Mark Wnek, writing yesterday in The Independent had this to say: The number of people in or around the ad business spouting about the future "beyond advertising" etc etc is climbing up to the thousands. In most cases these people are either commentators with no fiscal attachment to the accuracy of their predictions; people from ailing companies who would love it known that actually their poor performance in easily …
Morgan Stanley Is A Great Company. (Now Will They Buy Ads On AdPulp?)
According to this article on Ad Age, brokerage firm Morgan Stanley has issued a directive to immediately pull all advertising from any publication that prints negative stories about the company. The complicity between advertisers and the press is nothing new, but making overt demands like this isn't going to make the MSM (mainstream media) any more relevant these days. It's no wonder bloggers are getting noted for …
Continue Reading about Morgan Stanley Is A Great Company. (Now Will They Buy Ads On AdPulp?) →
What Up With Porn Creep
According to Wikipedia, "porn creep" is the process by which sexually explicit content infiltrates American pop culture. Many people blame (or credit) the abundance of sexual imagery and innuendo in movies, television and advertising on the increased accessibility and "cool factor" of pornography. American Apparel, which has many otherwise redeeming qualities as a company, has made use of porn creep. And west coast …
On Obsessive Consumption
What do you do if you're an artist deluged by consumer imagery in a society obsessed with money, goods and the like? If you're Kate Bingaman, you work with it. You make art out of it. You have fun with it. Wear Kate's debt! Here's a take from her Artist Statement: People identify themselves with objects. We as a society participate with signs and a network of signs and not with each other. It is our interactions …
Where’s The Love?
Brand loyalty is normally something that's earned over time, but that's not the case when one is on the payroll of a given packaged goods company. Having worked on the Coors business for several years, I was made acutely aware of the necessity of drinking Coors anywhere near my coworkers, or the client. To do otherwise would be a firing offense. In fact, I remember ordering a Newcastle once and being scolded by a …
Louis Vuitton Is Clueless
We recently reported on the clueless guerilla-style chalking of Yale's private property by luxury brand, Louis Vuitton. Now, they're up to far worse transgressions, as they've entered into a frivolous legal battle with San Francisco boutique hotel, Hotel des Arts for …
Stoli Takes Page From Coors Light’s Playbook
from Adweek: Stolichnaya wants to own "cold." After a campaign that celebrated "little truths" found during a night out, the premium vodka brand has refined its positioning with an effort touting the fact that Stoli tastes best chilled. Allied Domecq bought the brand in 2001. Since then, it has been researching how the target 21- to 29-year-olds relate to vodka brands. "They were looking for a true, authentic …
Continue Reading about Stoli Takes Page From Coors Light’s Playbook →
NYTimes.com Is No Longer The Land Of The Free
I always make it a point to glance at The New York Times online edition. But according to reports, including this one in Ad Age, some content including prominent columnists will only be available to subscribers who fork out $50 a year. (I'm sorry, that's $49.95.) This is just the latest in the growing media trend in the US: consumers are being asked more and more to subsidize the media, when advertisers used to be …
Continue Reading about NYTimes.com Is No Longer The Land Of The Free →
Outstanding Mission Statements: Seventh In A Series
WE HATE SHEEP. Not because they're fat, lazy creatures that smell bad when it rains. No, we hate sheep because they remind us of marketing that's content to follow instead of lead. Advertising that's happy to be quiet, blend in with the flock and go completely unnoticed. The average person is deluged by 3000 messages a day but will only react to about ten. To be part of that Top Ten, your marketing must stand out. It …
Continue Reading about Outstanding Mission Statements: Seventh In A Series →