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Coldplay's Deceptive "Free" Concert in Madison Square Garden: Only 3,500 Wi
2008-05-09 23:38:00
So...at 4:30 this afternoon I got an email where Coldplay announced the opening of the contest for their "free" concert in Madison Square Garden in New York where ALL the tickets are free. I'm really bothered by how Coldplay handled this announcement. It was certainly easy enough to enter the contest and that went well. UNTIL I READ THE FINE PRINT. Remember I'm an ad guy so I read the fine print. The Madison Square Garden concert only has 7,000 WINNERS (even less, actually, since they're distributed as 3,500 pairs). Shame on you Coldplay. What was originally billed as a "free" concert" (which certainly seemed like all the Garden seats would be given away) has become a show where about a third of the total tickets or so are free (with a 20,000 plus concert capacity). Not a good way to build credibility with your fan base. Would have been like Radiohead (the gold standard of free) saying "name your price" but restricting the pay what you want program for "In Rainbows" to the firs...
More About: Concert , Free

Coldplay Plays Free Shows at Madison Square Garden in New York and Brixton
2008-04-29 20:57:00
Here's another escalation in the "free" marketing war started by Radiohead last fall with their pay what you want for In Rainbows.Coldplay has announced that they'll be playing two free shows this June to coincide with the release of their new album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. Sounds like a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel to me. One show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Another at Brixton Academy in London. I like this idea...this ain't no car park or record store or Apple store These look to be full fledged concerts in real arenas. More details to come tomorrow...and I'll be back with them. We'll see what it takes to win. In the meantime go to coldplay.com and download the free single, Violet Hill...available for a week starting at 12:15 PM UK time today. So what do you think? A good promotional idea? Do you hate Coldplay and can't comment? Or love them?
More About: Free

Photoshop Contest: Marlboro Product Placement Ad and the Catholic Church
2008-04-25 05:38:00
Catholicism and its traditions have dominated the news following the Pope's recent visit to the U.S (quite justifiably, all kidding aside). So now's the time to roll out the best product placement for the church I've ever seen. Advertising is a bizarre business (believe me I do it every day for a living) and product placements, in my mind, generally are obvious and annoying. That's what's so great about this theater of the absurd Photoshop . Thank goodness the Pope's advance men covered up every single Yankee stadium sign before Sunday's mass.
More About: Contest , Church , Catholicism , Product

Volkswagen (VW) Funeral Spot: The Best TV Spot Ever with Creative Credits
2008-04-16 05:26:00
Here is, in my mind, the best TV spot ever created. Produced by Doyle Dane Bernbach in 1970, at the height of the remarkable agency's creative power, it typifies the magnificent "Think Small" campaign the agency created for Volkswagen . The primary rule of advertising that was broken: don't touch death...it's the third rail of advertising. Very few have tried again. That's because it's so damned hard to pull off.What a remarkable concept...a spot narrated by a dead billionaire cynically commenting on the key players in his funeral procession (Roy Grace drew his inspiration from seeing an actual lineup of cars). Iconoclastic idea. Executed flawlesssly. Fabulous casting, a terrific voiceover from a dead man and spectacular camera work, especially the brilliant helicopter shot that concludes the spot--with the Volkswagen Beetle very appropriately trailing the procession.Praise these people, some in memoriam:CREDITSArt director: Roy GraceDesigner: Roy GraceCopywriter: John NobleDi...
More About: Creative , Spot , Credits

R.E.M. Supernatural Superserious: The Brand New Video with Onscreen Lyrics.
2008-04-12 06:13:00
R.E.M.'s brand new video for Supernatural Superserious is terrific. Love the presentation of the lyrics and the way the hand manipulates and wipes them...it's original and engaging. And...very practical. Lots of people have visited my post below with the original video which is close (but no cigar) on the exact lyrics. Check these official lyrics out for yourself. The biggest surprise for me is that the list of phrases that ends the song beings with "inexperience" not "zen experience." And that makes so much more sense. Better video than the first one posted below. As for the music...this hook is huge (Jacknife Lee, the producer, at work). I can't get it out of my head. What's this have to do with New Advertising you say? Well...cool videos watched hundreds of thousands of viraled times are ads for bands and their new albums, like Accelerate. Watch it. I dare you. It's 3:30 of your life you won't regret. And tell me what you think. Please.
More About: Video , Lyrics , Brand , Supernatural Superserious

Protest in the 60's and 70's Versus Today: Talkin' Bout My Generation
2008-04-04 06:15:00
Earlier this week I received a letter from an intern who worked for us at Jugular Advertising last year. S is from Lafayette College, my alma mater. We both participated in a McKelvy House program there that focused on topical issues. The topic last Sunday was whether and why the 60's and 70's were the gold standard of judgement for protest...while there was less activism from this generation. S asked what my view was. It's below. Take a look at her email at the bottom of the string and then my response (think it's long, but worth it but, hell, I wrote it...I'm biased). It's dedicated to the memory of the remarkably articulate giant of a man Martin Luther King who was assasinated FORTY years ago today. King's speeches are monumental moments in the 20th century New Media of live political television.Hi S:I did get this, and I'm not ignoring you. Things are just crazy busy. I wanted to get you a somewhat considered answer.Funny...I had seen the Friedman article when it origin...
More About: Today , Protest , Versus , My Generation , Generation

Rock Music Marketing in Email Blasts from My Chemical Romance
2008-04-03 05:59:00
I love the email text below in every imaginable way because it looks and feels like it's real, No corporate bs for this band. No carefully composed emails from their publicists. This is a real-world, down and dirty message from Mikey Way, my Chemical Romance's bass guitarist and younger brother of Gerard Way the group's lead singer. When it comes to English usage this is unbelievably off key...including the typos like "in released." But it's totally in keeping with the bands brand image: gritty, honest, down and dirty. Love it. Read it...you'll have fun. I like MCR even though I've been told I'm too old for them. Forget that...they're a great band.A Message From Mikey Way My Chemical Romance to meMar 31 (3 days ago)A MESSAGE FROM MIKEYHello to all,The other day, I was given the new Drive By record by my dear friend Todd Price. For those of you who are unfamiliar , he sings and plays guitar in the band. I had been eagerly awaiting this record quite some time. The...
More About: Marketing , Music , Email , Rock

Black Google screen for Earth Hour on home page
2008-03-29 23:03:00
This is great communication. Shocking. Informational. Google has done such a smart job of setting up a theme and variationsby the consistent use of the spare, stark white home page...and then playing variations on it...usually through the logos for holidays.The Google landing page could work better as it's a bit too Googlecentric for my taste.But the Earth Hour page is terrific. Love the ability to email friends to alert them, the clock and the ability to watch major monuments/sites go dark in Sydney last year.
More About: Screen , Home , Page

REM Supernatural Superserious Lyrics & Video from Accelerate
2008-03-29 19:37:00
OH MY...judging from the Supernatural Superserious video I just watched, they've done what they've had to. Energize, modernize, and damn...just plain out rock, rock, rock. Back from the dead. I loved this band. And now I can do it again. Good for them. Congrats. Remember and give enormous credit to producer Jacknife (Garrett) Lee. He's masterful (see Snow Patrol and selected U2). I hope he gets the credit he deserves. Tell your friends to buy Accelerate on March 31st. Play it again Sam with the lyrics below. They're very good.Everybody hereComes from somewhereBut they would just as soon forgetand disguiseAt the summer camp where you volunteeredNo one saw your face, no one saw your fearIf that apparition had just appearedTook you up and away from this place and sheer humiliationOf your teenage stationNobody cares no one remembers and nobody caresYeah you cried and you criedHe?s alive he?s alive/a lieAh, you cried and you cried and you cried and you criedIf you call out safe then ...
More About: Video , Lyrics , Supernatural Superserious

Color as a Fashion Advertising Strategy?
2008-03-01 21:32:00
I was out to breakfast yesterday with a friend who is President of a New York City ad agency and we were trading stories. This time the topic was the ephemeral nature of fashion advertising and how a-rational it can be. He told me a story about a meeting with a fashion client to determine their new strategy moving forward. The client had a breakthrough moment and said "BLUE IS OUR NEW STRATEGY." Remember that's an ad not a merchandise strategy. So...to all you out there. Is blue a strategy??
More About: Fashion , Color , Advertising , Strategy

Photoshop Contest: Gandhi Product Placement for YSL (Yves Saint Laurent)
2008-03-01 21:22:00
Here's another Photoshop Contest entry I love. It's subtle...and the original image is great to begin with. Yet another reason Gandhi was ahead of his time.
More About: Product , Yves

Photoshop Contest: A Crest Toothpaste Product Placement
2008-03-01 21:12:00
Yes...I've been very busy (we've won three new accounts in three weeks). But I do have a ton of posts in my head to do. It's been awhile since the last Photoshop Contest entry. This one for Crest is an idea that the toothpaste brand managers should pick up and run with. And...it's another way for parents to help fund the orthadonture bills.
More About: Product , Toothpaste

Advertising Launches for New Products: Ten Rules Featuring Brutal Force & W
2008-02-19 05:15:00
I've launched a wide range of products from the Sony Walkman, the world's first CD player, the world's first musical CDs at CBS records, the IBM PC, the first no fee credit card, European and Japanese automotive new model launches, Lucent Technologies and, more recently, a range of revolutionary, anti-addiction medical treatments.Much of the following is obvious...the key is how you specifically apply it to your launch and target. It's media agnostic...applying to both new and old media.1. Get the product design and operation RIGHT before it's introduced. The market is unforgiving if you don't.2. You can only launch a product once. Get marketing, advertising, & promotion working flawlessly the first time.3. You'll be made or broken in the first 90 days following the actual launch date.4. And the 90 days PRE-LAUNCH will heavily influence your post launch success: the right press, word of mouth, advertising, beta trials, etc.5. Put all the dollars and marketing muscle you can d...
More About: Products , Advertising , Force , Rules , Brutal

2008 Super Bowl TV Spots Grades and Reviews.
2008-02-04 05:49:00
All the 2008 Super Bowl TV spots in the network IN-GAME broadcast are reviewed here during and right after the game. NO reliance on other opinions or surveys. I grade hard. So, take heart advertisers and agencies. Cs are average and As are hard to come by. And congrats to everyone on getting your work to the big game. I may expand some of the comments as the day/s proceed....but I will not change the grades. American Airlines: CAn old spot recycled...a non-event.Audi A8: A- Excellent take off on the Godfather scene. Great dramatic exposition. Love the grease on his hands rather than the blood from Coppola's horsehead. Beautiful shot of the car taking off like a bullet.Bridgestone/Firestone: C-Animals and Richard Simmons are almost hit...but avoided by the tires. Lots of talk. Not a worthwhile investment. Spots are dark and unappealing.Budweiser Clydesdales: B+Great tradition. More high quality. Rocky is a bit tired though.Bud Light Spots: B+ to C+Too many spots...and the format is ...
More About: Reviews , Grades

The Best 2008 Super Bowl TV Spot: Coke Balloons at Thanksgiving Day Parade
2008-02-03 22:31:00
Hands down, this was the winner for the best spot. Driven by great imagination and enormous heart, this spot just takes your breath away. It's beautifully shot and majestic...summoning up many of the world's most favorite cartoon characters, Underdog, Stewie and Charlie Brown, to pursue the Coke balloon in a Thanksgiving parade gone far astray. The combination of live action and animation is seamless and adds enormous depth to the spot. I loved the juxtaposition of the interior shots with the gorgeous Manhattan sidestreet and Central Park shots.Best...it's perfect for the historic Coke brand positioning and DNA...it's smack dab in the middle of the great Coke ad tradition of "Teach the World to Sing", "Mean Joe Greene" and "Polar Bears". Hats off to more majestic advertising from Weiden & Kennedy who continues to amaze.Ironically, it also sets up an interesting, very direct comparison to the "Magnetic Attraction" spot created by Pepsi featuring Justin Timberlake...which is small...
More About: Super Bowl , Super , Spot , Balloons

The Best Super Bowl Ad Ever: Apple 1984
2008-02-02 04:37:00
With the Super Bowl upon us in less than 48 hours, let's take a look at what, to me, is hands down and without rival, the best Super Bowl tv spot ever. Apple 1984, which ran January 22nd, 1984, introduced the world's first Macintosh--which immediately took the world by storm.What's usually not considered in any discussion like this is the competitive context this spot appeared in: Apple had introduced the Apple II in 1977 which became in many people's minds the first mass market, popular personal computer. The introduction of spreadsheets for the Apple II drove the computer into the home and small business market. IBM, then the mainframe computer company, accustomed to dictating "Big Brother" style to its users, made the radical decision to take a small group of IBM engineers, sequester them in Boca Raton with the charge of developing a competitor to the Apple II quickly...not confined by the typical circuitous, bureaucratic IBM development cycle. IBM launched their first PC, t...

"Family Room" Holocaust TV Spot by Michael Franzini from ThinkMTV.
2008-01-29 21:25:00
The Holocaust reinterpreted for today. What do you think?
More About: Family , Michael , Spot , Room

"Subway" Holocaust TV Spot by Michael Franzini from ThinkMTV.
2008-01-29 21:04:00
The Holocaust reinterpreted for today. What do you think?
More About: Michael , Spot , Subway , Think

The National (rock band) Song "Slow Slow" Mixed to "Masculin Feminine" by
2008-01-11 05:36:00
One of the great things about YouTube is the brilliant work that citizen artists put out there on a daily basis. My new favorite band is The National and their great 2007 CD "Boxer." This is a brilliant piece of editorial that combines the song "Slow Show" with Godard's gorgeous black and white footage and the fabulous dark-haired female beauty, Chantal Goya. See Ali McGraw for an American 1960's equivalent. The film is a perfect match for The National's drum and baritone-vocal's driven music (see a lyric sheet the first time you listen). This is a great video.
More About: Band , Song , Rock

R.E.M. "Accelerate" Launch Website (ninetynights.com) & Relaunch Vehicle fo
2008-01-03 16:56:00
R.E.M has just introduced a website called ninetynights.com as a teaser to build interest for their new "Accelerate " album due in April of '08. Starting On January 1 '08 a different 30-90 second video will be posted each day (or night) for ninety days. Cool idea. Especially since it's impossible, at this point to determine where it's all going (makes sense to me...otherwise why come back besides the fact you can download each new clip in HD for that day only). The video has been shot by Vincent Moon who has made videos for The National's "Alligator" ("Lit Up", "Daughters of the Soho Riots") and Beirut among others. R.E.M. needs smart marketing and decision making at this point. "Accelerate" is rumored to be a return to the classic 1994 "Monster" R.E.M. sound of "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" and "Crush with Eyeliner". It's produced by Jacknife Lee (Snow Patrol's last two breakthrough records, Greenday, and some U2 co-production). He's a brilliant producer but can at t...
More About: Website , Vehicle , Launch , Relaunch

Spock People Search: Search Engine Market Segmentation.
2008-01-02 03:52:00
I have a favorite new search engine in beta that you should try called Spock at http://www.spock.com. Dedicated to People Search it's even better than Google at providing virtually all the internet information available on a person (and frequently some visuals). From a marketing standpoint what's most important here to me is that Spock represents the fact that the search engine market has matured sufficiently that Google no longer will be the only game in town and that there will be room for very well executed segmented entries in vertical categories: like people. I've pulled part of the John McCain and Hillary Clinton pages so you can take a look at how Spock search results look (and the example seemed relevant given the Iowa caucuses on Thurs.) So search for your old boyfriends or girlfriends by name. Or search companies to see who works there (the site is great at turning up accurate Linked In entries). There's a user editorial system which you can read about if you're inte...
More About: Market , Search Engine

Credits for Nike "Need Motivation" TV Spot: Agency, Director, Music, Produc
2007-12-19 23:54:00
(If anyone is listed incorrectly, I apologize, please let me know.)Nike "Need Motivation " CreditsAgency : Crispin Porter + BoguskyExecutive Creative Director: Alex BoguskyCreative Director: Evan FryAssociate Creative Director: Dave SwartzArt Director: Mark TaylorCopywriter: Todd TilfordGroup Executive Producer: Matt BoninProduction Company: HSIProduction Services: Film Planet ArgentinaDirector / Director of Photography: Samuel BayerEditorial Company: Bug EditorialEditor: Andre BetzProducer: Joy CopelandAssistant Editor: Ben ShababoPost Production: RIOTProducer: Alex DecaneasProducer: Peter StanikFlame Artist: Tom McCulloughTelecine Artist: Billy GaborTelecine: CO3Visual Effects: WETA DigitalVFX Supervisor: Chris WhiteVFX Producer: Libby HazellVFX Onset Digital Supervisor: Susie KleisVFX Onset Digital Supervisor: Matt SloanVFX Head of Production: Eileen MoranMusic /Sound Design: Amber MusicComposer: Eugene ChoMusic: 2nd piece: The Hives, "Return the Favour"Sound Design: Bill ChesleyPro...
More About: Spot

The Worst Brand Extension: Turkey Gone Mad...Not Turducken But Turgooponduc
2007-12-19 21:17:00
Ok...Christmas is a little less than a week away and I've been doing tons of research since my Thanksgiving post on Turducken (pictured above from a website with an alternate spelling). I know it's silly but there's a lot of written background online and on the blogs. It never fails to amaze me.I've found the ultimate Turk ey line extension (as we call it in marketing). All the bell and whistles you could want. From Wikipedia. "Some enthusiasts come up with the turduckencorpheail. This is a standard turducken, (Turkey stuffed with duck, hen, and cornmeal) which is then stuffed with a cornish game hen, which is then stuffed with a pheasant, and finally stuffed with a quail. Still others have pushed the envelope even further with the turgooponducheasanishuail, which includes both a goose and capon, in addition to the component birds of the turduckencorpheail. In recent years, another version called the turgooponducheasnishuaichuffguihagaga has been growing in popularity. It has al...
More About: Sense , Brand , Extension

Photoshop Contest: A "Pirates of the Caribbean" McDonald's Product Placemen
2007-12-13 23:17:00
It's Thursday night and time for the weekly Photoshop Contest . You deserve a break today so we've put together a match made in CAA heaven (or more accurately, CAA hell). McDonald's and Pirates of the Caribbean . Johnny Depp & Company meet the Big Mac. Without doubt, this is one of the best drive ups that McDonald's has ever had (of their 31,000 locations worldwide). You needed that factoid, right? More product placements next week. Tune in.
More About: Product

U2 3D: Smart Marketing Widget for a Historic Film.
2007-12-13 06:21:00
Be forewarned: when movie critics and communications analysts look back at U2 3D they'll see a historic event. U2 is amazing: as musicians and as marketers. Their absolute dedication to creating great work with the best creative teams available has made them the band of the last quarter century. This U2 movie, created by 3ality Digital, is going to kick ass and take no prisoners. It's the first ever live action digital film. Period. I saw the Vertigo Tour a couple times, most prominently on October 8th, 2005 at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was a great show to turn into a 3D movie with state of the art technology (click on "What is 3D" to learn much more about 3D and 3ality). I'm just as excited to see the movie as the concert given all the points of view the camera will expose you to. Fans who have seen the in-theater preview describe Bono throwing a glass of water off the screen as if you're going to be soaked. U2 3D debuts at the Sundance Film Festival on January 1...
More About: Marketing , Widget , Smart , Historic

Interactive Environmental Christmas Card from Wieden and Kennedy, London.
2007-12-11 20:52:00
This is just a great interactive Christmas card from ad agency Wieden + Kennedy London . Based on a green initiative you can name your own tree, plant it and pump three buckets of water into it (don't give up even though you're almost ready to). At that point you can start decorating it with the tons of different ornaments you can see on the screen capture. The catch...to add more ornaments and lights you have to grow it by returning every day to water your tree at which point your entry will get bigger. Mine, no surprise, is scottstree. I started out traditional but I have great plans. The counter shows how many people have planted trees in what ultimately should become an intriguing forest (competitive one too, given the sites's sponsors). Good stuff. Check it out and let me know what you think.http://www.wiedenswood.com/index/in dex/hash/gzw18z5gxtwg8
More About: Card , Environmental , Interactive

Photoshop Contest: A "Kill Bill" Movie Product Placement for Gillette
2007-12-07 05:50:00
Ok...it's Thursday night and time for the weekly Photoshop Contest again. This is wry and a bit sardonic...a perfect pairing, as they'd say at the CAA talent agency. Uma Thurman from Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" with Gillette blades. Hey, I just had an idea...what if we went back to movie classics and added in new product placements. Better and more profitable than colorization. I've got two months of movie advertising product placements via the magic of Photoshop coming up on Thursdays. Please tune in. G'nite.
More About: Movie , Product

Nike TV Spot "Need Motivation" for the new Nike Plus running shoe.
2007-12-07 00:00:00
Ok...much anticipated and here it is...Crispin Porter + Bogusky's first work for Nike . I've just watched it three times. Certainly an over the top look at the world of the Nike Plus running shoe. A cast of hundreds spanning centuries. And an enormous budget. My initial impression is that it's overblown. A simpler more singleminded idea might have worked better. I'll take Quicksilver's "Dynamite Surfing" anytime over this (see my October posts). But...let's wait for the :30...should correct much of the self indulgence here. And...the false ending with the title card "Need Motivation " followed by the Nike Plus team breaking the glass (Apple 1984ish) is very cool. Breaks on Grey's Anatomy tonight. Then lots of MTV and NFL football. Just remember a key audience, as it always is these days, is viral. That's where this will do best. Let's measure it in two weeks.
More About: Running , Spot , Shoe

Catholic Saints Images on Cell Phones: Church Leaders "Horrified" by the Ne
2007-12-06 06:01:00
Everyone who moves in Italy has a wrinkled and worn saint card taped to their dash--or in their wallet or purse. So why not download your favorite saint (or saint to be in John Paul II) to carry around on your mobile phone. On Tuesday it became a reality. A sort of modern download that advertises the best of Catholicism (how I as an adguy think of it). Or...just a better, more permanent way to carry your Saint Christopher santini. Seems like a smart idea to me. And would look great on a new iphone.But not everyone agrees. "This is in really bad taste," Bishop Lucio Soravito De Franceschi, a member of the Italian bishops conference committee for doctrinal matters, told the Turin newspaper La Stampa. "It is a distortion of sacred things...selling 'santini' for cell phones is horrifying," he said.Not so says the originator of the idea. "We found a need and filled it," Barbara Labate, who developed the concept with her business partner in a cellphone services company based in Milan. ...
More About: Church , Cell Phones , Phones , Cell , Images

Martin Scorsese Freixenet Ad: A Great Example of The New Advertising
2007-12-04 22:31:00
The "Key to Reserva", Fabulous stuff. Long...but this Spanish cinema ad is where advertising should and WILL (well maybe not shot by Scorsese) be going. An ad for Freixenet Carta Nevada Reserva sparkling wine...plus an homage to Hitchcock. If you're into advertising, Scorsese or Hitchcock it's well worth the 9 plus minutes. The creative director Alex Martin ez of JWT Barcelona has it right "...it's not enough now to buy the audience time--we have to create advertising that the audience chooses to spend time with." That's the cardinal rule of the new advertising no matter what the delivery system. In two weeks...I predict huge YouTube viewership numbers
More About: Advertising , Great , Martin Scorsese , Vert