:: adgruntie :: All's well

+ Subway's "Choose Well" campaign called misleading and deceitful by the National Legal and Policy Center. I'm not surprised.

+ Oh please. This is funny and absurd.

Clear Channel Communications Inc. set out earlier this year to persuade advertisers to cut their standard 60-second spots in half. But with the plan already meeting some resistance, Clear Channel now is launching a new program to help radio advertisers spice up their abbreviated messages. The minute-long format lets radio advertisers drone on about their car dealerships, their mattresses and their electronics stores. Clear Channel thinks these verbose, sometimes amateurish messages prompt some listeners to change stations.

Um, yeah. Good luck to Clear Channel. If they can convince advertisers not to repeat their name 16 times, actually use an interesting concept for the ad, and find the money for producing a proper radio ad...then they might succeed.
A lot of those boring ads are boring because of the choices the advertiser makes, not the ad agency. So I don't see how creating an in-house group to create these now shorter ads will make any difference. Besides, :30 radio spots have been around forever. Most advertisers prefer to get the :60 spot so that they can fit in more stuff. And, perhaps Clear Channel needs to re-evaluate it's decisions on programming before they start blasting advertiser's ads- because I'm sure there are plenty of people (and I know quite a few) who have made a conscious decision to avoid Clear Channel stations due to their politics.

+ Anheuser-Busch is launching a caffeine-infused version of Budweiser, called Be, which also contains guarana and ginseng with a sweet/tart fruity aroma.

Anheuser-Busch's decision to roll out Be reflects the fact that consumers face a growing spectrum of drinking choices, said Bob Lachky, vice president, brand management, and director, global brand creative, at the domestic brewing unit.

Years ago, people defined their drinking through a particular brand, such as Budweiser, or a type of drink, such as wine, he said.

Now, they decide to drink a Budweiser or some wine depending on their mood, the drinking occasion - such as a date - or the time of day, Lachky said. "It's more about individuality and wanting something different and not conforming."

The new drink will help rejuvenate the Budweiser brand, McGauley said.

"It just adds a tremendous amount of contemporary adult attitude to the Budweiser name as well," he said. "It's bringing some very key consumer elements that young adult consumers are looking for under the Budweiser badge and name."

That's pretty cool. It's different for sure. If it tastes good it might stand a chance. Although I'm not sure about the increased numbers of caffinated drunks wandering the streets. ;)

+ Conflicting marketing research- 50 percent think that marketing research can't be trusted

The affair raises one of the thorniest questions in advertising today: can market research be trusted or is advertising a business in which judgment should hold as much sway?

Many creatives still share the touchingly naive belief that advertising should be an intuitive business in which people back their judgments rather than use research as a safety net.

But the days are long gone when a creative director, presenting a campaign to a worried client and asked for some tangible research why he thought it was so good could splutter ". . . it just is."

Today, as the advertising holding companies invest billions in buying research companies, and clients' chequebooks back that strategy, passion alone is not enough.

But at the same time, I'd like to point out that you can make research say anything you want it to. And this just proves that point.
All data is scewed in some way. Even Neilsen ratings, presidental polls, and the like all are subject to being faulty- and more than the +5/-5 percent thing that they state. Remember to ask how many people were polled? The fewer polled the highere the chance of inaccurate numbers. Were they really representitive of the whole? Because if not, again, you get inaccurate numbers.

+ British businessman Richard Branson, president of the Virgin Group, said today he hopes to begin carrying space tourists on sub-orbital flights in just three years. His new company, Virgin Galatic, has already sold tickets- apparently even one to Trevor Beattie of TBWA/London. Also ad-related, 7up already has announced a promotional contest for next year to give away at least one free ticket- currently of a value of $190,000.