Dear Distinguished Subscriber,
Well well well, fancy seeing you here again. Since our last catch up, we’ve not only gone and bagged one but two Campaign Media Awards, we’ve also attended the Festival of Stagwell. What a corker.
Despite the busyness, we couldn’t miss sharing another week of media madness. This week we share Cheetos mishaps, Marmite’s “underground” recruitment methods, why advertising is more effective in the living room, and much, much, more.
Enjoy!
From your friends at Goodstuff.
Stuffed with culture
Olympic winner Simone Biles opens up in new Powerade campaign
In the lead-up to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Olympic champion, Simone Biles, has opened up about her mental health in a new campaign for Powerade. Developed by Open X, “Pause is Power” sends a crucial message to both the public and athletes in competitive industries that we are all human. As part of the campaign, the sports drink brand will offer athletes mental and physical health support throughout the tournament.
Cheetos showcases the mishaps that can happen in disruptive “Other Hand” OOH campaign
Cheetos has poked fun at individuals who eat the crisp with their dominant hand through various marketing stunts for its latest “Other Hand” campaign. The campaign showcases mishap situations that could arise because 99% of Cheetos are consumed with consumer’s dominant hand, meaning they have to perform everyday tasks with their weaker hand.
The campaign was featured across digital, social, and out-of-home platforms, with one notable example being a car struggling to park because the driver was distracted by eating Cheetos with their more dominant hand. NBA athlete Jamal Murray also featured in the creative, using his non-dominant hand for high fives and experiencing difficulty in landing his shots.
Stuffed with creativity
Audible takes over The Observer
To launch Audible’s adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984, The Observer, Orwell’s former employer, sits at the centre. Deploying a variety of formats, the campaign plays with the book’s themes, quotes, glitching, and redactions to highlight its prescience and hyper-relevance in 2024.
A brilliant bit of silliness in Germany sees Hellman’s publicly challenge the 35,000-odd people with the surname Heinz to change to something “with better taste”. Starting as a provocative social post, the campaign culminated in a mockumentary following a Heinz seeking a better life.
Marmite asks WhatsApp in America
A corker, last week, was Marmite UK’s furtive recruitment of willing volunteers to smuggle the spread into Marmiteless N.Y.C. Potential mules were sought via WhatsApp and through “underground” recruitment methods such as flyposting and stickering. The reward was simply the appeal of helping out a fellow lover stateside.
Pedigree replaces your ex with chums
Heartbroken, and dating-app-weary, recent singletons are reassured you can still find love, and indeed love at first sight, with Pedigree’s canine companion matching app. Rebound Dogs can be found (and rescued from shelters), as loving, reliable and faithful companions, for those burned by humans that are less so.
Stuffed with comms
Global and BT partner for a 10-year OOH renewal deal
Global and British Telecom (BT) have announced a new 10-year partnership which will see Global convert conventional BT payphones and kiosks into brand new “Street Hubs” across the UK. The deal comes as part of an effort to improve connectivity across the country, bringing new Street Hubs to over 200 towns and cities across the nation.
The new and upgraded infostructure consists of ATM’s, Payphones, Public Wi-Fi totems and more, and will provide 4G & 5G Wi-Fi connectivity to those nearby. The 10-year deal, running from 2025 – 2035, pledges to convert 2,000 existing sites as well as building brand new ones in local communities that need them.
Why advertising thrives in the living room
A study conducted by Map The Territory and Tapestry Research, commissioned by Thinkbox, has revealed that the living room is the most effective environment at home for advertising, boasting the highest ad recall rates compared to other areas.
This conclusion is based on key factors such as watching professional video content, utilising TV screens, sharing the experience with others, and the positive mood associated with the living room setting.
The study found that professionally made content drives significantly higher ad recall compared to non-professional content, with TV screens being the most effective medium. Additionally, watching advertisements with others boosts ad recall by 23%, highlighting the importance of shared environments. The research also indicates that social media platforms, despite their name, are less suited for shared viewing compared to the living room environment.
Overall, the study underscores the significance of context, emphasizing the impact of factors like screen size, content quality, and social interaction on advertising effectiveness in the home setting.
Discord levels up with new in-app advertising
The popular voice, video, and text chat app, Discord, known for its ad-free stance, is shifting gears and introducing in-app advertising. This decision aims to enhance revenue streams, particularly from gaming-related and Nitro subscriptions.
The ads, dubbed “Sponsored Quests,” will offer users rewards for completing challenges within games or the platform itself, similar to past promotions. Despite efforts to make the ads non-intrusive and allowing users to disable them, initial reactions suggest concerns about trust and user alienation. Some worry that this move could lead users to seek alternatives.
Discord’s move contrasts its previous commitment to an ad-free experience, potentially impacting its user base. While users can opt out of the ads, it’s uncertain whether this option will be exclusive to Nitro subscribers who already pay to unlock features and perks across the platform.
Additionally, Discord plans to expand its sales team to support this new advertising model, despite recent layoffs. It’s very interesting to see the direction Discord is moving in and the extent to which they roll out this new scheme, it’s certainly one to watch for future opportunities in the digital space.
Thanks for tuning into the 180th edition of Stuffed.
Catch you next week.