The Savior of Iraq?
Blogger Jeff Jarvis just returned from a trip to Hershey (the chocolate). During his trip, the Hershey brand reminded him of the symbolism it took on after World Ward II as soldiers, in post-war Europe, handed out chocolate bars to kids in need. It symbolized the generosity of the Marshall plan and of America in general during times of war. To Jeff, that generosity has all but disappeared in these post war days of Iraq.
He sums it up saying, "You see, that's what Hershey really symbolized. It wasn't a condescending hand-out. It was a gift joyfully given, a moment of friendship, a human connection. We need more of that between the Iraqi and the American people."
Whatever you political convictions, perhaps it's time to do the right thing. Innocent Iraqi citizens are caught up in this mess. They didn't ask for it but most are grateful Saddam is gone. Jeff urges us to get to know these people. You can do so by reading the weblogs of several Iraqis named Zeyad, Omar, Ays, Alaa and Nabil.
New York-based spin-meister Dan Klores, hired for $50,000 to sweep up after the Paris Hilton Sex Tape scandal, has advised Paris to lay low and has cancelled all of her previously scheduled "The Simple Life" promotional appearances.
While the premier of "The Simple Life" is guaranteed high ratings, this could have been handled better. There's really no need to sweep it under the carpet, as if that is actually possible in this Internet age. And any attempt to do so, looks overly puritanical and hypocritical. Paris did nothing wrong. Afterall, she was 19. There was nothing illegal about the tape. There's nothing wrong with having consensual sex. Sure, unless your an actual participant, sex videos all look pretty stupid but handled properly, Paris could have turned this into a very humorous and very image-building publicity stunt.
Stop the old school PR think. Take risks. Take advantage of a situation. Make fun of it. There's so much in that video that's ripe for the picking. Hiding and covering up what can't be hidden nor covered up just calls even more attention to the whole and makes everyone involved look stupid.
Paris, for her part, isn't hiding. She's still out partying wearing a brown wig...as if that would actually provide her annonimity.
Har Mar Superstar
Minnesota doofus and entertainer Sean Tillman, aka Har Mar Superstar, is featured in a new set of ads for Scottish Vladivar vodka. In an obvious, but humorous viral ploy, there are three versions of the ad. There's "The One on TV," "The One Not Allowed on TV" and "The One Definitely Not Allowed Anywhere Near a TV." OK, so that pretty obviously says, "Watch me! Watch me! I dare you!"
With his typically cocky, self-proclaimed "the fucking best" attitude, Har Mar introduces himself as the new "Vladivar vodka frontman" and leads us through his cheesily opulent lifestyle made possible from the obscene sums of money he leads us to believe Vladivar paid him to appear in these ads.
With a tagline, "Fancy a threesome? Send me to a friend...," the website encourages visitors to pass the ads along to others. They're funny enough that you just might do it.
'Bloodvertising' Promotes Blood and Guts Video Game
Innovation, apparenty running rampant in the advertising world, has given way to yet another form of advertisinig which can now be added to the growing list of "alterna-advertising." Joining advergaming, advertainment, adverblogging, dogvertising, bravertising and invertising is bloodvertising. Acclaim Entertainment is promoting their new video game, "Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance," with bus shelters in the U.K. that will literally seep blood.
The ads, placed behind plexi-glass for a six day period, will shoot red dye onto the backside of the plexi-glass which will then drip down onto the street. Aligning the campaign to the company's marketing strategy, Acclaim Communications Manager Shaun White said, "The concept of 'Bloodvertising' ties in with our marketing strategy and sticks to the theme of blood and carnage which is consistent throughout the Gladiator video game."
The video game, set in 106AD, is claimed to be the bloodiest ever to hit the gaming space. It's either that or a secret government ploy to determine whether or not the legends of vampires are actually true. Thanks to Adrants reader Adam Libs for the tip.
