Three Wendy's commercials, masquerading as videos and posted on YouTube, are drawing some ire--and lots of visits--from the site's outspoken fan base. Two of the videos use dialogue peppered with modern slang against vintage-looking black-and-white footage. One, entitled "Molly Grows Up," has the main character ordering her first 99-cent Junior Bacon cheeseburger and Frosty. The other, "Are You Popular?", takes place in a high-school cafeteria and features boys talking about the popularity of certain girls. The third video, entitled "Frosty vs. Fries," is an animated action film. All clips are "presented" by the Better Value Bureau, and both send viewers to www.bbv99.com, a website for Wendy's 99-cent value menu. The videos refer to Wendy's-branded products, but not the chain's name, per se. As of Thursday, "Molly Grows Up" had received nearly 300,000 views and comments ranging from "LOL" to "it was so stupid it was hilarious." "Are You Popular" proved less popular, with about 1,200 views and comments ranging from "funny stuff" to "this is corporate skullduggery." "Frosty vs Fries" had received 609 views and comments including "it just sucks to see you tube get sucked into the corporate scheme of globalization" and "that's so twisted and weird--I love it." Columbus, Ohio-based Wendy's posted the videos Oct. 20. Spokesman Denny Lynch said the point of the videos "is to reach younger consumers, and do it in a way that provides entertainment values and humor." The www.bbv99.com Web site was created in conjunction with the videos; MRM Worldwide, a unit of McCann-Erickson, Wendy's agency of record, handled. Lynch said it was too early to tell how many visitors the website had gotten or whether Wendy's would post more videos on YouTube. He did express enthusiasm at the traffic for "Molly Grows Up." "The goal is to have people view it, and initially it looks like the numbers are pretty good," Lynch said.
Buoyed by two quarters of healthy sales gains, Brookstone Inc. is sharpening its merchandise mix, and has hired its first-ever ad agency. In a conference call yesterday, CEO Lou Mancini said he expects a strong holiday season, with new products in all Brookstone lines. Although bedding has been weak, Mancini expects electronics and healthy lifestyle products to do especially well. One of these, the iGallop--a $499 machine that simulates horseback riding to strengthen core abdominal muscles--has already taken off. Products like the iGallop are what set Brookstone apart, said Jeff Johnson, general manager of the New York office of Cramer-Krasselt/Hampel Stefanides, which Brookstone recently tapped as its first ad agency: "One of the things we've found with the Brookstone customer is that once they're in the store, they buy a lot of stuff--and it's almost never what they came in for." Johnson, for example, suddenly can't live without his five-day weather forecaster ("It works no matter what city you're in!") or his remote-control grill thermometer ("You can go have drinks with your guests, and it beeps when the meat is done!") And most agency visitors are invited to stop by the conference room and try out the iGallop. Brookstone has 306 stores, mostly in upscale malls. But 45 are in airports, which is no accident. "Airports are a great place to find exactly the kind of person who shops at Brookstone--affluent, and very much on the adventurous side. They love to travel, so it's a perfect fit," Johnson said. The new campaign's tagline is "Give them what they want," and ads will appear in print and online media such as The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. The fourth-quarter ads are not only aimed at gift-giving, but will encourage people to buy gifts for themselves. After the holidays, the agency will introduce "a bigger positioning campaign that really brands what Brookstone is about," Johnson said. Brookstone, based in Merrimack, N.H., merged last year with Osim International, the Singapore company that manufactures many of the products sold at Brookstone, such as the iGallop and massage chairs. It also sold off its Gardener's Eden business. Brookstone said yesterday that sales for the 13-week period ended Sept. 30 gained more than 14 percent, to $87.8 million, from the year-earlier period. Same-store sales, a critical indicator for retailers, rose 6 percent. Sales from its direct marketing efforts, both catalog and Web, increased 11 percent to $15.5 million. In contrast, The Sharper Image, Brookstone's main competitor, has been struggling. Its results have been dragged down by declining sales of its Ionic Breeze products, which have come under fire from consumer groups. Its CEO also resigned last month, after sales declines for six consecutive quarters.
Colgate, in a perennial oral care fight with competitor Procter & Gamble, is preparing to launch a new toothpaste brand to go head-to-head with Crest Pro-Health. That's the word from Nik Modi of UBS Securities, and comes on the heels of Colgate reporting better-than-expected sales for the third quarter, partly due to increased advertising and promotional spending. P&G's Crest sales are gaining from the Pro-Health introduction, while Colgate toothpaste sales are about flat, the latest IRI purchase data show. In the $1.2 billion category, Crest brand sales were up 4.5 percent to $404 million for the year ended Oct. 8, with Colgate unit sales flat, and dollar sales down 0.5 percent to $418 million. Colgate said yesterday in its analyst's call that total brand share and Colgate Total market share were both up year-over-year at 37.9 percent, and 15.2 percent, respectively, with smaller competitors such as Church & Dwight down slightly due to the Pro-Health launch. Crest Pro-Health toothpaste--an extension of Pro-Health mouthwash-- has been in stores for about three months and has thus far pulled in sales of $11 million at food, drug and mass through Oct. 8, according to IRI. While Colgate is still the market leader in North America, P&G has been narrowing the sales gap with Colgate over the last six years by rolling out younger-skewing, more consumer-friendly, and sometimes even gimmicky Crest products. Some of those include Crest Rejuvenating Effects, Crest with Scope, Crest Vivid White and Crest Whitening Expressions, with the main selling point being flavors such as Vanilla Mint and Lemon Ice. Competing Colgate offerings include Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate Luminous and Colgate Herbal White. Addressing gingivitis, tartar buildup and plaque, P&G's positioning of Crest Pro-Health, ironically, is not unlike that of Colgate Total--a franchise which accounted for sales of $167 million for the year ended Oct. 8, per IRI, and was responsible for Colgate's market share surpassing Crest's in 1998.
This Halloween season, some cellular companies are reminding parents that cell phones can help kids avoid tricks while seeking treats. The ability to keep families connected and track kids' whereabouts is an ongoing marketing feature. Disney Mobile, which uses Sprint's network, was launched principally for families with GPS tracking functionality that allows parents to tailor their kids' phone privileges and track their location. Mainstream carriers have followed suit, with Verizon Wireless and Sprint marketing GPS-enabled phones that offer a child-locator service to families. Halloween is an ideal time to reinforce the safety value of this feature. Sprint, in partnership with QUALCOMM, is piloting an Atlanta-based project in conjunction with Mocha Moms, Inc., a nonprofit support group for women of color who have altered their work outside the home so they can be more available for childcare at home. Under the program, called "Track-and-Treat," QUALCOMM is providing 100 families in Atlanta with GPS-enabled cell phones and a one-year contract to Sprint Family Locator, a location-based service that enables parents to use their cell phone or a PC to locate their kids on a map. The service also gives the address, surrounding landmarks and accuracy of their child's location within a specified radius. "Halloween is a great time for moms and kids to have GPS on their cell phones because trick-or-treating is the first time many kids venture out without adult supervision," said Robert Rovetta, senior director of product management for QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies, in a statement. Meanwhile, Atlanta-based Cingular Wireless is providing tips for parents that can help them more effectively communicate with their kids via wireless messaging. The company issued a series of sample text messages parents could send to their kids while they are out trick-or-treating, such as, "Save ur candy till I chk it!" and encouraged kids and parents to use the picture/video messaging capabilities on their phones to keep in touch. Cingular also sponsored a survey of parents indicating that 63 percent of the 1,175 parents surveyed said that text messaging has improved their communication with their kids.
Food-related products seem to be the publishing line extension of choice this week. Hearst Brand Development announced a partnership between its Country Living magazine and a specialty food marketer to develop and distribute the Country Living Specialty Food Collection. Dennis Publishing announced it will open a chain of Maxim-branded steak eateries. Earlier, at the American Magazine Conference, Rachael Ray, a one-woman media food brand, said she plans to open a burger joint in Manhattan. It's all about turning brands into additional revenues. "It makes perfect sense. Everyone wants a piece of the gourmet food market," said Marcia Mogelonsky, a senior research analyst at Mintel, of Hearst's announced deal with Heritage Foods. Country Living's image is "fresh, country, wholesome, good and natural," she added, likening the move to a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. (Good Housekeeping, incidentally, is another Hearst brand.) Glen Ellen Brown, vice president of Hearst Brand Development, said the new food collection is "about living, about an experience. There's an emotive quality to food." Brown said the move is designed to cultivate Country Living readers' passions and fits right in with Country Living furniture, rugs and quilts, which Hearst markets in other licensing agreements. "Heritage Foods was a natural partner for us, given their capabilities to create shelf-stable products that evoke memories of favorite country dishes and time-honored family traditions." The cross-pollination is an apparent first in the gourmet food category. A select assortment of the Country Living line has been available for holiday purchase at www.hfsfoods.com since early this month in concert with a soft product launch at the Country Living Fair in Chicago. The complete line of products, including dessert toppings, preserves and "pie in a jar," will be introduced in January at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco. While she gives Hearst credit for "capturing the gourmet wave," Mintel's Mogelonsky said there are key questions: "Who is going to buy this stuff, and will it catch on beyond the readership? Is it going to be one of those things you give someone for Christmas and then next year it's, 'Oh, no, not Country Living jam again.' They're going to have to keep introducing new products."
DaimlerChrysler's Smart division, which makes diminutive two and four person sub-sub compacts, will appear in Ridley Scott's forthcoming "A Good Year." The car, which was Steve Martin's ride in "The Pink Panther," Tom Hanks' in "The Da Vinci Code," and also appeared in "Garfield 2," is driven by Russell Crowe in the new film, premiering next month. Crowe plays an American investment banker who retires to Provence to discover his inner sommelier. The car -- Smart's fortwo -- plays a critical role introducing Crowe to his future love interest. While fooling with the car's navigation system, he nearly runs her over. She meets him later when she recognizes his car at the vineyard he's to inherit. The company said product placement for Smart, which comes to the U.S. in 2008, is part of its ongoing marketing strategy. The company promoted its association with "The Pink Panther" through an online competition and road rally in areas where the movie was filmed. Smart, which had a stint as a short-lived U.S. sales arm within Mercedes-Benz, will be sold in the U.S. through a distribution agreement with United Auto Group, starting with 30 to 50 of UAG's dealerships.
As the Edelman and Wal-Mart flogging controversy continues to simmer in the blogging community, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association yesterday released the WOMMA Ethics Assessment Tool, in hopes of clarifying any questions about what's acceptable and what's not, online and off. "We need a tool that will allow even the most junior staffer to know whether or not what they are doing is ethical or unethical," says Andy Sernovitz, the association's CEO. "This will protect brands, clients and agencies." The guidelines propose 20 questions covering six categories: honesty of relationship, honesty of opinion, honesty of identity, taking responsibility, respecting the rules, and hiring an agency. Questions include, "Would I be uncomfortable if my family or friends were involved in this campaign?" and "Is there anything about this campaign that we would be embarrassed to discuss publicly?" Sernovitz says the timing of the tool's release was unrelated to the recent Edelman flogging fiasco, when the public relations firm and self-proclaimed corporate blogging leader was revealed as the exclusive contributor to a trio of Wal-Mart friendly blogs that were ostensibly written by independent writers. Edelman's activities caused a grassroots call from critics for WOMMA to toss out the agency--which helped write the association's ethical guidelines not long before it broke most of them--but Sernovitz said that wasn't going to happen. "You don't expel a kid when he screws up, you send him to the guidance counselor," Sernovitz says. "Associations don't have many options for punishment." Likewise, the new document is well-meaning but potentially toothless. An FAQ portion of the document pertaining to enforcement reads, "WOMMA recommends using market pressure to drive business away from stealth marketing firms and toward honest companies." WOMMA is calling for public comment from marketers and consumers through Nov. 9, in order to maximize the new tool's effectiveness.