Beyond Urban Branding

Nike gets the nod for taking risks in ads. This one paid off big. LeBron James, Rev Burke and RZA really brought it in this ad. Complete with a symphony to back up the manga styled cartoon. The message here is about having a solid work ethic regardless of the odds. Who can argue against that in 2010?! -Beyond Urban Branding beyondurban@gmail.com

Here is a great ad by Lucent Technologies (now Acatel-Lucent). Its fast paced, very authentically themed for a classic kung-fu film and ends with a comedic punch. The only real critique I have is that, they don't convey what they do. For the record Alcatel-Lucent is the trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, providing solutions to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. . The thing you cannot deny is, they do hammer home the priceless edge of having a solid partner with you when things get tough. -Beyond Urban Branding

The most authentic urban ads in the history o f the game, all come from alcohol companies. This saddens me greatly, because, I've always felt that many of these companies used their accurate knowledge of Hip-Hop and urban subculture to target underage kids . This is not something that you can prove, but, its hard not to believe that is the case. The truth is, whoever created these campaigns knew what they were doing. When these ads first hit, I was in love with them and tried to tape as many as I could of the air. These ads did not FEEL LIKE ADS. They felt like rap songs. Any brand that can master that, has a winning campaign. The bottom line is that Puffy and Ciroc Vodka could have never happened, Jay and Armand de Brignac would have never existed without St. Ides paving the way. These are just a few of the ads St. Ides have made. They've made many more than I can list but some of them include Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Geto Boys and many others. St. Ides also got major shouts out on ...