:: adgruntie :: So bad it hurts!

+ Adgrunt johndoom submitted a totally bizarre ad to AdLand today. All I can say is that's some toothpaste ad!

I'm waiting for the complaints to come pouring into the ASA. We might see this one in bannage land if someone complains. The headlines are scary. And it's as if the concept was created just so the photographer, AD, CD and client could hang out on the set all day oogling a nake woman. Not that I'm surprised, but come on, if you're going to do that, at least have an idea. Granted this might have to get the worst ad of the year, and it's still January!

:: superbowl :: Fewer young adults watching SB for the ads

+ According to the "2006 Super Bowl Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey" 33.4 million consumers (15.3% of survey respondents) said that commercials were teh most important part of the Super Bowl. More than twice that amount say the game itself is the biggest reason they watch. The survey also showed that the 18–24 age group are less likely to watch the game for commercials this year (18.5%) compared to 2005 (24.5%).

"With young adults redirecting their focus toward the game this year, advertisers are going to be pulling out all of the stops to attract their attention," said Mike Gatti, executive vice president of RAMA. "Knowing the impact of Super Bowl commercials on branding, we can expect to see nothing less than the best-of-the-best."

The survey was conducted by BIGresearch for the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, a division of the National Retail Federation.

Maybe if the ads weren't such a let down they'd watch. Super Bowl ads are supposed to be something special, or at least have some sort of big memory hook to them. Probably only 5-8 will stick out and be remembered the next morning. Although which 5-8 will depend on the category that person falls into (male, female, age, etc).

:: superbowl :: Toyota SB ad preview

+ Toyota has released a preview of their Super Bowl ad on their site. (Windows Media)

Perhaps this is the year of the schmaltzy ad. ;)

:: adgruntie :: FreshDirect loves itself inNYC

+ The NY Times has an article discussing the new FreshDirect campaign running in NYC next week in an attempt to beat out Trader Joe's before they get to the area (their stores aren't opening until March or April).

FreshDirect is an online grocery service. Trader Joe's is a store. I do see that there is some overlap between the two but at the same time, there is a difference between a company that solely delivers it's goods and a place that shoppers can stroll into at their leisure. It reminds me of those circles from my college logic classes.

The ads are going to feature ex-mayor Ed Koch, over-hyped celebrity chef Bobby Flay, and supermodel, Paulina Porizkova.

The campaign is heavy on the usual New York self-congratulation. (In one commercial, Mr. Koch says of FreshDirect, "It's the best thing to ever happen to New York. O.K., maybe the second.")

Sounds awfully trite to me. But it's hard to tell without having seen the spots themselves.

Creative is by Gotham Incorporated in Manhattan. I have to say they have a decent tagline too: "Our food is fresh. Our customers are spoiled."

:: copy :: Punct this.

+ Great T-shirts from the National Punctuation Day site. Who knew there was such a day!

It's funny. The other night/day I saw one of those hideous spots, you know the kind. Every single line of copy on the screen (there was a lot) ended in a an exclaimation point. I kid you not. Then there were lines that had two and three and one, you know it had to be important because it had four!!!!

Uh, hello? You know someone needed to bitch-slap the client on that one. Just as annoying as the other cheap-ass ads that yell at you to buy their product. Sorry but no thanks.

:: adgruntie :: Is Brand a noun or verb

+ Brand. Noun not verb according to this opinion piece in BrandWeek.

:: adgruntie :: Scary tax animation

+ Good God. A massively disturbing animation featuring Uncle Sam for tax day in the US by Tribal DDB/Dallas. [via Creativity email]

Excuse me, I have to go wash my eyes out with bleach.

:: adgruntie :: Missing the target

+ Somewhat funny timing for this piece from Business Week, after yesterday's post on "pink" advertising/marketing.
Written by employees at 3iYing, an all-female market and design strategy firm, it discusses how advertisers often miss the mark when trying to speak to girls. They make some good points. One part I did find odd is that the writers claim they are the demographic but they aren't teens. They do their job to target teen girls (15 to 25)but are all their employees (why it took 7 of them to write that one piece is also something I find troubling)under 25? I guess it's possible.

Either way, the point that many advertisers don't get WHO they are talking to is a problem. No matter who that target audience is.

And actually it's one thing that I noticed in the buzz going around for Anheuser Busch's Super Bowl ad campaigns. In this article, Marlene Coulis, who was promoted to marketing head for AB in August, says this refreshing quote:

"If there's a new piece of insight I brought to our agencies it's that we have a lot of female beer drinkers, a lot of coed beer-drinking situations," Ms. Coulis said yesterday during an interview in Midtown Manhattan.

"They love beer," Ms. Coulis said of the women who consume an estimated 20 percent of the company's beer volume. "And they're influencers, they have influence over brand choice," she added, "so we want to make sure we equally appeal to males and females."

Thank you Ms. Coulis. It's about bloody time someone noticed! :)

:: media :: UK sets online creative policy

+ Members of the Association of Online Publishers (AOP) and the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) have come to an agreement on an industry policy for charging where there is late delivery of online advertising creative, effective from 1 April 2006.

Managing online inventory is complex and with some websites now reaching sell-out it is important that creative is received and tested in time in order to deliver campaigns in full.

Creative, correct to publishers’ specifications, should be delivered to the media owner within the standard IAB guidelines of three to five working days depending on format or to publisher specific guidelines. The industry bodies have agreed that charges will be made for creative received after 12:00 midday on the day before the campaign start date.

Charges will be at the publisher’s discretion and could take the form of a fixed charge and/or the full cost of the campaign invoiced with impressions pro rated down for each day creative is not live.

I wonder how much this will effect clients giving creative a day turnaround for the web. It'd be nice to see some moves forward on that front as well. Perhaps this will help.

:: adgruntie :: Samsung doesn't get women

+ Yes marketers, product designers....guess what? Just because it's pink doesn't mean it's going fly off the shelves. I think I'm going to start a mini series on this. So here's a quickie, to whet your appetite.
I came across this post at tamponblog (which rather ironically uses pink in the layout) on the Samsung E530 mobile phone.
Here's snip from Samsung's press release for their pink phone:

Want to know the real bit of fun with this feminine phone? A sub-menu in the applications section called ‘Women’s Life’. As you would expect to find, there are all sorts of things for the ladies in there – everything from the things you might like to know (such as the fragrance that best suits your personality) to things you’d prefer to forget (like your percentage body fat).

The Samsung E530 ‘Women’s Life’ includes:
Fragrance type: Are you lovable and soft? Then the sweet, fruity scent is for you.
Biorhythm: Find out the status of your physical, emotional and intellectual being on a daily or monthly basis. It even predicts how you’ll look and feel tomorrow!
Height/weight ratio: Simply plug in your height and weight to find out how you rate…if you dare.
Calories: Now that the Atkins is out, keep count of your calorie intake with this tracker.
Pink Schedule: This phone will even keep track of your cycle, telling you when it’s the best time to conceive…or when to avoid it.
Shopping list: Let your phone keep record of what you need to buy, how many you need and how much it’ll cost… but you will have to actually do the shopping yourself!

Excuse me??? WTF? This is incredibly insulting. What year is it? Geez.

Excuse me, I have to hie to the kitchen to be barefoot and pregnant. ;)

:: bloggy :: History of ...

+ A bunch of links on the history of tampons from Fascinating History, a blog that describes itself as "All that is fascinating and unusual in history."

Kinda cool. Shame the posts aren't real frequent lately.

:: adgruntie :: Irksome

+ Just got a call from a "we find you work" place. You know one of those we'll-find-you-work-every-once-in-a-while-like-maybe-once-a-year-and-when-we-call-you-it-will-be-for-the-next-day but-we-won't-bother-to-give-you-more-than-24-hours-notice-Oh-yeah-and-we'll-pay-you-crap-for-it-too-because-
we-really-don't-value-you-as-a-key-resource-for-our-company-to-make-money-off-of-You're-just-a-pawn-to-us-type places.
Some are great. And some just really piss me off.

:: media :: How will media agencies change?

+ A look at how media agencies might evolve to adapt to an ever-changing commercial media world over the next decade.

It's a bit long but a worthwhile read.

:: adgruntie :: Singletons should not be ignored

+ Intellagencia.com reports that advertisers are ignoring singletons, according to a report by Carat.

The report, called Singledom, goes on to say that "advertisers who exploit the opportunity singles present will find themselves one step ahead of the competition and ideally positioned to secure loyalty as a singles innovator".

Other key findings from the report, which marks the second phase of Carat's £100,000 Project Britain study, include:

* Two thirds of singletons believe they have more money to spend on themselves as a result of being single

* Forty-three percent of singletons live alone, increasing demand for accommodation, household items, mortgages, home entertainment and new technology such as PVRs, iPods and computers

* Singletons are likely to be "whimsical" spenders and admit to 'spending money without thinking', 'buying things on impulse', 'buying the latest fashion brands/styles available' and 'buying things I don't need'

* 2006 will be the year when this group reaches critical mass, representing 30 percent (14.2 million) of the 16 to 64 year-old population. By 2010, this number is predicted to rise to 17 million

* Singles indexed well above the national average in terms of buying the newest fashion brands/styles available and following latest trends

* Singletons live for the short-term, while committed adults plan ahead and save money

Intersting stuff.

:: adgruntie :: Precident set for copyright infrigement online

+ Semi -interesting settlement on stolen online ads between lowermybills.com and nextag.

it has obtained a court judgment in its copyright infringement lawsuit against comparison-shopping site NexTag, which has been ordered to pay $200,000 to LowerMyBills.com. The company said the judgment against NexTag is among the first obtained in a lawsuit involving claims of copyright infringement of online advertising, paving the way for other online advertisers to protect their intellectual property. LowerMyBills is now pursuing separate lawsuits against other companies for copyright infringement.

:: adgruntie :: Viral for Village Voice

+ Another piece in the inbox from Friday (Damn I'm slow to get emails huh?)is from Universal Buzz. They just did a viral video for the
Village Voice. You can view it here.

I know this has been talked about elsewhere. Although I'm drawing a blank on where that was...might have been adlist. I haven't had a chance to watch it yet myself though. No sound on this computer I'm using today. Makes it difficult to review. ;)

Will have to check it out later. Feel free to post your own comments on it here though.

:: adgruntie :: Viral from Truck Design

+ Just got this bit of news sent in from Struck Design in Salt Lake City, UT.

Trace Pictures launches a viral/microsite promoting the new season of
Wanted: Ted or Alive for our long standing client OLN (www.olntv.com). The
site features the weirdest, wildest, and wackiest outtakes from the hit
survival series hosted by The Motorcity Madman himself, Ted Nugent. Since
launching just 3 days ago, the site has pulled in an overload of visitors
and a stream of heavy traffic.

Check it out at http://www.tedreckonings.com

Credits:
Client: OLN
Production Company: Trace Pictures Animation and Design
(http://www.tracepictures.com)
Creative Director: Justin Stephenson
Designer/Programmer: Mike Kern (http://www.motionboy.com)
Executive Producer: Trisha Emerson

:: adgruntie :: Coke gets in on SB hype

+ It's funny. You have to laugh a bit at least at the advertisers who are trying to get in on the Super Bowl gossip, while not having their ad run during the game, Coca Cola. Granted as Diet Pepsi is the sponsor of the NFL, perhaps they cannot. Although last year we saw a beer ad for a brand other than AB, so I'm not sure what the regulations are on that anymore.

But it's always amusing to see brands try to get in on the hype. It's also nothing new.

Coke, will showcase two 15-second commercials and a 60-second commercial for its Full Throttle energy drink. The Super Bowl ads will be the first television advertisements for Full Throttle.

The beverage company will also be advertising its Vault carbonated energy drink before the game through two 30-second commercials, bringing its ad spend for the Super Bowl to about $3.5 million.

"This is the ultimate guy event and with us having two guy-focused brands that we didn't have before, it was a great fit," said Coke spokeswoman Susan McDermott.

Coke will also be airing ads during the Oscars, as Pepsi decided not to return as the shows sponsor this year.

:: adgruntie :: Microsoft tries to shake off "huge American" image

+ A new Microsoft advertising campaign will aim to erase its image as "a huge American company." The $120 million campaign by McCann Erickson will include television, print and the Internet, narration by William Macy and "highlights Microsoft's education and economic development projects in 32 countries, including France and Taiwan.

Well, good luck!

"We are often perceived as a huge American company," group advertising manager Mike Lucero said Friday in an interview.

"We wanted to be very specific about what we are doing in each country in education, innovation, economic opportunity and security," he said.

Yes but you're not going to shake off the fact that you're seen as a massive American company, because that's exactly what you are!

It's strange that Microsoft wants to fight this notion. Or attempt to change it. Although I suppose in the current state of socio-political world we're living in right now, maybe they feel it's damaging to their business.

:: superbowl xl :: Emerald Nut to advertise SB ad

+ To Emerald Nuts, it's not enough to have a spot *in* the Super Bowl which is being covered by many many journalists and media. No, they have to advertise the fact.

Ads-for-ads makes sense to Tim Cannon, Emerald's director of marketing. He tells The Wall Street Journal they're looking for a way to break through the clutter.

The company will be running newspaper ads in The New York Times and USA Today, to tout their :30 Super Bowl spot.

Another report says "the company hopes to capitalize on the word-puzzle aspect of the campaign by running ads featuring the letter jumble next to the crossword puzzle in The New York Times, and inviting readers to submit their own variations online." It's unclear at the moment if the letter jumble will run as the teaser to the ad or run afterwards.

:: adgruntie :: Battle of the AdBlogs

+Wow I'm honored. Today AdLand announced the nominations in their first Battle of the AdBlogs.

And I'm a nominee in the best general ad commentary. Some good folks in that category with me too.

Actually lots of good blogs listed there, many worth checking out.

The winner gets a tee and fame and glory. hah. So click that badge below. Contest ends Feb 10th.



UPDATE: Dammit. I just posted and checked the post and wouldn't you guess, my web host is down. Typical huh? Hopefully it will be back up soon so this page doesn't look like a total piece of sheet. Annoying how that knocks out the style sheet and images and everything.

:: adgruntie :: Luke Sulllivan makes poopy One Show viral

+From Creativity Email: "If you haven't seen the entertaining viral promo by Luke Sullivan for the One Show, check it out here. That donkey ought to be nominated for something."

Yeah, lamest use of an ass...ever. This sucks donkey testicles. I'm seriously disappointed. But it's times like this that you realize that even those ad gurus are human and they can miss the mark just as easily as the rest of us. Plus it doesn't help that when they falter, they tend to have farther to fall than the majority of us. ;)

:: adgruntie :: Amazon Fishbowl and sponsored radio

+ Amazon.com developing an online talk show. Titled "Amazon Fishbowl with Bill Maher, it will be a 30 minute program with guests and the show's sponsor, UPS,"will receive a Publishers Clearing House-style segment in each program, in which customers will be surprised by a celebrity who shows up along with their UPS delivery."

The companies did a similar "Special Deliveries" promotion last summer for Amazon's 10th anniversary, featuring stars like Harrison Ford, Michael J. Fox, Nick Lachey and Jeff Bridges. This is just the latest in the companies attempt to attract users. Other efforts include short films (which stunk), put on a live concert for its 10th anniversary, and had celebrities contribute original content.

Sounds pretty lame.

This morning I had the radio on and heard a promo bit by some auto dealership who sponsored a whole hour of commercial free air time. Now that IS smart. Would have been better if they could have gotten prime drive time, but still 9am-10am isn't too bad. I like the idea and it could be a good way for traditional radio stations to keep up more with the satellite radio stations.

:: adgruntie :: More Ethical WOM

+ Adage.com reports that apparently disclosure doesn't harm WOM effectiveness. In fact they think it might help. Found this blurb "jaw-dropping":

BzzAgent didn't initially require disclosure, but its leadership learned that it is more effective and more ethical to do so and eventually changed its policy.

Hahaha are you serious? Either the writer of this article has a huge sense of humor or...I just don't know. How the hell can you not know that not giving disclosure isn't ethical? (lots of negatives I know). Still it's absurd.

:: outdoor :: Billboard to make you groan

+ Could this be the worst punny billboard of 2006? (from freelancefred via AdScam.

:: adgruntie :: Freelancers aren't good enough

+ Why is it that us freelancers never get to partake in the fun of these sort of things? It's absolutely stupid. I get the no student thing but considering the fact that there are still plenty of fantabulous creatives currently freelancing while the ad world is still recovering, I find this to be totally stupid. Sorry.

:: agency things :: HHCL site redone

+ HHCL has a new site, well new since I last went to visit it. I like the design. It's much cleaner and less cluttered than before.

:: superbowl xl :: AT&T gets in on the game

+ AT&T plans to air a commercial that will "unveil" the global network customers never see, the company is set to announce today.

The 30-second spot uses special effects to make the world look transparent - revealing AT&T's hidden telecom network. It will air nationally during the Super Bowl pre-game coverage between the coin toss and kick-off, AT&T execs told the Daily News.

The same commercial will also run during the game in the 13 states served by the former SBC, which are primarily in the Midwest, the West and Connecticut.

The high-tech ad is part of a massive AT&T campaign created by ad agencies GSD&M and Rogers Townsend, that kicked off on New Year's Eve.

Already being called the most ambitious ad blitz of the year, the AT&T spots feature rock group Oasis singing "All Around the World" and have the tag line "Your World. Delivered."

Let's hope it will be less "yawn" inducing than what they're airing now. ;)

:: adgruntie :: Plastic Ronald tries to take on BK's King

+ Adage.com reports that McDonald's is using Ronald statues to take on BK's plasticy King.

The Golden Arches' new branding spots show how people interact with the life-size Ronald McDonald statues typically found in the restaurants. Created by Omnicom Group's TBWA/Chiat/Day, Playa del Rey, Calif., the commercials aim to "share how our customers relate to the world's most famous clown and the bond they have with our brand," said a McDonald's spokesman. "They are reminiscent of the McDonald's spots of years ago that tug at your heartstrings."

The spokesman said the effort continues the "I'm Lovin' It" theme and jingle. The series marks the first branding work created by TBWA in the U.S., a duty previously handled by roster shops DDB, Chicago, an Omnicom sibling, and Publicis Groupe's Leo Burnett, Chicago. As many as 10 spots will air on "event" media programming including the Olympic Games and the Oscars, according to media industry executives, although the fast-food chain wouldn't confirm media plans or how many spots were created.

Woop-de-doo. Poor McDonald's. They try so hard, I actually sorta feel bad for them.

The article continues on to make the point that McD's has tried for years to make Ronald (created originally for kids)relevant to adults. I think this has been a large problem overall in the McDonald's marketing.

They've got the kid advertising and parent advertising down. But they do not have the advertising down to reach young adults or older folk who aren't being asked by kids to go to McD's. This is where they fall flat on their face. At least in the US advertising they do. I have seen some good stuff for them come out of other countries in Archive and the like, although you also never know with pubs like those if they actually ran or whatever.

But either way, it always seems that when McD's tries to be hip they fail. My guess on this is that the agencies go for it and push the boundries, but are pulled back, told to take out key elements that make the advertising target the right groups. The edginess (excuse the use of this trite term) is sucked out and the ads are flat and lacking. They connect to no one as the original concepts are watered down to appease everyone.

I think McD's would have much better success at reaching young adults, and adults in general by not being afraid to not come across as the "kids place to go". This is what BK has done. Yes, they still have their kids advertising which is less hard core or bizarre, but they aren't afraid to go to the other side and be a bit crazy and fun and "edgy".

The other problem they seem to have is that in many ways "I'm lovin' it" is them talking to themselves. I'm not sure exactly how much consumers really relate to that thought.

I think I've seen one of these new spots. In it an actor in a squirrel costume sits on a bench next to a plastic Ronald while talking about healthy stuff. I do have to say, it did make me stop. Although I totally missed much of what the squirrel was talking about because I was busy trying to figure out what was going on. Guess I need to see it again. Athough from my first impression, I will bet that many will say it's very "BK" or "Crispin" in style. And it wouldn't surprise me if that is intentional.

:: adgruntie :: Getting in your brain, again

+ Adweek has an interesting but very long article on neuroscience and advertising.Hhere's an excerpt:

Morris acknowledges that the use of MRI in marketing is in its infancy and will have to hurdle a number of obstacles. For one, test results of emotion are more complicated for agencies to interpret. "Emotions are difficult to understand, and it is not as easy as measuring recall," Morris says. "One group responds one way, and one group responds another way and it is important to understand why those groups react so differently. Often, advertisers and agencies react by saying this is too complicated. I think they are making a mistake because this is richer data, and it is highly predictive of behavior."

Those who believe that emotions guide reason and spark attention also agree that biological measurements are not enough to tap into how consumers really think. The emotional response task force also plans to analyze the methods designed to uncover what goes on inside a consumer's unconscious mind. Such a journey involves an understanding of symbolism and metaphors in the case of Zaltman's technique; an appreciation of cultural anthropology, which is the basis of work done by Sal Randazzo, a former agency account planner turned qualitative researcher and CEO of ConsumerWorks, a Toms River, N.J., market research firm; and knowledge of archetypes, the preferred tool of the controversial psychologist and marketing guru G. Clotaire Rapaille, known in Detroit circles as the "car doctor." Rapaille's archetype discovery process will not be studied by the task force, but advertiser Brown-Forman used his technique to redesign its logo for Jack Daniel's.

Harvard's Zaltman is big on convincing advertisers that the consumer is the key to "co-creating" stories that can then be used in ads. In a 2005 speech, he said, "It is essential to understand the meaning that is created as consumers use their existing ideas to make sense of advertising content." He asks open-ended questions that focus on feelings to uncover a consumer's deep metaphors. For example, the word "container" is considered a metaphor of something that protects. Parents want to protect their babies. Consider the imagery used in the Michelin tire ad in which a baby is seen standing inside a tire surrounded by stuffed animals. The tire conveys safety.

There's something interesting in all this. But I can't help but wonder, can science really tap into the connections to make it an "across the board" sort of thing? Plus the expense of using MRI machines to test a campaign seems a bit much too. Perhaps we'll be seeing a Renaissance, merging the art form of advertising with the science of nuerology, but there's something in my gut that makes me think that there are many many hurdles to overcome before this technique would be come commonplace in the world of advertising and marketing.

This is something that's been chatted about profusely during the last few years. I see researchers getting all excited about being able to get the data. But, it still seems that there is so much further to go in the development of this, not to mention the moral implications of using such techniques, it's highly possible we may never see it used, at least in our lifetimes.

:: adgruntie :: Absolutly New Campaign

+ Business Week reports Absolut is ending their iconic bottle ad campaign.

Though V&S is unwilling to put a precise dollar figure on the new campaign, it won't come cheap. The ads from Absolut's global agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day in New York, position the liquor as "The Absolute Vodka," while highlighting other classics that are "absolutes" in pop culture. One spot features footage from the Apollo moon landing under the banner "Absolute Road Trip." Another shows Marilyn Monroe entertaining troops with the tag line "Absolute Morale Booster." The 30-second spots will debut on cable channels such as Comedy Central, Fox Sports Net, and E!

As part of the new marketing push in the U.S., Absolut also commissioned rock musician Lenny Kravitz to come up with his own interpretation of the Absolut brand. The result is a dance track (with no mention of Absolut of vodka anywhere in the lyrics) entitled Breathe, which listeners can download for free from Absolut's Web site. "It's a continuation of previous collaborations we've done with fashion designers and artists," Kempe-Forsberg explains. "It's about positioning ourselves as a creative brand, and the music brings us closer to the places where Absolut is consumed."

:: superbowl xl :: Dove gets in on the game

+ USA Today reports that Dove will be airing a new spot from their "Campaign for Real Beauty" campaign during Super Bowl XL. I have to say I'm somewhat surprised that they bought time during the game. Although in other ways I'm not surprised at all. The Super Bowl has many women viewers, probably more than any other football game throughout the year.

The concept for this ad follows the others from last year.

This ad, by Ogilvy & Mather, features girls picked from schools, sports leagues and the Girl Scouts.

One dark-haired girl "wishes she were blonde." Another "thinks she's ugly." A red-haired girl "hates her freckles." The music is Cyndi Lauper's True Colors, sung by the Girl Scouts Chorus of Nassau County, N.Y.

It will be interesting to see where in the lineup the ad ends up, because juxtaposition could play a large role in increasing the effectiveness as well. Just imagine it ending up after an ad for GoDaddy or one of the other ads that will possibly use a blonde, svelt model...then again, Dove parent Unilever has also bought time for Degree so it's also possible they will put them together in the same pod.

:: adgruntie :: Icons of England

+ What's the iconic identity of England? It's the question Culture Online is aiming to find out with a new initiative which cost £1million. At Icons- A portrait of England visitors can vote for what icon they thing represents England as well as make nominations.

:: adgruntie :: TBS Humor Study

+ John Cleese gives visitors the tour of TBS' Humor Study created by Mother, NY. The site includes a "scientific" survey to determine your humor quotient, humor lab where you can watch their tv spots, periodic table of laughter, and other bits like a cut-out anthropomorphication workshet for your office supplies.

:: media :: Lifetime wants fans to "dump dish"

+ According to a press release by Lifetime Television, Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network were yanked from the air without warning by DISH on New Year's Eve.

This outrageous action by DISH affects approximately 12 million DISH subscribers, including approximately 8 million women. DISH yanked Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network off the air, despite Lifetime's multiple offers to extend its contract to keep the networks on the air while the two sides negotiated. The offers were repeatedly refused by DISH CEO Charlie Ergen.

And according to a piece in the LA Times this is due to a contract disagreement.

EchoStar, the No. 2 U.S. satellite TV provider, pulled the Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network channels from its lineup because of a contract dispute, EchoStar said Jan. 1.
"The contract they sent over called for a 76% price increase," EchoStar spokesman Mark Cicero said. He challenged Lifetime to waive the right to pricing confidentiality.
Lifetime spokesman Gary Morgenstein disputed Cicero's comment, saying the new contract called for 4 cents more per customer than a previous agreement that expired Dec. 31. Negotiations were ongoing, he said.

Either way in response to the dropping of their channel, yesterday Lifetime began a "Dump Dish" and "Take back your Lifetime" campaign, using radio, TV and print ads in Houston, Albuquerque, Orlando, Raleigh-Durham (NC) and Greenville (SC). They have also teamed up with cable operators, which are offering $200 to Dish satellite TV subscribers who switch their service. In addition there were demonstrations and rallies in support of Lifetime in both Houston and in Greenville, SC.

:: adgruntie :: Fort Franklin creates first TV spot for Magic Hat

+ Fort Franklin is working on a new campaign for Magic Hat Brewing.

 An estimated $1 million to $3 million marketing push is expected to launch before the end of the first quarter. The efforts come as Magic Hat slowly expands its presence into other regions. Magic Hat saw a 30 percent increase in sales last year, the brewery said.
The campaign will include online, print and the brand’s first television spot.
"They’ve asked to really push it,” said Marc Gallucci, chief executive and creative director at Fort Franklin. “They need a kind of a way to communicate who they are to the rest of the world.”
To that end, the agency plans to promote Magic Hat with humor while avoiding the use of sex. “Definitely not sexy,” Gallucci said.

FF won the biz late last year.

:: shiny things :: An Apple A Day

+ Yesterday at Macworld, new Apple products were announced. They include the new Macbook Pro with an Intel ad (voiceover by Keifer Sutherland). Also faster speed iMac, new iPod with video/new iTunes including new downloadable videos (see iPod ads here), and new software and new widgets!

Get out the company charge card and start your purchasing! ;)

:: adgruntie :: A thought

+ I'm strange. I have been wondering of late what the greats of advertising who are long gone would think of what's going on in the world of advertising. I know, I need to get a life, huh? ;)

:: adgruntie :: Emotion, schmotion.

+ Brandweek (and other VNU pubs like Adweek) is running a piece in their "Feature & Opinion" section by Leslie Picot-Zane, owner of The Center for Emotional Marketing, a brand consultancy.

The article ponders if advertising is too emotional. She basically says that all ad creatives want to make branding type ads, rather than help the client sell their product. Sure. That's the ticket! The end of the piece basically states that there needs to be a balance between the emotional sell and the "logical" sell. No shit? Really. Wow, my eyes are opened up now! Way to state the obvious honey.

I'm sorry but this article feels like a paid ad spot for a company that doesn't even have a web site up yet. Try googling "Center for Emotional Marketing" and you get a couple references to the name but no site. At the end of the article there is a web address, which goes to a "under construction" type page.

If you want to talk marketing, perhaps you should do some work on your own before trying to become some ad guru in the pages of Brandweek or Adweek or wherever else this article is running. Just a thought.

:: adgruntie :: why group targets so large?

+ Strategy Magzine is holding a conference in Toronto entitled "Understanding Men: Metro or Retro" with the aim to best learn how to drill down the target market that is men.

Ok...wait just one moment here. Does some researcher really think that they can make such broad types of claims about a gender group that can be so incredibly diverse? WTF?...argh.

I never understood the groupings of "men" and "women" in the way that it's done usually. Ok so men. Yeah. And sure you go further by narrowing down by age (although sometimes those groupings are ridiculously large too like 18-54...come on) but that still leaves out so many factors and such. It's so silly.

If any client or AE handed me a strategy with "Target: Men 18-54" and left it at that I think I'd find it hard not to laugh in their face. Sometimes mass media isn't the problem. The problem begins much more closer to the beginning with strategies like that.

:: adgruntie :: Consumer experiences

+ CIO reports on the "Are You Being Served" study done by Grass Roots using mystery shoppers. Big changes show that staff product knowledge (or what consumers think the staff should know) is down, but friendliness is up. It's somewhat interesting to see the results. I think it's put best here:

As we know, consumers do business as much with people as they do with institutions or brands. The slickest advertising and creative surroundings can only be effective if the customer experience lives up to the expectations they create. Retailers would do well to remember that marketing is not just about creating brand awareness; it is the entire customer experience.

Of course there are circumstances where this is not totally valid, such as purchases made online with no human interaction of any kind. But that still means that the packages need to get to the customer ontime, accurately,etc. And in those instances I suppose that would be the completion of the entire customer experience.

It is something that some companies leave by the way-side and don't pay as much attention to as they should. Just a good thing to remember.

Back in action

+Well, it's been over a month since I've posted here. Life got crazy and a bunch of stuff kept me from having the time to post or else I'd end up posting it over at AdLand while filling in. But I'm back at it again now. Or I plan to be. But we'll see what happens. Heck, I have no idea if people are even coming here anymore...I haven't checked visitor stats in ages. Funny.

Well let's see, I guess I'll start with if you want to see best and worst and a bunch of other ad roundup type stuff stop by AdLand.