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

Saturday, March 31, 2007
[ Twittle dum ]

+ Looks like twitter is down again. Seems like it does that about every other day now. Probably cannot handle the influx of people or something. Plus, on a Saturday morning I'm guessing there's lots of "waking up" type posts going on that could flood the system.

It is a bit addictive and it is fun. Although I do see that there are a lot of people who post constantly, not necessarily saying much of interest most of the time. Granted, that's the case with me too, but I do try to limit my tweets to a few a day unless there's something worth twittering about.

Labels: life, media, networking, sidetracks, twitter

Friday, March 30, 2007
[ Bring out your dead ad icons ]

+ First Orville Redenbacher, now Uncle Ben.

Joe Shands, a creative director at the Playa del Rey, Calif., office of TBWA/Chiat/Day, said the freedom to use the character to sell the Uncle Ben’s brand was a welcome change from the years when “all we’ve had to work with is a portrait.” “We wanted to know if there was something there we could utilize to talk about new products, existing products, the values of the company,” Mr. Shands said, adding that both black and white consumers described the character as someone “they know and love.”

“Through the magic of marketing, we’ve made him the chairman,” Mr. Shands said. Uncle Ben’s office, he said, is “reflective of a man with great wisdom who has done great things.”

Magazine ads in the campaign, which carries the theme “Ben knows best,” present a painting of the character in a gold frame with the chairman’s title affixed on a plaque.

The painting is also on display on the home page of the redesigned Web site, which offers a virtual tour of Ben’s office. Visitors can browse through his e-mail messages, examine his datebook and read his executive memorandums.

In coming months, visitors to the Uncle Ben's Web site will be able to discover new elements of the character, Mr. Howell said, like full-body digital versions of Uncle Ben and voice mail messages. The Web site was designed by an agency, Tequila, that is a sibling of TBWA/Chiat/Day who created the traditional elements, and the budget for the campaign, print and online, is estimated at $20 million. TBWA/Chiat/Day is part of the TBWA Worldwide unit of the Omnicom Group.

If the makeover for Uncle Ben is deemed successful, could there be similar changes in store for other racially charged characters?

Last month, the Cream of Wheat chef got a new owner when B&G Foods completed a $200 million deal to buy his brand, and its companion, Cream of Rice, from Kraft Foods.

"We're doing consumer focus work right now to understand how important the character is," said David L. Wenner, chief executive at B&G in Parsippany, N.J.

Labels: ad news, adgruntie, branding, campaign

Thursday, March 29, 2007
[ Not so deep fried fish ]

+ Goldfish kept in deep fry fish tank in Japan. Crazy! (hat tip kottke.org)

Labels: fun, life, sidetracks

[ Quote of the day ]

+ You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. - Jack London

Labels: wisdom

[ Ad Prez Walks To Find America ]

+ GSD&M President and founder Roy Spence this fall will embark on a coast-to-coast walk across the country with the goal to "feel America again."

The genesis of the trek is a belief that marketing cannot lose sight of consumers and perhaps boardroom discussions, and experts running "regression analyses" may have left him too far removed.

"So while so many experts are trying to isolate us, I will be on the road looking for what unites us as a family and community of America," he said.

It's high time, he said, to "get out of the planes, trains and automobiles, if just for a moment, and into the hands, hearts and soul of America and the world, itself."

"Will this make me a better marketer? I hope so," he said. "Will it make me a better person? I am betting everything on it."

Spence's journey looks to take six years, as he said he will walk 25 days a year and 20 miles a day.

Labels: ad news, adbiz, adgruntie, agency, life

Tuesday, March 27, 2007
[ ArseHoles in the Workplace ]

+ Are you an asshole quiz from Time! Love that they use the old A**Hole in the title and don't even use it in the URL - it's arse! hah!

The poll relates to an article titled Defending Jerks at Work about busiensses crunching down on bullies, etc.

Labels: adbiz, adgruntie, wisdom, work

[ Swapmeat ]

+ Coudal's Swapmeat has been extended. Thinking about sending something in...but not quite sure what.

Labels: adgruntie, crafty, creative

[ Late afternoon reading ]

+ Slow Down, Brave Multitasker, and Don’t Read This in Traffic - NYTimes article on multitasking.

“Multitasking is going to slow you down, increasing the chances of mistakes,” said David E. Meyer, a cognitive scientist and director of the Brain, Cognition and Action Laboratory at the University of Michigan. “Disruptions and interruptions are a bad deal from the standpoint of our ability to process information.”

The human brain, with its hundred billion neurons and hundreds of trillions of synaptic connections, is a cognitive powerhouse in many ways. “But a core limitation is an inability to concentrate on two things at once,” said René Marois, a neuroscientist and director of the Human Information Processing Laboratory at Vanderbilt University...

In a recent study, a group of Microsoft workers took, on average, 15 minutes to return to serious mental tasks, like writing reports or computer code, after responding to incoming e-mail or instant messages. They strayed off to reply to other messages or browse news, sports or entertainment Web sites.

“I was surprised by how easily people were distracted and how long it took them to get back to the task,” said Eric Horvitz, a Microsoft research scientist and co-author, with Shamsi Iqbal of the University of Illinois, of a paper on the study that will be presented next month.

Labels: data, life, work

[ Man Law - No Common Vision Leads to Tears ]

+ Miller Lite and Crispin part ways.

"We just have fundamental differences over creative and strategy" said Chief Creative Officer Alex Bogusky in a statement. "Although we made every attempt to find common ground, the process of multilayered approvals of creative and strategy has made doing work we can be proud of increasingly difficult."

Those "multilayered approvals" are said to refer to Mr. Long, who was chief marketing officer before being promoted last year; Mr. Ransom; Deb Boyda, VP-brand management; and Erv Frederick, VP-brand strategy for Miller Lite. And it's been said that Mr. Adami, the SABMiller president, has been taking a more active interest in marketing, although it's unclear to what extent.

"You've got three or four different top-tier people with contradictory points of view," said one person familiar with the matter, expressing a viewpoint that was shared by two other executives. "There's a constant shifting of strategy, and a lack of a common vision."

Labels: ad news, adbiz, adgruntie

[ Just under 1/3 of Americans unwired at home ]

+ According to a recent survey many Americans see little point to the web. This is something sure to create some sort of buzz among the ad community.

A little under one-third of U.S. households have no Internet access and do not plan to get it, with most of the holdouts seeing little use for it in their lives, according to a survey released on Friday.

Park Associates, a Dallas-based technology market research firm, said 29 percent of U.S. households, or 31 million homes, do not have Internet access and do not intend to subscribe to an Internet service over the next 12 months.

The second annual National Technology Scan conducted by Park found the main reason potential customers say they do not subscribe to the Internet is because of the low value to their daily lives they perceive rather than concerns over cost.

Forty-four percent of these households say they are not interested in anything on the Internet, versus just 22 percent who say they cannot afford a computer or the cost of Internet service, the survey showed.

Labels: ad news, adgruntie, culture, data, online advertising, web

Monday, March 26, 2007
[ How to sell yourself ]

+ The gentle art of selling yourself:

It is said that we are all three different people: the person we think we are (the one we have invented), the person other people think we are (the impression we make) and the person we think other people think we are (the one we fret about). You could say it would be a lifetime's quest to reconcile this battling trinity into a seamless whole. Maybe, but for the time being I am convinced that, in Kurt Vonnegut's words (there I go, quoting again): you are what you pretend to be.

From Life's A Pitch authors - which looks like a decent read. (gah I have to get back on my reading).
(Via kottke.org)

Labels: adbiz, adgruntie, wisdom, work

[ Words of wisdom ]

+ Perhaps it was fate today when I pulled out the new issue of Shoot from my mailbox and turned immediately to the interview of with Tom Kuntz.

"I've never been somebody who's out seeking a stamp of approval. But if I step back from my career, this was a good year to get that kind of affirmation, helping to validate me as a solo act," observes Tom Kuntz of his recent Directors Guild of America (DGA) nomination as best commercial director of 2006. Having been on the agency side, Kuntz deeply appreciates the efforts of Burnett and TBWA\Chiat\Day in making the work what it is, including worthy of DGA recognition. "A lot of ideas that first come to me are bold, daring and exciting," he relates. "But you need an agency to follow through in order to keep the work bold, daring and exciting. To have advertising agency people who are creating great work isn't enough. They also have to sell it, stay with it and get it on air the way they intended it to be. Without that, you have a lot of directors with reels of great director cuts that never get out to the real world.
"I think that's the most underestimated talent on the agency side—being able to preserve the concept and get it out on air," Kuntz continues.
"Often a brave concept doesn't survive. When you deliver your cut to an agency like Chiat\Day for instance, there's a trust that it will end up the way you had planned it. That's why I'm always excited when a board comes through from an agency like that."

- From Shootonline.com's interview with Tom Kuntz

Labels: adgruntie, agency, wisdom, work

[ Green office ]


+ Make your office greener by using products from The Green Office. They describe themselves as "The Green Office is an online retailer of recycled, environmentally friendly, and sustainable business products, school supplies, and paper."

Labels: life, work

[ Air Vigorsol Commercial ]

+ OMG! What a strange commercial.

Labels: adgruntie, commercial, watch

[ Keystone Light Commercial ]

+

Labels: adgruntie, commercial, watch

[ Pepto Bismol - Monsters ]

+ This commercial is from 2006 or older.

Labels: adgruntie, commercial, watch

[ Jeep and Goonies advergame ]

+ Return to Astoria promotes Jeep and the new Goonies Return to Astoria movie. But...OMG they are creating a Goonies sequel! Somewhat strange to do that now. Will the kids be grownups? Will it be their kids who go on the adventure? So many questions.
(via humptydumpty)

UPDATE: OK I finally watched the trailer on the main part of the site and realized this has nothing to do with a possible sequel and is only an advergame for Jeep. Damn.

Labels: adgruntie, web

Thursday, March 22, 2007
[ Spam subject lines illustrated ]

+Who knew spam could be so beautiful? Check out Fresh Spam created by Kipling West. (via HOW Blog)

Labels: creative, fun, life, web

[ Pretty trees ]

+ Most magnificent trees in the world from Neatorama - living up to their name! Great pictures too. I could see a whole series of these kinds of posts. (hat tip Kottke.org)

Labels: fun, life, sidetracks

[ Google ads add video ]

+ Hmm. I didn't realize Google had implemented video ads. Not surprising really - especially after purchasing youtube.

Labels: adgruntie, online advertising, web

[ We want to watch you apply your makeup! ]

+ Doing research for a project and came across this wording in an online survey:


Maybe it's just me but inviting someone into my home because they want to watch me apply makeup is just weird. Bonus I guess is you get 300 bucks. Still, shame they didn't word it in a slightly less creepy way.

Labels: copy

[ A thought ]

+ If direct advertising is considered any advertising that directs the target audience of a piece of communication to do something (call now, visit this website), isn't the majority of advertising we see now-a-days really direct? Even "branding" ads have URLs in them, which then would make them direct spots, right? :)

Labels: adbiz, adgruntie, direct

[ McDonald's doesn't like McJob ]

+ McDonald's wants to erase McJob from the English language.

McDonald's Corp. on Tuesday restarted its push to get the word "McJob" removed from dictionaries -- and has set its sights on the gold standard of lexicons, the Oxford English Dictionary.

From the point of view of the fast-food proletariat, the reason for the McLanguage offensive is clear: The word McJob, as the OED definition makes clear, is "depreciative." It goes on to define the term as: "An unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, esp. one created by the expansion of the service sector." It found its way into the dictionary in March 2001, 15 years after it was apparently coined by the Washington Post.

"Dictionaries are supposed to be paragons of accuracy. And it this case, they got it completely wrong," Walt Riker, a Mickey D's McSpokesman complained to the Associated Press. "It's a complete disservice and incredibly demeaning to a terrific work force and a company that's been a jobs and opportunity machine for 50 years."

The company says it will kick off its campaign in May in an attempt to change the "out-of-date" definition, as McDonald's spokeswoman Amanda Pierce called the McJob entry. But the hamburger giant may have to break out some special sauce for the effort. In 2003, the Merriam-Webster dictionary -- which defines McJob as "a low-paying job that required little skill and provides little opportunity of advancement" -- elected not to remove the word, despite McPressure.

The OED, for its part, has released a statement indicating it will likely also retain the word. "We can confirm that we monitor changes in the language and reflect these in our definitions, according to the evidence we find," the statement sent to SPIEGEL ONLINE reads.

Whine whine whine - I can only see this as a branding problem if McDonald's are having trouble hiring people - which isn't something they mention in their complaining. (hat tip to texturl)

Labels: ad news, adgruntie, branding

[ Bringing back dead brands ]

+ Slate follows the resurrection of dead and discontinued products in "Attack of the Zombie Brands"-Part 1 and Part 2.

The lesson for marketers: Forget about bringing back dead brands for big-ticket items like cars and motorcycles. Try resurrecting cheapo products that will help baby boomers recall the days when their hair was thicker, more voluminous, and less gray.

(hat tip kottke.org)

Labels: adbiz, adgruntie, branding

[ No more follow the leader ]

+ Some very sage advice from Dan at FortyMedia - Don't be a poser. I absolutely love this bit:

Research your successful competition and figure out what they did to get to where they are. If any of it is relevant to you, take every last idea you can! But for the love of god, don't just do what they do because they're doing it.

I've had so many conversations with people about clients just doing what their competition is doing. Even yesterday I had a mini conversation with someone about a client who thinks everything should be vanilla - apparently that is how they see their customers too. But still...reminded me of this spot-on cartoon:

Brands and companies that aren't afraid to dive into the water rather than just sticking in a toe when they see the competition doing it are the ones that succeed. They are the ones that stand out in the crowd and quite often they are the ones that consumers gravitate towards.
(hat tip to the fine folks at BrandflakesFor Breakfast)

Labels: adbiz, adgruntie, creative

[ Yellows for your pleasure ]

+ OMG! Someone wiki'ed school bus yellow, along with lots of other shades of yellow. (via coudal.com)

Labels: creative, design, fun

[ Fun with recruitment ads ]

+ If you can read this, you're hired tells the story of London's Lunar BBDO and true type geekery - they've set the copy in their ads using dingbats. Also shows off some other nice work they've done. (via design observer)

Labels: adgruntie, agency, campaign, creative, design, print

Tuesday, March 20, 2007
[ Twitter-de-dee ]

+ I feel like such a trendsetter getting in on the Twitter action while it's hot.

My virtual amigo over at texturl did a write up today you should check out.

Kottke.org has a nice write up as well here.

Labels: media, social networking, twitter, web

[ Asia Pacific Adfest 2007 ]

+ Asia Pacific Adfest winners have been annouced - and Toyota "Humanity" took home top honors for TV spot. More of a sum up here.

Labels: ad award, adgruntie

[ Coke beauty drink? ]

+ Coca Cola might launch a beauty drink named Lumaé and which would be sold in department stores, instead of supermarkets. Yipes! (hat tip PSFK)

Labels: adgruntie, branding

[ Someone derail the silver bullet ]

+ The NYTimes has an article this morning on Coor's Light's new ad campaign which aims to make a play on the phrase "It's 5pm somewhere." The new ads want folks to catch the silver bullet train to the new happy hour time of 4:53pm. Can I puke yet? Granted I've never been a huge fan of the silver bullet campaign - especially not the ones of recent years.

The train's brief onscreen appearance will be followed by an invitation to "Catch the 4:53 to Happy Hour" and a "Happy Hour Countdown" clock, both in onscreen spaces devoted to advertising. Other elements of the campaign, by the Portland, Ore., office of Avenue A/Razorfish, part of aQuantive, may include maps displaying the locations of nearby bars and lounges serving Coors Light.

The 4:53 initiative will be preceded by new television commercials for Coors Light, scheduled to begin Monday. The spots, by Draft FCB in Chicago, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, feature the train rushing across the TV screen to deliver batches of Coors Light, described in a new theme line as “the world’s most refreshing beer."

I'm still not sure what pushing back happy hour by 7 mintues really means - nor how it would apply in the real world since most people really can't just leave early to hit the bar for some subpar beer drinking. Maybe I've got my logical hat on today, but I'm really just not seeing the idea behind this at all. Perhaps there isn't one. I liked this bit from the article though:

The Coors Light campaign's fanciful superlative of "world's most refreshing beer" is what is known in the advertising industry as puffery, a subjective claim that cannot be substantiated because of its broadness.

Such claims are becoming more popular in a world of ad clutter in which marketers strive to stand out. For example, a brand advertised in Valassis coupon inserts in Sunday's newspapers, sold by GPC Pet Products, is called World's Best Cat Litter.

Labels: ad review, adgruntie, branding, campaign

Monday, March 19, 2007
[ Legal mouse type ]

+ Just found a blog keeping an eye on the mouseprint in advertising. Hah. :)

Labels: adgruntie, fun, work

[ Google Reader upgrades ]

+ Sweet! I noticed some changes to google reader - new buttons, etc - but I didn't see that they have made it super simple to add feeds from blogger, flickr, del.icio.us, LiveJournal, MySpace, Xanga and Windows Live Spaces. All you need to do is put in their username. Phat!

Labels: web

[ Twittervision ]

+ If you twitter, you must check out twittervision - it's very cool. Almost like reality TV. ;)

Labels: adgruntie, life, web, work

Friday, March 16, 2007
[ Gumby turns 50! ]


+ Starting today, classic Gumby television episodes from the 1950s and 60s, including the pilot “Gumby on the Moon,” are launching on Google and AOL/In2TV, as well as a dedicated Gumby area on YouTube at the DMGI channel. During the next few months 200+ digitally remastered Gumby episodes will roll out over these digital channels. Sweet! I remember watching Gumby and Friends after school at a friend's house.

Labels: fun, life, watch

[ Passion balanced with pragmatism ]

+ Looking through some job postings and saw this phrase "Our ideal candidate will be passionate about doing good work - but pragmatic and flexible enough to respond well to client tastes and tight deadlines."

It says so much about what we do and is worded well. I think many creatives go headstrong into the business fresh out of school not understanding this important, albeit often frustrating, element.

Labels: adgruntie, creative, web

[ Lavazza Print Ads ]

+ Sex and coffee - it's a strange combination at least in the way Lavazza melds the two in print ads photographed by Eryk Fitkau. Nothing tastier than a freshly brewed cup of beans with that extra special something. ;)

Labels: ad review, adgruntie, campaign, coffee, print

[ Not a morning person ]

+ MorningImpaired.com is the online component for McDonalds which also includes TV and outdoor. The site was created by Moroch Partners and iNSPIRE!

Labels: adgruntie, campaign, creative, online advertising, web

[ Good ad and ugly ]

+ The 5 best and worse recent car ads in the UK according to The Sun's Emma Parker Bowles.

Labels: ad review, adgruntie

Thursday, March 15, 2007
[ Lorem Ipsum isn't Spanish ]

+ Apparently there's a sign at Home Depot showing someone thinks Lorem Ipsum is a Spanish phrase. Or at least the proofer, account person or whatever didn't know. Perhaps it was a joke by the designer. Pretty funny though!

Labels: adgruntie, design, fun, print

[ MyToons ]

+ If you like to watch animation, head over to MyToons. Wide variety of stuff and quality of work there to go through.

Labels: creative, design, watch

[ Lures of Advertising ]

+ The Boston Ad Club (or is it The Ad Club of Boston) has a poster for sale created by now extinct Boston ad agency Ingalls back in 1981 as part of the Ad Club Calendar. For $100 you'll get the 24x36 poster in 2 days. Still a bit pricey if you ask me (not that you did). Credit belongs to: Art: Chuck Beisch Illustration: Raphael Boguslav, John Burgoyne, Bunny Carter, Cheryl Roberts. Jeremy Ross, Katherine Tise (Agent) Copy: Chuck Beisch

Labels: adcreep, creative, print

[ Capital One Banker Exterminator ]

+ Fun spot.

Labels: adgruntie, commercial, watch

[ Places to play on the web ]

+ Web 2.0 seems to be a period in web history where folks crank out web apps like mad to give even more ways for netters to gather information, publish information and share information.

VodPod.com - create "pods" from videos you select from myspace, youtube, google video, etc and puts them all in one place to share.

Slacker.com - seems like a combination of last.fm and the radio of iTunes.

Labels: fun, life, media, web

[ W+K uses stain in ads ]


+ The folks at W+K Portland have come up with some new stuff for Starbucks. The work uses the coffee cup stain, sorta like the logo I made for this place.

There's more information here. Looks like free coffee March 15th - oh wait that'd be today!- from 10-12...wonder if that's nationwide. Must be.
Anyway, the campaign includes outdoor, signage, wildpostings, newspaper, radio and OLA.

Those responsible for the work:
Creatives: Jen Nicolazzo, Sasha Swetschinski, Jed Alger, Danielle Flagg, Mattias Segerholt
Studio: Lisa Reinhardt, Mark Lundgren, Brian Unflat, Sef Mccullough, Lis Parker
Interactive: Bev Davis, Brian Unflat
Broadcast: Melanie Fedunok, Laurie Litonjua
Print Production: Denise Hanggi
Media: Lynn Mayo, Lisa Osborne, John Rowan, Danielle Pak
Project Management: Jane Monaghan

Labels: ad review, adgruntie, branding, campaign, coffee

Wednesday, March 14, 2007
[ Humpday game ]

+ You should try the Punctuation Game!!

Labels: copy, fun, sidetracks

[ Another eyeball study ]


+ Disel has an interesting study comparing flash to html (pdf).

Users who went to either the Flash site or the HTML site for information spent an average of two minutes longer (7:42) on the story than entertainment seekers (5:44)

Labels: adgruntie, media, web, work

[ Innocent Smoothies ads ]

+


which is part of a proposed integrated campaign:

Labels: adgruntie, commercial, creative, watch

[ Eyetracking ]

+ Eyetracking points the way to effective news article design has Online Journalism Review's design experts review usability research and offer suggestions on how you can make your online articles better connect with readers.

Some very interesting information and some somewhat logical stuff.

Changing the story presentation to text with:
- bulleted items
- subheadlines
- tighter writing
increased comprehension by 12 percent, with readers of the reformatted text indicating that they were more satisfied with the experience.

[snip]

Conyne recommends designers avoid the generic pictures that are often used just for the sake of having a picture.

"For example," she said, "if an article is about a signature meal at a restaurant, say a tuna dish, display a scrumptious-looking picture of the plate of food. Don't show a generic picture of a spoon and fork, as many sites do."

When photos do contain people related to the task at hand, or the content users are exploring, they do get fixations. However, gender makes a distinct difference on what parts of the photo are stared at the longest. Take a look at the hotspot below.

Although both men and women look at the image of George Brett when directed to find out information about his sport and position, men tend to focus on private anatomy as well as the face. For the women, the face is the only place they viewed.

Another related and just as interesting/relevant article titled F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content which looked at the way in which web users view pages.

- Users won't read your text thoroughly in a word-by-word manner. Exhaustive reading is rare, especially when prospective customers are conducting their initial research to compile a shortlist of vendors. Yes, some people will read more, but most won't.
- The first two paragraphs must state the most important information. There's some hope that users will actually read this material, though they'll probably read more of the first paragraph than the second.
- Start subheads, paragraphs, and bullet points with information-carrying words that users will notice when scanning down the left side of your content in the final stem of their F-behavior. They'll read the third word on a line much less often than the first two words.

This group will be at the The Usability Week 2007 Conference, which looks very interesting - I'd think about going - heck, the London one is closest too!

Labels: ad news, adgruntie, design, online advertising, web, work

[ Reading List for Lunch Time ]

+ Articles to go back and read from the NYTimes:
Viacom Sues Google Over Video Clips on Its Sharing Web Site

Decaf Being Joined by De-Heartburn

Critics to Marketers: Suicide Is No Joke

Labels: ad news, adgruntie

[ More money less display ads ]

+ Affluent skip display ads according to to JupiterResearch as reported by MediaPost.

Defined as those with annual household incomes over $100,000, affluent Internet users spend a median of 17 hours a week online. They also tend to visit more business and research sites than the overall population: 20% of affluent people visit business Web sites, compared with 11% of the general population; and 37% of affluent people conduct work-related research online, compared with 27% of non-affluent people.

Labels: adgruntie, media, web, work

[ Searching online ]

+ Online Product Searches Begin Offline is an eMarketer article with statistics that show consumers mostly search online after exposure to ads or products in magazines (47%) and newspapers (42%), on TV (43%) and while reading articles (44%).

Labels: ad news, adgruntie, media, web, work

[ Bravissimo uses real customers ]

+ Bravissimo breaks new ad campaign featuring the ladies who wear their bras.

The women, all different ages and sizes, have one thing in common – their boobs are DD or above, with their exact cup sizes proudly displayed in the TV and magazine ads which launched this week.

Bravissimo's Jo Lee says: "Our customers were saying they wanted normal women with normal shapes advertising our products so we listened to them." There are sure to be male fans of the bra-vellous new campaign out there too.

I have to wonder if they were inspired by the Dove campaign by Ogilvy...very similar concept. And it was well-known in ad circles.

Labels: ad news, adgruntie, branding, campaign

Tuesday, March 13, 2007
[ Smash Mag ]

+ Smashing Magazine's list of best of February 2007 sites and apps and web goodies. Worth checking out. Lots of other good things to check out too at Smash Magazine.

Learn Ruby on Rails -a basic crash course.

Labels: design, web

[ Cliche rotation project ]

+ The cliche rotation project is worth a peek for all you grammarians. Here are some of my faves:
Looking for a needle in a haystack = Trying to find a clock in a casino
It's a win-win situation. = Everyone gets ice cream!
Still waters run deep = Quiet squirrels have more nuts
Two-faced = Verbally
We'll cross that bridge when we come to it = We'll chop that tomato when the salsa runs out
Don't be a party-pooper = Don't squeeze out your grumpies in public

Labels: copy, fun

[ Ding ]

+ Sales guys get to ring bells when they close a deal in some offices. I think creatives should take that concept and ring a bell every time they come up with a killer idea. Perhaps not a bell, maybe one of those cows in a can or something "zany". ;)

Labels: adgruntie, creative, fun, work

[ Ruby on Rails ]

+ Ruby on Rails for the rest of us provides a nice overview.

Rails has three major goals:

* Simplicity: Developing applications should be easier, since many data-driven sites share a common set of parameters. For example, instead of focusing on writing code that will connect your application to a database, Rails handles all of that for you, thus allowing you to spend that time working with your actual application logic.
* Logical: Rails follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture for application development, which allows for a logical separation of your application logic, business rules, and user views. By keeping these things segregated, it not only makes initial development easy, it also makes updates and maintenance to your system quicker.
* Happiness: Since developing using Ruby on Rails strives to be simple and logical, it will in turn lead to a happy (and more productive) developer.

One my new webhaunts, Twitter.com, is built off Rails.

Labels: creative, design, web

Monday, March 12, 2007
[ Green ad icons! ]

+ Tom Fishburne's Brand Camp cartoon of the week.

Labels: adgruntie, creative, culture, fun

Friday, March 09, 2007
[ Eye candy for a Friday afternoon ]

+ 50 ads you haven't seen - or at least some you might not have seen. (found via digg)

Labels: adgruntie, creative, print

[ Consumer since 1940 ]

+ Check this out over at the blurber - someone sent in a CV or something.

Labels: adgruntie, copy, creative, fun

[ Rachael Ray To Shill For Dunkin Donuts ]

+ Once upon a time I used to like Rachael Ray. She was cute and fun to watch. But now, her shows multiplylike frolicking rabbits and she's sticking all her fingers into the pie - books, magazine, talk show, etc - I feel like she's maxed out her welcome, for me at least. Last November her face popped up on every box of Ritz and Triscuts as she became the shill lady for Nabisco crackers.
I just read that she's now going to appear in the next ad campaign for Dunkin' Donuts. That news makes me want to bash my head against my desk. Damn you Hill Holliday!

Boston-based Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos - Dunkin Donut's long-time ad agency - will create the campaign which will include TV, print, radio, online, in-store marketing and personal appearances on behalf of the brand.

Besides starring in TV spots, Ray will also lend her culinary perspective to the Dunkin' Donuts culinary team in the development of new, healthier options for food and beverages.

Oh goodie - I hope that means they aren't going to try to sell Smoothies with massive amounts of sugar and try to pass it off as "healthy". Or coronary breakfast on a bagel - mmmm - but it's got maple sausage!

I have to say I won't be sad to see the last campaign go away though - the spots that featured quirky jingles about Dunkin' coffee, specialty drinks and snacks, by They Might be Giants. There were a couple good ones in the campaign and some really annoying ones and they aired ALL THE TIME! And I'm sure we'll get bombarded just as hard with this new campaign. woo.

Labels: ad news, adgruntie, branding, commercial, creative

Thursday, March 08, 2007
[ Graveyard of rejected ads ]

+ Best Rejected Advertising.com
(via Coudal: http://69.36.40.53/archives/2007/03/rejected.php)

Labels: adgruntie, commercial, creative, outdoor, print

Wednesday, March 07, 2007
[ Kick the bum out ]

+This just might be the edgiest online education banner ad I've ever seen. Found on hotmail.com

Labels: adgruntie, creative, online advertising, web

Tuesday, March 06, 2007
[ Table for comps ]

+ Holy crap this table is super cool - and expensive!

Labels: adgruntie, creative, design

Monday, March 05, 2007
[ Cavemen have it good ]

+ Geico caveman might get his own show on ABC.

The potential series, being worked out with Geico's shop, Interpublic Group of Cos.' Martin Agency, would focus on three cavemen who have found themselves repeatedly humiliated by Geico's tagline: "So easy a caveman can do it."

They've been branching out for a while. In January, Joe Dyton -- so named by Geico's in-house group, which created the website -- opened up his apartment to the world at CavemansCrib.com. On Super Bowl Sunday he played golf with CBS's lead NFL analyst, Phil Simms. Weeks later he was walking the red carpet at the Oscars and interviewing the likes of Jon Voight and Richard Dreyfus for CelebTV.com at an after-party.

Labels: ad news, adcreep, adgruntie