In a new ad for Wienerschnitzel, A Common Thread director Eli Green enlists a slightly unhinged German techno band to introduce the brand’s latest offering, Chicken Schnitzel Sandwiches. Conceived by California agency Amusement Park, Schnitzelbration features a group of black-clad musicians strutting their stuff on stage while singing the praises of schnitzel in faux German. The show ends with a back-up singer pumping his fist and exclaiming, “Das awesome!”
Although he’s obviously going for laughs, Green directs the scene as if it were a Kraftwerk performance circa 1975. The musicians take themselves very seriously, even when they are joined onstage by Wienerschnitzel’s giant hot dog mascot. “Although the situation is outlandish, it should feel real,” he says. “You want viewers to be wondering, ‘What’s happening here?’ Later, we tip our hat enough to let them know it’s okay to laugh.”
Green credits Amusement Park’s creative team with having the moxie to go with a concept that’s out of left field. “It’s a big idea to convey in 30 seconds; they were taking a creative risk, and it paid off,” he observes. “I seek out projects like this and creative collaborators who are doing things that are interesting, funny and different.”
A second Wienerschnitzel ad, Hot Dogs Across the USA, introduces three specialty hot dogs. It centers on a cross country road trip where a group of millennials in an SUV visits beaches and night spots accompanied by the Wienerschnitzel mascot.
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Sonic Branding For Social Media: Engage, Align, Connect
By Chad Cook -- With more than five billion people accessing social media daily, savvy brands understand the importance of cultivating a strong social identity. They devote massive resources toward brand awareness, audience targeting, content strategy and community engagement. Yet, while they know that social platforms are critical to boosting sales and attracting new customers, many neglect one of the most effective tools for connecting with consumers: sonic branding. Marketers often associate sonic branding with catchy mnemonics used by big brands like McDonald’s, Netflix and Intel in their advertising. But that is a very limited view of what sonic branding is and what it can do. Sonic branding is a way to build awareness and stimulate engagement across all touch points, from advertising to broadcast digital, in-person and social. And it’s not limited to members of the Fortune 500. Brands at all levels can benefit from a sonic identity that is memorable, engaging and reflective of its core values. Sound has been scientifically proven to be deeply tied to memory and emotion. There’s a reason that certain songs stick in your head and bring back memories formed years or even decades earlier. So, it’s surprising that sonic branding is often an afterthought in marketing plans. That is especially true in social media marketing. Faced with tight deadlines and strained budgets, creative teams are often tempted to select music for their content simply because it “fits.” Unfortunately, that may result in content that is in tune with what’s trending but is out of tune with brand identity. Effective sonic branding, by contrast, requires thoughtful strategic planning,... Read More