Balance Bar “Anti-Resolutions” Campaign Is Delicious

Balance Bar “Anti-Resolutions” campaign is delicious! Balance Bar, the nutrition bar stalwart, has gone and done something quite unusual for a health-conscious company: they’ve launched an “Anti-Resolutions Pledge” ad campaign.

The company, which was bought out by NBTY last year, is trying this unorthodox strategy at a time when traditional weight-loss companies are struggling. The rise of online-based health and dieting advice has hit long-standing titans like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers, as many consumers (unsurprisingly) opt for free weight-loss aids over traditional subscription-based programs.

The central wager of the “Anti-Resolution” campaign is that dieters too often set overly ambitious goals for the new year, only to become overwhelmed and quit as soon as the pressure mounts. Balance Bar is instead advocating for a smaller, humbler, day-by-day approach to dieting which focuses on small lifestyle changes and, among other things, eating Balance Bars. People who sign the Pledge are supposed to make one small change per month, the theory being that this is a more manageable and durable strategy for weight loss. For Balance Bar, it’s a win-win: even if consumers fail to maintain their twelve small lifestyle changes, they’ll at least scarf down a few boxes worth of Balance Bars along the way.

Mmm.

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Burger King Subjects Facebook Fans To Ultimate Loyalty Test

Burger King is royally subjecting Facebook fans to the ultimate loyalty test. The tasty fast food giant’s Norway branch recently adopted a radical – and some would say confrontational – strategy in regards to its social media following. In an effort to weed out the negative nancies who have “liked” Burger King’s Facebook page just to post nasty comments, the food chain offered a free Big Mac to each of its fans. The catch? In exchange for the Big Mac, you also have to accept a lifetime ban from Burger King’s Facebook page. This comes on the heels of Burger King rolling out its elusive Big King burger, which bears a striking resemblance to McDonald’s flagship patty.

It’s not often that we see a company actively trying to jettison thousands of Facebook fans, but Burger King thought it was worth the risk of embarrassment. So far, the results have been inconclusive: on one hand, 30,000 of the 38,000 original Burger King fans decided to go for the free Big Mac and banish themselves from BK. That nearly 80% rate of abandonment surely seems like a foolish misstep to some market analysts.

Burger King views it differently, however. While they may have been left with only 8,000 followers, they remain confident that honing their fanbase down to a smaller committed core will promote more positive engagement and interactions on their Facebook page. If nothing else, they’ll certainly get a modest PR boost from purging all the Whopper haters who used to bedevil their page.

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Proctor & Gamble Thanks Moms with Olympics Spot

Once again Proctor & Gamble thanks moms by with a heartwarming 2014 Winter Olympics spot.

Their newest spot, “Pick Them Back Up” glows with winter warmth while recounting the youthful lessons of four athletes as they develop. More importantly, it displays the mothers who supported them throughout the way.

Conceived by the minds at Wieden+Kennedy, the sport includes little details often glossed over in advertisements. Think heavy diapers, crying toddlers, and even broken limbs. Proctor & Gamble are very clear: They get it. In addition, by getting it, they get what moms need.

the images’ message further, Proctor & Gamble are courtside to mothers. Kitchen sink realism stops there though. The narrative is about Olympians, after all, and the excellent soundtrack plays up the fantastical ala Chariots of Fire.

The overwhelming conclusion of these two intersecting themes is interesting: Motherhood is an Olympian endeavor. In fact, Proctor & Gamble implies they are privy to Mom’s upsets just as Mom is privy to her child’s or children’s. In addition, just like Mom, they provide the solutions. Right down to the commercial’s title, everything resonates more through such equivalency.

Does the message lambast us with said observation? Nope, and the video triumphs because said conclusions do not just hit us in the heart, but the head. Proctor & Gamble are not just displaying customer respect: They are respecting customer intelligence.

Do not just take my word though. Try the 7.5 million + YouTubers who have checked it out, no doubt sating their anticipation for the Winter Olympics’ upcoming drama and of course, commercial breaks.

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Kleenex, Mizrahi, Encourage You to Sniffle in Style

Kleenex brand has revealed a stylish new ad campaign just in time for cold, flu, allergy, and all-around sniffle-season by inking a deal with fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi.

Mizrahi, well-known for top-shelf fashion design as well as his unapologetic antics to the ’06 Golden Globe Red Carpet, was again in a media firestorm recently for working on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. The oft-controversial Mizrahi was very publicly working and tweeting on the Jewish Day of Atonement instead of fasting, attending synagogue, and prayer.

Not taking the day off may not be unheard of, but doing it so publicly as a graduate from Brooklyn’s Meshiva of Flatbush, a private orthodox Jewish school, landed Mizrahi in hot water.

Despite the recent Semitic faux-pas, Kleenex has signed him on for a new marketing campaign and tissue box collection.

Kleenex is ramping up the marketing in celebration of the iconic brand’s 90th anniversary. The new Style Studio on Kleenex’s website allows customers to filter through Kleenex’s, and Mizrahi’s, new designs by designs, uses, and colors. The microsite provides the eye candy for casual surfers and provides an artsy-gallery feel to the usually bland and uninspiring realm of tissues.

Mizrahi has even integrated his own spring and home collection designs into the new Kleenex box designs. A Kleenex tissue won’t make you look pretty but it can give a pretty look to your designer lifestyle, a point emphasized by their Style Studio slogan “Find it, Flaunt it, Live it.”

Kleenex will reveal the new tissue box collection at a March 17th event before they become available at retail a month later on April 17th; just in time for flu season.

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