According to TV Week, television execs are not sweating the news that Major League Baseball players use steroids. Last season, baseball had record attendance and revenues and ratings were also up sharply. "Major League Baseball fans are extremely passionate and we do not feel the report will change that. We look forward to our continuing partnership with Major League Baseball in serving its fans," ESPN said in a …
Mass Market Organic Is An Oxymoron
Sadly, as firms fight for a share of the eco-conscious consumer market, it seems that greenwashing is fast becoming standard practice today. As more and more shady practices come to light, I wonder if these firms will be shunned or if their deceptions will be quickly swept under the rug? After all, it's hard keep up, much less to know what's what and who's who. photo courtesy of The Cornucopia Institute According to …
There’s One for You, Nineteen for Me
"I believe advertising is the tax you pay for being unremarkable." -Robert Stephens, founder of Geek Squad at Advertising Age's The Idea Conference While I love the audacity of the above statement, it's important to note that Geek Squad is not above advertising. Far from it. …
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An Invitation, Across the Nation
It's not like 20-somethings need encouragement to point a web cam at themselves while dancing in their dorm rooms--a tour of YouTube will reveal thousands of such videos. So, it wasn't much of a leap for Minneapolis-based Periscope and their client, Jockey International, to come up with a dance-off contest at jockeyunderwars.com that carries a $5,000 prize. What is surprising is the following endorsement from a …
Ford Has A Sense of Humor
Brand Identity Is More Than Copy Can Convey
John Moore of Brand Autopsy penned a piece for Brandweek about the needlessness of taglines. Here's a segment: The formula for advertising is a lot like stand-up comedy. A brand’s advertising consists of a setup and then closes with a tag line. Doesn’t matter if it’s print, OOH, TV, whatever … most advertising has a setup that leads to a tagline, which is designed to coax a Pavlovian sale from a customer. What if …
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The Crass Commercialization of America (Version 1.0)
AdverLab and Rob Walker both presented this interesting piece of resistance movement memorabilia from 1885. It predates Adbusters by more than a century. And it's interesting to note that in 1885 there was to radio advertising, no TV advertising, no internet advertising, no guerilla marketing tactics, etc. Yet, people clearly felt the act of commercial cluttering had no end in sight (and they were right). …
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Be The Change
One of my favorite change agents, Tom Asacker, has written a short but deep treatise on the meaning of life. He says it's our business to to be useful, honorable and compassionate. Here's what he says about honor: Are you honest, straightforward, trustworthy? Do you play fair? And if not, whom do you think you're fooling? I'll tell you who. You're fooling your kids! You are not doing them a favor by providing for …
