“The Camp Gyno”: A New Spin on an Old Problem

Image Source: PolicyMic

Everyone is talking about it – on Twitter, on “The View,”  on The Huffington Post, and on PolicyMic, where they published a piece, “The Tampon Commercial You Wish You’d Seen as a Kid.”  At one point, I was watching the ad on YouTube (joining almost 2.4 million other viewers) and a television program was running a clip as a point of discussion – spooky.

The ad is from monthly subscription service HelloFlo.  Their tagline is “Simplify your period.”  You choose your “flo” – lo, medium, heavy, etc. – and they deliver a package each month with the corresponding level of protection, along with some delicious treats.

In September, HelloFlo is launching their Period Starter Kit, which parents can order to be ready for their daughter’s first period.  Enter the ad, titled, “The Camp Gyno.”

This is brilliant on two counts.  The first is the product launch, and thus brand extension, itself.  More on that tomorrow, as it is a topic worthy of its own post, but let me just say, “perfect.”

The second is the ad, which has taken a subject, that has been around literally since the dawn of (wo)man, but by-and-large has been taboo, and made it not-scary, accessible, and dare I say, “funny.”  Really.  All of it, especially the line about the starter kit, uttered from the mouth (and face) of a 12-year-old, “It’s like Santa for your vagina,” well, too much.  It is entertaining and informative, and provides an opening for “the conversation.”  I can’t imagine a parent who wouldn’t appreciate some help with that.

So what is the business lesson here?  You may think that a subject is tired and worn and done-to-death, that there’s not a new way to look at it, but is it really? Think about the “God Made a Farmer” Super Bowl ad for the Dodge Ram and the “Admission” ad from Target, or the budget-friendly “Will It Blend?” YouTube series from Blendtec and “Our Blades Are F***ing Great” video from Dollar Shave Club.  None of these products (or, in the of “Admission”, an experience) are new, people.

It’s time to take a step back and get creative.  See with new eyes (as Marcel Proust would say).  Engage your customer in a different way and design a new experience for an old product/service/idea.  One that is actually exciting.

If HelloFlo can make getting your first period look like this much fun, you’ve got to be able to be able to put some spice into whatever recipe it is that you’re cooking.

A P.S. today – because the ad is that good – here is the team behind it:

Co-Writer/Co-Director: Jamie Mccelland and Pete Marquis
Production Company: Hayden 5 Media

The Michael Buble Effect

I love Michael Buble.  By all accounts, the man seems to be charming, self-deprecating, and funny, and he’s a marvelously good singer.  Then there’s the gorgeous eyes, that great smile, and those dimples.

There was a bit of a brouhaha when his latest release, Crazy Love, premiered in the number 1 spot on the Billboard charts, putting KISS, with their first album in 11 years, at number 2.  Then, the next week it outsold the highly-anticipated Twilight: New Moon soundtrack.  Sites like Gawker and The Daily Beast dissected his appeal and chart-topping success.  The rhetoric went something like this: who is this Michael Buble guy (a Canadian no less!) whose music is “bland” (a matter of opinion), and who on earth is buying his music?  Apparently, it’s “Chardonnay-sipping” moms.  And this is not meant as a compliment.  I found it interesting that no one seemed to complain when those same “Chardonnay-sipping” mothers lined up with their children to see Twilight: New Moon on its opening weekend.

Call Michael Buble “bland” if you want, but he’s a risk taker.  He made Crazy Love with the musicians in the studio, “recorded it right from the floor.”  No one does that anymore.  And, probably more than anything, Michael Buble is an entertainer.  He can sing, live, he can dance, and he can joke, tease, play with his audience.  Dare I say, he appears to be having fun.  How many concerts have you been to where you’re shocked by the actual sound of a performer without the benefit of studio enhancement?  Or have you ever had a concert experience where the singer barely acknowledges the audience who has paid handsomely to be there?  Exactly.  Sure he’s a Frank Sinatra-like “crooner.”  What’s so wrong with that?  At a Michael Buble concert, you have a good time, you enjoy yourself.  Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?

So take a look at Michael Buble’s web site.  Scroll down and watch the music video for “Haven’t Met You Yet.”  You’ll feel good.  You may even catch yourself bopping, just a bit.  Or singing along, like my dear friend and her six-year-old son do while driving around in her convertible Mini with the top down.  Couldn’t we all use a little more bopping?  A little more singing along?  A little more Michael Buble?

Listen up!

The Muppets Do Queen

If for any reason, you’re in need of  a something to put a smile of your face (actually, even if you’re not), then look no further.  Simply click below.

The Muppets Do Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”Video

Whoever thought of this … brilliant.