I Want Them Even Bigger!
Already there are douche ads, Tampon ads, bra ads, erectile dysfunction ads all over television. Why should big, round, juicy, gellatinous, pendulous mounds of ....uh...oh...sorry...breast implants be excluded? If there was ever such a thing as family TV, it is now certainly gone. ABC has decided to accept ads from breast implant maker Mentor who will air six differnt commercials promoting its saline implants. They will air on the network's "Extreme Makeover" reality series.
"We strive to create a classy, elegant ad that directs patients to where they can get general information. It's not intended to be a sexy ad," said Mentor Director of Global Marketing Sara DeRousse. OK, sure. Breasts are not sexy. Try to convince anyone of that. But I guess that's not the point. Now, when teenage girls ask their parents for bigger boobs for graduation, their parents will at least know where to get them.
Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) named RENETTA MCCANN chief executive officer of Starcom The Americas, a region that includes Canada, the United States and Latin America. In her new role, McCann will work to oversee the company•s most expansive region and four media brands: Starcom, MediaVest, GM Planworks and StarLink. Since 2000, McCann has been chief executive of Starcom North America, one of the largest consumer contact organizations in the world.
NewYorkish has taken one of the new MTA Subway security ads which urge commuters to report unattended bags and changed it to something a bit more relevant:
Will Ferrell and activist group America Coming Together have put together a spoof Bush for President Ad. Bush/Ferrell appears on his ranch acting dumb and afraid of his animals and making a fool of himself while attempting to convince people to vote for him.
In a hilarious marketing goof, both Dell and Gateway used the same model on their websites in back-to-school promotions. Not only that, it looks like the images are from the same photoshoot. Oh, the perils of buying stock photography. Competing companies. Same promotion. Same model. Oops. Of course, both marketers have figured this out and the images arew no longer seen to be on their sites. But, here they are for your amusement.
NPR reports on the recent proliferation of a new crop of magazines that, while focusing on a niche, combine multiple niches into one such as Modern Dog which features celebrities and their dogs.
The Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal, via SportsbyBrooks (worth a visit), reports a radio spot for Timber Lodge Steak House featuring Vikings coach Mike Tice is apparently so hilarious, radio stations are playing it for free. We don't get it but, then, we don't live "out there."
Adland points to some outdoor ads for vacuum maker Electrolux that really suck.
I couldn't have said it better myself so I won't. Underscore Marketing's Tom Hespos writes in a MediaPost article about the benefits of weblog advertising.
While blogs carve out their niche in the realm of news media, advertisers and marketers can benefit tremendously. The blogosphere, as it is called, is filled with influential opinion leaders. By adding blogs to your media campaign, you can tap into these influentials through advertising and sponsorship and see a nice return for a comparatively light spend. Enjoy it while it lasts. Blogs won't be a cheap media buy forever, especially after our society fully embraces them as a critically important part of political communication and discourse.
In a survey of its readers, MediaLife, found readers are pleased with new Gruner + Jahr CEO Russell Denson's efforts to swab the decks of former CEO Dan Brewster's errors but respondents think it's time to drop ailing titles such as Fast Company and YM. Those two titles ranked the highest among respondents as being of concern. Many more survey stats here.
