On Monday, General Motors launched a new ad campaign and website to promote the RE: Invention of GM.  This new campaign coincides with the seemingly inevitable Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing which also occurred on Monday. In a very apparent and smart move, the new television commercials directly address many concerns that consumers have with the recent bankruptcy.  Coincidentally enough, the first time I saw this commercial, was near a recent news segment about the GM bankruptcy filing.

The commercial can be seen below and includes iconic American imagery and an honesty that they are hoping will resonate with all Americans.  It is the great American dream in a 1-minute commercial spot.  There is the element of defeat, the one-in-a-million odds for success, to illustrate how GM can no longer continue with their past business practices of many weak brands and an inferior cost structure.

The message of hope provides solutions on how GM plans to give rebirth to the American car. Clearly and concisely GM states how it will change for the future of their company.  By focusing on few stronger brands and models, increasing efficiency, striving for better fuel economy and developing new technology, GM hopes that they can re-emerge as a strong contender in the automobile industry.

The conclusion of the advertisement encourages a focus on success, reinvention and Chapter 1.  For GM, this is a great opportunity to streamline their business to reinstate themselves as a powerhouse in the American automobile industry.  While many Americans and news channels focus on Chapter 11, GM is focusing on Chapter 1, the beginning of a new era of innovation for General Motors.

Feel free to browse the new GM micro-site for their Reinvention of GM campaign to further explore how GM is connecting with their customers.  They are reaching out to answer customer questions and begin a conversation about the reinvention and recent court filing.  While we all hope the best for this American company, it will be interesting to follow how this positioning and conversation will affect American and world-wide consumers.

Unlike what some viewers believe, creating a design (ad, website, print pieces…etc.) isn’t just plopping a pretty picture on a page, throwing in some creative text, neatly tying a bow to complete the presentation and happily yelling, “Voila!” There are actually many steps and strategic thoughts that go into the creation and development of the perfect, eye catching, and memorable design.

Besides content, font, and image usage, and design layout are among the first thing the average viewer makes note of when studying a design. Grasping the viewer’s attention appropriately is so vital to the advertising world that currently numerous eye-tracking and scanning studies have been completed. Even Google uses eye-tracking technology to gather valuable information to better help with layout and ad image placements.

Recently, I came across a great article displaying search results completed by specialists Bunnyfoot and Think Eyetracking. These studies provided concrete evidence on how layout and chosen images affect the customer’s focus on the design. These studies deal with selected lifestyle images and where they are positioned. It is clear from these studies that image placement and the image selected does in fact influence your viewer’s eye placement. See for yourself. Where do you focus with the below ads?

As you can see from the below results, the model’s eyes influence your eye focus. The images selected here make a big difference—one image selected makes the viewer focus more on the product. Another you end up focusing more on the model, losing site of the product and purpose of the advertisement.

Try again! Where do you focus with this baby ad?

As you can see, image selection is huge! Selecting an image where the subject faces the content is most ideal. Your eyes tend to follow where the subject is looking.

Test it yourself! Next time you look at an ad, take note of the precise image selected and font placement. Take a few moments to perform your own eye-tracking scan and remember, the models used aren’t just a pretty face!

With Internet usage almost overtaking TV usage and the recent rave for social networking groups such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, companies all over are jumping on the bandwagon and doing their part to invest in this new form of advertising. Buzz questions such as “Are you my Facebook friend?”, ”Have you tweeted recently?” and “Did you check out that blog?” are heard around the world from audiences of all demographics. Sounds like they may be speaking another language, but in fact this is the language socially accepted in response to the new age of  social media marketing.

In an effort to compete with advertising across a social platform, Downy is promoting a new way to stay connected with friends and family. Until May 31, those who enter a snapshot photo with a pledge caption are automatically entered to win the ultimate reunion trip. Downy, the fragrant fabric softener, wants you to share this pledge with the world and connect with family and friends in a whole new atmosphere. So check it out, submit your own Downy pledge and stay connected with family and friends in a whole new way.

This week, Tropicana made waves with the swift failure of a massive rebranding effort.

PepsiCo, owners the well established Tropicana brand, sought to capitalize on the economic downturn through marketing. They hired New York ad agency Arnell to implement a complete redesign of the Tropicana logo and packaging. Arnell is also responsible for the recent Pepsi logo revamp, which was criticized for its striking resemblance to Barack Obama’s campaign logo.

The$35 million rebranding effort backfired big time. Fiercely loyal customers fired off angry emails and blog rants complaining about the new packaging. PepsiCo and Tropicana quickly announced that the old, familiar packaging will return to the shelves by next month.

So what happened? According to the New York Times assessment of the debacle, social media factored into the equation in a big way:

Such attention is becoming increasingly common as interactive technologies enable consumers to rapidly convey opinions to marketers.

“You used to wait to go to the water cooler or a cocktail party to talk over something,” said Richard Laermer, chief executive at RLM Public Relations in New York.

“Now, every minute is a cocktail party,” he added. “You write an e-mail and in an hour, you’ve got a fan base agreeing with you.”

That ability to share brickbats or bouquets with other consumers is important because it facilitates the formation of ad hoc groups, more likely to be listened to than individuals.

The Tropicana debacle is reminiscent to the “Motrin Moms” disaster last November. Angry moms took to Twitter to complain about a Motrin ad campaign that offended them. Within 48 hours, Motrin executives had publicly apologized and scrapped the expensive campaign.

What could Tropicana have done differently to successfully rebrand without throwing their most loyal customers into an uproar? If they had used social media to involve their most loyal customers in the process, it would have been a powerful tool in their rebranding process. Instead social media worked against them as customers joined forces to increase the fallout.

What if they had given customers a vote on the new packaging? They would have enjoyed the benefit of months of publicity leading up to the unveiling. Most importantly, they wouldn’t have faced the bad press, the outrage of their loyal customers, or the cost of undoing the $35 million rebranding campaign.

Marketers can learn a valuable lesson from Tropicana’s mistake. Social media has forever changed the way that consumers interact with brands and marketing tactics. If you don’t converse with your customers, it could cost you.

With all the hype about the 3D Super Bowl ads and in honor of the upcoming Valentine’s holiday, Crest encourages you to pucker up to enjoy a fun and flirty 3D Kiss.

With hopes you saved your 3D glasses from the Super Bowl, Crest launched the Kiss Me 3D website. Upon entering this flirty website, you are encouraged to choose a partner, Olivia or Fernando. You are then prompted to select 3 kissing styles. Once you have created your own make-out session, you can sit back and enjoy the humorous 3D animation. Just as your date is finishing the last kiss, the campaign’s purpose is revealed and you discover this is a viral marketing campaign for Crest Whitening Strips, which are new and proven to last through anything … even during the steamiest of kisses!

Honestly, I thought this advertisement was addicting and quite humorous! I couldn’t help but ‘Kiss and Tell’ my findings with some friends so they may also enjoy a good laugh, which makes for a good Viral Marketing Campaign.

From personal experience, I have attempted the Crest Whitening Strips, but they are very annoying and slip off. After viewing this ad (and laughing quite a bit), I believe I will give the new strip a chance. I encourage everyone to check this out! Who needs a Valentine’s date when you can have a virtual moment with Olivia or Fernando … a moment that is “so real your computer screen will fog up?

It pays to market in a down economy, and Super Bowl advertisers proved this year that there’s no better time to plug your brand than a recession. According to USAToday, 28 advertisers spent a record $206 million on Super Bowl spots that cost a whopping $100,000 a second this year ($3 million for a 30-second spot). For their money, they reached nearly 100 million views during yesterday’s game.

Advertisers were mindful of the audience’s money woes, though. In addition to the typical light-hearted comedy ads, many of this year’s commercials featured an uplifting message.

If you missed any (or all) of this year’s Super Bowl ads, there’s a complete list of Super Bowl 2009 commercials posted at AdAge. If you’re just interested in the best of the best (and worst of the worst), Time magazine compiled a list of highlights and lowlights for this Super Bowl advertising season.

My favorite ad this year? Pepsi’s “Refresh Anthem” with an uplifting montage of cultural images spanning several generations:

This year advertisers are putting their millions to good work, and not just their own. With the costs of Super Bowl airtime running an estimated $3 million per 30 seconds, advertisers are using their seconds wisely and perhaps for a new cause this year. Following in the footsteps of companies like Fiat, both Kellogg and Pedigree will be promoting charitable causes.

Kellogg plans to feature Tony the Tiger delivering a message for viewers to nominate a children’s play area to be upgraded and rebuilt at Kellogg’s expense.

Pedigree is taking their devotion to their cause one step further. They’re opting out of promoting their product and focusing on the worthy cause of animal adoption. Moving away from the recent tear jerking Adoption Drive campaign, Pedigree will be adding a bit of humor and a non-traditional approach to their ads this year. This new campaign will focus on the mayhem that can be associated with adopting unique pets. One ad will feature an adopted rhinoceros, while another illustrates an ostrich chasing a mailman. Even though the delivery may be light, Pedigree is delivering a strong message that all animals need our help.

Some may say that in such a turbulent economy spending millions of dollars and not advertising your product is corporate suicide, but Pedigree stands behind their past double digit sales returns on adoption centered ads.

While Kellogg and Pedigree are only two examples, other advertisers are focusing their attention on the greater good. This Super Bowl Anheuser-Busch will be donating the money they would be paying their spokesperson (Conan O’Brien) to the The Fresh Air Fund (at O’Brien’s request, of course).

Could our current economic situation be helping advertisers turn over a new leaf?