This week, Tropicana made waves with the swift failure of a massive rebranding effort.

PepsiCo, owners the well established Tropicana brand, sought to capitalize on the economic downturn through marketing. They hired New York ad agency Arnell to implement a complete redesign of the Tropicana logo and packaging. Arnell is also responsible for the recent Pepsi logo revamp, which was criticized for its striking resemblance to Barack Obama’s campaign logo.

The$35 million rebranding effort backfired big time. Fiercely loyal customers fired off angry emails and blog rants complaining about the new packaging. PepsiCo and Tropicana quickly announced that the old, familiar packaging will return to the shelves by next month.

So what happened? According to the New York Times assessment of the debacle, social media factored into the equation in a big way:

Such attention is becoming increasingly common as interactive technologies enable consumers to rapidly convey opinions to marketers.

“You used to wait to go to the water cooler or a cocktail party to talk over something,” said Richard Laermer, chief executive at RLM Public Relations in New York.

“Now, every minute is a cocktail party,” he added. “You write an e-mail and in an hour, you’ve got a fan base agreeing with you.”

That ability to share brickbats or bouquets with other consumers is important because it facilitates the formation of ad hoc groups, more likely to be listened to than individuals.

The Tropicana debacle is reminiscent to the “Motrin Moms” disaster last November. Angry moms took to Twitter to complain about a Motrin ad campaign that offended them. Within 48 hours, Motrin executives had publicly apologized and scrapped the expensive campaign.

What could Tropicana have done differently to successfully rebrand without throwing their most loyal customers into an uproar? If they had used social media to involve their most loyal customers in the process, it would have been a powerful tool in their rebranding process. Instead social media worked against them as customers joined forces to increase the fallout.

What if they had given customers a vote on the new packaging? They would have enjoyed the benefit of months of publicity leading up to the unveiling. Most importantly, they wouldn’t have faced the bad press, the outrage of their loyal customers, or the cost of undoing the $35 million rebranding campaign.

Marketers can learn a valuable lesson from Tropicana’s mistake. Social media has forever changed the way that consumers interact with brands and marketing tactics. If you don’t converse with your customers, it could cost you.

With all the hype about the 3D Super Bowl ads and in honor of the upcoming Valentine’s holiday, Crest encourages you to pucker up to enjoy a fun and flirty 3D Kiss.

With hopes you saved your 3D glasses from the Super Bowl, Crest launched the Kiss Me 3D website. Upon entering this flirty website, you are encouraged to choose a partner, Olivia or Fernando. You are then prompted to select 3 kissing styles. Once you have created your own make-out session, you can sit back and enjoy the humorous 3D animation. Just as your date is finishing the last kiss, the campaign’s purpose is revealed and you discover this is a viral marketing campaign for Crest Whitening Strips, which are new and proven to last through anything … even during the steamiest of kisses!

Honestly, I thought this advertisement was addicting and quite humorous! I couldn’t help but ‘Kiss and Tell’ my findings with some friends so they may also enjoy a good laugh, which makes for a good Viral Marketing Campaign.

From personal experience, I have attempted the Crest Whitening Strips, but they are very annoying and slip off. After viewing this ad (and laughing quite a bit), I believe I will give the new strip a chance. I encourage everyone to check this out! Who needs a Valentine’s date when you can have a virtual moment with Olivia or Fernando … a moment that is “so real your computer screen will fog up?

It pays to market in a down economy, and Super Bowl advertisers proved this year that there’s no better time to plug your brand than a recession. According to USAToday, 28 advertisers spent a record $206 million on Super Bowl spots that cost a whopping $100,000 a second this year ($3 million for a 30-second spot). For their money, they reached nearly 100 million views during yesterday’s game.

Advertisers were mindful of the audience’s money woes, though. In addition to the typical light-hearted comedy ads, many of this year’s commercials featured an uplifting message.

If you missed any (or all) of this year’s Super Bowl ads, there’s a complete list of Super Bowl 2009 commercials posted at AdAge. If you’re just interested in the best of the best (and worst of the worst), Time magazine compiled a list of highlights and lowlights for this Super Bowl advertising season.

My favorite ad this year? Pepsi’s “Refresh Anthem” with an uplifting montage of cultural images spanning several generations:

This year advertisers are putting their millions to good work, and not just their own. With the costs of Super Bowl airtime running an estimated $3 million per 30 seconds, advertisers are using their seconds wisely and perhaps for a new cause this year. Following in the footsteps of companies like Fiat, both Kellogg and Pedigree will be promoting charitable causes.

Kellogg plans to feature Tony the Tiger delivering a message for viewers to nominate a children’s play area to be upgraded and rebuilt at Kellogg’s expense.

Pedigree is taking their devotion to their cause one step further. They’re opting out of promoting their product and focusing on the worthy cause of animal adoption. Moving away from the recent tear jerking Adoption Drive campaign, Pedigree will be adding a bit of humor and a non-traditional approach to their ads this year. This new campaign will focus on the mayhem that can be associated with adopting unique pets. One ad will feature an adopted rhinoceros, while another illustrates an ostrich chasing a mailman. Even though the delivery may be light, Pedigree is delivering a strong message that all animals need our help.

Some may say that in such a turbulent economy spending millions of dollars and not advertising your product is corporate suicide, but Pedigree stands behind their past double digit sales returns on adoption centered ads.

While Kellogg and Pedigree are only two examples, other advertisers are focusing their attention on the greater good. This Super Bowl Anheuser-Busch will be donating the money they would be paying their spokesperson (Conan O’Brien) to the The Fresh Air Fund (at O’Brien’s request, of course).

Could our current economic situation be helping advertisers turn over a new leaf?

This week in my quest to find some rad ads, I stumbled upon an advertisement that was refreshingly fun, interactive and actually quite entertaining. Willing to accept any creative challenge, I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the Hoodie Remix … even though I’m not frequently seen sporting a hoodie!

I urge each and every one of you to check out this amusing, interactive website contest. Champion created a website that allows the average consumer to get in touch with their creative side and actually design a hoodie! Equipped with a diverse color palette and fun patterns, the site allows you to become the designer. You can create as many designs as you wish … the sky is the limit!

If you aren’t feeling creative, take the time to view the gallery of submitted designs and vote on your favorite. You can continue to submit and vote for designs until March 31. The winner will be announced on May 29 and will actually have their design produced!

This ad campaign blends all of elements of interactive advertising and viral marketing. Not only does it encourage the audience to get involved, but the easy to create widget allows users to share their creations with friends (while spreading Champion’s marketing message throughout the Web).

So this Friday, I challenge you to express yourself creatively! Go to Hoodie Remix and create your own designs or browse through the gallery to view what others have created! For your viewing pleasure, here is my work of art!

David Kiley of Business Week’s advertising blog, Brand New Day, wrote a post about Pepsi’s new ad campaigns, which capitalize on the current feeling of hope that is spreading across America following Barack Obama’s Presidential win. The ads use President Obama’s campaign slogan “Yes We Can” to evoke the feelings of hope and inspiration that led Americans to vote for him.

Kiley calls the ads a miss. “Call me cranky,” he writes, “but I don’t think an advertiser should lift this phrase for its own use, and especially not launch the campaign right around the inauguration. This is a special time in America—difficult and historic. This ad and its language comes off as a ripoff. Not an homage, but a ripoff. And it cheapens the ad and the campaign. It makes Pepsi look crass.”

Granted, I am a tried and true Diet Pepsi drinker. As all of my co-workers will attest to, if you try to come between me and my Diet Pepsi, we’ve got problems. While I agree that taking a phrase that has so inspired America and putting it on a soda can is a bit cheap, I can’t help but feel that the campaign works. We’re talking about it, aren’t we?

Think about it — you wake up to the radio, watch your favorite morning television show, surf the web at work and are constantly bombarded by advertisements all day. Over the course of a single day, a typical adult will see hundreds to thousands of advertisements.  How will your company break from the noise to actually invite potential customers to interact with your brand?

Here are some tips to help your company stand out in the media saturated digital age:

Have a strong corporate identity.

This is your brand and how you project this to the world. A clear and legible logo that is memorable and visually represents your business will help your potential customers to remember your company. A strong logo can include a mark, a tagline, or an image to fully represent your brand. The colors and professionalism will also affect how consumers perceive your brand. Reds are stimulating, blues and greens are healing and calm, and yellows are happy and optimistic.

Utilize non-traditional communication.

By thoroughly researching and knowing your target audiences, you will have insightful information about the activities they participate in and the places they go. Use this knowledge as a venue to reach out to the customers when they are not expecting it. This can also include advertising with complementary products. For example, if my company sold skateboard decks, I would want my product at local skate parks and available to skaters in the event of a rider breaking their board. Complementary products and services could include grip tape, snacks, or skateboarding lessons. Diversify where and how you communicate with potential customers.

Offer superior value.

What makes you different from your competitors? Is it excellent and responsive customer service, fast lead times, or a high quality product? Customers want to know what value your products and services offer. How you communicate these value-added attributes of your products and services will greatly influence how potential consumers perceive your brand. Make your company memorable by providing a superior value to your customers and clearly communicating this distinctive trait.