Disney to Launch Family, Kid-Friendly Phone Service

Extending its brand further into people's lives, Disney, using the Sprint network, will launch Disney Mobile, a cell phone service targeted t families with kids 11 to 14. Besides phone service, Disney Mobile will offer Disney-related content including ring tones based on familiar Disney songs, Disney branded phones, games and images. The service is set to launch in 2006.

School Considers Selling Naming Rights

The proliferation of ad creep has made it far too easy for institutions in need of money to turn to marketers for relief. Naming building and stadiums was once taboo. Now, it's odd if a sports arena is not named after a marketer. A school in New Jersey sold the naming rights to its gymnasium to local grocery store Shop-Rite and now an elementary school in suburban Detroit is considering courting marketers to name its new school.

more »

Casino Picks Not-So-Smart Name

Yet another California Native American casino has opened in the Southern California area. While we know a lot of morons go to casinos believing they will leave rich, the Morongo casino seems to be openly welcoming these people in both spirit and in name.

Wendy's Joins Food Fornication Ad Trend

While this one isn't as blatant, another fast food marketers seems to want people to fornicate with its products. First, McDonald's ran a banner campaign with the headline "I'd Hit it." Now, Andrew Teman points to a Wendy's ad for its Chicken Sandwich which contains the headline "Do a Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Now, we all know there's an association between food and sex but we're not quite sure fast food falls into the category of mood-altering quisine.

American Apparel Hires Porn Star to Sell Tube Socks

You've seen the ads. Images of fresh-faced, yet been there, girls of questionable age posing seductively to sell clothes. It's always been American Apparel's approach to advertising. Gritty, un-retouched, almost slutty imagery but acceptable enough because it looks like pictures a guy might have taken of his girlfriend while fooling around in bed. Writing in the San Fransisco Chronicle, Mark Morford claims American Apparel has gone "pro" hiring AVN porn star Lauren Phoenix. Not that this is actually news with Fleshbot having published this almost a month ago but we thought you'd like to know. Thanks Barry.

Hooters Expands Brand With New Ventures

The restaurant chain that has nothing to do with owls and everything to do with cleavage has, for a while, been expanding its empire into new channels. Two years ago, the company launched Hooters Air which was followed by a Las Vegas casino licensing agreement, a hotel and a magazine, all of which are designed to send more people flocking to restaurants to ogle tightly dressed waitresses serving average food.

Business has been good for the chain which did $850 million last year and plans to open 60 new stores in 2005 with sales projected at $950 million.

Clueless Coke Marketer Says Don't Link to Coke Site

Adland tells the story of a clueless Denmark Coke marketing manager who seems to be the last person of earth who knows the Internet is about linking one website to another. This manager, after forcing a Coke fansite to changes it's URL because it the Coke brand name in it, then asked fansite owner Andre Lund via email to stop linking to the Coke site with this oddball reasoning, "If you are to be allowed to link to a coca cola website (cocacola.dk) you have to send in a written application to us. I can not see that you have made such an application, and there is no agreement with you about this. So I have to ask you to remove the link to www.cocacola.dk."

Apparently, someone gave this marketing person a lesson in Internet 101 causing the Coke manager to relent and publicly apologize of the Coke site. It's hard to believe this kind of thinking still exists.

Radar Magazine Collects Gay Logos

From the New York's Olympics bid to the NBC peacock to FTD Florist, Radar Magazine has taken a stab at what it calls the gayest logos. In truth, some are pretty gay.

GoDaddy Loves Its Customers

We just registered a domain with GoDaddy for another site. It's the first time we've used GoDaddy and we're sure its low price and hot Super Bowl commercial had something to do with our choosing GoDaddy this time around. All went well during the registration process and we figured that would be the last time we had any contact with GoDaddy until the registration would have to be renewed two years from now. Well, weren't we pleasantly surprised to receive a call from GoDaddy just now from their customer service department checking to see if the registration process went well. It was an unscripted, honest, un-rushed inquiry about our experience with GoDaddy which, without seeming forced, included the necessary "how did you hear of GoDaddy?" and "have have you considered our site traffic building service?"

The call was a positively shocking experience in this day of "couldn't give a shit" customer service most companies provide. The entire experience has now guaranteed GoDaddy our repeat business. The Super Bowl spot grabbed attention. Customer service instilled complete trust and confidence.

Coke to Introduce 'Zero' With Remake of Classic Commercial

Hippie Goes Hip-Hop

Later this month. Coke will launch a campaign to introduce its new calorie-free drink, Zero. The centerpiece of the campaign will be a remake, created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky and shot last week in Philadelphia, of the classic "Hilltop" spot which featured the famous song, "I'd Like to Buy The World A Coke" which also introduced the tagline, "It's the Real Thing." The new commercial is being labeled "Chilltop" and the song will be sung by G. Love.

Fast Company's Ryan Underwood isn't too thrilled with the song's new lyrics which have, as he writes, "about as much personality as the mahogany table around which they were surely penned."