Stated succinctly: Any advertising campaign's top priority is raising and reaffirming brand awareness.
But ... what happens when an advertisement goes awry?
Such is the recent (public) case of the confusing Mike & Ike Candy billboards that have sprouted around cities nationwide.
The billboard puts on display the fantastical (more fantasy, less fantastic) feud between the candy's two namesakes. In the case of this billboard, Mike has angrily--or jealously?--crossed out Ike's name from the candy's packaging.
The billboard, pictured:
As they speed by in moving cars, buses and trains, motorists are supposed to assume that the graffiti was done intentionally by an imaginary character who vied for little public attention in recent years.
Mike & Ike's parent company, Just Born, has raised the advertising stakes this year: according to the Kantar Media unit of WPP, Just Born "just" got by in 2011, shelling out a measly $125,000 in advertising expenses last year.
And according to the New York Times, "The campaign is set top include television spots and an animated billboard in Times Square, bringing the campaing's total estimated cost tp $15 million ... The campaign will last for a year, when the answer to whether Mike and Ike reconcile will be revealed."
This all equates to a feeble, misfired attempt at suspense creation.
The campaign is primarily aimed at consumners aged 13 to 17 and was conjured up by Just Born's soon-to-be former advertising agency, the Elevator Group.
This learning lesson in message clarity will cost this candy company an estimated $15 million ... That kind of money spent on a message that's cloudy and convoluted?
Trips to the dentist are less painful.
But ... what happens when an advertisement goes awry?
Such is the recent (public) case of the confusing Mike & Ike Candy billboards that have sprouted around cities nationwide.
The billboard puts on display the fantastical (more fantasy, less fantastic) feud between the candy's two namesakes. In the case of this billboard, Mike has angrily--or jealously?--crossed out Ike's name from the candy's packaging.
The billboard, pictured:
As they speed by in moving cars, buses and trains, motorists are supposed to assume that the graffiti was done intentionally by an imaginary character who vied for little public attention in recent years.
Mike & Ike's parent company, Just Born, has raised the advertising stakes this year: according to the Kantar Media unit of WPP, Just Born "just" got by in 2011, shelling out a measly $125,000 in advertising expenses last year.
And according to the New York Times, "The campaign is set top include television spots and an animated billboard in Times Square, bringing the campaing's total estimated cost tp $15 million ... The campaign will last for a year, when the answer to whether Mike and Ike reconcile will be revealed."
This all equates to a feeble, misfired attempt at suspense creation.
The campaign is primarily aimed at consumners aged 13 to 17 and was conjured up by Just Born's soon-to-be former advertising agency, the Elevator Group.
This learning lesson in message clarity will cost this candy company an estimated $15 million ... That kind of money spent on a message that's cloudy and convoluted?
Trips to the dentist are less painful.
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