You know her as the perky Canadian songbird behind last year's "Call Me Maybe." Now Carly Rae Jepsen, who almost made it to the finals of Canadian Idol in 2007, is teaming up with Coca-Cola and American Idol in a crowdsourcing contest that's also a bid to escape being a one-hit wonder.Continue reading...

The early days of the Axe and Lynx Space Academy contest (which we broke on January 9th) to fly winners into space has encountered a not-unforseeable snag: Some of the leaders in the social media-based competition for spots on the space flight are women, despite the original wording of the male-skewing sibling brands' contest: "Leave a man. Come back a hero."

This presents an interesting identity challenge to the Unilever-owned brands that have built their identification on the testosterone-fueled young male in search of—and equally targeted by—eager females. Now, eager females include those that are just as eager as their male counterparts to get into space. For example, Justine Ezarik, better known as internet celebrity iJustine, recently was at number four on the leader board, according to Ad Age. Social media support is the most crucial component of bids to get the brands' consideration for slots on flights by Space X Corp. beginning in 2014.Continue reading...

As we reported on Wednesday, Unilever's AXE brand is launching a Red Bull-challenging space program related to its new line of Apollo men's personal care products — taking 22 fans (men only, sorry ladies) from around the world to the edge of space as part of its Apollo Space Academy program in December 2013.

The last day to apply is February 3rd (aka Super Bowl Sunday) at AxeApollo.com (terms and conditions are here) or LynxApollo.com in the UK, Ireland and Australia, where Axe is sold as Lynx.

Below, watch Buzz Aldrin announce the AXE Apollo Space Academy (Lynx Apollo Space Academy to some), along with related videos and commercials related to Axe's new Apollo product line and contest:Continue reading...

Axe has made its reputation with edgy advertising that makes no bones about why it believes young men should use it — to attract women to them as if they're sexually magnetized.

Now, the Unilever brand is pushing the envelope just a bit more in two ways: entering the Super Bowl advertising derby, and launching a Red Bull-esque promotion in which it promises to send 22 people just to the edge of space, with the tagline: "Leave a man, come back a hero."

The Super Bowl ad doesn't seem like such a big deal in comparison, but it will be for Axe. The brand will be airing a 30-second TV ad during the Super Bowl titled "Lifeguard" which, according to a press release, "includes a twist at the end" that aligns with a larger creative campaign scheduled for launch this month.

That other creative campaign — which Gaston Vaneri, Axe brand director, promised would take the brand "to new heights" — involves what it's calling the Axe Apollo Space Academy. The brand's new online contest promises to send winners to the edge of space and back aboard a private craft: a Lynx space plane built by the U.S. company XCOR Aerospace and operated by the tourism firm Space Expedition Curacao.Continue reading...

The United States Postal Service is in the midst of massive layoffs and soul-searching about its future, as it looks to cut 35,000 jobs as a way of dealing with its $18.2 billion annual loss, but it's still trying to innovate in a digital era when hand-delivered mail seems quaint.

The U.S. Postal Service has just launched a new mobile application for iPhone users that lets the device's camera scan barcodes on shipping labels for "quick, easy and convenient tracking of their packages and other mail. The application stores the label numbers so customers can easily recheck the status of their shipments. The scanner function is available on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPad 2."Continue reading...

This February marks the 36th annual Black History Month in America, and the marketing geniuses at Nike are showing that the brand's got the spirit by releasing three different BHM-themed shoes that are tied to three of their biggest basketball endorsers: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant.

Nike Blog reports that the release date and prices for the James and Durant shoes haven’t been named yet, but for only $140, fans of Black History Month can show it off all year long with a pair of Kobe shoes.

Of course there are plenty of other ways that marketers think you could be showing your BHM pride, too. 

And don’t think Heineken US doesn’t have the BHM spirit! The brand is sponsoring its second annual Black History Month art competition, which will garner the winner five grand and the opportunity to “have their artwork showcased in an upcoming marketing campaign” for the brewer, according to TrendHunter.com. We’re talking placement in national print, digital, in-store point of sale, and out of home advertising in 2013. And all you have to do to submit art is “like” the Heineken US Facebook page.

The judging of the submissions, of course, will be on originality and creativity as well its “representation of black history,” naturally, and, of course!, “the spirit of the Heineken brand,” TrendHunter reports.

U.S. cable TV networks (beyond BET) have long jumped on Black History Month for programming. This year, naturally, social and digital marketing is coming into play, too.Continue reading...

Papa John's sold more than one million pizzas on Super Bowl Sunday last year, without advertising during the game despite being the NFL's official pizza sponsor.

Its promotional stunt — offering free pizzas to its rewards program members if the 2011 Super Bowl showdown between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers went into overtime — hinged on the safe bet that that Super Bowl games have never gone into overtime. Loyalty members were also randomly selected every 45 seconds for a $45 gift card.

This year's Super Bowl promotion for the pizza chain takes from that playbook while trying to sweeten the incentive.Continue reading...

Just in time for last-minute holiday shopping, Nike has teamed up with augmented reality specialists GoldRun, Akoo (an out of home TV network) and U.S. running apparel retailer Finish Line for an AR-based treasure hunt and sweepstakes. The contest's prize package is sure to please sneakerheads and runners alike: Nike’s Air Max Flash Pack, a collection of 15 shoe designs and colors.

Shoppers in 106 malls with Finish Line stores can download the free GoldRun app, find a virtual Nike shoe, snap a picture of the shoe in front of a Finish Line store and have a chance to win one of the 15 pairs of Nike shoes awarded daily.

“By sharing branded photos and earning rewards (such as winning a new pair of Nikes or getting a discount on a product), the consumer is incentivized and the brand wins, because they're seeing engagement in the mobile and social space while driving awareness and revenue,” GoldRun Founder and CEO Vivian Rosenthal told brandchannel.Continue reading...