If anyone thinks there is room for exaggeration in advertising anymore, think again.

Truth and authenticity are the true currency of branding in a web 2.0 world.

Back in 1999 some guys got together and wrote a little thing called the “Cluetrain Manifesto” which built a good foundation for future marketers. My favorite one of their theses is number 12:

the cluetrain manifesto
There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone.

And thanks to web 2.0 and search engines, there is no escaping the scrutiny of not just the press, but hundreds or thousands of empowered web citizens.

If you need an example, look at the recently announced Mac clone being offered by a no-name company called Psytar and what happens when you try to pose as legit without building a credible reputation first:

So exactly who or what is Psystar? We dig a little.. | Technology | Guardian Unlimited
But we thought we’d look further, because if the company’s going to make these big claims about what it can do, why, that’s interesting; but what sort of company is behind it?

The Psystar site talks a lot. OK….

The post opens the door, the comments nail it to the jam. Everything from real estate records to previous sites to business licenses- uncovered by netizens. If you thought political wonks were like rabid attack dogs going after raw meat, look at what the Macintosh Zealots do to a potential competitor for their beloved Apple.

The lesson to be learned is before making a bold move into a market, one must prove ones chops with a proper introduction to the big league. Introductions are more important than ever, with a gradual build to your “big idea.”

Had Psystar prepared the field by seeding key advocates and trusted sources within the Macintosh community before unveiling their game changing clone, they may have had a chance at being taken seriously. Now, they’ll be lucky to get any orders at all- and no chance at a second chance should something go wrong with any of the first units (if they ship).

Better mousetraps can’t be sprung without proper preparation, and poser brands don’t stand a chance at hiding behind any value proposition, until tested and proven.

Time will quickly tell if Psystar is a poser, but, until then, they’ve already dug themselves a pretty deep hole.

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Posted in: Brand relevancy, Differentiating your brand, Marketing & the Web, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world

Crispin Porter + Bogusky knows how to do car advertising; the Mini launch proved it. Then they “moved up” to work with VW when their patron at Mini moved to VW. However, Kerri Martin didn’t last very long at VW as the marketing chief, and neither will Crispin until VW gets someone at the top that understands the CP+B methodology- and VW actually learns how to deliver true “German Engineering.”

These two spots are a brilliant move, trotting out the old Beetle, to get the brand back to it’s roots: affordable, reliable, quality. However, with the dollar tanking and VW really struggling to make it out of the basement of JD Power surveys, CB+P is fighting an steep uphill battle.

Supermodel Heidi Klum interviewing a 1964 black Beetle that turns red when she says German engineering is so sexy. Heidi is impressed that every VW now comes with ABS and traction control standard. Talk show format, ending with a title slide: Das Auto- which means “the auto.”

Former Indiana hoops coach Bob Knight interviewing the classic Beetle- talking about basketball records, and VW’s winning the best resale value of 2008 (which is hard to believe since 2008 isn’t over yet). The joke about “one of us winning a title this year” gets Knight mad- and he throws the chair saying he might not be retired yet.

The tagline of “The Auto” is meaningless, but eminently better than the “Once you get into a Volkswagen it gets into you” line that was trotted out right after Ms. Martin hit the job market. Somehow, I’m still waiting for CP+B to trot “Fahrvergnugen” back out- and do it right. Or for VW corporate to realize there was nothing wrong with “Drivers Wanted” which had a hint of BMW “Ultimate driving machine” for the rest of us.

Besides the dubious hints at quality (no fault of CP+B- they work with what VW builds), the only thing that stops these ads from being good is the “German voice” of the car. It’s a cartoon voice for a cartoon brand.

In the search for a brand voice, VW is still lost.

You can read the whole VW Press release here.

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Posted in: BMW Advertising, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Great ad agencies, VW advertising