So, What’s Not New?

There has been a big push for music and movie promotions in the last couple of years, especially since iTunes made downloading simple, and Starbucks has become a portal (and arbiter) for entertainment. Walgreens and Axe are offering free movie tickets with multiple purchase. American Eagle is running a “Denim and a Movie” offer with AMC theaters, an approach they’ve used in the past with evident success. And just about everybody is partnering in with the new Bond movie,”Quantum of Solace,” including Avon, Coke Zero & Smirnoff.

So I cracked up the other night when I found this ground-breaking ad for free movie tickets with the purchase of Friskies cat food. It’s the same damn thing we’re all so proudly doing now . . . and this promotion ran in 1963. It pushes all the buttons, too: free tickets, music tie-in, big ad in Life Magazine, and partnership with a major motion picture (ok, Gay Puree doesn’t exactly stand the test of time, but neither did Judy Garland or Robert Goulet. Or U.P.A. for that matter! At the time I assure you all were on the cutting edge). I keep saying that there are no new ideas, just riffs on stuff that has been done a thousand times before, made modern. That’s not a bad thing . . . unless you drink the kool-aid that you’re a revolutionary thinker. Consumer behavior hasn’t changed in a hundred years, and neither have the tools you can use to push more product. You just need to find a contemporary hook and start selling. One thing has definitely changed, though; we no longer allow over-art-directed, copy-clogged ads out the door. That’s a very welcome trend . . .