How will fallout over 'Amp Up' affect R/GA?
R/GA has a stellar reputation in the ad industry. Nike Plus is still a staple of presentations about the future of branding in digital. For the most part, the agency has not been a lightning rod of much controversy in the vein of a shop like Crispin. But it's in a new role this week in the aftermath of the uproar over Amp Energy's "Amp Up Before You Score" iPhone app, which has been slammed on blogs (including this one), Twitter, CNN, Fox News and NPR. Pepsi, which owns Amp, has been on the receiving end of most of the ire, but it was R/GA that created all those stereotypes and the brag list that's gotten everyone bothered (and the video above, done in the style of the iPhone ads, which has been handy b-roll for TV segments.) If the shop was courting controversy all along as a strategy to raise Amp's profile and its cred with the young-male target audience, it's done a good job of hiding those intentions. Jay Zasa, the creative director on the project, told me before the controversy erupted that he was surprised the app got a 17+ rating and thought it was lighthearted. No matter where you fall on the issue, there's no doubt that controversy sells. "Amp Up" is now the No. 2 most-popular free app in the iTunes entertainment category, and No. 11 overall. It's safe to say this is probably the most attention the Amp brand has ever gotten. A separate question is whether, in the long run, this will add to R/GA's reputation or live on as a blemish. What do your think? —Posted by Brian Morrissey |
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Published on October 15, 2009 | Permalink
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The flip side of Pepsi's 'Dear Mr. President'
Is Pepsi's "Dear Mr. President" YouTube campaign simply a refreshed version of the "Farewell Mr. President" YouTube series from last year? Greg Olliver, the currently pissed-off creator of the latter, thinks so. He just came across the Pepsi effort by R/GA, which encourages citizens to film little love notes to President Obama. In his earlier campaign, Olliver filmed citizens offering little non-love notes to President Bush. "From the way Pepsi's videos are shot, the editing, the 'Dear Mr. President' opening, to the ENTIRE CONCEPT ... it appears to be a complete rip-off of my idea," Olliver tells us. Possibly so. Whatever the case, it's a pleasant reminder that America didn't just welcome a new president today—it got rid of an old one. |
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Published on January 20, 2009 | Permalink
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R/GA, AKQA locked in battle to defile Santa
R/GA and AKQA are undeniably rivals. R/GA set up shop in AKQA's backyard this year and promptly hired away Mauro Alencar Cavalletti to be its executive creative director. The two shops have traded Digital Agency of the Year honors from Adweek. Now, they're taking the rivalry to a new level: disparaging the image of Santa Claus. Last year, you'll remember, R/GA gave us "Tattoo Santa" and nightmares to boot. This year, AKQA New York comes back with what I call "Degenerate Santa." (AKQA claims it's a "psychotic elf," but I'm not buying that.) Check out the video yourself. It's an AKQA coder in a Santa costume with leotards, gyrating, playing guitar, humping the ground and barfing in a trash can. Bonus: You can remix the footage yourself to make your own Degenerate Santa video. Oh my. It's a far cry from the holiday microwaves from AKQA London. —Posted by Brian Morrissey |
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Published on December 16, 2008 | Permalink
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R/GA channels Mao with its little red books
During a quick trip to R/GA yesterday, I was offered a flu shot (don't ask) and a copy of the first in a series of "monographs" that the digital shop is producing on subjects that are important to it. Naturally, subject No. 1 is ... R/GA itself. What is unusual is the theme R/GA is borrowing. It calls the series "Little Red Books" and is distributing them to all employees. This is, of course, the name given to the book of Chairman Mao quotations published by the Chinese government in the '60s and '70s. The Cultural Revolution meet the Digital Revolution. R/GA's version is a little less focused on class struggle and imperialism. Instead, "Ten Things You Should Know About R/GA" is a statement of principles such as the shop's customer focus and commitment to making brands useful. A note of caution to R/GAers who threw the book in a drawer: Mao had people beaten or sentenced to years of hard labor if they didn't have the Little Red Book on them at all times. |
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Published on November 7, 2008 | Permalink
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Have you trademarked your shop's slogan?
This digital stuff moves fast, even the catchphrases. That's why it's important to stake your claims. I got an e-mail from R/GA that included something unusual. Its standard phrase introducing the shop as "R/GA, the agency for the digital age" suddenly included a trademark symbol on the end of it. It turns out R/GA trademarked the phrase "the agency for the digital age" earlier this year. In fact, I was wondering which agency was the one for the digital age. Just to be sure, I asked Google. R/GA doesn't show up in the first few pages of results in searches for "agency for the digital age." Alas. R/GA's not the only one looking to grab futurey catchphrases. Avenue A/Razorfish has trademarked the phrase "social influence marketing." I can't help but wonder if this kind of stuff is really worth the time and effort. One Twitter user under the moniker MrT_TheAngel has his doubts: "'T' thinks those suckas should have a trademark on dumbass." —Posted by Brian Morrissey |
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Published on September 30, 2008 | Permalink
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