Smooth Swings Golf Academy & Newcastle Ale Finish 2 Under

I was browsing the latest issue of Wired Magazine and came across a great ad at the bottom of pages 32-33. The ad on left hand side is for the Smooth Swings Golf Academy and touts a 1600-page tutorial and eleven-week seminar to help smooth out your golf game. On the right hand side is a nice clean Newcastle Ale draft with the slogan smooth like no other; the uniqueness of this particular ad comes from the interaction between the golf instructor for the Smooth Swings Golf Academy and the large pint of Newcastle. Using an iron, the instructor on the left hand side has hooked the pint and is pulling it toward him, being careful not to tip over the topped off beer. As I continued to look deeper at the ad, I noticed that there was a phone number listed on the ad and a call to action of Reserve Your Spot." I looked further but no where on the ad could I find a web address. I even did an abbreviated search for the Smooth Swings Golf Academy and found nothing, even a visit to the Newcastle corporate site turned up null. I thought to myself, how can this be? The viral opportunities here are boundless yet the marketing team behind this campaign clearly missed the boat.

Just picture it: YouTube videos of instructors giving lessons on how to use the foot-wedge or the 10-second rule, all the while touting the Smooth Newcastle Ale. The possibilities here are truly limitless but poor planning, with some big dollars behind it, makes for an automated phone system and beautiful ads which will most likely result in very little payoff.