When your brand is number one, never acknowledge the runners up. This is a long-standing rule of marketing. But one that Rupe willfully broke at Cannes. According to Brian Morrissey of Adweek, Rupe dismissed the online service as little more than "a directory." He said the attention lavished on Facebook is not in line with the challenges it has faced in building its audience into a sustainable business. "They've …
A Purchase Is A Purchase
According to BusinessWeek, the type of purchases one makes with a credit card can determine one's credit score. The FTC suit against Atlanta-based CompuCredit for allegedly "deceptive" marketing practices offers a rare look inside the opaque business of credit scoring. It reveals a mechanism that consumer advocates and politicians have long suspected exists—one in which purchasing behavior, not just payment history, …
Barack Is Red, White and Blue
The ad above--Obama's first of the general election--starts to air today in 18 states, including usual battlegrounds such as Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and some traditionally Republican states where Obama hopes to make inroads, including Georgia, Montana, North Carolina, and Virginia. "America is a country of strong families and strong values. My life's been blessed by both," …
Jack And Jim Go To Russia
According to The Wall Street Journal, as Russia and China grow their middle classes, American whiskey makers are making gains in those nations via a mix of street teams and advertising. Still, American whiskey makers face a challenge in making their products known to consumers in emerging markets. In Russia, Beam Global hires natives to be part of the Jim Beam Party Crew. They receive training on bourbon and …
Design Out of Chaos Without the Aid of Mind
Susan Blackmore says, a meme is not an idea, rather it's "that which is imitated." In other marketing 2.0 words, a meme is viral. Since, most of us in advertising today are trying to create viral videos, it might be worth taking 21 minutes to absorb this TED lecture. …
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Dutch Frog Hops Off
Adweek is reporting that the Amsterdam office of StrawberryFrog has "severed ties to he agency's operations in New York and elsewhere." The 40-person group in Holland, led by Brian Elliott, who co-founded StrawberryFrog with Scott Goodson in 1999, has rebranded as Amsterdam Worldwide. Goodson remains CEO of offices in New York, Sao Paolo, Tokyo and Mumbai. Those operations will keep the StrawberryFrog name. Goodson, …
Designed To Drink
Coca-Cola and its design firm Turner Duckworth made their mark on Cannes yesterday, capturing the Grand Prix in the ad festival's inaugural design Lions. The majority -- about three quarters -- of the design Lions winners were from what one would consider ad agencies, rather than from design shops. Rodney Fitch, head of the design jury and chairman-CEO of Fitch, said "Design companies have never heard of Cannes." He …
Name the Players
Can you name all eight players in this ad, starting from the left? Inquiring minds want to know... According to The New York Times, the ad is part of a $15 million dollar TV, print and digital effort from Grey Atlanta on behalf of Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. …
