Showtime Promotes 'Weeds' With Marijuana Scent Strip

To drum up interest for its suburban mom as drug dealer comedy Weeds, Showtime is placing an insert in the August 24 issue of Rolling Stone with a scent strip that smells like, well, weed. Yummy. The show's good too.

Lingerie-Clad Bodog Booth Babes Offer Pillow Fight to Attendees

At a recent World Series of Poker Gambling Lifestyle Expo (whatever that is) in Las Vegas, poker site, Bodog, at their booth, had a collection of lingerie-clad models giving pillow fights to anyone who wanted to hop on the bed with them. They also video taped it for the person. No doubt, there booth had some serious foot traffic. Check out all the video here.

Time Warped Bank Thinks Flash Mob Stunt Is Cutting Edge

Perhaps there really is some sort of cultural brick wall between New York City and Canada or at least between Montreal's National Bank marketing team and the rest of the entire world. In a laughably out of touch press release, the bank claims it is "once again on the cutting edge of advertising with a colourful new event: a flash mob, used to promote the Bank's role as the presenting sponsor of the Rogers Cup tennis tournament." Colorful new event? Hello? Flash Mobs came and went three years ago, my Canadian friends. It's 2006 this year, not 2003. If calling a three year old trendlet cutting edge weren't bad enough, the bank isn't even conducting a flash mob. All it's doing is unleashing 40 young women dressed in tennis apparel who will roam the streets of Montreal during rush hour August 9 passing out tickets to a tennis match at the Rogers Cup August 12 to 20. Idiots. That's not a flash mob. That's street marketing.

more »

Behavioral Marketing A Plus For Plus-Sized Retailer

Apparently, behavioral marketing does work especially with women who are not petite. "Plus" sized (don't you love the polite terms we use to describe any body type other than a size 4?) clothing brand saw a 4,000 percent increase in online sales and a 200 percent increase in conversions after implementing behavioral targeting through NetPlus Marketing. These results were presented by NetPlus Markering Persident Denise Zimmerman at the recent eTail 2006 conference. You can hear the entire case study here.

Booties And Breasts Storm Times Square For National Underwear Day

Once again, underwear retailer Freshpair stormed New York City's Times Sqaure with its annual booty and breast fest all in the name of reminding people they really should get rid of those skid-marked undies and ill-fitting bras and drop some coin for a...uh...fresh pair. Check out all the images and video over at YesButNoButYes.

Germ-Infested Doctors Office Magazines Sell Purell

JWT Toronto has created an ambient (the word everyone outside the U.S. seems to use instead of guerilla) campaign for its client Purell, a hand sanitizer lotion. The campaign uses a simple but what would seem to be effective approach by placing stickers on magazines in doctors offices with copy such as "Thumbed through by sick people since September 2005" and "Gently sneezed on since October 2002." The stickers point to a website, washyourhands.tv, which explains the benefits of Purell. Nice work.

Gawker Weighs In On September Magazines

When we picture tiny Gawker Editor Jessica Coen trying to lug behemoth September issues of the fashion mags back to her place for the soon-to-be-annual Fall Fashion Weigh-in, we can't help but feel sorry for her but it's all in the line of duty . Reporting on important issues like the weight of magazines requires a determined dedication and Jessica most certainly has that. Out of the four issues she purchased last night, Glamour, Lucky, Vanity Fair and W, it was W that beat oth the others weighing in at 3.5 pounds. While that's heavy, it's no record. If memory serves, Vogue has tipped the sales upwards of four or more pounds. Stay tuned for Jessica's next weigh-in.

Explosive Pinkness Now Primary Method of Selling Bubble Gum

Apparently in acknowledgment that every method to sell bubble gum has been done to death, Toronto-based agency Youthography chose to go with a decidedly different approach for its client Bubblicious. Celebrating the gum's pinkness, the spot gets a bit orgasmic with the stuff in that odd. nonsequitor sort of way. Print accompanies.

True Consumer Generated Media Should Not Be manufactured

Over at Shake Well Before Use, Ariel wonders if Consumer Generated Media is an offensive, if not meaningless, term since its current iteration by marketers places so many limitations on it by boxing in CGM with all sorts of cut and paste rules of brand engagement. Or, worse, creating it on their own and passing it off as CGM like Pop Secret did. She argues true consumer generated media (or any term you choose to throw at it) should be organic and limitless. Opining insightfully, Ariel says marketers, in their efforts to hop on the latest trend, are wasting their time trying to create a desired reaction rather than maximizing and leveraging an already organically existing one.

New York Times Ad Coverage Has Disappeared

This is just too good to pass up. Commenting on New York Times ad columnists Stuart Elliott's three month vacation and his replacement by Jane L Levere, George Parker writes, "...for fucks sake Jane Baby... Get off your arse and write about advertising... Otherwise, just rename the column... Jane L. Levere's really fucking boring column that has nothing whatsoever to do with advertising, 'cos it's much easier to re-write PR releases from the media companies that take me out to lunch and get me fucked up." Exactly.