Has the American consumer been reduced to such a demographic statistic in our industry that they could only possibly be responding to company dogma or PR spin? In reality the American consumer consists of people. People who don’t want to commit a large chunk of their hard earned income only to get stuck with an inferior and unreliable product. People who are paying attention to what’s going on around them and making intelligent decisions.

Let’s give the American consumer a little credit. Granted, they’re not getting the full story on any of these companies, Ford included. But they’re taking the information available to them and using it to make cogent and reasonable decisions to the extent that they can. And they’re doing it in numbers great enough to be counted. And that’s the best anyone can be expected to do – even some of the marketing geniuses who analyzed this data in the first place.

I love that musical road.

I want all roads to have music.  To be entertaining and engaging rather than annoying and nerve wracking.  Those “stay awake” striations are always a little unnerving.  Wouldn’t musical vibrations keep us awake just as effectively?  And bravo to Honda for making our lives just that little bit better.  I realized, after completing my ten minute fact finding mission, that I wasn’t watching a TV spot per se – I was watching a very cool strategy begin to unfold.

Honda, the car company, has taken it upon themselves to make our roads sing.  And, even more strategically, the “making of” video proclaims that Honda has always been about “connecting drivers to the road”.  OK that’s a bit of a stretch – but undoubtedly one for the marketing textbooks.  These guys are really doing something cool!  And it’s so strategically on target for their brand.  So why am I worried?

Well, for starters, they’re spending a lot of advertising dollars on what I’ll refer to as their “teaser” ads.  Might be brilliant if timed to perfection- but they’ve got a small window of opportunity – and then they’re just wasting money.  Once we get past that we start to wonder if the whole effort will be predicated on one road in Lancaster, California, or if Honda really intends to change this country’s roadscape.  Can Honda afford to make a notable impact – or will they spearhead the effort and attempt to engage engineers and architects designing our roads and bridges, i.e. where are they going with this?  And finally, is all of this really going to make us buy Honda Civics?  In my case the answer would be, hell no – but in fairness they’re probably not targeting me.  I will certainly be watching for reports on how Civic sales are impacted.  And by God I’ll be rooting for them!

The problem is that I’m not a morning person, so it takes everything in my power to get out of the house at a decent hour so I’m not late to work.  Hence I rarely have time to make coffee in the morning.  And that sludge that comes out of the machine at our office is horrific, so I often stop at Starbucks on my way into the office.

This morning, I needed a caffeine hit badly, but I was late and there were 10 cars in line at the Starbucks drive through.  As I sighed, I glanced over at McDonalds next door and saw there were only 2 cars in line.  Crap.  I needed the hit, but I hadn’t ordered a cup of coffee at McD’s for years.  I’d seen all the advertising about their coffee, so what the hell…I swung around and pulled into McDonalds.

Much to my surprise, the coffee was better than I anticipated. Much better. Maybe my expectations were very low, or maybe I’ve been influenced by the advertising, but I can honesty say I’d do it again.  And that realization surprised me, because I don’t do McDonalds.  And haven’t since my kids were in grade school and demanded their McNuggets.

Maybe there is something to all the hype.

Not that I can relate, but I’m sure the core demo this is aimed at can.

Until recently I had a view of green that encompassed some products that conserve energy and some products that are made of recycled components of non-biodegradable materials – in an effort to keep them out of the landfill. Some of the products that I had seen were kind of funky looking – some in a cool way – and all were outrageously expensive. So a commitment might mean spending a lot of money – albeit an investment – to get a product that may not appeal to your aesthetic senses. And I just had to ask myself, was I going to be one of those people – you know, the Hollywood types – who rush to spend their expendable income on all the latest gadgets so that they can be the greenest of everyone they know? The jury was still out.

And then the paradigm shifted. I think it began with one “special” episode of house hunters that featured a couple in search of a “green” home. Being green is a whole lot more complicated than I had ever imagined. And that’s good and also bad. It’s good in that there are some very simple things – that are free, or at least cheap – that are critical in the world of being green. For example, not throwing things away because they’re old. Use them anyway – the Europeans do. If they’re ugly, decorate them – but don’t throw out the old to make way for the new – that’s a big no no. Being a product of the American “throw-away” society is not green!

On the other hand, the House Hunters couple went through a major mental exercise when examining all of the appliances in the various kitchens. Some of them were very old – that’s good. Oh wait, then they’re not energy efficient – that’s bad. I’m still not sure which way to go in that battle, but I think it’s something like: buy the new appliances and then make your dish washer and refrigerator into dressers for your clothing. Your old stove could be used to store wood for your fireplace – and Oh God, I don’t know if you’re supposed to have a wood burning or gas fireplace – or neither!

Suffice it to say that “it’s not easy being green”. But it’s worth making the effort to do a little research on the topic. I will guarantee that you’ll find some things that will be easy to do and make you feel as though you’re making a contribution. It’s likely that there are already some things that you’re doing and you don’t even know it – remember when you chose to hang on to great Aunt Mabel’s desk and not pitch it into the neighbor’s dumpster when they were remodeling – give yourself some props for that. Undoubtedly you’ll find some things that you’re not quite ready to commit to – but keep them in mind for later. Once you know the score – you can decide how green you want to be how soon. And let’s face it – green’s not going away any time soon so you might as well jump in and test the water!

Of course the spot they actually include on their website is much tamer than this viral effort found on YouTube.

Definitely not a typical stroll through the woods. Sainte merde!

Client: Orangina
Agency: FFL, Paris

Reports are the cost was £10m (almost $15 million). OK so it may have fire and beer, but it’s not exactly an original concept. The Honda Cog spot was done in 2003. And I’d bet the budget was a lot less than $15 million.

There are two spots on the site, but two more on YouTube from last year that are just as powerful. Watch this and this.

It’s a brilliant idea when you think about it. The gas station is the one place you always stop for maps and directions. And men, in particular, are notorious for being unwilling to ask for directions (my husband always makes me go in and that’s if I can get him to admit he’s lost). But give a guy some kind of computer device to play with, and he’ll love it.

The pumps, made by Gilbarco Veeder-Root, include an Internet connection and will display Google’s mapping service on a small screen. The initial rollout is fairly small at only 3,500 pumps, and the Google service will be limited, at least initially. Using the pump’s touch pad, drivers will be able to choose a category, like restaurants, bars, hotels,landmarks,etc. After the driver selects a destination, the pump will print out directions. Retailers will choose the listings.

Unlike most of Google’s services, this one won’t include ads Google sells (at least not now). However, participating service stations will be able to make some money from area merchants that want to offer coupons on the service. Google is letting the station owners work with local retailers to set up coupons that drivers can print out along with the directions.