Over the years, I've developed a taste for shrimp. Seems I'm not alone. Accourding to this article in Slate, "the average American ate 4.2 pounds of the curved critters in 2004, up from 2.2 pounds in 1990." It's a marketing phenomenon as well as a biological and economic one. The price of shrimp has fallen in the last 20 years because researchers have found a way to raise shrimp in controlled conditions on farms. …
Goodbye, Literary Industrial Complex
MarketingVOX, via the Boston Globe: Boston-based Gather.com, set to receive $6 million funding this week, intends to become an eBay of sorts for bloggers, other writers and their readers—with a business model that recruits writers by offering them a share of online advertising revenue, writes the Boston Globe. The most popular writers would eventually earn hefty paychecks, according to Gather founder Tom Gerace. The …
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Founding Father’s 300th Birthday Presents PR Opportunity
My alma mater is running a full page ad in today's New York Times to celebrate the 300th birthday of Ben Franklin. Dennis Trotter, F&M's Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing, said, "This ad is just the beginning of an aggressive marketing campaign to make sure that people know about Franklin & Marshall College.” Modernista! created the ad. …
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The Absolute Redirect
USA TODAY: After 25 years and 1,500 versions of print ads built around the shape of its bottle, Absolut vodka is shelving the campaign that made it famous. Absolut will spend $20 million on a new effort that includes its first TV ads as the brand battles slower growth and tougher competition for vodkas. "We're introducing the brand to a new generation of vodka drinkers," says Tim Murphy, brand director. "Those in …
This Is A Web Site
I was pleased to read Simon Dumenco's piece on blogging in Ad Age today. He says there's no such thing as a blog. It occurred to me that there is no such thing as blogging. There is no such thing as a blogger. Blogging is just writing -- writing using a particularly efficient type of publishing technology. Even though I tend to first use Microsoft Word on the way to being published, I am not, say, a Worder or …
Little Ads May Be The Next Big Thing
Today's New York Times reports on the growing use of ads on cellphones. Marketers said they were particularly excited about the prospect of eventually using cellphones, many of which are equipped with global positioning systems, to send ads to consumers based on their location. With that information, marketers could, in theory, send pitches from retailers to cellphone users who might be in the vicinity of a …
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To Make AdSense Work, Share The Wealth
NYT: Feeling depressed because you missed out on Google's stock bonanza? Not to worry. Just get on the company's shadow payroll. Hundreds of thousands of people have essentially done just that by starting blogs, forums or other informational sites and getting paid for posting ads on Google's behalf. And while the money they earn might not be enough for them to buy, say, a share of Google's stock, such revenues are …
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Panthers Win
As reported here last week, Hadrian's Wall, Chicago bet Boone Oakley, Charlotte that the Bears would win yesterday's NFC playoff game. Sadly, the Panthers prevailed. Now, the home page of Hadrian's site says: Please forgive your fingers. You accidentally typed in "hwadvertising.com". What they really meant to type was "booneoakley.com". Because Boone Oakley is far superior to Hadrain's Wall. Really. We're not just …
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Art Directors Club Italiano call for entries, 2005 One Show call for entries, 2006 Thanks to Horace Kidman--the creator of the original idea--for the tip. I could say stealing is beyond lame, especially when there's no need for it, but that's obvious. Anyway, I'm more interested in hearing what you have to say. …
Client Thanks Agency For Hard Work–In Adweek
Flipping through this week's Adweek, the following ad caught my eye. Exclusive Resorts took out a full-page ad to thank their agency, DDB Seattle, outlining just exactly what the agency did to help their business. Click on the image to read the ad in full. I can't say I've seen many ads quite like this. Sometimes advertisers will take out a special ad for, say, Leo Burnett's 50-year anniversary to congratulate them, …
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