Hasta La Creative!

I loathe Croc, but yet again I find myself writing about them. The company behind the beastly plastic shoes has released a branded cell phone holder that looks just like the slip on garden/nurse shoes, and in an array of atrocious colours too.

The mobile phone holsters are being released by Crocs …

Politics aren’t exactly my thing, and I’m definitely not directly expressing any views or endorsing anything here. I just read through Andrew Romano’s Newsweek Blog article from last week on Why The Obama Brand is Working. I hadn’t taken the time to really step back and look at what was going on – and I’m greatful that Romano did for me. A very interesting read. He writes:

Reinforced with a coherent, comprehensive program of fonts, logos, slogans and web design, Obama is the first presidential candidate to be marketed like a high-end consumer brand. And for folks who don’t necessarily need Democratic social programs–upscale voters, young people–I suspect that the novel comfort of that brand affiliation contributes (however subconsciously) to his appeal.

Interesting to look at in those terms. And also interesting to analyze everything from a marketing campaign level rather than a political campaign standpoint. I realize there are many similarities, and that many political campaigns are purely advertising, but, as Romano points out, it’s much more than just advertising. It’s a politcian producing branding that would make most companies envious.

Absorbs what others don’t. Pampers

Advertising Agency: Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, Buenos Aires, Argentina

An update on that frickin’ chicken thing, one half of WordsandPictures emailed to say:

Did a little looking online and found out the people making the complaint picketed the opening of the Civil War Museum with a banner reading “Proof America Condones Sodomy”. I don’t even GET that, but then I’m not crazy. 😉

here’s their comic take on it all.

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NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — With more TV programs returning to or launching on air after the writers strike, Ad Age TV Editor Brian Steinberg casts a critical eye on some of the new and continuing series to help marketers determine which may prove to be the best showcases for their ads and products. This week: "Canterbury's Law," a new Fox legal drama featuring a gusty but flawed heroine.

LONDON – The parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the public health minister Dawn Primarolo has called for an advertising push aimed at parents to curb the effects of youth binge drinking.

Back in the days before multicultural marketing — before anyone seemed to care about marketing to people other than English-speaking Caucasians — life in Casting Land was so much easier. Typecasting, a close cousin of stereotyping, was expected, accepted and understood. Then, one day, there was color.

In its new “Smart from the start” campaign, Brandeis University points up its historic association with Albert Einstein as well as its involvement in the creation of Smart Balance spread, a butter substitute developed by campus scientists. Einstein once said, “Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet,” but he didn’t specifically mention margarine. So I assume Einstein played no part in the Smart Balance saga, though he probably was hungry after coming up with the theory of relativity. Frankly, if he was smart enough to figure that out, he surely concluded that cream cheese or Nutella are the way to go, spread-wise. Particularly when slathered on an Einstein Bros. bagel. (Gatorade, by the way, was developed at the University of Florida—you can look it up.)

—Posted by David Gianatasio

LONDON – Cartoon Network, the Turner Broadcasting-owned TV channel, has created its first viral marketing campaign, featuring Robotboy, a cartoon broadcast on the Cartoon Network channel. It launched today through the website robotboy.co.uk.

Keith Richards has been photographed by Annie Leibowitz for the latest Louis Vuitton ad, and his involvement in the campaign makes sense—if you’re selling leather bags, why not hire one, too? See the full photograph here. The copy (not visible in the photo, for some reason) reportedly reads: “Some journeys cannot be put into words. New York. 3 a.m. Blues in C.” Antoine Arnault, head of communications for Louis Vuitton, tells the Daily Mail: “This is the first time ever that Keith Richards has participated in an advertising campaign of any sort, and it is hard to imagine a more compelling embodiment of a personal, emotional journey.” A possible alternate copy line: “Never forget the journeys you can’t remember.”

—Posted by Tim Nudd