Advertising News and Know-How
By David Burn
Product Shop NYC: Spike Jonze produced one of the best Nike commercials ever, so it's no surprise that the GAP wanted him to direct a commercial for them. His GAP commercial, titled "Pardon Our Dust", which is promoting a massive remodeling of GAP stores, is scored with Edvard Grieg's revolutionary masterpiece "Peer Gynt Suite". While the executives were okay with the concept of customers and employees demolishing a …
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By David Burn
Mark Babej likes Off Soho Suites' approach to attracting customers. What really caught my eye was the idea of putting the hotel’s positioning right on the awning. Mystique: null, and some word-smithing might be in order, too. But while other hotels (even of the budget persuasion) try to outdo each other with cliché promises of charm and romance, the Off SoHo Suites focuses on a relevant and compelling value …
Continue Reading about Who Needs A Catchy Tagline When You Have A Compelling Value Proposition? →
I suppose "Don't Be Evil" is a pretty good corporate mantra to have, if you must have one. But as USA Today points out, the Google backlash is starting. Lauren Fine, a media analyst at Merrill Lynch, warned in a Nov. 28 research note that the launch of services like Google Base classified advertising could tarnish its do-only-good reputation. "As Google's newer businesses start to encroach on some otherwise …
By David Burn
Jennifer Rice: An effective brand keeps its promises. Advertising should communicate the brand promise, and operations should fulfill it. Everything should work together. Think Apple, probably the most coherent brand on the planet. I'm probably going to take some heat for this, but I personally don't believe that a traditional ad agency can do an effective, unbiased job at brand strategy. Their primary sources of …
Continue Reading about Branding Is Nowhere Without Operations →
By David Burn
Decent Marketing: We all know how a lot of corporate-themed events and experiences turn out fairly cheesy and silly. So I was a little skeptical when I read about the Absolut Ice Bar in London in the November 28 issue of Fortune magazine. "Since it opened Oct. 1, London's Absolut Ice Bar has been drawing locals and tourists alike to the 23 degree lair [-5 C for you international readers], where the walls are lined …
By David Burn
Philadelphia Inquirer: Attention, pastors: You have just four weeks remaining to work a lion, a witch or a wardrobe into your next sermon. Walt Disney Pictures is so eager for churches to turn out audiences for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which opens Friday, that it's offering a free trip to London - and $1,000 cash - to the winner of its big promotional sermon contest. The only …
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By David Burn
Lewis Lazare considers the changes underway at Euro RSCG Chicago. According to several sources familiar with developments, Euro RSCG has decided, in essence, to fold what had been a strictly delineated consumer ad unit into a new entity that blends the digital, direct, data and advertising units at the shop into a more seamless shop headed by newly anointed president Mark Blankenship. For the last two years, …
By David Burn
Dean Gemmell has seen enough fancy schmancy self-congratualtion fests. He and his cohorts at Black Lab Five in lovely south central Michigan have whipped up their own damn award show, and it's decidedly Pabst Blue Ribbon. Or should I say, Iron City? I've grown so weary of all the crap award shows. And embarrassed because such a glut makes our industry look so stupid. So we've decided to take matters into my own hands …
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