June 2010
4 posts
The talk around “Write the Future” started a bunch of weeks back when Nike execs touted the ad as possibly their best ever. As a legendary advertiser with some of the most compelling commercials, this statement holds a lot of weight. Nike has had to reserve this claim, as each time it is used, it loses validity.
While not a sponsor of the World Cup or FIFA, Nike needed to make a splash to get consumer attention. They ended up causing an explosion of chatter, out-shining their World-Cup-Official-Sponsor competition with a three-minute ad campaign ignited by the statement of achievement. Many of the millions of people who watched the ad likely spent three minutes trying to determine if the statement was all hype or if the ad was that good. This is a result of the high level of Nike’s previous work. While the content of the ad certainly matters, such a claim can have more of an affect on the viewership of an ad than the ad itself.Nike has been living on an advertising pedestal for quite some time. With “Write the Future”, the company pulled out all the stops. Nike now needs to work harder to continue to produce advertising at the bar they set for themselves. I’m looking forward to their next achievement in advertising. If you haven’t seen the ad, here it is:
Now that the internet has been around for 15 years or so, efforts to tame it are coming to fruition. For example, Twitter is what RSS wishes it was: a great way of getting personally relevant news and information as it develops. As companies seek to take hold and make the internet manageable, the app world is running amok. This is not a bad thing. App innovation is moving at such a fast clip that the maturity of this space will catch up to the internet in a short period. Apps will have to adapt to changing technology (the next Android, iPad, etc.) but I can also see platform development to enable certain directional shifts and advances in apps.
Successful internet companies have learned that they must create utility (okay, FarmVille is not exactly a utility but is certainly successful). Apps are no exception. I have downloaded tons of apps to my Droid but only use those that provide real-world value. I suppose I must include in this category apps that provide hours of distracting, mindless fun, such as the overly-addictive RoboDefender but I have yet to open Google Sky Map or any other number of “cool” apps.The rate at which apps are evolving is impressive. Companies are exploring the app world, seeing what works and what doesn’t; What we need vs. what we want; Utility vs. fun. What we see in the marketplace now may not be recognizable in a year.