Bing a ding ding dead

So I chooned into Late night with Jimmy Fallon the other night to witness the car crash of awkwardness, pauses and presenter self- doubt that we usually see. There was an added layer of uncomfortableness this time, though, with a skit that bombed for different reasons from the usual. 

It started with Fallon donning a fake mustache, hilarious already right. He then said as follows...

"Does everyone know that new search engine'Bing'? It searches the Internet differently from the other ones. So we're going to play a little game here now we'll call 'the bing ding'. 

A visual came up that read 'the bing ding...presented
by microsoft'. The audience laughed, presumably finding the idea of corporate sponsorship of a skit funny. Fallon then invited three audience members down to three computers adorned with the Bing logo and asked them a question and the first person to get the right answer would win.There were shots of the contestants searching the Bing website and it seemed pretty effective in getting the answers quick. We then got to see the college white boy winner grinning when he was awarded a laptop with that Bing logo on it. 

So as it turned out, the whole thing was clearly an informercial, and actually was presented by microsoft.

Do you think this is the future of advertising on network television? Is this a desperate effort that is doomed to fail? Will consumers stomach this content or turn away from the provider? 

There wasn't a shred of comedy in the skit, and I sensed an uneasiness or confusion in the audience, but you know what I did during the ad break:searched Bing. So maybe there is potential, even if it is as awkward as Fallon's charisma

Image courtesy of Bing.

The big JD bet

A while back, I went to the Prince ah Wales in St Kilda and saw the undisputed greatest band in the world: You Am I. It wasn't my first time of course, but it was the first with free entry. It was the JD set. JD is for jack daniels, for those who are soft. Jack Daniels have put their foot in the rock room before with the Jack awards and are clearly trying to buddy themselves up with rock music much the same as triple m
does, but hopefully In a cooler and silkier way. 

You am I may have actually played the best gig of all the times I'd seen them, and I've shelled out 45 bucks to see them more than once, so we all left thinking it was a great night and feeling slightly like thieves, which is always better than feeling ripped off. So I left with respect for JD on one hand, but couldnt help thinkin they could have done more to seal the deal. There was a lotta punter goodwill for Jack Daniels in the Prince and most of my group were keen to sink a few of the real man's tipple. However, the feelings of lameness in asking for a bottle of the malt outdid the novelty factor. Everyone was drinking beer. But most of us expected to come and only be able to drink JD. Maybe the variety generated even more positive brand feelings from some folk, but I think a big sign 'Jack Daniels $7' would have got hundreds of punters sampling the stuff. When watching the adverdoco on The Bacardi Express on Channel V all I saw were bright cans of the white rum being shaken about by bogans. Anyway, I thought JD missed a good opportunity. 

One brilliant thing they did do, though (even if it was unintentional), was providing dozens of posters to punters as they exited. The shiny posters had a picture of my favourite ageing rockers on it so I taped it up on my wall. I then stared at it and of course saw the JD branding all over it. Jack Daniels has now entered the home of dozens maybe a hundred fans. The poster will remind them of the great night, bring up those good brand feelings again hopefully and of course also acts as an inescapable awareness advertisement. JD got itself into the home! It's like the Four N Twenty Salad Plate.

Kudos or laughs must also go to the tagline on the JD posters in the venue: 'Know when to unplug. Drink Responsibly'. Haha. We thought it was funny, and made sure our friends were unplugging when they'd had enough. Now this phrase has entered our lexicon. Good or bad? Who cares.