Summer's Eve, the feminine-care brand, was in full damage-control mode late last week after publishing a full-page ad in Woman's Day advising women that good feminine hygiene is the first step toward getting a raise at work. The process of broaching the subject of pay with one's boss "should start with your usual routine and all the things you do to feel your best, including showering with Summer's Eve Feminine Wash," according to the ad. Not until step No. 8 are women counseled to "focus on the things you've done to improve the [company's] bottom line." Condemnation was swift and merciless, and the brand quickly backtracked. In the AdFreak comments section, brand manager Angela Bryant wrote: "I would like to first of all apologize if this ad in anyway has offended anyone. We are taking immediate next steps to remove the ad from circulation. We want you to know that Fleet Laboratories and the Summer's Eve brand have the utmost respect for women. While we understand how some may come to an alternative conclusion regarding our recent ad, that was never our intention."
The best consumer-generated ad of the week came from Texas, where a father punished his curfew-breaking daughter by placing a newspaper ad in which she confesses her crime and offers free babysitting as her penalty. "My name is Kirstin and I'm a 16-year-old CSHS junior," the ad said. "I'm in BIG trouble for missing my curfew and my parents are making me provide 30 hours of FREE babysitting as punishment. My pain is your gain." The girl ended up on CBS's The Early Show, and said she was "really mad" when she first saw the ad, but that she learned her lesson. "I learned that if you break curfew you're going to get in trouble," she said. "And everything -- every mistake has a consequence. I obviously got in trouble for this one." The father added: "There was certainly no intent to publicly humiliate her. We initially planned this just to be a local thing, but obviously it caught a lot of folks' attention."
The most innovative campaign we saw over the past week was a promotion for the horror movie The Last Exorcism that tapped into Chatroulette, the site that randomly connects pairs of people online via Webcam. Lionsgate, working with L.A. agency The Visionaire Group, planted pre-recorded footage into random Chatroulette chats showing a girl giggling and flirting, and then suddenly turning into a demon -- scaring the pants off the guys watching on the other end. The studio filmed each interaction, and posted those videos online, too. A great idea, well executed.
Finally, the most pathetic celebrity endorsement was turned in last week by none other than Lionel Richie in a British commercial for WALKERS potato chips. In the spot, by AMV BBDO, Richie sings his craptastic '80s hit, "Say You, Say Me," but with the lyrics changed to "Share You, Share Me" as he steals chips from Walkers spokesman Gary Lineker. The only saving grace is that, at the end, Lineker throws Richie through a plate-glass window.
Best of BrandFreak: Is SunChips' new bag too loud?
SunChips got lots of compliments earlier this year for creating a fully biodegradable, compostable chip bag. There's just one problem: The thing is apparently extremely crinkly and loud. By the end of last week, more than 40,000 people had joined the Facebook group SORRY BUT I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THIS SUNCHIPS BAG, and they were really making a racket. The Wall Street Journal has even investigated the issue. "The thing is, you feel guilty about complaining since they are doing a good thing for the environment," one Pennsylvania woman tells the paper. "But you want to snack quietly and you don't want everyone in the house to know you are eating chips." Frito-Lay is investigating, but in the meantime has attached signs to some store displays that read: "Yes, the bag is loud. That's what change sounds like."
