Hasta La Creative!

Resumé in Sweden (which is either adage or adweek, take your pick) has decided to start a ‘community’ and force people to stand for their comments (as users). I get that, they’re sick of “anonymous”. Hell, that’s why I only allow comments here from anyone who signs up – you could be “jacktheripper” both here and at Resumé and your comments will always be yours, yaknow?

But then they did the extra-weird thing and allowed signed-in-users to be anonymous. Ah, okaaay…. Wait, you didn’t want anon comments, right? Wait a second…. Wasn’t that the problem?

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I just found this image on Ad Innovator – a Japanese ad blog I can’t read no matter how much I try but I try almost daily anyway. (Still seething that I wasn’t allowed to tag along with Dad to Osaka the years that he worked there as someone thought it would be better for me to stay put for once. AAARGHHH! /end derail.) Apparently, being on google maps is so cool flower shops are announcing it in their shop windows. This reminds me of those digital cameras that have the stickers reading “youtube ready” on them. Online is truly slipping offline these days, and brands are piggy-backing on other brands like nothing else. Interesting development.

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The rising gas prices are really irritating people over in the USA – and people aren’t shy of using this in some way when advertising. Allan1 gossiped about getting one of those $500 a month, free gas to drive a billboard car deals which might save your wallet. Now weekendamerica reports that the Tanforan Shell station in San Bruno offers “stress relief” where drivers can vent their anger against the oil companies by plunging a man dressed as a Shell employee into a tank – and free car washes for the best rant about gas prices: “Cashiers are trained to really encourage all forms of expression during the rant. Well, except for throwing a chair through the window.“
Genius, this idea from Bobak Bakhtiari, “a former mental health worker” – could’ve sworn he was a former ad man. Check out the photos at they even have a rooftop band playing, while a Shell employee sits in the tank waiting to get dunked.

How are your cashiers encouraging people to vent?
If someone comes in and they’re upset, we have this protocol where they confuse them by intercepting with really positive feedback suddenly. Let’s say someone comes in and they’re like, “What the hell is wrong with you? Do you see those gas prices? What’s wrong with you guys?” and starts getting revved up. The cashier will typically say: “Great! Wonderful! Look,” and just point up to a sign that says “Express Rant = Free Express Wash.”

“Your anger just earned you a car wash, ma’am.”
Exactly. Or “Your anger can earn you a car wash in few seconds, please step to the side over there.” They’re directed to guide them to the side of the store where they are monitored as they rant.

What’s the price of gas at your station right now?
A gallon of unleaded is going for $4.87.

What? That’s outrageous! How can you charge that? That’s insane! You’re crooks! You’re criminals!
Excellent, I love this! Keep going with it…

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Ah haha ha ha, that BMW ad you’ve been seeing recently? A huge plan that was, see that BMW’s mockumentary: “Behind BMW’s mock-ad” by Melissa Morgenweck at CNN.
WSJ even reckons that they ran a risk running with an idea like that. Duh. ANY idea is a risk. if it’s not a RISK it is not an IDEA. Got me? Jesus, ad-babies know that. Anyway, to quote them:

Earlier this year, a half-hour mockumentary about a small Bavarian town’s attempt to catapult a BMW car from Germany to the U.S. via a giant ramp garnered positive buzz from auto and pop-culture blogs. Yet rather than soak up the glory, BMW spent weeks refusing to claim the short film for what it was — a viral-marketing campaign created by the company’s ad agency, GSD&M Idea City.

And here’s another choice quote from Money.Cnn

“We never target demographically. We always focus psycho-graphically,” said Jack Pitney, vice president of Marketing at BMW North America. “It means what kind of mindset do we think this vehicle will really resonate with? In the end it could be an 18-year old and it could be an 80-year old. But if they share a similar mindset we think we have the right car for them.”

The age old question is, how much does it all sell? I’m entertained, and I want it pretty bad, but you know – I don’t actually have a drivers license yet. Tough titties if you sold it all to me then, right? FAIL!

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After the chatter about the Cannes winning JCPenney’s ad, a little birdie told Mediabistro’s AgencySpy:
“Saatchi most certainly knew about the fake JC Penney ad. Everything Saatchi did under Granger was fake. This one example is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s a great story just waiting to be blown wide open. Crest was fake. Buckley’s Cough Syrup was fake. Stuffit Deluxe was fake. All made for award shows just to win some medal.”

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How delightfully…uh….gross.

To communicate the idea that “you don’t have to be there to see all the details” for ESPN, Saatchi and Saatchi in Singapore sent out ‘eyeballs’ as a DM piece.
No, I really, mean balls as eyes here. Balls!

There was a basketball, a baseball and even a football – and that bright red bloodshot football eye is pretty much how my eyes feel after watching supersonic Russian players on speed outrace the Swedes tonight and beat us 2-0. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. whimper, cry, *sob*

Found at comunicadores.info.

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Why is a three year old song from a Volkswagen Golf gti advert (remastered by Mint Royale mind you) spending two weeks as No. 1 on the UK charts?

Because George Sampson did this on “Britain’s Got Talent”.

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In todays three minute Ad Age they reported from yesterdays Annual Advertising Age green conferance and the question asked there was What’s the carbon footprint of a banner ad? – Don Carli also compares the electricity ‘waste’ of the paper making industry to the electronic communications (servers and whatnot) and finds that the “Don’t print this email” campaigns is barking up the wrong tree, sortof. Oh c’mon I had to get a tree pun in here!

Papermaking, in the united states, consumed 75 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2006. That’s the second largest industrial use of electricity.
During the same period of time, people have been saying “Don’t print this email”..send it electic, don’t print it send it electronically, save trees.
Just data centers and servers in North America, according to the energy information administration, consumed 61 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, and they’re growing at a prodigious rate.”

Dum dum DUM!
Point being, being green isn’t only about saving paper. – which strikes me as such a late eighties way of looking at the environmental problems we have today, what rock have people been hiding under? Yes, I know I’ve said that before in “Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.“.

By the way, If anyone fancies moving to a Carbon neutral server host (in the UK) , I really like the people here at memset and recommend their services.

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The Swedish CEO Hans Sydow says to Resumé “We’re currently in talks, I can not comment further”

The Publicis network already owns Saatchi Stockholm (which is owned by Danish Publicis holding), and the rumors are that they will buy Leo Burnett as well, and in the future merge all three Stockholm agencies into one. Pubsaatchinett? No, Saatneticis? Leopubchi?

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