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What An Ad Agency Website Would Say If The Truth Got Out

You've visited agency websites before. They're usually well designed and pretty and have lots of fancy sounding words to describe what they do. Here's an agency that just tells it like it is:

We do stuff.: "huh? is an enclave of new-age e-movers. We use catchy names for our job titles, like Vision Guidance Leader instead of Project Manager. Cool names make us sound smarter and more clever.

Our CEO is rarely in his office, and all female team members are expected to sleep with him, or at least pretend like they want to. Our designers ride Razor scooters around the office instead of walking, while wearing mail-bag style backpacks to hold their iPods.

We have lots of shiny espresso machines, and all of our new-age e-movers (that's our cool way to say 'employees,' remember?) drive to work in VW Beetles. Appearance is everything to us, because we'll get more of your money by looking cool than we will by doing quality work.

If you call our office, the phone will be answered by a very disinterested intern, giving you the impression that we're too important to talk to you. Because we are.

Refreshing, huh?

by Steve Hall    Feb-27-04    




Howard Stern's Clear Channel Ban to Boost Satellite Radio

I said it here and Jeff Jarvis says it here and Tony Pierce chimes in here. Howard Stern will catapult satellite radio to success and kill broadcast radio as we know it. Clear Channel, with their banning of Stern from their station this week is doing their part as well.

For an in depth take, with which I agree (mostly), read Jeff Jarvis' full post and I will add that since Janet Jackson's Super Boob event, the government has gone into freakish overdrive and over reaction in terms of censorship. As Jeff points out, you might not like Stern but once it happens to Stern, it can happen to anyone.

by Steve Hall    Feb-27-04    




Viral Video Scares Men Away From Marraige

In this ad for shoe retailer RunnersNeed which plays on the so called belief that it is OK for a woman to propose to a man on a leap day, a less than hottie is seen preparing dinner for her man. At the end of the spot, she opens the door to a the tagline, "Time to Start Running Lads."

by Steve Hall    Feb-27-04    




Hachette Strikes Deal With Mykindaplace.com for Cross Promotion

Hachette Filipacchi UK has signed a deal with mykindaplace.com to offer Hachette advertisers access to the teen site's audience. In turn, mykindplace will promote Hachette titles such as Sugar, TV Hits and ElleGirl.

by Steve Hall    Feb-27-04    




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The Power of Smell Kills a Brand

In a post reviewing a couple hours of MTV programming, Ryan Perry was particularly affected by a commercial for Febreze.

I just saw a commercial for Febreze. This is easily one of the handiest items available to a bachelor, especially one like me who has a dog. But when I walk into a room that smells like Febreze, I can't help but wonder what's being covered up. All I can think about is whether or not I'm sitting in a puddle of piss, or if maybe the carpet I'm walking on is tainted by some cannibal's thrown up grown up. I remember the summers in my friend Jowed's garage where we'd wake up hungover every morning, "clean" for ten minutes, spray down all the sexed-out couches, and then invite people over for another night of fun. So when I go to the store, I buy imitation Febreze...or something that smells nothing like the original Febreze scent. I don't want people wondering if they're sitting in my dog's crapcakes. It's called misdirection, and it gets them every time.

Marketers, never underestimate the power olfactory association can have on your brand.

by Steve Hall    Feb-26-04    




New Nike Ad Clearly Illustrates 'Just Do It' Position

Nike has a new ad running that shows sports figures playing sports they normally are not known for such as football player
Mike Vick playing hockey, cyclist Lance Armstrong boxing, runner Marion Jones doing gymnastics and baseball player Randy Johnson bowling.

The spot clearly amplifies Nike's "Just Do It" position in a way that demonstrates the "anything is possible" attitude of the company. Sure they are all accomplished athletes and performing another sport might not be as difficult for them as it might be for you or me but it is a clear demonstration that there's no need for boundaries when it comes to life's aspirations. Thanks to Adrants reader Ryan Perry for pointing this out.

by Steve Hall    Feb-26-04    




Offline Shopping Preferred Over Online

A new study from Havas' Arnold Worldwide Partners, Boston has found consumers still prefer brick and mortar shopping over online shopping. According to the study, Americans still prefer human contact. Among the findings, 63 percent prefer to shop a physical store for a gift, 79 percent for clothing and 66 percent for pharmaceuticals. Conversely, for categories such as booking a cruise and banking, the study found consumers don't want human contact and would rather do these things electronically.

by Steve Hall    Feb-26-04    




Study Finds Media Usage Grossly Undercounted

Syndicated research reports are tools media planners live by among other methods to determine the media a particular target audience is consuming and how much a given medium should be used to reach that target group. Unfortunately, those syndicated research tools are grossly undercounting actual media usage according to a new study from Ball State University's Center For Media Design.

The study followed 101 people around for a day observing actual media usage and then compared it to usage determined by written diary and phone survey. Computer usage is undercounted by 205 percent, online by 169 percent, television by 164 percent, books by 100 percent, magazines by 75 percent, radio by 74 percent and newspapers by 13 percent. These findings should be a wake up call to by syndicated researchers and to media planners who, based on these findings, might want to reconsider the media weighting of their plans.

by Steve Hall    Feb-26-04    




Savage Games Ad Show Cave Woman's Brute Strength

Gamer Savage Games wants us to know that women were just as strong as men in the cavemen (women?) days or will be in the future when their new game takes place. Guys, be careful approaching women in bars.

by Steve Hall    Feb-24-04    




Report Slams Kid Focused Advertising

Claiming marketers exploit children for profit, the American Psychological Association has just released a 53 page reports on the increasing commercialization of children and calls for changes in marketing targeted to children.

by Steve Hall    Feb-24-04    




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