Submarine ads don’t run just anywhere. Connecticut ad agency Mintz + Hoke created a campaign to support sub maker Electric Boat’s recruitment efforts specific to trades and engineering positions available in both the Groton, Conn. and Quonset Point, R.I. locations. The campaign is targeted at the 18-34-year-old audience segment looking to build a long-lasting career. The ad will air just before kickoff in the Hartford and Providence markets.Electric Boat | Recruitment | Super Bowl 2023 Regional
Lifespan
Providence-based agency Nail Communications produced the health care spot for health system Lifespan that will air throughout Rhode Island during the game. The spot states that nobody knows what the future holds for our health. By showing the myriad doors of the specialties that Lifespan has, the ad sends the reassuring message that whatever may come, Lifespan is prepared to help.
-Nail Communications partnered with The Preservation Society of Newport County in Rhode Island to promote the famed Newport Mansions. The dramatic lives of the wealthy families who resided in them gets a movie trailer for a film that doesn’t exist. Dubbed “Live the Drama, the unconventional marketing approach was proposed by Nail to engage new audiences with the properties. For The Breakers, the grandest of the Newport Mansions, that meant introducing the inimitable Vanderbilts through a trailer, billboards, landing page—all the trappings of movie marketing. Filmed entirely on the grounds of The Breakers, the campaign trailer alludes to several historic storylines that affected the course of the Vanderbilt legacy.
Other common methods include injecting the liquid into the kid’s mouth with a syringe, as you might do with a pet cat or dog. And just as our cat gets salmon-flavored liquid meds, pharmacists can add flavor to kids’ prescriptions. FLAVORx, a company that sells directly to pharmacies, has been around since 1995 and now offers 15 flavors — from apple to watermelon. FLAVORx is available at 46,000 pharmacies nationwide, including major chains. The company says pharmacists have flavored over 150 million medications to date. But such flavors “often result in merely a different unpleasant taste,” and are not available for over-the-counter products, says Geoff Addeo, who with his wife has developed Dositz: dosage-sized cups rimmed with fruit-flavored crystals, in blue raspberry, green apple, sour cherry or watermelon. Dositz “is the only product to actually chase away the harsh taste rather than attempting to mask it,” Addeo tells Pharma & Health Insider. Seems that his wife’s late stepfather had worked as a volunteer in the pediatric ward of New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), and would often complain how horrible it was that kids about to be sent home wouldn’t take their medicine. “They have meds that actually save their lives, but it’s a nightmare [to get] them to take it,” Addeo says. Of course, “there are children out there who do take their medicine and it’s not an issue,” he adds, noting that millions of kids are prescribed harsh-tasting medicines annually. While “I’m not going to capture 80% of the market, 1% or 2 % would be awesome.” Down the road, Addeo is also eyeing such potential markets as dementia sufferers and pediatric dentistry. Dositz (whose tagline is “takes the ick out of sick”) is just now coming out of marketing stealth mode after five years of development and a couple of years of quiet D2C sales.
Addeo and his wife developed the product and then brought in Gyre9, a design firm headed by Ed Gilchrest, to do the product’s package design, develop its website and technology, and manufacture the Dositz cups. Gilchrest also became a partner in the business, owning a third of Dositz, which is self-financed, along with the two Addeos. “That’s half of our challenge,” Addeo saysof the self-funding.“We don’t have a massive budget, (so) it’s been a soft and slow launch. I think that’s the only way we could do it without going through our bankroll and all of a sudden living on the street.” “It’s a huge risk,” agrees Gilchrest in a conversation with Pharma & Health Insider. “It might go nowhere, (but) I felt it was worth the investment.” Self-funding also means that “brick and mortar” sales are out for now “just because of the entry fees,” Addeo explains. “We definitely do not have the disposable cash for programs and planograms [plans for retail displays].” The brand, though, will expand in a different direction later this year, he says — by approaching hospital systems such as MSKCC and St. Jude’s. For now, though, Addeo and Gilchrest just want to build brand awareness. To that aim, Addeo, also a TV production pro who spent eight years as a marketing exec for AMC Networks (and such shows as “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead”), is using his skills to produce a “social media-type animated promo,” and Dositz/Gyre 9 are starting publicity efforts, as evidenced by this very article. “We’ve done zero marketing up to this point,” says Gilchrest. “We need to make a push. You can’t just put it online and assume people are going to buy. People need to be aware that this thing exists, and why it exists. “ Dositz is now sold, eight cups for 4.99, on Dositz’s website, with a variety pack of all four flavors on Amazon for $21.96. FLAVORx, meanwhile, reaches out to parents with such website features as giving a $50 Visa gift card each month to a parent who shares their child’s FLAVORx experience for publication. The site provides a searchable-by-Zip-code directory of FLAVORx pharmacies and tells parents, ldquo;Just visit a FLAVORx pharmacy and ask the pharmacy staff to add your child’s favorite flavor.” There are also downloadable tips for parents, coloring sheets for kids, and marketing materials for pharmacies to use.
If you make food for pets, you should also make commercials that appeal to them.
That’s the strategy behind a brand refresh campaign for Natural Balance Pet Foods.
Naturally, that type of marketing approach would require conducting focus groups with cats and dogs—which is what the NAIL Communications agency did in collaboration with animal behavioral experts.
“We were rather new to the category,” creative partner Alec Beckett tells Marketing Daily.
“What surprised us is how much dog food had changed over the last decade or so. But dogs have not changed, so why has dog food changed?”
The answer is that with the entry of D2C pet brands and other trends, the category has become a battleground of sorts—with product attributes more in line with what pet owners consume.
“They’re non-GMO, they’re gluten free, they’re kosher, they’re raw. All of those terms are human food trends and they were mirroring them in pet food,” Beckett says of competing brands.
“That struck us as being in opposition to a brand like Natural Balance, which for 30 years has been following veterinarian nutrition science. They adapt when the science changes, but they’re not chasing trends.”
The agency brought dog and cat owners and their pets to focus groups to gauge which types of video images and sounds most caught the animals’ attention.
“The way we hope it works is that the pet owners are the secondary audience. When an ad shows up on connected TV and their dog suddenly perks up and walks up to the TV—and maybe barks at it—that is the brand proving that it’s putting animals first,” says Beckett.
This spot explains that it’s “for your dog” while an on-screen QR code “is for you.” The QR code takes viewers to the MadeForPetsNotPeople landing page where a behind-the-scenes campaign video resides.
The dog spot starts with the sounds of a squeaky toy, and then a hand is shown throwing a ball up and down. There are also many shots of dogs playing, because “it’s been shown that dogs like watching other dogs on television,” as an animal behavior professor says on the behind-the-scenes video.
One platform chosen for the campaign is Hulu. “We wanted some living room entertainment where the dog or cat are more likely to ambiently be exposed to it in a way we hope will surprise and delight the pet owner,” says Beckett.
And because many people turn to their “second screen” on a smart phone or tablet once commercials appear on the big screen, “Our hope is that the pets pull you off the second screen. You look up and see the ad is for your pet and the QR code is for you.”
The J.M. Smucker Co. acquired Natural Balance in 2015 and sold it in early 2021 to Nexus Capital Management.
Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots reacts during a game against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on December 01, 2022 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Joe Berkeley created a new set of football-themed ads featuring Jones, on behalf of Quincy-based Arbella Insurance.BILLIE WEISS/GETTY
New QB, same Joe
Has Joe Berkeley become the go-to guy for ads involving Patriots quarterbacks?
Sure looks that way. Berkeley teamed up with David Gardiner — both of them former Hill Holliday executives, before leaving to go out on their own more than eight years ago — to design the Shields Health Care Group ad featuring Tom Brady a few years back. (Movie director Bobby Farrelly actually directed the spot.)
Now, Berkeley is playing a key role behind another set of football-themed ads, this time featuring current Patriots QB Mac Jones, on behalf of Quincy’s Arbella Insurance.
The ads, which Berkeley created with Tim Foley, have been running throughout the football season. (Berkeley directed the spots, while Foley was the art director and production designer.) One features Jones moving into his new home, only to find out that the moving company accidentally swapped his stuff with an old lady’s belongings. Jones inspects random tchotchkes, fiddles with a rabbit-ears antenna to watch a game, and chills out on a pink sofa, while asking where his stuff went. “Being a rookie homeowner is full of surprises,” the narrator intones. “Insuring your first home with Arbella isn’t.”
Berkeley said Jones and Brady were both naturals in front of the camera.
“Anytime you work with a pro athlete,” Berkeley said, “if you can explain this is a game, what the rules of the game are, and how much time is on the clock, you will have good results.”
Massachusetts-based spice company Magic Mix is making home cooking easier
The company was created by Sharon-based chef and entrepreneur Reema Chandra
NEEDHAM, Mass. —
Sharon chef and entrepreneur Reema Chandra is hoping her product will help make spices feel less intimidating for home cooks. Magic Mix is a blend of 19 spices curated by Chandra. The debut product is Magic Mix Mumbai, which takes inspiration from the flavors of Indian cuisine. Chandra expects to release two new blends soon: Azteca and Shanghai.
PARTNER/VP, CREATIVE DIRECTOR THE REPUBLIK, RALEIGH NC
Matt Shapiro is Partner, VP/Creative Director at The Republik, a group of free thinkers willing to push one another into powerful collisions of insights that dismantle the tenets of size, money, and power to meaningfully impact lives.
Tell us how and why you became involved in socially responsible communications, any thoughts on why design can be an especially effective tool for this goal, and, if you wish, give us an example of a project of which you are proud.
As creatives, we are natural problem solvers. I believe it is our responsibility to use our privilege and influence to help promote the causes we believe in and uplift our community. As a young musician, I used that platform to promote organizations and missions for good. The natural progression into my advertising and design career provided a much more useful application, to be honest. Design is a powerful tool that connects people, and can break down various barriers. Republik chooses to align itself with organizations that desire a positive social impact, such as our client Happy Dirt (www.happydirt.com), whose mission is to make healthy organic food accessible to everyone and delivered in sustainable packaging. We also recently did a rebranding and awareness campaign for Harmony NC LGBT+ Allied Chamber of Commerce, an organization that nurtures and supports the growth of LGBT+ business professionals. We find this kind of work brings a sense of pride that is incomparable. It only drives us to do more and to do it better.
Given the confluence of events and challenges our society now faces, does this moment in time present any special opportunities, urgencies, or obstacles to designing for good?
There are two main obstacles we foresee challenging creatives. The first is relevancy, as we move into next year we will continue to see the shift in how design, advertising, and marketing is consumed. The speed at which this cycle happens will continue to accelerate and we will have to find ways to cope with that. The second, an “Us vs Them” mentality has created a sense of division but as creatives, we have the power to influence positive change by using design to communicate, educate, promote good, to make this world a better place. It’s at the heart of our “job” to do some good every chance we can.
Tools of the Trade is an AgencySpy feature to help highlight the many tools that help make advertising and marketing folks successful. The tools can be anything that helps you perform at your top form, from your favorite drafting table to your best software program to a lucky pen, a vintage typewriter or a pair of headphones.
Next up is Jessica Darke, executive producer at Los Angeles agency Arcana Academy.
JESSICA DARKE FROM ARCANA ACADEMY SHOWS OFF HER SEVEN YEAR PEN.
What is one tool you use all the time at work, and how does it inspire you?
My pen. My pen isn’t just regular pen. It’s a pen designed to last for seven years. Seven years of to-do’s, inspirational quips, and notes-to-self. My pen is on a mission to prevent pens from going into landfills. Did you know that billions of pens are thrown away each year? Writing with a Seven Year Pen reminds me daily that we can make little choices with big impact.
Why is it your favorite?
I selected a Seven Year Pen that says “Feelings” as a reminder to embrace my empathetic spirit while objectively moving projects forward. I also love how younger generations claimed and memed this word, “feelings.” The pen makes me feel old and youthful at the same time.
I use it every day. I keep it in my notebook or use it as a bookmark. I love to underline or copy sentences that inspire me while reading.
How did you acquire or hear about it for the first time?
Googling “non-toxic, sustainable pen.”
How does it help you to be successful?
It reminds me to slow down. As a producer, I am wired to move quickly. Having speed with control ultimately saves me—and my team—time and money.
That’s more or less the inspiration for the producers of Iowa Legendary Rye to call their first vodka offering Sextro. It also happens to be the last name of the woman credited with creating the rye almost 100 years ago.
That fact also explains the placements of out-of-home ads in Las Vegas and select other cities encouraging people to drink the drink (or else fulfill its double meaning) with, well, just about anyone.
Examples include “Have Sextro on the first date,” “Have Sextro with yourself” and “Have Sextro with someone you just met.”
The brand’s roots date to the 1930s Great Depression era, when Lorine Sextro began producing what became Iowa Legendary Rye on a farm in Templeton, Iowa.
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When her grandson decided to expand to vodka, “We agreed to modernize the brand a bit,” David Oakley, president and creative director of the BooneOakley agency, tells Marketing Daily.
“I said you ‘don’t want people to drink Sextro. You want people to have Sextro.’ It’s a simple idea and a great way to get your name remembered.”
BooneOakley recommended OOH for the launch because “You have to be as simple as possible. The messaging we have really lends itself to outdoor.”
In addition to billboards generating awareness, they can also be used as “social objects,” according to Oakley.
“People are taking pictures of these things and sharing them on social media. So it’s a social and outdoor play.”
