Keep California Beautiful dot org

One great thing about getting a “good” message out there is the free stuff.

Better directors, better talent for less, people donate their time, their costumes, props, and even air time.

BBDO West made this spot look like a million bucks, though I doubt that was the budget. Kudos for that.



Here’s my critique. It’s a cute spot. Entertaining. But will I get involved? Will I schedule a clean up? Probably not.Here I was, ready to join an online group to stay in touch. But they didn’t ask. If I had joined a group, and if a clean-up was happening on some lazy Sunday, maybe I would’ve gone.

It seems the world is outgrowing the traditional clever spot. It’s not enough to entertain. Especially not for a cause.

So while this spot is very entertaining, has my behavior changed? Honestly, no.

Even if someone sees this spot and goes to the website, the website doesn’t convert. There’s no next step, besides a small Facebook button at the bottom.

Point is, there is a MISSION here. Let’s keep California beautiful. In my humble opinion, this spot doesn’t so much engage that mission as it just makes fun of kitsch.

To quote Gareth Kay (formerly of Modernista!, now of Goodby Silverstein, congrats Gareth) … “Do stuff, don’t just say stuff.”


And here’s one of many useful slides from Gareth’s most recent presentation… I didn’t hear him present, so I’m assuming this chart outlines the old way of evaluating good creative (on left), and the new way of evaluating good creative (on right).*

When you have a cause, don’t just entertain me. Enlist me.

(* A few great thoughts from Gareth Kay are posted on SlideShare.net. Just search his name.)

Trendwatch: “The Future Of Marketing” Is Good

So, the head of Planning at Modernista! Gareth Kay has written a little article called “The Future Of Marketing.” In it, he identifies four things smart brands and ad campaigns will be doing more of in the future. And guess what? The number one trend he identifies is NOT “Social Media” (the buzzword of the year). Nope. It’s this:

1. Brands will be built on cultural and social missions, not commercial propositions.

“Marketing historically has been obsessed with the concept of positioning – how you are different to your competitors in your category. Increasingly, great brands are realizing that people don’t see categories and don’t obsess about them. What actually matters is having a point of view on the world, a cultural mission to ask people to rally around. You can begin to see this come to life in marketing ideas like Dove’s ‘Campaign For Real Beauty’ and, more importantly, embedded into the very DNA of businesses.”

To read about his other 3 predictions, go HERE.

(Is it just me, or is it odd that this prediction comes from the agency responsible for the Hummer and Cadillac ads? Hey, some of those ads are enviably fantastic, but those brands seem pretty absent of a “cultural mission.” Perhaps that’s all in the past now. And if you're interested, Modernista's website is strange, and lives HERE.)