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The Star Wars franchise: Too much of a good thing?

By on February 19, 2008 in branding, commercialization, videos

I saw Star Wars Episode IV thirteen times in the theaters. Thirteen. In my defense, I was 11 years old in 1977. I know. I know. This raises a lot of questions, so I’ll answer them now. Yes, I’ve seen all the movies. No, I don’t know the names of most of the characters nor [...]

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Afraid of being different?

By on February 15, 2008 in creativity, videos, word of mouth

We love to push our clients around. I don’t mean physically. We just love to push them out of their comfort zone to get them to try something they simply never would have thought of doing themselves. “That’s just not us.” “I’ve never seen anyone in our category do that.” “Our customers will think we’re [...]

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The best, worst and most responsible ads of Super Bowl XLII

By on February 12, 2008 in advertainment, creativity, message responsible, polls, simplicity, videos

The Super Bowl was indeed super this year. The ads? Not so much. The general consensus among the black-turtleneck-wearing ad types is it was a down year for Super Bowl advertising. Although my turtleneck is dark gray, I concur. The New York Giants weren’t the only winners. Advertisers saw their ads (good and bad) played [...]

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SHIPOOPI! When bad ain’t so bad.

By on February 11, 2008 in advertainment, creativity, responsible or not?, videos, word of mouth

“Remember to honk when you drive by Vern Fonk.” If you live in Washington or Oregon you probably never thought you’d see that phrase here. Because while Vern Fonk offers commercial insurance, it’s known for its bargain basement advertising targeting tough-to-insure drivers—mostly on cable, often at night. Their brand is low budget in all ways. [...]

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Advertising stunt double lands Pfizer in the congressional crosshairs

By on February 8, 2008 in message responsible, responsible or not?, videos

I’m not a big fan of celebrity endorsements, mostly because they seldom work. But having the the inventor of the Jarvik artificial heart endorse Pfizer’s cholesterol drug Lipitor does. After all, if it’s good enough for the the guy that invented the artificial heart, it should be good enough for me, right? The New York [...]

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SalesGenie Super Bowl advertising: Better or worse?

By on February 5, 2008 in message responsible, multicultural marketing, responsible or not?, videos

Last year, SalesGenie.com was selected by just about everyone with a heartbeat for having the least creative, cheesiest Super Bowl in like, forever. For your review: Yipes. That ad barely belonged on television, let alone the Super Bowl. But SalesGenie wasn’t in it for the branding, they were in it to drive their own sales, [...]

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Are advertisers going too far to break through?

By on February 2, 2008 in responsible or not?, videos

One day to Super Bowl Sunday and I’m wondering: a. Which ad will have us all talking on Monday morning? b. Will Bud dominate? c. Which ads will we remember? d. Who will go too far to break through? e. And will the answer to “c” be because it’s “d?” Don’t get me wrong. Boring [...]

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Social networking in plain English (and the power of video)

By on February 1, 2008 in simplicity, social networking, videos

After wrapping up my article and post Social networking is ready for business. Are you? I remembered a video from a few years ago that explains what social networking is and its benefits. It’s only 1:47, so you can get through it quickly. Explaining complex ideas with the written word takes a lot of energy [...]

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Preview Pepsi’s Super Bowl ad for the deaf

By on January 30, 2008 in responsible or not?, socially responsible, videos

This ad from Pepsi will air during the Super Bowl. Pepsi shows support for the deaf, makes sure advocacy groups will support them and then puts on what will be one of the most unique ads during the Super Bowl. Instead of participating in the advertising shouting contest, Pepsi zags and does an ad with [...]

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Super Bowl mania and the Lucy effect

By on January 29, 2008 in advertainment, videos, word of mouth

Today is media day in Phoenix as a press contingent of 4,786 was on hand to ask the players everything from the intelligent (“how will you defend Randy Moss?”) to the inane (“what will you have for breakfast?”). It’s all news and apparently just about all of it is fit to print. The Super Bowl [...]

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Jargon and buzzwords to avoid like the plague

By on January 25, 2008 in message responsible, responsible or not?, social networking, videos

Is it time to disintermediate mission-critical communities? Not until we embrace open-source infrastructures. To be message responsible, you have to respect your audience. That means speaking clearly in a human voice. Buzzwords dominate business communications and it’s a serious problem for anyone that wants to connect with their customers, colleagues and prospects. Problem is, buzzwords [...]

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Super Bowl Advertising warm-up

By on January 22, 2008 in advertainment, creativity, videos, word of mouth

Believe it or not, I used to actually require students in my Integrated Marketing Communications class the University of Washington to watch the Super Bowl…for the ads. In the coming weeks I’ll be touching on television advertising a little more than usual, and on February 3rd, I’ll conduct an anonymous poll listing all the main [...]

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Can subliminal advertising be responsible?

By on January 18, 2008 in creativity, responsible or not?, subliminal advertising, videos, word of mouth

We’ve all seen examples of subliminal advertising in print ads over the years. I use the word “seen” loosely, because usually you have to look pretty hard to find that suggestive image that’s supposed to burrow itself into your subconscious and get you to buy! buy! buy! Anyway, subliminal advertising on television is a whole [...]

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Powerful ideas trump big budgets

By on January 14, 2008 in creativity, roi responsible, videos

My partner, Bill Boyd, ABC, sent me this video along with the following message: You don’t need a big budget in order to reach a huge audience. Just a powerful idea and a compelling way of presenting it. I couldn’t agree more. This video regarding global warming was created by a science teacher in rural [...]

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The social and political ramifications of consumerism

By on January 8, 2008 in commercialization, videos

My partner Eric Anderson recently shared a fascinating Bill Moyers interview he caught just before Christmas. In it, Moyers sits down with author and professor Benjamin Barber and discusses how capitalism creates too many goods that aren’t needed (and too few that are), and how children are targeted as consumers in a twenty-four hour marketplace. [...]

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Two trends you need to wrap your head around now

By on January 4, 2008 in environmentally responsible, social networking, socially responsible, strategically responsible, videos

AdWeek released its Top 10 Trends of 2007 late last month. Trends included the explosion of social networking and its impact on privacy, increased mobility, the growth of the BRIC nations, online gaming, and how open systems are prevailing over closed ones. But two trends are of particular relevance to responsible marketing: It’s time to [...]

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Tide offers “Loads of Hope” for natural disaster victims

By on January 2, 2008 in cause marketing, socially responsible, videos, word of mouth

Do you have an affinity to your laundry detergent? You might after you read this. After Hurricane Katrina and the recent California wildfires, Tide dispatched their CleanStart trucks to the scene to help. These mobile laundry facilities provided the families of these disasters with free laundry services when they needed it most. The CleanStart trucks [...]

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Inspiration from unexpected places

By on January 1, 2008 in environmentally responsible, socially responsible, videos

Happy New Year! Finding the right topic for my New Year’s Day post was more difficult than I thought. Sure, I have hundreds of things bookmarked and find new things every day. And this time of year, there are plenty of worthy “2007 Marketing Year in Review,” “2008 Marketing Forecast,” and “Marketing Top 10 List [...]

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Entertaining, but effective?

By on December 26, 2007 in advertainment, responsible or not?, videos, word of mouth

Ready for a little break from the barrage of holiday advertising? I am, and I like advertising. I was hoping I’d find a few holiday-themed ads to share, but then I realized, the most entertaining and memorable ad I’ve seen this season wasn’t a holiday ad at all. It was a Jack-in-the-Box ad, and I [...]

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Responsible or not?

By on December 13, 2007 in responsible or not?, videos

Boring advertising is irresponsible in so many ways. But there’s a fine line between breakthrough creative and going too far. Is this ad responsible or not? Comment below to weigh in.

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