Beyond Urban Branding

Quick and clean, like it should be.

I love these ads so much. They are funny and well written. Are they working? I don't know....But I hope so, 'cause they rock.

I remember when this was "not art"...now look.

I did not expect the response from the people taking the order.

Well played Holiday Inn- well played...

Easily Nicki Minaj is arguably the biggest thing in urban branding for women possibly ever. This is proof. I can't say I love her music, but I do love her ads and respect her business mind and team.

I love this ad. I've been seeing this trend lately. Brands use old soul songs, what served as the foundation for classic rap hits from the late 80's and early 90's. Doing this helps you in several ways: 1) You wont be explicitly binding your brand to a rap demographic, but STILL get the benefits of getting a deeper resonation in those that do know it. 2) You introduce younger potential customers to old soul and get them to identify YOUR brand with that classic. 3) Older techies won't see it as connected to rap at all. Thats a 3'fer!! I bet Bill Gates is hitting switches right now in his 64... This song was used in one of the biggest rap albums of all time... I can almost promise you, the folks in this video are almost ALL parents....LOL

Mail is boring. Plus its kind of dying out as an industry. This ad focuses on the differentiation point of strategy and makes it resonate, using football. This was well done.

Nothing captures like authenticity.

Lebron & Dwight  McDonalds Ad in India   Teyonnah Parris

I love DJ Delz, he has so much love for shoes....Study guys like him. He represents one of millions of people that really love shoes....enjoy!

I mean, he's a rapper, but he's WAY bigger than rap. He is one of the most stylish dudes in the game. Well done on all levels.

If you won't do that, you should pay him to rep your brand....this is dope....

Latinas in ads have been really exploding. Here are a few...I will post more soon...But Eva Mendez, J-Lo and Sofia Vergara are doing it BIG in the game right now...I don't see this trend stopping any time soon.... Mendes and Pantene J-lo and Fiat Vergara and K-Mart

Intense...For me, most of the best game trailers use slow, deeply emotional music to contrast with the action on the screen...This is a great example.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Video Game, Exclusive Tech Trailer | Video Clip | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com   Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Video Game, Team Ghost Member 4: Kendrick Lamar | Video Clip | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com The music is well done!! The game is hot!! Kendrick Lamar is one of the freshest faces in Hip-Hop right now. Great job!! 

I have no idea how this guy got hired for this ad. I dunno if he was somebody's cousin on the creative team....But he looks like the Nightstalker, or a cop time warped into the future....Maybe a second string porn star. I have no idea who thought he was a good choice for these ads. And for the record, I like Progressive ads as a rule.  He's not really funny, super suave or anything like that....Anybody look at that jacket? The mustache? The hair? C'mon Progressive...wake up...

This Walmart phone ad is great. Kinda flips the script on who is rich these days...Gotta love the little green Android guy to. He's cute. 

This is a great ad. Playing off the cult classic Hangover, this ad really is cool. I was shocked to see it came out about a year ago. I think this could have gotten much greater buzz if it was shared more aggressively.

This is a great ad. It's beautiful to see how they fussed his legendary status with his work ethic. I think it was a bold move to embrace his passion for his people as well. 

This is cute, and I mean that in the realest sense...I like it a lot...

So many people try to steal his style...but you can't...you really can't.

So fun, so well done. It makes me totally forgive that horrific "graffiti" campaign they did in their store...anybody remember that....? Ugly stenciled shirts with almost no real graff? Man, this is a huge leap forward for them. Plus I used to have a crush on the lady leading the class.....mmm-hmmmm...

Seriously, take a minute to soak it up...You can't sell anything to someone you don't know. You can't sell anything to somebody you are afraid of. Remember that.

No joke the first time I saw this was in 1986 by some kids at Westmoor high school in Daly City CA.

This is a cool ad illustrating the difference of movement between old school and new school b-boys. Done well.

I guess it's all just taken for granted that its all "American dance" but...I guess that was before it was "Black" and that was before anybody even acknowledged Hip-Hop was an art. People forget that in the beginning Hip-Hop was considered not art and just a random hiccup from the ghetto that the world wished would go away...TOO BAD!! I love to see Hip-Hop dance in ads.

Nas and AZ Represent for Nike!! People forgot this one. The coolest thing about is the beat they use is from a CLASSIC Hip-Hop movie. Who can name it? NOT YOU!! LOL  I totally forgot this was even made...Still love it

Reeses has been pushing Hip-Hop for a while now...This is one of their old ones... Here is a shorty family version... This is the latest one...I could not find a better one on Youtube (my bad) I always liked these. I hate the sound quality on this newer vid. 'Cause I actually like the beat... A far cry from this one huh?

Then a few days after this song goes across the planet HipHopDX  writes that Theraflu announces its doing a   Law suit  against West (as if they hated all the publicity). Now this is amazing right? I mean, they get publicity through the roof, because of Hip-Hop. Then they turn around and tell a half asleep attorney on retainer to send something to West and get...MORE PUBLICITY... Yeah, because, we understand how the Theraflu brand was cut deep and had brand issues cause one song put 'em in so many living rooms and iPods they could not take it. If anything, all the kids who are 15 years old right now just got locked in to buying Theraflu for the next 40 years. They need to cut Kanye a check and thank him. BTW, this song is explicit. But you should know that because you can read the screen above you...

Nobody really thinks he drives this though right? I think the ads for big dudes who cant afford the REAL car Shaq drives.

The secret is to never let the brand get in the way of the youth who represent it.

But who had the GREAT idea to co-brand with Bounty? #GIVETHEMARAISE