In the good old days when TV spots were cheap and Colgate-Palmolive seemed to have unlimited budget, a style of advertising emerged under the banner of, “It’s so bad it’s good”.

Mrs Marsh broke the piece of chalk 20 times a night for a year and the campaign worked.

Do we have a new version of the same idea emerging in the digital world?

Is iSnack 2.0 so bad it’s good?  A better name would not have produced 1/1000th of the buzz online. They’re probably looking for it on supermarket shelves in Nome, Alaska.

Kraft is now looking for a replacement name and dubbing iSnack jars a “Collector’s item”. Although they claim innocence, it may be one of the decade’s greatest sampling successes.

How about the Microsoft advertorials or whatever they are, tutorials perhaps?

I suspect they are so bad they’re good -- but for Microsoft or Apple Mac?? But, again, lots of free buzz online.

In this extraordinary age of hyper word-of-mouth it is certainly a very good idea not to suck. But are we seeing a new, weird, counter position with the slogan, “Don’t suck …. blow.”

Bill Bristow is a Partner at BCM

You want people to love your brand, right? To be emotionally connected with it; to see it as a trusted friend; a beacon in the sea of sameness that exists in most categories. And you’ve heard that user generated content is soooh hot right now.

So when you’ve got a new line extension it’s simple- run a competition and get consumers to name it. Tres cool! Tres 2009. Right? Well not quite.

This is exactly what Kraft did for their new Vegemite and Cheese spread- and they have just announced the winner from over 35,000 people. Yep 35,074 entries to be precise. If that doesn’t tell you people love your brand I don’t know what does. And the winning name?

Wait for it…
Drum roll (sfx).
The envelope please.
The winner is:
“ isnack 2.0”

Now I’ll let you be the judge as to whether you think it’s good, bad or somewhere in-between, but to say that the new name has caused consternation amongst Vegemite fans in social media (with some threatening to boycott all Kraft products until the name is changed) is an understatement.

Already a hate site has emerged, Names that are better than “iSnack 2.0″, complete with a widget which has a live twitter feed, confidently named “see everyone hates isnack 2.0”. Take a look. It’s a bit of a laugh. Mind you I doubt the folks at Kraft find it all that amusing.

Vegemite is an iconic brand with loads of Aussie heritage and cred. Just about every Aussie loves it and loves the fact that people from other places just don’t seem to get it. People really do give a shit about their Vegemite.

Like I said, all marketers strive and want people to love their brands, but when consumers feel ownership and connection it’s important to tread carefully.

So what’s the lesson here? I reckon the idea of crowd sourcing the name is great. But if you’re going to get the crowd to help name it then get the crowd to help judge the names too.

There are stacks of case studies about brands that engage in co-creation (Dell Ideastorm and My Starbucks Idea come immediately to mind as two terrific examples of brands that do a great job). The difference is both of these examples entrust the wisdom of the crowd to not just come up with ideas but to also rank and rate their worth.

I dunno perhaps if you’re a middle aged marketer, isnack 2.0 sounds really cool and very GenY.  But if you’re a cool GenYer (or Xer for that matter) it seems it rates as lame and try-hard.

I’ve got to wonder if the pressure keeps up, how long before Kraft crafts a response to explain that isnack 2.0 is the beta version and a name upgrade is due for release soon.

Kevin Moreland is a Partner at BCM

As the 2009 NRL season nears its climax, it is a time for all interested in the sport to reflect on the rollercoaster ride that was.

Let’s face facts – this season has produced one headline grabbing faux pas after another, both on and off the field. From club CEOs and coaches, to past and present players and fans – nobody has been spared the glare of the media spotlight. This has been well documented and is even a topic in a work colleague’s blog here on Two Cents just a few weeks ago. Most alarmingly we’ve even seen the next generation of aspiring junior rugby league stars involved in some very unpleasant conduct. Let’s hope this is not a sign of things to come.

So with just 3 games remaining in the 2009 season let’s cast some positivity on this battered sport. Match attendances are setting new records and the quality of the on-field action is of a higher standard than many can ever remember. Emerging new stars of the game, such as Jarryd Hayne, are delighting crowds, and will ensure continued interest for years to come. Tonight serves up one of the most highly anticipated preliminary finals clashes between two western Sydney heavyweights and arch-rivals – the Bulldogs and the Eels. As an avid Bulldogs fan, I cannot wait!

I realise it’s the job of the media to report on all that happens on and off the field, and that they have to sell newspapers and drive unique browsers to their sports pages online. Moreover, the changing media landscape and proliferation of social media channels allows for rapid dissemination of news – sometimes even from sports professionals themselves, often against the wishes of their clubs or sporting bodies. However, rugby league has been in the crosshairs all year, and in spite of all that has been thrown at it, the sport has survived. The resolve of all those involved in the game to deal with all the on and off field incidents has only made it stronger.

Rebeckah Kinkade is BCM Sydney’s Media Coordinator

For those of you in Brisbane or Sydney, you may have thought you lived on Mars today with the eerie clouds of red dust over our skies – in fact both “Dune” and “Total Recall” have been referenced several times.

While we are all now pretty convinced of the marketing capabilities of Twitter, it is interesting to see how it is being used by the average Joe for events and things that are of real-time interest.

I tested this out following the Brisbane Riverfire fireworks display two weeks ago – by midnight on Saturday 12 September there were over 700 tweets related to Riverfire and there had been over 2,000 tweets by the Monday morning.

In the context of the whole twittersphere that might not have seemed like much – indeed Riverfire was only up as a trending topic for about an hour before it was knocked off, but this early in the piece I can only guess how many tweets there will be about this crazy dust storm.

Since the dust storm hit Brisbane around 11:45am this morning there have been over 250…no…276…no…289…345…426… (sheesh I’ve given up trying to count) tweets with a great collection of #duststorm photos to be found on the Twitcaps aggregator site:

While the Trendsmap website shows up an interesting collection of words being used this morning by Sydney twitter users:

So if you are still feeling nervous about Twitter because you feel the pressure to always talk about something witty and intelligent, remember that the real-time nature of Twitter has been a driving factor in its rapid growth in popularity – allowing users to group together over shared experiences, or collectively break news stories as they happen.

Sarah Ferguson is an Account Director at BCM Brisbane

Pacific Brands must be kicking themselves for closing down the Bonds factory earlier this year. Underwear sales are surely set to soar in the coming months, thanks to the launch of a brand new campaign for Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.

The “Prepare yourself” campaign sends a stern warning to ‘pack a spare pare of undies’ to all who dare to take on Currumbin’s newest high ropes adventure course.

Designed by a former French SAS Commando, Green Challenge is a 2 hour long, adrenaline pumping experience full of barrel rolls, rope nets, wobbly bridges, Tarzan swings and an 18 metre high flying fox that has to be seen to be believed. The sheer scale and agility required of some of the ropes activities opens its appeal out to a slightly older audience: one who demands a very different style of communication.

Teenage kids may be only a few years older than 9-10 year olds, but they’re a world away in terms of physical development and most importantly, their worldview. They desperately want to be grown up. They play Halo on XBox. They watch M movies. They download music with parental advisories. They’re independent. They have a smart-arse sense of humour, with sex and scatology big topics.

To most 14 year old boys, being so scared you’ll crap your daks is absolutely hilarious. Ironically, it’s also a brilliant way of inviting them to take on a high ropes course that might make them do exactly that. Careful talent selection and clever mix of close-up shots and wide angles throughout the commercial were critical factors in capturing the thrill, terror and excitement needed for an engaging TV and radio campaign.

Hideously oversized underpants were distributed at the Skilled Park Rugby League Semi Final last week, and were, not surprisingly, well received. Strategic sampling was also carried out in numerous high traffic locations in the lead up to the campaign launch.

Keen to sample a bit of adrenaline pumping action yourself? Be my guest. But take my advice. Bring a spare pair of undies.

Rebecca Tame is an Account Manager at BCM Brisbane

We all know about the major players when it comes to road fatalities -- speed and drink driving, even seatbelts. But one of the biggest (silent) killers on our roads is fatigue, and tired drivers are the latest target of BCM’s new road safety campaign.

Launched this week, our campaign for Department of Transport and Main Roads titled ‘Wake up to the signs’ is a timely reminder for us all to recognise the signs of driver fatigue.

Deemed one of the ’safe’ behaviours because it doesn’t technically involve breaking the law, driver fatigue unfortunately claims too many lives. Last year alone, fatigue played a role in 44 deaths on Queensland roads.

In our new campaign we ask motorists to recognise the signs of fatigue (tired eyes, yawning, loss of concentration, drowsiness, blurred vision) and pull over to take a break or swap drivers if they can.

Let’s face it, we all have our own tricks that we do to keep ourselves awake behind the wheel. I’m sure we’ve all stocked up on coffee or cola for that strong caffeine hit, wound down the windows or blasted the air con to keep us alert, and even cranked up the music really loud so we don’t drift off.

Unfortunately these are all myths in combating fatigue. In reality while they may mask the tiredness for a while, the effects are only temporary and they won’t cure the tiredness for long.

The most common reasons we use for driving tired are: I just want to get home, I’ll keep going a bit longer, I’m not really that tired, I’m so close I’ll just keep going, I’m a good driver I can handle this… and so on.

We’re so time-poor these days that we’re willing to push through the tiredness just to make it to our destination, wherever that may be.

We ask drivers to think of the things that ‘keep them going’ as these are the reasons they should avoid driving tired. Whether it is family, friends or loved ones we all have a reason to drive safe. If not for your own life, to do it for those we care most about and who rely on us to be there.

Pamela Olah is an Account Manager at BCM Brisbane

There’s a lot of love in the BCM Sydney office following the news that we’ve been successfully appointed to the Mills & Boon account to handle social media for the iconic brand, as well as the redesign of all Mills & Boon romance novel covers, to be rolled out nationally.

Harlequin is the number 1 romance fiction publisher in the world, selling over 130 million books a year, with a worldwide readership of 50 million women.  In Australia, more than one in every five paperbacks sold is published by Harlequin.

We’re thrilled to be working with Harlequin on the Mills & Boon brand to rekindle the affair with loyal readers, and look forward to showcasing our skills in social media as we introduce the brand to a new, younger audience.

The whole team waits with ‘breathless anticipation’ at the work that will be produced.

Paul Cornwell is a Partner at BCM

“Quick! The Daily Telegraph has a 10 x 7 going for a song on page 9 tomorrow which happens to be the 9th of the 9th, 2009.”

Sounded exciting at first, then rather ridiculous a second later. Until after some thought, we realised that Artline’s biggest seller, the Artline 200 Fineliner comes in 9 colours.

Thanks to Sutts’ wrist, a positive client and our trusty studio, it was all over in a couple of hours and in the paper the next day. So much for research.

Geoff Reid is BCM Sydney’s Creative Director

BCM’s Share My Story social media campaign developed for the Department of Transport and Main Roads came home a winner at today’s AMI Qld Awards for Marketing Excellence held at the Sofitel Hotel.

Share My Story takes an innovative approach to social marketing.  The sharemystory.qld.gov.au website is designed to humanise the road toll by highlighting the impact road trauma can have on friends, family and loved ones, as well as the wider community via people sharing their stories.

We believe it’s the world’s first social networking website developed for a Government department.

Share My Story was awarded in both the Social Marketing and Multimedia/Interactive categories.

Additionally, BCM’s brisbanetimes.com.au relaunch campaign was a Finalist in the Brand Revitalisation category of today’s Qld Awards, and BCM’s campaign to recruit more Foster Carers for the Department of Communities’ Child Safety Services was also a Finalist in the Social Marketing category.

It was also announced that another two BCM campaigns are Finalists in the AMI National Marketing Excellence Awards being held in October.

Sunny Queen Natural Grain Cage Free campaign is a Finalist in the New Product/Service Launch category and Paul’s Zymil campaign for Parmalat Australia is a national Finalist in the Brand Revitalisation category.

Share My Story will also go on to compete in the AMI National Awards.

Well done to everyone at BCM who was involved in the campaigns.  Happy clients and happy team.  What more could you ask for?

Kate Holloway is a Marketing Executive at BCM Brisbane.

Someone wise once said that no matter how good you are at something, there is always someone out there better.

This is very close to true although Usain Bolt’s mum might well disagree.

But my point is not to state the obvious but rather to bemoan the fact that whereas it might have taken months or even years to find out that someone had invented a stronger archway or figured that the sun didn’t go around the earth or had already made a powered flight, it now takes mere microseconds.

To state another obvious fact – it’s a small world. Distance used to be measured in sailing weeks, it’s now measured in light moments.

So it is that every day thousands of people from around the world are finding out that there is someone better, faster and smarter than they are. It’s already been thought of. It’s already been done. Search that brilliant aphorism that you just thought up and it’s a near cert that you’ll find that someone has already thought it.

Put simply, this means that your circle of competition is getting rapidly bigger – it used to be the classroom, the school, the state or the country – it is now the world.

Also, simply, your week, month or year of false glory is now reduced to the time it takes for the twitpic to reach to the other side of the world – approx 1/16 second.

So we now live in a world of devastating competition.

Will this drive us on? Will we strive to be even better, faster, smarter or will this new, high speed, miniature world prove overpowering and we’ll cease to strive and just wander off for a good lie down?

This post started out to be a bit of mock philosophy. A bit of fun. But now I’m challenged. I’m off to have a better idea.

Bill Bristow is a Partner at BCM