Jun 19, 2008 10:15 AM, by Tom Hansen

Now here’s something that really bugs me: promotion entries that don’t promote anything. This year there are a dozen outdoor/ambient programs masquerading as promotions WITHOUT ANY COPY. NO COPY! Yes, they have stopping power. Yes, the graphics are arresting. And that’s why they should be entered in the outdoor poster category (which, invariably, they are as well). But without a distinct call to action, I don’t know how to judge this work in the promotion category. And neither does the jury. Somebody explain to me how an idea becomes a promotion without at least a couple of words urging the viewer to buy, go, surf or react or something. Anything!

At least 200 of this year’s Promotion entries have also been entered in direct, outdoor or press categories. It’s a clever way to hedge your bets, encouraged by every Executive Creative Director anxious for an award. Which, come to think of it, is every Executive Creative Director. But it’s not fair to the category, and it’s really not fair to the juries. Once again, the jury this year spent too much time and energy arguing about what constitutes a promotion. And they were left to evaluate web avatars (for cars and trucks, mostly, masquerading as trash functions), toilet paper with Adolph Hitler’s image on it, 3 different entries featuring bubble gum hanging off of ceilings and 2 entries leveraging raw eggs to deliver the sell copy. Again, really memorable, really surprising (especially the toilet paper), but MEDIA PLACEMENTS, not promotions! The most egregious of these entries was for a sliced sausage product which used bus wraps and transit cards to demonstrate how thinly the sausage is sliced. Terrific. I sincerely hope it wins a media or outdoor lion. It deserves some recognition. But the only reason it was entered in the promotion category was the inclusion of a sliced-up coupon that echoed the print campaign. If we start handing out promo lions for basic coupon programs, then it’s just a matter of time until your local pennysaver takes the titanium. We have to a better job of defining the basic criteria that define a promotion, then celebrate the breakthrough programs that succeed within those confines. Otherwise, the promotion category (and direct, for that matter) become little dumping grounds for wayward ideas looking for a less-populated playground.

Here’s an example: Mercedes-Benz entered a brilliant bus shelter installation, replacing the poster with colored sand, poured into the glass enclosure, the car itself drawn and colored by only the sand. Awesome stopping power. And maybe even a product demo. Kind of. But the only copy on the thing is “the New G-Class.” Ain’t much of a call to action, is it? Ain’t much of a promotion then, is it? Work like that causes much discussion in the jury room, because the creative is really good, and deserves to be honored. The jurors want to recognize the best work and share it with the rest of the world. But in a case like this, most of the panel’s energy is spent arguing whether it belongs in the room in the first place.

This year that issue is balanced by some good examples of integrated media, none better than Gillette’s demonstration of the Fusion Power razor by attaching a giant one to the back of a zamboni and letting it “shave” the ice between periods of an NHL game. I know that it’s a larger-than-life media placement, but it’s elegant, memorable, and a live product demonstration that also activates their sponsorship. That live demo makes it a promotion in my book, and a damn good one at that!

A german adhesive tape, Pattex, hung slabs of concrete from bridges and overpasses with only the adhesive tape keeping it up. Yikes. Written on the concrete was a Bluetooth link to get samples delivered to your worksite. Brilliantly positioned, well executed. And the elusive call to action that makes it measurable . . . and worthwhile.

Cheer Canada also came up with a differentiated media placement, using movie theaters to show the whitening power of their detergent by replacing the pre-movie lighting with blacklights, making every white fabric worn in the theater glow eerily. Copy on the screen brought home the idea. Again, it’s media, and I’m sure it was entered in that category too, but the brief called for product sampling, and it’s a lot better than walking around the city in your underwear. Which was the main feature in 8 entires this year. (Underwear, not walking around cities). There were also 9 entries for sex-related products or services, 3 entries using beach towels as media, 2 ads with twins and a stunning 3 different programs from all over the world featuring Elvis. Fat, Vegas Elvis. And one program featuring Andy Richter, which I guess is kind of the same thing. . .

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