(TrendHunter.com) The high price of fuel means that car pooling and ride sharing are becoming a necessity for an ever increasing number of people.
Carticipate now offers the first location-based mobile social network…
Crest Whitening Expressions, a line of four totally fun, flavored toothpastes, is having a video contest to come up with a new catchphrase, “something big” that captures the taste explosion that is the Crest Expressions Experience. They’ve enlisted Emeril Lagasse, known for his own obnoxious catchphrase, “Bam!” What could be bigger than “Bam!”? For starters, there’s “Bam! Bam!” Which is, like, twice the bam. Not very toothpaste-specific, though. How about an old-school line like “Please don’t squeeze the Crest (from the top of the tube)”? Or something more modern, like “Crest-licious“? Or “Teeth-tacular”? Or “Crest-fully clean”? Actually, they don’t seem to be looking for a phrase, more like a vaguely comical outburst that makes you look like a giddy moron on camera. The winner gets $5,000, and you can’t possibly do any worse than the existing entries.
—Posted by Rebecca Cullers
LONDON – Sports and Leisure Management, which manages Everyone Active sports facilities for local authorities in the UK, has appointed Black Sun to create a CRM programme to encourage its members to be more sporty in the lead up to the 2012 London Olympics.
(TrendHunter.com) What could you make with a chainsaw, a tree stump, ice, and a garbage bag? If you guessed a place to chill your beer, then that’s right! You can make an eco-friendly cooler!
The concept was developed…
Here’s a recent example of how trying to save a few thousand dollars ends in FAIL for the brand. What a simple problem to avoid.
Someone should be fired. I wonder if any agencies have paid the originators of ideas that they have appropriated.
I heard EA paid the creator of the original video that sparked the video response below. Good karma there. It shows you don’t even need to be fast. The response was 12 months after the fact.
John St. in Toronto (and Partners director Aleysa Young) have created a couple of new Fashion Targets Breast Cancer ads, and they’re probably as tasteful as anything that encourages women to flaunt their cans could be. The “Office” spot, a workplace communication video parody, reminds us what can happen when a man stares down a woman’s shirt and says something vague. (Why a guy that big wanted a shirt that small is anyone’s guess, though.) The “Elevator” spot is more reasonable, as the girl acknowledges that if she has something printed right across her chest, people will probably look in that direction.
—Posted by David Kiefaber
LONDON – Shane Meadows has been behind the camera of another major ad campaign – this time to promote energy saving.
(TrendHunter.com) Napster is the place where outlaws used to hang. Now they are all cleaned up, and will become a legitimate part of Best Buy.
Napster has 700,000 subscribers who now pay to download music. They have…
LONDON – The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will today launch a new TV ad campaign advising the public on how to cut their heating bills. It follows on from last week’s pledge by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to spend nearly £1bn on making homes more energy efficient.
LONDON – The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint against a Government ad that exaggerated the benefits of an eco-town.
LONDON – UK start-up 7Digital has defied digital music giant Apple to become the first online music store in Europe to offer rights-free mp3s from the “big four” major labels.
As I’ve noted before in this space, I am not a “pet” person. I don’t like sharing my water dish or catnip, and I can think of better uses for a collar and leash than “walkies,” though they’re prohibited in most states, except maybe Idaho, where pretty much anything goes. That brings us to Webvet.com, which has launched a “Birds on Broadway” competition. The press release squawks about “an online search for the country’s most talented parrots, canaries and other winged animals.” Broadway? I suppose it’s OK if they’re reviving Bye Bye Birdie, but I’d think twice before letting any feathered friend of mine join the touring company of Cats. (Actually, the prize is $2,500.) For more silly bird-related humor, here’s Monty Python’s timeless “Dead Parrot” sketch. And yes, I’ll be shouting “pining for the fjords” in a loud, obnoxious Cockney accent for the rest of the day. My co-workers can lump it.
—Posted by David Gianatasio
LONDON – The internet movie database has launched a service that allows users to watch full-length films and popular TV episodes on its website for free.
LONDON – The total value of the mobile user-generated content market, including social networking, dating and personal content delivery services, will rise from nearly $1.1bn (£617.5m) in 2008 to more than $7.3bn (£4.1bn) in 2013, according to research.
A major Tesco national press campaign to position the supermarket as “Britain’s Biggest Discounter” has been hijacked by bitter rival Asda.
LONDON – UKTV Style, the lifestyle channel, has signed Centrum and Pilkington as new programme sponsors for two new series this autumn.
Rather than actually write 500 words about “what it’s like to be on the Cannes jury” I just edited my twitter feed down. I was a Twitter doubter but doing this at an event with significance seemed like a good use of the technology. It was a pain though. Every time we went anywhere I’d be on my phone looking down not interacting with people. It also cost me a bomb in SMS fees (damn international roaming).
You can read this article and the others on Campaign Brief’s new digital version. Free until the end of the year.
I’ll be following Cherp to see how an agency can just specilize in Twitter. Why not Facebook or Wikipedia?
This had me thinking of new guys on the block The Population.
Note: Claims of “firsts” are never fact checked when it comes to PR from advertising agencies, which is weird as an industry we’re the ones most likely to bullshit.
You can read about the 4th Pure Social Media Marketing Agency to start in Australia and get insights from one of it’s founders Julian Cole. The Population is backed by Photon so there’s no shortage of good minds, clients and cash there.
This would be be similar to us at Soap spinning of an “advergaming agency” which we coudl probably attach a first to that aswell (well in Australia at least) but that would feel limiting. I guess Social Media Marketing is such a broad term and the Population will be mostly consulting and outsourcing any specific production required.
Does anyone else know of any nice marketing companies utilizing new technology or buzzwords as their business model?
LONDON – MySpace is launching its first outdoor ad campaign in the US to promote the launch of MySpace Music, a joint venture between MySpace, Sony, UMG and Warner Music.
LONDON – Ruth Brownlee is set to step down as director of the Association of Online Publishers after just 10 months, to spend more time with her family.
LONDON – Mobile ad sales agency, 4th Screen Advertising, has appointed former Guardian News and Media sales manager Mark Angell as director of strategic sales.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
