....just got a bit easier to get into. If you fly Air New Zealand, that is.
Y'all know that I'm not usually a fan of the whole sex sells thing (because let's be real -- how uncreative can you get?) but this one is pretty cute. It's meant to illustrate that Air New Zealand's fares have nothing to hide - unlike all those damn US airlines, Air New Zealand won't use hidden fees to, er, screw you over.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Eeek...
I've been bad. I haven't updated my blog in TWO weeks. TWO WEEKS! Not good. Sorry. And since you already think I'm a blogging loser, I'll also confess that I am absolutely EXHAUSTED, so this post will be short. Sorry. Again.
So without further ado -- yawn -- let's get started.
As my friends (or as anyone who has ever met me for about half a second) knows, I am OBSESSED with the show Gossip Girl. LOVE. IT. It's seriously a problem. Anyway, Gossip Girl recently partnered with Dove for a pretty cool promotion. I'm actually kind of digging it. Check out the clip below.
Basically, Dove created short vignettes of four real NYC gals in which they talk about their hopes, dreams, issues, what it means to be a socialite, blah, blah blah. Think profiles of Gossip Girl characters.... but with uglier ladies. (Oops, is that mean?) The clips aired during the Gossip Girl commercial breaks, and they were actually kind of interesting. Plus, the only reference to Dove was when they introduced the commercial/mini-show. I like that, obviously.
Dove did a similar promotion last year with MTV. It's an interesting way to engage an audience in a different way -- you're not selling to them, but instead showing that you get them. You're connecting with them and giving them content and info they want. Sounds sweet to me.
What do you think? Cool....or should the commercials be shipped off the Jersey? (Ew!)
So without further ado -- yawn -- let's get started.
As my friends (or as anyone who has ever met me for about half a second) knows, I am OBSESSED with the show Gossip Girl. LOVE. IT. It's seriously a problem. Anyway, Gossip Girl recently partnered with Dove for a pretty cool promotion. I'm actually kind of digging it. Check out the clip below.
Basically, Dove created short vignettes of four real NYC gals in which they talk about their hopes, dreams, issues, what it means to be a socialite, blah, blah blah. Think profiles of Gossip Girl characters.... but with uglier ladies. (Oops, is that mean?) The clips aired during the Gossip Girl commercial breaks, and they were actually kind of interesting. Plus, the only reference to Dove was when they introduced the commercial/mini-show. I like that, obviously.
Dove did a similar promotion last year with MTV. It's an interesting way to engage an audience in a different way -- you're not selling to them, but instead showing that you get them. You're connecting with them and giving them content and info they want. Sounds sweet to me.
What do you think? Cool....or should the commercials be shipped off the Jersey? (Ew!)
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
McCafe My Day
Would you like a cafe mocha with that Egg McMuffin?
Beginning today, McDonald's is going to be advertising its newest venture -- fancy coffee. It's supposedly the fast food giant's biggest advertising launch EVER. Check out the TV ads here. (And apologies for the random ad that may appear first -- I couldn't find a sample on YouTube yet.)
Mickey D's entire premise is to keep getting your fancy coffee...but get it for a lot less than you would pay at, say, Starbucks. And if it works, well, Starbucks needs to watch out. Some analysts say McDonald's McCafe could dent Starbucks' revenue by 5%. Not good, especially since Starbucks closed hundreds of stores and laid off over 12,000 employees last year.
But Starbucks isn't just sitting on its overpriced tush and letting McDonald's steal its customers. America's favorite yuppie coffee house is shooting back with a campaign touting the quality of its coffee as compared to McDonald's and other cheaper brews -- and it's is not making any apologies for the price. Here is a sample ad:
Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz says "We don't want the public to be misled that all coffee is equal, because it's not." Perhaps, but is your coffee worth an extra $2 a day, an extra $10 a week, and an extra $520 a year??? Given the current economic climate (I know, I know -- all my recent talk about the recession makes me sound like a broken record...), maybe not. Starbucks is already having to push back on rival Dunkin' Donuts, so McDonald's entrance into the coffee industry is probably raising the blood pressure of quite a few Starbucks employees.
So....what do you think of the new McDonald's ads? Enough to make you trade your Starbucks for a McCafe?
Beginning today, McDonald's is going to be advertising its newest venture -- fancy coffee. It's supposedly the fast food giant's biggest advertising launch EVER. Check out the TV ads here. (And apologies for the random ad that may appear first -- I couldn't find a sample on YouTube yet.)
Mickey D's entire premise is to keep getting your fancy coffee...but get it for a lot less than you would pay at, say, Starbucks. And if it works, well, Starbucks needs to watch out. Some analysts say McDonald's McCafe could dent Starbucks' revenue by 5%. Not good, especially since Starbucks closed hundreds of stores and laid off over 12,000 employees last year.
But Starbucks isn't just sitting on its overpriced tush and letting McDonald's steal its customers. America's favorite yuppie coffee house is shooting back with a campaign touting the quality of its coffee as compared to McDonald's and other cheaper brews -- and it's is not making any apologies for the price. Here is a sample ad:
Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz says "We don't want the public to be misled that all coffee is equal, because it's not." Perhaps, but is your coffee worth an extra $2 a day, an extra $10 a week, and an extra $520 a year??? Given the current economic climate (I know, I know -- all my recent talk about the recession makes me sound like a broken record...), maybe not. Starbucks is already having to push back on rival Dunkin' Donuts, so McDonald's entrance into the coffee industry is probably raising the blood pressure of quite a few Starbucks employees.
So....what do you think of the new McDonald's ads? Enough to make you trade your Starbucks for a McCafe?
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Anti-Gay Marriage Ads
Did you hear about a new anti-gay marriage advertising campaign? Seems that Miss California, a cute Christian college coed named Carrie Prejean, is the star of a new campaign created by the National Organization for Marriage. Why her? As anyone who has been on YouTube during the last two weeks will recall, Ms. Prejean recently lost the Miss USA competition. She claims it was for this controversial answer:
Anyway, the new ad is titled "No offense" ('cause no offense, but gays are gross and immoral, right?). You can view it here.
My thoughts: I'm pro-gay marriage, so I obviously don't agree with Ms. Prejean. At the same time though, I respect her for having the guts to speak her truth. My biggest problem -- why would the National Organization for Marriage pick such an uninformed and inarticulate spokesperson to represent them? Ms. Prejean is probably a very sweet and lovely young woman, but her ability to argue her point, both at the Miss USA competition and in subsequent interviews, is clearly lacking. To be blunt -- she's a blond bimbo. Apparently the National Organization for Marriage couldn't find anyone better to support their cause. Hmm....I wonder why.
Anyway, the new ad is titled "No offense" ('cause no offense, but gays are gross and immoral, right?). You can view it here.
My thoughts: I'm pro-gay marriage, so I obviously don't agree with Ms. Prejean. At the same time though, I respect her for having the guts to speak her truth. My biggest problem -- why would the National Organization for Marriage pick such an uninformed and inarticulate spokesperson to represent them? Ms. Prejean is probably a very sweet and lovely young woman, but her ability to argue her point, both at the Miss USA competition and in subsequent interviews, is clearly lacking. To be blunt -- she's a blond bimbo. Apparently the National Organization for Marriage couldn't find anyone better to support their cause. Hmm....I wonder why.
Friday, April 24, 2009
I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream....
For Ice Cream!
Read an article today about how Houston's fave artery-clogging, mixin-lovin' ice cream shop, Marble Slab, is rebranding itself. Courtesy of MarketingDaily:
"This spring, the chain, which has more than 390 locations in 35 states, Canada, Mexico, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the U.A.E., will roll out redesigned packaging on all containers and point-of-purchase materials. The new containers will highlight the tagline "Find Happiness Within" and move from plastic to paper to be more environmentally friendly. "
Other rebranding initiatives include a new website that will appear more "high-end" as well as new store designs in a pink and brown palette.
Interesting. Marble Slab has always been the ugly stepsibling to other ice cream shops (think Cold Stone and the new tart places that seem to be popping up everywhere). The new brand is supposed to change this by connecting customers with the "gourmet" ice cream experience they're looking for. I don't know if I buy the whole gourmet ice cream thing, but hey, my fave ice cream is a Wendy's frosty, so I don't exactly have refined taste.
It will certainly be interesting to see what happens. Admittedly, my eyebrows do raise (just a little) about an ice cream shop trying to appear more high end in this economic climate. Given the slowing sales at Starbucks and the (relative) stability of it's blue collar competitor, Dunkin' Donuts, going high end seems like a suicide wish. I guess only time -- or a couple banana splits -- will tell.
Read an article today about how Houston's fave artery-clogging, mixin-lovin' ice cream shop, Marble Slab, is rebranding itself. Courtesy of MarketingDaily:
"This spring, the chain, which has more than 390 locations in 35 states, Canada, Mexico, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the U.A.E., will roll out redesigned packaging on all containers and point-of-purchase materials. The new containers will highlight the tagline "Find Happiness Within" and move from plastic to paper to be more environmentally friendly. "
Other rebranding initiatives include a new website that will appear more "high-end" as well as new store designs in a pink and brown palette.
Interesting. Marble Slab has always been the ugly stepsibling to other ice cream shops (think Cold Stone and the new tart places that seem to be popping up everywhere). The new brand is supposed to change this by connecting customers with the "gourmet" ice cream experience they're looking for. I don't know if I buy the whole gourmet ice cream thing, but hey, my fave ice cream is a Wendy's frosty, so I don't exactly have refined taste.
It will certainly be interesting to see what happens. Admittedly, my eyebrows do raise (just a little) about an ice cream shop trying to appear more high end in this economic climate. Given the slowing sales at Starbucks and the (relative) stability of it's blue collar competitor, Dunkin' Donuts, going high end seems like a suicide wish. I guess only time -- or a couple banana splits -- will tell.
Friday, April 17, 2009
REALLY bad product placement
I'm not a big 90210 fan. (I really only watch it when I want to avoid going through my bills.) But I watched an episode the other day and OMIGOD ...MUST.BLOG.ABOUT.IT.
Some of you saw my facebook status a couple days ago about the show, so you know that I wasn't interested in (insert sarcasm here) the riveting storyline or award-quality acting. No, what shocked (and disgusted) me about the most recent episode was the ridiculous Dr. Pepper product placement. In fact, the LA Times compares it to a "'Saturday Night Live' spoof of a television show doing product placement." Yikes.
Check out these stills from the show (courtesy of NY Mag). Keep in mind that this is only a FRACTION of the Dr. Pepper placements in the show....I seriously thought that at one point Dixon would just turn into a can of the freaking drink. It was that bad.
(I especially love the second image 'cause when I road trip, I always make sure to pack my cooler with Dr. Pepper cans...and the logo is always showing. I guess I'm just cool like that.)
With the invention of Ti-Vo, I understand that companies are having to come up with new ways to get their brands in front of consumers. (Cause with the exception of Ad Geeks like myself, who watches commercials???) And to be honest, I think product placement can be a good way to reach these customers. But the key is to make sure it's not too blatant or inauthentic. I'm not stupid. I know when you're selling to me while pretending you're not. And that just pisses me off and makes me put that Dr. Pepper back on the shelf.
Some of you saw my facebook status a couple days ago about the show, so you know that I wasn't interested in (insert sarcasm here) the riveting storyline or award-quality acting. No, what shocked (and disgusted) me about the most recent episode was the ridiculous Dr. Pepper product placement. In fact, the LA Times compares it to a "'Saturday Night Live' spoof of a television show doing product placement." Yikes.
Check out these stills from the show (courtesy of NY Mag). Keep in mind that this is only a FRACTION of the Dr. Pepper placements in the show....I seriously thought that at one point Dixon would just turn into a can of the freaking drink. It was that bad.
(I especially love the second image 'cause when I road trip, I always make sure to pack my cooler with Dr. Pepper cans...and the logo is always showing. I guess I'm just cool like that.)
With the invention of Ti-Vo, I understand that companies are having to come up with new ways to get their brands in front of consumers. (Cause with the exception of Ad Geeks like myself, who watches commercials???) And to be honest, I think product placement can be a good way to reach these customers. But the key is to make sure it's not too blatant or inauthentic. I'm not stupid. I know when you're selling to me while pretending you're not. And that just pisses me off and makes me put that Dr. Pepper back on the shelf.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
When your marketing firm has bad ads
Hi all,
In Austin this weekend with the lovely Ms. Carolyn Goodwin. So far, it's been a perfect weekend --- too much food, too much wine, and too much sleep. Perfect.
At one part during the weekend, Carolyn's mom showed us an ad for a marketing firm in The Woodlands. "Have you heard of them?" Neither Carolyn nor I were familiar with the company (who shall remain nameless) but within 5 seconds we were both grimacing. Why? The ad, for said marketing firm, was awful.
I always find it humorous when marketing or advertising companies boast generic logos, advertisements created in word, or (worst of all) websites reminiscent of 1999. Yikes. What are these companies thinking? Sure, the average person isn't going to know great design from good design, but bad design? Sorry to break it to you -- they know. And the worst part? An advertising company with bad marketing materials is like a surgeon marketing a recent malpractice suit, or a home builder publicly admitting that his homes have leaky roofs.
My current company is doing stuff the right way. We're in the process of reworking our website -- admittedly it's overdue -- but in the meantime we've resisted keeping our old, out-dated site up. Although not having a web site is risky, we recognize that having a BAD site up is far worst.
What do you think? Are you equally as repulsed by marketing and advertising companies whose design or writing leaves much to be desired? Or am I just overly critical?
In Austin this weekend with the lovely Ms. Carolyn Goodwin. So far, it's been a perfect weekend --- too much food, too much wine, and too much sleep. Perfect.
At one part during the weekend, Carolyn's mom showed us an ad for a marketing firm in The Woodlands. "Have you heard of them?" Neither Carolyn nor I were familiar with the company (who shall remain nameless) but within 5 seconds we were both grimacing. Why? The ad, for said marketing firm, was awful.
I always find it humorous when marketing or advertising companies boast generic logos, advertisements created in word, or (worst of all) websites reminiscent of 1999. Yikes. What are these companies thinking? Sure, the average person isn't going to know great design from good design, but bad design? Sorry to break it to you -- they know. And the worst part? An advertising company with bad marketing materials is like a surgeon marketing a recent malpractice suit, or a home builder publicly admitting that his homes have leaky roofs.
My current company is doing stuff the right way. We're in the process of reworking our website -- admittedly it's overdue -- but in the meantime we've resisted keeping our old, out-dated site up. Although not having a web site is risky, we recognize that having a BAD site up is far worst.
What do you think? Are you equally as repulsed by marketing and advertising companies whose design or writing leaves much to be desired? Or am I just overly critical?
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Jack in the Box
My fave post-bar restaurant is revamping its style.
San Diego-based Jack in the Box is undergoing an entire brand makeover. New logo, new store layout and even a new website. Have you seen it? Check out some of the images below.
Thoughts? People seem to be mixed about the whole thing. Some people love it, others hate it. The major consensus is that it doesn't look like a fast food restaurant logo....
I personally dig it. Much better than the old, outdated one. Thoughts?
San Diego-based Jack in the Box is undergoing an entire brand makeover. New logo, new store layout and even a new website. Have you seen it? Check out some of the images below.
Thoughts? People seem to be mixed about the whole thing. Some people love it, others hate it. The major consensus is that it doesn't look like a fast food restaurant logo....
I personally dig it. Much better than the old, outdated one. Thoughts?
As seen on tv....
Did you hear that Billy Mays is getting a television show?
Don't know who Billy is? Trust me, you do. Watch.
I guess this is actually sort of old news. The show launches April 15 on the Discovery Channel and follows Billy (as well as Anthony Sullivan) during the taping of some of their two minute commercials.
Is it just me or is it sad that we now have a TV show about infomercials? Reality TV is getting to be too much....
Don't know who Billy is? Trust me, you do. Watch.
I guess this is actually sort of old news. The show launches April 15 on the Discovery Channel and follows Billy (as well as Anthony Sullivan) during the taping of some of their two minute commercials.
Is it just me or is it sad that we now have a TV show about infomercials? Reality TV is getting to be too much....
Sunday, March 29, 2009
I wanted a Mac but all I got was this lame PC
Have you seen the new Microsoft commercial? Lauren, a cute redhead 20-something, needs a new computer -- specifically a 17-inch laptop for under $1,000. She starts at the Apple store before discovering that you can't get a decent Mac for that cheap...so instead she's stuck going to Best Buy or Staples or some store like that and springing for an HP computer. The ad summary -- with a PC, you get more for your buck.
Advertising based strictly on price -- it's a relevant idea, given the state of the US economy, but does it work? I don't think so.
There are two major issues I have with the ad:
1) Advertising based on pricing only works in the short term. To successfully market something, the product has to be valuable. Basing an entire marketing strategy on selling a cheap product is the least effective way to add value to your product. Consumers aren't stupid, and we know that you get what you pay for. (And as a side note, the HP computer that Lauren ends up with sucks.)
2) In the end, Lauren doesn't get what she really wants (a Mac) and instead settles for what she can afford (settles being the key word here). Do you really want your product to be one that people "settle" on? It's hard to build long term brand loyalty when even you admit that the competition is better.
Thoughts?
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