Is this a real commercial? It's from the 1980s, and it's an ad for something called "Synth coke," which seems to be like real cocaine, only not as expensive (but who knows if the effects were the same, better, or worse). The ad, which has all of the charm and production values of 80s porn movies, says that it's the way to a girl's heart (and other things) and that it can be found in "adult bookstores and boutiques throughout Manhattan."
I don't remember seeing this on VH-1's I Love The 80s.
No, it's not a new game show on NBC featuring a celebrity host and a bunch of girls with giant noses that might contain money, it's a new advertising idea from the folks at the financial paper.
As Chris mentioned earlier, they're a new version of the old "scratch and sniff" ads called "rub and sniff," which actually sounds like some sex position, or maybe a play that will be run in the Super Bowl coming up in February. These ads will use a technology different from the typical peel and smell ads (like cologne ads) you see in mags like GQ and Esquire. It's a rub, not a scratch.
For now the ads will just be included in newspaper inserts, not as part of the newspaper itself.
An Illinois consumer watchdog group has urged makers of alcoholic drinks they feel are being marketed to kids to stop doing so reports the Chicago Tribune. The Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association has called on makers of drinks like Mike's Hard Lemonade and others to curb practices that they say make the drinks appealing to kids. The group is using the term "alcopop" to describe such drinks. A 2003 FTC report said there was no evidence kids in particular were being targeted by ads for these products, but anecdotes in the story suggest that consumption is widespread among teens.
I'm not sure what to think of this ad. It was created for an environmental organization and shows two trees standing side by side, their trunks smoking and spewing flames like the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. The text on the ad reads: "For nature, everyday is 9/11."
Setting aside the argument of whether or not the ad is insensitive, or if it's too soon to evoke such images, I wonder if the ad actually makes a clear point. I understand it wants to demonstrate how the environment is "under attack," but there are no specifics. The idea of comparing it to 9/11 may be jarring and controversial, which is obviously the point, but I want more detail. I want to know exactly how the events of that day and our treatment of the environment are similar. I have no problem with an ad trying to shock people, but such an ad would have a much larger impact if it was more obvious why such a connection is being made.
So many dumb moments in business, so little time. But Business 2.0 mag has their picks for the 101 dumbest of 2006.
Wal-Mart is #1, for hiring a big firm to create their "Candidate Wal-Mart" campaign. #2 is Northwest Airlines, for giving their employees a "How To Save Money" booklet after laying them off. #3 is the contest McDonald's held in Japan, with the winners getting free mp3 players with a virus on them. The rest of the top 10 are GM, Kazakhstan, Steve Wynn, The New York Times, Spirit Air, Porter County, and Comcast.
There are 101 in all, so grab a hot beverage and get comfortable. You can't see the entire list on one page, which is a little annoying, but there is a handy scroll function at the bottom.
Ad exec Chuck McBride apparently created a rather gruesome video showing a massacre in the TBWA's San Francisco office. Seems he created the video as a way of sort of showing off what exactly he can do.
Current Senator and GOP Presidential candidate Sam Brownback is planning a new set of discussions between lawmakers and food marketers on the issue of advertising's role in childhood obesity numbers. Media companies that rely in large part on those food ad dollars have also been invited to participate.
Yahoo did better than expected in the fourth quarter of 2006 but, at the same time doesn't want people to get too crazy with their expectations.
You might recall a post I wrote earlier this month about the British band 7 Seconds of Love. Lead singer Joel Veitch, he of the odd little Web site RatherGood.com and the mind behind those fun but creepy "sponge monkey" commercials for Quiznos, was upset about a South American ad for Coca-Cola that copied the band's song "Ninja" and the music video Veitch himself created for it.
Well, the band sued and Coca-Cola is now going out of business. Wait, I'm sorry, that's not what happened at all. Actually, the band and Coca-Cola settled out of court, and the ad for Coke Light has been pulled from television. If nothing else, this was a nice little bit of publicity for the band.
Don't tell drug manufacturers but they might not get the blind eye turned toward their marketing practices that they've become accustomed to the last few years. With a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, their direct-to-consumer practices could be subject to increased scrutiny sooner rather than later. That's because the issue is likely to be the first addressed when hearings start on the policy of companies paying FDA fees to speed along the review of their drugs. Critics want there to be a lag time that the FDA decides on between a drug's development and its advertising of two years but the companies want to be able to decide that on their own. Those self-enforcement guidelines have led to interpretations ranging from six months to a year. All this comes as DTC spending by Big Pharma continues to hit all time highs.
I always thought that the term "Snow Fresh" was only used when someone was talking about peas, or a particularly randy comment by Frosty, but it was also once used when describing cigarettes.
In the old TV commercial for Kool cigarettes below, the guy tries to convince you that they are "as cool and as clean as a breath of fresh air," not a throat that's raw and smoky from too many cigarettes and too much coughing. It's amazing how many ads use ice and water and refreshing cool weather when trying to sell smokes.
The guy has a great "announcer" voice. I know I've heard it on many ads from that era. He probably got it from smoking.
The truth can finally be told: McDonald's is inserting single-frame subliminal ads into Food Network's programming. If you don't believe me, just watch the video below. Soon we'll all be kneeling at the foot of a bronze Grimace statue while confusedly scratching at the horseshoe-shaped sutures on our shaved heads. Take heed!
Then again, maybe it was just a glitch, and maybe, just maybe, it was proved half a century ago that subliminal advertising doesn't work. However, the obvious answer is rarely as entertaining, so I like to imagine that somewhere in an underground bunker Ronald McDonald is ranting and raving like Dr. Strangelove and demanding more images of McDonald's be planted on television so he can build an army of mind slaves and take over the world. I shall lay down my life for my new bichrome overlord.
Just because you put your video ad on YouTube does not mean you don't have to meet guidelines for truth and accuracy according to the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. The watchdog agency for the first time ruled on the existence of ads on video-sharing networks and said the rules aren't all that different. The ruling came as a result of a complaint from Euro-Pro, a vacuum cleaner maker who said that videos on YouTube from Dyson were inaccurate when making comparisons between the two brands. Dyson pulled the ad before the ruling. The case established an important precedent as more marketers use video sharing sites to connect with their consumer base.
Even though advertisers seem to be fleeing newspapers and going to the web and other places, and despite an an offer from former GE chairman Jack Welch and advertising veteran Jack Connors, The New York Times says that The Boston Globeis not for sale.
Janet Robinson, the chief executive of the Times Company, told Boston business and political leaders yesterday that the newspaper is a very important asset to them and they seem things improving in the future. This comes the same week that the Globe revealed that they are laying off 125 works at the paper and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, and another 55 jobs would be outsourced to a firm in India.
Many people are unhappy with the stock structure that the paper has, and say that is one of the reasons for the financial problems.
GoDaddy has put up what it says is the first Super Bowl ad it's had rejected by CBS for inclusion in the Super Bowl. The spot doesn't feature either Candice Michelle or Danica Patrick but instead is just two white guys in their cubicles. One guy is showing off how easy domain registration is with GoDaddy by buying domains related to the other guy's family. It doesn't sound too risque until you see what the other guy's last name is and that the first guy keeps saying "I just did your dog/wife/mom."
The potential merger that's been floated between XM and Sirius has, unsurprisingly, been given a thumbs-down by FCC chairman Kevin Martin. I can't imagine why he would think that the only two companies in a particular marketplace merging would create a monopoly. Oh, that's right, because it does.
Online video is very cool and there's some awesome content being created for it. But it's still running into problems as an advertising medium because marketers don't quite get it yet and also because of some unintentional contextual missteps.
Mary Minnick is leaving Coca-Cola just a month after being passed over for the number two position within the company. Minnick has been with Coke for 23 years and will leave at the end of February.
The Office is my favorite comedy on television right now. Did you see last night's episode?
Last week, Dwight quit Dunder-Mifflin so his secret girlfriend Angela wouldn't get in trouble for something he did for her, and this week we find out that he got a new job...at Staples! Now, ordinarily this wouldn't be much of a plot to talk about (though on most shows the character wouldn't have gone to work at a real company, they would have gotten a job at some fictional company), but it comes a short time after the episode that had a subplot of one of the Dunder-Mifflin employees buying a special (and real) paper shredder. An episode that had a commercial for the shredder. And now Dwight gets a job at Staples?
Is this going to far, or is everything fair in love and product placement these days?
No, it's not a new game show on NBC featuring a celebrity host and a bunch of girls with giant noses that might contain money, it's a new 
An Illinois consumer watchdog group has urged makers of alcoholic drinks they feel are being marketed to kids to stop doing so reports the Chicago Tribune. The Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association has called on makers of drinks like Mike's Hard Lemonade and others to curb practices that they say make the drinks appealing to kids. The group is using the term "alcopop" to describe such drinks. A 2003 FTC report said there was no evidence kids in particular were being targeted by ads for these products, but anecdotes in the story suggest that consumption is widespread among teens.
I'm not sure what to think of 
So many dumb moments in business, so little time. But Business 2.0 mag has their picks for the 
Ad exec Chuck McBride apparently created a rather 
You might 
Don't tell drug manufacturers but they might not get the blind eye turned toward their marketing practices that they've become accustomed to the last few years. With a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, their direct-to-consumer practices could be subject to increased scrutiny sooner rather than later. That's because the issue is likely to be the first addressed when hearings start on the policy of companies paying FDA fees to speed along the review of their drugs. Critics want there to be a lag time that the FDA decides on between a drug's development and its advertising of two years but the companies want to be able to decide that on their own. Those self-enforcement guidelines have led to interpretations ranging from six months to a year. All this comes as DTC spending by Big Pharma continues to hit all time highs.
Just because you put your video ad on YouTube does not mean you don't have to meet guidelines for truth and accuracy according to the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. The watchdog agency for the first time ruled on the existence of ads on video-sharing networks and said the rules aren't all that different. The ruling came as a result of a complaint from Euro-Pro, a vacuum cleaner maker who said that videos on YouTube from Dyson were inaccurate when making comparisons between the two brands. Dyson pulled the ad before the ruling. The case established an important precedent as more marketers use video sharing sites to connect with their consumer base.
Even though advertisers seem to be fleeing newspapers and going to the web and other places, and despite an an offer from former GE chairman Jack Welch and advertising veteran Jack Connors, The New York Times says that The Boston Globe 
GoDaddy 
The potential merger that's been floated between XM and Sirius has, unsurprisingly, been given a 
The Office is my favorite comedy on television right now. Did you see last night's episode?
