AdNauseam

The Magic of Coca -Cola, as Seen by Andy Warhol

2011-12-05T22:03:00.001-06:00

This is one of my favorite quotes from anyone; it's from Warhol's 1975 book, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol.

What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.

2011-10-24T15:02:00.002-05:00

As advertisers, we're almost always being asked to "tell the story better" and at the same time, we're usually asked to wedge in a few product points, data details, and other things typically extraneous to the story being told.

Keeping it simple becomes one of the biggest cahllenges as an advertiser. I don't have the answer, byt I do know all the questions.

2011-06-20T12:28:00.002-05:00

Way too many media, advertising and marketing power brokers have landed in Cannes just in time for the annual International Advertising Creativity Awards (Lions) and Festival.

According to early reports, attendance for 2011 could increase by as many as 1,700 people compared to the Cannes event held in 2009, reflecting both the positive global economic environment advertising is enjoying around the world as well as increased emphasis on smart marketing and the return you can get on solid advertising campaigns.

There will also be many late night huddles on music, art, and their impending convergence.

What's In A Name ?

2011-05-31T19:14:00.003-05:00

A little tired of advertising agency naming conventions.......where the weirder the better. A current (and far from complete) list of real live ad agencies names follows.

18 Feet & Rising
Frank Unlimited
Big Spaceship
Wexley's School for Girls
Firstborn
Evolution Bureau
Trailer Park

I'm sure there are more, I quit looking.

Where Can I Find Ads I'm Looking For? Maybe in a MOAT.

2011-04-19T21:52:00.002-05:00

And now, a Search Engine for Ads

• This all new website www.moat.com is a new search engine for display ads, which shows you all the creative ad units currently running across the web; the website goes beyond just clicks and conversions
o Typical clickthrough rates on display ads are less than 10 out of every 10,000 visitors (0.1%); whereas about 500 of every 10,000 people (5%) spend at least half a second hovering their mouse of an ad, and 1,000 out of 10,000 (10%) touch the ad in some fashion without clicking on it
o Moat captures this data and delivers it to marketers so that they can test different images and wording in their display ads
• Moat also works on heatmap engagement and analytics, as well as a crowdsourced marketplace for display ad designers

USPS Pain in the Neck

2011-04-11T22:13:00.003-05:00

You may NOT believe this, but there is a woman who hasn’t worked since 2005 due to a disability claim for a neck injury she claims to have suffered when lifting a letter tray while working for the United States Postal Service. As part of her claim that she was unable to work, she has (so far) collected $193,000 in disability payments.

The U. S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General investigation found that the injured rural carrier has been traveling around the world…..... gained certification as an open water and advanced scuba diver.......… and engaged in hiking, snow skiing, bungee jumping .....… and horseback riding… she was even seen dancing after her disability claim was filed.

To make this story even better, she purchased a $150,000 boat and named it “Free Ride.”

That might have been the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.

She was sentenced to eighteen months in prison and fined $193,000. Needless to say, her thirteen-year career with the Postal Service has come to an end.

How Do I Know Advertising Works?

2011-04-09T21:11:00.003-05:00

An age old question. And there is no standard answer. Although I did come across this, which at the very least, validates my long held belief.

“I know from my own experience that with all the time we spend on the analytical aspects of our campaigns like quality scores, click-though rates, cost per click, and match types, it is very easy to lose sight of this simple truth: what your ads communicate is much more important than the metrics you use to track them.”

–– Mark Van England in SEARCH ENGINE LAND

Dumber Than Dog Snot.

2011-04-07T21:48:00.004-05:00

What will have to be considered for "Headline of the Year" will have to be this doozy: “Security Blunders Dumber Than Dog Snot,” which emanates from an August 17, 2010 web page of CSO Magazine (Chief Security Officer).

Roger Johnson, a member of the "vulnerability assessment team" at respected Argonne National Laboratory describes three all too common problems:

1. People forgetting to lock the door.
2. People too stupid to be helped.
3. Otherwise intelligent people who fail to exploit their abilities for the betterment of security.

OK, so what, and so what's up with that headline? Johnson watched his dogs repeatedly crash themselves against a picture window facing the yard when they wanted to chase a squirrel. Hence, most of his windows wrere covered in.......wait for it......dog snot.

He also notes that:

1. Most security cameras fail to prevent crime because poor resolution causes security personnel to miss important things.

2. The assumption that low-level employees are harmless and are seldom asked about their activities.

3. That overlooked insider threats are often sparked by poor HR policies.

4. Both employees and contractors can be bribed by offering them money to do bad things.

Enlightening as dog snot!

Your Government at Work

2011-04-05T21:22:00.002-05:00

You do NOT need to look very far to find evidence of government excess:

For example:

Pages of documents submitted during the past several months by Goldman Sachs to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission: 2.5 billion.

Number of days federal investigators have been given to review all the documents before issuing its final report: 209. (Source: Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.)

Number of prison inmates who received tax credits under the first-time homebuyer program: 1,295.

Number of these prison inmates serving life sentences: 241. (Source: Department of the Treasury.)

That is all.

Workaholics

2011-04-05T21:16:00.003-05:00

Americans may think they work hard.........but according to a recent IPSOS studt, published by Reuters, American workers rank only fifth among the world’s biggest workaholics, using only 57% of their available vacation days.

The French take their vacations way more seriously, using 89% of their available vacation time (is that a surprise to anyone?). And on the other hand, the Japanese are actually the world’s biggest workaholics, using only 33% of available vacation days. (Source: Reuters/ipsos.)

What The Hell Do You Expect?

2011-01-10T21:45:00.003-06:00

It occurs to me that your experience is critically tied to your expectations. And in some ways I think people expect too much these days. Reasonable expectations are valid and determined by the mores of the day. If you see great customer service in action ----- you come to expect that. And likewise, if you see bad customer service ----- you tend to expect more of the same.

And whether you realize it or not, you have certain expectations from great brands.

You don't expect the same cornering from a Chevy Geo as you would from a Porsche Cayman. A Kit Kat bar doesn't taste like Godiva. Whatever is inside that Tiffany box will likley be better than the sack from Sears. The shoes from Cole Hahn feel better than a pair of loafers from Payless. And that $2 Starbucks should be better than the no name office coffee.

Point is, you help shape the expectations of all the brands you come in contact with, along with millions of others. And expectations are always built in to the advertising and promotions for brands (good ones and bad ones) perceptionally and in reality.

What are your expectations, and what brands have let you down lately?

Hold Please.

2011-01-03T14:54:00.003-06:00

Gotta love this. There's a small advertising agency in Seattle - Creature. They must have had a little extra time on their hands......they decided to re-do their own on hold music. What they came up with is both creative and fun!

No boring Muzak here. No highly caffeinated psuedo pop rock. No smoooooth jazz.

Just a thoughtful rant on your next conversation.

"I heard the rumors about how bad our hold music was -- and so I called and asked to be put on hold and I was really embarrassed," said Jim Haven, chief creative officer at Creature. "You spend so much time talking to people on your cell phones, you kind of forget about the main phone number and that to many people it's the gateway. At any rate, I challenged the creative department to come up with a solution."

"This Next Telephone Conversation," gives you some insight in to what MIGHT happen next. My personal favorite take is: "You MIGHT find yourself on a cliff, drinking beer, with a midget".

They're teasing us now with the possibility of adding more songs --- maybe a 'Songs to Hold By' greatest hits!

Love to see creative people look for any and all outlets for their creativity.

Happy 2011

2011-01-03T08:20:00.002-06:00

What is all the fuss about a change on the calendar? A flip of the page, a turn of the dial? It's just another day. Some people make way too big a deal over it. I simply don't understand that.

What I do understand is that the things I truly care about will get the most attention from me in 2011, and all the days after.

Happy Holidays !!

2010-12-27T15:23:00.003-06:00

Can you name at least two "brands" here that have disappeared? Hint: They were both HUGE in the early 1980's. When TV was near it's peak. Mr. T was a media phenom (back in the day). His real name was (and is) Laurence Tureaud, but he will forever be known as Mr. T.

He played B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, was boxer Clubber Lang in Rocky III, and once did a stint as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle (often mistaken for a mohawk hairstyle), his gold jewelry, and for his tough-guy image. In 2006 he starred in the reality show "I Pity the Fool", shown on TV Land.

She was married to a President.

Mom is Almost Always Right!

2010-12-20T11:03:00.002-06:00

When I was a child, my Mother said to me, "If you become a soldier, you will become a General. If you become a monk, then you will end up as Pope." Instead, I became a painter, and wound up as Picasso. - Pablo Picasso

Never Too Old To Rock and Roll

2010-12-20T10:11:00.002-06:00

I've been reading the new Keith Richards autobiography "Life" and I'm fascinated by it. What a big life! And what a testament to the rock & roll lifestyle that has been chronicled ad nauseum in the pages of Rolling Stone and in the mainstream press as well. Stop to recall that Keith Richards is 67 years old! Did you realize that 4 famous rockers all died at age 27. It's true. Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Janis Joplin all went toes up at age 27.

Here's to Keith!

We're all Dilberts.

2010-12-14T19:06:00.002-06:00

This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the office cubicle.

It started out as the "Action Office" from long time office furniture manufacturer Herman Miller, Inc.

Perhaps the most positive consequence is that it gave us the comic strip “Dilbert.”

And "The Office".

And "Cube Ranches".

No Softee Here

2010-12-14T19:01:00.005-06:00

A truly great testimony to the power of American capitalism (and the ease ion which you can sue someone, anyone) involves those very familiar Mister Softee ice cream trucks in New York and New Jersey, which feature a logo of a smiling conehead wearing a bow tie and a big smile. Mister Softee’s lawyers recently won a $20,000 judgment against one: Akop Papazian. Papazian allegedly used the Mister Softee trademark (or a reasonable facsimile) on his own ice cream truck. While Mr. Papazian has yet to be reached ------ his renegade truck continues to be seen in various area neighborhoods. Now, Mister Softee is petitioning to have Papazian’s truck seized and sold, with all of the proceeds to go to Mister Softee.

New New York

2010-12-08T20:56:00.003-06:00

I just spent a few days in New York City on business. Was completely amazed at the even more than usual abundance of ads, more ads, and (yes) even more ads. With the Holidays fast approaching, seemingly every available space is taken over by an ad.

Adding to all of this advertising pollution is the blatant disregard for those long forgotten old friends --- white space, peace & quiet. Yes, there is Central Park --- surrounded by ads on all sides.

Times Square is (literally) the LOUDEST PLACE ON EARTH (visually speaking) and that prime real estate is some of the costliest advertising space available on Earth, They have even blocked off the street and made chairs available in Times Square where you can have a seat and take it all in.

See more Chwast

2010-09-02T21:03:00.003-05:00

Seymour Chwast is one of the most recognized and critically acclaimed graphic designers of the 21st century. His memorable works have been long recognized as crisp, clean and contemporary with simple lines and powerful images. His packaging, posters, illustrations and identity projects have been in the pop culture for over 20 years.

See more at: http://www.pushpininc.com/

World's Greatest Time Suck

2010-09-01T21:35:00.000-05:00

The internet. Period. Hard stop. End of story.

Question Authority? And Responsibility.......and Accountability.

2010-06-29T09:01:00.004-05:00

Is This Really A Surprise?

The over 5000 outstanding, dues paying, card carrying, members in good standing of the Chief Marketing Officer Council would appear to be saddled with way more responsibility than actual authority. A recent survey of members of the CMO Council has discovered that less than 20% have authority over their company's customer service and customer support functions, 55% have oversight over public relations, and 48% have oversight of customer communications.

Sounds like a job description re-write may be in order.

Anybody Wanna Make Another Bad Ad ???

2010-06-28T21:36:00.000-05:00

http://www.seattlepi.com/virgin/239765_virgin08.html

Privacy Pirates

2010-04-30T16:13:00.002-05:00

The New York Times has just reported that Informtaion Technology folks had no problem reconstructing exact social security numbers for eight percent of the U.S. population born between 1989 and 2003 by starting their calculation with birthdates and the city and state of birth. This involved five million reconstructed social security numbers.

I Hate Ads That Speak Cliche'

2010-04-14T21:52:00.004-05:00

I'm NOT a big fan of those ads that are so unoriginal that they have to resort to tired old cliches'. They're NOT funny, NOT current, and very much NOT creative.

If you rely on cliche' to make your point --- chances are your point could be made better in another way. Work a little harder and figure it out.

Notice: I've avoided cliche' in this post like a snowball in a rainstorm.

nutty as a fruitcake
cut no ice
there are two sides to every question
"If wishes were horses than beggars could ride"
tear to shreds
It takes two to tango
see eye to eye
false alarm
sweep the series
youthful folly
clean as a whistle
in cold blood
see eye to eye
hanging fire
quick as lightning
unwritten law
short and sweet
pull my leg
of mice and men
go for the kill
cat's pajamas
a charmed life
turn the tables
quick as a wink
it would be a black day in hell
If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck...
between you and me and bedpost

Checking In Please........

2010-03-22T11:01:00.004-05:00

Crypto Acoustic Credential technology. Now this is pretty cool. At long last there's a cell phone application to help anyone who has a problem with keeping up with your card key at a hotel. Crypto Acoustic Credential technology uses a unique sound, which is transmitted to a guest’s cell phone upon check-in. You carry your key on your cell phone (something you'll likley never leave behind).

About time.

"Art and Copy"

2010-01-10T18:00:00.001-06:00

You Are NOT The Boss of Me......

2009-12-28T11:46:00.004-06:00

Sorry to sound like a 5 year old spoiled brat........but.......while you can read survey after survey and deck after deck on employee needs, it is rare to find studies that focus more on the challenges and needs of C level executives.

One of the top management consulting firms: Blessing White just released a study of "complaints" from CEO's. Among these “classic complaints” were a few head scratchers like these:

─ “Everyone always agrees with me, and that makes me uneasy.”

─ “All we talk about is results, but we don’t change the way we do things.”

─ “A lot of change is happening, but people don’t see how it all fits together.”

Just Who is in Control Here?

2009-12-13T22:00:00.003-06:00

The latest take on true brand development would seemingly imply that major brands and marketing organizations can exercise some modest controls over their message to a targeted marketplace.

Any "controls" they may have are quickly eroding because of the frequency and accessability of social dialogue facilitated by electronic media, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogs.

Simon Clift, Chief Marketing Officer at Unilever has stated, “No matter how big your advertising and spending is, small groups of consumers on a tiny budget might hijack the conversation.”

Seriously? Diamonds are for idiots.

2009-11-28T22:04:00.003-06:00

OK. Doesn't anyone think anymore? Everlon Diamonds (a division of DeBeers) has just launched a new TV commercial featuring the classic Sonny and Cher song -- "I Got You Babe". The commercial shows a young man trying to ice skate on a frozen pond, he slips and falls, and eventually grabs on to a tree to hold himself up.

SONY BONO DIED FROM INJURIES HE SUSTAINED WHEN HE STRUCK A TREE WHILE SKIING !!!!

Hello.

JWT mishandles advertising for DeBeers.

See the commercial here: http://www.diamonds.net/news/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=28514

http://www.adiamondisforever.com/#/view-the-adverts/ad_video

And learn more than you ever wanted to know abour Sonny Bono and his accident at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Bono

Gotta be a Genius to Work at Google.

2009-11-25T22:34:00.001-06:00

Another Reason to Hate Baseball......

2009-11-25T22:13:00.004-06:00

A very big clean up awaited the New York Department of Sanitation last week. After the Parade of Champions held for the New York Yankees.

Over fifty tons of shredded paper was “distributed” during the parade to celebrate the Yankees’ World Series victory. NYC clean-up crews found salary and Social Security information, pay stubs, and office files among the trash.

The last ticker-tape parade was held in February 2008 for the New York Giants after their Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots.

That parade reportedly cost $331,000. Most of the money was raised by NYC & Co., the city's marketing arm.

The New York Yankees' last parade through New York was in 2000 after the Bronx Bombers beat the New York Mets in five games for their 26th World Series title

For a list of some of the biggest ticker tape parades ever.....go to: http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/manhattan/091105-Famous-Ticker-Tape-Parades

Worth Watching...

2009-10-15T21:51:00.000-05:00

"This......is Where I Leave You"

2009-10-14T19:34:00.003-05:00

I don't normally discuss (or recommend) books in this space, but.....I stumbled across this book a few weeks back and cannot get it out of my head. It is a great read. Jonathan Tropper has an incredible grasp of modern day angst and frustration. This book can break your heart one moment and make you laugh out loud the next.

I finished it on a plane and was laughing throughout --- so much so that my seatmate kept looking at me funny. I have told a dozen people about it and many have picked it up. Worth a read and can be written off as cheap therapy for waheteve ails you.

Get it. Read it. Love it.

The Silence is Deafening.....

2009-10-13T11:52:00.003-05:00

"The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said"

-Peter Drucker

Where's the Best Restroom ?

2009-08-24T15:40:00.003-05:00

From the "They have waaaay too much time on their hands" Department comes this newsbrief. The Top Ten nominees for “America’s Best Restroom” contest have been revealed. The final nominees are:

- Shoji Tabuchi Theatre, Branson, Mo.
- Radio City Music Hall, New York City
- Zeffirino Restaurant, The Venetian, Las Vegas
- Canlis Restaurant, Chicago
- Tremont Plaza Hotel, Baltimore
- Tampa Theatre, Tampa
- Macy’s. 6th floor *, San Francisco
- Drake Hotel Palm Court *, Chicago
- Nova 535 (special-event venue), St. Petersburg
- The Fox Theatre, Detroit
* women’s restroom only

"Mad Men" Yourself

2009-07-29T20:13:00.002-05:00

A&E has developed a special website that allows you to make your own "Mad Men" doppleganger. It's fun to "Be sleek, be stylish, be yourself".

Kick around and see for yourself.

See it all at: http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/madmenyourself/

2nd Annual Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival is back

2009-07-29T15:11:00.002-05:00

Baseball fields, basketball courts and roller hockey rinks in Canada are empty, because the 2nd Annual Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival is back. And it looks like fun. The Dairy Farmers of Canada are supporting the Aug. 15 event with a cinema spot, transit shelter and newspaper ads and interactive mirror clings. The winner snags an 11-pound wheel of Cracked Pepper Verdelait cheese and Whistler Winter season passes for two. The cinema spot opens with sporting equipment left at athletic courts and fields. Everyone is too busy participating in the cheese rolling festival to do much else. Snippets of last year's participants running and falling downhill, chasing a cheese wheel, close out the ad, seen here. I wonder what they call the person who lets the cheese roll downhill? The cheese cutter? Print ads, seen here, here and here, resemble athletic trading cards, showing participants in motion and the winner savoring his prize. See a picture of a mirror cling in action, here. TAXI Vancouver created the campaign and M2 handled the media buy.

Taken straight from: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=110726

Made in America ?!&$+*&

2009-07-06T08:06:00.002-05:00

It's only a tee shirt.

J.C. Penney's "Made in America" tee shirt got some coverage over the Memorial Day weekend, some covergae called to question their intent. They ran ads for a T-shirt with "American Made" printed boldy across the front. Joe Allen, 78, a retired apparel maker from Dallas, bought a few. Allen, who has a story worth hearing himself.....was happy that an American etailer was actively promoting domestically produced apparel. Until he learned that the actial shirt was made in Mexico (from U.S. fabric). "I made a bit of a scene," he said. The he swug in to action. Contacting the Alliance for American Manufacturing, to complain that the T-shirt's slogan was "deceptive." JC Penney replied: "American Made" refers to "the actual person wearing the shirt," "not to the manufacturing of the merchandise." J.C. Penney is committed to selling the shirts throughout the summer. The line, it says, is "intended to evoke our American lifestyle and pride in being American."

—Brian Burnsed
See the whole story at www.businessweek.com

Consumerist presents Top 10 Ironic Ads.......

2009-07-04T10:01:00.002-05:00

Celebrate America today ---- and the fact that as recently as the 1980's, bad ads were getting produced relatively easily for products that were probably best left not advertised.

Safe to say that there was far less scrutiny over what and how ytou could advertise back then.ds.

At one time you could actually buy barbiturates for your baby, (after wrapping them up in DuPont's cellophane) hey, after all it really was "The cheapest specific for the relief of coughs". Or you could get some heroin from the good folks at Bayer or see how Dutch Boy could help you cover your home in LEAD PAINT !!!!

Who says it doesn't pay to advertise? Take a closer look at what The Consumerist calls "The Top 10 Ironic Ads From History".

And hey, let's be careful out there.

Boone Oakley gets pitch right.

2009-06-26T19:08:00.006-05:00

Boone Oakley (a little ad agency in Charlotte, North Carolina) has made their website in to a new business pitch --- with grins to spare.

One of their partners has "the legs of a crab". Dave's dog poops. Other than that --- they seem like really nice people.

Kick around and see what fresh thinking looks like. Even their "Vision" is dead on.

Ad Nauseam.......

2009-06-25T16:02:00.001-05:00

Derek and Clive Ad Nauseam is the third and final recording made by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore of their characters Derek and Clive. The record is difficult to listen to in places as it also charts the breakup of their partnership.For an advertising ploy when the record was released itcame with its own airplane sickbag and is still to this day the only record to do that. The quality of the material is more variable than that of their previous two offerings; it is widely regarded as a wise place for the duo to have stopped recording. Moore walked out before the end of this recording, unable to cope with Cook's drunken verbal attacks any longer. The two never worked on a major project again. Cook filmed some of the proceedings and these were released on the documentary Derek and Clive Get the Horn.

“A Global Voice for Marketing Agency Leaders"

2009-06-24T17:32:00.004-05:00

Much as been written by unimpressed clients who question both the cost and performance of their chosen advertising agencies. However, until March 2009, seemingly little has been documented about how advertising agencies view their relationships with key clients. Published on March 25, 2009 by Scan International --- their in depth report is entitled “A Global Voice for Marketing Agency Leaders”. It truly reflects frustration on the part of agency executives. Asked to rate clients regarding compensation for the value created for clients, the feedback was:

─ Excellent 3%
─ Average 49%
─ Weak 49%

Among the most significant feedback: when asked to rate the most important areas for improvement of client performance with agencies, 56% of the 619 executives polled said “strategic direction and briefings.” It just goes to show you that more and more unskilled clients expect an agency to formulate competitive differentiation and other strategic issues. In reality, most of those issues involve long standing corporate culture and company histrionics and should be formulated by the cient.

The agency’s key role should always remain ------sterling execution.

The full report can be viewed at: http://www.scaninternational.com/download/pdf/SCAN%202009%20Europe-North%20America%20Client%20Survey%20Press%20Release.pdf

Pretty Soon We're Talkin' "Real" Money............

2009-06-22T14:59:00.004-05:00

The USA NAtional Debt continues to grow, exponentially. We hear (almost daily) about government expenditures of a trillion dollars and more. Millions and billons are for rookies. Did you even know what comes after trillion?

It’s “quadrillion.”

Bad Guys ----- Collect The Whole Set !

2009-06-20T10:25:00.003-05:00

Topps trading cards, long established and known throughout the USA for baseball, basketball, football and even hockey and golf trading cards, will soon publish a special set of cards devoted to “the world’s biggest hoaxes, hoodwinks, and bamboozles.” These new Topps cards will include Enron, Bernard Madoff, Charles Ponzi, and other unsavory characters and ethically challenged companies.

Laptop Losses Loom Large

2009-05-25T22:05:00.004-05:00

A recent study released by The Ponemon Institute estimated the actual cost of a lost or stolen laptop computer. Based on a study of l38 missing laptops, their study reported that the actual cost to an enterprise averages approximately $49,246. Another recent survey, this one conducted by Tech Republic, indicates that close to 10% of all laptops are stolen or lost ── and 88% of those are never recovered.

France Figures Five Far From Fair

2009-05-25T22:00:00.005-05:00

Rachida Dati is France’s Minister of Justice. She is 43-years-old. She is also a single mother who recently returned to work just five days after giving birth. Rather than congratulating her on being a conscientious public servant, French voters are condemning her for setting a bad example. France mandates sixteen weeks of maternity leave.

How Do You Cope with Stress ????????

2009-05-18T15:15:00.000-05:00

The American Psychological Association has conducted a survey to determine methods used by Americans to cope with stress. The results (respondents provided multiple answers):

Listen to music - 52% Attend religious services- 21%
Exercise or walk - 47 Drink alcohol - 18
Read - 44 Shop - 18
Watch TV - 41 Smoke - 16
Nap - 38 Go to a spa - 9
Play video games/go online - 37 Meditation/yoga - 8
Pray - 37 Refuse to do anything - 8
Eat - 34 Gamble - 4

Walmart Spends Their Way Out of Trouble.

2009-04-26T20:41:00.003-05:00

Read any advertising trade publication, and you will hear reports (ad nauseum) of major national advertisers that have cut their annual advertising and promotional budgets. A notable exception is Bentonville, Arkansas based Walmart. Walmart has actually increased their advertising budgets by approximately $300 million while their major retail competitors have dramtically reduced their ad expenditures. Walmart repoirtedly spends only 0.5% of gross sales on advertising compared to 4.5% at Macy’s and 2% at Target.

It Pays to Advertise........

2009-04-17T17:31:00.003-05:00

Leo Burnett Advertising has agreed to pay paid former client, the U.S. Army, $15.5 million to settle claims of over-billing. The original lawsuit alleged that the ad agency calculated its average hourly cost without any allowance for the fact that in many cases, less expensive third-party contractors were used for work billed by the ad agency. The agency denied guilt when agreeing to the settlement.

Read all about it here....

Strativity Says........

2009-04-15T19:29:00.003-05:00

There's a firm (named Strativity Group) and they work extensively on “the customer experience.” Their President, Lior Arussy, has made some new points to ponder. According to him most of the critical issues involved in “the customer experience” haven’t changed because of the recession. Some of his observations include:

Commoditization. Core products and services were perceived as
commodities, forcing organizations to seek new ways to innovate
their value proposition and to differentiate themselves.

Heightened Competition. Competitors were catching up and you
need to move the needle to even be in the game, let alone have a
hope of winning.

Customer Impatience. Customers demanded more for their money.
They made sure you earned every dollar through greater value.

Holistic Problem-Solving. Realizing that customers face challenges
that existing products and services could never satisfy, we expanded
to address those needs.

Value Awareness. Customers refused to be taken for granted and
perpetually demanded to receive fresh value.

Personalization. Customers wanted a solution that fits their needs
and often refuse to conform themselves to the company’s product
or business model.

One major thing that has changed ------“In the past, customer experience was a positive differentiator ── used as a means to command premium prices, generate long-term loyalty, and drive growth. Today, customer experience is no more than a value defender ── a way to retain customers, reduce churn, and control customer attrition.”
It’s becoming a condition of sale and less of a motive of sale.

Scary Stuff.

2009-04-05T20:56:00.004-05:00

THE NEXT WORLD HORROR CONVENTION WILL BE HELD IN
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada : April 30 - May 3, 2009

How about this for a family getaway.......consider a car trip to The World Horror Convention in Winnipeg (that makes it a "World" event apparently. This one features something called a Gross-Out Contest in which writers will have three minutes to sicken members of the audience. (Party till you puke).

The World Horror Convention is an annual gathering of professionals in the horror industry; publishers, authors, artists, musicians, filmmakers, dealers and, of course, horror fans. WHC serves as both an industry insider's networking event and a chance for fans of the genre to get together, meet some of the creative talents in the field, and generally spend a weekend celebrating All Things Scary.

In the late 1980's, a growing number of horror professionals and fans who attended the World Fantasy Convention (at that time one of the only conventions for horror fans) felt that they needed a convention of their own. Founded by Beth Gwinn (who had the original idea), Joann Parsons and Maurine Dorris, the first World Horror Convention was held in Nashville, Tennessee in 1991.

There has been a World Horror Convention every year since, in cities all over the world. Guests of Honor have included virtually every living legend in the horror field in literature, movies, television, art and more.

The World Horror Convention is presided over year-to-year by the World Horror Society, an unincorporated literary society made up of professionals in the horror field and past convention chairs. The first WHS Board consisted of, Beth Gwinn, Jo Fletcher, Charles L. Grant, Steven Jones, Ginger Buchanan, Stanley Wiater, Joanne Parson & Maurine Dorris. The current Board is listed on the WHS Website.

Learn more at: http://www.whc2009.org/

The Day The Muzak Died........

2009-04-03T18:22:00.004-05:00

Muzak has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This is the company that was once credited with conducting its own psychological research, and customizing the pace and style of the music provided throughout the workday in an effort to maintain productivity (a technique it called ‘’Stimulus Progression’’). It also began recommending that the music be provided at low, almost subliminal, volume levels, and discovered that alternating blocks of music with periods of silence increased the effectiveness of the product.

Muzak is also the company that Ted Nugent once said he wanted to buy so he could put it out of business. In 1989, he publicly made a $10 million bid to purchase the company with the intent of shutting it down. His bid was refused, but served as a name-branding publicity stunt for both parties.

Sappy ads (not that there's anything wrong with that).

2009-03-31T08:47:00.002-05:00

Find more videos like this on AdGabber

WIRED is RFID Spelled Sideways (sort of)....

2009-03-23T14:18:00.002-05:00

WIRED magazine is one of my favorites (and I hear the big guy likes it too). They somehow manage to work a little humor in with all their hi tech gadget idolatry.

As an earlier investor in RFID (bad investment that was) I loved their off the wall take on “Ten Top Uses for RFID Tags.”

1. Saguaro cacti. There is a landscaping black market, and on it, these succulent cacti sell for more than $1,000 each. Arizona’s Saguaro National Park plans to use RFIDs to track hot (read: stolen) cacti.

2. Indian elephants. New Delhi forest department requires pet jumbos
be chipped to prevent trafficking. No parades until implanted.

3. Surgical sponges. One out of every thousand or so intra-abdominal surgery patients “retains” a sponge. Oops! With Smart Sponges, docs can find stowaways by passing a wand over the body. Beep Beep, there it is!

4. Mexicans. Security firm Xega uses GPS chips to track kidnapped people ─ a pretty big market in a nation where 6,500 were abducted last year.

5. Pirelli tires. A chip inside the new Pirelli Cyber Tyre transmits info on road conditions and friction coefficients to the car’s computer. Rolling rolling rolling……

6. Clubbers. At Barcelona’s Baja Beach Club, VIPs are injected with
RFIDs linked to debit accounts, making wallets passé. Handy when all
you’re wearing is a thong. “Charge it to my forearm please”.

7. Tokyo. The largest city in Japan aims to blanket itself with microchips ── from bus stops to restaurants. Tourists may soon get maps, schedules, tips, and other info just by waving their cell phones. Do you know how many cell phones are in Tokyo?

8. Police badges. The Blackinton SmartShield badge hides an ID chip, preventing knockoffs. Good idea or great idea: Remember TERMINATOR 3? “I’ll be baaaaaaack”

9. Inmates. Forced to release prisoners due to overcrowding, Britain wants to chip them on their way out. Cops would know if, say, a felon enters a school, bank, hash den, etc.

10. Kitty doors. Kitty flaps are great ─ until you find a possum hanging from your towel rack. The (RFID Enabled) Pet Porte waves through only pre-approved critters.

Thanks WIRED

Call It What You will.

2009-03-13T18:18:00.002-05:00

Job cuts are in the headlines everyday. Layoffs have become leading news on business channels and in newspapers everywhere. Where they were once big news, they have become as commonplace as "economic forecasting".

Some of the more creative Managers and companies have developed a number of head scratching euphemisms which seem nonsensical. Here are a few of my favorites:

─ “De-verticalization”
─ “Synergy related headcount adjustment goal”
─ “Surplusing”
─ “Dynamic rightsizing”

Worst Brand Extensions Ever...........

2009-03-10T11:39:00.004-05:00

Marketers are not as clever as they'd like to think. Many make huge mistakes under the overall banner of “Branding” and "brand extensions". There has been a rash of really bad, poorly thought out brand extensions lately. BusinessWeek cited some of the Best and Worst of the lot.

Here are a few of the more dubious ones. Hooters Airlines, Cheetos lip balm, and Precious Moments coffins.

Some of the absolute worst brand extensions of 2008 included: Disney Sleeping Beauty executive fountain pens (cheap at just $l,200), Burger King underwear (that's creepy), and Coca-Cola’s RPet clothing sold at Wal-Mart.

Free Perking

2009-03-01T18:26:00.002-06:00

What's the best perk you've ever heard of?

When it comes to "golden parachute perks" typically given to corporate executives who have jumped the shark, the big ones almost always tick off the great unwashed masses, as well as the ones who have gone before them who ask, "Why didn't I think of that?" Consider Jeff Misner, who departed as Continental Airlines’ C.F.O. in August, 2008. His perk: free parking for the rest of his life at Jacksonville International Airport. Nice.

How Much Does A Stamp Cost?

2009-03-01T11:49:00.003-06:00

United States Postal Service Postmaster General John Potter's total pay during the past fiscal year was $857,459. Of that total, $135,000 was listed as a "performance bonus".

I have nothing I can add to that.

Google is way ahead of us.

2009-03-01T11:45:00.003-06:00

Google is actually a little ahead of its own set schedule to have all of the world’s information organized in less than three hundred years. Helping make this happen are the proliferation of online translation tools, rapid digitalization of content (old and new) and Google's own proprietary technologies.

Happy 2309 !!!

AdAge Names Best Ad Books Ever !

2009-02-23T18:18:00.004-06:00

Jonah Bloom at AdAge asked his readers to name the best books ever written on advertising. As you would suspect, the usual titles came up, plus a few you might not think of. see link for details

My personal favorites include: "Where the Suckers Moon," by Randall Rothenberg. Good for a few laughs and a great look inside Weiden & Kennedy at their peak. As a bonus, it's about Subaru, the funniest sounding car ever made.

"A Big Life (in advertising)" by Mary Wells Lawrence details some of the struggles, and all of the joys, of one of the premier women ever to grace advertising. She had a lust for life, a passion for great advertising, and a true feel for the business.

"Then We Set His Hair on Fire" by Phil Dusenberry is full of business insights and more than a little bit of fun. One of the true giants in the business, and a true gentleman as well.

Oh, and anything by David Ogilvy.

So, TV comercials are there to make the TV programs look better ???

2009-01-25T16:18:00.006-06:00

You should read this study. Some outfit called the Journal of Consumer Research has put out a paper that essentially says that TV commercials actually help make the programming they air in look better. What?

They claim that TV commercials (even bad ones) are "helpful interruptions", which increase your enjoyment of TV by periodically reminding you how much you’d rather be watching your favorite show. Again, what?

There's some stuf in there about pacing and timing and other things that lead me to believe that people are taking this advertising stuff waaaaay too seriously.

Read about their "experiments" and how TV viewers enjoyed programming more when there were commercials to break them up.

“[A]t every given moment, watching the sitcom will still be more enjoyable than watching a detergent commercial.”

What?

These Kids These Days........

2009-01-21T14:48:00.003-06:00

BBDO knows how to get attention. And BBDO knows how to pull off hi jinks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi-Jinks

So imagine what happens when they combine both.........

They surprised all 500 staffers at their New York offices last week with crayon tampered overlays on all computer monitors. All meant to drive awareness of "Take Your Kid's to Work Day" coming up. It's practically impossible to miss. Wonder if anyone will leave it up till the kids come in?

Fun stuff.

No Endorsements for Darko.

2008-12-12T19:55:00.002-06:00

Darko Millicic was the 2nd player chosen in the 2003 NBA Draft. He is from Serbia. He is 7 feet tall and weighs over 275 pounds. He has played fro 3 NBA Teams, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and the Memphis Grizzlies. He is a bit of a hot head, and he has never been used in any sports endorsements that I am aware of.

Go to: http://freedarko.blogspot.com/

Ads in Schools (good or bad?)

2008-12-08T20:29:00.002-06:00

San Diego calculus teacher Tom Farber took the economy in to his own hands at Rancho Bernardo High School near suburban San Diego. Printing of test sheets for his students would cost more than he had budgeted, so her sold ads on the bottoms of each page of test sheets such as the Advanced Placement exam.

Read more (with ads) at:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-12-01-test-ads_N.htm

Read this ..........before it disappears.......

2008-12-07T19:50:00.002-06:00

Corporate giant Xerox has announced that it is developing auto-erasable paper for everyday office use. Xerox is turning up the publicity drum regarding this product, suggesting that it may be close to a commercial reality. The paper is coated with chemicals that, when exposed to a specific wavelength, create visible text that disappears within twenty-four hours and may be used again and again and again and again. The paper is targeted at offices, where almost half of all printed materials are discarded the day they’re created.

The ultimate green product?

Mult Media to the Max (cue "Minority Report")

2008-11-21T17:44:00.002-06:00

How much have we heard of late about multi-media marketing? While the long long list of available media (ripe and ready for your advertising messages) continues to morph and grow, there is no longer a limit to where, and how, and when, advertisers can reach you.

Sure, there is broadcast, direct mail, newspapers, public relations, trade shows, and even good old door-to-door sales. The new list now includes sides of vehicles, satellite broadcasting, airline magazines and boarding folders, cinema advertising and product placement, word-of-mouth advertising, samples, coupons, web sites, banner ads, podcasts, "head"vertising, "Street Teams" and almost anything else that occurs to a fertile mind. The competition is everywhere.

Trim Your Tweets

2008-11-20T22:16:00.002-06:00

Great idea........... http://www.tr.im

It is a URL shortening service to prepare long URLs for use with status updates in social networks like http://twitter.com/ or http://identi.ca/

tr.im is better than the alternatives because it is designed, via a tr.im bookmarklet, to tr.im and tweet an URL to your network of choice in one quick step. You return to what you were doing, all without touching the mouse.
With tr.im, you never have to stop what you are doing to tweet a cool site or article again.

Why didn't I think of this?

RFP = Request for Practicality ???

2008-11-07T22:13:00.003-06:00

The United States Postal Service is currently soliciting Requests for Proposals from communications agencies to provide communication services to the public, employees, and the media. The USPS proposal clearly states that the successful contractor must be able to handle crisis communications. Who says that no planning occurs at USPS?

Ever seen a Request For Proposal and still wonder what the customer or prospective customer really wants or means? If so, you’ll admire the detail of a bid from San Francisco’s Office of Contract Administration for mowing and brush clearing at the city’s Laguna Honda Hospital. Here are the specs verbatim:

“Clear brush, shrubs, plants, weeds from 22 acres of property
at Laguna Honda Hospital Blvd. Clearing must be performed
by goats and supervised by goatherders who will stay on site
with the goats to monitor cutting activity, moving fences, and
goats. This price to include all transportation, fencing, monitoring,
herders, and all other charges pertaining to proper care and
handling of these animals. The city to be held harmless for any
loss of goats, theft or otherwise. Open space, there are no
electrical fences or enclosures.”

Legal Eagles ???

2008-11-06T09:53:00.002-06:00

Don't you need to know how to read and write in order to get a law degree???

A USA federal Judge recently reduced an attorney’s fee request from $180,000 to less than $26,000 after reading a three-page document from the lawyer that was full of misspellings and other errors. Among the misspellings: “Ubited States,” “attoreys,” “plaintf,” and
“reasonbale.” The lawyer argued that he forgot to use spell-checking software.

The Best Lawsuit Ever !!!
One Senior partner at one of America’s largest law firms is threatening the ultimate law suit. It would be based on the contention that “being male” is a legally-recognized disability. Men have a shorter life expectancy than women and have a testosterone level that predisposes them to more aggressive behavior, or so the argument goes.

Start Yelling

2008-10-13T19:53:00.002-05:00

“Never strike anyone so old, small, or weak that verbal abuse would have sufficed.”

- P. J. O’Rourke

Sometimes a Picture Says it All.....

2008-10-11T11:29:00.001-05:00

Wall Street's wild and crazy ride. October 10, 2008.

How Much Do You Love Sports ?

2008-10-08T17:09:00.003-05:00

The all new Sports Museum of America has launched a print and outdoor advertising campaign that replicates different facets of the interactive museum.

"Sometimes politicians lead our country. Sometimes athletes do," reads one print ad that shows Jackie Robinson shaking hands with Duke Snider just as he crosses home plate. Another ad features Brandi Chastain celebrating the World Cup Soccer win with her jersey in-hand, along with the copy: "Work hard and one day kids may hang posters of you in their bedroom."

See the ads here, here and here. The Gate Worldwide created the campaign and Spero Media handled the media buy.

Yellow - Green = Red

2008-10-07T16:39:00.002-05:00

Did you realize that there are almost two copies of telephone directories distributed annually for every man, woman, and child in the United States of America??

That astounding fact has environmentalists and tree huggers seeing red. Most efforts to pass opt-out legislation involving generic “yellow pages” have either stalled or failed in at least seven states this year.

Just say no.

Lost In Translation

2008-10-07T09:41:00.002-05:00

There are more general market (originally meant for USA) ads than ever before being used offshore. And it would seem, that often, a detailed translation is the last step in the process. One that gets rushed and comprimised.

Use of a proven translator or translation service, the advertiser should always encourage them to avoid literal translations and to offer insights and suggestions based on cultural issues. Some recent examples of the reasons for this suggestion:

 Kellogg’s had to rename “Bran Buds” cereal in Sweden when it was
discovered that the name roughly translates to “burned farmer.”

 American Dairy Association tried to expand its “Got Milk?” campaign
to Mexico. It found that the Spanish translation of its slogan read:
“Are you lactating?”

The Most Recent Cut is the Deepest

2008-10-06T18:01:00.002-05:00

A recent survey of Top 100 National Advertsiers by the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) conducted before the disappearance of Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch.........found that 53% of the respondents expected media expenditures to be reduced within the next six months.

Almost Eighty-five percent say they have been asked to identify cost savings or reductions in advertising and marketing programs. More than 60% said that travel restrictions have
been imposed and that new projects have been eliminated or delayed. The research
also found that companies are already challenging agencies to cut their expenses and costs.

Bankers = Blockheads

2008-10-06T17:13:00.003-05:00

Exactly who is running the USA banks these days? Hard to tell. One thing has not changed ---- the fact that bank marketers think they are geniuses. Here's just one stupefying example.......... this one from Citigroup.

The bank needed to rebrand and wanted to deploy a more catchy slogan than “The Citi Never Sleeps.” In an apparent committee decision, they decided on “Let’s Get It Done” after an investment estimated at nearly thirty million dollars.

Apparently, no one was aware that Larry the Cable Guy (star of “Witless Protection” and “Delta Farce”) uses the phrase of “Git-R-Done.” Continuing to exhibit its genius, Citigroup went to Plan B. Its new slogan is “Citi Never Sleeps.” The thirty million dollar exercise resulted in elimination of the word “the.” Brilliant!!!

Stephen King for ESPN Sports Center. (classic).

2008-09-28T20:11:00.003-05:00

Love Kenny Mayne --- always have. Also love Stephen King --- always have to. "Christine" still scares me to this day. And "Children of the Corn" freaked me out for a year.

It's great to see King pitching for ESPN. The ESPN ads are always smarter than their audience. Show me a bad ESPN spot and I'll show you 5 great ones.

It also proves that New England can be funny. "No players with telekinetic powers please." Classic.

Psychokinesis is well-established in movies, television, computer games, literature, and other forms of pop culture. In the 1976 film Carrie, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, Sissy Spacek portrayed a troubled high school student with telekinetic powers. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, the first psychokinetic character in a film ever to be so recognized (Ellen Burstyn was the second, in 1980's Resurrection).

See it here:
http://gawker.com/5056021/stephen-kings-sports-center-commercial

Good Ad? Bad Ad?

2008-09-20T19:24:00.000-05:00

http://gawker.com/5052544/wash-your-hands-or-eat-this

I hate germs as much as the next guy ---- trust me. This ad will make you think more about germs than ever before. Not sure if i love it or loathe it. You decide................

2008-09-09T21:10:00.000-05:00

HR = Happens Regularly

2008-09-08T22:07:00.003-05:00

http://adage.com/agencynews/article?article_id=130713

Agency HR Exec Sends Out More Details Than Anyone Needed to Know About Pending Job Cuts

OK, business is bad, really bad. People are going to have to be let go. How best to communicate this to the top brass?????

I know...........we can send a copy of the communications plan, talking points, conversation dialogue guides, and other helpful tips to the top three of four folks who need to know.

What?

I sent it to All Agency list?

Ooops.

(Former) Chief People Officer Rose Zory was the one who forwarded the info to the entire agency. Nice work.

Man, Did You See That Logo?

2008-08-30T22:45:00.001-05:00

Man seeks career as human billboard

LACONIA, N.H., July 17 (UPI) -- A Laconia, N.H., tattoo enthusiast said he has found a way to make extra cash from his hobby by renting himself out as a human billboard.

Victor Thompson, 39, said he is charging $200 per square inch for companies to advertise their products and services with tattoos on his skin, the Boston Herald reported Thursday.
"I'm getting paid to do what I like to do best," Thompson said. "It's a one-time fee and it's a lifetime advertisement."

Thompson, a former restaurant employee, created www.tattmetto.com with his business partner, Josh Youssef. "He's thrilled with the idea because he's getting paid to do what he loves, which is talk to people and he's getting paid to get tattooed," said Yousse, a New Hampshire native who owns a computer store. "It's a win-win situation for him."

Thompson previously made headlines when he announced his plan to tattoo his head to resemble the helmets worn by the New England Patriots, his favorite football team. "Tattoos are my life," he said. "I'm the first person in the world that's got a Patriot helmet tattoo. Now I'm the first person to be a walking billboard."

I Like Print.

2008-08-29T18:53:00.000-05:00

According to Deloitte’s 2007 State of the Media Democracy study conducted by Harrison Group, “Over 75% of consumers find online ads more intrusive than print ads. Almost two-thirds of consumers report paying more attention to print ads than online ads.”

Advertising, officially out of ideas.

2008-08-26T20:52:00.003-05:00

Let's see, there are ads on / in garbage trucks, broadcast messages in school buses, and airline restroom doors. The mind of man has seemingly run out of ideas for running advertising messages. Alas, there is a company called DoubleTake Marketing. They are producing and selling ads placed on airport conveyor belts. Peeved passengers possessing no perks have ten or fifteen minutes to read the same message as they wait for their checked luggage to appear. (Those waiting for baggage at Memphis International Airport will, of course, have greater exposure to the advertising messages.) First installation is at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Look for the idea to spread quickly as airlines and airports will do virtually anything to create much needed revenue. On the heels of this news comes word that airlines are selling advertising space on computer-generated boarding passes, backs of tray tables, TV messages on safety announcements and more. There is no escape.

Fruitvertising.

2008-08-19T20:38:00.003-05:00

Watermelons Tested As Ad Vehicles
By Amy Corr , Tuesday, August 19, 2008

In the grand scheme of fruitvertising, (not that I'm thrilled with the concept), I've always wondered why bananas were selected as the test fruit. Bananas are small in comparison to many fruits, and most fruits are already affixed with stickers, so I'm guessing it had something to do with bananas being a popular, accessible year-round fruit.

Watermelons seemed to be a good choice because the canvas to work with is a substantial one. Only drawback is, they're seasonal. Sundia Corporation, producers of 35% of the U.S. watermelon supply, is transforming its watermelons into billboards this month, with SC Johnson's Ziploc brand stepping up as the advertiser.

Ads will appear on watermelons in the Midwest and Southeast; the lone sticker is a combination of the Sundia logo on top and a coupon for $1.50 off the purchase of Ziploc containers on the bottom. The sticker is large, but in comparison to the size of the watermelons, it's similar in size to the stickers found on bananas. Thankfully, there's a tie-in between the brand advertising and its canvas.

Gear Seven Communications printed the ads and collaborated with Boxtop Media in New York and SC Johnson's ad agency, Ryan Partnerships in Chicago, on the project.

Source: Media Creativity from Media Post, August 19,2008.

You Figure It Out.........

2008-08-18T10:08:00.002-05:00

Let's Have Chineese...
An unnamed zillionaire Chinese businessman won an online auction by bidding over $2 million for a lunch in New York City with investor legend Warren Buffett. Sopunds good right? Upon learning that the lunch would be at the well-known steakhouse, Smith and Wollensky, he reneged on his bid, explaining that he thought the lunch would be a buffet.

You Have Been Pre-Appropved......
While economists and pundits and Average Joe's debate the U.S. credit crunch, a six-year-old boy in Illinois, Bennett Christensen, amused himself by accurately completing an application for a credit card. He listed his date of birth as 2002 (correctly) and claimed income of zero dollars (also correct). His application was swiftly approved with a credit limit of $600. Hey - you gotta start some time.

All Politics Are Local.

2008-07-29T19:08:00.002-05:00

12 MONTHS TO THINK ABOUT IT

While Detroit isn’t readily known for the excellence or efficiency of its municipal government, a recently-published article about a 2003 incident at its in-plant printing shop may be of special interest to the local community. The in-plant shop honored a request by long time City Council member Kay Everett to print a twelve-month calendar entitled: (ready now) “Hats On Me.” Each month featured a different photo of Ms. Everett wearing a fashionable hat. Taxpayers footed the entire printing bill.

THE PILLSBURY NO BOY

The town of Pillsbury, North Dakota (it's a real town) has appealed to North Dakota officials for guidance to solve its latest constitutional crisis. Every one of its 25 residents forgot to vote in its mayoral election. The incumbent mayor expressed surprise because, in most elections, “at least a half-dozen people usually make it to the polls.”

Tag The Brands You Love.......

2008-07-24T20:21:00.007-05:00

Ever wanted to spout off about brands you love..... (or brands you hate)??

Now's your chance.

Brand Tags: Is presented as a "collective experiment in brand perceptions". All tags for most popular brands are generated by regular Joe's and Jane's and take no particular path or process. Brand Tags is a NoahBrier.com project ...you can even ask him to add a brand for tagging. Check out the press page to see what others have said about brand tags. Oh, and of course, now there's even a brand tags blog.

Start tagging now.

http://www.brandtags.net/

Will Clarke Can Write.

2008-07-23T22:30:00.001-05:00

Lord Vishnu's Love Handles is the story of a man who is teetering on the edge of financial ruin and insanity until a couple of secret agents teach him what it really means to lose his mind.
Travis Anderson has a psychic gift. Or so he thinks. So far he's milked his premonitions only to acquire an upper-middle-class lifestyle--pretty wife, big house, and a shiny Range Rover--without having to make any real effort. But recent visions threaten his yuppie contentment. Haunted by omens of impending cancers, stillborn babies, and personal train wrecks, he is compelled to make a series of inaccurate and horrifying prophecies that humiliate him in front of his fellow country club members. The IRS gets Travis's number, too, demanding an audit of his sloppy bookkeeping.

Drowning in mounting financial problems and apparent mental illness, Travis tries booze, pills, even golf to stay afloat, but nothing works. His wife and friends are forced to stage an intervention. Travis is in danger of losing his family, his career, and ultimately, his sanity. That is, until he meets a Hindu holy man in rehab who claims to be the final incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Suddenly, the tragically shallow Travis is saddled with the responsibility of bettering mankind and saving the world.
http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Vishnus-Love-Handles-Novel/dp/B000KHXBUE/ref=pd_sim_b_title_1

Clarke's novel, subtitled "A Ghost's Story," is a winning comedy of collegiate (bad) manners, set at Louisiana State University. The narrator, an affluent frat boy named Conrad Avery Sutton III, tells us right off that he's dead, murdered by fellow Gamma Chi Ryan Hutchins, a psychotic hiding behind a charming Big-Man-on-Campus veneer. Conrad makes it his afterlife's work to bring cocky Ryan down, with the help of the frat house's salty cook, "crazy" Miss Etta. She knows Conrad is still on Earth to protect hapless fraternity pledge Tucker Graham, who, like most of the world, sees Ryan as "a big, bright, rising star." It sounds a little like a sitcom, albeit an edgy one, but Clarke fashions a hilariously addictive yarn, with crackling prose and sharp observations that consistently entertain and surprise. He drives the plot over the top with portraits of hypocritical religious fanatics and unrestrained party animals, and into baby Grand Guignol territory with a swath of outlandish killings—but it all works as black farce of a high degree.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743273168/%20middlefingerp-20

You Cannot Make This Stuff Up.......

2008-07-09T20:38:00.002-05:00

There must be a full moon...............

"Fat, drunk and naked is no way to go through life Son"
http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2008/07/08/news/local/doc487386a5560e9843354250.txt

"Damn kids, get out of my yard!"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1033266/Yobs-threw-rocks-house-years-But-father-fought-arrested.html

"Just what exactly are you afraid of?"
http://www.cracked.com/article_16472_6-absurd-phobias-people-who-actually-have-them.html

Beers and Busses -- they just go together
http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=3033e4bd-8dea-45d7-a0db-c5fa61ddaef3

"You Smell Somethin?"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2274995/Cow-farts-collected-in-plastic-tank-for-global-warming-study.html

Work is Killing Me.....

2008-07-07T21:53:00.002-05:00

Taken from the New York Times:

Bosses of a publishing firm are trying to work out why no one notice that one of their employees had been sitting dead at his desk for five days before anyone asked if he was feeling okay. George Turlebaum, 51, who had been employed as a proof-reader at a New York firm for 30 years, had a heart attack I in the open-plan office he shared with 23 other workers. He quietly passed away on Monday, but nobody noticed until Saturday moring when an office cleaner asked why he was working during the weekend. His boss, Elliot Wachiaski, said: "George was always the first guy in each morning and the last to leave at night, so no one found it unusual that he was in the same position all that time and didn't say anything. He was always absorbed in his work and kept much to himself." A post mortem examination revealed that he had been dead for five days after suffering a coronary. George was proofreading manuscripts of medical textbooks when he died.

That story is NOT true. Look it ip on www.snopes.com. My point is that people are gullible and will believe most anything, especially if you embellish details and weave in a good story.

Every Body Needs a Vacation.

2008-06-24T21:36:00.004-05:00

(with a shout out to Hugh MacLeod and http://www.gapingvoid.com/)

It's good to get away from it all for awhile. Every body needs it. Unplug. Unwind. Recharge. Relax. Go off the grid. It's amazing how long it takes, once away, just to get relaxed and set for days away from the daily grind.

And while I don't ever seem to get away as much as I should.............. I always come back better for it. In very describable ways...........

New persepctives, new way of seeing things, new attitude, new senses.

Too Many Lawyers? Too Many Chimps?

2008-06-13T22:02:00.003-05:00

While the specialty area of "animal protection law" is one of the fastest-growing areas of the legal profession, it may have gotten out of hand. There is an Attorney in San Francisco (surprised?) by the name of Bruce Wagman who now has a complete law practice devoted exclusively to this specialty. He even co-authored a book, entitled: Animal Law, now in its third edition — the first casebook for animal law courses in law schools. But wait.........it gets better. He took it a step further and has recently announced that his practice will now be confined solely to legal issues focused on chimpanzees and apes. I cannot make this stuff up.

http://www.schiffhardin.com/BruceAWagman.htm

Can You Take It With You ?

2008-06-12T18:48:00.004-05:00

Do you know who Frederic J. Baur of Cincinnati is? Chances are you have enjoyed one of his simplest and noble inventions. Something he was proud of, and an invention well ahead of it's time. It literally changed the way snacks were packaged, marketed and sold.

Baur died in May 2007, after a battle with Alzheimers, he passed away quietly in a Cincinnati hospice at age 89. While his life and his life's work was not mourned much outside of his hometown, his professional life was a microcosm of breakthrough marketing (good and bad).

On the good side, he showed just how you can turn a really simple idea into a wildly successful product by innovating and marketing it creatively.

Pringles potato chips in a can was his baby. He designed it in 1966, it was patented in 1970, and chips have never been the same. In later years they even sold advertising screened on to each individual chip!

On the down side, Pringles lowers the bar for everyone else. All of the chips are exactly the same. (Where do they keep the mold chip by which all others are formed?). And other chips soon copied his invention.

And on the really weird side, Baur put in his will that he wanted to be cremated and buried in a Pringles can. His family chose the "Original" can.

You can't take it with you.

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1811730,00.html

You Know Who You Are.......

2008-05-29T14:14:00.006-05:00

My favorite new book is: LIFE’S LITTLE ANNOYANCES: TRUE TALES OF PEOPLE WHO JUST CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE by Ian Urbina.

There are over 50 cases of regular Joe and Janes who have been driven insane by their own, special, selected pet peeves:

My favorite quirk: someone who couldn’t stand Starbucks calling its smallest-sized coffee
“tall.”.

Most like me: "Above Average Driver"

Get it. Read it. Feel better about yourself.

Marshall McLuhan Was A Genius !

2008-05-27T14:31:00.002-05:00

Some of his better quotes.........................

(Let's open with the best known one)......

"The medium is the message."

"Today each of us lives several hundred years in a decade."

"Tomorrow is our permanent address."

"All advertising advertises advertising."

"The future of the book is the blurb."

You must remember that McLuhan wrote most of this in the early 1960's.

Ahead of his time? Or incredible media visionary? or both?

From Wikipedia: Herbert Marshall McLuhan, C.C. (July 21, 1911 – December 31, 1980) was a Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar — a professor of English literature, a literary critic, a rhetorician, and a communications theorist. McLuhan's work is viewed as one of the cornerstones of the study of media theory. McLuhan is known for coining the expressions "the medium is the message" and the "global village".
McLuhan was a fixture in media discourse from the late 1960s to his death and he continues to be an influential and controversial figure. Years after his death he was named the "patron saint" of Wired magazine.

Triskaidekaphobia

2008-05-19T11:08:00.002-05:00

Are you afraid of 13? A published study in THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH claims that businesses in the USA suffer a loss of $800 million to $900 million each time there's a Friday the 13th. Main reason is that there is always increased absenteeism on that day (people literally will not get out of bed) and that some have a deep seated reluctance to make important decisions or even travel on that date.

It’s estimated that less than 10% of Americans are affected adversely. If you want to sound smart -- you may like to know that the technical name for this rare condition is
paraskevidekatriaphobia.

June 13th is the next Friday the l3th. Stay in if you feel so compelled.

Get to it......

2008-05-08T21:03:00.001-05:00

“When the going gets tough, the tough get blogging.”

- Novelist Christopher Buckley

Are We There Yet?

2008-05-07T10:20:00.002-05:00

Wishing the election was over. Now. Reminded just how much I hate political advertising, and how it lowers your IQ just watching it all unfold. Seems like they've been at it for years now.

Wake me when it's over.

“Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.”

- H. L. Mencken

Spring has Sprung. Earth Day Rules. Beware the Ides of Ads.........

2008-04-26T11:28:00.005-05:00

Why do bad (and undisciplined) mass market advertisers seize each and every calendar opportunity to gin up a new ad to get every available ounce of impact out of stale creative?

That's at least 365 opportunities to do some really bad advertising all in the name of carpe diem.

You can almost hear the pleas from bad marketers..........

"Hey, let's have a big Spring sale!"

"April Fools Day would be a great time to kick off our new product launch".

"What are we doing for Earth Day?"

"Tax Day could be BIG for us!"

That's original.

Let's take every red circled date on the calendar and make it part of our strategy. We should be doing something around every major Holiday known to man. Just think, a truly great marketer could literally "own" the days of the week! Pure genius.

Or we could burn through a small budget quickly and leave no trail of anything that worked.

Gotta run. May Day is coming and I have a few ideas.