Cameron and I were surfing one of our favorite time-waster sites, I can haz cheezburger, and we were served up a banner ad that I couldn’t help but clicking for a pretty intriguing banner for Chairman Meow/Obey the Pure Breed. Turns out it links to a Cafe Press site with Constructivist/Shepherd Fairey style posters and products featuring felines and canines. Very cute. I like the Border Collie posters as well, as they are one of my favorite dog breeds. I don’t know what is happening to me but I’ve clicked on two advertising links in the past day. Either I’m becoming more and more of a sucker for banner ads, or maybe there is just better advertising inventory now that is more relevant to me?

In advertising, we often make distinctions between “traditional” and “interactive” advertising. While I dislike these terms, and often use air-quotes in my own conversations about “traditional” advertising, I also realize that the two are often different beasts. Sean from two forty eight put together a deck about how traditional agencies need to wake up and embrace digital coffee. Or something like that. The deck is a bit hard to read (fonts are small) but his points are valid to anyone who is trying to invoke change at a traditional shop.

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Goodby, Silverstein & Partners launched an in-banner video with geo-targeting integrated with Google Earth for Saturn Aura. The New York Times quotes Rich Silverstein as saying, “I feel 10 years younger.” Red Herring notes:

Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the company that did the “Got Milk?” campaign, may have added another chapter in the online advertising story—a saga that is just beginning.

Regardless of whether it is a new chapter or not, we’re just pleased at the execution, and hope it will create fantastic results through consumer engagement.

It turns out that the widely popular lonelygirl15 on YouTube is a concoction made up by Hollywood. Lonelygirl15 (a.k.a “Bree” on her video posts) began posting her videos in early June 2006, and quickly became a phenomenon, jumping to the second most subscribed channel on YouTube, and people even started to respond with their own video responses to lonelygirl15’s video posts. While the details of who really is behind the posts (and why) are yet to unfold, there are plenty of upset fans who feel duped.

The discovery was made by lonelygirl15 fans who as internet sleuths detected that the IP address from emails sent by lonelygirl15 were coming from CAA (Creative Artists Agency) fueling speculation that the video posts were a viral campaign for an upcoming horror film release. Furthermore, the creators posted a message on a fan website for lonelygirl15, where they admitted she was an actor, but failed to provide any further information, stating:

Right now the biggest mystery of Lonelygirl15 is “who is she?” We think this is an oversimplification. Lonelygirl15 is a reflection of everyone. She is no more real or fictitious than the portions of our personalities that we choose to show (or hide) when we interact with the people around us.

Regardless if CAA is behind this new approach of marketing, the real question is should marketers consider this to be an appropriate way of reaching their audience. When it comes to advertising, there has been a current debate on whether it is ok to essentially hide the true origin of a campaign in a online teaser or viral component, or whether the true intent and message should be transparent to the audience. The repercussions of keeping the true intent (i.e. marketing campaign, advertisment for a movie, etc.) from the audience could include the potential of the viewers feeling alienated or angry by being duped. And that, could cause serious brand management issues.

After months of hype-building for the Samuel L. Jackson vehicle, Snakes on a Plane, the film opened with much fan-fare this past weekend. Weekend box office figures have been tallied, and the results are out. The film apparently did not fare as well as the film distributor hoped, taking in only $15.2 for the past weekend.

That being said, the marketing campaign that led up to the movie premiere was still an interesting exercise in using the internet to promote a film. From personalized mobile phone messages and emails, to a plethora of SoaP Parodies on You Tube, to customized templates on MySpace, the online excitement leading up to the film’s release was dizzying. And while the film didn’t provide much more of a plot than a bunch of poisonous snakes hanging out a plane, the audience participation at the screenings has been striking, and even an audience participation script is being distributed throughout the online world. So the film may not be a blockbuster hit, and it may not be up for an Oscar this year, but it still may have the chance to turn into a cult classic, a la Rocky Horror Picture Show.