From reading the trade press, you'd think every marketer was falling over themselves to get on Second Life, thinking the site's popularity is exploding. But over at Valleywag, Clay Shirky parses the claimed numbers of "residents" and "logins" and finds huge discrepancies. He also suggests that reporters have simply parroted Linden Labs' inflated numbers without question in their gushing profiles of Second Life. This …
Can A Fake Band Sell Out?
Maybe they have to pay out lots o' life insurance for all those spontaneously combusting drummers, but as a huge fan of This Is Spinal Tap, I can't help but be bummed out about this. Why Ogilvy has to do this to a good song, particularly by using it in a completely humorless way, I don't know. I mean, it's such a fine line between stupid and clever, isn't it? …
Rotten Dusenberries
If jolly ol' Saint Nick stuffed your stocking with an Amazon or Borders gift certificate, our friend George Parker has a word of caution of you. Seems that last year, BBDO veteran Phil Dusenberry released a book of memoirs called "Then We Set His Hair on Fire: Insights and Accidents from a Hall of Fame Career in Advertising." That book has now been re-released in paperback, with a new title: "One Great Insight Is …
Santa’s Come A Long Way, Baby
No wonder he likes chimneys. Courtesy of a bunch of auctions on eBay, you can see that Santa used to shill for all sorts of cigarette makers: …
Jiffy Lube Wants A Two-Way Customer Conversation. Maybe.
In Southern California, Jiffy Lube locations got busted for not doing work that customers paid for. The above follow-up report, taken from the local news in LA, shows clips of a Jiffy Lube "apology" commercial and the reactions of some of the customers who got screwed. It doesn't appear Jiffy Lube is all that interested in engaging its customers, as some who wrote to get refunds have not heard any response. So much …
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I’m Still Voting For Chris Christmas Rodriguez This Year
Done a while back and it still cracks me up. See all of them here. …
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A Quick Lesson In Customer Service Courtesy Of Home Depot
1) Don't call someone a "cunt." 2) If you call someone a "cunt," make sure that woman's husband is not nearby. 3) If you call someone a "cunt" and their husband is nearby, act very apologetic and remorseful, and do something to rectify the situation. 4) If you call someone a "cunt" and their husband is nearby, and you don't act very apologetic and remorseful, and you don't do something to rectify the situation, make …
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Jack Trout Gets It Right About Wal-Mart
Between the original "Postioning" authors Ries & Trout, it's easy to deduce who the smart one is based on their solo writings. Ries waxes moronic in Ad Age, but in a great column on Forbes.com, Jack Trout looks at the big issues facing America's largest retailer. I've written in the past that once a brand has established itself in the value or price category, it is almost impossible to go up market and attract a …
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