Ikea Pokes Fun at Apple in Recent Ad

Apple has become pretty well known for their embellishing product advertisements and there have more than a few parodies made at their expense. However, with the quickly approaching iPhone 6 announcement, Ikea's recent advertisement couldn't have come at a more apt time.

In order to promote their newest catalog, Ikea took a page out of Apple's book launching a promo video that highlights the different specs and features of their new product: the BookBook.

Well, Ikea's clever and well-timed campaign has already gained a lot of attention, gaining over 3 million YouTube views in just two days! What's more? Consumers are starting to get in on the joke by filming their own "unboxing" or "first time impression" videos of the newest BookBook.

So what exactly makes this campaign so successful? For one, it's definitely relatable. Whether you're a fan of Apple products or not, I'm sure most people would agree that, while exciting, their product unveilings can be a bit dramatic. Ikea is basically saying what everyone was already thinking anyway: Apple could stand to take it down a few notches. The ad also appeals to those who prefer a simpler time, a time of bookbooks as opposed to ebooks and tablets.

Just uploaded to YouTube on Wednesday, this ad is gaining traction and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon!

What do you think of Ikea's newest campaign? Share in the comments below!

Slacktivism: Friend or Foe?

I first heard the term slacktivism a few months ago during my public advocacy class. Put simply, slacktivism can be best described as passive activism. Liking a Facebook post, signing an online petition, or retweeting someone else's opinions are all forms of slacktivism. However, is simply sharing these campaigns virtually such a bad thing?

The most recent form of slacktivism to hit social media is the #YesAllWomen campaign. The hashtag was made in response to the recent killing spree at the University of California, Santa Barbera at the hands of 22 year old student, Elliot Rodger. Both in his manifesto and in several YouTube videos, Rodger openly shared how lonely he felt and how people, specifically women, would need to pay for not giving him the love and affection he felt he deserved.

In response, #YesAllWomen was created as a platform for women, not to bash men, but to share their own stories of discrimination or violence that they've felt personally at the hands of a man. Soon, the hashtag was trending and women everywhere were relating to and supporting one another. However, one huge flaw in online activism is the ease and ability for others to add a new message to the conversation.

In the last few days, tags like #YesAllMen and #NotAllMen have been trending, most of the tweets accusing those participating in the #YesAllWomen tag to be extremely feminist and close-minded. Unfortunately, most of the tweets also just happen to reaffirm many of the arguments made about the validity of discrimination and violence against women discussed in the original hashtag.

While some may argue that slacktivism is, well, slack, I find that advocating via social media is a great way to reach a huge audience at once. The problem arises when that's where the activism ends. After an issue has gained public attention, it's important to take it one step further than an Instagram post and make strides towards changing the issue.

#SocialMediaCampaignsGoneWrong

 As public relations students and practitioners, we all love a good hashtag or social media campaign. Often, hashtags and campaigns can enhance your voice on twitter, broaden your outreach and begin a discourse with your followers. All of which is great, but when you are a big corporation or a largely followed twitter account, you have to remember that your followers have as big of a voice as you do. Forget this component, and you’ve got a social media campaign gone wrong on your hands.

Here are a few examples:

#MyNYPD

#MyNYPD was a twitter campaign run by the New York Police Department that asked Twitter users to post a photo of themselves with police officers using the hashtag #MyNYPD. Expecting positive responses, this campaign went horribly wrong when people began using this hashtag to send in pictures of police brutality and other negative responses.

#AskJPM

When JP Morgan asked twitter users to participate in a question-and-answer session with one of its executives using the hashtag #AskJPM, it seems as though they forgot to think about the level of distrust and anger people have over the role of big banks in the financial crisis. 7 hours later, JP Morgan canceled the campaign after questions like, “Did you have a specific number of people’s lives you needed to ruin before you considered your business model a success?”

#McDStories

Back in 2012, a McDonald’s campaign backfired when the company used the hashtag #McDStories to geet their followers to draw attention to the brand’s use of fresh produce. Extremely vague, the hashtag brought back results of McDonald’s horror stories. McDonald’s quickly pulled the hashtag after being active for less than 2 hours.

The lesson to be learned from these social media campaigns gone wrong is to realize that social media makes it impossible to control where a conversation or a campaign will go. Before initiating a campaign, it is vital to go into pre-Crisis Communications mode and create a contingency plan just in case your campaign goes wrong; realize that some negative comments will arise and consider sticking to traditional uses of social media if your company or organization does not fit the potential for a positive campaign.

Source: #MyNYPD: Why It's Impossible to Control Online Conversation

This guest blog was written by PRowl staff member Rute Barkai.

Girl Unrelated to #BringBackOurGirls Made the Face of the Campaign

Recently, a social media campaign called "Bring Our Girls Back" has erupted in response to the kidnapping of 276 Nigerian girls by terrorist group Boko Haram. Several photos of citizens and celebrities alike have surfaced with them holding up a sign with the slogan in an effort to raise awareness and gain the support of government. In the past few weeks, the campaign has been very successful, reaching the ranks of First Lady Michelle Obama.

Unfortunately an issue has recently surfaced related to the most circulated photo of the campaign which features a girl that is neither kidnapped nor Nigerian. The photo is actually of Jenabu Balde, a girl from Guinea-Bissau on Africa’s western coast. It was found on the Alexia Foundation website, a photojournalism organization. 

The photographer, Ami Vitale, has since issued a statement saying, “I support the campaign completely, and I would do anything to bring attention to the situation. It’s a beautiful campaign that shows the power of social media. This is a separate issue....This is about misrepresentation.” Emmanuel Hephzibah, the Nigerian man responsible for photoshopping the photograph and adding the hashtag, says he meant no harm claiming, “I was crying out so that our voice could be heard in Nigeria, because it seems our government was not ready to take any action. I credited the source of the image as AlexiaFoundation.org.” 

Though Hephzibah has been asked to take down the photo, the image has already gone viral in association with this campaign and is impossible to remove completely. Unfortunately for Balde, she will also be associated with this campaign for a long time as the face of a terrible, ongoing crisis. 

Source: PR Daily

Taco Bell's Clever Campaign

If I wasn't in public relations, I have a strong fascination in advertising and yesterday I saw a commercial that blew me away.

Recently Taco Bell has introduced a new breakfast menu to their chain's selections. In order to promote their new options, they released an ad campaign with real people's reactions after trying the breakfast choices. What makes this campaign so clever is that all of the people they used in the commercial are named Ronald McDonald.

It's no secret that Ronald McDonald is the mascot's name of fast food chain leader, McDonald's. It's also no secret that McDonald's has dominated the fast food breakfast field for decades. Taco Bell's new campaign is bold and direct statement to McDonald's without ever actually mentioning their competitor.

What as PR professionals can we learn from Taco Bell's brilliant commercial?

• Be creative. There's more than one way to communicate a message. The message Taco Bell is conveying is clear: that their breakfast options are just as good, if not better, than McDonald's trusted breakfast options. Using this tactic to present that message is a creative and engaging way to grab the audience's attention.
• Play with words. Language is a PR pro's bread and butter. We should be able to play to our strengths and have a bit more fun with how we frame our message. While one of the major differences between our messages and advertising messages is that we have to remain factual, that doesn't mean that we can't be entertaining as well.
• Think outside the box. No, this tip is not an intentional pun relating to Taco Bell's old slogan "Think outside the bun." However, innovative thinking has been a strength of Taco Bell's for years now. Words may be our strong suit, but PR pros should embrace other methods of relaying a message as well. Researching your audience and tailoring the way you choose to deliver a message to that audience will do wonders in an advertising or PR campaign.

What was your reaction to the Taco Bell commercial? We would love to hear your thoughts so comment below!

What PR Professionals Can Learn From This Girl Scout

This past President's Day, 13-year-old Girl Scout Danielle Lei decided to set up shop outside of a San Francisco medical marijuana clinic, The Green Cross. Needless to say, her Girl Scout cookie sales skyrocketed. With the help of her mother, Lei sold over 117 boxes of cookies in just two short hours. What's more? She sold 37 less boxes during the same two-hour period in front of a Safeway the following day.

Now how does this relate to public relations you ask? It's all about knowing your audience and catering to their needs. More often than not, a PR campaign will be unsuccessful if an audience is not clearly determined. Knowing your audience is the basis for every other decision made in a PR campaign. What platform should you use to reach out? Would social media be effective for this campaign or would print be more helpful? Where is the best place to set up my Girl Scout cookie stand? These are questions that can only be answered by first pinpointing who your campaign is trying to reach.

Lei and her mother did that very effectively when setting out to sell their Girl Scout cookies this year. "It's no secret that cannabis is a powerful appetite stimulant, so we knew this would be a very beneficial endeavor for the girls," said Holli Bert, a staff member at The Green Cross, in an email to Mashable. Not only did the Leis choose a key demographic of customers, but they did so by thinking creatively.

The answer to the lofty, "So who is my audience" question, isn't always black and white. Because that is left up to the discretion of the PR practitioner, it leaves a lot of room for interpretation. When developing a campaign, be open and flexible when determining your audience. You may be closing off your campaign to an entire demographic that could really respond to the message you are trying to convey.

Have you ever had an experience where an audience could make or break your efforts? How did you handle it? Share below!