The Spunker has turned us on to what appears at first glance to be a great suck-ass new ad blog, Copyranter. I am an NYC ADVERTISING COPYWRITER. I get paid a ridiculous amount of money to be stupid. And then to change my stupidity to something stupider. And stupider. And so on. Like reading funny stupid stuff? Welcome. With that kind of honesty up front, you know the contents of the blog are bound to be equally …
Cheap Swedish Furniture Drives People To Extraordinary Lengths
Most people loathe standing in line, or "on line," as the case may be. Which makes this promotional stunt from Ikea all the more painful to learn about. According to a report in the Boston Herald, more than 2,000 people lined up by for the opening of the Swedish home furnishings chain’s first Massachusetts store. The first five people in line were rewarded gift certificates ranging in value from $500 to …
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Bring Back The Frogs
Business Week's David Kiley is not fond of the new corporate ad campaign from Ford Motor Co. starring chairman and CEO Bill Ford. In the ads, Bill Ford, the great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford who took control of the company in October 2001, casually sits on a stool in a design studio and talks about the company's commitment to "driving innovation.” In fact, the vanilla theme of the campaign is “Driving …
Breaking News: Al Ries Doesn’t Like Something
I suppose when you position yourself as a global branding expert, and the very city you live in spends millions on a new branding campaign without asking you for an opinion, you won't be happy it. Needless to say, Al Ries is less than impressed with Atlanta's new branding initiative in his new column on AdAge.com: “Opportunity. Optimism. Openness” is the new, compelling branding strategy backed by a red-and-white …
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Weak Taglines Rule The Day
According to Adweek, Grey Worldwide is responsible for the city of Atlanta's shoddy new logo and tagline. The new branding effort began earlier this year when Mayor Shirley Franklin formed Brand Atlanta, a partnership between public and private interests to develop an advertising campaign for the city. Franklin wants to attract more tourists and businesses to the city. The new work replaces the former slogan, "The …
Sugartown Creative Courts Sweeter Deal
NYT: Most everyone on Madison Avenue waxes rhapsodic about the "partnerships" between agencies and their clients, ignoring the reality that agencies all too often prove about as indispensable as Pez. Now, a boutique agency is hoping to rectify that by actually going into business with a client. The boutique, Sugartown Creative in New York, is working with Trudie Styler and her husband, the musician Sting, to …
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Famous Author Hated His Existence In Advertising
Former copywriter, Augusten Burroughs' best-selling book, Running with Scissors, has been made in to a film by Ryan Murphy. Mr. Murphy is the 2005 Golden Globe winning (Best television series, drama) creator, writer, director and executive producer of the hit series, Nip/Tuck.The Sony Miramax film stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Jill Clayburgh, Vanessa Redgrave, Alec Baldwin and Annette Benning and is co-produced by Brad …
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Clemson Fan’s Pass Is On The Money
ABC News: Before Saturday, Chris Bostic was a $10-an-hour landscaper whose favorite football memories were running for touchdowns in Pee Wee football. But after his perfect 25-yard spiral made it though the tiny hole in a promotional contest, the Army veteran has a new favorite memory and is South Carolina's newest millionaire. Bostic's pass at the end of the first quarter of the Florida State-Clemson game won him …