Salt Lake Tribune: Football fans have always enjoyed watching replays, especially during the Super Bowl. Now they will be able to watch replays of the Super Bowl's commercials, among other special treats. New technologies are changing how marketers are approaching the game - typically the biggest day of the year for Madison Avenue. The roughly 40 glossy big-budget spots to run during the game on ABC today - at a …
Ernie’s Up By 34
Ernie Schenck is up by 34 votes in Ad-Rag's Battle of the Adblogs. The score is currently AdPulp 203, Ernie 237. Frankly, I'll be glad when this beauty contest is over on Friday. I'm tired of clicking over there to see the score. Isn't vanity a sin? I'm pretty sure it is, although I'm rusty in theology. Anyway, what is this common yen for recognition? I have it, Ernie has it, George has it... …
Why Buy Media When You Can Become The Media?
Spike Jones points to this iMedia Connection article on Super Bowl expenditures--a cool $2.5 mil per 30 second time slot. The writer, Brad Berens poses the question, "How might this money be better spent?" It's far from a rhetorical question, for Berens asks 28 qualified people to respond. Gay Warren Gaddis, President and CEO of T3 (The Think Tank) says: Instead, take what is more like $4 million ($2.5 in media plus …
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Vermont Teddy Bear Is As Subtle As A Leather Thong
Valentine's Day is fast approaching. Naturally, twice today I've seen this spot for Vermont Teddy Bear. It's a one-minute direct response spot narrated by Adam Corolla: "For about the price of a dozen roses, a Vermont Teddy Bear keeps giving and giving." This is just so...so...direct. Does it work on you? …
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Gates vs. Jobs: A Different Take
I'm an unabashed Apple fan and Mac user, but this column on Wired News by Leander Kahney is quite an interesting read, talking about Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, their success, their charitable works, and their images. Gates is the cutthroat capitalist. A genius maybe, but one more interested in maximizing profits than perfecting technology. He's the ultimate vengeful nerd. Ostracized at school, he gets the last laugh by …
When Blogs Are Little More Than Chatrooms
Flickr founder, Caterina Fake, defends Yahoo (her employer), while perfectly summing up the frustrations I too feel around various aspects* of an open system media. I've been watching all the blathering about Yahoo! giving up search dominance to Google, which, I might add, is bullshit. Quotes taken out of context by company executives do not an overarching business strategy make. This is exactly the kind of thing …
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Beer Ads Have To Play By Updated Rules
I'm so glad they've cleared this up. From Ad Age, although it's a subject that seems ripe for The Onion: It’s now officially OK to show people drinking and people flirting in beer ads. The Beer Institute, as part of its move toward industry-self regulation, is modifying its advertising code for the first time since 2003. The changes allow brewers to show drinking and “romantic interactions,” within limits, in …
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Throwing Down The Gauntlet On Creativity For Creativity’s Sake
Marc Babej has skills. Few people have ever interviewed David Ogilvy, Rosser Reeves and Bill Bernbach in one sitting, and no one has done so posthumously. Until now... Babej: What do you think of advertising that sells lifestyles or attitudes? Bill Bernbach: “The magic is in the product… No matter how skillful you are, you can’t invent a product advantage that doesn’t exist. And if you do, and it’s just a gimmick, …
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