The New York Times examines what can happen when a rad shredder with a savvy business manager (his sister) connects the dots with brands hungry to appeal to Gen Y. Rolling Stone is joining forces with two of its advertisers, the video game publisher Activision and Jeep, for a promotional program centered on Mr. Hawk, the skateboarding star. He has separate endorsement deals with each brand and also works with both …
PBR Runs For Minnesota Seat
[via Eyeteeth] …
A Refresher Course
Marvin Harris Jr. on advertising on Vimeo The above video is a strange piece of self-promotion for DuFour Advertising of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. …
You Tube Bragging Rights Better Than Money
Ad Age looks at a burrito-makers consumer generated media campaign and the motivations for participation. Matt Eck recently constructed a 4-foot football-shaped burrito out of electrical tubing, chicken wire and aluminum foil. Why? He's hoping to become one of those consumers who generate content for a marketer. The burrito came into existence as part of an assignment for his video-field-production class at Kent …
Continue Reading about You Tube Bragging Rights Better Than Money →
A Brand Hyper-Extension
Business Week shows that even a powerhouse media brand can stumble hard and be taken out of the game when it comes to brand extensions. In its 27-year history, ESPN has pushed its brand with the ferocity of a linebacker on steroids. And mostly it has emerged with big wins. But the sports entertainment giant recently admitted to a rare failure in brand extension. Just seven months after launching its own cell phone …
Michael J. Fox On Stem Cell Research
We're definitely seeing the power of the Internet, and in particular YouTube, as it helps candidates spread their message beyond their constituency. This ad is for a Democratic Senate candidate in Missouri, but the issue transcends the Show Me state. Powerful. And very, very sad to see. …
Continue Reading about Michael J. Fox On Stem Cell Research →
Solo A No No
Paul Graham is an essayist, programmer, and programming language designer with a PhD in Computer Science from Harvard. He's currently sharing some excellent advise for startups on his site. Have you ever noticed how few successful startups were founded by just one person? Even companies you think of as having one founder, like Oracle, usually turn out to have more. It seems unlikely this is a coincidence. What's …
“Very Old Wine In New Bottles”
Long before he created the popular crime-solving TV series "Law & Order," Dick Wolf was an ad man working for Benton & Bowles and other agencies. Mr. Wolf, 59, recently spoke with The Wall Street Journal about the changing relationship between advertisers and television. WSJ: Decades ago, many programs were sponsored by a single advertiser, who often got to showcase their products during the show itself. Would you …
