June 23, 2008

World of World of Warcraft

Painfully funny because it is painfully true. I love a good Mage.

Posted by John on June 23, 2008 at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brands , Entertainment , Games , Pop Culture , The Creative Life

June 16, 2008

Mentally Tough

This spot has been around awhile, but I hadn't seen it until this weekend. On Father's Day, actually. Maybe it was the mood of the day, but this just jumped out of TV and slapped me around a little in terms of relevance. A great example of the right spot placed at just the right time. Creating spots like this seems deceptively simple. Oh, hell you just take a quote from an interview Earl did a few years ago and cut together some old footage. But crafting a spot this tight and this on strategy out of found material is, in no way, as easy as it sounds. WK is just so damn good at this stuff. The Magnificent Bastards strike again.

File under: marketing to men.

Posted by John on June 16, 2008 at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brands , Current Affairs , Entertainment , Marketing to Men , Sports

June 06, 2008

Mentos & Diet Coke Booby Trap

I've been cheating on Diet Coke with another soda lately (the worst one you can imagine) and feel just awful about it. With the amount of DC I go through, I am sure the Coca-Cola company has noticed. To make up for some of my lost volume, some of you might consider this shenanigan.

Thanks to Paul Jarret.

Posted by John on June 06, 2008 at 08:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brands , Current Affairs , Entertainment , Pop Culture

May 29, 2008

MySpace. The next "Fucking Merlot."

It's sad when the shunning starts. Funny interpretation of Internet brands as your friends and neighbors.

Spotted at the one and only Dear Jane Sample.

Posted by John on May 29, 2008 at 05:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brands , Current Affairs , Entertainment , Marketing Trends , Pop Culture , Web/Tech

May 29, 2008

Disney brand standards apply. Even to Jack Sparrow.

A guy learns the hard way that there are rules about playing Disney characters.

Via LA Mag and Joe.

Posted by John on May 29, 2008 at 05:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brands , Current Affairs , Entertainment , Film , Opinion , The Creative Life

May 27, 2008

Fast Company likes American Copywriter's hometown.

Kansas City has been named by Fast Company as one of the Best Cities for Innovation. We like the honor for our hometown despite the fact that the peeps at FC really tortured the 'ol cow town analogy.

In terms of the creative culture, KC's sports architecture firms are formidable. The Crossroads Art District, home of SHS, has been called a "Midwest Soho" by The New York Times. And, of course, we are home to one of the world's largest creative companies.

In terms of advertising, one can argue that Kansas City has the largest and most successful collection of independent agencies in the country (plus a WPP player). I found a non-sourced article that said Kansas City agencies generate about $214 million in revenues (cash not billings). You can compare that to $149 million for Atlanta or $63 million for St. Louis. And while it's not happening on the mass level our creative community would like, work from Kansas City is now consistently making the books and the shortlist at Cannes. And the cost of living is still pretty cheap. So, cheers to 'ol KC.

Posted by John on May 27, 2008 at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brands , Current Affairs , The real world

May 22, 2008

Nike runs home.

According to our friends at Ad Age, Nike is back home with Wieden. Whilst we're fans of all involved, something about this says that all is right with the world.

Posted by John on May 22, 2008 at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brands , Current Affairs , News of the Ad World

February 19, 2008

Top 25 Band Logos

When you think about it, rock n' roll bands are brands too. And all great brands ought to have a great logo. Here, according to Spinner Magazine, are the top 25 band logos. I won't ruin the list, but as an avowed Dead Head, I feel the Steal Your Face logo needs to be a mite higher than 8. I'm just saying. Check out the best band logos here.

Posted by Tug McTighe on February 19, 2008 at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brands

November 21, 2007

I live in lovewesandersonawholebunchville.

So, I'm a little behind on blog topics. Wes Anderson just fucking rules doesn't he? I love the concept, too. Really stands out in the category. Christ, I hate giving AT&T credit for anything. Agency credits anyone?

Posted by John on November 21, 2007 at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brands , News of the Ad World , Pop Culture , Television

November 20, 2007

Rest in Peace Mr. Whipple.

Dick Wilson, a.k.a. Mr. Whipple, 1916-2007. P&G ran the "Please don't squeeze the Charmin" campaign from 1964 to 1985 and again in 1999. As Steve said, "...Wilson, was a lovable, humorous television advertising icon back in the day when brands didn't change campaigns and agencies at the whim of a here today gone tomorrow CMO."

Posted by John on November 20, 2007 at 03:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brands , Current Affairs , News of the Ad World , Pop Culture , Television , The Creative Life

November 11, 2007

Viva Viagra. Really!?!

Oh, I get it. Guys don't like to talk about erectile dysfunction so let's show them singing about it! Yeah, that'll take the stigma away.

Hands up, who thought this was a spoof? A spot like this makes it clear why a guy might be embarrassed to ask his doctor for Viagra. And it has nothing at all to do with erectile dysfunction.

Drugs in this category must be worth big bucks. The first pharma brand that figures out a way to talk to men about them in a way that's not goofy or adolescent stands to truly dominate. 

Posted by John on November 11, 2007 at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brands , Marketing to Men , Opinion , Television

October 14, 2007

WWLJD?

I place this in the "homage" category. Am I wrong? What would Leeroy Jenkins do? Either way, it's interesting that this is ad does double duty for two brands. Do you suppose the T-Shirts with, "I am the law giver!" are already printed? Come to think of it, this Toyota campaign must be created by nerds after my own heart. So far, they've worked in Nessie, meteors from space, a mechanized monster and now WOW.
 

Posted by John on October 14, 2007 at 09:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack (1)
Categories: Advertising , Brands , Games , Marketing to Men , Opinion , Pop Culture , Product placement

October 01, 2007

Product placement 25 years later.

Last week, Netflix delivered E.T. to our door. The kids had never seen it, and it'd been years since I sat down to watch. I'd even forgotten it was in our queue. When Elliott starts dropping the Reese's Pieces, my oldest asked for some clarification. "Well, he's using the Reese's Pieces to show E.T. how to get to his house," I answered. Nothing much more was said at the time. The next day, however, my wife came home with a big box of the peanut butter treats. Seems the boys simply had to try some. Half an hour later, the colorful shells were being used to lead me all over the house to discover various caches of toys. Subsequently, the candy was officially declared as "our favorite."

25 years later and the M&M's brand is still paying for not listening to Steven Spielberg.

Posted by John on October 01, 2007 at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brands , Entertainment , Film , Food and Drink , Marketing Trends , Movies , Pop Culture , Product placement

October 01, 2007

When your own brand takes you to task.

Some in the development community are miffed about the current state of affairs with third party apps on the iPhone (Apple has it locked down). There are several sides to the story. We remain confident that Apple will open up the iPhone platform eventually. In the meantime, you just gotta love the pressure applied by the weight of Apple's own brand.

Noted at Scobleizer

Posted by John on October 01, 2007 at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Branding , Brands , Classics , Current Affairs , Opinion , Pop Culture

September 18, 2007

Shop victoriously is a winner.

I'm digging these. Mainly because I know for a fact it IS better when you win it. Actually it's best when you sneak in from nowhere and steal it right out from under the nose of that newbie bidder who really thought no one else was interested. Loser.

Credits to the peeps at BBDO. More here.

Posted by John on September 18, 2007 at 09:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brands

August 24, 2007

Life for Allstate agents a living hell.

"Most of us go through life as if nothing bad can happen," says the baritone VO of Dennis Haysbert at the open of an Allstate ad I saw last night.

"But Allstate agents know that all too often bad things DO happen."

As Haysbert velvet tones soothe our ears, we watch a man driving  down a street. He glances up at a lovely family home visible through his car window.  At this point, the man in a car, who we come to believe is an Allstate agent, sees the house burst into bright, orange  flames. You can't quite hear the screams of the trapped family. Later, the poor agent, who, by the way, seems to have stopped caring about the tragedy he sees everywhere, witnesses a nasty car accident. This is followed by other unpleasantries including a wedding that, by virtue of a nice match-cut, turns directly into a funeral officiated by the same pastor.

Yeeeesh.

Maybe the spot will be good for business. But if I wash out of advertising I'm not going to sign up to be an Allstate agent. Apparently, the job is way too Sixth Sense/Ghost Whisperer/Final Destination for me.

Posted by John on August 24, 2007 at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brands , Current Affairs , Opinion

August 20, 2007

Clowns, strippers and finger walking.

Seems that Yellow Book made a slight change to the way they categorize entertainers in their latest directory, and it's pissed off some clowns. And mimes. And stilt walkers. Maybe some strippers, too. According to this reg. required story, Yellow Book combined "family entertainers" and "adult entertainers" into one mega "entertainer" category.
This means that if one lets his or her fingers do the walking at 3 a.m., Bubbles the Clown may get a call intended for someone else named Bubbles who is a different kind of entertainer altogether. Send in the clowns, baby.

In a prepared statement, Yellow Book noted that they might reconsider the decision next time. But that doesn't do much for the strange bedfellows until the next directory comes around. One clown lamented that this development probably wasn't good for the overall image of the profession. Of course,  given the level of terror clowns can inspire in some people, the overall perception of clowns and clowning may not be exactly sparking anyway. Maybe the World Clown Association should put out an RFP for agencies to research the issue. While the clowns aren't laughing, you do have to wonder who is really going to be tempted to see if a clown pole dances? Oh wait, strike that – seems there are plenty of people with that particular fetish.

Posted by John on August 20, 2007 at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brands , Current Affairs , Entertainment , News of the Ad World , Pop Culture

July 13, 2007

Old Spice knows manly fears.

The insight in this new W+K campaign for is a good one. There are things men are expected to know how to do for no good reason other than the fact that they are men. Lack of experience with the manly arts can indeed make you sweat. I love what the magnificent bastards are doing with this brand.

Posted by John on July 13, 2007 at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brands , Marketing to Men

June 27, 2007

The iPhone's most important feature? The Brand.

The iPhone is partly about the features, but kids, it's mostly about the brand. And this is what seems to be lost on many of the folks in technology land. After all, the iPod wasn't the first, and one could argue, never the best MP3 player around. Especially for the dough. Many say the N95 is superior to the iPhone. In terms of the technology that may be true. In terms of the brand, however, the N95 isn't even in the same ballpark. The tech sites will be aflame with debate on Saturday. Few, however, will note that the iPod isn't really a piece of technology. It's a piece of self-expression. And that's why people will part with their money.

Posted by John on June 27, 2007 at 07:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Branding , Brands , Current Affairs , Pop Culture , Web/Tech

May 24, 2007

Dead rocker spec work + Web = fired?

The Daily Swarm is reporting that Doc Martens has fired the London arm of Saatchi & Saatchi for unleashing a rejected campaign on the Web earlier this month. The posters have generated a fair amount of controversy.

TDS has also published a response from Saatchi:

“We believe the ads are edgy but not offensive.  There has
been blog commentary both for and against the ads, but it is our belief that
they are respectful of both the musicians and the Dr. Martens brand.
We regret that the controversy has led Dr. Martens to terminate the
contract with Saatchi & Saatchi.  We are investigating the circumstances and
considering the ongoing employment of the individual who was in breach of
instructions not to distribute the ads further than the original approved
placement in Fact Magazine in the UK..."

There's more than a little "he said, she said" going on. Doc Martens says they did not approve the campaign. Saatchi says the campaign was approved to run in one specific place, but that it was not to be distributed further (which doesn't make a lot of sense). Courtney says she never approved the use of Kurt's image. Whatever the absolute truth of the situation, one thing is irrefutable:

Spec work in the age of instant, global communications can be career-limiting.

Hat tip to: Ben Thoma

UPDATE: More here.

Posted by John on May 24, 2007 at 02:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brands , Current Affairs , Entertainment , News of the Ad World , Pop Culture , The Creative Life , Web/Tech , Weblogs

May 22, 2007

Marvel vs. DC.

Conservatives vs. liberals. PCs vs. Macs. DC vs. Marvel. Some tribal skirmishes never grow old. Check out the rest of the series, too.

Side debate: Is Batman really the most Marvelicious of the DC characters? Which characters from which comic universe could or should switch? Let your geek flags fly, people.

Posted by John on May 22, 2007 at 09:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brands , Consumer Content , Current Affairs , Entertainment , Pop Culture

May 17, 2007

Caveman Culture

Thanks to Karl at Tcritic.

Posted by John on May 17, 2007 at 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (1)
Categories: Brands , Design , Entertainment , Pop Culture , Television

March 23, 2007

Now, that's living the High Life.

There's been some smack talk on CP+B of late. And now, this news. But let's not forget that our peeps in Miami and Boulder are pretty damn good. Exhibit Z is this spot, which broke late last year. We saw it last night during the tourney. It's a delight. It even made a room full of nervous fans chuckle during a messy, messy game.

Posted by John on March 23, 2007 at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brands , Food and Drink , Marketing to Men , News of the Ad World

February 26, 2007

iPhone and the Oscars.

The iPhone push began in earnest last night with one of the best spots on the Oscars. I don't think I'm making up the fact that the word "hello" and the brand "Apple" have a long history. None more relevant than this use. Even if that's lost on most of the world, it's a nice spot.

Posted by John on February 26, 2007 at 08:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brands , Movies , Pop Culture

February 21, 2007

Isn't this exactly what you'd tell a client to do?

When a brand has something go awry, many of us say, "God, can't someone just take responsibility, apologize and really try to fix things instead of just spin, spin, spin?" Well, here's an example of a company who seems to be attempting to do just that.

The whole jetBlue situation was horrific for passengers. No denying that. I wondered if the brand could ever recover. However, in the aftermath, I've been pretty impressed with some of the steps they've taken to own the mistakes. I don't know if the customers involved will ever forgive them, however, it's clear jetBlue takes their hard won brand fame seriously, and I want to believe they're making real, fundamental changes on behalf of their customers. I think their triage response to the situation is genuinely encouraging.

Spotted at the BMA.

Posted by John on February 21, 2007 at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brands , Current Affairs

January 04, 2007

Squeeze, rub, groom and dumb.

Woolite is introducing their new carpet cleaning "pod" with the phrase, "Squeeze, rub, groom and done!" Please note the exclamation point. It's not, "Squeeze, rub, groom and done." It's most assuredly, "Squeeze, rub, groom and done!" How much testing do you suppose went into the development of that phrase?

Now, maybe "Squeeze, rub, groom and done!" is functional as a bit of product edumakashun copy but as the central dialogue of a TV spot the phrase elicits sad, head-shaking chuckles. Keep your eyes and ears out for the spot which goes a little something like:

Stepford Lady 1: "...with Woolite pod you just squeeze, rub, groom and done!"

Stepford Lady 2: "Really? Just squeeze, rub, groom and done!?"

Uttering something so stilted and unnatural once is not nearly as good as saying it twice. Crumbelievable. It's 2007. And we're still making commercials like this.

Calgon take me away!

Posted by John on January 04, 2007 at 01:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brands , Opinion , Television

November 13, 2006

Very, very, very rewarding!

By now, you've likely seen Victor and Roman quirking their way across your screen and proclaiming that Citi is, "Rewarding. Very, very, very rewarding!"

Talk about standing out from the flock.

Thanks to some great copy and the direction of Jared Hess, the spots are impossible to miss, impossible to ignore and practically impossible to forget (rewards are "tiger fast"  and "no madness can stop Citi's rewarding ways" are lines that occur to me unaided). We here at AC, can't help but tip our caps to the writers involved ("I will do it restrained by this restraining device"). Oh, and the casting in and of itself is something to marvel at.

Despite the executional deliciousness, not everyone is on board with the strategy behind the campaign. Indeed, this is a big change in tone from "Live Richly." A quick scan of the information at hand didn't give us an indication of Live Richly's ultimate fate. We welcome clarification. In any case, Citi has a huge spend behind Victor and Roman. Credits to Fallon and Atmosphere BBDO.

Posted by John on November 13, 2006 at 08:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack (2)
Categories: Advertising , Branding , Brands , Television

October 26, 2006

Borat and the anonymous flock.

Bret points out that this deleted scene from the new Borat movie actually makes a pretty sobering point about how overserved American's actually are with brands. There's a stat about choice. Too much of it actually discourages purchase.

Posted by John on October 26, 2006 at 08:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Brands