Message from paradise...

we do say some freakin' absurd stuff in this industry....

 

 

 

 

could I just speak with a live (and knowledgeable!) person, please?!

How many times in the last couple of years have you heard someone complain about crappy customer service? Heck, how many times in the last day?! Automated voice systems, overseas call centers, reduced retail location hours, unable to find anyone who works at a store.....it really has gotten to such an abismal place in America that it's tragically funny.

At least there's one upshot to all this - funny, self-effacing advertising. While Johnson Auto Group's badger remains my fave (and Peggy for Discover is creepy but effective), this new spot from Ally Bank really struck a chord with me this morning.

 

 

 

 

 

borrowed equity. sometimes it just works.

I have no idea how much it cost to use all these clips from tv shows and iconic movies.....but who cares? This latest work from Nike is pretty stunning. Granted, it's a LOT more frenetic (kinda like Gap / Audrey) than more subtle efforts (Nike Skateboarding or Apple Think Different). Irrespective of the pace, I'm diggin' the borrowed equity from pop culture. Interesting that pretty much only Nike and Apple - pop culture creators themselves - can get away going this route.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

harshin' on Paula

wow.

King Kong: underutilized asset

 

 

King Kong was released in 1933. It's kinda surprising that more brands haven't tried to use him in advertising, eh?

 

 

 

An amusement park in Belgium gave it a whirl last year to promote a new King Kong ride....but it was for King Kong.

 

 

And Universal Studios did some fun outdoor boards when the movie remake came out.

So given no one's really ever used King Kong, it makes this Nike ad all the more fantastic...

 

the inspiration for the Farmers Insurance jingle?

You be the judge.

 

 

 

marketing Gulf Coast tourism

If you're like me, you probably roll your eyes when you see a BP-funded tourism effort to get folks back to the Gulf. I know BP probably had to fund it to conform with some court decision, but did they have to plaster their corporate brand all over it? Just seems....wrong.

 

 

 

 

Conversely, if I were heading up the 'Bama tourism efforts, I'd seriously consider the following campaign suggestion from Bill Maher. 

 

 

 

wait for it....wait....wait a minute. it's Swayze Friday?!

I got a taste for livin'. I'm drinkin' cold Blue Ribbon.

Now, that's copywriting.

there's definitely a disturbance in the force

When will people learn that, in advertising, sequels just don't work. 

 

gettin' lucky

I always thought Kentucky had the worst (unofficial?) state tourism effort.

 

 

Until I saw this North Dakota campaign.

 

My favorite factoid shared by the North Dakota tourism authority:

"10 print ads and six 15-second television commercials cost less than $200,000 in all."

Wow. Is that all a crappy campaign costs to produce these days?