"Everything has become advertising. And everyone an advertiser." -from the sidebar of This is an ad It can be difficult to determine what's an ad and what's not in today's media environment. Thankfully, This is an ad helps bring some clarity to the mess we're in. …
Walmart-Style Travelogue
Agency Tart reporting from the front lines of Adlandia, confirms that this is a tough business. In Boston today for a huge online branding presentation to my biggest client. My nemesis agency was there as the client’s overall brand presence. What corporate ass-kissing fuckheads. Anyway, our travel booker-person made me share a room with a project manager on the team. Agency Tart does not share rooms. We all got …
IT Meltdown Wreaks Havoc in San Francisco
The Guardian is reporting that Levi Strauss announced a 98% drop in second quarter profitability and a 19% decline in US sales. The culprit, other than tight-fisted consumers, appears to be the company's IT operation. A software disaster stopped all product deliveries in the US for seven days earlier this year. David Bergen, Levi's chief information officer, who came on board eight years ago to reconcile the …
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Big Mac Turns Big 4 Oh
From the Big Mac Chant Off on MySpace: According to The New York Times, McDonald's is looking back while simultaneously busting a move in the new world of consumer generated content. Consumers have been challenged to write their own songs using the exact words of the classic Big Mac jingle, and submit them on MySpace.com. The winner won’t get any cash, but his or her song will be featured in a commercial later this …
This One’s For You, South Carolina
Palmetto State Ain’t Gonna Tolerate
Newsweek and countless other media outlets are covering the news that South Carolina is, in fact, NOT GAY. The campaign targeting gay European tourists which claims otherwise, landed with a resounding thud in South Carolina, where the issue of gay rights has long been a political flashpoint. After The Palmetto Scoop, a South Carolina political blog, uncovered the promotion last week, Republican state Sen. David …
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Walker’s Words
Marketing bloggers, like Jackie Huba, are loving Rob Walker's new book, Buying In. But Huba wanted more than a read through, she wanted to question the Savannah-based author and New York Times Magazine columnist directly. Here's one of her questions and Walker's response: Q: Is "I buy, therefore I am" just as common today as it was 100 years ago? A: I think it's more true. A century ago, you wouldn't sell deodorant …
Customers Are More Than Buying Machines, They’re Members of a Movement
According to Adweek, Scott Goodson of StrawberryFrog is intent on moving the needle for the brands in his agency's stable. But not by driving trial, no, that's for simpletons. Strawberry Frog wants to start something. They want to create a movement (in the name of brands). Cultural Movements is StrawberryFrog's DNA. Cultural Movements is the process StrawberryFrog uses to develop innovative strategies for our …
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