Throw J.C. Penny a bone. They did it again.

I’m a sucker for a well-done viral video. Especially the customizable ones. You may remember the post about Mom’sRising.org’s truly wonderful Mother’s Day video which remains one of my favorites. I also thought J.C. Penny’s first Doghouse video was pretty funny and worth spreading.

They’ve gotten a bit more savvy this year by allowing you to submit your own man to a review board for his supposed sins.

This is very funny and well-produced. It walks the line of making fun of men without being too vicious (which would be a big mistake) and without making women look like shrews. Which would, of course, be another mistake.

I had to make up stuff about my husband  (yes, he’s wonderful) in order to get the customized video sent his way. We’ll see how it goes. Until then, you might also want to watch yet another really well-done customizable vid.  Hans Rosenhoff sent it my way after seeing my presentation in Stockholm which featured the Mom’s Rising film. This film is in Swedish, but watch it anyway as the production values are great. According to Hans, it’s from the state owned television company SvT in Sweden. They have a license fee system and in this film they make a heros of the viewers who regularly pay this fee. (Many people don’t.) NPR could use an idea like this.

Would a smart viral film work for your brand?

Marketing Health to Women: when good messages go bad

I just got back from speaking at a great conference in D.C. on Marketing Health Care to Women .  Hence, the Funny Friday video is a couple of days late. However, I can assure you that, like all the best funny stuff, this one taps the truth nerve.  Today I give you Sara Haskin’s take on how big pharma targets women. I’ve worked with many good people  in this industry and I’ve  just met some new ones at this conference. They’re all working hard to create better advertising, but until that happens, a thick skin and a sense of humor is in order.

Funny Friday Video: “Women” Creative Execs

AWNY is the only group I know that is actively trying to do something about the dearth of women in advertising. It’s a serious subject, but this is a damn funny video. Lee Clow looks great in heels. Who knew?

Time Magazine, “The State of the American Woman” reminds us. Women, know your place.

In honor of the Time magazine cover story on the how women are more powerful and less happy, a funny reminder of how far we’ve come. Yet how so much remains the same if only we were honest.

Say Yes to Beautiful, Without Paying the Price

This blog entry was written by our fabulous intern, Lindsay Chronister. She’s an advertising student at UT Austin. She will be graduating this May and is a part of the Texas Media Sequence. And now, a bit about Suave.
 
Yes, we know the Suave campaign has been around for a while, but we’re talking about it anyway. Why? Because there are not a lot of campaigns like it. Why? We have no idea. It’s brilliant!
 
In 2007, Unilever’s Suave set out to find the answer to this question: Can motherhood and womanhood co-exist? Yes, but 84% of mothers have admitted to letting themselves go, yet 76% think it’s just as important that mothers take care of themselves as well as their families. Can you spot a discrepancy here? Suave spotted an opportunity.
 
In an Ad Age article Gigi Caroll says “I’m a mother, not a moron.” There are no perfect moms and moms are tired of being portrayed as such. She says moms want “a dose of reality.” Suave offers this in their campaign. In the Suave anthem commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3dxavCZ84k&feature=fvw) a woman is featured as she progresses through dating, engagement, getting married and having kids. It features her in all the chaos of being a mom and shows how this can affect her hair and ultimately, how she feels as a woman. The commercial is humorous and full of truth. Here’s the best part…
 
-93% of moms said they feel good when they take care of themselves
-76% feel happier and more attractive
-60% feel more feminine
-Over 50% feel they are setting a good example for their children
 
Here’s what Jennifer, a mommy blogger had to say…
“Maybe it’s a bit simplistic to think that simply washing my hair with a Suave shampoo is going to help the woman in me come out, especially since I spend the vast majority of my days covered in spit-up. However, the fact that this ad campaign speaks to the fact that I deserve more than daily laundry and tantrum control, leaves me wanting to hi-five the ad executives who realized this often overlooked fact. Since hi-fives are unlikely, I’ll just continue to buy my Suave Sleek Shampoo, Conditioner, and Smoothing Liqui-Gel.”
 
We love the Suave campaign because we can totally relate. What so many marketers miss every day is that moms (and all consumers, ahem, people) are not just another demographic. They have real lives and real problems and real needs. Are you addressing them?
 
In our recent research, we found that women feel the best thing a company can do for them is solve a problem. That’s why women love the Suave campaign. Suave acknowledges the hectic life of a mother and her common budget constraints and solves the problem with affordable hair care solutions that can make her feel beautiful without feeling guilty about it. Perfection!

Funny Friday Video: Pulling your hair into a ponytail is not the same thing as taking a shower.

I’m working on a presentation I’ll be giving in Sweden next month and I’m looking for examples of of well-executed humor in campaigns targeting women. They are rare, but, as I’ve mentioned before,  this one makes the cut . It’s a customizable “Mother of the Year Award”  viral video from MomsRising.org. The one I got named me, Mary Dean, as the honored recipient.

And that’s not even the funniest part.

Do you know of a commercial, viral video, print ad, or radio spot that does a good job of using humor to connect with you as a woman or a mom? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Funny (but true) Friday video: When a brand loves a woman….this won’t happen

I was delivering a keynote in Dubai a couple of years ago and one of the other presenters at the marketing conference used this video in her presentation. I thought it was a brilliant, succinct and funny summary of  most marketer’s myopia when it comes to connecting with women.   Once you’ve had a good laugh, go back and consider some of the points it makes. My particular favorite is the roll of humor. Women would actually welcome much more humor in advertising and marketing. It’s just that the little boy gags ad agencies produce rarely reach, much less tickle, our funny bone.

What brand do you need to break up with today? They just wanted to get into your purse.

Funny Friday Video: Apple is…..superlative

I’ve just started a new feature on this blog. The Funny Friday Video. I’ll try to keep them marketing related, but I reserve the right to go for a cheap laugh every now and then.

Today, we’ll stick to the subject. Sort of.

As most of you know, I am a huge fan of Apple’s advertising and marketing. I think they are one of the only companies who understand the art of marketing to Gender 2.o. Their marketing and products are just as appealing to women as they are to men because Apple keeps it human.

Apple’s success makes this video true. And the truth is at the root of most humor.

Enjoy! And have a super, awesome, beautiful, easy weekend. (That over-the-top salutation will make sense after you watch the video.)

Women: If you’re happy and you know it, don’t read this survey

Have you heard? Women’s happiness levels have been declining since 1972. We get sadder as we age. The one thing most depressed women have in common is….. children.

Supposedly these are the findings of not just one but 6 major studies. And apparently the malaise is worldwide.

Excuse me while I wipe that silly grin off my face.

By now, you’ve probably seen the Huffington Post article by Marcus Buckingham and the Sunday column by Maureen Dowd citing the long-term studies that “prove” these facts. Of course, a lot of women simply don’t believe it. Some just don’t like the fact that the news is being delivered by a man.

Me?  I’m more interested in WHY it could be true.

Marcus covered a lot of the more obvious killjoys of modern life and he’s let most of them off the hook.  We can’t blame our increasing sulkiness on the fact that we now have jobs AND do most of the work at home. Men are sharing more equally in that burden so we should be getting happier.

Evidently it’s not because we work longer hours than men, because, according to Marcus, we don’t.  The studies showed that men and women work the same number of hours each day. (I’m thinking this may have something to do with women’s definition of “work.”)

And, finally, it’s not because of gender-based stereotyping because evidently that doesn’t exist anymore. (Really? I thought I spotted some scurrying under a desk at my last corporate job. And girlfriends do whisper about sightings in their own lives.)

So, what could it be?

Interestingly enough, I think one of the answers might be right under Marcus’s nose.

Marcus’s friend Oprah did a study about 3 years ago exploring women and change. It seems we’re pretty hooked on change when we see a way to improve things in our lives or the lives of our family and community.

In short, “good enough” is not enough for women if they’ve got any control over the situation.

And it’s not because we’re malcontents. Whether it’s a new plan to get the family to sit down at the table for dinner, or a personal re-invention project that includes creating a more meaningful career and saving a species, women are almost continuously in the process of changing some part of their world for the better.

“But change is good! Why would that add to our unhappiness?” you’re probably wondering. And you’re right. Heck, back when there were only a few areas of our lives that we had any control over, it was probably satisfying to strive. To change. To make EVERYTHING better.

But now, so many things are broken. And, theoretically, we have the power to fix them all.

If only we had the time.

Feeling a singular responsibility for constant improvement is a theme I’ve certainly seen over 20 years of interviewing thousands of women about everything from exercise and health to blue jeans and toothpaste. It’s just that I always saw it as one of our strengths.

I’d still like to think that it is. It would make me so happy.

Equality does not equal sameness

Thank you Kate Rockwood for today’s headline and a smart article in Fast Company about the business benefits of recognizing that…drum roll please…..wait for it….. MEN AND WOMEN ARE DIFFERENT.

Duh. I know, it’s a no-brainer. But it’s also been a fairly taboo subject until recently.

If you’ve spent any time clawing your way up a corporate ladder over the past 20 years, you’ve probably put some effort into downplaying any of the myriad ways you’re different from men. The national and corporate dialogue has been there to help you do it. Somewhere in the talk about equality we all started assuming we had to be the same. We fell into that typically American trap of thinking any differences automatically constituted a value judgement. 

After all, if there’s a difference between object A and object B, it must mean one of them is superior right?
Nope. Sometimes it just means they’re different. Although if you’re a brand who reacts to this information intelligently, it can certainly pay off.

Just ask companies like Pure Digital. They know that recognizing our differences can lead to sales superiority.