• by Staff Writers , August 11, 2008

An innovative, integrated strategy can be as meaningful as the message itself, as these finalists prove.

Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

Anheuser-Busch's Rolling Rock

Goodby: Matt Hermann, Brand Strategy Director; Tanin Blumberg, Account Director; Melissa Harbin, Account Manager; Sidney Bosley, Senior Communications Strategist. Busch Media: Gretchen Curtis, Manager.

To help client rolling rock draw attention away from the real controversy surrounding its acquisition by brewing behemoth Anheuser-Busch, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners created a bogus controversy built around a fake television advertisement that was supposedly banned from the airwaves but could be viewed online. Using traditional TV, radio, print and out-of-home media, the campaign featured Mr. Ron Stablehorn, fictitious Director of Marketing at Rolling Rock, delivering an apology for producing the ill-fated "Beer Ape" TV spot. This "banned" ad was quietly uploaded onto YouTube and five other video sites the Friday before the traditional media campaign broke on Thanksgiving Day. By the Monday following Thanksgiving weekend, the "Beer Ape" ad had more than 1 million views in one 24-hour period. Viewers picked up this asset, and before long, the "Beer Ape" banned video was all over the internet and blogosphere.

Initiative

Showtime's "Weeds"

Initiative: Greg Castronuovo, Senior Vice President, Group Account Director; Alan Cohen, Executive Vice President, Managing Director; Rob Ross, Vice President, Account Director;

Showtime Networks: George DeBolt, Vice President, Media, Promotions & Partnership; Kjerstin Beatty, Director, Media.

Most good media plans seek to generate some buzz, but Initiative's effort for the second season premiere of client Showtime's "Weeds" actually sought to give one - literally. As part of the print strategy for the Pay-TV series about a suburban mom turned marijuana dealer, the "skunkworks" team at Initiative developed full-page magazine "scent-strip" ads that were placed in hip, counter-culture publications like Rolling Stone and The Onion. Instead of evoking the scent of some high-end perfume, the "Weeds" ads produced a fragrance normally associated with getting high from marijuana. Initiative extended that metaphor out-of-home via unusual, attention-getting outdoor and experiential media, including a "munchie" mobile that gave away "Weeds" branded brownies to pedestrians on the streets of key markets like New York and Los Angeles. The campaign also innovated other first-time, buzz-generating placements such as "belly band tags" wrapped around the Los Angeles Times, and the first animated spots to appear on Captivate's "high" rise elevator network.

Mediaedge:cia

Xerox

Mediaedge:cia: Christina Dagnello, Communications Strategy Director; Patricia Mazzarone, Communications Manager;

Joanna Havlin, Partner, Associate Print Director.

MEC Interaction: Jay Krihak, Partner, Interactive Group Media Director;

Bradley Mark, Interactive Supervisor; Jennie Scheer, Interactive Senior Planner.

To help client Xerox communicate the virtues of a dynamic, cross-media publishing system powered by its iGEN technology, Mediaedge:cia developed a plan that exploited the ultimate form of custom publishing: user-generated content. The plan broke first with technology leaders, followed by phases allowing the broader public to interact directly with the technology. The first launch occurred at tech industry uber conference TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design). Attendees were offered a complementary subscription to WIRED Magazine, the first issue of which would include a personalized cover with their own photo taken by renowned photographer Art Schrieber. The live event promotion was followed by a broader reader promotion in the April 2007 issue of WIRED that invited the first 5,000 entrants to customize their own July 2007 issue by uploading their photos. The unique, personalized issues quickly became much sought-after keepsakes. This was the first time a consumer magazine integrated user-generated content on its front cover, and the stunt generated much media coverage.