OOH

Subway Series

The bank of fresh ideas for public health creative might feel empty after six long months of Covid-19. And the NYC transit system probably understands that notion better than most, given all the public health campaigns it’s had to create recently.

Nevertheless, the MTA persisted

Back in early June as lockdowns eased, Governor Cuomo’s office partnered with creative agency TBWA\Chiat\Day NY to create MTA billboards giving New Yorkers advice on how to “stop the spread” of the coronavirus.

• Because public service announcements can be so boring and clinical, TBWA\Chiat\Day NY told Ad Age it wanted to make these billboards as psychedelic and eye-catching as possible. 

Flash forward: NYC’s curve flattened in late June, but it's not done with PSAs just yet. September’s new round of MTA OOH employed the same colorful illustrations, but added a new message: Wear a mask.

• Meant to keep NYers from becoming complacent, “The State of Respect” depicts people wearing masks in the shape of New York State. 
• Brooklyn agency Conquistadors worked on the project. The agency employed a dozen global artists to create posters in vastly different styles to avoid redundancy.

Key word: Global. The campaign should perform especially well because the characters wearing the masks are ethnically diverse, per studies on consumer perception. In 2019, one study found that the brands with the most diversity in their ads scored 83% higher on consumer preference, per Deloitte-owned agency Heat.

My takeaway: Same old pandemic + new challenges = new campaign ideas. Brands can mimic the MTA’s blueprint for producing fresh creative by focusing on the changing contours of life under Covid, rather than the pandemic at large.

SOCIAL MEDIA

So You Want to Talk About TikTok

As we all know, President Trump could take a page out of Mean Girls and say, “Stop trying to make a TikTok sale happen. It’s not going to happen” tomorrow…but here’s where we stand today.

• Oracle wouldn’t control TikTok—ByteDance would still be the majority owner. The deal merely establishes Oracle as TikTok’s trusted U.S. technology partner. 
• And Oracle won’t have use of TikTok’s algorithm, which originally delayed deal talks. 

But President Trump could, in theory, be totally fine with the non-sale. That’s because the deal still gives the U.S. insight into TikTok’s operations. Plus, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has a good relationship with Trump.

Assuming TikTok is safe…advertising on TikTok could become a lot easier and more effective. Oracle also owns marketing analytics and data management platforms. 

At the very least, with one of TikTok's main advantages gone—its algorithm—the short form video space just got more competitive. That gives marketers more to keep up with in the space than just the Kardashians.

• Case in point: TikTok’s main dynasty, the D’Amelio sisters, recently joined Triller.

SPONSORED BY SAILTHRU

A Case Study You’ll Wanna Study

There’s a lot of hype around a multichannel approach to marketing, and now Sailthru has the case study to back up all the buzz and show you exactly what a multichannel approach can do for your business—using Raise as an example.

When Raise (the mobile payments platform that makes it easy to save money) turned to Sailthru for their multichannel chops, big things happened. For starters, Raise has increased overall conversions by 10x—ten times!

Download the case study to learn how Raise: 

• Elevated its customer acquisition strategy
• Developed a welcome series that boosts purchases
• Uses mobile to nurture customers

But we won’t spill any more of the multichannel marketing beans. You can (read: must) download the case study to get the scoop on all that a multichannel approach with Sailthru can do for your marketing today. 

Get the case study here.

BRANDING

Something Old, Something New

We all remember the Paramount Pictures intro of yore—that clip with the stars flying in from the wings to surround a v majestic mountain, signaling your movie was about to begin.

That embedded memory could be why ViacomCBS’s existing premium streaming platform—CBS All Access—just got rebranded to “Paramount+” with the help of Droga5. 

Throwback

Back in 2018, when Viacom rebranded the cable channel Spike as Paramount Network, the then-network president, Kevin Kay, told Adweek that the Paramount brand “means what original programming is: great stories, great storytelling, great characters, [and] great talent…It has no negatives. We did the research.”

Perhaps some of that research had to do with nostalgia... 

• When Warner Bros. rebranded its logo in November 2019, about 89% of consumers studied preferred the old Warner Bros. logo from 1984 to the new one, per Visual Objects. 

+1: Some nostalgia marketing seems like a particularly effective strategy in 2020, the worst year ever, as nostalgia typically becomes more appealing in times of crisis. 

Bottom line: Nostalgia marketing combined with The Plus Sign™ could make CBS All Access more relevant in the streaming space.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Google’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on adtech began yesterday.
• Instagram is adding closed captions on IGTV videos.
• Facebook’s latest whistleblower said the company ignored global political manipulation.
• Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be held virtually this year.
• HBO Max’s ad-supported tier could debut next spring.

SPONSORED BY TYPEFORM

“Tell your brand’s story in a new way.” A lot of people say that, but Typeform can actually do it. Take Dollar Flight Club‘s use of typeforms, cleverly told through an actual Typeform (can the Brew get one, please?). Dollar Flight Club used Typeform for lead generation, marketing, and controlling customer flow. Learn how Typeform’s clever work (we definitely aren’t jealous) can work for you.

ADWEEK OR ADWEAK?

Which headlines are real marketing news, and which one is from marketing satire Twitter account ADWEAK? 

1. Kim Kardashian West Joins #StopHateForProfit
2. Taco Bell Is Now Selling Its Own Custom Wine
3. Packaged Goods Brand's New CMO Plans To Fire Current Agency On First Day
4. Mountain Dew Creates First Cocktail For Red Lobster, The 'Dew Garita'

Keep scrolling for the answer.

AD ANTIQUES

eBay

Here's a Kentucky Tavern Whiskey ad from 1952. Why? Because you’re probably planning Christmas campaigns right now, and I’m convinced it’s winter because it was 50 degrees Fahrenheit last night.

ADWEEK OR ADWEAK? ANSWER

C. is the ADWEAK headline, but boy, do I wish it was the Mountain Dew one.

ICYMI

Catch up on the top Marketing Brew stories from the last few editions.

• Sweetgreen tapped niche chefs as influencers for its latest campaign
• Six top execs left R/GA to create their own agency
• BABE Wine gets what millennial women want—wine, and quirky candles