Ok, these scratch and sniff promo cards that Melissa Hennessy does for her photographers at Hennessy Represents are a great idea for standing out in a crowded marketplace:
But, this video telling creatives to be on the lookout for cards is straight up hilarious. The combo makes this one of the best promos I’ve ever seen.
I asked Melissa for a little background on it and here’s what she had to say:
In the 6 years I’ve been an agent we’ve sent out everything from postcards to water bottles, to expensive multi-page books, etc., hoping to make the “keep” pile of creatives. What seemed to be a hit were our scratch n sniff postcards- a single image card, with no plastic sleeve, & a one inch circle that invited you to “scratch here.” So with our second print run, we thought why not put out a teaser video? It could announce the mailing date so creatives could be on the lookout, and we’ll play off of the interactive nature of the sniff/scent circle & the types of things creative receive in the mail. We’re really poking fun at ourselves, but saying we understand how much stuff is sent out. The feedback so far has been very positive & we’re glad that it’s being viewed as something purely meant in jest, with no suggestion that plants of any nature inspire creativity :-)
Comments 24
John Waters would love this. Does it come in ‘Polyester’?
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Posted 11 May 2010 at 8:16 am ¶Thanks Melissa for sharing these. We were lucky enough to get a sneak peek prior to and we laughed…it’s nice and refreshing to see photographers pushing the envelope with traditional marketing fundamentals. THANKS Melissa and good luck with such a smart campaign. AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR MAKING US LAUGH…we all need that!
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Melissa Hennessy Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 10:16 am
@Amanda & Suzanne, thank you for your kind words, we’re glad we could make you laugh:-)
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Reader Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
@Melissa Hennessy,
I was listening to a Pink Floyd record on Pandora when I watched that promo video on my laptop. Who do I invoice for scratching a hole in the screen of my MacBook Pro?
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Hey Rob,
I’m always interested in seeing and hearing about new promo campaigns.
Casey Templeton’s promo was very clever and got a lot of creative’s attention. Could you do a follow up with both of these posts in maybe 6-12 months from now? It would be great to see how effective they were and what kind of feed back they got.
Thanks!
-Andrew
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A Photo Editor Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 9:09 am
Yeah, for sure.
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what are the scents being used?
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Melissa Hennessy Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 10:15 am
@jenn,
Hi Jenn. The scents are different on each card & relate to the photo, so the scent on the french toast for example is cinnamon.
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Great idea and awesome video! hahaha
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Posted 11 May 2010 at 10:23 am ¶He seemed to like the 3D promo as well.
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Carey Kirkella Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 10:50 am
@Jeff Singer, He didn’t seem to look at the photos that came with the 3D glasses though :).
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Jeff Singer Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 10:55 am
@Carey Kirkella,
That was a high tech 3D promo… The image was embedded as a hologram IN the glasses!!!!
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Craig LaCourt Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 10:37 am
@Jeff Singer,
LOL
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Loved the video! Closing scene is hilarious.
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Posted 11 May 2010 at 10:58 am ¶Maybe just sending the weed..?
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Posted 11 May 2010 at 11:08 am ¶Hilarious! I actually laughed before I had my coffee this morning. BC (before coffee), rarely is anything EVER funny!
Alex
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Posted 11 May 2010 at 11:13 am ¶very cool! great idea!!
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Posted 11 May 2010 at 11:31 am ¶wow ok now that is sooo great. I want to try it out
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Posted 11 May 2010 at 11:55 am ¶Excellent execution, Melissa! Funny video too. More applause.
Makes me wish I was with Hennessy Reps.
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Posted 11 May 2010 at 2:49 pm ¶I’m scratching the screen and I don’t smell anything. I’ve been robbed.
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Posted 11 May 2010 at 4:32 pm ¶Love the uniqueness of the idea. The reaction from the creative to another water bottle or USB drive is funny…but that said, does this say “responsible professional” that you’d trust to deliver your next campaign imagery???
The delivery is great, but the image? Seriously?
Rick
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Posted 11 May 2010 at 4:35 pm ¶Too funny! I love the costco size bag of chips! just can make that any better.
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Posted 11 May 2010 at 5:19 pm ¶So clever and funny! Hmm, maybe I’ll start shooting more smelly things (although not sure anyone would appreciate the smells from the animal series I’m currently working on…)!
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Posted 11 May 2010 at 5:25 pm ¶Scratch this: Food for thought: http://lapuravidagallery.com/blog/2010/01/photography-collectives-and-the-wu-tang-clan/
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Posted 11 May 2010 at 7:53 pm ¶Not talent, genius!
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Posted 11 May 2010 at 10:54 pm ¶Hahaha.
That is awesome!
Funny also because I watched “The Big Lebowski” last night!
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Posted 12 May 2010 at 8:19 am ¶Very smart promotion! Love the use of a preview video for the second mailing.
thanks for sharing!
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Posted 12 May 2010 at 6:55 pm ¶where can we get those made? just curious. great idea
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Posted 13 May 2010 at 8:15 pm ¶Sniff Sniff….I need those!! Needed the chuckle before this day started. Awesome
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Posted 20 May 2010 at 2:44 am ¶I had to watch it twice! That was wonderful. In a world economy of just trying to “maintain” my business, that was a bit of inspiration.
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Posted 25 May 2010 at 8:42 am ¶I’m a travel consultant – where can I get cards with a beach scene that smell like the ocean/beach/pina calada? Awesome idea!
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Kim Whittaker Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 10:27 am
The one in the promo may be good for Jamaica.. lol
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Trackbacks & Pingbacks 3
[...] - Every photographer makes promo cards, but are yours scratch and sniff? [...]
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[...] while in 2003, Visionaire reflected on scent in its own, luxurious manner. Recently photographers have also been using smell as a way of making their promos stand out, and there may be more applications to come: David P Sada has a patent for a novelty scent strip [...]
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