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

Thursday, May 31, 2007
[ Morning Reading ]

+ Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Things have been a whirlwind.

Here's some interesting links to read:

In a joint letter to the FTC and the Justice Department, the 4A's and the ANA made it clear that marketplace restriction is one of the possible implications of the $11 billion wave of online advertising mergers and acquisitions.

Coors Leverages Dudes' Fear Of Embarrassment In Keystone Ads.

Online, Keystone Light is buying space on Break.com, where consumers will be able to post user-generated videos of embarrassing moments through Aug. 25.

In the new television spots, Keystone Light drinkers will be seen getting into unsmooth situations while trying to impress women in the beer aisle of a convenience store. The brand has also unveiled attention-grabbing billboards that appear to be posted upside down.

"Men in Grocery Stores" Study Finds Men Bamboozled By Choices In Supermarkets.

For marketers and retailers, Putnam thinks one of the main messages is that sometimes, "there are just too many choices. More is not really more--it's just overwhelming. Supermarkets that can do a better job of editing will be more engaging to men."

Quiznos looks for new shop after splitting with O&M Chicago.

Absolut Sad - new campaign for Absolut is dumb.

Under pressure from animal rights advocates, two soft drink giants, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, have agreed to stop directly financing research that uses animals to test or develop their products, except where such testing is required by law. - Wow, I never thought of soda comapanies doing animal testing.

Labels: ad news, adgruntie

Monday, May 28, 2007
[ Bob Isherwood on advertising ]

+ An interview with Bob Isherwood, worldwide creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi.

Q: Consumers are saturated with advertising these days. How can agencies break through that ennui?

A: In our industry, it's all about reinvention. This is a great time for creative people. Creativity doesn't change, what changes are the tools and the means to express it. We have computer technology.

In this world, the consumer has become lost. Mass marketing is kind of over. Personalized marketing is the way it is now. People are increasingly able to block out and ignore the messages they don't want. The industry has to move from a model of intrusion.

Advertising has always been about intruding -- barging our way into your living room. It has to move to a model of attraction, by offering messages that people want to seek out by giving people something new.

We did a spot in Denmark for Quicksilver. A bomb went off in a lake, creating a huge explosion. A kid then surfed across the lake. We got 22 million hits on that. That's the way it has to be done.

Q: Those types of quirky spots seem as if they could just as easily flop as make a tremendous splash. How do you know something like that is going to be a hit or not?

A: Our starting point is love marks -- brands that have loyalty beyond reason. It's not just about a quirky ad. It's about every touch point for a brand.

Saatchi & Saatchi wants to turn shoppers into buyers. We've designed the store of the future for Wal-Mart in Plano, Texas. It's about making it easier for shoppers to navigate the store and making it a more interesting experience.

We also invented a new sport that we launched last year in Madrid called ''Battle of the Surfaces.'' It was about which is better: clay or grass courts for tennis. Half the court was grass, half was clay. We had Federer vs. Nadine. We had an audience of 250 million people on Fox. It got a lot of sponsors.

Labels: ad news, adgruntie, wisdom

Saturday, May 26, 2007
[ Consumer-created ads ain't cheaper ]

+ From the NYTimes: The High Price of Creating Free Ads

Consumer brand companies have been busy introducing campaigns like Heinz's that rely on user-generated content, an approach that combines the populist appeal of reality television with the old-fashioned gimmick of a sweepstakes to select a new advertising jingle. Pepsi, Jeep, Dove and Sprint have all staged promotions of this sort, as has Doritos, which proudly publicized in February that the consumers who made one of its Super Bowl ad did so on a $12 budget.

But these companies have found that inviting consumers to create their advertising is often more stressful, costly and time-consuming than just rolling up their sleeves and doing the work themselves. Many entries are mediocre, if not downright bad, and sifting through them requires full-time attention. And even the most well-known brands often spend millions of dollars upfront to get the word out to consumers.

Some people, meanwhile, have been using the contests as an opportunity to scrawl digital graffiti on the sponsor and its brand. Rejected Heinz submissions have been showing up on YouTube anyway, and visitors to Heinz's page on the site have written that the ketchup maker is clearly looking for "cheap labor" and that Heinz is "lazy" to ask consumers to do its marketing work.

"That's kind of a popular misnomer that, somehow, it's cheaper to do this," said David Ciesinski, vice president for Heinz Ketchup. "On the contrary, it's at least as expensive, if not more."

Heinz hopes to show more than five of them, if there are enough that convey a positive, appealing message about Heinz ketchup, he said. But advertising executives who have seen some of the entries say that Heinz may be hard pressed to find any that it is proud to run on television in September.

"These are just so bad," said Linda Kaplan Thaler, chief executive of the Kaplan Thaler Group, an advertising agency in New York that is not involved with Heinz's contest.

Scott Goodson, chief executive of StrawberryFrog, an advertising agency based in New York, said the shortcomings of contest entries — not just those for Heinz — refuted predictions that user-generated content might siphon work away from agencies. “This Heinz campaign, much like the same ones done by Doritos, Converse and Dodge, only goes to show how hard it is to do great advertising,” he said.

Labels: adbiz, adgruntie, branding, campaign, consumer-generated, creative

Thursday, May 24, 2007
[ Cup of Java is now 5! ]


+ Scary, but yesterday Cup of Java marked it's 5th year of existence! I was going to post something about it yesterday, but work kinda got in the way. But, oh well, now is as good as on the exact day. :)

Thanks to all my regular readers for popping by. I'm glad you enjoy the bits and bobs I post about. It's weird, but it feels like I've been doing this longer than 5 years (I think that's because before I found blogger, I was using livejournal for a bit before I really got "into" blogging.) Thanks to Dabitch for her help and motivation back in the day. :) Good god, why does it sound like I'm giving an acceptance speach? Blech.

Anway, good readers of COJ, that is all. Thanks!

Labels: Cup of Java

Wednesday, May 23, 2007
[ Sweet Design Table ]

+ Is this the future of Art Direction/Graphic Design?

Awesome New Concept! - The most amazing videos are a click away
(hat tip D at nitmesh.com)

Labels: adgruntie, creative, design, watch

Tuesday, May 22, 2007
[ Overheard on the Train - Tuesday morn. ]

+ On my way into work this morning, I had the privilage of sitting next to two fellas who were having a very "intellectual" conversation on the environment and studies done - I was rather impressed until I heard one of them say, "Until we can find our comfortability..." I nearly laughed outloud. Has anyone heard that word used in that way? I found a definition on wiki but that's it.

What's the strangest bastardization of language you've overheard lately?

Labels: copy, life, local

Saturday, May 19, 2007
[ Live Free or Die Hard ]

+ I am a huge fan of the Die Hard movies...and Bruce Willis. This morning I discovered the trailer for Live Free or Die Hard. It definitely looks to live up to the action-packed fun of the prior movies as seen from this bit of the trailer.

"You just killed a helicopter with a car!"
"I was out of bullets."
Yippy Ki-yay Mo-Fo!!

Movie opens June 27th.

Extra bonus - yes, that is Kevin Smith at the end of the trailer.

If you go to the microsite at LiveFreeorDieHard.com they are running a contest where you could "win a chance to meet Bruce Willis in Second Life". Oy.

Labels: fun, life, watch

Thursday, May 17, 2007
[ Bring the love back ]

+ Brandflakesforbreakfast points out "The Break Up" between the advertiser (who looks a bit like Tom Cruise's brother or stand in or something) and the consumer which takes place at a restaurant. The poster to DailyMotion says "Go and have a look at bringtheloveback." You also might be surprised at the logos you see at the end. ;)

Labels: ad news, adgruntie, campaign, creative, watch, web

Wednesday, May 16, 2007
[ Ceiling space equals more free association ]

+ Is this why shops in lofts tend to do better work? Ceiling Height Can Affect How A Person Thinks, Feels And Acts. (via kottke.org)

"When a person is in a space with a 10-foot ceiling, they will tend to think more freely, more abstractly," said Meyers-Levy. "They might process more abstract connections between objects in a room, whereas a person in a room with an 8-foot ceiling will be more likely to focus on specifics."

The research demonstrates that variations in ceiling height can evoke concepts that, in turn, affect how consumers process information. The authors theorized that when reasonably salient, a higher versus a lower ceiling can stimulate the concepts of freedom versus confinement, respectively. This causes people to engage in either more free-form, abstract thinking or more detail-specific thought. Thus, depending on what the task at hand requires, the consequences of the ceiling could be positive or negative.

Labels: adbiz, adgruntie, creative, wisdom

[ Old Spice cover of Hungry Like the Wolf ]

+Bruce Campbell does Duran Duran's Hungry Like the Wolf


print and more via WKStudio.

Labels: adgruntie, commercial, watch

[ Mountain Dew makes Green Label Art ]

+ Back in 2005, Coca Cola launched a line of five collectable aluminum bottles called the Magnificent 5 or M5, designed by some of the top graphic design studios around the world, which were to be sold only at the hippest nightclubs.



Yesterday, Pepsi Co's Mountain Dew launched a microsite promoting its new Green Label Art project, which is pretty much the same thing. Green Label Art features the individual artists, and includes a video of them showing what they do, which is nice. Additionally, they are running a contest for people to submit their own designs (deadline June 30th) which will be voted on by the public and the winner will get $10,000 plus have their bottle produced.

Seems like Pepsi is in a design phase as they also have a Design your Pepsi Can promo going on (hat tip Clay)

Labels: ad news, adgruntie, branding, online advertising, web

[ Citibank's new campaign to git 'er done ]


+ Citibank recently launched a new campaign with a new tagline, "Let's get it done." Every time I hear it all I can think of is "Get 'er done".

Watch the new Citi TV spot here by Seattle-based Publicis West.

Here's the microsite for the campaign launch.

The original get 'er done video, also a phrase used by Larry the Cable Guy.

Funny write up about the campaign at dealbreaker.com.

The Adweek write up ends with this bit of drivel:

The spot offers something for everyone, from the parent who worries about funding his kid's education to the CEO merging a company. The opening and closing shots of the cute little boy in the blue raincoat letting go of his mom's hand and going off on his own is endearing and reminiscent of childhood dreams and making the future reality. The tagline is actionable and may just make people believe that Citi is the partner they've been looking for. After all, it's not about what you're dreaming, but what you're going to do.

So, let's see, they are saying that:
1) Citibank is trying to be all things to all people - breaking rule #1 of good branding/marketing.
2) Tagline is actionable - true but it's less punchy than it should be to be actionable. And I'd think that something more along the lines of "We help you get it done" would have been much better - implying they are there for you - let's get it done could easily mean let's take all your money and charge you ridiculous amounts of interest so we can make a profit. ;)
3) Probably not intentional but at least the TV spot and idea of dreams/future to reality idea is basically the same concept Bank of America is using in their new campaign "Bank of Opportunity" - click link to see the ads.

And for fun, here's a BOA commercial from the 1950s produced at John Hubley's Storyboard, boarded and designed by Hubley and Bob Guidi, and animated by Rod Scribner:

(via the very neat Cartoon Modern which is a blog for the book Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in Fifties Animation.)

Labels: ad review, adgruntie, branding, campaign, commercial, watch

Tuesday, May 15, 2007
[ It's barely there ]

+ Go watch the viral video for Barely There. Great animation and a fun little ditty. By Loose Moose and The Martin Agency.

Labels: adgruntie, branding, commercial, copy, online advertising, watch, web

[ Usability and Web 2.0 ]

+ Is Web 2.0 neglecting good design? Jakob Nielsen says yes.

Describing Web 2.0 as the "latest fashion", Mr Nielsen said many sites paying attention to it were neglecting some of the principles of good design and usability established over the last decade.
[snip]
Research suggests that users of a site split into three groups. One that regularly contributes (about 1%); a second that occasionally contributes (about 9%); and a majority who almost never contribute (90%).

By definition, said Mr Nielsen, only a small number of users are likely to make significant use of all the tools a site provides.

While some sites with particular demographics, such as MySpace, Facebook and Bebo, have large involved communities of users that will not hold true for all sites, he said.

"Most people just want to get in, get it and get out," said Mr Nielsen. "For them the web is not a goal in itself. It is a tool."

Labels: online advertising, social networking, web, wisdom

Monday, May 14, 2007
[ One Show winners up ]

+ One Show 2007 Winners Showcase is up if you want to check out the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners.

Labels: ad award, adgruntie

[ Randomness ]

+ Twittervision is hypnotic enough - but now there's Flickrvision!

Mr Toast is cute.

At the food timeline they have an interesting resource with links to information about brands with people's names. Was Dr. Pepper real?

Also, did ya know there was a DrPepper Museum? Yup. They've even got a blog (watch out for slighly garrish colors) and podcasts to boot.

Hill Holliday won the $90 million Toys 'R Us account. Good on ya. About time Boston agencies start winning some nice juicy accounts. :)

Labels: adgruntie, branding, food, sidetracks

[ Kraft pitch requirements are insane ]

+ Kraft's ad review for the Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles, Ritz, Triscuit and Grey Poupon brands has given some of the participating agencies a nasty bout of indigestion.

The unpalatable lump: A demand that the shops give up ownership of ideas presented in the review -- but accept legal liability should the marketer end up using those ideas at some later date.

Although it's become increasingly common for marketers to include the unpopular stipulation that agencies surrender rights to anything pitched in a review, the notion that a losing shop might be sued for an idea they presented was just too much -- even for agency executives who've found themselves knuckling under increasingly draconian review requirements from marketers rather than risk losing out on an important account.

It appears even Kraft may have belatedly come to that realization. This week, as Ad Age was reporting on its review agreements, the marketer gave the impression it was backing down. "We're in the process of refining our agency-pitch requirements," said Kraft spokeswoman Renee Zahery, who declined to offer specifics. "Kraft values the relationships we have within the advertising community and wants to be fair. ... We realized these practices needed to be adjusted to align more closely with industry standards."

Duh...you think? Come on.

Tom Finneran, 4A's exec VP-management services, described the idea of agencies retaining legal liability for the work they pitched as "totally outrageous." He added: "We are talking to members about the best practices ... and we recommend that agencies should preserve ownership of ideas and work product. ... On the issue of indemnification, we recommend that agencies seek counsel from their attorneys."

It's not the first and won't be the last time agencies have been asked to fork over all their ideas in a review. Back in 2005, Hilton Hotels caused a stink when it demanded agencies vying for its $40 million creative account sign over rights to ideas pitched even if they didn't win the business and offered no compensation.

In the Kraft situation, the food marketer is paying contenders "about 25 grand," according to one agency executive. Ms. Zahery would not comment. Agencies' beef with Kraft, however, was over the liability clause, not over whether they're paid a stipend for ideas or expenses -- although most agree that $25,000 is just a token, not even enough to pay the bill for the research required on a big-ticket brand pitch.

The idea of remuneration for pitches is something that has been evaluated in recent years. Many design and advertising groups around the world have been working to create policies that will create a happy medium for all parties involved in new biz pitches.

Agencies say work developed for a competitive review is intended as speculative, not finished product, making it even more important that they're not held liable for it if they're not executing it. "It's supposed to demonstrate a process -- how an agency works. It's something that can be pursued further in the event that a client and agency work together," Mr. Finneran said. In a pitch, agencies have neither time nor money to fully vet creative by ascertaining rights for photos or whatever else is necessary. "Due diligence hasn't been done," Mr. Finneran said.

Rick Kurnit, partner, Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein & Selz, who regularly advises agencies on contracts with marketers, said: "In today's world, where there are 300 consumer touch points, there's no way to know how the materials themselves may be repurposed and used beyond what the scope of the initial project was." Agencies have little appetite for having to assume legal liability for work that's not finished advertising and could be used in any number of formats.

Another issue, agencies say, is that agreeing to transfer ownership of ideas and strategy presented in a pitch exposes them to unnecessary risk. How can an agency that's sold an idea to a marketer be certain that the idea will never be published by anyone but the buyer? "Ideas aren't protected by copyright," Mr. Kurnit said. "Only the execution is protected. It's almost silly for a client to expect that it is an enforceable agreement."

Perhaps this thinking is due to the rash of consumer-generated ad/ideas/concepts of late and so then they feel they need to have the legal side backed up - by why make it the responsibility of a company that 1) you did not choose to work with and 2) has no idea of the way in which you will be using the concepts and ideas that were presented? Most work in pitches requires some smoothing before it goes out into the real world. It's just barmy.

And at least now, apparently after some "advice" from the AAAAs, Kraft is adjusting it's requirements. A part of that is probably due to the fact that no agency would touch that pitch with a 10 foot pole with requirements like that.

Labels: ad news, adbiz, adgruntie, controversy

[ Is your brand part of ritual? ]

+ BBDO recently released a study titled "The Ritual Masters", which took 9 months and involved ethnographic research in 26 countries, 2,500 hours of documented and filmed behavior, quantitative feedback from more than 5,000 people, and interviews with psychologists, nutritionists and sociologists.

Andrew Robertson, President and CEO, BBDO Worldwide said, "The idea here is to look at rituals as an important behavior in consumers' lives, to understand what they are, how they work, and how to work our clients' brands into them. We usually look at behavior through the lens of a brand or a category. This is an extra lens to look through. Not an alternative."

According to the BBDO study, rituals are a defined series of actions
that move people emotionally from one place to another. Rituals are
sequences that are developed over time. Rituals make people feel good. While there may be bad habits, there are no bad rituals.

It was BBDO's going-in belief that by better understanding rituals, new insights might be uncovered that could change behavior and unlock business-building ideas. For example, those brands that are already embedded inside a ritual enjoy great "stickiness" with consumers. These are called "Fortress Brands." The goal of the BBDO study was to uncover insights that could help move a clients' brands inside.

"What we found is that people are more alike than different, which is great news for marketers," remarked Tracy Lovatt, Director of Behavioral Planning for BBDO New York and BBDO North America and one of the architects of the study. "Emotionally, rituals are critical to people everywhere in the world. They help transform us from one emotional state to another, for example, from your private sleepy self every morning to your 'warrior ready to take on the world' self. We all repeat a series of steps to help us make that transformation. What varies from country to country is the execution."

As a result, the BBDO study focused on the five rituals that are
performed most often by most people throughout the world. These include:
Preparing for battle: transforming us from the cocoon to "ready to face the day";
Research showed: 89% of people rely on the same brands when performing this sequence, and three out of four people become disappointed/irritated when their sequence is disrupted or their brand of choice is not available. That's because the morning ritual is all about being prepared and gaining control in order to face the day.

Feasting: the pleasure of eating that "reunites us with our tribes," transforming us from alone to connected;
Research showed: It's important that people also feel a sense of involvement in the preparation of a meal. It's part of the emotional transformation.

Sexing up: a highly pleasurable and indulgent ritual, though not without stress (particularly for women), that transforms us from our everyday selves to our most fabulous selves;
Research showed: Bottom line: when "sexing up," people are transforming from their normal to most confident selves. They use special products to make themselves feel special.

Returning to camp: that moment when we unwind and exhale, transforming us from tense to relaxed;
Research showed: Bottom line: there is an opportunity for those brands that can contribute to a sense of relaxation, calm, self-satisfaction and at ease.

Protecting yourself for the future: that last ritual of the day that moves us from relaxed to feeling safe and secure before the next day comes around;
Research showed: Four out of five people become irritated when their products are not available - levels comparable to preparing for battle. Bottom line: brands play an important role in the ritual of helping someone feel safe and secure and protected for the future.

The conclusion from the study states: "There is an opportunity for brands to become more emotionally connected with consumers through understanding the transformation that is taking place in any given ritual and the role that a brand can play in that transformation. Implications can take the form of packaging to positioning, advertising, promotions and product development."

Labels: adbiz, adgruntie, culture, life, wisdom

Friday, May 11, 2007
[ Happily Ever After at WaMu ]

+ WaMu Mortgage mircosite plays with the concept of Happily Ever After using a popup story book. Work by Avenue A | Razorfish.
(via usermonkey)

Labels: adgruntie, branding, online advertising, web

[ Brands and video contests at youtube ]

+ Heinz wants you to make an ad for them at tophtisTV.com and topthisTVchallenge. Similarly, Malibu Rum is looking for people to recreate their rendition of the Banana Boat Song (Day-O), remixed by acclaimed DJ, RJD2.

Labels: adgruntie, branding, commercial, consumer-generated, contest

[ Gates/Ballmer spoof VW DaDaDa spot ]

+ This is definitely old, but this is the first time I've seen it...I think.

Labels: adgruntie, watch

[ 118 118 goes Flashdance ]

+ Yet another 118 118 advert created by WCRS:

(via Hidden)

Labels: adgruntie, commercial, watch

Thursday, May 10, 2007
[ Research says...Diet Pepsi ads ]

+ I really like Diet Pepsi's new ads. Check them out at DietPepsi.com - once there click on "Watch the TV ads".

I like Jingle, Little More, and Politically Correct - the 90210 I don't get unless it's to do with a tie-in with the DVD release or something, otherwise seems sorta a strange thing to pick.

Labels: ad review, adgruntie, branding, campaign, commercial, web

[ A Summer Classic for Drumstick ]

+Publicis Mojo Melbourne created this spot for Nestle Drumstick which ran in the summer months down under (read: Dec/Jan)

Labels: adgruntie, commercial, watch

[ iVillage wants you to "village" ]

+ Yesterday on adlist, Clay pointed out iVillage.com's tagline, "Let's Village". Since when is "village" a verb? And how exactly does one make it a verb? It seems like a quite obvious take on CP+B's "Let's Motor" for Mini. But it lacks the style and social intelligence of Mini's tag. Unless the women of iVillage have started their own lingo, which in that one extreme I suppose it would be less rediciulous - it still doesn't resonate with those outside the circle. And I'm sure people internally got all hot and bothered over the brilliance of their line.

It seems to me that it's an attempt to rally the troops that the site is a social network. And with the plethora of social network sites popping up (I've lost count of how many I belong to - and rarely ever visit most of them), I suppose I can understand that. But you'd think there is a better way to get that idea across rather than turning a noun into a verb in a way that makes no sense.

Just imagine taglines like:
Verizon - Let's Telephone
Dell - Let's Computer
GE - Let's Light
Burger King - Let's Burger
Stop & Shop - Let's Grocery
Comcast - Let's TV or Let's Internet
Swatch - Let's Time
Sealy - Let's Bed
Staples - Let's Office
H&M - Let's Clothes

Labels: ad review, adgruntie, copy

[ UK's most controversial ads of 2006 ]

+ The British ASA has released the top 10 most controversial ads of 2006. They include:

1. Gay Police Association: 553 complaints - upheld
A national press ad pictured a Bible - in order to highlight a religious motivation behind homophobic incidents. Attracting complaints from such bodies as Christian Watch and the Evangelical Alliance Christian groups, the ad was perceived as offensive to Christians and discriminatory in tone.

2. HM Revenues and Customs: 271 complaints - not upheld
A national press ad depicting what appeared to be a self-employed plumber evading tax by hiding under the kitchen sink. The ad attracted complaints from a number of organisations and members of the public who considered that the ad implied self-employed people - plumbers in particular - were tax-evaders and was thus both misleading and offensive.

3. Dolce & Gabbana: 166 complaints - upheld
D&G's national press ad attracted complaints from those concerned about its glamorisation of knives and violence. One of the ads had appeared opposite a news article about a knife crime.

4. Motorola Ltd: 160 complaints - not upheld
Complainants protested that this national press ad for a mobile phone was offensive and irresponsible, condoning knife-related violence and glamorising sexual violence.

5. Carphone Warehouse: 145 complaints - upheld
Complaints were received from competitors and members of the public about the lack of clarity and the potentially misleading statements in television and national press campaign, mostly its "free forever" claim.

6. French Connection Group plc: 127 complaints - not justified
French Connection's television ad featured a martial-arts contest between two women, symbolising the competition between fashion and style, which concluded with a kiss.

7. Channel 5 Broadcasting Ltd t/a Five US: 99 complaints - not upheld
Channel 5's strikingly simple poster campaign was deemed by a number of people as racist towards Americans and socially irresponsible in that it could incite racial violence.

8. Kellogg Company of GB Ltd: 96 complaints - not upheld
Objections to a Kellogg's television ad featuring a man riding a dog, claimed that it portrayed cruelty to animals and would encourage viewers to try the same stunt at home.

9. National Federation of Cypriots: 93 complaints - upheld
This regional press advertising feature drew complaints from a human rights organisation, concerned it was offensive to the Turkish community and likely to incite racial hatred.

10. Dolce & Gabbana: 89 complaints - not upheld
Complaints into D&G's television ad, which showed a brief kiss between two males, ranged from protestations that it was unsuitable for children to objections that ads showing two men kissing were unacceptable at any time.

Read the entire report here [opens PDF].

Labels: ad news, adgruntie, controversy

[ Delta Airlines back on its feet. ]

+ Jaffe challenges Delta, which has a twitter account. Weird.

Labels: ad news, adgruntie, branding, twitter

[ Show a human side in your emails ]

+ How human are you in your email communications? Email Insider doesn't think most retailers come across as very human in their emails. He defines "human" as using a person with a name telling subscribers something.

By my estimation, about one in six major online retailers tracked via RetailEmail.Blogspot regularly has a person with a name telling subscribers something. That was my threshold for being human -- the person needed to have a name that was mentioned in the email. So models don't count, and copy that sounds very conversational doesn't count, either.

There's an even smaller group of retailers that almost always has a human voice in its emails. That group consists of the Sportsman's Guide, which always carries a folksy message from Gary Olen, the founder of The Sportsman's Guide; TigerDirect, whose emails are signed by Carl Fiorentino, the very enthusiastic president of TigerDirect.com; and Crutchfield, whose emails are signed by Bill Crutchfield and regularly feature pictures of staff members with products.

Do you need to show a human face in every email? I don't think so, but I do think that giving readers some face time every once in a while helps them bond with your brand. Need some ideas on how do to this? Here are a few.

1. Let your product experts make picks and give advice. Someone on your team has product expertise and insight that readers will find interesting and useful. For example, Tom Rosenbauer, the marketing director of Orvis Rod & Tackle, is a 10-time author and fly-fishing expert. In an April 13 email with the subject line "Rosenbauer's tips and top picks," Rosenbauer talks about his favorite rods, new gear that he likes and gives a little advice about saltwater fly fishing. Similarly, Neiman Marcus' fashion director, Ken Downing, issues his Runway Reports from various major fashion shows around the world, and HSN taps its hosts to inject some personality into its emails.

2. Call in outside experts and celebrities. For instance, Spiegel likes to have guest stylists recommend and comment on outfits constructed from Spiegel's assortment. In an April 28 email with the subject line "Stylist Advice: The Secrets to Creating Your Own Look + 20% Savings!" the retailer had celebrity stylist Wayne Scot Lukas made recommendations. (Wayne Scot Lukas also showed up in a March 29 HSN email.) American Eagle Outfitters has brought in celebrity talent for its recent GradSpeak series, which features inspirational graduation speech-like letters from people like The Rock, Bethany Hamilton and Matt Leinart.

3. Tap consumer-generated content. As the MySpace/YouTube generation grows in financial power, retailers will need to reach out to consumers more for content and brand participation. Zappos, which publishes its Daily Shoe Digest newsletter based entirely on material written by its passionate customers, is already doing this. American Eagle has been active here as well, setting up AESpringBreak.com to connect with its young target audience using video clips, photos and a blog that cover its spring break parties and concerts in Cancun and Acapulco. The company is using its email newsletter to make sure that subscribers know about this special site.

Although many major online retailers are adopting this way of thinking, there are still quite a few that would rather hide behind their product assortments and continue to engage in faceless mass marketing. I think that will change by necessity.

Labels: adbiz, adgruntie, email, online advertising, web

Wednesday, May 09, 2007
[ Premium and generic brands from the same mother company ]

+ 101 Brand Names, 1 Marketer from the WSJ looks at how in many cases one company produces multiple brands that compete against one another in the same categories, which stems from the pet food recall event.

But often the main difference is marketing -- and price -- and that can be hard to sustain once products are perceived as commodities. A recent survey by GfK Roper found that 54% of respondents weren't aware before the recall that both premium and standard pet food brands were made by the same supplier. Knowing this, 26% said they were less likely to buy premium pet food, though 60% said it made no difference.

"The sheer magnitude of how many branded products come from one source erodes the whole basic premise of what branding is in the eyes of the consumer -- they feel duped," says Eli Portnoy, who heads Portnoy Group Inc., a Los Angeles-based brand-strategy firm.

What's more, when many brands are made by the same manufacturer and a problem occurs, it's harder for consumers to find a safe substitute.

The growth of contract manufacturing reflects a number of changes in manufacturing and retailing. Decades ago, most branded products were actually made by the company that owned the brands. But over the past 20 years, many big retailers have tried to differentiate themselves from competitors by offering private-label brands, which they needed to have manufactured by outsiders.

Meanwhile, consumer-product makers, facing competition from store brands, sought to increase efficiencies by making private-label versions of their own branded products, or by outsourcing their manufacturing to third parties that could do it more cheaply.

Some consumer-product companies have been forced to make both generic and branded products to please retailers. "If a major manufacturer is unwilling to produce private-label products, there's a possibility the retailer won't sell their branded products," says Burt Flickinger III, who has advised companies such as Alcoa, Del Monte Foods and Heinz on how to better manage their branded and private-label businesses. Alcoa, which owns aluminum wrap maker Reynolds, for instance, makes both private-label and Reynolds aluminum foil and plastic wrap.

Making both private-label and brand-name products does give manufacturers a hedge against downturns. But, says Jack Trout, president of Trout & Partners, a marketing strategy firm in Old Greenwich, Conn., "If the public begins to get the perception that there's not much difference, then you can't hold your prices -- that's the bottom line of the whole [pet food] scandal." He adds, "Commoditization is the real enemy of branding."

Labels: ad news, adgruntie, branding

Tuesday, May 08, 2007
[ Brand extensions for Aquafina and Carefree ]

+ Who would have thought the next logical step for brand expansion for bottled water would be foaming cleanser, a clarifying toner and a facial scrub. In a way, I'd be less surprised if it came from Evian or some other high-priced water. But this is Aquafina, a Pepsi-Co. product, which makes it more odd, IMHO.

"It's a leap and a half from the core product, but there is definitely a connection," said Charles Riotto, president at International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Assn., New York. "People associate Aquafina with purity, which is the type of thing consumers would look for in facial cleansers."

The move helps extend the Aquafina brand name from the beverage aisle to the cosmetics aisle, Riotto affirmed. "Plus the brand name will now pop up in other places of the house. One of the main benefits of licensing is to build more awareness for the brand, not to mention the royalties from the revenue stream."

Another brand that recently extended its product line is Carefree. Known for ages for making pantyliners, they have now jumped into the hair removal fray. Since this the season for breaking out the shorts, I have been paying more attention to the hair removal spots of late. And yesterday I saw a commercial for the Carefree product. At first I thought it was odd, but perhaps they just happened to have the same name. Today I was at the market for weekly provisions and decided to look at the packaging. It's the same pink flower deal as on their pantyliner products.

But what is more odd is that either my google-fu is way off or their site for the hair removal line doesn't exist yet. Perhaps some genius decided to build it all out in flash so that no search engine could find it. But even still. I couldn't even find any press releases on it either or anything at all on the Johnson & Johnson site (the parent co). Granted I only spent a few minutes searching, but, you'd think product extension would warrant some chest thumping. *shrug* At least the packaging for the hair removal stuff is less pink than their other pantyliner packaging. You know, because pink=girls/women. Ugh.

Labels: ad news, adgruntie, branding

[ Vintage ads can be scary ]

+ I've probably pointed to this before but check out these vintage ads. Two of the more odd ones below. (via neatorama, via weirdomatic)

Labels: adgruntie, classic ad, design, print

[ Need energy? Drink Cocaine. ]

+ As if the makers of the energy drink, Cocaine, had no idea that the name of the drink might cause some problems for them - or perhaps that was part of the original plan.

"Hey and if someone has a problem with it, we can push the whole PR machine to work for us to create some free advertising!"

The FDA cited as evidence the drink's labeling and website, which included the statements "Speed in a Can," "Liquid Cocaine" and "Cocaine -- Instant Rush." The company says Cocaine contains no drugs and is marketed as an energy drink. It has been sold since last August in at least a dozen states.

"Of course, we intended for Cocaine energy drink to be a legal alternative the same way that celibacy is an alternative to premarital sex," Ivey said. "It's not the same thing and no one thinks it is. Our product doesn't have any cocaine in it. No one thinks that it does. We think it is most likely legal in the United States to ship our product."

Ivey said the FDA did not order the company to stop marketing the drink, but officials were concerned about possible legal action. They will announce a new name within a week and hope to have the product back on store shelves within a few weeks.

"What we would like to do is continue to fight to keep the name because it's clearly the name that's the problem," Ivey said. "What we can't do is distribute our product when regulators in the states and the FDA are saying that if you do this, you could go to jail."

It would be an interesting product to brand. Heck, with a name like Cocaine, you'd have some easy fodder to work from.

Labels: ad news, adgruntie, branding

[ AIDES - My Boy Lollipop ]

+ More great work from Wilfrid Brimo and TBWA Paris for AIDES Awareness.

Labels: adgruntie, campaign, commercial, watch

Monday, May 07, 2007
[ Vegas asks folks to make their ads ]

+ From Brandweek:

Starting May 4, budding talent can upload a 30- to 60-second video spot to CineVegas.com/vegascom with their depiction of what that next commercial should be for the Sin City travel Web site. There is a warning however. "While nudity may be a core competency of Sin City, it won't get you a spot as a finalist here," states a Vegas.com press release.
[snip]
A panel of celebrities, Vegas honchos and affiliates of the CineVegas Film Festival, which highlights offerings from up-and-coming talent as well as veterans, will select five entries. Those finalists will be flown to the CineVegas Film Festival at the Palms Hotel and Casino on June 6-16. The winner will be chosen and receive $5,000 and the opportunity to direct their ad. The deadline for submissions is May 25.

Labels: adgruntie, commercial, consumer-generated, contest

[ Brides - get your dress at Target ]

+Yes, you read that right. Sunday, Target unveiled its first wedding-dress collection by Isaac Mizrahi. The company describes the Isaac Mizrahi for Target bridal collection (the designer's first foray into wedding duds) as "affordable luxury" and "reinventions of the classics," priced from $9.99 to $159.99.

Labels: ad news, design, life

Friday, May 04, 2007
[ Cinema ad winners ]

+ You can check out the nominees for the Cinema Ad Council awards. Winners were announced April 24th at the 3rd Annual Marquee Marketing at the Movies event in New York City.From Shootonline:

Topping the regional or national commercial category was Coca-Cola's "Happiness Factory" from Wieden+Kennedy, followed by Hyundai USA's "Life Shapes" out of The Richards Group, and Yahoo!'s "Garden" via Ogilvy & Mather.
The top integrated cinema advertising campaign was National Guard's "Citizen Soldier" from LM&O Advertising, followed by NBC Universal's "Heroes/iTunes" via The NBC Agency, and Verizon Wireless' "Vcast" from McCann Erickson (with Zenith Media as the media firm).
Heading the regional or national long-form ad category was TBS' "Department of Humor Analysis" from agency Mother, followed by American Express' "Animals" via Ogilvy & Mather, and then Sony Pictures Entertainment's "DaVinci Code" out of Sony TriStar Marketing Group.
Topping the local cinema advertising spot category was Regions Bank's "What's Your Dream" from Luckie & Company, followed by Jim Koons Automotive Companies' "Novela" via Koons Marketing, and the Virginia Lottery's "Holiday" out of Barber Martin Advertising.
The top still image ad was Basketball America's "Basketball America Sports Complex" followed by Door Depot of SW Florida's "Door Depot of SW Florida" and then Recycle Midland's "Recycle Midland," all from Screenvision Direct.
And the headliners in the digitally animated cinema ad category were: Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's "I Can't Stop Loving You" from National CineMedia, followed by Nash Community College's "Nash Community College" out of UniqueScreen Media, and Jimmy's Car Stereo's "Jimmy Car Stereo" vis Screenvision Direct.

Labels: ad award, adgruntie, watch

Thursday, May 03, 2007
[ Bayeux Tapestry. Animated. ]

+Starts about halfway through the original work at the appearence of Halley's Comet and concludes at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

British designer David Newton animated a tracking shot of the tapestry for a school project when he was only 21 — far exceeding the assignment to demonstrate his knowledge of motion graphics software.
(via VeryShortList)

Labels: creative, culture, watch

[ Remove the hyphen! ]

+ Hyphens Equal Disrespect is a petition to end the use of "e-mail" in favor of "email" by the Email Experience Council.

It's now time for "the word" to take its final step and become simply "email," signifying the ubiquity of this form of communication, which is now used by 97% of all consumers and 94% of marketers, according to Forrester Research.

Labels: adgruntie, copy

Tuesday, May 01, 2007
[ Vitamin Water ads ]

+Vitamin Water commercials are strange but funny.

This one featurs David "Big Papi" Ortiz and Brian Urlacher playing badminton.


And here's another featuring Tracy McGrady participating in a sheep toss at the Highland games.


(both found via Flipcyde.com)

Labels: adgruntie, commercial, watch

[ Transparency is the name of the game ]

+ A small collection of articles and postings on transparency and its relation to PR, marketing and business.
Ad Age: "You Call This Transparency?"

Ad Age Small Agency Blog: "Transparency Schmansparency: It's Not the Business of PR"

Wired's Magazine issue 15.04: "Get Naked and Rule The World" - Looks at how "companies are sharing secrets with rivals, blogging about products in their pipeline, even admitting to their failures. The name of this new game is RADICAL TRANSPARENCY, and it's sweeping boardrooms across the nation."

Wired's Epicenter Blog: "Publicity, Start-Ups And The Tao Of Transparency"

Labels: adgruntie, branding

[ Your on ]

+ While surfing Wired.com I came across the banner below. I'm not sure if "your on" is like "my on" or if they mean "you are on" and it's a typo. It seems awfully odd and is definitely an awkward phrasing.

Labels: ad review, adgruntie, online advertising

[ 2007 Webby Winners ]

+ Webby Award winners are up.

Labels: adgruntie, online advertising, web