Having spent a good many years in this business working for promotions agencies, the paragraphs below are certainly a pleasure to read, especially in the Journal. Wall Street Journal: Proctor & Gamble Co. believes shoppers make up their mind about a product in about the time it takes to read this paragraph. This "first moment of truth," as P&G calls it, is the three to seven seconds when someone notices an item on a …
For An Exercise In Futility, Press 1
Today’s Common Sense Response To Corporate Stupidity (which results in the unsatisfying acronym CSRTCS, but I digress) is brought to you by the people who created this. A comprehensive list of codes to get around the “customer service” phone trees that permeate the increasingly annoying consumer landscape we all find ourselves in. It’s also a perfect example of what every company should expect any time the gulf …
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Crystal Ball With Cream
Ron Huey of Huey+Partners was kind enough to send this print ad for Weather Bug our way. For the record, the ad was completed prior to Katrina and Rita, so there are no bandwagons being jumped on here. Mike Hayes, Director of Marketing at the Germantown, MD internet news and weather site said, "The team at Huey+Partners has an uncanny ability to get under the skin of their client's communication objectives." With …
In Pursuit Of Chinese Market Share American Technology Firms Battle Their Conscience And Each Other
Christian Science Monitor: The role of the US Internet firm Yahoo in helping Chinese security officials to finger a journalist sentenced to 10 years for e-mailing "state secrets" is filtering into mainland China. The revelation reinforces a conviction among many Chinese "netizens" that there is no place security forces can't find them. Yet if netizen reaction in China is resignation, the story of Yahoo's complicity …
Armstrongs Look To Ads For Freedom And Food
Heather Armstrong is one of the funniest people writing on the web. And her traffic is huge, which used to make me wonder why there was no advertising on her site. Recently ads started to appear on her site and in her RSS feeds. Yesterday she explained the reason for the change. My husband does not suffer from any mental illness other than Likes Steely Dan Disorder, but I’m fairly certain that he is on the verge of a …
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The Martial Art Of Fundraising
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania has a clever development director. Every time protesters gather outside of our Locust Street health center, our patients face verbal attacks from them. They see graphic signs meant to confuse and intimidate. They are sometimes blocked from entering the building and occasionally they are videotaped. They are offered anti-choice propaganda and free rides to the closest …
Young Republican Gambles On Downtrodden
Benjamin Rogovy of Bumvertising (a scheme to get the word out about Poker Face Book) appeared on the The Daily Show Tuesday night, which may be the best place for him, given the hard-to-take-serious nature of his enterprise. Here's some of his flimsy argument. Bumvertising™ does not take advantage of beggars; it makes them more legitimate. Many homeless advocacy groups argue that Bumvertising™ is terrible for the …
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Space Not Too Far Out For Commercial Shoot
Associated Press: The makers of Japan's favorite instant ramen noodles will soon be airing a commercial that's truly out of this world. Starting next month, Nissin Food Products Co. will film a promotional spot on the International Space Station for Cup Noodle, featuring a sales pitch by a hungry Russian cosmonaut. The commercial will air in Japan in November as part of Nissin's "Cup Noodle No Border" campaign, …
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Managing Your Way Out Of The Wet Paper Bag
Dave Gray of Communication Nation has some excellent advise for transitioning from a worker who does to a worker who directs. In advertising, going from senior art director or senior copywriter to creative director is one such switch. Do any of these things sound familiar? 1) You do work that your employees should be doing because “It’s easier to do it myself than hand it off"? 2) You work long hours, getting in …
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Buying A Piece Of The Fresh-Mex Pie
Market Watch: McDonald's Corp. said Wednesday that it will offer a minority interest to the public in the popular Chipotle Mexican Grill chain. Chief Executive Jim Skinner told analysts at a conference at the company's Oak Brook, Ill., headquarters that the prospectus would be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the end of October. Shares of McDonald's fell 87 cents, or 2.7%, to $31.74 in afternoon …
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