Caffeinated posts from a copywriter/adgrunt. 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. | make contact | RSS Feed | ATOM

Tuesday, July 26, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: TV Guide to grow ]

+ Reader's Digest. TV Guide. Both are known for their small size. But starting October 17th, TV Guide won't be so small anymore. They are reformatting the magazine to be more appealing to advertisers and to their readers.

"We're boldly transforming TV Guide magazine into a weekly full-size, feature-rich TV entertainment and guidance magazine that will better serve the needs of today's readers and advertisers. TV Guide is the most trusted brand in television, and has been an integral, iconic part of American life for more than 50 years. With this transformation, we believe the magazine will be a more relevant and vital part of viewers' lives for years to come," said Mr. Battista.

heheh. Man I love press releases...could they be any more full of themselves? ;-)

[ :: adgruntie :: Gap prefers devote Christian ]

+ Apparently the rumors of Joss Stone getting dropped by Gap because she moved in with her 25-year-old boyfriend when she was 17 have come true. Gap has instead chosen "devout Christian Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child." Uh, since when was Destiny's Child considered wholesome? Bueller? Bueller?
Gap claims that because Stone's boyfriend, Beau Dozier, might be brought up on charges of statutory rape, they decided to "err on the side of caution." Uh, yeah so Stone isn't being charged with anything, but if her boyfriend is, then she loses the contract? huh? Sorry, I'm still a bit shocked about any one in Destiny's Child being called wholesome. ;-)

[ :: adgruntie :: New Coke campaign ]

+ Brand Republic reports Coke is searching for a big global advertising concept. Hearing that makes me think of McDonald's. Hopefully their concept will be better...and less annoying.

In addition to asking for concepts for the main brand, Coke is also asking the agencies to present "iconic" ideas to promote its other drinks brands.

As part of that strategy in the UK, the company is about to embark on an umbrella campaign created by Vallance Carruthers Coleman Priest. The ads will promote all Coke's 19 brands using the slogan "World of Refreshment".

[ :: adgruntie :: NY Festivals ]

+ At some point today the NY Festivals' design, print and outdoor winners will be announced.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
[ :: spacey :: Upcoming sky events ]

+ From Space.com:

August 11-12 – Perseid Meteor Shower. The year 2005 should be a good year for the Perseids because the bright first quarter Moon will set just before 11 p.m. leaving the sky dark for the prime meteor-watching hours of early morning. A very good shower such as this will produce about one meteor per minute for a given observer under a dark country sky. Any light pollution or moonlight considerably reduces the count. Typically during an overnight watch, the Perseids are capable of producing a number of bright, flaring and fragmenting meteors, which leave fine trains in their wake, making for an exciting night for those who plan to spend a summer’s night camped out under the stars.

October 17 – Partial Eclipse of the Moon. Admittedly, this really isn’t much of an eclipse. The western U.S. and Canada will see the umbral phase in its entirety (4:34 to 5:33 a.m. PDT), though the central states will get views of the opening stages before the Moon sets. At maximum, a whopping 7 percent of the Moon is within the Earth’s dark shadow.

October and November: The Autumn of Mars – Shining like a star with a yellowish-orange hue, Mars can vary considerably in brightness and this characteristic will be clearly demonstrated through much of 2005. While initially not much to look at, this year will evolve into a splendid year for observing Mars. It will be closest to the Earth on October 29 when it will be just 43.1 million miles away. It arrives at opposition to the Sun nine days later on November 7. While not as close an approach as its previous two favorable oppositions (in 2003 and 2001) such a close approach this year will still loan itself to making Mars appear exceptionally brilliant. Indeed, through much of the fall, Mars will outshine Sirius (the brightest of all stars) and during most of October and November it will rival even Jupiter (the planet normally second in brightness only to Venus).

[ :: adgruntie :: Nerdiness is in ]

+ Teens embracing dorkdom. Apparently trends have shown that it's now hip to be "uncool".

There was a time when teens who tried something like that would have been asking for some serious goofing. But today being smart and sensitive, even a little socially awkward, is often considered cool – and the signs are everywhere.

I wonder what it will do for Ked's advertising, which currently has the tagline: "Be cool." ;-)
Saturday, July 23, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: Adult Ed Billboards Yanked ]

+ Buffalo News reports that 16 billboards for the Buffalo Public Schools Adult Education Division are being replaced with toned down versions. The various ads currently feature a used car salesman with the words "I can do better" across it in a graffiti style font. Another ad features a hamburger with the same text. People who complained thought the ads were "belittling". What's interesting to note about the boards is the lack of mention who they are for. There's no logo. There's no mention of how you should go about doing better. But apparently this is more of a teaser campaign. The billboards are being pulled only a week before new ads were to go up. The new 20 billboards' copy is more mild with "Do better", and this time a phone number. The ads were created by Travers Collins.

[ :: designy :: Translations in Tupperware ]

+ While flipping through Real Simple's August issue, I came across a blip about Translations in Tupperware, a global design contest. It's all about creating art with, yup, tupperware.
There are 3 categories: Artistic creation, Fashion & Accessories, and Housewares. They're choosing four winners (not sure maybe one is overall best?) that will get a trip for two to New York City for winners’ reception, $5,000 cash prize, Tupperware kitchen makeover, and the opportunity for winning designs to be showcased in a worldwide traveling exhibit. Not too bad as prizes go. There are 26 "participating markets", meaning you can enter if you live in those countires. Sort of strange they call it that on a consumer focused site.
Friday, July 22, 2005
[ :: adgurntie :: Dirt is Good ]

+ The BBC takes a look at Persil's "Dirt is Good" ad campaign and tells an interesting tale about selling washing soap in Eastern Germany.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: You're not the target. Stop whining. ]

+ The SunTimes has a bit on the Dove "Real Beauty" campaign. A bit late on reporting considering the ads started running a long time ago.

Anyway, even though the writer claims to understand that these ads aren't targeted to men, she asks men their opinions of them. Most are negative. Well, guess what, I'm pretty sure Dove doesn't give a rats ass what they think. They're not the target.

The reporter, who is apparently a women states:

I get that it's all relative, but that's all the more reason why they shouldn't be on a billboard. See, ads should be about the beautiful people. They should include the unrealistic, the ideal or the unattainable look for which so many people strive. That's why models make so much money. They are freaks -- human anomalies -- who need to be paid to get photographed so we can gawk at them.

Yeah, that's it. And guess what, most of those "freaks" are air-brushed and photoshopped within an inch of their lives. Quoted up in the beginning of the article is Margot Wallace, a marketing communication professor at Columbia College Chicago and former creative director at J. Walter Thompson Worldwide, who says, "If it's meant to change perception, you have to say to yourself, I've never seen a chorus line of women that looks like this. Advertising is supposed to be easy; it's not supposed to be too challenging. This challenges your expectations. It's provocative in the best sense of the word."

The preconceived notions of what we consider beautiful is largely what the media and society feeds us. This campaign challenges that. And that's what most likely is making this writer uncomfortable. The women in the ads are attractive. They are far from obese. And the comment the writer makes that it is hypocritical that Dove is talking about Real Beauty but then selling firming lotions is a bit off. Every single woman has an aspect of herself that she isn't crazy about or would like to make better. Yes, even those models she's so darn fond of. The difference in this campaign is that instead of showing unrealistic results...they are showing the women who would actually use the product. And perhaps it's all those ads showing overly photoshopped/air-brushed women that should be pulled for false advertising. Dove isn't overpromising anything in these ads like a lot of other brands do by using unrealistic model types. The fact that the writer is a women and has trouble with this doesn't make a difference. Just like the men who are whining about the campaign, perhaps she needs to take a big look around at the rest of advertising.

And quite honestly, the whole arguement that "oh my god I have to look at this" is bogus. Guess what? Most women who are subjected in advertising by pointless use of sexual innuendo and T&A have to look at that kind of thing all the time. A lot of them find it degrading or don't like it. But you don't see advertisers pulling the ads, do you? (Well, not unless it's deemed inappropriate by Standards that is.) This is just one campaign in the sea of that...stop your whining and deal with it.

Want more? Loads of good stuff here:
@ Embracing Real Beauty
@ Embracing Real Beauty Part 2 - with an interview of Ogilvy's planner for the Dove hair account.
@ Ogilvy Düsseldorf – No real beauties
Thursday, July 14, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: 50 things to do when you go blank ]

+ Things to do when you hit a creative wall:

1) Talk a walk. Go to the gym. Do something physical.
2) Watch TV.
3) Listen to the radio. Cringe at the number of bad ads and annoying DJs.
4) Blog-hop.
5) Watch ads online (adland, etc)
6) Do a free word association exercise.
7) Play a word game (crossword, scrabble, word racer/boggle, etc).
8) Wander flickr and other photo sites, getty, corbis, etc.
9) Change your setting...hit a cafe, go to the park, etc and bring your pad and a pen/pencil/sharpie.
10) Flip through ad mags.
11) Crank some good tunes and dance (hard to do in an office setting, unless you've got a door to close and no window to the hallway or other people's cubes/offices).
12) Flip through the dictionary at random.
13) Go bother someone else so that they can't be productive either.
14) Reorganize your desktop.
15) Clean through old files on your computer.
16) Alphabetize your books by title, then by author.
17) Play I-Spy via email.
18) Write in your blog or start one if you don't have one.
19) Read the news. Discover that there's too much bad stuff going on and instead revert to staring at a blank page, empty word doc, photoshop, illustrator file, etc.
20) Find a newspaper and grab a pencil. Erase parts of images and draw them back in in humorous ways.
21) Make up a to-do list.
22) Pick a rarely used computer program and attempt to learn it better. Chances are there is some application on your computer you aren't proficient at.
23) Read a book.
24) Draw a comic of your last night out.
25) Check out job boards
26) Get five boxes of paperclips. See how long of a chain you can make. Also, find something to attach it to and limbo.
27) Make a list of possible images you'd consider getting tattooed.
28) Color on paper and using a hole punch, make confetti. (Save confetti to toss when the idea finally hits. Nothing like a little celebration!)
29) Read all the old emails you have saved in your inbox.
30) Visit all your bookmarked links.
31) Flip through magazines.
32) Pick a song and make up some spoofed lyrics.
33) Google your name.
34) Make creative patterns on your desk (if it's clear enough) or on a wall with sticky notes.
35) Update your address book.
36) Go shopping. Or window shopping.
37) Clean up your desk. Toss out dead pens/markers/etc. Put your trash/recycling bin a good distance away and play basketball with your old papers.
38) People watch in the office or outside.
39) Open up a stapler and see how far you can shoot them (PLEASE MAKE SURE NO ONE IS IN THE WAY - it's not fun when people get hurt.)
40) Start a list for holiday gifts.
41) Read corporate memos, etc. you've had sitting on your desk or in your inbox for longer than you should have.
42) Fill out time sheets.
43) Pick up a magazine from the lobby. Spray glue all the pages of a magazine together. Return it.
44) Visit HR to discuss benefit options you might not be taking advantage of.
45) Move the toys/knicknacks on your desk/in your office around to maximize the feng-shui of the space.
46) Create some origami.
47) Type random words into your browser and see where you end up. Don't forget to try .net, .org, and other endings too.
48) Call random 800/877/toll free numbers.
49) Check out domain registration sites for funny names you could possibly buy.
50) Make up a list of your dream clients.

Got more? Add them to the comments!

[ :: adgruntie :: Trends from Cannes online ]

+ What's hot in online advertising? Video. Sound. Unconventional Thinking. Convergence. Online Birth (of a campaign).
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: Law & Kenneth Worldwide ]

+ Last week, the MediaGuardian reported on Andy Law's new agency, Law & Kenneth Worldwide. Co-partnering with Praveen Kenneth, former head of Publicis India, the agency hopes to have offices operating in London, Paris, Mumbai, Dubai, Sydney and Stockholm within the month.

The company will operate in business development, branding, advertising and media communications, and each local office will operate with a maximum of about 35 people, led by a local entrepreneur and majority local owned.

He said Law & Kenneth would do away with layers of global networks and take advantage of specialisations in each office. Stockholm will be the centre for interactive advertising, London for strategy and much production work will be handled in Asia.

"To put it plainly, having a worldwide creative director is of no use in one of the biggest markets like China, where new brands will start driving the world in the coming future, when he or she doesn't even know the language, the culture or the sensitivity of that market's corporate culture," Mr Law said.

In six months it plans to have offices in China, Germany, South Africa, Russia, Italy, South Korea, Japan and the United States. The aim is to have 18 offices within the next year.

"We aim to keep the independence and freedom of each market as much as they are strongly linked to the larger purpose of the brand Law & Kenneth," said Praveen Kenneth, the former chief executive of St Luke's India, who will be co-chairman and managing director.

Definitely an interesting approach. Hopefully it will prove more successful than boymeetsgirl.

Monday, MediaGuardian published an article where Andy Law talks about his new venture and how he aims to "add value, lower costs and succeed where his last venture, boymeetsgirl, failed."
Friday, July 08, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: I <3 London ]

+ JNunes sent me an email today about Nissan's new I ♥ London campaign, which started running yesterday in Lisbon. It's apart of TBWA/Lisboa's campaign for the Micra. JNunes states the ads started running around the same time as the blasts yesterday. Kind of odd coinicidence, and kind of creepy.

Speaking of yesterday's events in London, I hope everyone and everyone's family and friends are all ok. I indeed ♥ London. My thoughts are with you all there.

[ :: adgruntie :: NZ Toyota advert not offensive ]

+ The New Zealand Herald reports that Toyota's HiLux advert in NZ is not offensive, even though it uses the term "sheep shagger".

A Toyota commercial in which two animated bulls hijack a farmer's ute to impress two cows and call a ram a "sheep shagger" has prompted 17 complaints to the Advertising Standards Complaints Board.

More amusing, one of the complainees is a "Mr Donald McDonald, a repeat complainer to the authority, has been warned the authority would stop listening to him if he made any more "trivial" complaints."

Wow. That might be a first! :)

Advert can be viewed in QT at visit4info and at Toyota's Site. (links via milkandcookies.com.)

[ :: adgruntie :: Another blip on death of tv ads ]

+ Advertising is Dying claims this article. And rather than advertising, we should be looking to persuade on a larger scale.

If traditional advertising still works for you, I bet you aren't really advertising. You're persuading.

Before I explain, let me pose a question: What's the difference between advertising/marketing and sales?

Truth is, they're almost identical. Or they should be. The only true difference between the two is the ability to accurately measure cause and effect. It's easier to fire an ineffective salesman than an ineffective ad firm. At least, it used to be.

Ineffective advertising has finally been exposed, and, like a vampire, it's withering away under the rays of sunlight.

Where does the light come from? Web analytics. Web analytics is a cure for not only bad advertising but also bad sales. We can now measure the effects of offsite ads and online conversion. We can measure what actually happens rather than speculate. We see when e-mail or banners are working but the site is failing. We know more about our customers, what they do, and in some cases why they do it.

Slowly, companies are getting wise to this ability to measure the buying and selling processes. Online, accountability is built in at every turn. Companies are posing questions about their offline campaigns. They're losing patience with advertising and all its promises. It's not that advertising is getting worse. Actually, it seems better and more relevant. It's just too little, too late.

He goes into more details on the "why" in the article. There is truth in what he's saying, but at the same time, the online aspects of what he discusses doesn't change some of the reasons he gives, like "badvertising" - or the spread via word of mouth, etc about a bad product, etc. Those are things that need changing at a corporate level and really don't have much to do with advertising. Advertising can get people to try a bad product, but not even web advertising can fix that. Unless the product changes that is.

I also disagree with the media fragmentation point he makes. I think, in that respect, traditional advertising becomes more effective. You're able to target more likely customers and people who will be interested in what you have to say, even if they have TiVO or their finger on the remote. True, for some advertisers, reaching the mass population is important. But for a lot of others, it makes more sense to be more targeted. Plus, as many cable networks are owned by one group, I'd imagine (although I'm not positive on this) that there must be some sort of media deals that can be bought to incorporate the relavent stations which show similar programming- like MTV and VH1 or Food Network, HGTV, and DIY TV. And if not, perhaps this is something that those channels might want to consider.

One thing that really does get my goat are the blanket statements made about online vs traditional media. Online is really becoming traditional now. It's taken some time but there really wasn't much of a web 10 years ago, especially in the way we think of it today. Sure there were news groups and email and things of that nature, but it's still relatively young. There are still crappy online advertisements as well, and to claim that it's the best overall, is really inane. Yes, it has benefits that other traditional media does not. Yet, advertisers are still figuring out the power of the web, and how it can really be most effective. There have been many changes in the last 10 years with the web and I'm sure it will continue to be a changing landscape, espeically for advertisiers in the next 10. Traditional advertising will not go away. It might morph and change to be slightly different from what we know it as, but I cannot see it evaporating away, like so many have been claiming of late.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: Ad news blips ]

+ Christian Slater to be voice of "a dirty germ" in a public health campaign in the UK titled 'Germaphobia'. (Found via hecklerspray.)

+ The International Herald Tribune reports Brazilians lead the pack on the Web.

+ A recent advert for Air Deccan, "The Old Man and The Sky", at 150 seconds is apparently the longest telecast advertisement in the history of Indian advertising. Directed by Manoj Pillai of Thinkpot, Bangalore, the ad was created by Orchard Advertising.

+ No Hubba Hubba if you ain't got no rubba New Zealand advert, features an animated rapper. Odd.

+ Over at Adland, user suddenwaffle posted a great article, Is your ad agency a cult? Too funny!
Saturday, July 02, 2005
[ :: quarks and quazars :: Deep Impact ]

+ I guess I have been so wrapped up in ad news that I totally missed this until today.

NASA’s Deep Impact mission is slated to crash an 820-pound (371-kilogram) Impactor probe into Comet Tempel 1 and record the event via a Flyby mothership, orbital observatories like the Hubble and Spitzer space telescope, and a myriad of ground-based telescopes from around the world. The impact is expected to take place at 1:52 a.m. EDT (0552 GMT) on July 4th.

Wow. And fortunately for Hollywood, it's unmanned so they don't have to worry about really losing Bruce Willis or Ben Affleck on the mission. ;-)

Space.com has a good list of live and nearly live broadcasts you can watch via the web. Some have commentary. Others are just images. And others are live feeds.

There's also a ton of info here.
Friday, July 01, 2005
[ :: adgruntie :: Virgin Train Advert ]

+ Somewhat following in the footsteps of the VW Golf GTI "Singin' in the Rain" ad by BMP DDB London which broke at the beginning of the year, Virgin Trains have a new advert out that does something similar. Created by Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, the ad takes characters from old movies and places them on the new, speedy trains from Virgin. They include:
Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon - Some Like it Hot
May Witty and Margaret Lockwood - The Lady Vanishes
Albert Finney Martin Balsam - Murder on the Orient Express
Sir John Mills - In Which We Serve
Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett and Gary Warren - The Railway Children
Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint - North by North West

Post-production was done by Ludo Fealey at Glassworks and took took three months. Music is composed by James Brett and recorded with the London Metropolitan Orchestra.

It's actually a nice spot. The way they integrate modern people with the old is well done. I like some of the little touches like the Hello! magazine in the background with Tony Curtis' face on it.

View the advert here.