Yet Another Facebook Story: iPhone Edition

Until I saw it on TV last night, I didn’t know there was an iPhone specific version of Facebook. But there is and Apple wants the MyFaceSpacers to know about it.

Taylor to lead TradeDoubler marketing

LONDON – TradeDoubler, the digital marketing outfit, has appointed Caroline Taylor as its group marketing director.

Deadline for outdoor planning awards

LONDON – Just one day remains for submissions to be made for the Clear Channel Outdoor Planning Awards, in association with Media Week.

Iraq and Somalia most deadly for journalists in 2007

LONDON – Almost 100 journalists and other media workers were killed last year with almost half of those deaths occurring in Iraq, according to a report.

DMA drops Business List Audit amid recriminations

LONDON – The Business List Audit, the scheme invented to tackle the high rates of decay in business-to-business data, has folded amid claims that its sponsor, the Direct Marketing Association, did not do enough to promote it.

Garbage Men Clean Up

Waste Management. Quick. Do you think Tony Soprano? Or do you think green pioneer?

The New York Times has the story…

“We want all people to think of Waste Management as an environmental services company, not just one that picks up trash,” said Brooke B. Farrell, a vice president of FKM, Waste Management’s longtime advertising agency.

For the last three years Waste Management has been spending $25 million to $30 million a year to run print and television advertisements highlighting the amount of energy it generates from burning trash each year (enough to power one million homes), the amount of acreage it has set aside for wildlife habitats (more than 17,000 acres), the number of trees it has saved by recycling paper (41 million last year).

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Teknograd – Keeping your computer safe – Posters, Norway

Here’s another campaign from ad agency 2008scandinavia for the Norwegian Mac Support company Teknograd. This particular example reminded me of the excellent pass time blog Skull-A-Day. Must go make skulls now, ta-ta.

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Feeling itchy beneath a mountain of debt

Debtdisease “Keep it in your pants.” If I had a dime for every time I’ve heard that around the AdFreak office! I wish HR would get a sense of humor. Anyway, if I had said collection of dimes, I’d be able to pay off my creditors. Which segues seamlessly into a discussion of the Keep It in Your Pants PSA competition targeting credit-card “debt disease.” The Service Employees International Union and the League of Young Voters sponsor the contest. There’s a $5,000 first prize for best homemade debt-awareness video. I probably don’t qualify to enter, but if I did, I’d film an average tear-filled day in my debt-ridden life, punctuated by pithy dialogue like, “What petty cash? You can’t prove nothin’ ” and “Can I borrow $1,000 for a cup of coffee?” I’m a little short on funds, so I’d use my Discover Card to finance the project. Next year’s corporate tie-in is a no-brainer: “Keep it in your John Deere Jeans!”

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Slip into a pair of rugged John Deere jeans

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John Deere is getting into the apparel business with a line of jeans. It’s a move I’ve long dreaded and prayed would never come to pass. Oh, I’ve got nothing against “trousers made especially for people who work the land,” as Brandweek puts it, in a line John Steinbeck might have coined after falling off a tractor following a long day in the hot sun. No, I fear it will be like 1993 all over again: a Clinton in the White House … and Joe Diffie on the radio, croaking out pro-pants platitudes to the tune of his country-crap classic “John Deere Green.” Reworked, of course, as “John Deere Jeans.” It writes itself: “They were farm kids who needed pants/For the Dixie harvest dance/They’ll sure look good in John Deere Jeans.” As for a Mr. Green Jeans tie-in, well, the brand would have to move a little upmarket for that.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Barclays to buy Goldfish

LONDON – Barclays Bank PLC has agreed pay £35m in cash for Discover’s UK credit card business, including the Goldfish brand.

Digital: Microsites’ redeeming features

Brands are fast jumping on the internet bandwagon to add oomph to their promotional campaigns.

VSO seeks marketers to improve lives in Africa and Asia

LONDON – International volunteer charity VSO is recruiting talented marketers who would rather promote HIV and AIDS messages in India or assess natural resource markets in Cambodia rather than flog FMCG products in the UK.

Taco Bell – Will Writers Guild of America (WGA) write for food?

Ho-kay, Taco Bell’s saucyscribe competition is “only open to current members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA)” and the winner who jots down a cute “sauce wisdom” not only gets to hone his craft of writing (gag!) but also free Taco Bell food (double gag!) – in the form of one $5 Taco Bell gift check per week for 52 weeks, redeemable at participating Taco Bell® locations). Approximate retail value of each prize is $260.00.

This is so backward. Taco Bell probably in all honesty just created this game meaning to show support for the striking writers. But listen, games where creatives of any kind (photographers, designers, writers, art directors etc) give away the craft that they would normally get paid to do, for the remote possibility of maybe perhaps winning something trivial are a big fat insult to our professions to begin with. Cut it the fuck out. This one is simply twice as insulting as it’s going on as support to a strike, which is about the pay all creatives have a hard time getting in the first place (because youknow, being creative isn’t really a job).

The backlash has begun, of course and MetroBlogging Los Angeles notes Taco Bell offer STILL better than AMPTP’s

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Water Conservation – Giant plugs in Dublin


These vinyl stickers are becoming increasingly popular as advertising media. Dublin City uses them to seal the drains with a giant sink plug. The tagline reads: “Water is precious. Let’s conserve it.”

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Cocktail snares job spanning Mr Men to Noddy

LONDON – Chorion, which holds the licensing rights to well-known children’s characters such as the Mr Men, has signed up Cocktail Marketing to develop promotional partnerships.

Interface New Media snaps up IncentiveDirect

LONDON – Online motivation and incentive business IncentiveDirect has been acquired by digital agency Interface New Media.

Nivea turns to Space for men’s deodorant line

LONDON – Nivea is using integrated agency Space to run promotional activity around the launch of men’s deodorant Double Effect.

Grass Roots in restructure of BDR division

LONDON – Motivation house Grass Roots has announced a management shake-up of customer strategy division Grass Roots BDR.

Asda devotes gift aisles to Valentine’s Day

LONDON – Asda has launched its Valentine’s Day in-store promotion to encourage sales of merchandise related to the event.

Sub Lime bags video game licensing brief

LONDON – Rockstar Games has hired Sub Lime to handle licensing for its upcoming Midnight Club racing title.