Burger King at it again

So if you watch Family Guy, you know every scene makes some reference to pop culture and/or history. Seth McFarlane has recently been contracted to do 10 episodes of just these skits to launch on September 10. It is the Cavalcades of Cartoon Comedy.

There are a few sponsors (each get 2 episodes I believe) and it cost around 2 million to sponsor 2 episodes. Sponsors that have jumped on include Verizon and Burger King, who somehow got the King drawn into the series.

The neat thing about the show, is that it is the first ever show to be broadcast only through the Internet. And don't say there are shows online, because UGC doesn't count. Also, it is hosted entirely by Google (shocker!) and there will be a YT channel.

I know I said I don't like Apple........but things are different here!

Life in Japan is getting better, with the exception that I was stalked for a bit*, got lost, and have to make a speech in front of 900 students. I enjoy public speaking probably more than a good majority of humanity, but the fact that it is in Japanese diminishes the fun factor to around zero.

But I digress, (I'm prone to digressing as of late, it seems). My third day in the country I got a cell phone, which is pretty awesome –except that it is pink and my plan is ridiculously awful. You see, Japanese phones don't have minutes, but rather just give you a very low rate for each minute. In the case of my awful plan, I pay only .03 cents US for 30 seconds. However, texting is totally free which isusually where the America phone companies get you. I guess it is a trade-off then.

The interesting thing is picking a phone company when you have no real exposure to any of the previous advertising. In the end I chose Softbank for two reasons: that many other JETs have Softbank (thus, free calling), and their advertising is, quite simply, amazing. Their mascot (a talking dog) has gotten such a following in Japan that he will soon have his own show. It is kind of like the Geico cavemen,with the exception that this show won't suck.

Softbank (formerly Vodaphone) is the Japanese distributor of the iPhone. Walking into the store I fully understand why Softbank was designated as an iPhone carrier as the store felt like a copy-paste Mac store. White, clean, everyone was wearing uniforms. Hell, even the packaging of the Softbank phone looks suspiciously familiar. Yet for all they had done in the store to make it clean and interesting, I couldn't help but notice the giant spider web (and spider) in the corner. For god's sake; why wasn't that cleaned up? Itwas, quite frankly, disgusting (and freaking me out a great deal). Seeing the web destroyed all that I believed the store was– this was no Apple copy. I could only see how a spider web in an Apple store would go over.

But then I noticed a trend: these spider webs were in every damn store. It wasn't just in the Japanese stores, but American based chains as well (the local Gap, Starbucks, and McDonalds). What was with this?

In Japan, spiders (and their webs) are considered good luck, especially in the way of money and businesses. Destroying the spider web can be akin to breaking a mirror.

Some think that Globalization destroys cultures, but if anything, I think it can make for some interesting mash-ups.

* To combat this, I have decided to lie profusely when anyone sketchycomes to talk to me again. From now on my name is Cynthia, I am 26 and live with my husband Jack in Osaka (as people seem to always begin conversations with asking how old I am and if I live alone).

(NOTE: This post was written by Lauren and posted by Mel Doug)

My general feelings at this time

So here's what's been on my mind. I've included pictures to help make my story more visually appealing. Enjoy.

First, Fay is coming and hitting my hometown. While I guess I'm happy that I'm currently not in Fort Myers, it's still stressing me out. At work we were asked to pack up alot of our stuff and they passed around plastic garbage bags so that we could put stuff from our desk inside them that we didn't want getting wet.... which makes me wonder... why would my stuff, inside our office (with 4 solid walls and a roof) get wet? Scary.

However, I am happy that my phone and files are neatly tucked inside a white garbage bag ad protected from the treacherous rain in case our roof blows off... or a tsunami hits. Whichever comes first. But with the way my luck has been going lately, I would be the only person to have a leak over their desk and it will drip down, trickle through a slit in the garbage bag, ruin my phone and destroy my files.... and a lone palm frawn will probably be projected through my window and then land on my desk breaking it in half. Just my desk. No one else's. I should start preparing myself emotionally for my impending loss.

Another thing that I've been pondering is why Miami-Dade and Broward counties are closing their schools and yet my county (yes it's mine) did not close schools. Is it normal for South Florida to be extra cautious? Maybe they are still scarred from Andrew and other storms. Not sure. Or maybe god ole' Fort Myers needs to step it up a notch?

I've been watching the Olympics alot and I'm very upset that Usain Bolt from Jamacia, aka 'Lightning Bolt,' was so cocky when he won the 100m race. He should have ran full speed until he crossed the finish line. And the arms extended as if to say 'where you at?' was rude. I would have been happy for him but he needs to be humbled. I almost hope he falls in his next race. I hope he doesn't get hurt but I hope he either trips or comes in dead last. I'd laugh really hard. Jamaica is completely dominating track. Hopefully USA steps it up. None the less, those guys and gals are so freakin' fast. Geezz!

My favorite part is to see the track races in slow motion. Watching their cheeks and faces jiggle sloooooooowlyyyyy makes me smile. :)

On the Olympics note, there are alot of endorsement deals with athletes in the Olympics. But when these guys don't qualify or win, it poses a huge problem for these big brands such as Coca-Cola, Nike and others. So we forget that when these well known athletes don't even qualify for an event, not only is it a major blow to their ego and the country they represent, but just imagine the companies who have to swallow that huge monetary loss. For example, Liu Xiang injured his achilles (OOW!) and couldn't qualify for the hurdles. Nike's going to feel that one. Apparently there were people sobbing in the stands when he couldn't race. Talk about emotionally invested fans. Check out my story line below:

Xiang gets hurt (looks very painful)

Xiang tries to race (why Xiang, why?)

Xiang withdrawls from qualifier

Fans cry becasue they love Xiang :(

PS- Pole jumping is nuts! Those people are crazy.

re: the nerve... (aka What Not to Wear: The Olympics)

This is in reply to Sarah's post about Pat Forde's best and worst dressed for the opening ceremonies. Think copyranter. This is hilarious!

CLICK HERE TO SEE/LAUGH(OUT LOUD)!





and one of my favorite comments on there:

"You misssed New Zealand… we also wore Croc’s however of the jandal variety…."

(yes Sarah, he wrote jandal!)

Just Eat It

Food? Art? Advertising? Apparel?

From Neatorama:
That’s the Nike (Burger) Air Max 90 by Olle Hemmendorff, a Swedish illustrator/designer who was commissioned by Nike (along with 7 other artists) to "interpret" their sneakers. Olle decided to make one out of … hamburger!

Such a treat

I love corporate microsites. If that's even what they are called. Like this or this or this or this or the Toyota prank which the name escapes me right now. I read somewhere that they don't really get a lot of traffic. But they aren't heavily promoted either.

Sometimes they are directly promoted:



And sometimes they just show the website at the end of the commercial/ end of the copy.

Either way, when they are done well, it is such a treat to find them.

And then there is this (for Sean)

My warm and fuzz side

Karina I'm looking in your direction...



A rather small glimmer of hope for this business, at least how I would envision it.

Saw this at the cursing angry blog, Ad Scam.

the nerve...

So, I had a little break from work and decided to do a little light reading about Michael Phelps kicking Olympic (and well general) ass. Then, I found this...

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3525843

It's an article by Pat Forde who writes for ESPN.com. It begins as an innocent enough article about the opening ceremonies in terms of dress mostly. Then, the low blow... #1 of the top 10 worst dressed countries in the Olympics: Denmark for wearing jean shorts... fair enough, but he compares this to Gainesville. I kid you not:
"• The 10 worst-dressed teams:
1. Denmark. Jean shorts. JEAN SHORTS?! This isn't Gainesville, Fla.; this is the Olympics."

WTF?

Fail!

In response to Laurens slightly depressing post, I give you this:



Built with a 100,000 push pins by my heart throb agency, W + K.

Sometimes life gives its best lessons by handing out a big fat F. Far worse things can happen in life, like gingivitis.
Remember to floss kids!

Not your typical rick roll

Yes I am rick-rolling you this morning. Enjoy.

You've gotta fight! For your right!

Somebody better! Read the articles below.

Sad news

Oh wait, there's more. It's not just beer pong.

For all of you still down there, you know what to do.


(just please be safe :) )

Finally!

A concise, accurate picture of what is in store for this business.

| View | Upload your own

Read his blog here: [paul isakson]

Greetings from Miki, Hyogo

Well, it has been a long, long weekend. I moved into my own place Friday to find it already fully furnished (sweet) and infested with giant roached (err...). As of today I have sent four roaches to hell, with the intend of next hunting down the one that fell into my hair last night.

I know it sounds very negative, but I'm having fun here.

Kind of.

I'll admit that this weekend was one of the hardest weekends of my life. I was sent into hysterical crying spells at the smallest things:watching a special about New York, hearing "You've Got a Friend In Me", smelling my Dad's collgune in a store. Hell, even getting rickrolled at a train station caused my lip to quiver.

When you have no internet and only seven channels on your tv it gives you a lot of time to think...and that isn't good. I wondered if I could do this -- really do this. Sure I can speak Japanese and I can prolly teach a decent enough lesson, but could I make friends and abate boredom for the next 360 days (oh yes, I was counting the days a lot during my depressing weekend).

As of right now, I have no answer. I managed to do some really cool things the last few days (get drunk in Tokyo, get a new cell phone, open up my own Japanese bank account), and my house is quite nice (besides my house being some kind of 'Joe's Apartment' homage). The other day I took a train ride around the country side and saw some beautiful sights -- mountains covered in clouds, vallies, monks leading a prayer up a mountain.

Who knows where the future will take me, but I know this: life with basic cable and no internet is really hard.

A Post of Intergalactic Proportions

Anyone who really knows me knows that deep down I really want to be an astronaut. Seriously, people used to ask me what I studied in school, and I said advertising. And they asked what I wanted to be, and I said either a rock star or an astronaut. Well, we all know that one isn't really going to work out, but there's still a chance at being an astronaut, right?

WRONG!

That is, until space tourism came along!





I may not be leading a manned mission to Mars, but if I get enough dough, I'll be able to find my way into space! Don't know how willing I am to ride on SIR Richard Branson's new bundle of joy, but give it time and there will be plenty of competitors that the experience will be better, longer, and more worth the money. Hell, they should follow an example set awhile ago and cut down on costs by selling advertising!


(This actually happened)

Soon enough, I'm sure we'll be looking at space hotels and other fun things, maybe something straight out of 2001 or the Fifth Element.




(yeah, that says Hilton)



With this, undoubtedly, will come all new forms of media. Or at least new versions of old ones. Hell, they're advertising on tray tables on planes now!







But the coolest stuff they've been doing is advertising you can see from your plane! Papa John's just unveiled one near Denver. There was one with a giant pole dancer that got a lot of attention on the way to Gatwick airport near London (a nice follow up to one a few years ago). And out in the Nevada desert, Maxim and this fun one that I've managed to track down on Google maps.




(and the one seen from google maps...i didn't feel like posting a pic)

Now, this isn't exactly a recent phenomenon. The Nazca Lines have been around forever, yet nobody knows who their target audience was (or still is). Maybe they were advertising certain aspects of life on Earth, like spiders and monkeys (there are other animals as well. "Come visit Earth! We have a zoo!" One NASA astronaut has recently come forward saying we've made contact. Is that effective reach? We've also forayed into some new media with this too, instead of using some very traditional OOH, thanks to Doritos.






Honestly, I just can't wait to be taking a relaxing cruise around the Earth 1000 miles up and look out my window and see:

Will.i,am knows how to hustle

This artist brought you by Blackberry.



So smart. Find other ways to get paid and just get your music out there (free downloads or otherwise).

Another look alike?

Does Humor Sell?

So I’m sitting around doing research for work and getting no where.

As my mind wonders a bit and I start checking my blog feeds and I get inspiration for work again, new things to search for. Which brings me to an article, 50 Brands with the most loyalty; brands we’ve all seen in our advertisings class- Apple, Hertz, Avis, Samsung, L.L. Bean, and Blackberry. I was surprised to find a few beer brands on there, Sam Adams, Miller Genuine Draft and Coors. Then thinking about Sean’s humorous political ad post and my ranting comment, I wondered if humor sells. Thinking more about the listed beer brands and the other brands on the list… these brands rarely use humor.

And the two powerhouse humor advertising beers, Miller Lite and Bud light, are not on the list.

So I would argue that humor doesn’t sell. Here’s a quick list of things humor fails at:

-Brand/Product benefit
-Appeal to a larger market
-Long lifespan (jokes get old fast)
-Make me interested in the product

I’d say when brands tell the truth and operate transparently, they sell more.

What do you guys think?

Blast from the Past

If anyone has ever watched The Office with me, they know that my favorite scene of all time is :

I don't have a ton of contact with the Scranton branch, but before I left I took a box of Dwight's stationary. So, from time to time I send Dwight faxes. From himself. From the future.

'Dwight, at eight a.m. today, someone poisons the coffee. Do not drink the coffee. More instructions will follow. Cordially, future Dwight.'

While it would be awesome to get a fax/letter/e-mail from the future, what about getting an e-mail from the past. That is exactly what happened to me today and I had to share.

This exact date last year, it was the last week of my internship at Madison Square Garden. I was thinking and feeling a lot and had a lot of hopes for myself in the year to come. My dad suggested that I write myself a letter and open it again in one year. I thought, Dad that is so lame. But, later that day I was bored and found this Web site -

http://www.emailcapsules.com

So this is basically my Dad's idea for this generation. You can write yourself an e-mail and it can be sent to the e-mail address you put in at any time. One week, 6 months, 5 years, or in my case 1 year.

Well of course I totally forgot I did this until a few minutes ago when I got the e-mail.

Dear Future Version of Me,
Today is the last day of my internship at Madison Square Garden. I had an absolutely great summer and I am so thankful for all of the experience I gained.

Some other highlights from my "past" self :
- I also hope the gators had a great football season
- I also hope that as I read this I am happily employed at my Dream job...and dont forget how badly you want your MBA!!!
- Lastly, I hope I am not fat and I have tickets to a Florida football game in the Swamp soon

Reading my thoughts from last year has given me an incredibly interesting persepctive. We are all going through really exciting transitions now and I thought you might like to write an e-mail to yourself talking about your first couple of weeks at your new job or whatever and then get it in a year or two. It is really a wild thing!

the 21st layer of Dante's Inferno revisited

So, I was reading the Missed Connections on Craig's List (if you don't know, ask Ananda...), and I stumbled across this gem. Ahhh, the memories :)

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/mis/780559892.html

Drunk History

Here's the concept: Get people wasted, then make them tell stories from history. Get other people to re-enact the stories (including Jack Black and Michael Cera from Superbad). It's YouTube genius at it's finest.

http://www.youtube.com/user/DrunkHistory

I'd suggest one or two, but they are all ridiculously hilarious. Check it out!

PS: our very own stoned UF management professor is in their favorites list!

Mudslinging + Hot, Trashy Girls = ...Politics?

Yeah, I thought it would be something a lot more fun, too. But then again, political advertising CAN be fun. As a former polisci major, and someone who did his project on political advertising in his advertising ethics class, political ads have always interested me. Most aren't fun, but I wanted to show that they can be.

I haven't made up my mind yet for the president (there's still some debates and such this fall, not to mention nastier and nastier advertising campaigns full of mudslinging), but I wanted to share this video. If she won, I think she might put up a decent fight against Merkel or even Thatcher for best looking president/prime minister, though Thatcher would clearly take the cake on trashiest.





More in funny political ads:


This is pretty funny: The 10 Funniest 2004 campaign ads

This ran earlier this year, before he got 0% of the vote. Yes, this is real.



And a "classic" from the mid-term elections a couple years ago:

Ever feel like jumping from the window of a tall building?

Now's your chance!



Kind of a nauseating rush.

Mind-blowingly Inappropriate

So, I'm assuming that most of you have seen the new advertising campaign for the CW's Gossip Girl... like the huge billboard in Time's Square with Blake Lively and one of her many suitors in a sultry embrace with only "OMFG" as the copy. If not:

As you can imagine this caused quite a stir among parents and conservative people in general. To me, this ad is brilliant. The whole premiss of the show is about a "gossip girl" who posts juicy information about the main characters on her website, and as they are all teenagers in high school, the term "OMFG" is completely fitting and appropriate. Not only does it embrace the use of the acronym among teens through speech, text, and AIM, but it perfectly describes the scene at play. (here, Blake Lively is having nasty sex with someone else's boyfriend...).

This ad (and, probably more than the ad, the show itself...) caused quite a controversy and caused a lot of these parent groups and the media to go into quite a frenzy... and this is where it gets interesting. The CW decided to take this "negative publicity" and turn it into a creative, effective and resonating campaign for their controversial show.

They took some actual quotes from these groups and the media and used them as copy for ads of the same nature as the "OMFG" ad.... take a look and then read the AdAge article. I think it is brilliant.

http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=129837

My crazy life

I can try and plead some sort of amendment regarding my lack of posts on the blog as of late, but I’m not entirely sure which one would help in my current situation. So I’ll just plead the fifth and move on.
Two days ago I finished up my internship. One week ago my partner and I presented our intern project to out bosses, middle and senior management, the COO, and the CCO. I wish I could say more about my project, but to be honest I have a feeling that our projects actually did some good to the point that they may use some of it. As such, I’m going to have to remain tight lipped about it. Yet I will say a few things about it:
1) Seriously, when the COO and CCO are staring you down, you really, really, really feel nervous. I’m not one for getting butterflies in my stomach (I do enjoy speaking in public), however in this instance I had to hide my hands so no one could see how much they were shaking.
2) After the presentation the CCO came over and talked to me about how much he enjoyed my artwork on our plans book (which, by the way, were made completely by hand. From design, to print, to even putting the staples in). That’s a damn good feeling.
My last two weeks at Campbell-Ewald were amazing: the presentation, a Nerf war (I’m still nursing my injuries from falling off of a cubicle), my birthday (I got some free cupcakes, amazing gifts, and bowling in downtown Detroit), and sharing one of my new friend’s 21st birthdays.

There is a point to my rambling: when you look for an ad agency, make sure you’re happy for god-sake. Remember, you’re going to be working there. A lot. I was an intern and I still had to put in some late nights. To be completely frank, I didn’t mind doing that because I not only liked what I did, but I liked who I did it for (does that sound dodgy? I think it does.)
Of course, this is a very lofty thing to say when you’re trying to break into an ad agency. Refusing any offer leaves you to wonder if you just threw away the best (or only) job offer you’ll get. But you have to realize that chances are in a year (if you stand it that long) you will either be looking for another job, or hating every minute in your career.
All in all, my summer at Campbell-Ewald was amazing. I was given work for some damn cool clients (U.S. Mint, Navy, Carhartt, GM, and some others), worked with some damn cool people, and got paid pretty well for an internship. Most of all, I wasn’t given what I like to call ‘bitch work’. Sure, some stuff was less than desirable, however my only assignment wasn’t mopping floors, clean out the fridge, or making binders. People trusted me and I was given actual work.
Among everything I learned, it wasn’t simply advertising, but rather things to help me function in a day to day life in an office: getting along with others, speaking my mind, how to lead someone else, etc.
I could go on and on, but I won’t because I’m babbling now. All I can say is that my internship was SO awesome, and I was genuinely sorry I had to leave early.
As for Japan – I am now in Shinjuku’s skyscraper district getting ready for the JET orientation. For the next year I’ll be living in Japan as a High School teach teaching English.

Right now I would like to take a moment to sing the praises of Continental. I was sitting in coach, and yet the chair was quite comfortable, the food was good, and I watched watched Horton Hears a Who, The Incredibles, Batman Begins, Densha Otoko, The Simpsons, a TV special about Saatchi’s Lovemarks (very interesting if you can find it online), and Monsters Inc. All of this is free – FREE! Does this sound like a shill? Perhaps, but I just think of the last time I flew to Japan on Delta (hissss). I got a choice of Little Mermaid, Chicken Little, or Die Hard.
That’s. All.

Here? 300+ moves. ALL the HP movies, ALL of Pixar – everything.
Ok, so Japan. Umm, to be honest, I have no idea what I’m feeling. I keep thinking I’ll be back in a few months just in time for school to start. But I’m not, I’m living here. I AM LIVING IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY. I’m not being taken care of (I am, in a way, but no one is here to wipe my butt and pay my bills for me). I have to set up my internet on my own – in Japanese!
It’s difficult to explain what I’m feeling. Excitement? Trepidation?
I don’t know. All I know is my Japanese is rusty as hell, which is why I’m watching the news and repeating every other word like some kind of Rainman copycat.

6 Creepiest Marketing Campaigns Aimed at Children

http://www.cracked.com/article_16513_6-creepiest-marketing-campaigns-aimed-at-children.html


What do you think?