Starbucks is staging a sales sabbatical for several hours tomorrow. At Chairman Schultz’ behest, all company-owned stores are shutting down so baristas can go back to basics.
I loathe vanity-driven plastic surgery. So, these ads from McCann Erickson/Argentina promoting the use of Chevrolet Official Service Centers, caught my eye.
Of course, the premise doesn’t make any sense, given that doctors “fix” health problems everyday.
[via Ads of the World]
Yes, it was bound to happen. You can bid on your own Millard Fillmore Soap-On-A-Rope on eBay.
Currently, this one is up to $47.00 with 3 days left to go. Kia missed out, I think.
People want their Millard more than their Spectras, it seems. I bet most of these soaps will survive long after the Kias are in the junkyard.
In response to a complaint about an American Apparel ad, an Austin Chronicle writer lashes back.
In response to a complaint about an American Apparel ad, an Austin Chronicle writer lashes back.
Have you seen Denny’s new ad with Tony Sirico, channeling his Sopranos persona Paulie “Walnuts,” paying for a fast food breakfast with phony money?
So, how would you rate that ad on a scale of 1 – 10? More importantly, what criteria did you use to arrive at your decision?
I have my own list, but I’m really interested in what you all in the industry use. And let’s not play the ROI card. Someone had to evaluate it and approve it prior to seeing the results. How’d they go about it? What was their thought process?
Want to win coverted New York City shelf space for an all natural, organic, non-carbonated energy drink out of Canada?
According to The New York Times, a gift for schmoozing, a comfortable pair of shoes and armorlike skin are the price of entry.
With the help of a sales team in possession of these attributes, Guru started selling its drinks downtown last July. It has advertised in The Village Voice and Time Out New York, sponsored art and fashion shows, and scooted around the city in its electric cars to promote the idea that the car and Guru offer “clean energy.â€
An 8-ounce can of Guru, which is touted as “an organic Red Bull,” sells for $2.29 to $2.49, and a 16-ounce can fetches $2.79 to $3.50.
Due to health concerns Americans have been drinking about 33 fewer cans of soda per person per year since 1998. This opening has led to the rise of small beverage companies that become big before selling to a behemoth.
Glacéau, the makers of Vitaminwater, sold to Coca-Cola last year for $4.1 billion.
To compel drivers to make the “personal luxury crossover,” Infiniti (or rather, TBWA\Chiat\Day) surprises us with EXtraordinary, a campaign for the EX that’s all smooth pacing and cool grace.
When you think about it, rock n’ roll bands are brands too. And all great brands ought to have a great logo. Here, according to Spinner Magazine, are the top 25 band logos. I won’t ruin the list, but as an avowed Dead Head, I feel the Steal Your Face logo needs to be a mite higher than 8. I’m just saying. Check out the best band logos here.
I noticed that New Yorker, Fred Wilson, used Gridskipper to find Blue Bottle Coffee in San Francisco this weekend (while looking at colleges with his daughter).
I learned to drink coffee in San Francisco, so the topic is one I have passion for. So does San Francisco lifestyle book, 7×7.
7×7, in effort to provide context for what it calls “the third wave” in coffee culture, quotes Joel Pollock, head roaster at Stumptown in Portland (an even more advanced coffee market):
“When you’re roasting coffee, you’re caramelizing sugars, there’s the potential for citric notes, herbal notes, floral notes. But when you roast dark, you’re taking all these notes and turning them into carbon—and that’s the same carbon if you’re working with coffee from New Guinea or a piece of chicken.â€
I love the way this man talks about coffee.
Since abandoning their legendary bottle campaign for their new Absolut World campaign, Absolut has seen global case shipments jump 9%, and increased market share in the crowded and competitive U.S. market.
According to Ad Age, Absolut is the No. 2 U.S. vodka brand, trailing only Smirnoff. Absolut broke the 5 million case mark last year for the first time last year — a status shared with only Bacardi, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan and Jack Daniels in the spirits space.
“We took a really different approach and it paid tremendous dividends,” said Ian Crystal, Absolut’s brand director. “A lot of our key numbers had been flat or declining, and they’re all going up now.”
South Carolina gets most of its visitors in the summer months. The South Carolina tourism office with the help of Greenville shop, The Bounce Agency wants to change that with a new campaign that specifically targets Chicagoans.
The Palmetto State’s “Time to Thaw” messaging doesn’t do much for David Gianatasio at Adfreak though.
The effort includes: 360-degree elevator wraps “that literally put passengers inside South Carolina locationsâ€; phone kiosks in which the handsets have been refitted with conch shells; and a wall of hand dryers in the Grant Park North lobby that read, “Press button for warm South Carolina breezes.†There’s actually more, but why go on? It’s already too awful for words.
Dallas-based Moroch Partners is breaking a new a print, broadcast and online campaign for The Travel Channel. Promoting “Bizarre Foods” with Andrew Zimmern, the print and broadcast campaigns showcase some of the bizarre cuisine that Zimmern samples on his show and inserts them into everyday situations. Which partially explains the “Baked Tarantula” ad above.
Newspapers and record companies are experiencing the awesome power of disruptive technology, but not like Polaroid.
image courtesy of Look Closer
According to The Boston Globe, Polaroid plans to make only enough film to last into next year before shuttering its factories.
Polaroid chief operating officer Tom Beaudoin said the company is interested in licensing its technology to an outside firm that could manufacture film for faithful Polaroid customers. If that doesn’t happen, Polaroid users would have to find an alternative photo technology.
Polaroid has already quietly halted production of instant cameras. “We stopped making commercial-type cameras about 18 to 24 months ago, and we stopped making consumer cameras about a year ago,” said Beaudoin.
The Wall Street Journal was working late last night, as they posted a short but important business story at 2:29 a.m.
Yahoo Inc.’s board plans to reject Microsoft Corp.’s unsolicited $44.6 billion offer to acquire the Web giant, a person familiar with the situation says.
After a series of meetings over the past week, Yahoo’s board determined that the $31 per share offer “massively undervalues” Yahoo, the person said. It also doesn’t account for the risks Yahoo would be taking by entering into an agreement that might be overturned by regulators. The board plans to send a letter to Microsoft Monday, spelling out its position.
Somehow, I don’t see this as Yahoo trying to drive the price up, although that will likely be a next move for Microsoft. This sounds much more like “take your ugly butt off my porch step.”
Man, it’s deja vu all over again.
From Adweek:
L.L. Bean has placed creative chores on its ad account into review, a company representative confirmed.
Consulting firm Select Resources International, Santa Monica, Calif., will help conduct the search for the Maine-based retailer, sources said.
Our friend Dean Gemmell at BlackLabFive had some interesting things to say a few years ago about why a iconic brand like L.L. Bean would possibly need an ad agency in talking with the previous consultants:
If L.L. Bean motors through two above average agencies, would it not be wise for a review consultant to suggest a different approach? The agency model is quite effective for many marketers, but old L.L. may not be among them. I’m quite sure their marketing department could handle working with several shops on different projects to reach their many different — hikers, skiers, canoeists, suburban Moms who go for walks — demographic groups. What’s more, they’re a catalog company that sends me a big, multi-page ad called the L.L. Bean catalog at least once a month. Will another series of ads from another ad agency be the solution? Sweet Nadira even mentioned that an invited agency would need direct mail capabilities. Please, lead me to the agency that will show America’s venerable catalog retailer how to do direct mail.
To promote its fancy new renovated destinations, the Red Roof Inn’s gone digital with 360i.
360i was contracted to optimize Red Roof’s homepage and build online creative.
The iconic VW van is 60 years old this year. DDB Paris is celebrating the fact with a poignant series of throwback ads.
[via Adland]
Here’s a contemporary homage to the classic Volkswagen ads created by Doyle Dane Bernbach, NY. This version was put together by DDB, Paris.
Today, Calvin Klein announced actress Eva Mendes will be comes the spokesperson for Calvin Klein Fragrances and will make her debut in the company’s 2008 Fall campaign. We like.
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