I don't know if Howard Gossage ever met the members of the Grateful Dead before he passed away, but 45 years later, it's quite easy to see some commonalities between the ad man and the band who both inhabited San Francisco in the late 60's. For starters, both engaged with their respective audiences and embraced an experimental spirit to their work. I wonder if Gossage, had he lived longer, might have built a more …
Ground Beef, Ground Again
According to Fast Company, McDonald's launch of "real fruit" smoothies (they're actually made from purees) rightfully rattled, Jamba Juice. The San Francisco-based company responded with a new product of its own called the Cheeseburger Chill, described in a press release as "beefy, smothered in cheese, loaded with your favorite condiments and blended to creamy perfection." There's even a commercial to whet our …
Jimmy John’s Takes Sub Dump On Dude’s Lawn, Shares It For Everyone To See
It seems to me that Jimmy John's--more so than other sub chains--has their Social Media Marketing game face on. The brand is on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook and they have a frequently updated blog called FreakFast, where they're busy directly engaging with fans via "Picture of the Day" uploads and other means. Clearly, Social Media Marketing is easier to do when a company is already promotional and experiential by …
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Dickies Versus Levi’s (Goodby Versus Wieden): Who Needs 501s When You Can Wear 874s?
Dickies is working with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to highlight the brand's spirit and flagship product, the Original 874 Work Pant. The goal of the campaign is to solidify the 874 as a universal icon for the Dickies brand and convey the brand's relevance to a larger audience. "We challenged Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to create a unique campaign that acknowledges the ethos of our brand and honors the …
With The Right Back-To-School Shoes, You Too Can Be Famous
Campbell-Mithun is helping Famous Footwear "Make Today Famous." There's also this "making of" video from the brand on YouTube that touches on the time-slice technique and 20-camera rig used to make the spot: …
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Hardison Wears AdPulp-Branded Merch At Seattle Tech Event, Helps Us Gain Traction
Tech Flash, "Seattle's Technology News Source," held their annual Summer BBQ and Ping-Pong Tournament, at the Showbox Sodo on Wednesday. Portlanders Jeff Hardison of McClenahan Bruer and Nate DiNiro of UncleNate.com, made the trip to compete in foosball. According to Tech Flash, "they also arranged in advance to get shirts from a variety of tech startups in the Portland area, then donned different shirts for each …
If You’re Going To Sell The Agency, Sell It To Meredith
Arlington, Virginia-based New Media Strategies is getting some positive press from Ad Age, thanks to a novel buy out strategy that awards not just the owners of the agency but the employees, as well. New Media Strategies was acquired by Meredith Corp. back in 2007. When that deal closed, CEO Pete Snyder and fellow founders set aside a stock pool to reward employees who stuck around. Three years later, that stock pool …
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Imagine If You Didn’t Need A New Phone, Or Laptop, Or Desktop, Or Router. Ever!
Ed Cotton of Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners is thinking big thoughts again. This time about sustainability and what brands might do to radically embrace it. ...although a whole industry exists to refurbish, re-sell and repair old products, it's not branded and at the forefront of the brand experience. If brands were to get behind it and support and create the infrastructure, it would create a whole new brand …