Business 2.0: When companies like Apple, JetBlue, and Toyota want to build structures that articulate who they are, they turn to Gensler, an architecture and design firm with 28 offices, 2,000 employees, and 2004 revenues of $264 million. Using architecture to express identity doesn’t necessarily mean bombarding visitors with “experiential” gimmicks like those in a cartoon-encrusted Disney Store. Done Gensler’s way, …
Singing Pawns Used To Forward Hateful Agenda
ABC News: Thirteen-year-old twins Lamb and Lynx Gaede have one album out, another on the way, a music video, and lots of fans. They may remind you another famous pair of singers, the Olsen Twins, and the girls say they like that. But unlike the Olsens, who built a media empire on their fun-loving, squeaky-clean image, Lamb and Lynx are cultivating a much darker personna. They are white nationalists and use their …
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Willie Whiskey
Inspired by Willie Nelson's 1978 hit song of the same name, Old Whiskey River is an 86 proof, small batch bourbon. According to the brand's site, the bourbon is handcrafted by seventh and eigth generation master distillers in Bardstown, which is located serendipitously, in Nelson County, Kentucky. Willie has truly made his mark on the music industry and on the American landscape. In addition to recording over 200 …
Podfluence
Playlist: Market research firm Intelliseek reports that iPod users are among the most likely on the Internet to create and spread consumer-generated media. The company also thinks this will increase with the proliferation of Apple’s new video-enabled iPod hardware. iPod users are twice as likely to have authored a weblog than consumers who don’t have MP3 players, according to Intelliseek’s 2005 Consumer-Generated …
Adfreak And Adrants Take A Bow
We opted to pass on the big advertising story du jour, wherein Apple copies an old Lugz ad. Hey, we can't cover every single story. Anyway, Adfreak and Adrants were obviously wiser in their editorial decision making, as they're choice to cover the story is now a story in and of itself, in The Gray Lady no less. The New York Times: A dispute over the uniqueness of a popular new commercial for the Apple iPod is again …
Topical Humor Causes Major League Consternation
USA Today: The latest "Got Milk?" commercial hit a little too close to home for Major League Baseball. Poking fun at the league's steroid scandal, the television ad for the California Milk Processor Board talks about a player getting pulled from a game "after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance." In the next scene, a coach pulls a carton of milk from the slugger's locker. "There is nothing …
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French Makes The Funny Pages
Equal parts vanity project and career suicide, Words & Pictures is a new webcomic produced by a creative team eager to bite the hand that feeds them. New strips are published every Monday, with the latest weighing in on the Neil French scandal. …
If You’re Thinking It Someone Else Is Doing It
I wrote this iota on October 4th. Because blogs are structured in reverse chronological order, they lend themselves to tracking a campaign through time. Imagine a promotional tour that stops in 16 cities over a 16-week stretch, where contestants show up and participate with the brand in some fashion. A blog can be used to track this tour from city to city, building anticipation for those who plan to particiapte and …
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Freakonomics For Supper
Steven Levitt, a University of Chicago professor and author of Freakonomics, will share his insights on how ad executives can tell if their ads are working at an invite-only workshop at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place later today. The event is the first of three to be conducted by the Advertising Research Foundation. …
More Brains Less Bravado
"Wideeyedgirl," an award-winning creative in Australia--commenting on the Neil French story that won't go away-- believes we need higher standards in advertising creative departments. In fact, she's so discouraged she may opt to become a suit, in order to be viewed as a professional with something valuable to say. I believe there is a strong link between mysogynistic beliefs and an incredibly poor education. I am …