Toronto Star looks at Cathy's Book, a great example of an interactive book. In the tradition of Griffin & Sabine — the series of books that contained packages of letters that became best-sellers in the 1990s — Cathy's Book includes a sleeve of letters, invitations, pictures and other ephemera that are actually clues to help readers solve the mystery of what happened to Cathy's boyfriend. But Cathy's Book takes that …
Showin’ Trucks At The Fair
USA Today explains Texans' fascination with pickup trucks. It's a cultural thing. That's the explanation. Some facts to support this argument: More than 27% of vehicles registered in Texas are pickups, compared with 20% for the rest of the nation. The article goes on to explain that the State Fair of Texas, an event attended by more than 3 million people, is ground zero in the pickup wars. This year, for the first …
Web-Two-Point-Dough Blues
Greg Storey at Airbag has written a pensive peice on "blahgs." His piece was inspired by Jeffrey Zelman's question, "Are you still fired up about blogging?" Storey's answer: Not so much. Our content is all starting to look the same because of the tools used to manage it and web-two-point-dough has homogenized the Internet. For sure, anyone who spends a great deal of time researching and organizing content will …
It’s Not A Website, It’s Your Customer’s First Point Of Contact
Randon Culture points to this Financial Times story on corporate websites. At the center of the story is BP's decision not to scrap its site altogether in 2002. For companies, websites are often a first point of contact with the outside world. So how can they make the best impression? Someone – though not necessarily in corporate communications – must be given sole responsibility and must have heavyweight back-up. …
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Find The Viral Strand In The Brand’s DNA (Or Don’t Do A Viral)
From Ad Age: How much buzz does it take to sell Milwaukee's Best? Apparently a lot more than 3 million hits on YouTube and 197 blog mentions. Proving that viral sensations don't always immediately translate into sensational sales, the bargain beer's video of its "Beer Cannon" that fires cans of Milwaukee's Best Light to destroy such unmanly targets such as china dishes, house plants and fruit has inspired discussion …
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A Screen Is A Screen Is A Screen
The New York Times reports that celebrities appear in 20 percent of TV commercials, up from 10 percent a decade ago. And it's not just more celebs, it's better celebs that are finding their way into brand's mini-productions. Oscar-winning actors like Nicole Kidman, Sally Field, Susan Sarandon, Diane Keaton and Robert De Niro no longer avoid the 30-second spot. Hollywood snobbery toward commercials has evaporated, …
“Sev” Buys Start Time At The Cell
USA Today looks at a Texas-based convenience store's wishful thinking. The Chicago White Sox have agreed to start weeknight home games at 7:11 p.m. under a sponsorship deal struck with the convenience store chain known for its Slurpee frozen drinks, the team announced Wednesday. White Sox spokesman Scott Reifert would not disclose the value of the three-year deal with Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc., but he said the …
Decorating The Cat
Idolator and FishBowlNY are both reporting that American singer/songwriter Cat Power is the new face of Channel's jewelry line. She has previously made commercials for GAP and Cingular. Ms. Power, a.k.a. Charlyn "Chan" Marshall is known for her minimalist, often pastoral music, sparse guitar and piano and ethereal, Southern-styled vocals. She's also known to be somewhat erratic in concert. Her latest album, The …
