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SideNews week 44 update
Interesting newslinks...
New Clooney Martini Ads The campaign consists of consumer facing 'tabletalker' cards being distributed in 50,000 UK pubs and bars using the strapline: 'Why not try?' The Publican Elvis Is A Hit Again On posters on double-decker buses and in the London Underground, Unilever's Sure deodorant digitally changed a photo of Elvis in a black shirt to add in a white deodorant stain under his arms. AZCentral Timing Of Coors Ads Called Improper The new ad campaign burnishing its corporate shows an image that has taken a hit during the hotly contested U.S. senatorial campaign. Rocky Mountain News Ads Muscling Into Live TV Events During the Boston Red Sox-St. Louis Cardinals game, Fox's Chris Myers interviewed Leon, the self-absorbed athlete in Budweiser TV ads. USA Today Faithful Get The Good Word Via iPod Located close to the University of Technology and Sydney University, the St Barnabas Anglican church noted the popularity of iPods and other digital music players with students. news.com.au Campaigns Wage Final Ad Battle President Bush's ad, his final one of the campaign: his Sept. 14, 2001, visit to ground zero in New York City. The Washington Times Kalashnikov Vodka A British alcohol abuse lobby has condemned Kalashnikov vodka for advertising a 'global symbol for terror and violence.' Mosnews.com MTN Unveils New Advertising Campaign The new campaign concept runs on two platforms 'Dance with me' and 'Na boy' creatively produced by TBWA Concept Unit and SO &U Saatchi & Saatchi. allAfrica.com Apple Unveils iPod Photo Apple rolled out a new iPod that allows users to view and share photos. Hindustan Times Ads Follow Gen Xers To Suburbs Kahlua, a liqueur, will announce plans for a TV and print ad campaign that shows everyday women seeking a dose of the exotic. USA Today Contextual Ad Firm Nabs New Clients Quigo Technologies said that it inked new deals with the sites of USAToday.com and NYPost.com. CNET News Bluetooth Bites Sydney Shoppers Sydney's Broadway Shopping Centre is beaming advertising directly to shoppers as they pass by stores after deploying the largest public Bluetooth wireless network in the southern hemisphere. The Age Google Brand-Advertising Opportunities Google has begun to test the display of graphical ads on Google Image search. DM News Nintendo Says 'Touching Is Good' Japanese game maker Nintendo is sexing up its U.S. ads. Reuters USD 40 Million Blitz Of Ads Expected Before Election It's a staggering amount, even considering the unprecedented level of advertising in the presidential race this year. The Seattle Times
posted by BlogFonk: Sunday, October 31, 2004 [#]
VoterCall.org: Mobilizing Young Voters
VoterCall provides a simple way for individuals anywhere to make a huge difference: placing brief phone calls to encourage low-income, minority and young voters to go vote November 2, 2004.
Why are you doing this? Voting in elections is the most powerful means citizens have of shaping our national life. But millions of people who are registered to vote, including some of those most affected by unjust government policies, will not show up at the polls on November 2nd. The 'VoterCall' campaign will contact voters to encourage as many as possible to vote on November 2nd. The campaign is entirely non-partisan, but targets people from local income or minority communities whose voices are often ignored in our political process. VoterCall.org believes we have a responsibility to encourage and enable them to vote both to ensure that their views are taken into account, and to improve the health of our democracy and nation. Does calling people make any difference? Research done on past 'Get Out The Vote' drives shows that calling people significantly increases voter turnout. The effect is most powerful when voters are called on more than one occasion, including on the election day itself; and if the caller is able to establish a personal connection with the voter, that's what you should be aiming for. Calling also helps in simpler, logistical ways by helping identify people who need a ride to the polls, or who don't know where their polling station is. 
Who is sponsoring this volunteer/voter GOTV drive? 'VoterCall' is a project of Res Publica, with support from True Majority and the November 2 Campaign. Who am I going to be calling? You will be calling registered voters living in predominantly low income, minority communities across America. Where did all these phone numbers come from? All the information on voters in VoterCall.org's database has been obtained from public voter records and checked to ensure it is up to date and accurate. Get NOVEMBER 2 logos and photographs of people around the country spreading the message.
posted by BlogFonk: Saturday, October 30, 2004 [#]
Behind the Idea: New York Post House
What were creatives really thinking when they developed the 'New York Post House' newspaper?
NY Post House was created by Crew Cuts, a NY-based post-production company. They teamed up with Night Agency to handle production and guerilla marketing. Creative team: Night Agency NYC - Darren Paul (strategy), Evan Vogel (futures) and Scot Cohn (specialist). Campaign: A satirical newspaper with matching website, distributed via newsies in front of select ad agencies. Idea: The campaign is really about how working in New York City, in the ad industry, is actually a very funny existence when you start talking about the stuff people say/do within it. We intended to paint our client as the funny guy at the party who tells the best jokes and always gets the girl, in the hopes that their clients would find them more attractive and 'go home with them' in a commercial sense. Where: The client, Crewcuts, is a post-production house. It was a stupid play on words that led to the creation of a satire newspaper that is, for lack of a better word, geniuilliant. Satisfied: We are satisfied with the campaign, the website was hit 26,000 times after the first week and we have been linked to numerous other comedy and media websites around the world. We are going to continue adding fresh content to the site every week. Comment: We like dogs.
posted by BlogFonk: Friday, October 29, 2004 [#]
NEC Multi-Film Online Campaign
In the hands of brand communication firm 86 the onions, oral effusions, homeless men and death are funny and visually appealing as they are evoked in a new multi-film, online campaign for NEC: 'U can change.'
Still NEC 'U can change' - 'Cocoon' commercial: What's moving inside? 86 the onions created and produced seven shorts that will appear on NEC's website and will be released on DVD. In one iteration, hip, young business revelers compete in a beer-fueled upchuck contest. Rather than the usual ejaculations, their mouths produce an effervescent stream of colorful bubbles and rainbow rivers filled with animals and storybook characters. Each discharge sparks first concern and then elation among the bar-goers, all of whom experience a surprising new high, rather than a yucky new low from their vomit experience. The reason: they are free to experience all kinds of good feelings because NEC removes the shackles normally associated with work.
posted by BlogFonk: Thursday, October 28, 2004 [#]
Enhance Creative Brain Activity: #12
Use Fonkstra's '20 Ways To Enhance Your Creative Brain Activity' when your brain can't get in over-drive anymore. Get a closer look at #12 'Laugh all day'.
Photo '20 Ways' #12 Laugh all day: Research into the use of therapeutic humour tells us it has the power to motivate, alleviate stress and pain, and improve one's sense of well being. Start laughing: it's reducing pain and allows people to retain more information! Dr. William Fry, associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Stanford University, has studied the effects of laughter for 30 years. Fry compares laughter to 'inner jogging,' and claims laughing 100 times a day is the equivalent of 10 minutes of rowing (Fry, 1977, 1979; Fry & Salameh, 1987). According to Fry, laughter increases the heart rate, improves blood circulation, and works muscles all over the body.
posted by BlogFonk: Thursday, October 28, 2004 [#]
Eminem raps: vote!
Eminem is making another bold statement with his song 'Mosh': vote!
Photo: It's sure to be a controversial new music video produced and directed by Guerrilla News Network's Ian Inaba. At the core of the song and video is a powerful anti-war statement, deeply rooted in the struggle of America's increasingly burdened working man (and woman) warriors, according to Guerrilla News Network. Eminem closes the video with a plea to the masses, not to revolt, which the menacing tone of the video could imply, but to take to the polls. Let us set aside our differences and assemble our own army to disarm this weapon of mass destruction that we call our president for the present, and march for the future of our next generation to speak and be heard. Mr. President, Mr. Senator, do you guys hear us?
posted by BlogFonk: Thursday, October 28, 2004 [#]
LOTW: www.adidas.com
This Link Of The Week (LOTW) is about the new Adidas T-MAC 4 basketball sneakers.
Photo: Adidas T-MAC 4. The commercial on www.adidas.com is showing helicopters and Hummers attacking a basketball player. Here a special T-MAC 4 website.
posted by BlogFonk: Wednesday, October 27, 2004 [#]
Fonk for Thoughts: Mario Pricken
Creative Director Mario Pricken shows professionals all about creativity. Time for his Fonk for Thoughts.
Photo Mario Pricken: 'Follow your own path.' BlogFonk: Who is Mario Pricken? And where are you from? Pricken: Mario Pricken is 37, born in Vienna, Austria. I worked as a Creative Director for over 10 years and for the last 8 years. I've been concentrating on the phenomenon of creativity. Since 1996 I've been offering creativity training and special workshops for anyone who relies on good ideas day in, day out. As an author I publish specialist articles on a regular basis and I am currently working on my third book. BlogFonk: Do you love your work? Why (not)? Pricken: My job is to show professionals from the creative world how the subjective structures of their creativity are made up and how creative strategies can be useful in systematically boosting their creative performance. What could be more enjoyable? I am also planning to set up a new company over the coming year to supply the leisure and entertainment industry with high-quality ideas and concepts in hitherto unknown quantities. Ideas as mass-produced industrial goods generated by teams using the strategies and processes of top creatives to give themselves maximum creative freedom. I can hardly wait to get started. BlogFonk: What is your book 'Creative Advertising' all about? Pricken: For me, advertising is not an art form, but a creatively designed form of communication! Communication follows certain patterns and this is what makes it comprehensible. A lot of people think of it as a kind of black box in which something inexplicable occurs. Those who know the patterns and learn to use their structures properly will broaden their spectrum of ideas and dramatically increase their output. In 'Creative Advertising', I demonstrate in a playful way how we can increase our creativity by using simple thought strategies. This strikes many creatives as highly suspect and they prefer to carry on developing ideas in an intuitive and random way. Whether people know how ideas are developed or not, the process is always based on certain patterns. The difference is that those who are familiar with these patterns can significantly expand their intuitive creativity through the addition of new possibilities and no longer have to rely on chance and intuition. 'Creative Advertising' has become a worldwide bestseller that has sold around 40,000 copies. I think this shows how great the desire is to take a look inside the magician's hat and demystify creativity a little. 
BlogFonk: What are the latest important developments you've noticed in advertising? Pricken: There are so many different developments taking place at the same time today that it has become almost impossible to discern any trends or main thrusts in advertising. This is exciting because it means the small people are no longer chasing after the big people and more opportunities exist for creative independence and freedom. At the same time, trends are becoming increasingly short-lived and it is becoming even more difficult for the consumer to decode all this information and ascribe a meaning to it. I'm already very excited about what the next step will be. To what lengths will advertisers have to go in order to penetrate people's hearts and minds? To what level must the degree of emotionality be turned up in order for advertising to make something happen? I think these are the main issues that will be facing the advertising industry in future. BlogFonk: Is there difference in mentality of creatives in the countries you've worked? Pricken: I think the way an individual thinks is coloured by his or her cultural, religious and political background. When forming a creative team, I therefore place great emphasis on bringing people together from the widest possible range of cultural backgrounds with the aim of making the resulting 'group brain' more colourful and varied. I now go a step further and deliberately bring people in from outside the industry because they aren't aware of the boundaries and restrictions and are able to cross borders with astonishing elegance! BlogFonk: Which work for a client are you most proud of? Pricken: Along with 15 programme developers from the company Endemol in Cologne (Germany) I developed 500 ideas for new TV formats and shows within the space of four days this spring. More than 30% of these ideas were highly promising and have been developed into concepts! Everyone was amazed by this enormous output of ideas... BlogFonk: If you'd be given the chance to do something over again, what would that be? Pricken: I'd like to have the chance to concentrate more - and at an earlier stage - on my musical education. BlogFonk: Finally, what is your motto, your 'Fonk for Thoughts' (inspriration to be creative)? Pricken: Education is far too important to be left to others! This attitude caused me a lot of problems at school, but it has become my job today. Follow your own path because this way you'll never run the risk of being overtaken by anyone.
posted by BlogFonk: Monday, October 25, 2004 [#]
Behind the Idea: Orange 'Gold Spot'
What were creatives really thinking when they developed Orange 'Gold Spot' featuring Spike Lee, Sean Astin and Verne Troyer?
Still 'The Board'. Creative team: Luke Williamson and Yan Elliott. Associate Creative directors at Mother London. Campaign: Orange 'Gold Spot', which is the name of the 60sec space after the trailers and immediately before the film in UK cinema's nationwide. Idea: The idea is about a film commission board set up by Orange to show their commitment to film. But being so marketing minded they are obsessed with product placement and therefore compromise the ideas pitched to them. Where: We came up with this idea thinking that they should be engaging in a more sophisticated way with an audience who are there and much more open by the nature of their location. Satisfied: We are very satisfied with the campaign. Obviously it can always be better. We have a great cast and a great property, which we want to exploit more. Two of the most fun to work with were the legendary Sean Astin and Verne Troyer from the Austin Powers movies. Comment: A good example of positioning, strategy and creative working together in a dreamy, teamy, creamy kind of way. Laugh now please. 
Stills commercial Orange 'Gold Spot'.
posted by BlogFonk: Friday, October 22, 2004 [#]
Boards Summit 2004
Boards Summit, October 13 - 14, 2004, Hilton NY, is the commercial production industry's annual conference offering two days of discussion, debate, networking and opportunity.
The goal of the Boards Summit is to provide a forum for those working in all facets of commercial production to come together to bridge gaps and open doors that will keep the industry strong, relevant and thriving. Conference content and networking opportunities bring together the international agency producer, creative and production communities for two days of discussion, dialogue and executive one-on-one.
posted by BlogFonk: Friday, October 22, 2004 [#]
SideNews week 43 update
Interesting newslinks...
eBay's Good Feelings Ads The soft-sell approach was created to recognize the hundreds of connections that people make by shopping at eBay. The common link: trust. USA Today Miller Unveils New Ads The three new spots feature actors portraying former drinkers of Bud Light and Budweiser who switched to Miller Lite and Miller Genuine Draft. Journal Sentinel Google Forecasts Growth Google expects to add 372,000 advertiser accounts over the next four years. SFGate.com 7 UP PLUS A combination of 7 UP, real fruit juice, calcium and vitamin C with a mixed berry flavor is launching two commercials. Business Wire Sexy Ads Miff Some Festival-Goers A number of festival-goers are upset by the St. John's International Women's Film Festival's ad campaign, which features a shapely blond woman in a low-cut scarlet dress along with the tagline 'Films with Broad Appeal.' CBC News Burger King Hamburger chain Burger King said that it would not run its commercials during a controversial program about U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry to be aired by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Reuters Designer Diet The food industry needs new shapes, new textures, new styles. Imaginary Foods: a new discipline linking the real world and the world of fantasy. The Star Starbucks Offers Self-Service CD Burning The service costs USD 8.99 for the first seven songs and 99 cents for each additional track. The Seattle Times Casting Call For iTunes + iPod Ads CinemaFactory notes that it is looking for dancers, preformers and uniquely talented people of all ethnicities and ages who enjoy using iTunes/iPods for an upcoming non-union commercial shooting in early November in Los Angeles. macteens Virtual Ads Translate Into Real Revenue Massive Inc. will launch what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind video game advertising network, allowing marketers to deliver new ads into console and PC games via an online connection. USA Today Studios Rev Up For Costly Oscar Campaigns The 77th annual Academy Awards are still four months away, but movie studios are already placing ads. International Herald Tribune New Ford Ads Same Old Baloney Ford is doing nothing to advance the sad state of car advertising in its new 2005 brand ad campaign with a freshly minted tagline, 'Built for the Road Ahead,' that harkens back to the familiar 'Built Ford Tough.' Chicago Sun-Times 'Revolution' in ad campaign Chevrolet introduced the umbrella Revolution campaign. It has created 40 ads in the series. USA Today Advertising Gets Political This Fall While Bush and Kerry compete for the nation's vote in November, companies across the advertising spectrum compete for customers with politically themed advertisements. Central Florida Future Presidential Ads Playing To Our Fears In the final days before the election, the campaigns and the outside groups supporting them are taking an already unusually intense and confrontational advertising war into grim new territory. Indystar
posted by BlogFonk: Friday, October 22, 2004 [#]
Art Directors Club Hall of Fame 2004
Induction event and exhibition opening to recognize and honor the outstanding innovators in visual communications who have been chosen as this year's laureates.
Since 1971, the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame has recognized and honored those innovators who have made significant contributions to art direction and visual communications, and whose lifetime achievements represent the highest standards of creative excellence.
posted by BlogFonk: Thursday, October 21, 2004 [#]
Fonk for Thoughts: Audrey Davis
Canadian visual artist Audrey Davis develops her creative talents at Maisonneuve Magazine and shares her Fonk for Thoughts with us...
Photo Audrey Davis: 'Figure out what 'honesty' means to you.' BlogFonk: Who is Audrey Davis? And where are you from? Davis: Audrey Davis is a visual artist who has taken on the job of creative director at Maisonneuve Magazine. Maisonneuve is a very sociable place to work, and balances out the solitary and sometimes lonely life in the studio. Audrey approaches everything she does with a quirky sense of humour and an eye for the unusual. She is from Montreal, Canada, where she has lived all her life save for a 'what am I doing with my life' year in Calgary, and two years in Edinburgh, Scotland where she did her MFA. BlogFonk: Do you love your work? Why (not)? Davis: I do love my work, because I get to learn about all sorts of different issues, artists, literature and events that I would otherwise not be aware of. My work is very challenging sometimes, but I love that I am working on a project with other interesting people and that I can see the direct results of my contribution. I also love that I need to solve problems on a daily basis and that finally my wacky ideas have found a venue for exhibition. BlogFonk: What is Maisonneuve all about? Davis: Maisonneuve is all about ideas. We like to see what people are up to, what interests them. We try to combine our own intellectual personas with our more frivolous sides, we all like to read but we also like to party, so we try and fit these two interests together. We are part of popular culture, but we are also individuals and Maisonneuve tries to address that. We feel at the same time that there are a lot of people like us out there. Artists and other creative types who are often forced to work too hard for very little recognition. We like to help them out. We have open submissions for visual and editorial content and we also have competitions to help people to submit to the magazine. BlogFonk: What are the latest important developments you've noticed in magazine land? Davis: Hmmm. I have noticed that people seem to be looking for new places to get information. Our website has been receiving a huge increase in hits and our magazine seems to be filling a niche that we didn't even really expect was there. I have also noticed that there are a lot of magazines which try to fit a model that is already in place, but that Maisonneuve really is something different. 
BlogFonk: Do you think magazines, which follow arts, sciences, daily and social life, have added value towards creatives? Davis: I hope so. Part of what I try to do is to take the illusion away from creativity. I think people can be a little bit more skeptical towards artists. When I present an artist's work, I try quite hard to explain the process followed by the artist, so people understand the artist's considerations. BlogFonk: Is there difference in mentality of creatives in the countries you've worked? Davis: Not really. I think that people tend to have the same desires and the same needs as artists. Different political climates will certainly affect the art that comes out of that area, but then again, the weather can also have a similar effect. People choose what inspires or provokes them. What artists need is time and space, and I think that is fairly universal. I think that some governments respect this a little bit more and maybe in this way there is a difference. It can affect your sense of self-respect, if the social structure is there to support you. BlogFonk: Which work for a client are you most proud of? Davis: Well, it depends what you are asking. I am proud of my art work and the way I feel it honestly presents who I am. I think that artists have to deal with a variety of 'clients', not just the ones who will buy the work, but equally the ones who will see it. So, it is always a challenge, because you need to know what it is about your work that interests you and trust that it will interest other people. For the magazine, I am proud of the risks we take, the way we learn as we go, the way we argue about everything. BlogFonk: If you'd be given the chance to do something over again, what would that be? Davis: I think I would travel more. I should have gone away to university instead of staying at home. I should do just more of everything. BlogFonk: Finally, what is your motto, your 'Fonk for Thoughts' (inspriration to be creative)? Davis: Figure out what 'honesty' means to you. Really, think about it.
posted by BlogFonk: Tuesday, October 19, 2004 [#]
LOTW: worstcasescenarios.com
This Link Of The Week (LOTW) is about 'worst case scenario's'. The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook was released in November 1999 with a first printing of 35,000 copies.
Photo: The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook is essential reading, an indispensable, indestructible guide for life's turns for the worse. In the summer of 1998, David Borgenicht read a magazine article about a man who'd been forced to land a plane after the pilot had a heart attack. It made him think about classic action movie scenes, and what he would do in those situations. How should he react if he were face to face with a shark, or if he had to jump from a building into a dumpster? Knowing there were answers to these questions, he decided to write the book. There are now more than four million copies of Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbooks in print, and the series shows no signs of flagging.
posted by BlogFonk: Monday, October 18, 2004 [#]
Planned Parenthood Single Women Ads
Two different US television ads featuring actress Helen Hunt will target single women, voters that the abortion advocacy group believe are more receptive to John Kerry's pro-abortion views.
Photo Helen Hunt: 'For the first time in history, Planned Parenthood endorsed a candidate for president, John Kerry. This election is that important.' The USD 1 million dollar Planned Parenthood television campaign features 30-second ads that will run on stations such as MTV, TBS and USA through election day. Actress Helen Hunt appears in the commercials saying the women voters 'hold the power to change the course of our country.'
posted by BlogFonk: Sunday, October 17, 2004 [#]
SideNews week 42 update
Interesting newslinks...
Ikea Targeting Hispanics Trendy Swedish furniture maker Ikea is preparing to blanket the Valley with television commercials, radio spots, print ads and bus wraps targeting Hispanics, an increasingly influential group of shoppers. The Arizona Republic Would-Be Pitchman Tries To Get Ad-Vantage A television commercial featuring Molson beer that aired in Canada and Vermont this past weekend appeared to be a company-sponsored ad. New York Post Burger King Ads Work To Get Out Vote Miami-based Burger King is said its non-partisan, pro-vote campaign features musicians P. Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Michelle Branch and Ted Nugent. The ads, are to run through the election on Nov. 2. Seattle Post Intelligencer Ford Using Steve McQueen In Mustang Ads The ad is an homage to the 1989 movie 'Field of Dreams,' in which Kevin Costner portrays a dreamer who conjures the spirits of Shoeless Joe Jackson and other baseball players when he builds a playing field on his farm. Detroit Free Press Can You Name That Slogan? Businesses spend millions to create a catchy tagline for their products. Too bad consumers don't remember most of them. BusinessWeek McDonald's halts Golden Arches in Britain The temporary campaign will replace the Golden Arches with a yellow question mark and the line, 'McDonald's. But not as you know it.' Seattle Post Intelligencer Music Moves Toward Viral, Web Marketing Music industry is using alternative routes to get new music heard. ABC News New iPod Ads Feature U2 Apple has stepped up its marketing campaign for the dimunitive iPod MP3 player by featuring lendendary rockers U2 in the latest 'silhouette' ad. MacCentral Not Playing On MTV: Political Ads It would seem only natural that buying ads on MTV and its sister channels would be a great way to reach young people with a political message. The Washington Post American Airlines New Commercials American Airlines turned to Irving-based t:m Advertising, part of The Interpublic Group, to craft new broadcast commercials with a new jingle: 'We know why you fly.' USA Today First Nintendo DS Print Advert The first advert shows Nintendo taking a subtle approach to DS advertisement. GameCube Europe Fox Seeks Paydirt With Super Bowl Ads The kickoff of Super Bowl XXXIX is months away but News Fox already is running hard in its efforts to boost the price of ad time on the big telecast over last year's lofty levels. SFGate J.C. Penney ads go for the cool factor When it comes to marketing to teens, cool rules. USA Today Bush Ads Draw Criticism For Using TV News Format The Bush administration has promoted its education law with a video that comes across as a news story but fails to make clear the reporter involved was paid with taxpayer money. Pasadena Star News As Seen On TV: Drama To Extend Its Plot Via Web ReGenesis is a variation on the alternate reality gaming concept: actual television series also interactively links the audience to the characters in the drama. Viewers then become virtual players in the narrative. The Star
posted by BlogFonk: Sunday, October 17, 2004 [#]
Yes Bush Can '04
Yes Bush Can '04 is a non-partisan organization dedicated to re-electing George Bush and Dick Cheney.
Photo: Buster the Bush Bus on Tour In Portland, Oregon, Smokey the Log solicits support for himself at the Shakespeare Festival: Smokey wishes to replace Smokey the Bear. Follow Buster the Bush Bus Tour at Yes Bush Can. |
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