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Do I get to have a Guinness again this year?

By on March 17, 2009 in advertising, corporate responsibility, fun, socially responsible

Last St. Patrick’s Day I asked if—given Guinness’ long history of often questionable advertising claims—I should be allowed to hoist a pint of their tasty stout. 74% of you said “Yes. Guinness is yummy. And they aren’t all that bad anyway.” How about this year? I sure would love to hoist a pint since it’s [...]

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Rude, crude and funny ads: Love ‘em or hate ‘em?

By on February 13, 2009 in advertising, love it or hate it?, videos, word of mouth

We all love to laugh, and when we find something genuinely funny, we love to share it. But humor is subjective and what’s funny to some is offensive to others. Case in point: One of the following ads was banned, the other wasn’t. View this video on YouTube View this video on YouTube I’ll admit, [...]

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VitaminWater or the CSPI: Who do you believe?

By on February 6, 2009 in advertising, deceptive marketing, ethics, responsible or not?, socially responsible, who do you believe?

The Coca-Cola Company is being sued by the Center for Science in the Public Interest for deceptive claims regarding it’s VitaminWater product line. Coke markets VitaminWater as a “healthful alternative to soda by labeling its several flavors with such health buzz words,” and claims they “variously reduce the risk of chronic disease, reduce the risk [...]

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Super Bowl XLIII ads

By on February 2, 2009 in advertainment, advertising, creativity, environmentally responsible

Here are all the ads from Super Bowl XLIII, all assembled on one page for your review. Review the ones you missed, then cast your vote for Most and Least Responsible Ads of Super Bowl XLIII. Enjoy. THE ADS Angels and Demons: Trailer Audi: Chase Bud Light: Bud Light Lime Bud Light: Meeting Bud Light: [...]

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Bite-sized Friday: The Virgin Edition

By on January 23, 2009 in advertising, environmentally responsible, morality, sex sells, videos

No, this isn’t the first Bite-sized Friday—just the first one since October. Bite-sized Fridays are essentially mini-posts, thematically linked. And away we go: Virgin Atlantic 25th anniversary ad Virgin Atlantic’s 25th Anniversary ad, 25 Years, Still Red Hot has been getting a lot of attention lately, but positive and negative. Some think it’s sexist, others [...]

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Hall of Shame: Countrywide Home Loans

By on January 16, 2009 in advertising, deceptive marketing, ethics, hall of shame

Marketing is about persuasion, so occasionally marketers stretch the truth. But how bad is a company when it mocks it’s own advertising in a court of law? Pretty bad. Countrywide Home Loans is no stranger to litigation and is considered by some to be among those lenders most responsible for the mortgage crisis. Maybe it [...]

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10 of my favorite lists from 2008

By on January 1, 2009 in advertising, corporate responsibility, sex sells, social media, social networking, videos, viral marketing

Happy New Year! I know. I’ve ranted about lists before, but to start off 2009, one of my resolutions is to lighten up (a little) about lists. Here’s a list of 10 of my favorite lists from last year, in no particular order: The 10 most admired companies of 2008 Fortune Magazine 50 ideas on [...]

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Responsible or not? Using the dead to sell

By on December 30, 2008 in advertising, casting responsible, cause marketing, creativity, execution responsible, message responsible, morality, responsible or not?, socially responsible, videos

On Christmas Day, John Lennon returned from the dead. Well, his image and voice were resurrected to help the One Laptop Per Child Foundation “OLPCF” and it’s raised a few eyebrows (and hackles). If you haven’t heard about the OLPCF, here’s a summary: It’s an education project, not a laptop project. Inexpensive, durable, networked laptops [...]

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The evolution of church marketing

By on December 24, 2008 in advertising, strategically responsible, videos, word of mouth

Believe in evolution? That’s your business. Let’s talk marketing—the evolution of church marketing. For obvious reasons, a lot more people will go to church today and tomorrow than usual. But religious institutions aren’t just looking for members in December. More and more churches are realizing that a good location and word-of-mouth alone won’t always fill [...]

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