The “Bolt-On.” Microsoft Internet Explorer 8: A Browser For The Better

This is what’s called a “bolt-on.”

In its efforts to get “hip,” Microsoft has been running all kinds of ads. And it’s well-known that Crispin has the Windows portion of the business (with their “I’m a PC” work). In the past, Crispin has famously launched multiple campaigns for a single brand (Burger King, VW and Microsoft come to mind, not to mention when they had Mini).

So when you see an ad for the new Microsoft browser that’s pretty damn strange, you might think, “Was that Crispin?” I did.



Well, the answer is no. This campaign is from a shop called Bradley and Montgomery (bamideas.com). And it gets stranger.

Guess who directed it? Bobcat Goldthwait (aka, Bobcat Goldthwait, Commercial Director).

But this blog post isn’t about any of that.

It’s about the “bolt-on.”

By “bolt-on,” I’m talking about a campaign that has an auxiliary component – another spot, website, sidecar of a campaign to go along with it - one with a charitable spin.

In perhaps one of the least strategic examples of this, Internet Explorer 8 is doing good by donating to Feeding America. (Is it me, or have they become the cause-du-jour lately?)

They say, "One in eight Americans struggle to find enough to eat. Download Internet Explorer 8 and we’ll donate 8 meals to help feed the hungry." It's a Browser for the Better. And apparently the connection is ... the number eight?



If Microsoft Internet Explorer wants to do some good, how about putting computers in inner-city schools? Or something – anything – to do with technology, or enabling access to information, or privacy issues? Feeding the hungry is 100% worthy, and 0% strategic.

Don’t get me wrong. I love it when the hungry get fed. But this choice made a lot more sense when Quaker Oats did it with Goodby and Edelman. Sure, that was another “bolt-on” campaign, but one that was a lot more strategic and closely tied to their main campaign.

Complicating matters even further, is the main campaign inventing fake ailments that IE 8 cures. Okay, that's not entirely original, but still funny. So, if you're going to add a charitable component, maybe you could help cure a REAL ailment. Hm? Just a thought.

Bolt-ons aren't bad. But this one is a missed opportunity to do something that's strategically aligned with what the brand stands for. When choosing to do some good, that's always a solid place to start. Decide what the brand/campaign stands for. Then the choice of what charity to support reinforces the core identity of the brand.

(Thank you Brandon Murphy, Director of Strategic Planning at my agency, for coining the term “bolt-on.” You can read his blog HERE.)

Trendwatch 2009: Everybody’s Making The World A Better Place

Creativity Magazine highlights the best creative work being done daily.

In today’s online edition, I couldn’t help but notice how many agencies are making the world better in some way. Or at least pretending to.

DDB Brasil asks you to “Think Globally.”

Y&R Tel Aviv fights for a baby sea turtle.

M&C Saatchi makes an Australian cable company seem whale-friendly (naked branding in “good” clothing).

TBWA/Chiat/Day creates a celebrity radio station for the Tap Project, HERE.

Rubin Postaer is pushing its hybrid, the Insight. (A green product, but not green marketing at all.)


And of course, people are still watching Crispin’s collaboration with the Coen brothers for Reality (“there’s no such thing as clean coal”), and Leo Burnett’s collaboration with Alanis for WWF’s Earth Hour. (Already covered in earlier blog entries.)

Not to mention the Boxed Water packaging, and Agencies In Action hunger-fighting campaign.

All in one week.

Some of this is pure Cause marketing, and some of it doesn’t do much “good” at all. But it’s all pushing to make the world a better place.

Now if we can just get bigger brands to use their big ol’ budgets and mobilize their big ol’ consumer bases behind this kind of thinking, imagine the kind of change that could bring.

The people are buying.

You Don’t Have To Be Crispin To Get The Coen Brothers To Direct Your Commercial

Okay, this is really more like political advertising, or Cause Marketing, but still. I would kill to get the Coen bros to direct something I wrote. And as it turns out, they care about stuff! Like the environment! Let’s do some math.

Odds of a famous director shooting your commercial about a product: 1%.

Odds of a famous director shooting your commercial about a product if you’re Crispin: 2%.

Odds of a famous director shooting your commercial about a product that helps the planet in some way: 32%.

People put their talent behind causes. And if a company has a cause, then they have a leg up on attracting talent.

Read more, here.
You can see the spot here.

I love Crispin’s work as much as anyone, but this spot left me flat. I don't blame the Coen’s. (I love them more than Crispin.) I think it's because in the end this is another parody campaign. It's very appropriate for this client/cause since it's a bit of an anti-marketing message, but we've seen parodies a lot.

This, however, is brilliant: