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

Wednesday, May 31, 2006
[ :: adgruntie :: Life at full speed. ]

+ Life just keeps getting in the way of my ability to post here recently. Somewhat of a shame but at the same time, what are you going to do? Gotta earn the scratch to make living. ;-)

Well enough fun...to tide you over, here are some advertising-themed comic strips. Check them out here.

I've also been posting a bit more over at Adland, which I wish I was getting to more too. Some interesting new spots, news and print ads to check out.
Friday, May 26, 2006
[ :: COJ :: 4 years and a billboard ]

+ Just one more quickie before getting back to the grind...COJ turned 4 years old yesterday...scary that I've been keeping this up for that long. Actually it's more surprising than scary. I figure this is a good opportunity to thank those of you who pop by and all that good stuff.

Here's some pics of a Cadbury billboard worth checking out.

[ :: adgruntie :: Series of Ads Vs. Campaign ]

+ Dear Adfolk...can we please stop calling ads like these ones campaigns? They are a series. Which is a far cry from a campaign. Just changing out the image does not a campaign make.

[ :: adgruntie :: From my inbox ]

+ SoupMovie...I can't figure it out is it advertising myspace or something else? (too brainfried today...thank bob for the long weekend!)

I came across this strange ad from 2005 for Becks beer yesterday. Why? It's so blatent and odd.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
[ :: copy :: 404s of the English Language ]

+ A list of Common Errors in English.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
[ :: sidetracks :: things ]

+ Javascript Tetris

Nice tutorial on some camera basics

[ :: spacey :: Oldest Americas Observatory in Peru ]

+ from National Geographic:

The oldest astronomical observatory in the Western Hemisphere has been discovered on a hillside a few miles north of Lima, Peru, archaeologists recently reported.

Researchers also found ornate carvings more sophisticated than any before seen in the region.

The site dates back 4,200 years—800 years before such artistic and scientific skill was previously known to have existed in the Americas.

The find was part of an ancient temple built by an unnamed civilization from Peru's "pre-ceramic" period, which predated the better-known Inca culture by thousands of years.

[ :: Sidetracks :: Whaaa? ]

+ How do you turn a SWAT team into a splat? With the Man Slinger, designed to hurl emergency teams onto the roofs of inaccessible tall buildings a la human cannonball style. Sounds safe!

[ :: adgruntie :: Propoganda claims CO2 is good for Earth ]

+ Crock-a-doodle-doo...that's what I call CEI's new advertising campaign...more like a propaganda campaign than anything else. In one spot, a little girl blows away dandelion fluff as an announcer says, "Carbon dioxide: they call it pollution; we call it life." Right.

According a person who posted this at MetaFilter, the group is funded heavily by oil companies such as Exxon-Mobil. Wow what a surprise. Perhaps they'll have another record quarter too!

I do love this comment by a mefi reader: "Of course CO2 is good for a planet. Look what it did for Venus!"

What exactly is this group? There's a bit on it here.

It postures as an advocate of "sound science" in the development of public policy. In fact, it is an ideologically-driven, well-funded front for corporations opposed to safety and environmental regulations that affect the way they do business.

More about it here too.

From a Nov 2005 BBC article:

Over a five year period commencing in 1999, scientists working with the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (Epica) have drilled 3,270m into the Dome C ice, which equates to drilling nearly 900,000 years back in time.

Gas bubbles trapped as the ice formed yield important evidence of the mixture of gases present in the atmosphere at that time, and of temperature.

"One of the most important things is we can put current levels of carbon dioxide and methane into a long-term context," said project leader Thomas Stocker from the University of Bern, Switzerland.

"We find that CO2 is about 30% higher than at any time, and methane 130% higher than at any time; and the rates of increase are absolutely exceptional: for CO2, 200 times faster than at any time in the last 650,000 years."

It's also doubtful that anyone who lost friends or family in the explosion of Lake Nyos in Cameroon in 1986 or miners who died from "choke damp" (def.=a damp consisting principally of carbonic acid gas; -- so called from its extinguishing flame and animal life) would say that carbon dioxide is life.

[ :: adgruntie :: Viral Don'ts ]

+ Viral agency Rubber Republic posted on their blog a pdf of 21 Common Mistakes when putting a viral campaign together. Check it out here. (links to the blog post not the pdf).

[ :: adgruntie :: Yes, Bridgestone needs new ads ]

+ According to the Boston Biz Journal, Arnold Worldwide is a contender for the $25 million Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC's broadcast creative and media advertising account. I'd love to see some better ads for Bridgestone. Their "fashion" dancing bullshit is crap and makes me want to throw a brick through my television every time I see them. You can check out the print ads here. Funny, they used the same models and layout for ads for their different tire brands too.

Other contenders include Cramer-Krasselt and Leo Burnett in Chicago; The Richards Group in Dallas and FCB, The Kaplan Thaler Group and the incumbent agency Grey in New York.

[ :: adgruntie :: Fedex airbag ad ]

+ Fedex AirBags spot (crappy youtube quality)

(hat tip to Leslie)

[ :: adgruntie :: Odd egg advertising ]

+ Strange ads for eggs by the American Egg Board have been airing in my area (may be national). I didn't get it so I had to find out more. Check out the ads, etc at NaturesMiracleFood.

[ :: adgruntie :: Save the 76 ball! ]

+ Save the 76 ball! I remember when I was little so many folks had the 76 balls on their radio antennas. You can even order them...tempting! (via Adland.)
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
[ :: adgruntie :: Stuff on briefs,etc ]

+ How to write a creative brief for a copywriter.

A research paper titled, "The Fundamental Templates of Quality Ads".

Give your creative brief a wedgie from the pres of Carmichael Lynch.

I also came across this site: creativebriefs.com site. heh. yeah...

99 Reasons creative people miss deadlines
Thursday, May 11, 2006
[ :: adgruntie :: Google tracks trends ]

+ Google's released some new stuff. Trends seems like it will be super handy for all you planners out there.

[ :: adgruntie :: Tango does Balls better than Sony ]

+ Someone sent us this over at Adland but I figure I'll post it here because really this spoof is leaps and bounds better than the original, IMHO, because this one actually has a solid concept behind it.

Tango ad by Clemmow Hornby Inge. Thanks to Enoch for the tip too.



[ :: sidetracks :: Futurama...returns?!?!?!? ]

+ Futurama will be back!!!!! *happy dance* This news has made my week. I take this knowledge and embrace it, but until I hear more specifics and see it, then I'll really believe it. Still it's fabulous news! 4 new DVD full-length movies! Hurrah! Get the scoop here and at Billy West's site here.

The tin sign can be found at ThinkGeek. And OMFG I *must* aquire *everything* on this page! I absolutely love the playing cards, Zapp space gun and beer coasters!

This wind-up Nibbler is fab!


And I *must* get one of these. Heck, they'd make great corporate holiday gifts! ;)



[ :: adgruntie :: Oh, you're supposed to eat it? ]

+ Rice Krispies Treats Squares Commerical which uses a tag "Best when eaten". Reminds me a bit of Snickers recent campaign, "it's only satisfying if you eat it", which I think is great.



Here's one of the Snickers spots.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006
[ :: designy :: Humpday Fun ]

+ Color Theory game. It's definitely more difficult when you put it on all colors.

[ :: adgruntie :: How not to interview ]

+Viral for WorkAustin.com created by Hombre Films.



[ :: adgruntie :: Sprite ads from China ]

+ A series of Chinese Sprite spots featuring Elva Hsiao & Alex To, which seems to be set to a version of "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship (which always makes me think of Mannequin.)



[ :: adgruntie :: Healthy snack? ]

+ An Italian ad for a chocolate bar.


Tuesday, May 09, 2006
[ :: adgruntie :: Old news is new news, apparently ]

+ Oooh another article that is taking old news and trying to make it sound new and interesting. According to the Evening Times "a new study claims children as young as four know their brands better than their ABC. Even before they start school, youngsters are more inclined to name a particular brand rather than simply ask for a bag of crisps or a fizzy drink." From what I remember, kids as young as 3-years old can recognize brands (something like that any way.) Even still, why this is being presented as "new news" is just one more way to add fuel to the fire of the war on advertising to kids.

[ :: adgruntie :: No, I don't know what you're thinking ]

+ I'd just like to say... because for some reason many people seem to think otherwise, I'm not a mind reader.

I need a shirt that says that. Or maybe get it as a tat on my forehead. But, nah, it wouldn't work because people don't read copy. *sigh*
Saturday, May 06, 2006
[ :: adgruntie :: Pepsi tips hat to Mean Joe Green ]

+ Ad stars David Beckham. I don't follow footie but I think this is old as it references Manchester United.

Thursday, May 04, 2006
[ :: sidetracks :: Music on my mind ]

+ Totally random but I cannot figure out why "Informer" got stuck in my head in the last 10 minutes. Argh.

Speaking of music, check out MerleJagger if you're looking for some new music to place in an ad.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
[ :: adgruntie :: What's with the "Man" thing? ]

+ CPB has tipped off the press to a new campaign for Miller Lite that will be breaking May 15th (i'm guessing based on the date on the microsite which launched Monday). It focuses on men drinking beer, with some celebs having discussions about "Man Laws". Ads star former National Football League star Jerome Bettis; the World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler Triple H; Aron Ralston, the rock climber who cut off part of his arm after being pinned under a boulder; and the discussion group's leader, the actor Burt Reynolds.

"Beer is so tied in to male culture," Mr. Bogusky said. "And I think the tradition of sort of settling things over a beer and figuring out the world over beer is a strong one. It's one of the nicer aspects of beer, and it's one of the reasons that it's a powerful cultural beverage."

Interestingly enough, Crispin also just broke a spot for Burger King which follows a similar theme titled "Manthem" to promote the Texas Double Whopper.



This isn't new really either as during the past few years other brands went this route, like Milwaukee's Best which started a campaign last year by Mother NY all about being the brew for real men. Which is also a Miller brand.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
[ :: adgruntie :: Let's state the obvious and call it new ]

+ Mitch Lowe, CEO of Jumpstart, tells the world of "four new truths of advertising".

1. Online is interactivity
2. Online is visual
3. Online is measurable
4. Online allows precision targeting

Uh, no kidding! Welcome to "no-duh" land.