KFADvertising

The Logical Conclusion

2007-08-23T19:22:00.000-05:00

Another late night with no end in sight.
It's just the start, so take these words to heart.

"Creativity is the logical conclusion of brilliant thinking."
-Mark Tutssel, deputy chief creative officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide

It's just like, it's just like viral advertising.

2007-08-13T17:14:00.000-05:00

When Sammy Stephens started rapping about bedrooms, bathrooms and dinettes for Flea Market Montgomery, he probably didn't think it would make him an internet celebrity. Well, it did.

He could have just basked in his internet fame but instead, he got smart. He made a viral-friendly blue screen version of his rap that let singer-songwriters and little superstars show you "it's just like a mini-mall." My man gave the content to the people. They showed him love and helped spread the word about his business.

Sammy proved that even small business can make huge waves with their advertising. That's right, we're even talking 'bout flea markets.

This is Your Baseball On Drugs

2007-08-06T05:25:00.000-05:00

Minutes after Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron's record of 755 home runs, this commercial from The Partnership for a Drug Free America aired.

Oh, the irony.

The C-word

2007-08-03T07:44:00.000-05:00

I've never had the balls to admit this, but I've always felt it. One day, cancer will come for me and it will be my fight.

Luckily, Lance Armstrong and Nike have made it their fight. Those little yellow wristbands, that were so cool you couldn't get them in stores, have raised $63 million dollars to fight cancer. Since 2004, this big idea put more than 70 million wristbands into the world. That's all advertising is really - big ideas.

Thank God Nike and Lance had the balls, no pun intended, to use this big idea to try and change the world.

Honk Once for Oden. Honk Twice for Durrant.

2007-06-28T13:20:00.001-05:00

Portland Trailblazers general manager Kevin Pritchard keeps getting emails reading simply "honk" or "honk, honk." Thats because the team put up billboards encouraging fans to weigh in on the Trailblazers No. 1 pick in tonight's NBA draft.

Pitting Greg Oden against Kevin Durant is a clever little way to generate buzz around the team's draft selection and their upcoming season. However, the buzz is that the honks have it.

Product Placement Loops the Loop

2007-06-26T07:43:00.000-05:00

Product placement has been all the rage for movies and television these days. That was until "Janet Jackson's left raisin shot that horse in the face." That's why Fox show The Loop takes product placement to new heights.

As funny as this is, it could become a reality. If the revolution won't be televised, product placement needs a new home. That means some brands might sell their souls to other brands in the form of product placement. It might even be successful.

In fact, the Stride Gum they mock in the show is a real product, and they're really promoting it through product placement. Like the man said, "There's a new whore in town, and she likes gum."

Leigh and Mack are back. Oh, and me too.

2007-06-25T22:15:00.000-05:00

I was just thinking the other day, "Where has Advergirl gone?" Well, she's back and there are also signs of life from everyone's favorite ad monkey.

They've inspired me to start a come back. Just like an 80s hair metal band reunion tour, but without the big hair and tight pants.

Cartel Gets Blogger Buzz for Band in a Bubble

2007-05-24T07:45:00.000-05:00

Tonight, Cartel will go all John Travolta on us and lock themselves in a bubble. The Band in a Bubble will have their every move monitored online and broadcasted on MTV as they write and record their new album in a giant transparent bubble located in New York City. After 20 days, Cartel will emerge and perform their new tunes live on MTV.

Dr. Pepper and MTV are behind the event and they've even solicited bloggers to give it some love. So when they promised me a Cartel prize pack, I was more than happy to sell out for one of my favorite bands.

Seeking link love and blogger buzz is absolutely the right way to promote this. Because people like me, who love Cartel, will jump all over this. I've seen them live and their drummer, Kevin Sanders, plays some slick SJC Custom Drums. So by hitting me up, these companies can authentically hype the event and, in turn, their brands.

The Things We Think Of And Do Not Say

2007-05-14T18:00:00.001-05:00

Remember when Tom Cruise lost his mind? No, not going off on Oprah. Going off as Jerry McGuire on an all-night writing bender to produce his mission statement, "The things we think of and do not say."

Tug over at American Copywriter might not be "the lord of the living room," but he's churned out an equally inspirational manifesto. "Improving your creative life for tomorrow starts today" is packed with marvelous revelations about the creative process and doing it right. It's a must-read.

Well said, Tug.

Old Spice Asks A Ninja for Placement

2007-05-04T15:17:00.000-05:00

After Bruce Campbell's awesome experience monologue on television, Old Spice has waded into the new media waters. The brand is promoting its Keep it Clean photo contest for Red Zone body wash on The Ask A Ninja podcast.

This is a great tactic for a brand that competes for the young male demographic with Axe, Tag and now RGX. In a category filled with boobs, boobs and more boobs this contest promoting sophomoric humor is a welcome change of pace. Not to mention being savvy enough to turn to podcasting to promote it.

So if you're unfamiliar this "factory that produces apple pie for whales," check it out.

Do These Pants Make My Wallet Look Fat?

2007-04-16T07:42:00.000-05:00

Nice headline for Daffy's from Philadelphia agency Kanter International. However, my favorite headline from the campaign is "Slave to Fashion, Dominatrix to Prices."

Thanks to Flickr user outofhomedatabase for the image.

Japan Runs on Dunkin' and Dice-K

2007-04-12T09:13:00.000-05:00

Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Red Sox's pricey Eastern import, made his home debut last night along with many ads targeted to the hordes of Eastern fans tuning in for the game.

Dunkin' Donuts replaced its traditional signage in the right-center-field bleachers with one that reads, in Japanese, "Welcome to Fenway Park." There were also a few ads behind the plate written in Japanese.

Dice-K mania also extends outside the frenzy of Fenway. There's Nike's TV spot and Bank of America's billboard touting them as the "official sponsor of the gyroball," Dice-K's mystical pitch. Sorry, no "One Bank" references here. I don't want to get hit with a cease and desist.

Rancher Dwayne Rides Again

2007-04-04T23:44:00.000-05:00

Another Mighty Duck has been spotted.

A while back Goldberg the goalie was spotted hocking Castol. Well, now his cowboy companion, rancher Dwayne, is saddling up for Holiday Inn Express. The man atop "Crusher" is none other than Ty O'Neil, who played Dwayne Robertson in The Mighty Ducks 2 and 3 - even though they really should have stopped after the second one.

However, it's nice that Ty didn't stop after departing from the Ducks. But I hope he's not taking career advice from that rodeo clown.

'Here Come the Jayhawks'

2007-03-14T16:49:00.001-05:00

Tonight my beloved Jayhawks of Kansas take the floor in the Big Dance. Here's a little tribute from the archives courtesy Mr. Robert Goulet and ESPN.

"Look out here come the Jayhawks.
Double team and say your prayers.
There's no room for pansies on the floor
when you got Kansas in your hair."

Snakes on a Concert

2007-03-07T08:43:00.000-06:00

This weekend I went to an awesome concert in Lawrence. It featured some of my favorite bands - Cartel, Boys Like Girls and Quietdrive.

I also saw Cobra Starship, the band that played an integral part in the fueling insatiable internet hype leading up to Snakes on a Plane. The band, with a little help from their friends, did the Snakes on a Plane theme song.

In doing so, they joined the ranks of the great Vanilla Ice. You might remember that the Ice-Man did a little Ninja Rap in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze.

Oh, snap. Go, Cobra. Go, Cobra, go.

Now With More BomChicka Wahah

2007-02-27T13:06:00.000-06:00

This just might be the best tagline ever. From Lynx and BBH. Spotted at Chimp Media Monitoring.

Cecil the Seal Wants You to Own Your Own C

2007-02-13T11:04:00.000-06:00

The state of Colorado is currently running commercials to prevent youth smoking and promote kids making healthy choices. The commercials feature Cecil the Seal, who doesn't balance a ball on his nose, but he does tell kids to check out Own Your Own C.

The effort comes from the State Tobacco Education and Prevention Partnership of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and is funded with proceeds from the 2004 state tobacco excise tax.

Plans are also in the works to have an ice cream truck roam the streets to further reach the kids and promote the cause. It's a very innovative tactic, although one can't help but think of inappropriate jokes about using ice cream trucks to draw in kids.

The ads come from Cactus Marketing Communications and were written by Christopher Cox and art directed by Jim Morrissey. AgencyNet developed the Web site, which is kind of a web 2.0 take on the Teletubbies complete with creepy sun.

AgencyNet also saw fit to put its name in the site's meta tags. This is the equivalent to signing your client's ad with the agency logo at the bottom. It's a major no-no and very pompous.

Check out more about the campaign with behind the scenes photos, AgencyNet's blog and the static site, which gets down to business without all of the flash.

Get Fuzzy Pimps Product Placement

2007-02-13T09:02:00.000-06:00

It's always ironic when cartoon characters speak the truth. A Get Fuzzy strip from last week stated what we already knew - product placement is taking over the world.

Rand Fishkin's Super Proposal

2007-02-07T08:20:00.000-06:00

I'll be honest, I never got into the whole My Super Proposal thing. I knew it was going down, but it failed to capture my attention. That is until I found out the man proposing was A-list blogger Rand Fishkin from SEOmoz.

Last night Rand proposed to his girlfriend Geraldine, a.k.a. "Mystery Guest," with a commercial on her favorite show, Veronica Mars. Her reaction is absolutely priceless. But even better is the fact that this wasn't a marketing ploy. No fake bride maiming her hair in a rage of wedding fury to hock hair product. It was just a guy using the power of the Internet and social media to do something innovative and entertaining.

Now, I'm not blind to the fact that this will greatly benefit SEOmoz and Rand because of all the public exposure and more importantly, the residual links it will generate. But that's what you deserve if you create a legitimate Internet sensation that isn't a commercial in disguise.

Congratulations Rand and Geraldine for making it legit.

Goldberg the Goalie Rides Again

2007-02-06T09:26:00.000-06:00

While watching a commercial for Castrol GTX High-Mileage engine oil, I saw a familiar face peaking from a car window. It was a blast from my past - Goldberg the goalie.

For those not in the know, Greg Goldberg was the overweight and overly timid goalie from The Mighty Ducks, played by Shaun Weiss. Now he's the barely visible star of a engine oil commercial and I love it.

Honestly if I was casting this commercial and Goldberg walked in, he'd be hired on the spot. No questions asked. However, I think this is where I'm supposed to make some joke about former child stars. But I'll let Goldberg slide.

Happy Birthday KFADvertising

2007-02-04T22:57:00.000-06:00

One year ago today, KFADvertising came into the world. It all started with some SuperBowl Madness and 175 posts later, brings us to this one.

Since the blog started I graduated from KU, got a job in Kansas City then got another job in Wichita. It's been quite the journey and I thank each and everyone of you for reading, commenting and coming along for the ride.

I don't know what the next year will hold, but you can bet I'll keep blogging about it.

NFL Smites Churches SuperBowl Parties

2007-02-02T16:22:00.000-06:00

Here's how not make your championship game one of the biggest events of the year. On a side note, it's also stupid not to let people say the name of the game because it's a registered trademark. Way to take away loads of free publicity.

Energizer Bunny on High-Schoolers' Hit List

2007-01-26T10:10:00.001-06:00

Six ninth-grade girls were arrested in Chattanooga, TN after school officials found a a list of 600 people they conspired to kill, including the Energizer Bunny.

The fact that a furry advertising icon was on the hit list probably served as a clue that this wasn't a serious murder attempt. But the police say they didn't want the situation to keep going and going and going.

Energizer officials did not comment on the situation other than to say that the bunny was secure and in protective custody. It's a tough day to be pink.

KFed Follows KFad Into Advertising

2007-01-17T15:00:00.000-06:00

Brittney Spears' ex-husband and nickname encroacher Kevin Federline will star in a SuperBowl spot for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.

The 30-spot parodies Federline's sugar-momma seperation woes by illustrating a fall from dancing in rap videos with hot women to working at a fast food joint. All this to hammer home the point that "Life comes at you fast." Speaking of hammer, Nationwide also used Fabio and M.C. Hammer in previous spots to convey the same message.

TM Advertising in Dallas, TX is the agency behind the spot, which Nationwide says shows Federline's sense of humor. I think Federline didn't want to be broke like the Hammer and needed money after the departure of "his baby momma."

The guy is all over my territory. First he Bogarts my nickname. Now he's all up in my advertising.

Become a Student of Advertising

2007-01-17T10:10:00.000-06:00

One of the most important things you can do to get a job in advertising and be successful is to become a student of the craft. This has nothing to do with earning or possessing a degree in advertising.

Unfortunately, most universities don't prepare you for a career, getting a job or becoming a student of advertising. According to noted columnists, authors and creative directors Ask Jancy, unless you attended a portfolio school, the University of Texas or Syracuse University, it's probably up to you to the next level.

Start by learning what good advertising is and, more importantly, why it's good. Constantly devour ads and blogs to see the best work, the worst work and experience lots of advertising philosophy. Here's a list of resources to start with:

Hey Whipple, Squeeze This - If you only read one book about advertising, make it Luke Sullivan's. It's the bible.
Pick Me: Breaking Into Advertising and Staying There - The book from the aforementioned duo, Ask Jancy, is devoted to answering questions about getting a job in advertising from fellow wannabe art directors and copywriters.
American Copywriter - Creative directors John January and Tug McTighe do their song and dance about advertising through a podcast and a blog.
Ads of the World - A colossal gallery of advertising from around the globe. It also has a forum where you can post your ads and get feedback. But beware, these guys are extremely critical.
Talent Zoo - This advertising specific site has job listings and average salaries broken down by specific jobs and cities.
IHaveAnIdea.org - Check out interviews with big-time ad people, see portfolio showcases and check out student work in the forums.
Crispin Porter + Bogusky e mployee handbook - A great manifesto about making advertising great and how to do it in an agency.

If you're saying, "I've already read these," then you're one step closer. If not, get to work. Either way, keep tuning in - we're moving on to the advanced lessons.

Putting Your Portfolio Together

2007-01-15T08:38:00.000-06:00

Well, you know what they say about the best-laid plans. I didn't deliver last week so I'll just make this week "How to get a Job in Advertising" week here on KFADvertising. That being said, here's today's dirt.

The Institute of Canadian Advertising has some great tips about putting your first book or portfolio together in its article, "So You Want To Be In An Advertising Agency." Here's the section about portfolios:

Aim for 10 great ads. They should ideally be for real clients, not the local dog-walker. Trying to do a great Nike ad is probably not a good idea as the bar is pretty high there. The best way to blow a Creative Director away is, as advertising great Bob Barrie says, "Do great ads for boring clients." Working on your first book is probably the only time in your career that you'll have complete creative freedom, so go for it.
Stick to print. [But if you have great ambient or gorilla to go with the print campaign - do it.]
Produce campaigns not just singles: we like to see breadth of thinking, not just flashy one-offs. [You need 3 ads to make it a campaign.]
Don't sweat the details. If you're a writer, don't kill yourself trying to make your ad look pretty. At this stage, you'll be judged on your concepts, not executions. So spend your time and energy on the ideas.
Let the work do the talking. Don't waste time trying to come up with a clever mailer. If you send us a shot of your foot with the line "Now that I've got my foot in the door..." we promise you that your foot will be removed from the door and inserted into the shredder.

So now the hard part - actually sweating out the ads. Here are some links to some kids who've already labored through the first version of their books. Most of these come from portfolio schools and look very polished, so this is the cream of the crop you'll be competing against.

The portfolio of Leo Leung, who was hired as an intern at Rethink Advertising in Canada.
A directory of recent graduates' work from the Creative Circus in Atlanta, GA.
A section from The Ranch, and advertising blog from the University of Texas, that showcases student work.
The student work forum from Ihaveanidea.org.

Don't sweat it if you think your work doesn't measure up. Keep plugging away and concentrate on having solid ideas and showing CDs that you can think.

*Update: I left off a great podcast from the American Copywriter boys about putting your portfolio together. This great advice comes from two creative directors who are well on their way to becoming AdverCelebs.

Getting a Job in Advertising

2007-01-09T11:36:00.000-06:00

As I went through I tedious process of landing a job as an ad man I tried to squirrel away all of the good advice I received so that I could one day share it with all of you. So this week on KFADvertising will be for all you eager beavers looking to line up internships or any soon-to-be graduates in more desperate need of a job.

We'll ease into the subject with a few fun stories to give a little preview to the remix and get us going.

One of the most compelling job-hunt stories I've ever seen comes from Gwen Yip. She chronicles her search as a foreigner looking for work in London as an art director. Gwen tells her story through doodled images and reenactments of the process she posts on her blog, WORKING holiday in London. The story has a happy ending because Gwen landed a gig working for Weiden + Kennedy, London.

Jac Madsen is looking for a job and he's documenting the process on his blog, How I got a Job in Advertising. He's also put out a few podcasts of his conversations with various ad people to tell his tale.

I hope I can help some of you hunting for your first job. I hope some of the things I learned can help you guys land an awesome gig. So keep checking in everyday this week, and I'll try to share some words of wisdom from far greater ad men than myself.

Welcome to Wichita

2007-01-03T10:22:00.001-06:00

KFADvertising has a new home in Wichita, KS. I'm all set for a new year, a new place and a new job with Sullivan Higdon & Sink.

After a top-secret initiation ritual involving a sheep, M&M's and something I can only refer to as "The Bandit," I've been accepted into the sheep-hater ranks. Now that I'm legit, you can find KFADvertising on the SHS Web site, WeHateSheep.com. Happy new year and happy sheep hating.

Let Pac-Man Do His Thing

2006-12-22T09:41:00.000-06:00

Most big brands and agencys get nervous when the public interacts with the brand in a way that wasn't expected. This is why NBC pulled videos from YouTube and why many companies fail to realize that these situations are opportunities to further communicate the message.

They can all learn a lesson from the Department of Transportation in Wright County Minnesota. The department painted giant dots on a stretch of highway to deter tailgating. This prompted a giant Pac-Man to be painted on the road, which generated lots of public and media interest. Instead of hitting the wall and having the dot-diner immediately removed, the department used the attention to hammer home the message.

"I don't know where Pac-Man came from," said Patricia Hackman, director of Safe Communities of Wright County, "but anything we can do to bring more attention to traffic safety, I'm all for it."

Although I'm putting a lot of people on notice, I'll throw out a little love to Honda and Wieden + Kennedy, London for have the guts to put this into practice. The agency showed spoofs of its new Honda Asimo spot on the agency blog, Welcome to Optimism. Bravo W+K - way to embrace your motto to fail harder and use public response to highlight your message.

Burger King Sells 2 Million Video Games

2006-12-21T11:25:00.000-06:00

Not only can The King date Brooke Burke - he can also sell video games.

Burger King's video games featuring the restaurant's royal are flying off the shelf this holiday season. Burger King and Microsoft announced they have sold more than 2 million copies of the video games in little more than a month.

The games, Sneak King, Pocketbike Racer and Big Bumpin', are available at Burger King restaurants for $3.99 with the purchase of a BK value meal. Burger King's Agency of Record, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, has taken the restaurant into the paparazzi, video games and plans on making a Burger King-themed movie. Now if only CP+B could get with Brooke Burke.

Advertising and Christmas

2006-12-20T14:40:00.000-06:00

The holidays and advertising come together to bombard you with Christmas ads earlier and earlier every year. It's a long-standing connection that runs so deep that it has become a part of Christmas itself.

Many people know of the Montgomery-Ward copywriter who penned the story of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer," but many are unaware of a man named Thurl Ravenscroft. Ravenscroft was the baritone-voiced crooner of "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" from the cartoon classic "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," as well as the long-time voice of advertising icon Tony the Tiger. He isn't well known for these roles because his name was left off the credits for the Grinch and ads rarely have credits.

So this year, remember a man who helped advertising completely and utterly dominate the holiday season - spend Christmas morning eating a box of Frosted Flakes and watching "Mr. Grinch" on TV. It'll be "grrrreat!"

KFAD Joins Sheep Haters in the 'Ta

2006-12-15T12:11:00.000-06:00

It's official - I've got a new job. I'm leaving Gragg Advertising at the end of December and signing on as a copywriter with Sullivan Higdon & Sink in Wichita.

I don't want to leave Kansas City, but it's a great opportunity so I'm accepting the challenge and heading to Wichita. I went down last weekend and found a duplex, so at least I have a place to live. In fact, Kirstie Alley lives across the street. Seriously.

I don't know what to expect and I don't know anyone in Wichita, but I've got more pressing issues - such as what clever quip will be my personal tag line. All Sheep Haters have a funny little one-liner such as, "My CD collection weighs more than your car," "I too, pity the fool," "run, Forrest, run," and "I always wanted to be a former child star." Any suggestions?

Only One Ad in Top Viral Videos of 2006

2006-12-14T10:15:00.000-06:00

The end of the year means it's time for everyone to start compiling best of lists for 2006, such as iFilm's 50 best viral videos of 2006. The only ad included on the list was "Ping Pong" starring Ronaldinho and his golden Nike boots.

Here are the other advertising-related videos that made the list:

Little Superstar - This was later branded as a TiVo ad - mash-up style.
Angry Professor - Jonathan Schoenberg, creative director and partner at TDA in Boulder staged this cell phone slam during a guest lecture at a college.
Parodied Mac and Pc Ads - It took someone poking fun at the original ad to make the list.
One Bank - Viral for all the wrong reasons.
Agency.com - The infamous subway pitch.

Now, I'll defer to AdJab on defining a viral video and withhold comment about the omission of OK Go to highlight that only one video on the list was truly an ad. For all the talk about viral advertising, our industry must not be doing too well if only one ad cracks the top 50 for the year. We need to stop making ads and start creating content.

Bogusky Besmudged With Beard in Yahoo! Banner

2006-12-13T14:07:00.000-06:00

Yahoo! is running banner and print ads all over the place to promote its Yahoo! Marketing Engine. The ads feature a myriad of business people, including Executive Creative director of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Alex Bogusky. It seems Bogusky's fame is now extending beyond the marketing community.

Although the ads have been around for a while, they only recently inspired me to unleash my creative prowess and paint a musketeer-mustache and goatee on Sir Alex himself. My sincerest apologies to Sir Alex for the cheesy 'stache, but I couldn't draw Willy Wonka with my super copywriter artistic abilities.

Nike Eyes the Tiger

2006-12-12T16:03:00.000-06:00

In 1996, Tiger Woods and Nike announced his entrance to professional golf with just two words, "hello world." Ten years later, Tiger is the the best player in the world and will remain Nike's golf icon for years to come. Tiger recently signed a third multi-year agreement with the company, ensuring that Wieden + Kennedy will have plenty more opportunities to introduce the world to Tiger Woods.

In honor of the continued partnership, here are some the great commercials from Tiger and Nike.

Juggling
Driving Range
Swing Portrait
Father's Day Tribute to Earl Woods
Don't forget, the consumer-generated spot from Joseph Jaffe

Wal-Mart Reopens Account Review

2006-12-07T15:04:00.000-06:00

After the abrupt departure of Julie Roehm, the Wal-Mart executive in charge of the recent agency review, the mega-store is back in the market for a new agency.

Wal-Mart parted ways with longtime agency Bernstein-Rein of Kansas City when it selected DraftFCB as it's new suitor in October. However, DraftFCB is now out and will not participate in round two of the fight for the $580 million account. No word from GSD&M or local powerhouse Bernstein-Rein about the possibility of getting back together with their ex.

KC Coffee Morning This Friday

2006-12-07T10:44:00.001-06:00

After contemplating if I should use my powers for good or for awesome, I decided to join forces with the boys over at American Copywriter to promote KC Coffee Mornings.

We'll be at Coffee Girls Friday morning from 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. for some caffeine and conversation. So get up early and get in on the fun.

NFL Network v. Cable Companies

2006-12-05T15:09:00.000-06:00

The battle between NFL Network and cable companies has raged for some time. NFL owners want ridiculous amounts of money for exclusive football games and cable companies are challenging the network to survive without them.

To combat this, the NFL Network ran ads asking people to call their cable companies and request that they carry the channel. Next, Kansas City cable companies started running ads attacking each other. Everest Cable ran ads imploring people to switch from rival Time Warner to Everest so they could watch the NFL Network. However, Everest does not actually air any of the football games on the channel because they are blacked out. Talk about false advertising.

Although Everest was wrong to deceitfully advertise the network, the greedy NFL owners are really to blame. We see enough negative and attack-filled ads during elections, no one wants to see multi-million dollar cable companies and wealthy NFL owners slug it out in the same fashion. If we learn anything from this, it should be that people want their advertising scantily clad women, elephants and toilet humor, not bickering millionaires.

Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Fallon - the Novels

2006-12-01T14:20:00.000-06:00

It seems that the hot thing for hot shops to do is publish a book.

This summer, founding partner Fred Senn and agency chairman Pat Fallon published Fallon's creative manifesto, "Juicing the Orange." Fallon quickly followed this with "The Work: 25 Years of Fallon," which features the infamous SuperBowl cat herder on the cover.

Not to be outdone, Crispin, Porter + Bogusky recently came out with "Hoopla," which highlights CP+B's rise to the "new hotness." Make sure to check out this great post about CP+B and the book from Room 116's Bryan Chiao. The post includes this great email from Alex Bogusky:

Subject: Creativity
Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 5:44 AM
From: Alex Bogusky
To: All Agency
In the second paragraph of the Creativity magazine article begins, "Right now the agency (Crispin Porter + Bogusky) is probably the hottest in the United States." It is amazing for me to read those words being written about us. In a lot of ways it is the culmination of a dream that seemed silly to everyone I know except my wife. She really did see it happening all those years ago and has never been surprised by our successes. Even when I wanted her to be surprised. But dreams need to last a lifetime and we're not dead yet. Some of you just arrived and I imagine you are hoping that you haven't gotten here right after all the excitement either. So we need some new lofty goals. I have a few that always get my blood going.
Being "hot" as they put it in the Creativity article feels pretty fickle. And how "hot" something got usually is a pretty poor indicator of how much impact it had on the world. Case in point: The Razor scooter. I don't want to be a Razor scooter. I want to change the world. At least a few little bits of it.

I want people to say "then cp+b came along and changed things and now nobody does it that old way anymore."
I want to be the agency that ruined it for every other agency in the world.
I want old fashioned agencies to look at us and see their own demise because they know they won't be able to do what we do.
I want to continue to evolve and morph into what all the smart people we hire want us to become.
I want to be a great place for clients to keep their brands and I want to be an even greater place to work.
I want to become known as the best place to work in south florida.
I want us all to look for more ways to help out in our community.
I want to run our company the way every 12 year old dreams of running a company because 12 year olds are right.
I want to be the agency that ruined it for every other agency in the world.
We make our clients famous by any means at our disposal. We need to be what ad agencies will become. When Steve Breen from Molson spoke today you could see how excited he was about our bizarre and fresh way of looking at brand building. And Molson hasn't even begun to tap into that yet. They're still just using us as a typical agency and all he can think about is what we will build that twists his product and his marketing and his PR into one big Molson famous makin' machine.
Here's the tricky part. I want us to do all this while keeping the qualities that make us decent folks to hang out with. I want us to remain humble. Past success is no measure of what we will do so best to be humble. After all it's just advertising anyhow. I want us to hold onto our ability to accomplish a lot with a lot less than most agencies. The huge amounts of money that we are put in charge with should always be looked at in terms of what it can accomplish outside of what we are doing with it. $100,000 might seem like less money than you might want to produce a national tv spot but remember you can build a freaking house with it. Always keep perspective on the money you are allocating.

And finally, I want us to keep having fun and being good to one another. Because otherwise, why bother with all the rest. A good friend of mine wrote me recently because he was frustrated with the advertising business and frustrated by so many of the people he works for and with. He wrote. "It astounds me how people are afraid of so many things but mediocrity never seems to be one of them."
I'm afraid to be mediocre. I'm afraid to stop getting better. I hope you are, too. Because to the rest of the world that looks like courage. Just look at Creativity magazine.
Love,
Alex

As I told Bryan, that's some "Jerry McGuire 5 a.m. making copies at Kinkos to pass out to the whole company" stuff right there.

Outreach Interational Digs Black Friday

2006-12-01T11:25:00.000-06:00

This year Black Friday at the Country Club Plaza, or just off the Plaza at JC Memorial Nichols Fountain, was marked with shovels.

Rodgers Townsend planted hundreds of shovels with messages on the handle as part of a guerrilla effort for Outreach International. Operatives headed out at the crack of dawn to turn some of Kansas City's prime shopping ground into a hardware store. Video was posted on YouTube, a minisite was created, it made the paper and it's a really good idea.

What I love the most about this one is the minisite. Although I wish it gave more information about the covert shovel operation, the site helps Outreach International make ripples, not just a splash. The site explains the purpose of the effort, provides a measurable element to the campaign and most importantly, tells people what they can do to help.

Via: AdRants

Bored 'Boards

2006-11-29T10:33:00.000-06:00

On my way to and from my family's Thanksgiving festivities in St. Louis, I had the opportunity to see hundreds of billboards along I-70. Sadly, most of the billboards are very bad.

However, there were two 'boards that caught my eye - not because they had a great message, but because they were from the Department of Student Life at the University of Missouri. KU and K-State have sports ticket sales billboards plastered along I-70, but I've never seen any advertising from a Department of Student Life.

The billboards were located on either side of Columbia and asked a simple question, "Bored?" and referred students to an online calendar of events in Columbia. So, anyone up for Stitch & Bitch tonight?

Barkely Makes Ad Age's Spots of the Week

2006-11-27T18:30:00.000-06:00

The Kansas City advertising agency who brought you the Sonic Guys is getting more press for its work.

Those rocket men from Barkley cracked Advertising Age's spots of the week last week with a spot for Cellular One. The spot is called "Elf Ears for Phone Talk" and features some non-traditional plastic surgery.

YouTube Increases CBS Late Show Ratings

2006-11-22T11:08:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, CBS put out a press release heralding the success of the CBS Brand Channel on YouTube. The channel is one of the most viewed and CBS attributes on-air ratings increases to the YouTube channel. It reports that ratings for the "Late Show with David Letterman" are up 5% and ratings for "The Late Show with Craig Ferguson" are up 7%.

The only thing more unexpected and exciting than the ratings increases is a national TV powerhouse vying to be the most-viewed channel on YouTube. Perhaps the traditional media are figuring out they must adapt to survive. Good for CBS for getting it, although it probably helps that their most-viewed clip is called "cat fight."

Great Work for Boring Clients

2006-11-21T16:48:00.000-06:00

Some of my favorite commercials are for clients and products most agencies won't touch. The great Bob Barrie said, "Do great work for boring clients." So in that spirit, here are some great ads for clients who don't shill beer, cars or use sex to sell themselves.

Aflac - The Duck
Before this campaign no one knew what Aflac was what it did. The Kaplan Thaler Group changed that with one loud-mouthed central-continuity character. The Aflac name also became the product's identification as Kleenex, Chapstick and BandAids did in their fields. Highlights include, "Silent Movie" and "Berra at the Barber."

Rozerem - Your Dreams Miss You
OK, so using Abraham Lincoln, a gopher and an astronaut is a weird way to remind you that "when you can't sleep, you can't dream." Regardless, it's the best commercial for a prescription drug I've ever seen and it illustrates the point without a middle-aged man throwing a football through a tire.

Liberty Mutual - Responsibility: What's you policy?
This spot shows how a good deed comes full circle. It takes a while to get to the pay off, but it's beautifully phrased. "When it's people who do the right thing, they call it being responsible. When it's an insurance company, they call it Liberty Mutual." I call that a darn good commercial.

Smell-vertising in San Francisco

2006-11-20T12:47:00.000-06:00

Apparently olfactory advertising is all the rage these days. There's been much ado about Kraft Foods' scratch-and-sniff ads in People magazine and now, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners is testing scent-sensations at bus stops in San Francisco. Goodby will place chocolate-chip cookie scented strips in bus stops as part of the "Got Milk" campaign.

I'd trademark the phrase "Smell-vertising" as the boys over at American Copywriter tend to do, but I think someone beat me to it.

KC Coffee Morning Part II: Electric Boogaloo

2006-11-17T14:55:00.000-06:00

A who's who of Kansas City ad bloggers assembled this morning at Coffee Girls for a second round of caffeine and conversation. I know, if the group was so elite how did I get there? If you missed out, here's everything you need to know.

The roll call featured everyone's favorite Brazilian art director, Sethy G, JJ of American Copywriter fame, Andrew Purviance and Steve Hall's favorite blogger, Ariel.

The conversation mainly focused on important advertising topics including two Brittney Spears references, too many 80's music mentions to count and the best corporate karaoke session ever, which apparently has drawn the ire of U2's lawyers. Russel Davies was on to something when he thought this one up.

Back to Business

2006-11-17T10:52:00.000-06:00

KFADvertising is feeling a little lonely lately. I keep getting voicemails saying, "You never return my calls" and text messages asking, "Are you avoiding me?"

Well, the blog has been neglected because in the immortal words of Crash Davis, "We're dealing with a lot of shit." But I got my eyelids unjammed and finally procured a live rooster to lift the hex - so I should be back in action soon.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, this would be a good place to start.

Remember, Remember the 5th of November?

2006-11-07T16:47:00.000-06:00

Warner Brothers created an advergame to promote the DVD release of V For Vendetta on October 19 in France. You'd think they would have waited two weeks to release the movie on a date that was incredibly important to the movie. Remember, remember the fifth of November?

They missed a great opportunity to go on the offensive with a cool guerrilla and ambient campaign that promoted the movie. Well, at least the French still have that whole retreating thing down pat.

Via: Adverblog

30 Seconds of Chipotle Fame

2006-10-31T17:28:00.000-06:00

This year's SuperBowl is quickly turning into the "please make our commercial for us bowl" for many major companies. Although Chiptole's 30 Seconds of Fame contest uses consumer-generated content, it has a fresh take on the concept.

Chipotle has enlisted students at 22 colleges, including my Alma mater, to create and post videos on YouTube. The most-streamed video will win $10,000, be posted on Chipotle's Web site and have a chance at some national television air-time. Boulder agency and avid YouTube enthusiasts TDA are behind the contest.

Targeting college ad kids and filmmakers shows a little social responsibility and donates some money to the winning school. Chipotle treats their customers well and often goes after the college crowd. For example, Chipotle in Lawrence, KS offered to pay for out entire homecoming float and give us free burrito coupons to hand out at the parade if we incorporated a burrito into the float. That's how you create brand advocates!

Red October

2006-10-30T11:31:00.000-06:00

The St. Louis Cardinals are the 2006 world champs! Going to the World Series was everything I hoped it would be, even though I was cheated out of my destiny. I had tickets for game five, but due to the rain, my game became game four and game five was played the next night. So I wasn't there in person, but I did see them win it from the biology lab at Visitation High School. I got tickets to my sister's musical, so we watched her and then ran into the other room to see the end of the game on TV. That'll make a good story for the grandkids.

I don't have all of the photos up yet, but you can get a little preview here. I'll try to get all of them up soon, but first, I've gotta get caught up.

I'm Going to the World Series

2006-10-25T15:03:00.000-05:00

It's official. I'm going to fulfill one of my life-long dreams tomorrow night. I'm off to St. Louis to see my Cardinals play in the World Series! The picture above shows you where I'll be sitting.

After 22 long years of hardship, failure and infancy preventing me from seeing my team in the World Series, my day has finally come. However, it turns out these aren't the toughest tickets in town.

My sister is in the Sound of Music and it's sold out. It's ridiculous. I got tickets to the World Series, but I can't get in to see my little sister's musical. So I know one of you out there has two tickets you'd be willing to part with. You can't have my World Series tickets, but anything else is on the table.

Dogs Rule Billboards

2006-10-25T08:17:00.000-05:00

Here's one of my all-time favorite billboards. TBWA/Chiat/Day did this one for Pedigree and it took best of show at the OBIEs in 2005.

Agency: TBWA/Chiat/Day
Worldwide Creative Director: Lee Clow
Creative Directors: Duncan Milner, Eric Grunbaum
Art Director: Margaret Keene
Copywriter: Chris Adams
Photographers: Sharon Montrose, Jim Craigmyle

Barkley Blows Sonic's Throwdown

2006-10-24T16:07:00.000-05:00

The local Kansas City agency that earned mad love for its cool rocket and car on cup promotion just gave it all back.

Barkley, the agency of record for Sonic Drive-Ins, saw spoofs of Sonic's silly in-car ads popping up on YouTube. They cleverly responded by posting a video of Pete and TJ challenging people to create their own ads. So far so good.

But it all goes wrong when Barkley violated major Web 2.0 etiquette and disabled users from embedding the video on Web sites or blogs. A little research from Teresa Valdez Klein over at the Blog Business Summit reveals that Barkley doesn't distribute the Sonic commercials online because they didn't pay the talent accordingly. What a waste of a seemingly good throwdown.

So in return, I'm throwing down the gauntlet. That's right Barkley; I'm talking to you and your cohorts over at Citizen Brand, Risley Ranch and Woolard Speak. You guys need to give the content to the people, and that means making all your Sonic ads available online or everyone who reads this blog will come after you.

So as your commercials state, you'd better watch out for my mom and her neighbor.

D.C. United Embraces Bloggers

2006-10-24T07:54:00.000-05:00

Add D.C. United to the short list of businesses that understand how to leverage Internet 2.0. United took to the Internet to generate buzz for Cosmo's Bachelor of the year candidate and United defender Bobby Boswell. Kyle Sheldon, communications coordinator for United, sent this message to many a blogger:

Hello soccer fan -

For those of you who haven’t heard, Bobby Boswell of D.C. United is one of 50 candidates for Cosmopolitan magazine’s Bachelor of the Year award. For those of you in the blogging world, it provides for a great opportunity to a) spark interest amongst your female readers, b) make fun of Bobby and c) link a couple of pretty funny videos Bob and I put together for it all. The links to the videos are below, as is the link to Bobby’s Cosmo page.

For Cosmo: http://youtube.com/watch?v=urjk5N51Yvc
Bloopers: http://youtube.com/watch?v=BqA1S85kZ_U
Also, folks should go here to vote…
-Kyle

So he loses points for "Dear soccer fan" and you can definitely tell he hasn't scrounged around for links before. Erroneous! Erroneous on both counts because United got the idea right when they went after the bloggers. They even threw in some self deprecation, which is essential to any self promotion on the Internet.

Soccer isn't all over the TV or widely mentioned on talk radio. So die-hards have sought refuge on Internet message boards such as BigSoccer. D.C. United's marketing efforts really cater to those fans. United's intelligent marketing effort is pretty good, I don't think Bobby Boswell will win Bachelor of the Year - that's for the ladies to decide.

Props to Throughball for the hot tip.

World Series Commercials

2006-10-23T13:34:00.000-05:00

It's not exactly the World Series of advertising like the Superbowl, but the fall classic features some big brands rolled out new campaigns. Here are some of the noteworthy new spots.

Dodge Nitro:
The new spot for blocky-looking Nitro shows the behemoth SUV blowing some dude's hooptie sky-high. The tone and attitude in the commercial are reminiscent of the ads for the Dodge Caliber. Snarky and in your face. Overall, it's pretty funny, but the vehicle is pretty funny looking so the jury is still out.

US Postal Service:
I can't remember a TV campaign from the USPS since a gentleman named Lance Armstrong went postal in France seven times in a row. The new spot shows a conversation between a package headed for Japan and a lamp, which was coincidentally made in Japan. They chat, make nice and also make you laugh.

CitiBank:
After years of success with their identity theft commercials, Citibank turns to a guy who acts like Borat's older and more toned-down cousin to promote its rewards points. Along with Victor, his little Napoleon Dynamite friend, he goes to outrageous lengths to show you how Citibank is "Rewarding. Very, very, very rewarding." It's a little odd, but it's not exactly an offer out of left field.

YouTube Fuels Spitgate 2k6

2006-10-20T10:02:00.000-05:00

After the University of Kansas' horrendous collapse last Saturday a video appeared on YouTube allegedly showing an Oklahoma State coach spitting on a KU player. Spitgate 2k6 was off and running.

On Wednesday, the clip was loaded to YouTube. By the end of the day, it was all over KU blogs, forums and news sources. Yesterday, only one day after spitgate began, the BIG XII investigated incident using more camera angles and exonerated the OSU coach.

Now, whether the coach spit on the player is not very remarkable. However, the ridiculous speed at which this issue rose and fell is remarkable. YouTube really gave this thing the legs to be virally distributed so widely, that the Big XII conference took notice and looked into the matter. This all happened in the span of two days in which the video was viewed 12,985 times.

MLB Urns and Caskets for Die-Hard Fans

2006-10-19T10:47:00.000-05:00

On the eve of the Game 7 in the NLCS, we learn that Eternal Images signed a licensing deal with Major League Baseball to emblazon the logos of all 30 teams on designer caskets and urns. Although this is completely ridiculous, it proves how a brand can become a part of someone's life, or death in this particular instance.

As America's past time, baseball and the teams we love or hate occupy a special position in many hearts. Any other brand would gladly sacrifice their firstborn child for this kind of embrace and devotion from the public.

As for Eternal Images, the company has already received more than 1,000 inquiries about the product since June. So rest assured, branded coffins are on the way. And if I die of agony tonight because my Cardinals can't get it done; you'll know where to put my remains.

Advertising That Goes Splat!

2006-10-18T16:35:00.000-05:00

Here's a cool little ambient ad for Middleton Lawn & Pest Control. The work is from Push Here.

Advertising Like No Other

2006-10-16T23:10:00.000-05:00

I should be in bed. Instead, I'm here at the computer so I could see the new Sony Bravia commercial right when it came out. I'm totally geeking out right now.

So after all the anticipation and excitement, I finally saw the new spot. Just like the movies, the sequel wasn't as good as the original. Don't get me wrong. It was good, but the original was fantastic.

Regardless, those darn fools from Wieden + Kennedy, London and Sony did a great job with the spot and its promotion. They hyped it up and got idiots like me to stay up and watch it - and there must have been many others watching because the download moved at dial-up speed.

Just go watch the spot; it's worth your time. As for me, it's bed time.

Jousting on the Construction Site

2006-10-16T10:23:00.000-05:00

Saw this commercial, entitled "Joust", for Stanley's Fat Max Tape Measure during the weekend's playoff baseball games. It's absolutely phenomenal. It shows the benefit, even if it is way over the top, and I'm sure Stanley loves that the product was the hero.

Good for Stanley and Mullen for putting the commercial on the Web site. Any commercial your company feels is good enough to air on TV, should also be on your Web site. It's inexcusable to not provide eager consumers with the branded content they want. They actually want to watch your commercial. Most people watching TV don't want to see your spot. Take a lesson from the Stanley, not to mention the Snapalope, and give the content to the people!

Brand: Stanley
Spot Title: "Joust"
Agency: Mullen
Chief Creative Officer: Edward Boches
Group CDs: Jim Hagar, Jason Stinsmuehlen
Art Director: Bob Gates
Copywriter: Jeff Baxter

Coca-Cola and Target Aren't 'Red'

2006-10-13T10:40:00.000-05:00

Coca-Cola and Target are completely missing the boat by not participating in the (product) Red campaign from the Global Fund to help fight AIDS in Africa.

There are lots of things that define a brand, and one of them is color. Yet, Coca-Cola and Target, two brands that absolutely own the color red are not involved in this campaign.

"Red" seeks iconic brands to partner with to fight AIDS in Africa. When consumers buy a "Red" product or sign up for a "Red" service, the company donates money to purchase and distribute AIDS medication. Coke could certainly use the some good publicity after claims of egregious working conditions in its international bottling operations.

If nothing else, Coke and Target could reinforce their brands' color equity, get some good press, help save some lives in Africa and have Oprah and Bono promote their swag. Sadly, the most important reason to participate is probably the least compelling to the companies in question.

MLS Should Sell Out With Style

2006-10-12T14:03:00.000-05:00

Major League Soccer announced that it will take after every other professional soccer league in the world and allow advertising on the front of jerseys for the 2007 season.

While the rest world sells the precious real estate on jersey fronts, no one uses the space for anything more than a brand name or logo. I think there is a huge opportunity there for an advertiser to do something creative such as a contextual tie in or campaign message. If you're going to sell out, do it with some style.

For example, QuickBooks could partner with the Kansas City Wizards to let soccer moms know that their tax wizard makes completing your family's taxes a breeze. OK, so that's a pretty cheesy example, but the opportunity to do something clever and generate plenty of publicity is there.

Hopefully MLS teams can get some clever sponsors to buy into this idea; otherwise they might have to resort to putting "Chico's Bail Bonds" on their jerseys.

Sonic: From Drive-In to Driving Around

2006-10-10T16:01:00.000-05:00

Sonic Drive-In is promoting themselves with the classic "I left my drink on top of the car" bit. There was a little piece in the KC Star about it last week, but I was unable to find a picture until today. I snapped this picture with my camera phone on the way to lunch, so the quality is a little more Blair Witch and a little less LonelyGirl15.

Sonic also has radio spots that mention the tactic and offer a special on its Route 44 drinks. Local Kansas City agency Barkley is behind the idea and while I've seen this one online many times, I've never actually seen it executed in real life.

The Advertising Creative's Bible

2006-10-10T13:15:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading Luke Sullivan's, Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide To Creating Great Ads, for the second time, and I'm sure I'll read it many more times in the years to come.

The book is the advertising creative's Bible and is required reading for all those who aspire to advertising greatness. Sullivan tells it like it is and tells us the way it should be. The book is geared more toward copywriters than art directors but Sullivan's primary focus is the brilliant idea behind the ads, not the execution.

The book's one drawback is that, like the Bible, it's old. The ever-changing advertising game moves fast. The book was written before the rise of Web 2.0 and the many other places advertising seeks to dominate the world. Sullivan simply looks the future by preaching evolution and solid strategy.

If you haven't read this book; it's time to come to Jesus. If you've read it before, it's time top renew your faith in the church of advertising and read it again.

Run London Features a Photo Finish

2006-10-09T14:40:00.000-05:00

Here's a cool Web site for Nike's Run London, courtesy of Weiden + Kennedy, London. The race pitted North London against South London to see which half of the city would finish faster.

The site has full team and personal results, but the coolest feature lets each runner watch video of themselves crossing the finish line. They also added in a nice little social feature to send your video "to a mate." I'm sure if I was involved is this little trot, you'd all be treated to some lovely digestive pyrotechnics. Luckily, I was unable to make it to London for the occasion.

I Don't Do Window Cleaners

2006-10-06T14:47:00.000-05:00

The glass cleaner ad has been done to death. We get it; the glass is so clean that you don't see it and then you bump into it. I've never been amused by any of these ads.

However, this Glassex ad from Spain made me laugh. But please, no more.

Jonathan Schoenberg: Commit to Your Mistakes

2006-10-06T14:39:00.000-05:00

Last night Jonathan Schoenberg, creative director and partner at TDA in Boulder, spoke at a Kansas City Ad Club event. Although he had something important to say, he was smart to let his work do most of the talking. When your work is as good as his, it's easy.

Jonathan's message was "commit to your mistakes." He took us through many of the mistakes he made in his career, and by mistakes he meant things that didn't quite work out or risks that drew negative attention. However, Jonathan had no regrets. As he showed us his work he would say, "man, we're really gonna piss some people off with this Dick joke ad," "every movie theater in California banned this one," or "will we still run the ad if the he's really dead?"

That's not to say TDA just pisses people off for the sake of controversy. Their messages have a purpose. Jonathan likened advertising to a conversation. You want to talk to someone who has something interesting to say and advertising should be the same way. TDA knows their approach isn't for everyone, so they end each client pitch with a video entitled "hookers". If the client laughs, they know it's a good fit for their agency. If not, the client probably wants a different type of agency that won't make mistakes.

One of Jonathan's mistakes even earned him an upcoming appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman. He also announced that TDA had just won the Jones Soda account and had already done some work for them including a video response to the Diet Coke + Mentos phenomenon.

Buffalo Bob Wants You to Get Your GED

2006-10-05T08:20:00.000-05:00

One of my friends sent this to me a while back. Someone put a lot of Photoshop time into this one. I'm confident it's not real, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was student work.

Advertising Observations From the Races

2006-10-04T13:07:00.000-05:00

This weekend's NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway was jam-packed with all sorts of advertising goodness. Here are some of the highlights:

The Budweiser Donkey
Remember the furry little guy who was born a donkey, but meant to be a Clydesdale? He now travels with the Clydesdales, who have brand equity than any other animal alive. The little guy stole the show from his larger counter parts and even shakes hands with visitors. Now that's the power of advertising.

Aerial Advertising
There were seven or eight banners flown around the track by planes all weekend. In the past, there have only been one or two planes toting banners. It sounds like buying billboards in and around the track is so expensive that many advertisers, such as Nextel, vitaminwater and others have turned to aerial advertising for a cheaper way to get in on the party.

Ricky Bobby
You knew it had to come to this, but just like me, you wouldn't have it any other way. One of the most popular attractions on the Midway was the Talladega Nights trailer featuring tons of Ricky Bobby swag. Shake and bake baby!

Use Only What You Need

2006-10-04T08:15:00.000-05:00

Here's a cool little campaign I saw while I was in Denver last week. The campaign, which totes the tagline, "use only what you need," promotes water conservation for Denver Water. Check out a few more executions from the $500,000 campaign over at Sukle Advertising + Design.

I've seen a similar execution from a University of Texas advertising student for Mini, however, I haven't seen anything like the park bench before.

Barkley Blasts Off

2006-10-03T10:27:00.000-05:00

The largest independent employee-owned agency in the country, Barkley Evergreen & Partners is doing an extreme makeover: advertising edition. Yesterday, they officially changed their name to Barkley and introduced their new rocket logo, a tribute to the three-story rocket which will top their new location.

The rocket is a throwback to the Disney-"Imagineered" Moonliner, which sat atop the former TransWorld Airlines headquarters for years. Barkley renovated the building, which is located in the Crossroads district of Kansas City, MO, and will officially move in on Halloween. The rocket will be unveiled this Friday during the Crossroad District's First Fridays.

Via BE&P employee, Jeremy Fuksa at The Martini Shaker.

SES Local Search Conference - Denver

2006-10-03T09:25:00.000-05:00

As promised, here's the full recap of my trip to Search Engine Strategies Local Search Conference in Denver.

This was the first SES conference to focus exclusively on local search. As a result, it came off too specific and spent too much time trying to convince an audience who already saw the importance of local search to drink the Kool-Aid. It wasn't necessary, we were already there.

My favorite session was "Coping with Convergence: Local Search Meets Mobile and WiFi." It was very forward thinking and dealt with reaching consumers through mobile devices and technology. I think this will be where local search truly hits it big. This includes maps, finding the nearest pizza place and even opt-in coupons.

As we move toward a more WiFi future, automatically determining a user's exact location will rely on WiFi rather than GPS or IP addresses. Although this has security and stalker implications, it benefits the user because it allows them to find and get directions to the closest businesses without having to input their location.

One cool program that already uses this technology is Loki, which is a local search application that automatically recognizes a user's location through WiFi. Loki comes from Skyhook Wireless whose VP of Market Development, Jed Rice, presented the application and gets the nod for best speaker at the conference.

The conference featured speakers from Google Local, Yahoo Local, MSN's Live Local Search, Local.com and TrueLocal.com. It also threw out some great ideas and strategies for local businesses to increase their internet presence. Not everyone can afford to buy an add on CNN.com, but everyone can get a free listing on Google Local, Yahoo! Local and MSN's live Local Search. It also outlined some strategies to reach a geographic targeted audience using text ads.

All in all, it was well worth the trip. However, the conference needs to evolve and mature with the technology before the next local search conference.

Three Things From My Trip to Denver

2006-09-29T14:08:00.000-05:00

Work is beyond crazy today, so the full update from my trip to Denver for the Search Engine Strategies Local conference will have to wait. Here are a few tidbits tide you over for now.

Although my Arabic cab driver barely spoke English, he was fluent in French.
The owner of TrueLocal.com is eccentric and very passionate about local search and his site. He really brought some life to the room. The guy is ridiculous.
I met Kasey Kahne's girlfriend's sister in the airport.

13-Year Old Playboys Resort to Identity Theft

2006-09-27T12:39:00.000-05:00

The new commercial for the video game Test Drive Unlimited bears striking resemblance to the Citi Bank identity theft commercials, which have been running since 2004.

The Citi Bank commercials are phenomenal. They are all nice executions of a great idea. So when another commercial uses the exact same idea with a similar execution and inserts their brand instead, it's bad news.

I know there are no new ideas in advertising. But you can't make a carbon copy of another ad and slap your logo on it. Acceptable ad recycling happens, but it comes in the form of taking bits and pieces from several ads and executing them with a new twist. Not being the guy who blatantly steals someone else's ideas.

So don't be that guy, or some twenty-something punk from Kansas might take a swipe at your commercial next. "Shoot." "Yeah, shoot."

Quiz Is Just Another Name for Survey

2006-09-26T08:40:00.000-05:00

I took this quiz, which I found on Scamp, to "find my tribe." I completely disagree with my categorization, but that's irrelevant.

What is relevant are the questions I was asked about many brands in the quiz. It asked for my opinions - favorable and unfavorable. Now, this had no bearing whatsoever on the results of this quiz, but I ponied up some answers to get to the end and see my results. I'm willing to bet that many others did and will do the same.

So all you marketers out there seeking information - just integrate it into a quiz or game of some sort. Give the people interesting content, and they will give you your data.

DLP Believes In Elephants

2006-09-25T09:41:00.000-05:00

It's a well-known fact that elephants make advertising better. DLP also knows this. That's why their new commercial, entitled "Believe," appears to feature an elephant for no apparent reason. J. Walter Thompson, San Francisco did the spot and must have let DLP in on the elephant thing.

With this commercial, DLP adds their name to the long and distinguished list of pachyderm lovers. GE loves tap dancin' elephants, Bombay Sapphire loves nimble elephants, Skippy peanut butter loves rappin' elephants and TheGlobalFund.org loves elephants in any room.

All these creative use of elephants make using an elephant to promote a Zoo seem so cliché.

VCU Student Uses Guerrilla to Threaten Pug

2006-09-22T13:19:00.000-05:00

A guerrilla marketing assignment from a VCU Adcenter professor got a little out of hand when it drew the attention of animal rights activists from around the globe. The assignment was to make the instructor's Pug famous, so the student threatened to kill the dog on MySpace. Simple enough solution; except the assignment prohibited students from threatening or harming the dog. Perhaps the student, who likely drew inspiration from Honda's Gil the Crab, should have taken a less violent approach such as buying text ads saying "I bite, I bite."
Via AdPulp

Discovery Cycling's Race 2 Replace

2006-09-21T20:59:00.000-05:00

The Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team announced today that it was parting ways with 11 of the riders who helped Lance Armstrong win the Tour de France seven times in a row. Among the departing are Viatcheslav Ekimov and Paolo Savoldelli, who are both featured in these cool old school posters from TM. The posters heralded Team Discovery's Race 2 Replace event, which went down in August at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"Let's All Discover" a Good Commercial

2006-09-21T16:04:00.000-05:00

The Discovery Channel has made a huge resurgence with original programming, a big advertising push, and sponsoring the cycling team of seven-time Tour de France champion, Lance Armstrong. Original shows like American Chopper, Dirty Jobs, Myth Busters, and Deadliest Catch have transformed the network from science class to a satisfaction for curiosity.

Discovery's "Let's all discover" campaign supports and reinforces this transformation. The brilliant tagline, which truly captures what the channel is all about, comes from TM.

Coke Side of Life Makes For Good Radio

2006-09-20T12:55:00.000-05:00

I've outline what makes a bad radio commercial. So let's talk about some good radio commercials, such as Coca-Cola's "Get Well" and "Office Fridge" spots. The spots are part of the "Coke Side of Life" campaign, which is pretty solid as well.

Although these spots are good, I can't find the best one from this campaign. The spot beautifully describes the "neolithic and cryogenic" effects of reaching your arm deep in the cooler to pull out that really cold Coke and implores someone to "please pour it in my mouth." The words create incredible imagery and taps into that miserable and empathetic feeling you get after plunging your arm in frigid cooler water.

Wieden + Kennedy wrote the spots. Carlos Chafin and Robbin Thompson of In Your Ear put together the music.

Undeniable Signs of a Crappy Radio Commercial

2006-09-20T10:30:00.000-05:00

I've never done a top 10 list, but after hearing some really crappy radio ads on the way to work, I'm ready to go medieval on some audio.

"Wow! I sure could use that."
Car dealers screaming at the top of their lungs. LOUD NOISES!
"Hey, have you heard about (insert product here)?"
Does it ask questions? Are there a lot? Are they in rapid succession? Is the spot pointless?
Anything written by the radio sales staff
"I'm heading over there to buy one right now."
Laugh tracks
Spots that sound like someone reading the SPAM from your inbox
"and the best part is"
Old songs reworked with bad lyrics that aren't funny or self-deprecating. Think "Crumbelievable."

If you recognize any of these telltale signs, refrain from immediately sticking your fingers in your ears. Keep your hands on the wheel and belt out your favorite Bud Light "Real Men of Genius" commercial until the misery passes.

Schick Quatro "Off the Hizzy"

2006-09-18T11:01:00.000-05:00

It seems like everyone wants to have a kooky, scientist guy in a lab coat use quirky pop-culture phrases to move product. The latest television spot to employ this tactic proclaims the Schick Quatro razor to be, "off the hizzy."

These findings come from what can only be considered factual and unbiased research from the Schick Shave Lab. You can see the commercial and Dr. Smooth on the site under "the studies."

Campbell's Chunky Soup Brings in 'Hungry Boys'

2006-09-17T15:58:00.000-05:00

Just caught the new Campbell's Chunky Soup spot, "Hungry Boys," which features several Pittsburgh Steelers. Steelers' quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, was supposed to star in the commercial but a motorcycle accident hospitalized him days before the shoot.

Campbell's instead brought in Roethlisberger's Steelers teammates Jeff Hartings, Max Starks, Kendall Simmons, James Farrior, Marvel Smith, Charlie Batch, Casey Hampton and Chukky Okobi, along with Steelers "Team Mom" Elleanor Starks.

Music to the Ears of Jayhawk Fans

2006-09-15T17:04:00.000-05:00

An evening of truth is upon my beloved KU Jayhawks as they prepare face Toledo on ESPN2. I, like most college sports fans, am intensely loyal to my school. To us, our school's mascots, colors and fight songs are sacred. So I'm incredibly excited that the University of Kansas now has free downloads of the school songs available on its Web site.

This isn't just about sports, there's a marketing lesson to be learned. By giving your supporters access to elements of your brand, you help them become advocates for you. This is the case with KU's school songs. Jayhawk fans across the country can now roll down their windows and crank up the fight song as they pay homage to the crimson and the blue.

It's all about giving the content to the people, and by golly, this puts a song in the hearts and ears of Jayhawk fans, not to mention, non-Jayhawk fans.

NCAA Cuts Football, Not Ad Revenue

2006-09-13T17:22:00.000-05:00

In order to speed up college football games, the NCAA instituted several rules changes involving the game clock. So far, this has shortened each game by about 12 plays this year.

The changes they made don't seem to fix the problem they set out to solve. Instead of speeding up the down time in game, like baseball did a few years back, the NCAA shortened the game itself. They took time away from the action on the field but kept the same amount of timeouts where television stations pull down hella scrilla from advertisers.

Funny, no one suggested cutting out television's advertising timeouts to speed up the game.

You Don't Ask. You Don't Get.

2006-09-12T10:48:00.000-05:00

I dropped my first F-bomb in a meeting yesterday. Aside from sporting events, I rarely use profanity, so I knew it would get the attention it was meant to grab. Long story short - it worked. It captured the attention of everyone in the meeting and in about five minutes, we absolutely blew the doors off our current capabilities.

The solution involved changing all of our existing contracts. Even though we desperately needed it, we never asked for it because we thought our agency wouldn't do it. As the always wonderful Diane O'Byrne says, "You don't ask. You don't get."

Kansas City Advertising Blogs

2006-09-12T10:37:00.000-05:00

During last week's blogging sabbatical, my bloglines was riddled with unread blogposts. As I tried to sort through them all, I realized that many of the blogs I follow came from the Kansas City area. So I thought it only fitting to give a little shout out to all the locals. Here's my list.

American Copywriter - Creative directors John January of Sullivan Higdon & Sink and Tug McTighe of Callahan Creek give us something to nibble on between podcasts. Not only are they AdverCelebs, they're also the shit. Seriously.

Smoke & Meers - If you're looking for a good story with an advertising moral, Sam Meers is your man. He runs the show over at Meers Marketing Communications and always has a good take.

Shake Well Before Use - This young lady from VML has burst onto the ad blog scene with force. She's got the attention of some serious bloggers, such as Steve Hall over at AdRants and Hidden Persuader, so you'd better get a little piece of Ariel's RSS love.

Carpe per Diem - More Meers' love from copywriter Dan Duff. He writes about marketing, but more importantly, he used to drive the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile.

K City - It's not really about advertising, but Bruno Pieroni from SHS has an awesome comic strip. Plus, he's Brazilian, so I get style points by merely mentioning him.

If you didn't make the list, hit me up with an email, leave a comment or threaten to take me and my blog down. It's all welcome.

Rutgers Hypes Leonard for Heisman in Times Square

2006-09-11T10:34:00.000-05:00

Rutgers University is hyping Heisman candidate Brian Leonard on the NBC Astrovision by Panasonic big screen in Times Square. The spot, which is really just a highlight reel of the Rutgers full back, airs four times every hour.

Rutgers is not the first to campaign for their man to win the Heisman, or to advertise something unusual in Times Square. However, the media buy is clearly meant to take the message to the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City, the home of the Heisman Trophy. You can see the spot on the accompanying Web site under multimedia.

To the Three People Who Actually Read This Blog

2006-09-11T10:14:00.000-05:00

I sincerely apologize for taking last week off. I got busy and the blog got neglected. But I've got lots of stuff to put out there, so I'll try to make up for it this week.

Wallace Isn't Rusty on Pimping Sponsors

2006-09-01T12:11:00.000-05:00

NASCAR drivers love to rattle off seemingly endless lists of sponsors every time they do an interview. It seems the same holds true for a wreck on the street. Former NASCAR driver and current ABC and ESPN analyst, Rusty Wallace, touted the safety features of his Dodge Durango after a Mercedes T-boned Wallace's SUV. You can't make this stuff up - it's just too good.

Where Were You On 9/11?

2006-08-31T13:39:00.000-05:00

I spotted this over at AdPunch and it was so powerful I had to post it. It rings especially true for me because I was in high school on 9/11.

The work is from Gerry Graf, executive creative director at TBWA/Chiat/Day. The ad promotes the Wolrd Trade Center Memorial Foundation and there's also a site that documents where people were on 9/11.

Arizona Cardinals Say No to Pink Taco Stadium

2006-08-31T12:55:00.000-05:00

A restaurant called Pink Taco offered the Arizona Cardinals $30 million for naming rights to their new stadium. You can imagine why the Cardinals declined the offer.

Many, including the Cardinals feel this is a publicity stunt and I would tend to agree. However, I think the restaurant truly wants the naming rights to the stadium because that will generate even more publicity. A quick glance at the press section of Pink Taco's site shows they want any and all publicity they can get. This includes clips from Saturday Night Live and tabloid excerpts about the owner's son dating Lindsay Lohan.

I guess you don't take yourself too seriously when your restaurant is named Pink Taco, but you do take all the publicity you can get.

Purdue Football: "I LUV COACH"

2006-08-31T10:34:00.000-05:00

Today marks the official start of college football season, and I'm pretty jacked up about it.

I'm also pretty fired up about the "I LUV COACH" campaign for Purdue football. Fans can leave a message for Coach Joe Tiller by calling 866-I-LUV-COACH. Fans can hear all the messages on the Web site and new messages are featured in TV or radio spots every week. The tagline for the radio and TV spots is, "We've got your game."

College football fans are extremely passionate and are a fertile target for user generated content. This campaign is great because it gave fans, who are foaming at the mouth for the start of the season, an outlet to support their team. The nice integration between online, radio and TV is the icing on the cake.
Via: AdFreak

CBS and Photoshop Help Katie Couric Lose a Few Pounds

2006-08-30T12:49:00.000-05:00

It seems that CBS altered a promotional photo of Katie Couric that was widely distributed by the network. The photo made her appear she was 20 pounds slimmer and fueled rumors she lost weight. Sounds like false advertising to me.

Roddick Battles Pong, Maria Feels Pretty

2006-08-29T16:21:00.000-05:00

It's US Open time, and several advertisers have capitalized on the opportunity to fill the airwaves with some tennis themed spots.

American Express came out with a clever spot that pits Andy Roddick against pong. The campaign is nicely integrated with an online pong-like game and gets extra points for being old school.

Nike and Wieden + Kennedy also rolled out a new spot featuring Maria Sharapova. As Maria heads for her match with a scowl on her face, everyone she meets serenades her "I feel pretty" from West Side Story. She silences the tune by hammering home a winner with the typical monster tennis grunt. This spot is also integrated online with a nice mini-site and has been heavily advertised on ESPN.com.

Conan O'Brien Crunes TV's Woes at Emmys

2006-08-29T07:59:00.000-05:00

Last night, Conan O'Brien hosted the Emmy Awards and kicked it off with a song and dance number. The tune was a parody of "Trouble" from the Music Man, which was rewritten to highlight television's declining ratings and viewership.

Although Conan's litle ditty didn't mention declining ad revenue, it did mention TiVo users skipping commercials and kids watching YouTube instead of television.

When the awards show celebrating the best in television leads off with a song blasting the medium, you know that the 30-second spot isn't what it used to be. Back east in Connecticut, Joseph Jaffe just did a little fist pump.

Portions of This Old House Brought to You By GMC

2006-08-28T16:03:00.000-05:00

Although there are no commercials on PBS, there are underwriters and sponsors for most of the programs. This is where they drop the line, "brought to you by [insert company name here]" to get some exposure for their sponsors.

Until yesterday, that was the most creative use of this plug I'd seen. However, the little 10-second spot GMC runs for their support of This Old House is pretty clever. In each one, a GMC truck backs part of the house into the frame so it looks like it is installed in the house. The announcer follows up with the obligatory "Portions of This Old House brought to you by GMC."

It's very subtle and will probably never draw any attention other than right here, but I appreciate GMC breaking the mold with this one to do something unique. It's tough to make a 10 second spot, so these ads are clever because these all illustrate the point simply and effectively.

Divorced Parents Use McDonald's to Handoff Children

2006-08-26T20:47:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine stumbled upon some great cultural insight last Friday. While eating dinner at McDonald's, he realized there were an unusually large number of divorced parents handing off children for weekend visitations.

He's a recent Kentucky transplant and what struck him was the large number of divorces because he'd never seen that many divorced parents in Kentucky. What struck me were memories of being the child handed off for the weekend at McDonald's.

While this isn't really a positive thing for the McDonald's brand to be associated with, it's definitely a cultural truth. In today's divorce riddled world, McDonald's serves as a safe and public place for divorced parents to momentarily put aside their differences for their children.

Non Sequitur in Real Life

2006-08-25T15:39:00.000-05:00

Perhaps today's Non Sequitur isn't that far from reality.

The Walking Billboards

2006-08-25T12:38:00.000-05:00

This idea might be new, but its old school roots go way deeper than sporting a driver's cap. Protestors and street peddlers used similar signage to promote their message to the masses since the world was black and white. However, A company called The Walking Billboards sells ad space on a sign that has two guys carry it around with their feet chugging along and hanging out the bottom the Flintstones.

The ads shown on the Web site don't really do anything special with the medium. However, the right message for the right product could change that. The message would need to take advantage of the unique vehicle and capitalize on its constant motion and the goofy guys carrying it around. So all you creatives, make something great for these guys, and please avoid cheesy puns like "feeling boxed in by your advertising?"

via: Marketing Post