The Inkwell

If you saw “The Today Show” this morning, then you witnessed the magic and power of great PR…

The best feature about blogs is their ability to aggregate all the content you seek at-a-glance. So, for those who missed the Superbowl spots, here’s a round up of all the ads in one quick link.

Clever, Ink.’s top picks of advertising victors and why?

1) Coca-Cola’s “Heist” – whimsy and gorgeous execution make this ad a stand out.

2) Pedigree’s “Crazy Pets” – hilarious, memorable and grassroots all rolled into one.

3) Teleflora’s “Talking Flowers” – simply because I laughed OUT LOUD at this one! And laughter means high recall – for the price tag advertisers paid for these spots, that’s a pretty coveted reaction.

We’ve all heard the cliches – when life gives you lemons…if you fall off the horse get right back on…if at first you don’t succeed, try try again. But the makers of Jelly Belly, the world’s most famous jelly bean (and I’ll admit, one of my personal weaknesses), have taken overturning our mistakes to an entirely new level.

Meet Belly Flops – Jelly Belly’s answer to jelly beans gone wild.

According to the Jelly Belly website, “Belly Flops are no less flavorful, or lovable, than regular Jelly Belly jelly beans; they just come in wild shapes and sizes. You may find one that’s round, one that’s square, or you may even find a bunch stuck together. On very rare occasions, a flavor may not match a color. A red Belly Flop might taste like Blueberry, or a white one might taste like Chocolate Pudding.”

While I say this is sheer brilliance, you might ask, “who cares?” But I can guarantee you two things. First, at that next happy hour or get together, mention Belly Flops to your friends, co-workers or family, and watch how many people react to the concept. And second, the folks at Jelly Belly are taking these beans straight to the bank. They have accomplished what smart marketers aim to do – taking a brilliant idea and parlaying it into an eco-friendly (selling their flubbed beans means less waste) opportunity that helps build their brand while creating an alternate channel for increased profits.

Everyone knows that advertising – good, smart advertising – is supposed to get your brand noticed. And in a marketplace like today’s, it takes more than just effort to make people stop and think.

Which is exactly why the attached ad for Veet, which ran in Australia’s Daily Telegraph is so on the money…

First, this was forwarded to me via email, which means it’s already becoming viral. Second, it’s timely and clever – notice the placement under our new President Barack Obama’s photo (you can’t pay for positioning like that. Well, you can. But today most advertisers aren’t sporting for premium position media buys.) Third, in just two words it sums up exactly what their product does. And lastly, it made me laugh – out loud.

Now that’s good advertising!

Coming soon : a blog on “Smart ThINKing” – clever bits of marketing genius.