Marketing blah blah

With summer coming, Magnum, the famous ice cream brand, is launching a new product: “Magnum Temptation Hazelnut with chocolate bonbons.”

To promote it, the brand has crafted an interactive campaign consisting of an advergame called “Pleasure Hunt” in which the heroine (a young woman—and probably Magnum’s typical customer) is searching for bonbons through a wealth of partner websites, all representatives of modern pleasures: travel, jewelry, luxury hotels …

The mini-game is fairly simple and feels a bit like a Mario Bros. classic (move forward and backward; jump to recover the maximum chocolate coins), but it reveals a wonderful digital world. It’s highly interactive with seamless integration of the the partners and websites associated with the advergame—for example, the heroine drives a car on Saab’s website and a hang glider on St Glaubitz’s, just to name a few.

It’s a tasty collaborative marketing and partnership effort. Have a try! Or, if you are not a player, watch this video that tells the heroine’s story across the various websites.

We recently noticed (How could we not, with TV and display ads all over town?) that the 200-year-old French bank Caisse d’Epargne is launching a new identity. The bank is looking to change its image—maybe to adapt to a changing world, or maybe to modernize itself, rejuvenate the brand and its target, and strengthen the bond between the bank and the public.

The campaign is pure to the point of austerity. A white backround. Black and white photography. The tagline: “The bank. New definition.” And finally, a selection of banking terms with meanings tailored to reflect the new identity. A dedicated website invites people to participate in the bank’s new definition.

The campaign’s core message—transparency and sustainable partnership in the context of crisis—does not whitewash banking’s reputation, and that fact in itself makes us want to believe the message. We await further developments…

Campagne d'affichage La Banque. Nouvelle Définition

A commemorative cup is being sold by a company called Guangdong to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29. Depicted on the cup is the lovely Kate, smiling as always. But wait, isn’t that the wrong brother? Sure enough, the face next to the future bride’s is Prince Harry’s. Oops! The muddled mug (so to speak) is bound to make you snicker. You might almost think the whole site (which offers only this product) was meant as a gag …