New York Times advertising writer, Stuart Elliott, gets off a gem of a lead in today's paper: Anolther ghost brand is seeking to shed its ectoplasm and become more corporeal. It's hard to resist reading a story with such an auspicious beginning. …
Making Sense Of Edward Jones
I enjoy the Edward Jones "Making Sense of Investing" camapign. It's memorable, sensible and delivers a distinct service benefit. The spot above also benefits from sharp writing and great casting. …
An Inside Look At The Wal-Mart Pitch
BusinessWeek goes behind the scenes of the ongoing Wal-Mart Pitch. With 138 million customers shopping its stores each week already, Wal-Mart isn't necessarily interested in new advertising to lure in even more patrons. Instead, the retailer is looking to get its existing shoppers—many of whom frequent the store for a few key items such as low-margin hardware supplies and groceries—to "cross-shop" and move into the …
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A Real Estate Grand Slam For Denny’s
According to the Washington Post: Restaurant operator Denny's Corp. on Tuesday said it agreed to sell 66 franchisee-operated restaurant properties to National Retail Properties Inc. for $67 million, in order to reduce debt and strengthen its balance sheet. The company said that after the closing of this deal, it will have sold 80 properties this year for gross proceeds of about $81 million. Denny's shares were flat …
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Homage To A Gridiron Hero
To promote its football gear on TV, online and in print, Nike harnassed to the power of story, creating a fictional high school football dream team--the Briscoe Hawks--and tapping pro football history, all in one fell swoop. The Briscoe Hawks, coached by Don Shula, are named for Marlin Briscoe, the first starting black quarterback of the modern era. Briscoe appears in the campaign as a coach along with Jimmy Johnson …
Location, Location, Turkey No Mayo
Startup Journal looks at one of Subway's better expansion strategies. To maintain its rapid growth as strip malls and spots alongside the freeway fill up with fast-food outlets, Subway Restaurants is increasingly moving into locations where rivals have feared -- or neglected -- to tread. In the past several years, Subway has opened inside a church in upstate New York, a handful of coin-operated laundries in …
Bavaria Time
We know all about Miller Time. It's a time for America's hard-working welders, plumbers and transit workers to kick back before the big game or on a fishing trip to northern Minnesota. Dutch beer, Bavaria, stakes a different claim. "Bavaria Time" is for swashbucklers after their daily battles with sea creatures, natural disasters and other larger-than-life challenges. [via The Hidden Persuader] …
Caribou Herd To Swell On Friday
According to Reuters, Caribou Coffee is taking advantage of a Starbucks promotion gone awry, honoring coupons that Seattle-based coffee giant declared void this week. Caribou said Friday that it would give free medium Cold Press iced coffee, iced Americano or iced tea to anyone presenting one of Starbucks' iced coffee coupons that have been widely circulated on the Internet. Caribou's intent for the promotion is to …