Natalie Munio
Snoopy gets the boot, Hillary (quite literally) makes Donald pay up for his hateful words, Uber heckled drivers with flying ads, fans accessed secret filters during Fox’s Rocky Horror Show premiere, and Canadians think America is already great… (sorry, Trump.)
Read below for this week’s top stories in marketing and advertising.
For the first time in over 30 years, MetLife has revamped its brand identify. Following a review of its creative account back in March 2015, which led to Argonaut’s appointment to the account, the life insurance company now boasts a new logo and tagline, both of which show no sign of Snoopy and his Peanut pals. In an effort to show the company was serious about helping the lives of its customers and “navigating life together” – also the brand’s new tagline – MetLife will no longer use Snoopy and the other Peanuts characters. Instead, the new simplified logo features a simple “M,” something MetLife hopes reflects a “unified” expression of MetLife’s partnership with its customers.
Trump loves to tweet. That’s certainly never been a secret throughout the tumultuous, oftentimes treacherous election season. It’s also no secret that Trump loves to angrily tweet about a variety of people and issues, including his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. So the campaign was inspired to do something about it. The Twitter tool, “Troll Trump,” seeks to literally make Trump “pay for his offensive words.” Clinton supporters can sign up to automatically donate anything from 50 cents to 10 dollars to the Clinton campaign every time Trump sends a tweet. “Show Donald that his unhinged rhetoric comes at a cost,” reads the Clinton campaign website. The signup also comes with a pledge, “Hey Donald, I pledge to donate __ to Hillary’s campaign every time you tweet because I’m sick and tired of your hateful comments about the American people.” Happy tweeting!
For a recent ad stunt in Mexico City for UberPOOL, drones flew over stopped traffic to taunt people and to make drivers feel guilty for not using the driving app service. The drones carried a variety of signs, with phrases like “Driving by yourself?” and “This is why you can never see the volcanos!” written on them to inspire drivers to carpool with the UberPOOL app. While some may consider the drone attack on gridlocked traffic heckling, others would say the ad-toting drones are the right move considering the app plans to double its presence in Latin America by 2018.
Following the Fox remake of the 1975 cult classic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a study revealed a heavy millennial engagement in the population of devoted fans. As result, for the first time ever on television, Fox and Snapchat created Snapcode activations that went live during the Rocky Horror telecast. Fox revealed the codes during the premiere, and viewers could snap them to unlock exclusive filters. Snapcode, which launched just last month, offer brands new ways to distribute filters, and the premiere of the Rocky Horror telecast was the first time the Snapcodes have been used during a TV programming event. The activations offered the devoted Rocky Horror Picture Show fans a new way to participate in the fun – using an app they’ve already come to know and love.
The national unrest as result of the current political climate is so great, that even our distant Canadian neighbors have taken notice. So, as any good neighbor would do, Canada felt it was important to make Americans feel better about it all. As result, the Toronto-based agency, The Garden, launched the “Tell America It’s Great” campaign, a recreation of presidential nominee Donald Trump’s less enthusiastic, “Make America Great Again” slogan. The campaign boasts a website and an online video with a smattering of Canadian’s sharing the reasons why they believe America is already great. From our conservation efforts and philanthropy, to bringing iconic names like Beyoncé and Tupac into the world, Canadians celebrated Americans for their diversity and openness – a celebration that’s in stark contrast to Trump’s stance on borders and his staunch immigration policy. Hey, thanks Canada!