Caffeinated posts from an ACD/Copywriter. I write about advertising, design, astronomy, cooking, and pretty much anything else that strikes my fancy, including random bits of reference info for work purposes. You may also know me as 'that other gal' who helps run Adland.
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Tuesday, May 31, 2005
[ :: sidetracks :: Book tag - I'm it! ]

+ Looks like there's another "pass it on" going around besides the Musical Baton. The loverly Dab tagged me, so here goes:

Total number of books owned:
Hmmm. 300-400 maybe? I had a big box of books that got distroyed last year when my mum's basement flooded. I've yet to replace them. And my books are sorta everywhere. But must say that that estimate sounds about right....could be more though. Easily. Heck, if I bought every book I wanted to, there'd be no free walls for art because there'd be floor to ceiling bookshelves all over my place! :)

The last book I bought:
Um, I finally purchased my own copy of Katherine by Anya Seton. It's a historical fiction about the life of Katherine Swynford (sister to Chaucer's wife Philippa) and her romance with John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. Being a huge anglophile and medieval buff, it's one of my favorite books.

The last book I read:
I'm still in the process of reading quite a few. I tend to read more than one at a time which isn't always good because sometimes I forget where I was/what was going on and have to go back and re-read to get back on track. Probably not the best use of time when that happens. Um, so let's see. Re-reading for the umpteenth Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (in the Omnibus version so I'm hoping to get through all the other books in the series as well), Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (been taking a while to get through this because of the put down factor, have to keep re-reading bits), Lovemarks by Kevin Roberts (which I've been working my way through for a bit now), and The Science of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Michael Hanlon.

Five books that mean a lot to me:
Dang only five? Well, here's some. Hard to leave others out, like Shakeyspeare and the likes.
1) London by Edward Rutherfurd - It's long but worth the read.
2) The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy, of course! I'm counting all the books in the series on this.
3) Hey Whipple Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan - a must read for any ad folk.
4) Katherine by Anya Seton - love it to death!
5) Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman - I've re-read this book many times. Interesting stuff!

Tag 5 people and have them fill this out on their blog:
Creative Generalist, Russell Davies, fellow Marketing Sherpa Reader's Choice nominee Not Billable, Gari Cruze at Ad Blather, and Gareth Kay at Brand New.

[ :: adgruntie :: GE's coal miner ad ]

+ Slate rants about GE's latest commercial, which uses sexified coal miners to make their point that they are using "cleaner-coal technology and suggests we use our ample coal reserves to solve the nation's energy problems." I saw this ad yesterday and was a bit perplexed at the well toned, young models they had posing as coal miners until at the end the announce says: "Harnessing the power of coal is looking more beautiful every day." I suppose so. I agree with most of the Slate review of the spot...it *is* hard to complain when a corporation as big as GE is taking steps towards being eco-friendly. Here's a snippet of the article:

You won't be shocked to learn that the models appearing in this ad never actually entered any mines. That would be dirty, unpleasant, and dangerous. Instead, according to the ad agency, a replica coal mine was built on a soundstage. That way the models could strut in comfort.

The ad guy in charge (Executive Creative Director Don Schneider, of BBDO) thinks I'm being way too literal. The models, he says, are a "metaphor." The idea obviously being that with GE's new process, coal starts to look—as an energy alternative—much more attractive.

But it strikes me as disingenuous to call for a massive resurgence in coal mining and then portray the job as a stylish sex party. Richard Avedon managed to find beauty in the faces of actual miners, not supermodel stand-ins.

Several of my readers were even more galled by the ad's use of "Sixteen Tons"—a folk song about the miserable futility of mining and the evils of controlling corporations. Merle Travis wrote the song in 1946, drawing on the experiences of his father, a coal miner from Kentucky. More sample lyrics: "St. Peter don't you call me 'cuz I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store."

I get the metaphor thing but there's just something a bit off about glamorizing coal mining. It's a tough line of work and to use models like that is really just a bad concept. There's got to be a ton of other ways to have communicated the same message- but of course we have to fit in sex because otherwise no one will pay attention, right? ;-)

[ :: adgruntie :: New Trojan campaign ]

+ This press release gives the 411 on Trojan's new ad campaign, 'Make a Difference', which will air during prime time on network TV. I just hope that they don't get a bunch of folks up in arms complaining about it. If so, I'd like those people to think about how much worse it is for their kids, if that's going to be the complaint, to see ads about Viagra and Levitra's "Stronger and longer" ads. They are much worse. At least the message of this campaign is attempting to raise awareness about the dangers of unprotected coitus. Anyhoo, if you want to see the ads which were created by the Kaplan Thaler Group, head over to the Trojan Condoms site.

[ :: adgruntie :: Ads in the mirror ]

+ New ad space with advertising mirrors in loos.

An Edinburgh-based company is giving businesses the chance to reach thousands of people as they preen themselves on a night out in the city.
The new "advertising mirror", launched by Q-Vision, allows the customer to see an advertisement projected through the glass from behind, then their reflection in a "normal" mirror, using discreet sensors.
When customers look in the holographic mirror, they can see their face as normal but, as soon as they move, their attention is caught by an advert.

Hahhaa. Man reminds me of being in elementary school and playing "Bloody Mary" in the bathroom. If you've never heard of it, basically you go into a dark bathroom and stare into the mirror chanting "Bloody Mary...Bloody Mary" and when your eyes adjust to the dark you see an outline in the mirror. Freaks out young kids who don't realize that it's just their reflection they are seeing. ;-)
Saturday, May 28, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: Saatchi&Saatchi takes Crest to the polls ]

+ A new advertising campaign for Crest Whitening Expressions "mocks the great political ads of the past few elections." One :30 and three :15s show people supporting the different toothpaste flavors and at the end viewers are directed to Crest's site to vote themselves. After these three air there's a fourth spot

"Man of the Street" imitates exit poll coverage in which a news reporter interviews people on street about their choice of toothpaste flavor. "I thought voting for president was really important, but this is really something," a man states. Another woman reveals that she's a Lemon Ice supporter, but her husband backs Sweet Berry Punch and "that's why we have separate bathrooms." A Hispanic man proudly states that he's the first person in his family to be able to vote for toothpaste.

Further ads feature fake news spots with pundits jabbering on about what they think the results will be. The ads were done by Saatchi & Saatchi/New York and was created by copywriters Larry Cadman and Steven Landsberg and art director Leslie Sweet.

Sounds kinda crap to me. Granted I suppose if it's well done, it could be ok. I think after last year's election, and all the spoof ads we saw come out of that, I got rather sick of the concept. Maybe without all the other ads out there spoofing elections it might stand out a bit more even if it's becoming an overused concept. At least it's got to be better than their prior ads with the ever so annoying Emeril Lagasse!

[ :: adgruntie :: Dead Celebs ready to shill ]

+ Dead celebrities helping out advertisers. Newly opened Jack Kerouac Lofts in Denver prompted this piece on using celebrities who have passed on in advertising.

"The right celebrity creates a sense of quality or value of interest to the brand," says Richard Lancioni, a professor at Temple University's Fox School of Business and Management. "It's the idea of standing the test of time ... an idea of trustworthiness."

A dead celebrity's image also tends to be fixed, negating fears about an ad campaign imploding because of scandal. A living athlete's boozing and womanizing would be a marketer's nightmare. For Babe Ruth, dead since 1948, it's merely part of the legend, so why not trot him out for Citibank ads?

Enamored as we are of celebrities, not any dead icon will do. A few rules apply.

"Generally these ads are effective, but the celebrity does need to be recognized by as wide a range of the audience as possible, and certainly by the target audience," Lancioni says. "Marilyn Monroe is an icon that cuts across several generations. Elvis Presley does too."

I suppose that's true. Although there is something a bit creepy about the dead coming back to life to shill for some product that most likely they'd never have done when they were alive...like Frank Sinatra and that Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner ad from a few years back.
Friday, May 27, 2005
[ :: copy :: Good Writing=Good Design ]

+37Signals writes a blurb on copywriting and interface design by Jason. He says "Good writing is good design" and "Do not skimp on writing. Pay attention to what you are asking people to read. Read what you write out loud. Don’t use seven words when four will do. Hire good writers. Write good interfaces."

Hell yes!! Way too often copy is overlooked, or places figure that since they took English in high school they can write web copy (heck, sometimes even other ad copy), but is it effective copy? Sometimes it can be, but more regularly it's not. So easily I could slip into a rant about copy and clients and my whole "do you go to a doctor to diagnose you and then say he's crap and diagnose yourself" rant but I've said it so many times before I feel like a broken record. But this I will say, writing is as important as the images in pieces of communication. To skimp on the copy is to throw your money away on the project. Heck, maybe that's where the money went from that famous overused ad quote - "I know that half my advertising is wasted, I just don't know which half." ;-)

[found via Zeldman's Hot Rats - is that meant to be rants?]

[ :: sidetracks :: Musical Baton ]

+ I've been passed the Musical Baton by Brand New who was given it by Russell Davies who was given it by thingsmagazine who was given it by CityofSound who was...well you get the idea. So here goes:

Total volume of music on my computer: Zip. No iTunes or any fun thing like that. Maybe once I get a fulltime gig and/or a new computer. Geez, right now I feel very low tech!

The last CD I bought: The Bravery - and The Killers - "Hot Fuss". Got them at the same time, so hard to say which one was "last". ;)

Song playing right now: Memories in a Sea of Forgetfulness by BT

Five songs I listen to a lot, or mean a lot to me: Hmmm. This is tough. There's too many to choose from!
Run Away by Live
Flaming June by BT (a.k.a. Brian Transeau)
Everything Counts by Depeche Mode
Allegro from Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major by Mozart
Jane Says by Jane's Addiction

Five people I'm passing this on to:
Texturl.com, Hidden Persuader, Bruno Pieroni, Hanasiana, and Creative Generalist.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: Good Golly ]

+ Hello there to all the folks coming here via Marketing Sherpa's Reader's Choice award page. I knew I had been put in as a nomination but I'm a bit shocked to be on the list! Imagine my surprise when today I went to check my stats and they were 4 times higher than usual! Crazy.

When you vote, be sure to vote for AdLand in the community blogs...actually my lack of posts recently has been due to work and getting some of the award show posts up for all the fine adgrunts to see since it's Ad Award season.
If you're interested in seeing them, here are the links:
D&AD nominations
Clio Gold and Silver Awards
D&AD Winners
OBIE Winners and Merits
Monday, May 23, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: Clients pushing the envelope? ]

+ Clients, not agencies, stretch the box according to this article.

"Clients are looking at the results they're getting, and they're not happy," said Miles Nadal, chairman and chief executive of MDC Partners in Toronto, the parent of innovative agencies like Crispin Porter & Bogusky and Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners. "Historically, agencies pushed clients. Today, clients are pushing the agencies. The same old, same old is not being accepted."
[...snip...]
"In the '80s, we used to fight with clients over creative. In the '90s, it was about strategy. Now, it's only about money," said Jonathan Bond, co-chairman of Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners in New York.

So in a trend-conscious industry, economizing is the new black. For instance, when Kirshenbaum Bond recently filmed a commercial for Liberty Mutual Insurance, retelling the tale of the Trojan horse, "instead of building a massive set, we used miniatures," said Rob Feakins, vice chairman and executive creative director.

Interesting. So basically the clients want cheap, excellent, and fast...but you can never have all three. One component of that *always* gets sacrificed, and usually it's the excellence. I'm not quite sure how clients are pushing the envelope if they are wanting all three of those, because, it just never happens (well, rarely).
Friday, May 20, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: The Olives award finalists ]

+ Sound Lounge Radio's The Olive awards has announced six finalists vying to win $3000 cash. This is the first year for The Olives, an "annual competition honoring the very best writing in radio advertising."

Finalists include Andrew Cahill of Arnold Worldwide, New York; Martin Chabala of MARC USA, Pittsburgh; Marc Sherman, of Noble BBDS, Chicago; Scott Ellmaker of Wray Ward Laseter, Charlotte, North Carolina; Sherry Treitler of Lowe Worldwide, New York; and Clay Weiner of Publicis, New York. Winners will be announced June 1.

[ :: adgruntie :: More reality tv spoof ads ]

+ Wendy's will be launching a new ad campaign based on the tagline, "Do what tastes right." Apparently, one ad spoofs The Bachelorette, with a woman choosing between side dishes instead of male suitors. In another, a woman dunks her head in a fish tank after eating Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich. It's going to have to be better than that annoying Wendy's spokesguy. Anything would be better than him.

[ :: adgruntie :: Seductive Veggies ]

+ Vegetarians sex up their advertising to persuade people to eat their greens.

Kerry Bennett of the National Vegetarian Society said the film had been around for some time until it was accidentally sent out to members of the public last month. "We showed it in a few cinemas a little while back but since then it has been something of a favourite among the staff in the office," Ms Bennett said. "Unfortunately it got sent out to a few people by mistake last month and some of them rang up to either feign mock embarrassment or simply say how good it was.

"We realised then that it fitted perfectly with our theme this year which is 'Can you keep it up for a week'. It may be full of innuendo but it still has a serious message about trying to turn people on to vegetarianism."

The film can be viewed at the chairty's site www.rudefood.org. They are running it to coincide with National Vegetarian Week (May 23rd thru May 29th).
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: False advertising by the Anaheim Angels? ]

+ This year, the MLB team Anaheim Angeles, have decided to start calling themselves the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim. But they really have no connection to Los Angeles at all. Apparently the state Assembly on Monday decided the Angels’ new name amounts to false advertising and approved a bill that would require the team to disclose on their tickets, ads and other promotional material that their real home is in Anaheim.

The Angels began play in 1961 as the Los Angeles Angels, then changed their name to the California Angels when they moved from Los Angeles to Anaheim in 1966. They became the Anaheim Angels in 1997.

The team changed its name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in January, a move team officials hoped would attract more fans, advertisers and broadcast contracts by emphasizing the team’s connection to the nation’s second-largest media market.

Anaheim is challenging the name change in court, contending it violates terms of the Angels’ stadium lease agreement with the city.

Even more amusing is that the specifics of the bill would require disclosure to the fact that the Angels play home games in Anaheim "in wording at least a foot high on billboards and in smaller type on their tickets, other printed ads, other promotional material, and TV ads would require the disclosure for at least five seconds against a black background and would have to be read at an "understandable pace" in radio ads." Doesn't seem quite worth it just to be able to stick "Los Angeles" in the name, which makes no sense to begin with.

[ :: adgruntie :: Night Agency ]

+ Gothamist interviews the fellas at Night Agency, whose work includes MTV2's "the2headeddog.com," K-Y Brand's "Warm Up Date," and the “Impossible Heists” Court TV launch.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: Xbox crosses the line ]

+ One of the The Boston Globe's critics isn't fond of the way in which Microsoft crossed the lines with it's 30 minute informercial for the Microsoft Xbox 360 presented by Elijah Wood.

the infomercial was called ''MTV Presents Xbox: The Next Generation Revealed," and not ''Microsoft Presents." It appeared in the middle of MTV's nightly schedule looking suspiciously similar to an MTV news report on the history of gaming in general and what one MTV correspondent called ''the holy grail of gaming." It was never clearly designated as an ad or as paid programming.

Which is not uncommon (as the article states) anymore. But it's a question of will your audience get pissed off when they realize they've been duped? Or will they figure that the information being presented to them is more interesting and outweighs the dubiousness of deception? It's a hard call to make for some target groups. And I'm sure there's a researcher out there some where (or maybe even more) who will say otherwise, but making the line between editorial and programming and advertising as blurry as possible cannot have a happy outcome in the end. Aren't well all cynical enough?

[ :: adgruntie :: Why I won't be watching ET on Tuesday ]

+Gag me with a spoon. Adweek has confirmed that Carl's Jr. will air its "controversial" TV spot starring Paris Hilton for the Spicy BBQ Six Dollar Burger. The ad is to run on Tuesday, May 17th during Entertainment Tonight. Oh joy. As if we need more of that obnoxious person on our TV screens. I'm sorry but the whole thing sickens me, probably as much as the burger they're advertising would. If Paris Hilton was never heard from again, I'd be very happy. What's with our society giving so much attention to celebrities that are famous for being famous? Or having rich parents? It makes me want to go postal (no worries, I won't) or at least bash my head against the wall.

The chain said the 30-second spot, via Mendelsohn|Zien in Los Angeles, would premiere on May 17. In the spot, Paris wears a tight one-piece thong swimsuit as she washes a Bentley while holding the burger. The spot is set to the song, "I Love Paris in the Springtime," sources said. The client spends $50 million annually on ads.

I suppose it'll give those hormone charged boys something to "get excitied about"...but I'm not so sure it'll sell hamburgers. I just hope this Paris mania will be over soon. Time for the next famous for being famous celeb to step forward. Granted, it'll probably be just as obnoxious, but at least it'd be a change.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: Beattie and others leave TBWA ]

+ Beattie, McGuinness and Bungay announced their resignations to TBWA London in order to start an agency, BMB. Rumours were flying about this eariler in the week. See the link above for more.

[ :: adgruntie :: Advertising and pop culture ]

+ The Daily Press's "Life in the irony age" takes a look at some recent ads that have "refined the art of regurgitating pop culture through an ironic lens". A worthwhile read.

Some of those laboring in the offices of advertising agencies follow the old rule for novelists: Write what you know. The result: Some ads are self-referential in ways that aren't so obvious.

For Geico the Martin Agency created a series of commercials in which cavemen, shown living in apartments and working on laptops, are insulted by a line in what amounts to a Geico commercial within a Geico commercial: "It's so simple a caveman could do it!" the smiling spokesman says.

The final ad shows the spokesman taking the offended cavemen to lunch and apologizing. "We didn't know you guys were still around," he says in chastened tone.

Lawson says those ads were a direct reflection of the adman's reality.

"Advertisers and brands are inundated with e-mails and letters," he says. "People are always offended by something you've done. There's not one group out there anymore that hasn't been offended by something.

"That led us to thinking the only group that hasn't been offended is cavemen, basically because they don't exist."

Wednesday, May 04, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: Messy Buzz ]

+ Over at AdLand, there's an interesting post about the buzz is that BzzAgent has partnered with Creative Commons. Sounds like a terrible mess for everyone involved. There's definitely a good buzz going on, but it doesn't seem to be a good buzz for either CC or BzzAgent.

[ :: adgruntie :: Ogilvy in SA gets into short format progs ]

+ The Ogilvy Johannesburg group of companies is increasingly turning to the production of short format programmes to reach the consumer, communicate brand messages, and acquire mindshare. Brand Activation, an Ogilvy sister company, is using the opportunity to move into short format programming, aka infomercials.

Kathy Scharrer, head of TV at recognised this as an opportunity, with the result that Ogilvy has moved into movies: "Short format programmes help penetrate those walls that consumers have built up, by using content to pique their interest and invite them in."
Capitalising on the success of the likes of The Naked Chef and Two Fat Ladies, the team at Brand Activation and Ogilvy transformed what could have been just another commercial into a two-minute cooking programme called "You can... with Nestle" that displays the versatility of Nestle Milks.
Ogilvy's Betty Kairo says: "Our research told us that, despite the popularity of cooking programmes, the average consumer is cooking less and less from scratch. Not only are they strapped for time, but they're also afraid - they feel like they don't know how to cook, in an era where cooking has become less of a chore and more of an art. Our target market was intimidated, and we wanted to show them how easy and versatile cooking - and by that we mean cooking with Nestle Milk - really is."

Scharrer also went on to state that the production and media buy are much cheaper for this sort of format in comparision with a traditional :30 or :60. The "show" consists of 13 two-minute adversodes which started airing back in March.

[ :: adgruntie :: Tag auctions date on eBay ]

+ Adage.com reports that on eBay, Gillette Co.'s Tag body spray is giving males ages 15 to 20 a chance for a date with the 33-year old Carmen Electra, aka Mrs. Dave Navarro, which includes an all-expense-paid trip to Los Angeles to have dinner with Carmen Electra at "one of Hollywood's hottest restaurants." The proceeds of the auction will go to the National Prostate Cancer Coalition. So far bidding has reached $17,200.
Monday, May 02, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: Jingles ]

+ Advertising jingles are a blast from the past and this writer doesn't like it.

Madison Avenue and the advertising world have appropriated my youth. I can no longer listen to most of the music of my generation without being reminded of TV commercials.
It seems as though almost every popular song from the '50s, '60s and '70s has been turned into a promotional jingle. Even the revered theme song from one of my favorite sitcoms was used for an ad. What exactly does the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" theme have to do with Office Depot?

Alan Barcus of LaPorte, Ind., scores films but before that he worked as a writer in the commercial music (not jingle) business for 30 years. He said the use of popular music in advertising is a trend and that such trends last for about a year and a half.

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