Just as everyone’s putting the final touches on their ‘09 marketing plans, I’d like to throw the proverbial wrench into the equation. I’m sure everyone’s got a nice chunk of their advertising budget set aside for print, a good bit for broadcast, maybe some for outdoor. Oh, and don’t forget the cool new(ish) kid on the block – online.

But what about those crazy ideas that come to you out-of-the-blue? The ones that don’t fit neatly into any of the categories mentioned above. These are often one-off type projects with limited impressions, but huge impact. These are the types of ideas Challenger Brands can thrive on, and we need to make sure these moments of genius come to fruition.

I’ve always been a big fan of planned spontaneity, and I think more marketing plans need to integrate the concept. Here’s what I propose: set aside a small amount of your budget (maybe 5-10%) every year for these “out-of-the-blue” projects. If by October nothing has been proposed that blows your socks off, then use the money to extend some other buy. Seems simple enough, but there’s probably a reason they don’t let creatives do the marketing plans.

And for inspiration, I’ve collected some examples of these nontraditional projects. Enjoy.

Mr. Clean takes it to the streets.

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I’m not a big fan of using celebrities in ads. It’s a cheap trick, normally an indication that supposedly creative people couldn’t come up with anything really creative. But every so often, someone gets it right. Volkswagen (and their agency, Crispin Porter + Bogusky) has recently gotten it right.

I absolutely love the new VW Routan spots with Brooke Shields. Brooke Shields! Perfect! Her experiences as a new mom (and with a certain crazy Scientologist) have put her back in the spotlight in the past couple years.

So new-mom Brooke Shields selling minivans is not a huge creative leap, but that’s not the main thrust of the spots. There’s a deeper concept — the epidemic of people having babies just to get a Routan. And Brooke Shields plays the caring celebrity with a cause. Hilarious!

And the joke doesn’t stop there. Check out www.routanboom.org. They even used a .org URL — too funny.