Lindsey’s Daily Deal: Looks Like Someone Could Use a Free Coffee, This Means War and Killing Your Babies

By Lindsey Campbell, Captains of Industry

Hey Captains’ readers,

Here’s your Friday Deal:

1. Looks like someone could use a free coffee

When it comes to guerilla, I’m like a crazed groupie. I love, love, love guerilla. For those of you who think I’m talking orangutan, a guerilla campaign is an unconventional way to promote a product. The approach usually takes place in public areas and is intended to get maximum results from minimal resources. Why do I love it so much? Because rather than calling out to your audience in a way that they expect, you’re flipping the switch and inviting them to interact with your brand. In the triathlon of advertising, guerilla is considered mile 26. It’s hard to achieve, but it feels so good when you do.

Which is why I bring you: McDonald’s promotion/transit/guerilla campaign. According to David Kiefaber of AdFreak, Micky D’s needed to get Canadians to start drinking their coffee. To do this, they created transit posters with the line “Looks like someone could use a free coffee” to promote their free coffee giveaway. The kicker is, they planted sleeping train riders to sit right under the posters.

I love it so much, I’m tempted to take off my underpants and fling them on stage.

Not only does this campaign speak true to morning commutes on the train, but it gets people to at least show up for the free cup of coffee. And the cherry on my creative campaign sundae? McDonald’s created a web video explaining what they did so they could share their rock star ways with the rest of the world.

I’m starting the slow clap for you right now, McDonald’s.

2. This means war

If you haven’t heard about former JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater’s trip down the emergency slide after he flipped his lid due to an unruly passenger, you’re missing one hell of a story. Apparently, Slater just about had enough after a passenger called him one of the seven words you can’t say on television. Rather than walking away, Slater snapped. He got on the plane’s PA system and publicly told off the passenger, grabbed a brewski, activated the plane’s emergency chute and slid out. Needless to say, it was one hell of an exit.

But since then, the media has been going crazy over the story. And so have many repressed American workers who fantasize about doing the same thing—or worse. In fact, Andy Borowitz of the Borowitz Report recently got into it with JetBlue VIA Twitter. On August 10, Borowitz tweeted, “Fly JetBlue and randomly call people “motherf*****,” just to see what fireworks ensue.” In response, JetBlue said, “We’d highly recommend rethinking that game. Inappropriate even in jest.” And then the back and forth ensued until JetBlue and Borowitz traveled back in time and started pulling each other’s hair on the playground.

I applaud that JetBlue decided to monitor themselves in social media stratosphere during their PR crisis, but battling a comedian really isn’t the best way to reassure your customers that you’re the airline to choose. It just goes to show that even major brands aren’t immune to taunting and teasing.

I hope this story helps the kids who are going to get a swirly today feel a little better.

3. Sometimes, you gotta kill your babies

I learned a lot of things during my time in ad school. Don’t eat sushi from Campus Convenience. Never chew gum in Faul’s class. And most importantly, sometimes, you have to kill your babies.

In the creative ad world, copywriters and art directors come up with hundreds of ideas before they find the one that works. And a lot of the time, they’ll fall in love with one or two of them. You can tell because like any proud parent, they’ll light up like a Christmas tree when they talk about it. They’ll show off pictures to everyone in the office. And you get the vibe that they’d throw down with anyone who thinks that their baby is less than superior. But unfortunately, creative teams have to learn to say goodbye to some of their favorite ideas. Why? Well, there are a number of reasons. Maybe it’s not on strategy. Or, it might not be within the budget. Maybe it’s just not as good as they think it is. Whatever the reason, it’s a tough lesson that every creative has to learn. In fact, Paul Williams of MarketingProfs recently concocted a guide to help keep brainstorming sessions on track. It’s called the “Why + How = Great Idea Guide.” Basically, this handy helper reminds a creative team how to stay on track to ensure that ideas aren’t just brag-worthy, but they’re appropriate and feasible as well. I’m not saying it will speed you through the seven stages of grief, but it’ll definitely cut down on the number of times you have to say goodbye.

Download it now at MarketingProfs.

Until Monday,

Captain Lindsey