June 25, 2008
Marketing is NEVER about absolutes.
I must be on some weird banner kick lately, but here's an interesting one I ran across for HP Inks.
To make things clear, 25% of refilled ink cartridges fail. Original HP inks don't fail.* So, in summary, you should buy HP inks because they work all the time.**
* When we say they don't fail, well, they kinda do. But it's only 1% of the time. Which is pretty close to not failing.
** Again, they only work 99% of the time. There's that one, itsy-bitsy sliver of time (1%) when they don't work. Don't say we didn't warn you.
June 17, 2008
Sometimes we're dorky. Okay, most times.
A few of us here at American Copwriter love the show Battlestar Galactica. Love it. A whole fracking lot. We like the show so much that we've created a blog (whoisthe5thcylon.blogspot.com) to help discern who the final Cylon is. We'll post some theories and break each one down with pros and cons. We'll even toss in odds for each one. Yes, it sounds extremely nerdy, but it's fun for us geeks.
There's a submission form on the page where you can send in your own guesses. We'll probably even publish a few of them, too. Check it out and tell us what you think.
June 11, 2008
Who knew Dillard's had that?
While reading an article on Ink (Kansas City's new alternative press newspaper), I encountered the following banner for Dillard's.
The banner is an animated GIF. Sometimes, when making an animated GIF, you're able to specify how many times it loops before stopping. And on some of those occasions, we art directors have been known to forget to un-check that looping box -- so that the banner will continue to loop.
I didn't notice this banner until I was done reading the article -- which meant that the banner had stuck on the frame of "DILLARD'S Now available at Dillard's..." Which led me to wonder, what exactly is available:
- Baseball bats?
- Muscle shirts?
- Celtic/Tribal stuff?
- Silver bracelets for men?
- Haircuts and custom face shavings for men?
- or maybe it really is true that "Dillard's is now available at Dillard's?"
Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that in this oh-so-fun digital space, that your entire message may not be seen at one time.
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.
May 27, 2008
For those who like to make up words.
Is blogging too much for you? Is micro-blogging too boggling to you? Has tumblr just opened another can of worms that you care to NOT look at? Really, sometimes, all we want (all we need) is one word to describe how we feel.
For those of us desiring just that, in comes Adocu -- specializers of "nano-blogging." Here's what Adocu says about their service:
adocu is a way to let your buddies and the world know what your doing.
Unlike other sites, your posts must be one word long. You can fit whatever you want in that word, just no spaces. That way it stays short and simple.
We like to call it nano-blogging :)
As you might have already figured out, Adocu (please ignore the your/you're grammar mistake on their page, it was probably shortened to make a point) is perfect for all of us in advertising who LoveToMakeUpOurOwnWords -- aka, URLs. Better yet, this is perfect for those of us that make up those one word/sentence tags (just take out the spaces!).
In any case, this is the latest craze that probably won't take flight, but is interesting to check out.
Sorry, I suppose I could've just said: thisprobablywon'tgoanywherebutwhoknows.
April 09, 2008
Photographers, we've got to find a better way.
I don't know about your inbox, but mine usually nets around 200 emails a day. A majority of those are work-related, some are from friends and a few here and there are from businesses (newsletters, notices, etc.). With [approximately] 200 emails sailing in, I rarely have time to read/respond to the ones that I REALLY want to.
These days, there's a new beast adding to that volume -- emails promoting the new shot from so-and-so. I knew that I was going to get an email, since I signed up at a few of our friends' book showings. When the emails arrived, it was good to take a quick glance at work from friends I may haven't seen yet.
Then, the emails kept coming. And then, even more arrived. So much so that I'm receiving about 15 emails a day from photographers from around the United States (maybe beyond). A majority of them are from people I don't know and/or have never heard of. Either way, I KNOW I didn't sign up for these emails -- which I'm now calling spam.
I've recently chatted with a local photographer and have heard their recent troubles of connecting with today's creatives. In a world where iStockPhoto and Shutterstock exist, our photographer friends are probably feeling the squeeze some.
I feel your pain. Really, I do. But we've got to stop sharing email addresses. It's not okay. What makes it worse is that I've "unsubscribed" to about 20 of them already.
Maybe we should come up with a large web site, much like Flickr, that photographers are able to upload their shots and tag them, group them, etc. Also included on this site could be an RSS feed, maybe a featured artist section, too. Then when anyone is looking for a particular style of photograph, or a certain person's work, they could go there. It could be the end-all, be-all spot.
Who's in?
February 27, 2008
Gotta Love Those Hitler Metaphors
I usually tire of the YouTube videos friends send me, but this one is pretty damn good. I'd say it's pretty tough to use Hitler in a funny way, so kudos to whoever made this.
February 12, 2008
Google Shows Us a Sunday SHS
Our friends over at BlogKC informed us today that Google has now included Kansas City in their Street View feature. Naturally, I had to see if Google cataloged all of the streets in the Crossroads. Sure enough, they did and SHS can be found if you navigate down to the corner of 20th and Central.
It appears that Google did their cataloging on a Sunday, since there's hardly anything going on. It was also nice outside, as evidenced by the man in the shot wearing a t-shirt and the flowers that are in bloom. Navigating around the building, you might see the car of an extremely dedicated worker (ahem).
It's super cool to see our city from this perspective and I can't imagine what will happen if Google ever melds in some social networking with it.
December 05, 2007
Going WAY Beyond Batman Begins
A while back I started to notice quite a bit of cool viral marketing going on for the next Batman movie, The Dark Knight. We're talking microsites galore and massive user participation. On one microsite, users were asked to answer location-specific questions from across america to reveal a phrase. Then, after that, there was a chance to send in a photo of yourself dressed up as the Joker.
Today, over on FirstShowing.net, all of the previous viral marketing attempts have been chumped, big time. It appears that now the people behind this marketing campaign has taken their execution to a new level -- physical items.
On December 3rd a new page appeared at whysoserious.com/steprightup with a hammer game and some teddy bear toys. Each toy had an address on it located in a number of cities around the US. The note on the game told people to go to that address and say their name was "Robin Banks" (get it, "Robbing Banks") and they'd get something there. It was first come, first serve, and each location was a bakery. What they were given was a cake with a phone number written on it. Now here's the best part: inside the cake was an evidence bag (complete with Gotham City Police printing) that contained a cell phone, a charger, a Joker playing card and a note with instructions.
If you're not following along, the lucky few to receive the cakes now have a cell phone that someone will call at a later time. In essence, Warner Bros. is creating their own Joker army.
Damn geniuses.
September 10, 2007
Internet Virals: A Visual History of...
Dan Meth, Micah Frank... we salute you for bringing us up to speed on all of the popular internet virals of the past few years. Great stuff.
August 15, 2007
Cuddle a cloud.
Your personalized air molecule (and message) joins others in your own patch of sky.
Look, I know we're seeing a lot of these collaborative user-generated projects. But I'm currently still a sucker for them. From Human Ideas and Space 150 in the Minnie.
June 28, 2007
American Copywriter Podcast = Winner
To the great many of you out there that voted in Fly-Over Marketing's MVP (Most Valuable Podcast), those of us here at AC salute you. Just 20 hours ago we were crowned the winner of the contest, and even though John and Tug may not know, they're super pumped.
I'll make a pledge for them that they'll do their best to continue kicking ass with each and every podcast they make. I'd say that they'll even try to stick to a schedule, but that might be asking a bit much. I will say that if they continue their ways, there might be some renegade episodes coming your way. Because let's be honest here, who does all the legwork to get those things online?
Again, we all thank you for your vote. Keep listening.
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.
June 26, 2007
Can Friday Come Any Sooner?
Oh boy! I can't wait for Friday to arrive. Friday, June 29! You know what that is, right!?! That's right, it's iDay! And that means we can all finally get our hands on an iPhone. Take it home, call people, surf the interlux, etc. etc. etc.
Actually I'm more excited about Friday coming so we can start NOT hearing about the damn iPhone. This thing has almost 69 Million results on Google. In my RSS feeds, specifically TUAW, about 75% of all the posts for the past two weeks have been about the iPhone. Or an iPhone accessory. Or how much it'll cost for the data plans. It's been like Christmas day, every day, for the past month for them.
Seriously. If this isn't the most talked about thing since the supposed Y2k computer crash, I don't know what is. Maybe the Segway before it was called a Segway? Who knows. The sad part about Friday is that it won't be the end of the iPhone discussion. Starting around 7pm on Friday we'll get first hands-on reports. What it's like to un-package it. How well the reception is. If it breaks when dropping or when taking a shower with it. Someone will buy one only to break it open and show us the guts.
Think Microsoft is jealous of Apple's marketing genius?
The iPhone craze isn't over. Not for a long while. And if you're like me and tired of all the talk, buckle up, because it's about to get bumpy. Err, bumpier.
June 25, 2007
Which Way is Up?
A few weeks ago I received an invite to a friend's birthday bash in South Kansas City. Since I wasn't too familiar with where I was going, I was glad that the invite contained a link to an online map of the area. When I looked at the map, I instantly wondered why the map-makers had done what they did.
Any ideas?
June 18, 2007
Mash it up with Adobe.
Adobe Systems is looking for an ad. And you can make it. The “Take Creative License” contest gives entrants the opportunity to mash-up images available on the Adobe Stock Photos library and create an ad for the Adobe Stock Photos Service. The winning entry will be published in the September issue of Graphic Design USA Magazine along with an editorial highlight about the designer and their design process.
Go get 'em kids.
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.
April 30, 2007
Cheating at SEO sends you to Google Hell.
What are all those weird drone link farms? They're a tactic designed to push certain Web sites up Google's list. Participating in that practice and other questionable forms of seo can send you to a pit of doom from which you may never return. Walk the straight and narrow, children. Who knows how forgiving the Google gods really are?
April 05, 2007
Have You Ever?
Some people call it, "Never Have I Ever." Others call it, "I've Never." A few call it, "Well, I Never." And, I think, four people call it, "I Have Never." Whatever it's called in your neck of the woods, I'm talking about the drinking game called, "I Never." This is a game where a statement is made about never having done something, and for those who HAVE done said deed, they take a drink. For example, if the statement "I never hated on a commercial," were made, we all (yes all of us) would have to take a drink.
Usually the game takes place in a bar, basement or campground. But now you can play "I Never" online with your friends who live across the street, or far, far away. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Courtesy of your friends here at Sullivan Higdon & Sink and Houlihan's Restaurants.
March 13, 2007
Oh, you mean you were serious about that copyright thing?
But we thought the law was just so analog.
February 27, 2007
Can MySpace Marketing Jump the Shark?
This afternoon I logged into MySpace to find out that I had a Friend Request from this guy thing. I think we jumped the shark somewhere in there.
February 21, 2007
Second Life is So 2006
What's your Second Life name? How many hours have you logged? How many islands have you been to? How many stores have you shopped at? How many political speeches have you heard? How many musical shows have you attended?
Never mind, I don't really care that much. I say why run around in a made up virtual world, when you can start to experience your own real world, albeit virtually? That's why we at Sullivan Higdon & Sink say Second Life is so 2006.
Back in April of '06, Google released their free 3D modeling tool called SketchUp (there's also a Pro version, too, but that costs money). When SketchUp went gold, Google also opened up their 3D Wharehouse -- a place where users can share their 3D creations made with SketchUp. Not only that, but Google also released the 3D Warehouse Network Link (read more about the Network Link), which allows users to see placed models of real buildings inside of Google Earth. Remember those ugly gray box buildings? Well, if there's a shared model that can replace said ugliness, it'll show up in Google Earth. And the best of all, with the release of Google Earth 4, some of these placed models show up automatically in some cities.
That's why we went ahead and made a virtual model of the Kansas City office of Sullivan Higdon & Sink (yes, we took the liberty of putting a huge sheep head on the roof, but everything else is anatomically correct). Currently, you can only see it inside of Google Earth if you download the KMZ file or use the 3D Warehouse Network Link.
Second Life? Pssshaw. Welcome to 2007.
February 12, 2007
Pontiac MySpacing the Right Way?
It's not enough to just have a MySpace profile anymore. In fact, I believe it's almost expected that you do, if you're a company. But it's not enough, in my opinion, to JUST have a profile. It needs something more than coupons and "insider information," (which isn't really insider information). There needs to be a bigger hook.
I think someone has finally figured out a good spin to a MySpace profile. Yesterday, while on AdPulp, I ran across this post about Pontiac's new MySpace profile. The profile/program is called "Friends with Benefits." Aside from the obvious joke in the title (as pointed out in the comments section on the AdPulp post), I think that this program shows promise.
The premise is this, when/if you buy a new Pontiac G5, go to the MySpace page and register the car. When you do that, you'll get a "Friends with Benefits" debit card. The more people that buy a car and register, the more money is put onto the card (up to $1,000, which would be 1,000 people).
The G5 is already being marketed to the younger crowd, so a MySpace presence is a must. In addition, they're speaking to a crowd that likes the incentive of extra money. I know, doesn't anyone like extra money? Sure. But I think this crowd likes the extra money, especially when all they have to do is tell their friends about it. And in the end, if they really do get 1,000 buyers registered, that's a $1,000,000 promotion right there (plus the costs of any extra marketing they do).
Is that a number that's just outrageous? No. Is it in line with marketing budgets of other car manufacturers? Yes, maybe less-than. Is the idea more appealing than $1,000 off the purchase of a new car? To me, it is. Nice work, Mark-Hans Richer (Pontiac's Director of Marketing) and whoever your agency is, kudos.
February 06, 2007
I Just Wanna Read Sports News
I remember when ESPN decided to make some of their content for paid-subscribers only. In fact, I remember a whole LOT of web sites doing the same thing, in hopes that users would be willing to pay money for insider information (for a lack of a better term). With more and more ads popping up on ESPN, not to mention more and more movement within banners, highlights, stories and scores, I'm starting to guess that either the paid-subscription deal isn't working out so well... or ESPN needs to support its heroin addiction bandwidth costs.
Click the thumbnail to see a larger home page. Yellow equals motion of some sort, Green equals advertising -- striped is a mix of both. It's like Times Square, on a web site!
January 09, 2007
IJustWincedAtMy.tv
While watching the Tostito's Fiesta Bowl last night (go SEC!), I took note of a url to go check out. The commercial was for NASCAR returning to Fox, and the web site is called Who Will Flinch? The web site isn't much more than a placeholder for the commercial(s) that aired during the game, but instead of just showing the commercial again, they show you an "extended commercial."
Here's how, I think, the review for the commercial went...
Creative - "Okay, so if you recall, our idea was to get Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson to appear in a number of spots where they're all challenging each other in extreme circumstances."
Client - "Right, and the first one had to do something with parachuting?"
Creative - "Close, the first one is base-jumping off of a skyscraper at night. All three jump at the same time and they just stare at each other while free-falling, pretty much daring the other ones to open their chute and quit the game. Then, right at the end of the spot, it displays the message 'Who will flinch?'"
Client - "Good, let's watch it."
*views spot*
Client - "That's fun. So who flinches?"
Creative - "Go to Dontflinch.tv and find out."
Client - "Just tell me what happens at the web site."
Creative - "Well, let's go there."
*pulls up web site*
Client - "I'm confused about what to do now."
Creative - "It's easy, we put the commercials online so you can watch them again."
Client - "But I just saw the commercial."
Creative - "Yes, but you didn't see the EXTENDED version."
Client - "Aaaaah."
*views extended version*
Client - "O...K... So I'm assuming this commercial isn't finished yet?"
Creative - "Huh-uh. Instead of crashing into the street, the drivers fall into a complex tube system that takes them through the city's underground and into some large random lake that's not REALLY underground. From there, they land in boats and continue the high-stakes game of chicken."
Client - "I saw that, but that part was all computer graphics. I mean, they looked like robots."
Creative - "Right. These guys are machines!"
Client - "No, seriously, why is it not live-action?"
Creative - "Oh... well... that's when we ran out of budget."
December 12, 2006
Forrester says iTunes sales suck.
iPods are selling like water. iTunes library gets bigger and better each day. But this report from The Register says iTunes sales are "collapsing." Interesting reading to say the least.
November 20, 2006
SpamSCII Art
One day, you wake up as an employee of a successful spamming company (don't ask how you determine what successful is in that arena).
Today's assignment: Send out a new spam message with the words "valium, viagra, cialis and xanax."
The challenge: You can't type the words "valium, viagra, cialis and xanax" in the message.
Requirements: No embedded images allowed. No misspellings of words.
Solution? How about ASCII art? Sure, why not!?!
November 09, 2006
Spec iPod phone spot makes us drool.
Despite the fact that everything here is purely speculative, color us officially hot for this product. When people talk about the dream of consumer-generated content this is it (although some pros were behind this). Simply delicious. Unless the real thing isn't nearly this cool. In which case, cgc could bite Stevie boy right in the butt. Cheers to those behind this beauty.
UPDATE: A reader emails to say, "This video is quite old." Well, we musta missed it first time around. Old or not, it's still hot.
November 02, 2006
Nike scoffs at BALCO, Juices up.
Nike Golf has a new golf ball on the market, the Juice 312. If you care, it has a 312 Dimple Pattern which was designed for more carry and distance. Whatever, fine. But the most alluring thing about the Juice campaign are the online spots where they shoot a golf ball into objects and completely destroy them.
It's vaguely similar to the Milwaukee's Best Light beer gun montage, but it's different enough to be fun. Or maybe it doesn't matter how similar it is at all... maybe I just like seeing stuff blown up. Not all the time, though, having Gallagher as a co-worker might be a bit too much.
October 27, 2006
Own Google or Yahoo in one easy step.
October 26, 2006
Brazilian intrusiveness
This one really surprised me, and as the sole speaker of Portuguese in this blog, it is my duty to surprise you as well.
Brazil's Sol (you guessed it, "Sun") beer has introduced advertising somewhere none of us had ever seen or imagined before: the weather forecast.
They "close the loop," as we say, by making those icons clickable, and taking a viewer to the Sol beer website. P.P.S.: Probable bad client quote: "But wouldn't that mean that people shouldn't drink our beer at night? Or when it's raining?" 
P.S.: Friday, in Portuguese, is "Sexta-Feira". Abbreviated, that turns into "Sex." Which gives whole new meaning to the term "hump day."
October 19, 2006
George is in Utah!
This story starts with advertising: two months ago, I got a one-page survey from Nielsen with five dollar bills enclosed. They were brand new bills -- crisp ones, with sequential serial numbers on all five. It was so cool to have "virgin" bills that I thought I had to do something cool with them. And that's why I took a sharpie and made those five bills part of the Where's George? experiment.
If Web 2.0 is about making subtle connections that you wouldn't be able to otherwise, then I guess I'm part of it today. Because this morning I received a notification that the first of those five bills, the one I used to buy admission to the Kansas City Ethnic Festival two months ago, has surfaced in Salt Lake City. And it felt kinda cool.
Now I can't wait to find out where those other four George Washingtons have ended up.
October 14, 2006
All hail relevance #2.
Nicely done, Microsoft. Nicely done.
If you find particularly relevant placements of spots, ads etc. send 'em our way. We'll credit you and everything.
October 13, 2006
Knowledge gap?
I think the cause marketing behind GAP RED is just great. And I happen to look good in red (I'm a winter) so I'll probably support this cause, too. But, come on, do we really need the big arrow with the words "Roll Over" on the banner ad? Man, my ribs are sore from that elbow.
October 02, 2006
John's favorite agency opens a virtual office
So I guess you need to be an avid AC fan to know that on Episode #44, John declares (twice) what he thinks is the greatest agency in the world. As we speak, he is opening a Second Life account so he can go hang out in their newest office.
September 19, 2006
Copywriters Needed at Adobe
A few days ago, when installing Adobe CS2 on my laptop, I get this alert:
So let me get this straight... if the Adobe Updater fails to update itself before checking for updates, will the partially downloaded updates update themselves when the Updater's updating resumes? I'm so confused.
September 05, 2006
Secret TiVo video.
A tip from the mysterious Davis Freeberg leads us to this viral from TiVo. Most interesting is the back story within the back story considering this video.
According to Freeberg, this piece was discovered by a zealous TiVo fan on TiVo's Web site. The site where the this "fan" posted about the video is now treating it like something out of Lost. The video itself provides a back story for TiVo's creation called Project Blue Moon (note TiVo first shipped on a blue moon and TiVo maintains a corporate holiday around this theme).
Now, the video kinda belabors things a bit, and I know the "training film" motif has been done to death, but those of you who crave conspiracy theories won't be able to resist it. After all, who is Davis Freeberg? Is the mysterious TiVo fan really a TiVo fan or a plant? Who faked that TiVo page? Will we ever get tired on that '70's transfer look?
August 30, 2006
Gwen Stefani, right after this message...
Watch an ad. Download a free tune. That's the Spiralfrog model. Different from Napster in the sense that there's no subscription and that you can actually download the song or video. Different from iTunes in that it's free and, at this time, isn't compatible with macs or ye olde ipods.
Universal has announced it will make its entire catalog available through the service.
According to the AP, Spiral Frog users will need to return to the site at least once a month to keep registration current.
August 24, 2006
Be a part of the show.
Over in the right hand sidebar is a little Java app that theoretically allows you, dear participant, to leave us an audio comment. Try it out. Let us know if you have any functionality issues. Your comments may be published here on the site. They may be incorporated into the podcast. Or we might just listen and laugh. In any case, enjoy. We're looking forward to hearing from you.
Thanks to the guys over at For Immediate Release for the tip.
Update: I should note that we consider this experimental. If it doesn't seem to work well, or is too time-consuming to manage on our end, we'll explore other options for you to participate further with the podcast.
August 21, 2006
Web 2.0 Nissan.Sentra
For those of you living under the "current internet trends" rock, Web 2.0 is everywhere. But what happens when the not-very-popular buzzword makes its way into advertising?
We get the next generation Nissan Sentra! That's right, not only does the '06 Sentra have many new and updated features, this car has something that no other car in its class has -- Web 2.0 integration! Check out these super new features:
- Customize Your Sentra: What color will your Sentra be? Do you want leather seats? CD-player? iPod-ready? Customize it all!
- Customize Your Sentra's Profile: Let the world know what your Sentra likes, dislikes, its interests, etc. Make your Sentra stand out above the rest!
- Share Your Sentra: Search the Sentra community and add your friends, join groups, etc.
- Blogging: Every Sentra now has the ability to blog. Rate and review roads, trips and restaurants. Read other Sentra's blogs and post your own comments.
- User Blocking: Feeling a spat of road rage coming on? How about you just block that bad driver before they get to you.
- And much, much more!
What else would this car feature?
August 17, 2006
Snakes on AC
Is this another make your own Tahoe commercial debacle? Hmmmm. They're not screening the custom trailers before, and you can host them wherever you want. My thought is no, any press is good press for this movie. So you're either on the bandwagon, or not. If so, make your own Snakes on a Plane trailer now!
August 09, 2006
Firefox 276, IE 0
The browser wars are about to start up again (once Microsoft finally releases Vista), but Firefox continues to make Microsoft's browser look dumb. Internet Explorer, commonly referred to as IE, will have a new version (7) when Vista comes out. Naturally, users in the know call this new version IE7 (even the folks at IEBlog call it that). So someone bought the url ie7.com and posted some information about it... unfortunately, I don't think it's the kind of information that Microsoft wants to promote. Check out IE7.com!
Words of advice for Microsoft: Protect your brand(s) at all costs (this one would've cost you approximately $10 at GoDaddy.com).
July 06, 2006
Millions of Pixels
Think way back to last year and try to remember a web site that sold pixels as ad space. When I think about that, I remember thinking what a silly idea it was. Boy, was I wrong. It was a HUGE success and now there are quite a few spin-offs as a result.
Trying to cash in off of the popular Million Dollar Homepage, comes this tongue-in-cheek, easter egg filled, parody, The Super Billion Dollar Home Page.
It's a fun site and begs the question, is it worth a small chunk of change to be one of the first few advertisers on the site? It could seriously blow up. Or not. We'll see.
May 31, 2006
Mashing it up with Joseph Jaffe
Tug and I are proud to announce that American Copywriter and "the new marketing podcast" Across the Sound will be doing a mash-up episode. This means we'll be riding the long-tail and making memes with the one and only Joseph Jaffe, the author of one of our very favorite Adweek books, Life After the 30-Second Spot. Jaffe is one of the leading proponents of full consumer connectivity. The conversation is bound to be interesting. Stay tuned.
May 05, 2006
Happy Sullivan Higdon & Sinko de Mayo
From all of your friends at Sullivan Higdon & Sink, we would like to wish you all a happy and fun Cinco de Mayo. To do that, we're inviting you to virtually smack the hell out of a pinata. Many people are clamoring about their best time, but the unofficial record right now is 3 swings, 8 seconds. It doesn't get much better than that.
Anyway, enjoy the game and have a great holiday today.
Arrrrrrrrriba! Los Lobos! LOS LOBOS!!!
May 02, 2006
Civil discourse. Works for me.
While it can certainly be effective, I've always felt brand-to-brand comparative advertising was a little unseemly. The stuff is usually smart-ass. Occasionally, you'll even see a real cheapshot taken. Don't get me wrong, I'm not up on too high a horse. I've created comparative advertising myself. So, it's not like I think it's wrong per se. The danger, for me, is that it can seem like you're focusing too much on your competitor and not enough on your audience (or as our friends at Beyond Madison Avenue would say your "community"). So, when I heard the new Apple campaign was, once again, going to be a direct comparison to PC, I had a twinge. I really didn't like the "what's an intel chip going to do inside a mac" spot. And not just because of the so-called video plagiarism issue. I felt it was just too snarky and there really weren't any hard benefits described. I'll admit I was expecting the same with this new set of ads. It's not what I got.
Comparisons are made and potential benefits pointed out, however, the direction never tipped toward the arrogant or mean-spirited. Some rebel against the "Apple is cooler" thing, but I say go with it. God knows the other MP3 players out there wished they'd thought more about that before the iPod hit the scene. It's important for another reason, too. Apple is remaking itself as an entertainment/lifestyle company and, while they are selling their computers now, you can clearly see that dimension coming to life in these spots. Oh, the approachability thing works, too. Believe it or not, dear readers, there are still people intimidated by technology.
To be fair, however, the copy went a little further than I'd like. I'm a simple guy. I ask simple things of my macs and they do them. My macs don't crash. I don't restart all the time, however, I do have to restart now and again. I have applications that get stuck. And I'm really not sure how friendly my mac would be with lifestyle programs other than iLife. While the claims aren't patently untrue, life with a mac is not always milk and cookies.
Overall, however, I'm really digging the campaign. How about you?
March 21, 2006
CNN's "Watch" Bases Covered
As more and more users hop on the high-speed bandwagon, you're going to see an increasing number of web sites streaming video. Finally, I say. Yes, it's an overwhelming technology to include on your site (and that's not mentioning the large bandwidth issues that it presents), but it's about time we start integrating this a bit more... remember, at some point in the next ten years our computers and TVs will be one unit. But, like I said earlier, as more and more users get faster connections, you'll start seeing more prominent web sites adopting video playback as a major feature.
espn.go.com
Those of you ESPN followers may remember they're foray into this a few years back. They've revised it here and there (it currently uses flash, which is a plus for cross-browser usage), but for the most part it's a definite additive to their site.
mtv.com
On the homepage of MTV.com, you'll see a nice little flash animation in the left-hand column... but if you want to click to any video or movie trailer, you'll get some warnings. On a PC, you'll need to make sure you have Active X installed. Sigh, okay. But if you're on a Mac, too bad... it just won't work at all.
cnn.com
I've noticed that CNN has been offering video for a while now, but I think they're struggling with how they present it to users. At first, if I remember correctly, it was a subscription only deal (and had a little icon to signify that it was video). Now, it's offered up to anyone who comes to the site... but there's apparently not a single standard way of doing it - I count four different "watch" instances (click thumbnail).
What other high traffic sites are using video favorably (in your opinion)?
March 10, 2006
AdHole A Meeeeeee-aaaaaah!
It was bound to happen sooner or later. We humans have to niche everything out, don't we? Case in point, there are over 20,000 different magazines out there (down from 30k+ in 1999, surprisingly). Seriously, it's not enough to just have MySpace, Friendster, FaceBook or TagWorld (the new, cleaner, cooler, Web 2.0 version of MySpace) anymore. We have to go further, niche it out, so we go and create Catster and Dogster. But that made some people really jealous, apparently.
That's why Marc Lefton went out and created AdHoles.com, a blogworking site for the advertising industry. From the AdHoles.com about page, "Through Netmodular's relevance engine, the site stays fresh with blogs
and commentary by ensuring the most popular blogs and people are
rewarded with a high level of visibility."
I haven't played around with it too much, yet, but there's a whole blogging section that really acts more like a forum than an actual blog. Members can post their thoughts, links, what-not, and then other members can go in and leave comments. Groups can be set up per city and you can also find out who works, or worked, at your agency.
Will this catch fire? I don't know. But Bruno and I have profiles, so we'll see how it goes. Maybe we should create an American Copywriter profile?
March 03, 2006
Friday timewasters #68 and #69
I have a bad case of Flickritis, and when I came across these two Flickr tools I just had to play with them.
On this one, you draw on a little sketch pad, and it finds Flickr pictures that are similar in composition. Really freakin' cool.
And on this one, you pick a color and it finds pics in Flickr that match. Feeling blue? Flickr will accomodate you.
Anyone see any real use out of these beyond time wasting? Care to share your own Friday time wasters?
P.S. To whom it may concern (like our Managing Partners)- I really wasn't wasting time today, I found and played with these on Saturday. I promise.)
March 02, 2006
The Next Net 25
While perusing my feeds this morning, I came across a new customizable news web site called Newsvine. It's an interesting concept, and though it's been done before, this site has been built in a very clean style and is easy to use.
I didn't dive too deep into the site before I stumbled onto an interesting article title, "Newsvine among 25 startups that are reinventing the web." Being such the techno-geek that I think I am, I immediately had to read what this was all about.
The article didn't disappoint. It talks about how recent pioneer startups like Flickr, MySpace and Wikipedia, are leading the way for new and innovative start-ups to pave the direction of Web 2.0. It's an interesting read, but what's more interesting is checking out their "Next Net 25." Pay close attention to most of these sites, because you'll be sure to encounter them again in the near future.
February 27, 2006
Sprint Ambassador phone arrives.
My Sprint Ambassador package arrived today. Here you see my sheepdog (no, he's got nothing to do with my agency's positioning) modeling with the goodie package.
As a reminder, I was sent a fancy new multimedia phone plus six months of free service in return for feedback. Thanks Sprint!
Now, I am no power user. So, I think it bodes well that even though I didn't bother to read the instructions, I still managed to send myself this photo which I snapped on the phone about three minutes out of the box.
The Samsung A-920 is light. Especially compared to the Treo I use now. Now, I still find typing on a phone keypad far more cumbersome than a more complete keyboard (i.e. the Treo or a Blackberry) but...we'll see. The phone has a lot of features: photos, video (!), music, email and, of course web access. That's nice. But it's really a question of ease and at least a modicum of open sourceness ain't it? So, I'll read all the instructions and let you know how the features flow. There's a lot of stuff to play with and not much time to do so this week. I can say that, as of now, Sprint's Power Vision Network seems speedy.
Oh, and, smartly, the letter that arrived with the phone once again ONLY mentioned feedback. Sprint has never requested that I blog about it. They are playing it cool. I do plan to share the phone with some of the other American Copywriter team members so, we'll see what they think, too.
Only con out of the box? The cheesy guy they put on the cover of one of the instructional inserts. Seriously, people.
February 22, 2006
And So It Begins...
For the past six weeks now, I've been a gigantic fan of the The Ricky Gervais Show podcast (note: link opens iTunes). The show is wonderfully hilarious and features a guy named Karl Pilkington, who could be one of the funniest guys I've heard in a long time.
But that's not what this post is about... entirely. The first run of their show was a 12-episdoe arc, which they just finished up on February 19. During the last few episodes, they kept mentioning/counting down to the end of the first season (if you will) and barely talked about coming back. It sounded like they really wanted to come back, but with busy schedules and what-not, I'm sure it wasn't an easy thing to do every week. When you claim to be the world's number one podcast, I hoped that SOMETHING will get them back in the studio.
That "something" has happened. Starting Tuesday, February 28, The Ricky Gervais Show will be back. Hip hip, hooray! Exciting news, right? I think so... but there's a catch. Now, to enjoy mad ramblings of Karl Pilkington (and his extremely round head), you're going to have to pay for it. Now it won't have ads in it, it'll just be the guys and whatever it is that they talk about, but it's not free anymore.
Yup. Podcasts, and the costs of producing/providing them, have become a legitamite business and the world's number one podcast is setting out to prove it can create a business model around them. This only makes sense as podcasters are providing some type of content or entertainment to their listeners... but I wonder how well this will work out, we don't have to pay for AM/FM radio (nor do we listen to it that much anymore).
How would you feel if American Copywriter went to a pay model?*
* This is just me, SethyG, rambling here. No one has ever mentioned making AC non-free, so don't freak out. Seriously, calm down.
February 21, 2006
You people are cool. So I get a phone.
By now, you may have read that Steve Rubel and Joe Jaffe and others have been invited to be Sprint Ambassadors. Well, I was recently invited and accepted the deal today. So here's what gives:
Sprint is going to send me a spankin' new Samsung A-920 phone and give me six months of all access to The Sprint Power Vision Network which will give me a chance to test out much of their broadband content.
What do they get in return? Well, all they ask for is my honest opinion. And they've created a special site for me to relay that to them.
Of course, they made the offer to me after visiting this blog (which they admit). And that means they probably know a little something about the podcast, too. After all, Sprint is not all that interested in me. They are, however, very interested in you. You're cool. Sprint wants you to know about their cool new gizmo. They're interested in having us discuss it. What's wrong with that?
You know, this does take some guts.
Sprint is putting itself out there with no ability to control the message. I might add, that their invitations came virtually spinless. There was an almost noticeable lack of hyping of the product.
Personally, I think it's a damn smart and damn transparent bet Sprint is making.
If the product and service work great, they know we may tell you about it. If the product or services isn't spot on they know we'll blog about it. And, in our case, podcast about it. To you, the cool people they want to reach (By the way, since many of you also read micro persuasion and jaffe juice, I feel like I'm part of a conversational "buy" to reach the tech-hungry, trend-loving marketing community with this product. Maybe the old "frequency" model has a little life yet).
As you know from the most recent podcast, I just re-read Life After the 30 Second Spot. I think Sprint gets it. Gotta hand it to them on that.
My disclosures:
Sprint is a Kansas City business fixture, my business resides here in Kansas City, however, my agency Sullivan Higdon & Sink is not a Sprint roster agency nor have we even undertaken a project for this company. We're not beholding to them.
We currently have a Sprint phone in our family. I do pay a bill to them currently. I am currently happy with that service.
I am interested in learning more about this kind of program because it may be something we take to one of our fine clients one of these days.
If I like the product, and I choose to blog about it, I will do my best not to revert to copywriter mode for the post.
All that said, I will be absolutely honest about the experience, the service and the product. Heck, my current phone is a paid perk provided by ye old SHS. And I have no problem complaining about it either.
More to come.
February 18, 2006
Espn.go.com pisses me off.
Look, somebody has to pay for content. In the old model, advertisers did. In the new model, consumers have more options than ever to control the marketing that comes their way. So, if you opt out of ads I think it's fair to pay a fee to see the goods. On the other hand, if you don't mind some advertising coming your way, then, in my mind, the content should be available to all comers.
I hate what ESPN is doing. They take advertising on the site. But they also charge you for "insider" content. Sure, some of the content is free. But spend five minutes on the site and you'll see this content is akin to sideshow barkers beckoning you deeper into the site.
That's crap. ESPN is double dipping. Look, the market must be supporting it. And, again, don't get me wrong, great content providers deserved to get paid. Just not twice.
February 16, 2006
Snail Mail Just Got Faster
Quick, we need someone from the Netherlands to send us a letter in the mail! Why? Because the postal service in Holland has issued stamps with moving images. Yes, I said moving images. I don't know how it works, exactly, but the stamps use lenticular technology to loop twelve images. That's amazing. Not that I ever remember any ad agency being able to use a stamp for branding purposes, but this is just cool and fun to think about the possibilities.
Seriously, if we have any listeners/readers across the Atlantic that have access to these stamps, we'd LOVE to see one!
February 10, 2006
We REALLY Do Hate Sheep, We Promise!
We teased... We prodded... We tested your patience (whilst testing our own many times over)... And after months of planning, designing, coding, revising, ignoring, revising and tweaking, everyone at Sullivan Higdon & Sink is super pleased to launch the brand new, all-improved, more cheekier, stay out laterer version of WeHateSheep.com!
An email blast should go out next week, but why not give some of our more loyal followers a taste before the masses get a hold of it?
Go check it out and tell us what you think! What do you like and what don't you like? What works, what doesn't? What do you want to see more of? No web site is ever perfect, nor is ours 100% complete (yet), so keep in mind that we'll be constantly massaging things to make them better and more interactive/informative.
Without furthur ado, by all means, enjoy the site. Catch you on the flip side, flippers.
February 09, 2006
What's in Pandora's Box? Music!
One of the Creatives in our office turned me on to Pandora - a music discovery service. And now I'm completely hooked. You might remember that last year I posted about being frustrated with Napster's inability to successfully recommend music that I might like. The Music Genome Project has solved that problem with Pandora. Type in an artist or song title, and Pandora finds songs that are similar based on melody, harmony, rhythm, instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement and lyrics.
I made a few of my own "radio stations" based on artists or songs that I like. Seems I enjoy music with a "subtle use of vocal harmony, mild rhythmic syncopation, a vocal-centric aesthetic and a major key tonality." I loved the majority of the songs it played for me - most from artists I'd never heard of before.
Do you think it's possible for something as personal and seemingly unscientific as your taste in music to be broken down into hundreds of musical "genes" then reassembled into a radio station of songs that sound good to you? I do.