Invisible Mercedes Benz car

What an awesome street marketing idea.

Digital Agencies.

Interesting benchmark on how we're doing on digital. These agencies I love, but we need to get on the boat and remember we are in the business of speaking in behalf of our brands no matter what the media is. The message and the experience tied to consumer-product relevance.

Which makes me think. Souldn't our first brand be our own agencies?

Thoughts?

Red Bull street marketing

While brilliant on Red Bull's part, I think that this would be more ideal for a NASCAR marketing move as it introduces the northeastern US and urban dwelling crowd to a mostly rural and Southern-based NASCAR product.

Via Bized.

Would this make you take the stairs?

"...in Stockholm’s Odenplan subway station, the staircase has been retrofitted to resemble giant piano keys, which produce real sound, to encourage commuters to climb the stairs rather than ride the escalator. According to this video — which seems to be part of a Volkswagen marketing initiative, though it’s unclear — it’s been a raging success."

Via Freakonomics.

The truth about bottled water

Bottled water is safer and more pure than tap water. True or False? According to Tappening and Start a Lie, it's false. Some facts from Tappening are below.

Bottled water often contains more bacteria and impurities than tap water, because the EPA regulates municipal water systems more stringently than the FDA regulates bottled water

Worldwide, 2.7 million tons of plastic are used each year to make water bottles, and in the United States, less than 20% of these bottles are recycled.

Via Adverblog.

37 pictures the world must see

“I’m working on a story that the world needs to know about. I wish for you to help me break it, in a way that provides spectacular proof of the power of news photography in the digital age.”
-James Nachtwey

from TED e-newsletter.

First Ever Promiscuous Mothers Day

Happy Belated Mother's Day.

From alumni Greg Hunter, Rob Baird, and other former Longhorns at Mother NY

Rampenfest is here

Check out this new film. The arresting cover image is what made me watch it. It's an entertaining and well-filmed story. The official story is that this is the creation of Jeff Schultz, an independent filmmaker. But word has it that its it's the work of two former Texas Creatives at GSD&M.



Read more at Stephen Gates blog.

Mark lives in IKEA

My boss sent me this and suggested I post it here so therefore I'm going to post about it.

By the way, Rule #1 for you college students: In the future, when your boss suggests you do something, it's a good idea to do what he or she suggests.


Mark Malkoff, a comedian who works for the Colbert Report, is living in IKEA for a week. My boss said that this is brilliant and cost-effective marketing because all they have to do is allow him permission to film and post on youtube and give away some products.

I'm going to have to agree with him.

Do your own adventure with Sue Teller

This is an example of a soft-sell, albeit hilarious, viral video. An example of a hard-sell ad are those local car dealer ads that constantly repeat the dealer name and sale price. Another good example of a soft-sell viral video is BBH NY's Tea Partay. The advertising textbooks of the future will surely include a section about soft-selling and viral videos.

Creative Credits:
Client: Mountain Dew
Agency: 86 the onions
Creative Director: Chad Rea
Copywriter: Chad Rea Steve , Porcaro
Agency Producer: Margaret Overlay

Thanks to Dabitch for the link.

Nintendo targets your mom

Remember Tupperware? Your pantry probably overflowed with it fifteen years ago thanks to the climax of the Tupperware party—a direct marketing getup masquerading as a social event where women (and a few men?) gathered to buy brightly colored crap. Since then, companies selling other brightly colored crap (notably makeup, lingerie and sex toys) have lifted the idea and enjoyed similar results.

Now, Nintendo of America Inc. is attempting to generate precious word-of-mouth for its new Wii console by emulating the Tupperware party to—you guessed it—sell even more brightly colored crap. Part of Nintendo’s current marketing strategy is to expand its client base to include unlikely gamers… like the alpha mom. She knows how to work a digital camera, use the Internet and even send text messages, so watch out—chances are your mom’s one.

The party plan effort was started by a buzz-making trio of LA alpha moms who invited 35 other LA alpha moms to the always classy Chateau Marmont to experience the Wii firsthand. Nintendo has since expanded its party planning crusade to Boston, Chicago, Denver, Miami, San Francisco, some place in Kansas, and right here in Austin.

I know what you’re thinking: Intuitively, this target is all wrong—isn’t it? Most normal moms are inherently anti-gaming, even alpha moms—nagging their kids to give the console (and their eyes) a rest. It just doesn’t make sense for Nintendo to target them; that is, until you realize who’s making the purchase decisions. Who got me a Wii for Christmas? The tag said “Santa Clause”, but I’m almost positive it was my mom—and she hates that I play video games. Absurd? Maybe. But if Nintendo can convince the very people that hate video games (but buy them anyway) to love video games, then logically, they’re going to love buying more video games and Nintendo’s profit margin will increase by a million-billion percent. It sounds like nonsense, but apparently it’s working.

One alpha mom who attended a Wii party said, “Most people were like, ‘I don't play games,’ [but by, like, the end of the night], everybody was playing it. People were working up a sweat.” Only in, like, America do we work up a sweat playing video games and have parties to buy brightly colored crap we don’t need.

Viral: Kit-Kats will help you ace your SAT!

While perusing Seth Godin's blog, I came across this facinating cultural phenomenon involving Japanese students and Kit-Kat bars. (from Alphamale's blog)

The ad is an American one.

Viral: Young Guns vs Old Ones

Check out this funny little flash game called Young Guns vs Old Ones: http://younggunsvsoldones.com/
It was done by Truth Dare Double Dare
Also, check out the nice little agency blog that I found it on: Provokat

Viral: The Lenovo Tapes

Has anyone seen this viral about Lenovo? Lenovo is China's largest computer company and they bought out IBM's thinkpad division last year.


The Lenovo Tapes


Could this be done by an ad agency? Or from in-house?

Viral: Apartheid is back.

I found out about this viral from a UT-ex (RTF grad) who's finishing up work on the film, Tsoti (which just won the Academy award for best foreign film).

His name is Ryan Haidarian and his reel is in the Production Section (scroll down).