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Baker Street
October 30, 2018
Brian Bacino

Stupid Fresh Time Machine Idea for Honda

By:

OK, this is the dumbest thing we’ve ever done for Honda. I think it’s my favorite.

Tasked with a straight-forward, shout-from-the-rooftops brief: “buy any new Honda now and pay nothing for 90 Days,” we created this clever notion that for a limited time, Hondas are like magic time machines.

Which, of course, means you can buy a Honda today and have enough time to grow ridiculous beards, hairstyles and give birth to your baby before you have to pay.

We imagined 90 days passing before your eyes, but rather than invest in special effects, we went with dumb jump cuts that make you smile. No matter how many times we see the joke, it’s a smile and a reminder that you can get any new Honda right now and pay nothing for 90 days.

We had some fun with our social messaging too, including the best Facebook header ever, if you like wagging dog tails:

Facebook Cover Video:

Social Media Social GIF: Civic

Social Media Social GIF: Accord

Social Media Social GIF: CR-V

Social Media Social GIF: Kelley Blue Book

And one of our better radio spots of the year was inspired by the most famous time machine ever — The DeLorean.

Baker Street Advertising Credits:
President: Jack Boland
Chief Creative Officer: Brian Bacino
Chief Strategy Officer: Don Donovan
TV Copywriter: Brian Bacino
Art Director (All Media): Sarah Inglis
Radio & Social Media Copywriter/Social Video Editor: Harrison Chapman
Producer: Brody McHugh
Creative Manager/Script Supervisor: Lesly Pyle
Group Account Director: Dan Nilsen
Associate Account Director: Christine Rodriguez
Account Supervisor: Megan Boland
Media Director: Glenn Yajko
Media Broadcasting Supervisor: Sheila Taylor
Media Supervisor: Jena Benzel
Senior Broadcast Buyers: Shelly Kalianis/Cel Vital Bella

Production Credits:
Director: Brian Bacino, Baker Street Advertising
Executive Producer: Jed Mortenson, Waypoint Films
Director of Photography: Kevin Emmons
Line Producer: Kevin Hayes
Editor: Michael Pickman-Thoon, Rough House Editorial
Colorist: Roger Krakow, Rough House Editorial
Graphics: Eric Stafford, Rough House Editorial
Audio Mixer: Andy Greenberg, One Union Recording

Accolades, Awards, Brian Bacino, Creative Chief B2, Honda, Uncategorized

October 9, 2018
Jena Benzel

This just in…Baker Street Advertising Snags SMARTIE for Hispanic Mobile Media Effort

By:

Baker Street’s multi-channel Siempre Contigo Hispanic Media effort for Honda continues to get attention, this time winning a SMARTIE Award for outstanding Mobile Amplification and Location-Based Targeting.

Check out the award video, created by our partners, Clear Channel OOH, to see how our Media Bakers are blending cutting-edge mobile technology and old school Out Of Home to create dramatic results.

OOH Board | Odyssey

OOH Board | CR-V

Before winning the SMARTIE Award, Baker Street’s media caught the eye of Dealer Marketing Magazine in this article that appeared in our blog post from July 2018.

Credits, Baker Street Advertising:
President: Jack Boland
Media Director: Glenn Yajko
Media Supervisor: Jena Benzel
Chief Strategy Officer: Don Donovan
Chief Creative Officer: Brian Bacino
Art Director: Ken Woodard
Group Account Director: Dan Nilsen
Associate Account Director: Christine Rodriguez
Account Supervisor: Megan Boland

Accolades, Awards, Baker Streeters, Digital Marketing, Honda, Uncategorized

August 2, 2018
Brian Bacino

It Takes a Village to Raise a Trophy

By:

It takes a village to raise a trophy – a village of dedicated, creative thinkers in every department – planning, media, account, creative and production – along with great clients.

Our Baker Street Advertising village scooped up 6 Communicator and 5 Telly Awards, as two of the nation’s prestigious advertising awards announced their winners.

Below is a breakdown of the awards and the celebrated work:

Communicator Awards:

SF Giants Interactive Campaign | Gold
— “We Are Sundays
— “Two For Tuesdays
— “Day Baseball
— “Orange Fridays

SF Giants :30 TV Spot | Gold
— “Meet the Closer

NorCal Honda Online Campaign | Gold
— “Civic Reasons
— “Speed vs. Space
— “Iceberg
— “Run The World

NorCal Honda Craft in Copywriting | Gold
— “Civic Reasons

NorCal Honda Online Animation | Gold
— “Iceberg

NorCal Honda Online Promotional Video | Silver
— “Speed vs. Space

Telly Awards:

SF Giants Interactive Campaign | Gold
— “We Are Sundays
— “Two For Tuesdays
— “Day Baseball

SF Giants :30 TV Spot | Gold
— “Meet the Closer

SF Giants Interactive Film | Silver
— “We Are Sundays

SF Giants Interactive Film | Silver
— “Orange Fridays

NorCal Honda Online Campaign | Bronze
— “Civic Reasons
— “Speed vs. Space
— “Iceberg

NorCal Honda | Pre-Roll Video | “Civic Reasons”

NorCal Honda | Pre-Roll Video | “Speed vs Space”

NorCal Honda | Pre-Roll Video | “Iceberg” 

NorCal Honda | Pre-Roll Video | “Run the World” 

SF Giants | Interactive Film | “We Are Sundays”

SF Giants | Interactive Film | “Two For Tuesdays” 

SF Giants | Interactive Film | “Day Baseball” 

SF Giants | Interactive Film | “Orange Fridays” 

SF Giants | :30 TV Spot | “Meet the Closer” 

Baker Street Advertising Credits (NorCal Honda Work):
President: Jack Boland
Chief Creative Officer: Brian Bacino
Chief Strategy Officer: Don Donovan
Copywriters: Brian Bacino/Robert Leon/Sarah Inglis/Bob Dorfman/Lesly Pyle
Art Directors: Sarah Inglis/Ken Woodard
Producers: Julie Costanzo/Brody McHugh/Lauren Finerman
Senior Strategist: Howie Leibach
Group Account Director: Dan Nilsen
Account Supervisor: Christine Rodriguez
Senior Account Executive: Megan Boland
Media Director: Glenn Yajko
Media Broadcasting Supervisor: Sheila Taylor
Media Supervisor: Jena Benzel
Senior Broadcast Buyers: Shelly Kalianis/Cel Vital Bella

Production Credits (NorCal Honda Work):
Directors: Soloman Burbridge, Joshua Cox and Rob Shaw, Bent Image Lab
Partner/Executive Producer: Ray DiCarlo, Bent Image Lab
Executive Producer: Anthony Greene, Bent Image Lab
Producers: Brianna Vitale/Gabi Villasenor, Bent Image Lab
Sound Engineer: Lance Limbocker, Limbocker Studios

Baker Street Advertising Credits (SF Giants Work):
President: Jack Boland
Chief Creative Officer: Brian Bacino
Chief Strategy Officer: Don Donovan
Copywriters: Brian Bacino/Robert Leon/Bob Dorfman
Art Directors: Ken Woodard/Jason Wong
Interactive/Cinemagraph Art Director: Xavier Li
Producer: Brody McHugh
Creative Manager/Script Supervisor: Lesly Pyle
Senior Strategist: Howie Leibach
Account Supervisor: Nick Spillner
Senior Account Executive: Juliana King
Media Director: Glenn Yajko
Media Broadcasting Supervisor: Sheila Taylor
Media Supervisor: Jena Benzel
Senior Broadcast Buyers: Shelly Kalianis/Cel Vital Bella

Production Credits (SF Giants Work):
Director: Brian Bacino, Baker Street Advertising
Executive Producer: Mark Dwyer, Dwyer Productions
Director of Photography: Cliff Traiman, Little Giant Lighting & Grip
Director of Photography “Meet The Closer”: Keith Pikus
Line Producer: Jon Bowden
Editor: Alan Chimenti, Ntropic Editorial
ECD/Founder: Nate Robinson, Ntropic Editorial
Post Producer: Emily Avoujageli & Danielle Cheifetz, Ntropic Editorial
VFX Director: Aaron Vasquez, Ntropic Editorial
VFX Artists: Ethan Chang & Miguel Diaz-Rivera, Ntropic Editorial
Colorists: Chris Martin, Nick Sanders, & Kristy Navarro, Ntropic Editorial
Graphics Artist: Erica Poat, Ntropic Editorial
Flame Artist: Mark Everson & Todd Hemsley, Ntropic Editorial
Junior Flame Artist: Jerome Knight, Ntropic Editorial
Rotoscoping Producer: John Mendaros​, Ntropic Editorial
Rotoscoping Artists: Roel Elaco, Jun dela Pena, Alfred Ilagen, Ntropic Editorial
Post Assistants: Gillen Burch & Yvonne Pon​, Ntropic Editorial
Audio Mixer: Andy Greenberg, One Union Recording

Accolades, Awards, Baker Streeters, Brian Bacino, Creative Chief B2, Honda, SF Giants, Sports, Sports Marketing, Uncategorized

July 27, 2018
Glenn Yajko

Finding New Success In Classic Media

By:

What do you do when you have a highly-successful Hispanic advertising campaign that has fueled a majority of incremental total sales growth but is beginning to flatten? You reshuffle the media budget and meddle with the media mix.

That’s exactly what Baker Street Advertising did when we decided to introduce Outdoor media to the Siempre Contigo campaign.

We looked to outdoor as a way to increase reach among Hispanic car buyers while avoiding wasteful over-saturation within existing media. In addition, we wanted to bring the inspirational “Siempre Contigo” (“Always with you”) message into the neighborhoods where our prospective buyers live and work. Using mobile data to map movements of the Hispanic audience segment, we identified Out of Home (OOH) locations that over-indexed for reaching the Hispanic community. Locations were not purchased in the traditional 4-week cycle, but rather synched up with TV/Radio/Online in shorter bursts to maximize effectiveness of the campaign message and incentives. In addition, each Northern California Honda Dealer outdoor location was geo-fenced to deliver re-targeted mobile ads to those exposed to the OOH message, thereby increasing frequency and engagement with Hispanic auto-intenders.

Needless to say, the Northern California Honda Dealer OOH campaign of leveraging mobile data to identify place-based locations and deliver “incentive” messaging has been a tremendous success as outlined in this article from Dealer Marketing Magazine.

OOH Media Credits, Baker Street Advertising:
Media Director: Glenn Yajko
Media Supervisor: Jena Benzel

The OOH is an extension of a multi-media campaign including the following heartwarming TV spots:

Antonio’s | :30 TV Spot

Missing Monkey | :30 TV Spot

Floaties | :30 TV Spot

Credits, Baker Street Advertising:
President: Jack Boland
Chief Creative Officer: Brian Bacino
Chief Strategy Officer: Don Donovan
Copywriter: Claudio Martinez-Valle
Art Director: Ken Woodard
Producer: Brody McHugh
Creative Manager: Lesly Pyle
Group Account Director: Dan Nilsen
Associate Account Director: Christine Rodriguez
Senior Account Executive: Megan Boland
Senior Strategist: Howie Leibach
Media Broadcasting Supervisor: Sheila Taylor
Senior Broadcast Buyers: Shelly Kalianis/Cel Vital Bella

Credits, Production:
Director, Brian Bacino, Baker Street Advertising
Executive Producer, Jed Mortenson, Waypoint Films
Director of Photography: Kevin Emmons
Editor: Alan Chimenti, Ntropic
Producer: Tamara Treu, Ntropic
Senior Flame Artist: Amanda Amalfi, Ntropic
Sound Engineer: Andy Greenberg, One Union Recording

Analytics, Honda, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, Uncategorized

June 30, 2018
Lesly Pyle

Our #AskAnyHondaDriver Campaign Performs Just Like a Honda

By:
NorCal Honda’s #AskAnyHondaDriver testimonial campaign is in its 4th year and is the most robust campaign we’ve created so far — with 19 long-format web films and 28 unique TV/web videos since 2015. Talk about legendary dependability.
This year, we feature four new happy Honda stories from all over Northern California.

2014 | Accord | Chris and Kelsey | Monterey 
Teeing it up are two golf pros who definitely drive for show.

2017 CR-V | Samanta | Richmond 
Second, is super sweet Samanta Beltran, who’s a Contra Costa Country school counselor by day, a baker by night and a lifelong Honda driver by choice.

2010 & 2011 Fits | Peters Family | Santa Rosa 
Third, we have 6 feet 6 Jacob, 5-foot Lauren and their 150-pound Great Dane Charles who believe their two Fits are the perfect fit for their modern family.

2016 Odyssey | The Crandalls | Tiburon 
Lastly, The Crandall Family, who have three tiny tots and one of the tightest turns in Tiburon.

Not only does this campaign help drive Honda’s record sales, but it drives people into action. Or should we say, interaction? Before we launched the first five stories back in 2015, research from BSA’s trademark “Discovery” phase revealed that Honda drivers love their Hondas so much, they want to tell the world. So we gave them a stage. We created an interactive platform on NorCal Honda’s Facebook page called “Straight From The Street” where Honda drivers can share their own stories for a chance to have it professionally produced for television and digital media.  

As you can see, it worked. And keeps working, becoming a self-fulfilling cycle of success. Every user-submitted story is a free ad for Honda. And the folks we’ve chosen to feature, above-the-fold so-to-speak, have become evangelists, sharing their souped-up stories with their own networks creating tons of efficiently-priced eyeballs. Hows that for performance? 

To see the previous Honda stories we’ve created since 2015, click here: #AskAnyHondaDriver

Credits, Baker Street Advertising:
President: Jack Boland
Chief Creative Officer: Brian Bacino
Chief Strategy Officer: Don Donovan
Copywriters: Brian Bacino/Lesly Pyle
Art Director: Ken Woodard
Producer: Brody McHugh
Group Account Director: Dan Nilsen
Associate Account Director: Christine Rodriguez
Senior Account Executive: Lisa Coonts
Senior Strategist: Howie Leibach
Media Director: Glenn Yajko
Media Broadcasting Supervisor: Sheila Taylor
Media Supervisor: Jena Benzel
Senior Broadcast Buyers: Shelly Kalianis/Cel Vital Bella

Credits, Production:
Director, Brian Bacino, Baker Street Advertising
Executive Producer, Jed Mortenson, Waypoint Films
Director of Photography: Kevin Emmons
Editor: Alan Chimenti, Ntropic
Producer: Tamara Treu, Ntropic
Senior Flame Artist: Amanda Amalfi, Ntropic
Sound Engineer: Andy Greenberg, One Union Recording

Brian Bacino, Creative Chief B2, Digital Marketing, Honda, Uncategorized

April 23, 2018
Harrison Chapman

Dream Commute

By:

Well, the parade of disasters continues in the news and it seems like now more than ever, people could use an escape. When concepting for Honda’s 2018 Dream Garage Sales Event campaign, we could think of no better opportunity to give people that escape than exploring the “Dream” part of “Dream Garage.” We wanted to show people a safe, kind world where literally every single thing dances and sings in Pee Wee Herman-esque harmony. Every plant, every house, every dog, and even every cloud in the sky smiles upon you. There aren’t even sharp corners in this world because everything is just that safe.

Dream Commute :30 TV Spot

Meanwhile, Honda has been rolling out their increasingly impressive safety suite, Honda Sensing, in most of their new car models. Honda Sensing has all these cool systems that warn you about nearly any danger you could possibly encounter while on the road, in addition to new driver-assistive technologies that help you stay in your lane or brake quickly to avoid collisions. So while our Dream Commute spot is pure fun, it’s pretty much a feature demonstration. Of course, it’s a feature demonstration with a singing dog atop a toilet and a bird that brings you coffee, but a feature demonstration, nonetheless, brought to glorious life by our talented animation partners, Bent Image Lab.

We also had some fun with characters of our Honda Dream World in our social campaign extolling the final days of the National Sales event.

Dream Commute Behind The Scenes Social Video 

Dream Commute Dancing Cast Social GIF

Sound System GIF by NorCal Honda Dealers - Find & Share on GIPHY

Dream Commute Dancing Flowers Social GIF

GIF by NorCal Honda Dealers - Find & Share on GIPHY

Baker Street Advertising Credits:
President: Jack Boland
Chief Creative Officer: Brian Bacino
Chief Strategy Officer: Don Donovan
Copywriter: Harrison Chapman
Art Director: Sarah Inglis
Producer: Brody McHugh
Social Media Animator: Xavier Li
Creative Manager: Lesly Pyle
Senior Strategist: Howie Leibach
Group Account Director: Dan Nilsen
Account Supervisor: Christine Rodriguez
Senior Account Executive: Lisa Coonts
Media Director: Glenn Yajko
Media Broadcasting Supervisor: Sheila Taylor
Media Supervisor: Jena Benzel
Senior Broadcast Buyers: Shelly Kalianis/Cel Vital Bella

Production Credits:
Directors: Solomon Burbridge and Joshua Cox, Bent Image Lab
Executive Producer: Ray Di Carlo, Bent Image Lab
Director of Photography: Kevin Fletcher, Bent Image Lab
Editor: Brent Heise, Bent Image Lab
Colorist: Roger Krakow, Rough House Editorial
Motion Graphics: Eric Stafford, Rough House Editorial
Post Producer: Michael Pickman-Thoon, Rough House Editorial
Audio Mixer: Andy Greenberg, One Union Recording

Digital Marketing, Honda

January 29, 2018
Brian Bacino

The Valentines Sale

By:

Did you know only 54% of Americans celebrated Valentine’s Day last year? That’s down 10% vs. 2007.

Did you know that 41% of people “dread Valentine’s Day”?

Our Behavioral Economist, Howie Leibach, did. And what he discovered drove the brief for this year’s Northern California Honda Dealer’s Valentine’s Day promotional event: There are a lot of things that women do not want for Valentine’s Day, and frankly, what they do want, they are happy to get for themselves.

“Lunch Date” :30

To bring this discovery to life, we brought in Best Selling author of “Otherwise Engaged” and Baker Street Irregular, Suzanne Finnamore, who teamed up with BSA Design Director, Ken Woodard, to craft the perfect voice. It’s authentic. It’s real. (Actually, the first draft was a little too real for Prime Time TV!) We also enlisted Director of Photography, Svetlana Cvetko, to create an elegant film look blending beauty and strength. Finally Umlaut Editor, Jessica Congdon, gave “Lunch Date” the perfect final touch.

The Valentines Monologues:

“Guess What I Want” :30

“Please and Thank You” :30

Using the Interrotron, a camera rig that helps the director make eye contact with the subject while looking directly into the camera lens, we were able to get beautiful authentic performances as Suzanne asked our women what they really wanted, and even more humorously, what they didn’t want for Valentine’s Day. And Rough House Editor, Penny Krueger, found just the right answers.

Baker Street Advertising Credits:
President: Jack Boland
Chief Creative Officer: Brian Bacino
Chief Strategy Officer: Don Donovan
Copywriter: Suzanne Finnamore
Design Director: Ken Woodard
Producer: Brody McHugh
Social Media Video Editor: Harrison Chapman
Creative Manager: Lesly Pyle
Senior Strategist: Howie Leibach
Group Account Director: Dan Nilsen
Account Supervisor: Christine Rodriguez
Senior Account Executive: Megan Boland
Senior Account Executive: Lisa Coonts
Media Director: Glenn Yajko
Media Broadcasting Supervisor: Sheila Taylor
Media Supervisor: Jena Benzel
Senior Broadcast Buyers: Shelly Kalianis/Cel Vital Bella

“Lunch Date” Production Credits:
Film Director: Brian Bacino, Baker Street Advertising
Executive Producer: Mark Dwyer, Dwyer Films
Director of Photography: Svetlana Cvetko
Production Manager: Jon Bowden
Production Coordinator: Mack Thomas
Editor: Jessica Congdon, Umlaut Post Production
Colorist/Graphics: Ivan Miller, Umlaut Post Production
Post & Graphics Producer: Nick Brown, Umlaut Post Production
Audio Mixer: Andy Greenberg, One Union Recording

“The Valentines Monologues” Production Credits:
Film Director: Suzanne Finnamore/Brian Bacino, Baker Street Advertising
Executive Producer: Mark Dwyer, Dwyer Films
Director of Photography: Svetlana Cvetko
Assistant Director: Harrison Chapman, Baker Street Advertising
Production Manager: Jon Bowden
Production Coordinator: Mack Thomas
Editors: Penny Krueger, Rough House Editorial
Graphics: Eric Stafford, Rough House Editorial
Post Producer: James Hagedorn, Rough House Editorial
Colorist: Roger Krakow, Rough House Editorial
Audio Mixer: Andy Greenberg, One Union Recording

Brian Bacino, Creative Chief B2, Data Analytics, Honda

December 27, 2017
Brian Bacino

Honda’s Delicious End to Happy Honda Days

By:

Smell that? That’s not just the smell of Honda’s tasty new Gingerbread spokesman, it’s also the scent of an altering national mood.

“Gingerbread Man” :30 TV Commercial

Our Behavioral Economist, Howie Leibach, detected something in the air this holiday season. People are so exhausted by political issues and global concerns, they are in no mood for anyone trying to sell them something. You probably noticed how many advertisers responded with heart-warming holiday messages, whose connection to a brand promise was at times tenuous. We however had a job to do: We were tasked with creating urgency, in the face of an agitated National mood, for the final days of Honda’s biggest national sales event.

So our content creators dreamt up this holiday fantasy where a Gingerbread Man, trying to avoid being eaten, heads to the Honda dealer for an escape ride. And luckily there’s just a few days left!

Awesome! Urgent yet fun and fanciful. The only problem was it required a full-film shoot plus character development plus CG animation and we only had a month to make it.

That’s when our mighty producers and account peeps squeezed enough time out of our schedule to pull off the Holiday miracle. Then our other-worldly talented friends at Bent, especially animation director and karaoke killa, Josh Cox, helped us create the perfectly baked, high anxiety, Woody Allen inspired Gingerbread Man. Of course before we turned our delicious little friend into a TV star and internet sensation complete with life-size POP and digital assets, we had to find just the right guy. You can see how tough that was in the “lost casting sessions” videos created by our own Harry Houdini Chapman.

“Gingerbread Man Auditions” Social Media Video 1

“Gingerbread Man Auditions” Social Media Video 2

The Gingerbread Man also made an appearance at our annual Baker Street “Santa Stealing” Party.

This was Baker Street at its best: data, insight, creativity, execution, tremendous hustle, and I bet you’ve seen it out there in the market ’cause our media squad rules, for the win.

Baker Street Advertising Credits:
President: Jack Boland
Chief Creative Officer: Brian Bacino
Chief Strategy Officer: Don Donovan
Copywriter: Michael Williams
Art Director: Sarah Inglis
Producer: Brody McHugh
Social Media Video Editor/Copywriter: Harrison Chapman
Social Media Animator: Xavier Li
Creative Manager/Social Media Copywriter: Lesly Pyle
Senior Strategist: Howie Leibach
Group Account Director: Dan Nilsen
Account Supervisor: Christine Rodriguez
Senior Account Executive: Megan Boland
Senior Account Executive: Lisa Coonts
Media Director: Glenn Yajko
Media Broadcasting Supervisor: Sheila Taylor
Media Supervisor: Jena Benzel
Senior Broadcast Buyers: Shelly Kalianis/Cel Vital Bella

Production Credits:
Director: Brian Bacino, Baker Street Advertising
Executive Producer: Jed Mortenson, Waypoint Films
Director of Photography: Kevin Emmons
Line Producer: Kevin Hayes
Colorist: Roger Krakow, Rough House Editorial
Audio Mixer: Andy Greenberg, One Union Recording

Animation Production Credits:
Animation Director: Joshua Cox, Bent Image Lab Partner/Executive Producer: Ray DiCarlo, Bent Image Lab
Producers: Brianna Vitale, Bent Image Lab
Editor: Brent Heise, Bent Image Lab

Brian Bacino, Creative Chief B2, Holiday Advertising, Honda

October 25, 2017
Brian Bacino

NorCal Honda Takes on Millennials

By:

#Millennials #and #Adulting

While developing work for Honda’s latest campaign, targeted toward younger car buyers, we discovered The Holy Grail of Millennial Marketing Secrets:

Millennials are young humans!!!

There it is. We shared our billion bitcoin secret.

We also created a campaign that taps into a powerful life stage our 20-something target is experiencing: “Adulting” — that moment when you find yourself, for the first time, doing very grownup things. And to break through the skepticism, millennials have toward slickly-prepared advertising, we enlisted Bent Image Lab to create a look that seems to be homemade and organic, yet jumps from the small mobile screen with cutting edge technology. By the way, Millennials would hate that last sentence.

Web Videos

“Civic Reasons” :30

“Speed vs Space” :30

“Iceberg” :30

“Run The World” :30

Baker Street Advertising Credits:
President: Jack Boland
Chief Creative Officer: Brian Bacino
Chief Strategy Officer: Don Donovan
Copywriters: Brian Bacino/Robert Leon/Sarah Inglis/Bob Dorfman/Lesly Pyle
Art Directors: Sarah Inglis/Ken Woodard
Producers: Julie Costanzo/Brody McHugh/Lauren Finerman
Senior Strategist: Howie Leibach
Group Account Director: Dan Nilsen
Account Supervisor: Christine Rodriguez
Senior Account Executive: Megan Boland

Production Credits:
Directors: Soloman Burbridge, Joshua Cox and Rob Shaw, Bent Image Lab
Partner/Executive Producer: Ray DiCarlo, Bent Image Lab
Executive Producer: Anthony Greene, Bent Image Lab
Producers: Brianna Vitale/Gabi Villasenor, Bent Image Lab
Sound Engineer: Lance Limbocker, Limbocker Studios

Brian Bacino, Creative Chief B2, Data Analytics, Digital Marketing, Honda

August 19, 2017
Howie Leibach

Are Millennials About To Kill Ads Too?

By:

According to new research from The McCarthy Group over 84% of Millennials no longer respond to traditional forms of advertising, nor do they trust it.

And Only 1% of Millennials say a compelling ad would make them trust a brand more.

It sounds pretty dire; but does the ad industry actually believe this?

BSA has noticed a shift in ad strategy to “address” the polarizing belief that Millennials — the same awful generation who killed cable TV, the beer industry, hotels, and even Applebees — will soon want to kill ads too.

Curious how some agencies are beginning to please these Millennial “media-killing” machines?

Here are 3 big trends I’m seeing right now:

1. The product takes a back seat to content.

So Millennials don’t like ads? Let’s just hide the product behind good content!

Recently Chase created a Battle of the Paddle video to promote Chase QuickPay. Rather than hard-sell their payment product anywhere upfront, Chase was more concerned about great content. They got high profile names to play in a competitive game of ping-pong, and only after breaking lots of furniture at the very end do Steph Curry and Serena Williams subtly use product at the end.

Here, Chase realizes that people are coming to watch the stars. They aren’t necessarily interested in shoving the product down people’s throats. Chase’s value proposition is compelling content, not the product — which is downplayed, but promoted towards the end.

This soft-sell strategy relies heavily on attracting organic eyeballs first, with the hope that Chase’s product trickles down to interest just some of the majority of people — most of whom only came for Steph and Serena content.

2. Destroy the ad.

So Millennials want to skip ads? Let’s just blow it up before they can!

This strategy is being utilized by a few gutsy agencies with a defeatist (or perhaps honest) mindset: if you can’t beat them; join them!

Geico grabs your attention by bragging “You can’t skip this ad because it’s already over!” They know you don’t want an ad to begin with. So just skip it … courtesy of them!

Geico, and other top brands like Honda are filming ads with a new POV: the whole concept of an ad is perhaps too aggressive and silly — and they’re willing to play along.

This rather transparent approach says “hey, we know that you know that all we really want is your attention so let’s just be honest about what’s happening here, make you laugh, and maybe you’ll like us a little more long term.”

Sometimes humility goes a long way and you might take interest in the brand. And sometimes they just entertain you for 6 seconds and you move on with your life.

It could go either way.

3. We’re in on the joke!

Millennials are over ads? Let’s just disguise them as something else altogether!

Netflix was caught trolling themselves in order to promote a new comedy lineup.

To promote their new big comedy lineup Netflix disguised billboards throughout LA as rude Netflix insults. Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Chapelle, Chris Rock, Amy Schumer and Adam Sandler all have multi-million dollar deals on Netflix.

By making themselves the butt of a joke, Netflix got lots of blank stares, but also got lots of people talking — and created a PR firestorm in the process.

Like most of their disruptive content, Netflix got by on word-of-mouth for years. So this approach feeds into their DNA — let’s get people talking first — and worry about the construct second.

So is it finally time to flip your Millennial campaigns up-side-down?

In short…no.

At BSA, we believe you should embrace your product benefits; not hide from them. Yes, you need creativity as all the digital concepts above definitely have, but don’t underestimate the most basic and essential ingredient for success: purchase intent!

In BSA’s most recent NorCal Honda Millennial campaign, we are flashy, fun and hopefully trendy. But we also play up the notion that Millennials are ambitious and want to make things happen. The Honda car models tap into their psyche, offering aspirational benefits — Rule The World, Climb The Ladder, Be the Man/Woman You Want To Be!…It all comes together in a Honda….But first we remind them that it can only happen by getting into the dealership.

Ad Trends

These experimental ad formats are a response to Millennials becoming hyper-stimulated, super-low-attention-span-clicking digital natives who get inundated with 1000s of ads each day.

It leads to a risky agency POV of “whatever we put out there for picky Millennials must now be game-changing content they’ve never seen before!”

But Millennials don’t actually want hyper-stimulating, outside-the-box content. They just need content to be relevant, intriguing and useful.

Yes, Millennials skip ads if they’re bored (59% of them skip) but 29% of them actually watch online ads to full completion.

So of the 80 million Millennials out there, at least 23 million will hear you out at any given moment.

Just make sure you have something to say.

Sources:
Huffington Post
Google Images
Adage
Business Insider
MillennialBranding.com
ClickZ.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-skip-youtube-ads-and-thats-ok-2017-1
http://millennialbranding.com/2015/millennial-consumer-study/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-tyson/millennials-want-brands-t_b_9032718.html
https://www.clickz.com/84-percent-of-millennials-dont-trust-traditional-advertising/27030/
http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/millennial-gen-z-youtube-netflix-video-social-tv-study-1201740829/

Analytics, Data Analytics, Digital Marketing, Honda, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research