Worth Every Penny
"How to make an outdoor ad no one can ignore with 400 coins.... for super bonder."
via NotCot
« March 2008 | Main | June 2008 »
White Sox Banned Bottled Water in the Dugout: Must Protect Gatorade’s Image!
"Ed Price, who covers the New York Yankees for New Jersey’s The Star Ledger, noticed that there’s an odd sign in the dugout of the White Sox’s stadium: "NO BOTTLED WATER ON THE BENCH." (Even in the humid Chicago summers!)
Gatorade is Major League Baseball’s "official sports drink." So instructions were sent that no player could be seen drinking anything but Gatorade in the dugout. Not even Aquafina, which is the "official water" of MLB. Not even bottles of water with the labels removed.
White Sox clubhouse personnel said if players take bottled water onto the bench, all the bottled water will be removed from the clubhouse as punishment."
via Neatorama
Coca Cola Shamelessly Rips Off Evan Hecox In New Billboard
"Two weekends ago I was out running errands and
I stopped at the light at Franklin and Cahuenga which is pretty much
the most northern end of Hollywood. I stop in the left hand turn lane,
and dead ahead of me I see a billboard that shocked the crap out of me.
It’s a Coca-Cola Zero ad with Evan Hecox-esque artwork. I studied it
for as long as I could, and as I turned left I said to myself, “There’s
no way Evan did that.”
So last night I went out to the corner of Franklin and Cahuenga, took the photo above, and sent it my friend Andy, who just happened to (see) Evan last weekend. Andy said to Evan, “Hey Evan, I saw the billboard you did for Coke”, but I guess Evan was bummed because he didn’t do the billboard. Evan said that the ad agency called him to do it, but he turned them down.
Yet again another big company is churning out their own shitty versions of awesome artwork just to make a buck."
continue reading...
via Kitsune Noir
A Brand Paying Attention? Say It Ain’t So.
"Saw this over on laboratory101. Basically, the Cadbury drumming gorilla vid spawned a ton of remixes. If you haven’t seen them, now you can.
They may be the first major brand I can think of that didn’t just watch
YouTube nation take control of where their spot went. Instead, they
gathered all the best clips into one location: brand releases video,
fans mash it up, brand says thanks.
There’s
also a point made in the subsequent articles about how brands will do
more of this type of aggregation in the future rather than create
original material. They might. But you still need cool ads in the first
place to parody, no? Otherwise, there’s going to be a lot of creative
inbreeding going on. And last time I looked, YouTube nation has trouble
creating a halfway decent spot with supplied artwork. Somehow, I don’t see them as the future, (Diet Coke and Mentos notwithstanding). Unless of course, we keep lowering the bar as far as what’s acceptable quality-wise and cellphone street mosh becomes the new black."
via Make The Logo Biger
How Not To Do Social Media
"Please stop doing YouTube video contests, and pretending that it's a new, or exciting social media campaign. It's old, tired and lame, ok?
The people in those anti-fashion gold jackets have launched a YouTube campaign to show your house, and promote their real estate company. Here's the clincher: You must list your house with them, must include your listing agent in the video, and must shoot the video while the sun is at 43 degrees from the horizon. Yikes.
YouTube contests have become so ho hum that some bloggers even refuse to cover them any more. Amen. Please, please, please hire an agency that uses social media to create your social media campaign for you. Just sayin'."
CW To Stop Free Streaming of 'Gossip Girl'
"In a strategic reversal, the CW television network said it would no longer offer free Internet streams of new episodes of "Gossip Girl" when the show returns to the air Monday.
Instead, CW wants young fans to watch the drama about privileged preppies the old school way -- on TV.
The move is designed to boost ratings for the program, which has developed a loyal online following but has failed to attract a sizable TV audience. The show's average of 2.5 million viewers has not been enough to lift CW out of the ratings cellar or staunch its financial losses...
'...This is an experiment to see if we can help move the needle,' said Paul McGuire, a CW spokesman.
The flip comes despite the fact that "Gossip Girl" appeals to 18- to 34-year-olds who are comfortable watching entertainment online. The Internet is integral to the plot, which features an anonymous blogger who rats out the salacious private lives of the characters.
"Gossip Girl" is among the top shows downloaded from Apple Inc.'s iTunes store and has been among the most popular streams on CW's site.
'This just shows that everyone is struggling with the model to see what is going to work on the Internet,' said Deana Myers, a television analyst at research firm SNL Kagan. 'The Internet community is what has saved that show...'
...The network will try to serve the Internet audience by adding two-minute recaps and behind-the-scenes video nuggets on its website...
...Although CW might be taking a 'myopic view,' Hanlon said, 'it could be a noble experiment to see whether limiting the manner of distribution will increase the television ratings. But it could also annoy the audience.'"
Read the full article here.
#ed008c = solidarity
"I wish this was an April Fool’s joke, but it’s not. Deutsche Telekom is demanding that Engadget Mobile discontinue its use of the color magenta, as it causes “confusion” between the brands. In response, Engadget has gone a lovely shade of pink for the day (although, I kind of love it and wish it would stay that way). Ryan has started a campaign (OK, maybe he didn’t mean to start it, but I am) to show DT that we won’t be bossed around! We’ll use #ed008c to our little hearts content!
It’s so silly, but it’s also a symptom of big business getting it all wrong once again. I’m not against protecting your trademark, but I’m definitely against frivolous and needless lawsuits. Oh, I’m sorry, were too many people going to Engadget Mobile to buy Sidekicks? Was Verizon blaming DT for leaked photos on Engadget Mobile? I don’t think so."
via Veronica Belmont
