Morning Update: Banksy’s ‘Balloon Girl’ in campaign for Syria’s Children; BuzzFeed mulls Singapore launch
This is our Morning Update, rounding up international media and marketing news from while you were sleeping.
AdWeek: Banksy Reworks ‘Balloon Girl’ in Campaign for Syria’s Children
“Banksy’s “Balloon Girl” provides a fitting image for the children whose lives have been ravaged by Syria’s civil war, which just entered its third year.
The British street artist drew some criticism in October for the “awkward politics” of his satirical video about the conflict. His balloon imagery in this new “With Syria” awareness campaign, however, based on his stencil from 2002, has met with considerable praise, and rightly so.”
Mumbrella Asia: BuzzFeed mulls Singapore launch, but tough internet publishing laws ‘could be a barrier’
“BuzzFeed is considering launching in Singapore as part of an international expansion plan, but has admitted that tough rules for high-traffic websites in the city-state could prove to be an obstacle.
The popular social news and entertainment site’s head of international operations announced earlier this month that its first office launches in Asia would be Japan and India. But Singapore is most likely to be next”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nF37tnDdu4
AdAge: Sprint Hopes to Create TV Magic — With a Goth, Heidi and a Hamster
“Millions of Americans are eagerly awaiting April 6, the season premiere of “Game of Thrones.” Sprint thinks it can tap this same sort of mania in its ads.
On Monday evening, the third-place U.S. wireless carrier will unveil two national TV spots introducing a sprawling ensemble of characters, which Sprint hopes will carry on like a riveting TV episodes.”
The Guardian: Plane-crash film shelved due to similarities with flight MH370
“An Australian disaster film about a plane that crashes in a remote stretch of ocean en route to China has been shelved following the loss of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.
The film, called Deep Water, follows the plight of a group of passengers who survive when their plane from Australia to Beijing crashes in a remote stretch of ocean.
The makers of the Australian/Thai co-production have decided to put pre-production of the film on hold, due to the sensitivity of embarking on the film in the wake of the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 in the southern Indian ocean which claimed the lives of 239 passengers and crew.”
Mashable: 3 Strategies for Improving Your Facebook Ads
“Facebook plays a large role in many businesses’ marketing strategies. Although business pages on the social networking site may have once been just a simple brand extension and a place where companies could connect with customers, it has become a dynamic advertising platform that can produce the same types of results as search engine optimization.
“Before last year, Facebook was all about what happened on Facebook,” said Bob Buch, CEO of social advertising firm SocialWire. “Ad campaigns were about buying likes. In 2013, there was a major shift, and Facebook began tapping into direct-response advertisers [and marketing] products to custom audiences. This transformed their ability to drive traffic off-site.””
AdWeek: Awkward: NYT Runs Underwater iPad Ad Above News of Airline’s Ocean Crash
“Well here’s a truly unfortunate ad placement. Right above the headline “Malaysia Says Jet Went Down in Ocean” on today’s New York Times homepage, readers saw a large animated ad with divers using the Apple iPad Air underwater.
“See the unique ways people are using iPad around the world,” notes the ad’s closing headline, which lingered onscreen for several minutes above the update on missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The ad was up for about two hours this afternoon before appearing to be removed around 3:30 p.m. Eastern.”
The Guardian: Peter Greste and his al-Jazeera colleagues due back in court
“Three al-Jazeera journalists jailed in Egypt are due back in court on Monday, days after the families of two of the trio were sent letters expressing concern about their wellbeing by the Egyptian president.
Australian Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and local journalist Baher Mohamed face the third hearing of their trial on charges of smearing Egypt and aiding terrorism – charges they see as absurd. A fourth al-Jazeera journalist, Abdullah Elshamy, is jailed on separate charges.”
Linkedin