to part-time Twitter comedian Matt Meszaros from Strategic America for the preciseness of his copywriting on the beer tap handles and to the rest of the team that worked on this project! Wondering if they had to make sure the tap handles worked in a real world setting?

A big shout out to Saturday Mfg. Who would have thought a manufacturer and a bunch of factory foremen could steal the show from a town full of advertising wonks with 22 creative awards?  Congrats!  You win our “Sayles Up and Comer” Award.  At $70 a pop for entries (we think), and estimating even a stellar 50% win rate (which would be awesome) that’s more than $3,000.  Makes us feel pretty cheap for taking clients to Jethro’s for lunch on “half-price wings” Tuesdays!

Leave it to ZLR and their oversized air bag to sneak out with the Best of Show award.  But if I had to put my anti-gambling money on anyone, might as well be them!

To paraphrase a Hillary Clinton quote: “It takes a village to be creative.”  Our friends at Red Dot do a great job of listing all their villagers in each of their 21 wins. Hey, it’s all about giving credit and recognition to your peeps, right?  And we thought dressing “Goose” up in a too-snug flight suit and aviators was recognition enough.  Obviously not!

An apology to the folks at Community Choice Credit Union for naming you Worst of the Week months ago for the long-standing Bills campaign.  After so many years, we thought people may be getting tired of the big guys wearing Sharpie-marked t-shirts … but obviously people can’t get enough of those guys!

And a special thanks to the folks at the Iowa Lottery … not for anything related to this year’s Addy’s … but for reminding us that “you can’t win if you don’t play.”  Hopefully that message will sink in here for once before next year’s competition.

So, congrats to us!  We are our Worst of the Week!

Author: AdMavericks
www.lessingflynn.com

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::