To Space Coast… AND Beyond!!

Posted on July 25, 2011 by

Jacksonville, we have lift off!  A Buick full of SMA employees, one birthday girl and a few kids left the Starbucks parking lot at 4:30 in the morning on Friday, July 8th. We were going to see a piece of history and nothing was going to stop us, not even rumbling tummies or full bladders.

As we passed mangroves and sandy driveways, we crossed our fingers and hoped it was the day the Space Shuttle Atlantis would embark on its final mission. For fear of sitting in a traffic jam all afternoon, we opted to watch the shuttle launch from Satellite Beach. We visited our friends at Sky Advertising, Inc. who filled us in on NASA lingo and shuttle launch tips. 

We walked down to the beach around 11am with anticipation. As we got closer, we realized we weren’t the only people with the same idea of “avoiding the crowd.” But we made the best of the situation and hoped the cloud cover would pass soon. After a delayed start, we started to hear whispers throughout the crowd… “This is it! They are launching!” and a count down began.

We stood there, cameras and cell phones in hand, waiting for a glimpse. There it was—a little, teensy, tiny fireball rising in the air! Everyone on the beach held their breath as the shuttle disappeared behind the clouds and then cheers and high-fives erupted!

Susan, the birthday girl and the rest of SMA enjoyed the day out of the office watching history in the making. NASA plans to keep launching rockets so maybe there will be another trip in our future?? Wink, wink!

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Scott-McRae Goes West!

Posted on June 24, 2011 by

AAF had a great idea when they announced they will be branding their national conference each year as ADMERICA.  We can tell you that the first annual ADMERICA was fascinating.  In early June, Susan Waldeck and I flew cross-country to San Diego to capture the ADMERICA spirit, and we did.  What an inspirational experience from the welcome reception on the USS Midway to the 2011 National ADDY awards. And, how fabulous is it that we could watch Jacksonville’s own Brunet-Garcia and St. John & Partners win six national ADDYs collectively!
Before we left for the conference we were skeptical of the new conference plan, but quickly became pleasantly surprised by the caliber of speakers, networking and willingness to exchange ideas with industry professionals from across the country.  We shared three days of educational workshops, watched our District Four NSAC student competition winner, the University of Miami, take first place nationally in the competition, and celebrated Kendall Barsin, AAF – Jacksonville President, taking the stage at the Club Achievement luncheon for being in the top 10 of clubs across the country that had an ADDY entry increase.
What a great experience.  We can hardly wait for the 2012 ADMERICA conference. In the meantime, we’ll be planning the next three years of AAF – Fourth District networking, events and conferences. Go Fourth!

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SOLD!

Posted on May 20, 2011 by
It’s official. Subaru has moved into my top five new car choices. Why you ask? I will share, be patient!
I know you’re thinking “Really, Heather? You don’t seem like the outdoorsy, off-roading, hackey sack kicking type.” You are correct however; I am the romantic, nostalgic, family-centric type. And that’s where they got me! Subaru has launched a three pronged assault on my emotions.
The first commercial features a young couple driving on a dirt road with “Just Married” scrawled across the back of their Subaru Outback. The groom surprises his bride with a self-made honeymoon campground. The bride tears up in the end and so do I…every time.
 
The second one snuck up on me. This commercial features a young man returning for his high school reunion and seeing his first love. Flashbacks begin with the young pair traveling together in a Subaru Forester. A new Forester pulls up to the one in the flashback, the young man steps out and wistfully looks back at his “first love.” I’m not one for reliving my “glory years,” but the commercial perfectly captures the feeling of being young and care-free.
 
The final commercial appeared last night during TMZ (guilty pleasure). The Pogue’s If I Should Fall from Grace with God awoke me from a commercial break nap. The spot follows a mom hauling her hockey playing triplets all over creation while driving the new Subaru Forester, 2010 IIHS Top Safety Pick. I’m almost positive the Irish half of me fell victim to Subaru’s most recent ploy.
 
Subaru’s campaign portrays a lifestyle with cinematic quality story-telling and awesome music (they had me on the first raspy note of Here Comes the Sun Again by M. Ward). Bottom line is they captured some of my most coveted dreams and emotions; the hopes of one day marrying and having a family, and the realization of time lapsing and cherished memories.
Done! I’m sold.
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What a beautiful couple!

Posted on April 28, 2011 by

Everyone has their own personal brand based on the clothes they wear, where they live, the music they listen to, etc. For example, punk rock is not only a music genre but a movement. It’s piercing your appendages, rebelling against the mainstream and presenting a general “I don’t give a BLEEP” attitude. Music is personal, it’s a choice and for that reason, advertisers have been using and abusing it heavily since the first radio waves passed through our transistors.

Take Hyundai for example. Over the holidays the motor company launched a campaign using the unsigned indie-rock band, Pomplamoose. The commercials were shot using split screens reminiscent of the band’s music video for their rendition of Beyonce’s Single Ladies.

What the Hyundai commercial said to viewers was “Hey, we aren’t part of the big three. We’re a diamond in the rough just waiting to be your discovery!” Viewers familiar with Pomplamoose’s rise to fame using YouTube as a means of distribution for their music, saw Hyundai as a brand that spoke their language. The commercial fit into their social media landscape which built trust with the viewer.

Last holiday season, you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing Vampire Weekend’s Holiday blaring in commercials for Honda and Tommy Hilfiger and it seemed like every commercial break you heard the bluesy-psychedelic sounds of The Black Keys. They weren’t promoting their newest album, Brothers, but pushing brands such as Zales, Victoria’s Secret and Sony Ericsson.

Recently, Nissan aired a commercial promoting the Maxima sports sedan and used Muddy Waters’ I’m a Man. During the same period, H&M aired a commercial with the Erykah Badu cover of I’m a Man. These two spots use the same song yet different genres and they worked well for each of the individual brands. Without the track, the commercials would have lost their personal appeal to new parents and fashionistas.

At the same time, a brand can really launch a musical career. Florence and the Machine saw increased success stateside after their single Dog Days Are Over was featured in the trailer for Columbia Pictures’ Eat Pray Love. Their fortune continued as they were nominated for best new artist in the 2011 Grammy Awards. The band has been featured in movie trailers for tween-hit The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and more recently, 20th Century Fox’s Water for Elephants.

Open the dialog with your target audience by appealing to their own personal brand. What better way to create an emotional bond with the consumer than through the sounds of their favorite bands or a catchy jingle?

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Listen up, Peeps!

Posted on April 21, 2011 by

Easter is all about rebirth, renewal and pastels. Naturally, Pat and Chris have always been drawn to this holiday. For them, it’s that time of year they don a new layer of rubber bands and break out the bunny ears. For the rest of us at SMA, Easter holds a special place in our hearts. We contend in our annual “Biggest Loser” competition, out-of-office lunches become more frequent and spring cleaning begins.

Personally, Easter was really my first foray into event planning. As a bossy 7-year-old in white gloves and patent leather Mary Janes, I single-handedly organized an Easter egg hunt complete with an aerial map (drawn in crayon) locating each egg and color coordinated teams of “hunters.” The team with the most found eggs received a giant chocolate bunny and an extra hug from grandma.

All this map making and team coordinating came in handy during LISC Jacksonville’s EPIC Saturday event last weekend. I organized and directed three color coordinated teams in planting shrubs, flowers and crepe myrtles for 25 homes in Northwest Jacksonville. And guess what? There was an aerial map.

So thank you, family, for being supportive of my need to color coordinate and painfully organize Easter egg hunts and Christmas dinner seating charts!

Happy Easter from Scott-McRae Advertising!!!

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Sneaky Brands

Posted on April 6, 2011 by

After three hours of shopping at St. Augustine’s outlets, I thought I owed it to my man to go see Battle: Los Angeles, a shoot ‘em up alien movie. As a rule, I generally don’t like alien and/or blow-everything-up movies, but I took one for the team and made an exception.

The movie started in typical California fashion, a beach scene with our hero, Sgt. Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) running along the shoreline while 2Pac’s “California Love” plays. After icing down his knee, he gets in his classic Mustang convertible and so begins a never ending parade of product placement.

 Casio® watches, Landshark Lager® and Panda Express® are a few brands that made an appearance in the Black Hawk Down meets Alien flick. Interestingly enough, the movie features Sony Vios® and Resistance 3, the science fiction first person shooter video game published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Do I have to mention Sony Pictures distributed Battle: Los Angeles?

 If you’ve seen the movie, you may not have noticed half the products I mentioned because they fit seamlessly within the fictional landscape of Battle: Los Angeles (other than the US military exclusively using Casio® watches and Sony Vios®). Perhaps the most heavily promoted product/brand in the movie was the US Marine Corps. After all, the movie is about Marines kicking alien butt.

 The film hired an official Marine liaison and actually used about 50 active duty Marines as extras. Also, a large number of Marine resources were used such as MV-22 Ospreys, helicopters, other large military vehicles AND Camp Pendleton. A few Marine catch phrases were sprinkled throughout the film including “Retreat, hell!” which was derived from a 1952 propaganda film released by the Marines in conjunction with Warner Brothers entitled Retreat, Hell!.

 You know, I never had Reese’s Pieces before I saw E.T. What are some of your favorite product placement moments in entertainment history?

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Welcome!

Posted on March 1, 2011 by

Three years ago, Pat was born weighing in at a hefty five pounds and quickly became our bouncing pride and joy. Shortly after, Chris was dropped onto our door step by a worrisome security guard who thought half pint needed a good home. And then there were two—two reminders of the ever so important qualities one needs to possess in our line of work. Flexibility. Playfulness. Resilience. Pat and Chris became our mascots, symbols of our creative and tenacious spirit.

Today, we launch our new blog to accompany our new website. As we post, you will stumble across a wide range of topics, but for the most part they will all circle around media, design and the mischievous adventures of Pat and Chris. We hope you enjoy!

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