HBO promotes Game Of Thrones season 3

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Last year, at roughly the same period, HBO was doing the promotion of Game of Thrones ‘season 3 (GOT for those in the know). The campaigns for the 2 first seasons were well done, a kind of guerrilla marketing, and let the fans of Game of Thrones appreciate the spirit of the series. It is also true for the third season.

                At first, HBO based is promotion with trailers which became viral (which is the same -but bigger- for the fourth season trailers: 1 & 2 ). And thanks to that, HBO take the advantage of it to make the advertising of season 3 a real success.  Last year, everyone was waiting for the third season and the appearance of a shadow of a flying dragon on poster had a great effect. 

©HBO

“Yes, there will be dragons in the season 3.” This is what can think the GOT watchers by seeing this poster.  Nothing extravagant you will say. But HBO used the flying dragon as the main symbol of this advertising. This is why last year, on a page of The New York Times there was the shame shadow of this dragon, flying over articles. A smart callback of the poster but also the same idea: be present in the mind of GOT watchers, and remind them that “Season 3 is coming”. Dragons are everywhere, so is the GOT season 3 in the mind of people.  However it’s a pity that articles were fake, but nonetheless, they remind the Game of Thrones series, and it’s still brilliant!

via Adweek

And HBO did not stop its advertising here. Because they want to catch attention of everybody, and maybe intrigue those who didn’t know yet this (awesome) series, they put the huge shadow of the flying dragon on HBO building in Los Angeles. Thanks to that, the target audience (not everybody but nearly) was like involved in the campaign, looking for other dragons.

via Adweek

It is a simple advertising but which efficient, clever and had a great impact on New York Times readers, population of Los Angeles but also all around the world.

I can't wait to see the promotion of season 4 by HBO!

LEGO®, Imagine

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Who has never played to LEGO®? If you can answer “me”, you are missing something awesome. (And don’t tell me that you have played to Playmobil, there is no comparison.) Indeed, LEGO® is a company for all generation, you, me, your father, your little sister etc. It is because creation and imagination are involved and because everyone can build something.

In 2012, with its campaign “Imagine”, LEGO® has used a lot this “multi-generation” aspect. The aim of this campaign was to represent some characters of our childhood (from cartoon, comic book etc.) with basics LEGO® bricks. I agree the target of this campaign is not children between 5 and 10 and rather everybody older than 15. But I don’t think that the aim of the campaign was to promote itself to young children. LEGO® wanted to make parents or young adult their childhood firstly thanks to the cartoons and then thank to LEGO® itself.  LEGO® has mixed cleverness, creation and nostalgia to make parents buy some LEGO® for their children … or for themselves. So yes, children are not really the target audience of these 8 adverts, but it is parents who have money right?

In my point of view, I really like the minimalism of the campaign. The consumers can look at what is really important: the characters. There is no embellishment; the ad is simple, clear, creative and smart. Moreover, the fact that the characters are easily recognizable it draws attention to the advert. Even if, maybe, you have to look at it twice, when you recognize the character, it makes you smile.

As for me, I recognized them all, except the last one (probably because I never had the chance to watch Sesame Street on TV).

I don’t want to ramble, but I really smart ad like this campaign. The “Imagine” campaign, made by the German agency Jung Von Matt had lot of success with 3 awards (Cannes Lions, Eurobest Awards and London International Awards). Well done LEGO®!

Have you recognized them all?
Answers here

Credits

Announcer:  LEGO®

Product: toy 

Agency: Jung Von Matt

Country : Germany

2012

All these images belong to LEGO®

Bleu de Chanel

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An elegant man runs across a street of New York, following a mysterious young lady. Suddenly the man appears in a press conference. The atmosphere is blue and really deep. The man doesn’t seem to notice the journalists: Indeed, he is too much preoccupied by the beautiful lady. But then another woman appears and after 55 seconds of advertisement, we still don’t know what the video is about.  What does it mean?

© Bleu de Chanel - CHANEL

Chanel is famous and don’t need to promote itself anymore. With Celebrity endorsement (which is probably the favourite marketing tool of Chanel) Chanel tries to create a new image, less conventional. And they choose the French actor Gaspard Ulliel to be “the man”:  A man who is supposed to represent freedom, and to “be unexpected”. A rebel with his conviction:

"I'm not going to be the person I'm expected to be anymore”

This is the slogan of this Chanel advert. But although Chanel wants to have a younger image with the handsome Gaspard Ulliel, teenage girls are probably more convicted by this advert than 25 to 45 years old man. Indeed, Chanel wanted to be more mysterious, but maybe too much…

It is difficult to get the meaning of this advert by watching it just once (and when you watch the longer version it’s even worse). And rather than enjoy the little Chanel story, the consumer is trying to understand the advert.

Chanel doesn’t have to be introduced anymore, of course, but the product isn’t present at all in the video. Only the colour blue cans remind us the product (If we already know the product of the advert of course).

So yes, the advert is well filmed, and respects the attention to detail of Chanel (even though sometimes some scenes are a bit messy and disappointing). Yes, the atmosphere is well done, with a deep blue, a rebellious man and a good choice of music (« She said yeah » from The Rolling Stones). Yes, the customer cans have the desire to be like Gaspard Ulliel, free and rebellious.

But in my point of view this advert can’t be really understood at the first watch. The scenario is too deep (and it makes the advert too messy, not really clear), cultural references are too much hide and the brand is absolutely missing. They choose an attractive actor, to rejuvenate the brand and touch a new public but the advert is less exceptional that it wants to be.

I agree that the advert is well filmed, well directed and that Chanel knows how to be class, smart and renew its image but they shouldn’t forget to add the perfume in the story next time…

Long version (1:01)

© Bleu de Chanel - CHANEL

Short version (0:30)

© Bleu de Chanel - CHANEL

Credits

Announcer:  Chanel

Product: perfume

Realisator: Martin Scorsese

Music : She said yeah - The Rolling Stones

Actor: Gaspard Ulliel

Country : France

2010

L'Odysée de Cartier

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It is night in Paris, a delicate music begins and appears in a Cartier boutique a big house, with a panther inside. A beautiful diamond panther.  Suddenly, the panther comes alive, explodes, and millions of diamond spread all over the room. Then, the journey begins.

 © Cartier - L'Odysée

This is the advert of Cartier, which was made for its 165^th anniversary. More than a simple advert, this is mini movie (3min30, it is quite long for an advert). Indeed, Cartier has spent close to 4 million of euros in the realization of “L’Odysée” with stunning special effects and 3 real panthers. But the success is here: the video on the CartierYoutube Channel has been seen more than 17 million times.

With a mysterious atmosphere and then almost epic, Cartier allows the watcher to travel. Between St Petersburg, an Indian Palace and Paris, Cartier revisits all the places which had an influence on its jewels and its luxury clocks. The watchers travel, dream and escape in the luxury world for a moment.

Even if this advert doesn’t introduce clearly Cartier’s products, some are present, naturally added to the landscape, such the big ring and bracelet “LOVE”. Moreover, the goal of “L’Odysée” is above all to develop in the mind of the consumer the Cartier image (a sophisticated and elegant image of course!). And what is better than a magnificent and stunning advert, Paris by night and an elegant panther for a brand such Cartier? Absolutely nothing. (N.B: Cartier is a French brand with a panther as symbol). Lot of people has been convinced by the beauty of the advert and so do I!

In addition of being beautiful and poetic, “L’Odysée” reminds the Cartier History with key places and key moment such the “place Vendôme” and the “Grand Palais” in Paris but also the aviator (Cartier invented the first wristwatch for an aviator who was complaining about his pocket watch).

Objective achieved: Elegant and smart! Bravo Cartier.

© Cartier - L'Odysée

Credits

Advertising agency: Marcel

Announcer:  Cartier

Product: jewellery

Realisator: Bruno Aveillan

Compositor : Pierre Adenot 

Actress: Shalom Harlow 

Country : France

Date of first diffusion: 4th march 2012



If some of you are interested, there is a "Behind the scenes" video with english subtitles here.