Austrian daredevil, Felix Baumgartner, successfully jumped from a balloon hovering 128,000 feet above Roswell, New Mexico today. After cartwheeling through the stratosphere for a time, Baumgartner gained control of his trajectory and proceeded to make a safe landing. The nail-biting event aired on live 40 television networks in 50 countries and the live feed was [...]
The Ad Industry Has Lots Of Laborers, But No Unions
September 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment
From the perspective or organized labor, this year’s Democratic Convention in Charlotte is something of a bust. After pumping $8.5 million into the 2008 Democratic convention, unions decided against funding this year’s convention because North Carolina is the most hostile state in the union to the very idea of, and practices of organized labor, as [...]
When Face Paint Won’t Do, Drink From Your Favorite Tumbler
August 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The PR industry takes a crap in my inbox daily, so it is hard for me to express just how refreshing it is to receive a pitch by mail. Especially when it’s a custom appeal, made just for me. Like the box that arrived yesterday on my front porch… Have you ever read my Twitter [...]
There’s A Mom Behind Every Champion, And P&G Is Behind Every Mom
August 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Olympics are endowed with many emotional, forever memorable moments. Athletes train their entire lives to appear on this world stage–a stage where the heartbreak of a loss or the triumph of a win are as real as they are overwhelming. Proctor and Gamble, and its agency partner Wieden + Kennedy, smartly built a content [...]
Maybe Shell Doesn’t Think Social Media Matters All That Much
July 19, 2012 By 1 Comment
The Greenpeace-supported fake Shell website has gained a lot of social media traction this past week. By using Shell’s logo, among other things, the site comes off as pretty slick and its official-lookingness has a lot of people fooled. The site gives people a chance to create their own “Let’s Go” ads like this one: [...]
Benevolent Petroleum “Making Nice” In Communities Around The Gulf
July 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment
BP spent years, and lots of money, helping us believe the impossible–that the company is an environmental steward, when in fact the very opposite is true. Now, with the Deepwater Horizon disaster as part of the company’s record, the brand guardians are back at work, saying essentially that with BP’s money and commitment to the [...]
Every Company Is A Media Company, But Not Everybody Who Works At The Company Is A Writer, Photographer or Videographer
June 13, 2012 By 4 Comments
Content marketing in a B2B context isn’t as sexy as launching a new show on cable, making a glossy magazine, or cutting a record, but it can be entertaining and informative to a broad audience, nevertheless. Take the Free Press online newsroom from Intel. Social Media Today calls it a “leading example of not only [...]
You Might Have A Beef With “Pink Slime” But Its Makers Have A Beef With That Name
March 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment
If you want a good lesson in the power of words, branding, and crisis PR, consider the case of a product its maker calls “lean, finely textured beef” and others call “pink slime.” The campaign to rid supermarkets, schools, and restaurants of “pink slime” is having an effect on its maker, according to the Huffington [...]
Fighting Words: Foamposite One Galaxy
February 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Creating over-the-top-demand for a product (or service) is a what brand managers dream about. But in real life, it’s a perfect storm that only a few will ever experience. Apple knows this storm, and so does Nike. I use the word storm not lightly. Last week, people began rioting outside shopping malls in Florida and [...]
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