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Morning Update: Gatorade’s twist on vending machine stunts; Economist launches ‘independent’ campaign; McCann’s PR launches agency

Creativity: These Gatorade Vending Machines Only Take Sweat

Vending machine stunts have become standard fare in advertising. We’ve seen Coke dish out free soda, flowers and even airplane trips to people in order to spread a bit of happiness, for example.

But now Gatorade, along with NFL pros the Mannings and JJ Watt are bringing a masochistic twist to the genre in the latest campaign for the thirst quencher. The brand set up vending machines at college campuses. It then trained hidden cameras on potential customers, who are surprised to find nothing come out of the dispensers after they dropped some cash. A custodian on site, played by Rob Belushi, son of Jim Belushi, then hints that they have to “sweat it to get it.”

 

The Guardian: Madeleine McCann family spokesman launches PR agency

Clarence Mitchell, Kate and Gerry McCann’s long-serving spokesman, is to launch his own communications consultancy.

Mitchell, who gamely attempted to unseat the the Green party in their Brighton stronghold in a bid to become a Conservative MP at the general election, has opened the doors on Clarence Mitchell Communications.

The 54-year old is a former BBC reporter who most recently worked as head of media for Europe, Middle East and Africa for WPP-owned PR network Burson-Marsteller .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIdmit8CRao

Campaign: Economist launches ad to highlight editorial independence

The Economist Group, the publisher of The Economist, has launched a subscription campaign to highlight its editorial independence following its announced sale by Pearson last week.

Pearson’s 50 per cent stake is to be acquired by Exor and the Economist Group itself, it was announced last week.

Reacting to the news, The Economist enlisted its ad agencies AMV BDDO, Proximity and UM to launch a brand values campaign promoting its editorial independence. It has been editorially independent since its founding in 1843.

AdAge: What NBCU’s Investments in BuzzFeed, Vox Could Mean for Advertising

NBCUniversal has been on a path of what some are calling “buying millennials,” announcing a strategic investment in BuzzFeed on Tuesday, which follows a similar investment in Vox Media last week. While these deals are surely a play in attracting younger consumers to NBCU’s TV and digital assets, they also present an opportunity to expand the company’s data-driven ad products.

NBCU is making a $200 million equity investment in BuzzFeed, forming a partnership with the company that could include TV collaborations, movies, the Olympics and joint partnerships with ad agencies and brands, said Kenneth Lerer, BuzzFeed’s executive chairman, in a release.

AdWeek: ‘Milk’ Screenwriter and LGBT Activist Creates a Powerful Anti-Bullying Campaign for Coke

In his inspiring Oscar acceptance speech for Milk, the 2008 film about the assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and openly gay city official Harvey Milk, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black tossed down the gauntlet for LGBT rights—and he’s been a tireless fighter for the cause ever since. Along with crusading for marriage equality, Black has chosen writing and directing projects that reflect his commitment to social justice. “I’m drawn to making films that in some way move the social conversation,” he said. “I want them to entertain, but for me, I can’t really get up in the morning and do all the hard work and keep pushing if I don’t feel like in some way it moves the needle.”

Mumbrella Asia: Asia marketers struggling to make use of real-time data, finds TNS study

Brand owners in Asia are struggling to make use of real-time data, a study by TNS has shown, with just under three quarters of marketers in the region saying they are unable to integrate data from different sources to make decisions on the fly.

Current market research methods are not helping marketers make quick and informed decisions, insights are ‘not actionable enough’ (68 per cent) and ‘too slow’ (also 60 per cent) to be of use, according to marketers surveyed in eight APAC markets.

Most marketers continue to rely on traditional methods of measuring campaign success, such as sales and market share uplift, the survey finds.

 

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