There are a lot of things left unanswered as far as our future is concerned and a lot of it has to do with where we will find ourselves in the course of time. One thing we have to note is that global warming and eco-friendly issues will be beside us all the way and with that in mind, we cannot help but think what companies such as Sony will have for us by that time.

Sony can help us get a glimpse of things to come and they are showing this to us with this video that gives us highlights of the future. Take a look at this video so that you will have an idea on whether to look forward to the future or simply keep on wondering what we have in a couple of years ahead of us.

Technorati Tags: sony, technology, highlights, future, advertising, video, eco-friendly, global warming

If there is one thing that will really help you get our political aspirations towards better heights, television advertising is a best bet to get the job done. Not all people can afford television advertising due to the cost of having one. Secondly, it is not merely a matter of producing the ad itself. It also includes being able to get the desired time slot that will surely be hitting the proper voters who will know that you are running for public office.

Such is an issue that many call as dirty but advantageous. But if you have the funds to support your ad campaign and likewise avoiding any potential discrepancies on election requirements, then by all means use advertising to boost your political campaign!

Federal rules requiring candidates to have access to similar television audiences forced stations to bump some advertising from their traditional clients. In some cases, it was purchased months in advance and in a highly sought-after spot.

(Source) Business Weekly

Technorati Tags: television, political, voters, advertising, campaign

This week has hosted the 2008 One Show, hosted by the One Club. Although the official last day is tomorrow, last night was the One Show Awards. These awards and winners are known to shape advertising for the next year to come. Here are just a couple of my favorites:Gold - Newspaper or Magazine Single Ad - WWF Thailand “Tree”, Ogilvy & Mather Bangkok Gold - Single TV Commercial - Halo 3 “Diorama”, McCann Worldgroup San Francisco For a full list of winners, Gold through Bronze as well as as Merit, click here then select the link for Download One Show Winners List.

Technorati Tags: One Show, awards, advertising, marketing, branding, campaigns

We are all aware that most companies would do anything to advertise on top rates shows such as the Iron Chef. But in this case, only the observant people can depict the actual subliminal advertising that is being talked about today.

In fact, you have to be monitoring it closely. Not all people will be aware of it and surely it is a form of advertising that will surely be worthless.

But guess again. Thanks to one person, it has ballooned into a full-blown issue for both the show and the company concerned, that of which is McDonalds. Was it intentional or accidental? You be the judge.

Technorati Tags: advertising, mcdonalds, iron chef, subliminal advertising

The people at Greenpeace are none too pleased with Unilever, the makers of Dove beauty products. According to Greenpeace, Unilever is purchasing palm oil from suppliers who are destroying the rainforests in Indonesia. This deforestation is causing all sorts of problems such as climate change as well as the extinction of certain species. So, what is Greenpeace doing about it? Well, on April 21, 2008, they released a bunch of apes (or possibly Orangutans) into London and Merseyside to guilt Unilever into stopping this madness! They also came out with the following video to hopefully raise awareness. I guess the price you sometimes pay to be beautiful may not be worth it after all.

In the vein of the Harvey Dent campaign site and the short lived “Joker-ized” version comes a new campaign from Warner Brothers in support of The Dark Knight the new Batman film.

Operation Slipknot, which is about corruption in the Gotham City Police Department. Apparently all the slots in the game were taken within 45 minutes of this email being sent out from Commissioner Jim Gordon.

“OK friend, you’re up to bat now. You have yourself a new assignment: Operation Slipknot.”



Another site for the Gotham Intercontinental Hotel has gone live, but the telephone number for the “concierge” has been disconnected.

I’ve been loving the way that Warner Brothers has been including hardcore fans who want in on the action without ruining the movie for those of us who don’t have the time.

With the 2010 Vancouver Olympics practically a year away, it would be wise for companies who are planning to get advertising slots towards this world-renowned event early. With practically the whole world watching, you can just imagine the number of companies worldwide jockeying for position for good slots in the expected expensive yet lucrative exposure that one can just imagine.

The strategy here is simple. It is all on a first-come, first served basis. You can expect giants such as Nokia and Sony to be at the forefront of it all in what is expected to be a circus of sorts since this meet will really hit the global target audience. Just look at Canwest which just closed the deal of their advertising pact for the 2010 Olympics.

Canwest Publishing Inc., the largest owner of Canadian newspapers, has signed an Olympic-sized deal to supply advertising to the 2010 Vancouver Organizing Committee.

The deal, which will be announced this morning, includes all 10 of Canwest’s regional newspapers, including The Vancouver Sun and The Province, but not the flagship National Post.

Vanoc is calling Canwest an “official supplier”, a category that generally is worth between $3 millon and $10 million. In a memo sent to staff Wednesday morning Dennis Skulsky, the president of Canwest Publishing, and Kevin Bent, the publisher of the Pacific Newspaper Group called it an “Official Regional Newspaper agreement”.

(Source) The Vancouver Sun

Technorati Tags: olympics, advertising, canwest, nokia, sony, global

As far as the practices of trying to overdo the branding hype in most products are concerned be sure that you can handle the issues that will be hurled your way. In the world of business competition, your fiercest competitors are bound to check out what you have to offer and see if you are as good as what you claim you are.

Your rivals in business are not really out to ruin your reputation. But advertising malpractice is a given considering that most people would go at anything to gain an advantage. We see them all around us today and whether we care or not is really left towards people who want to expose flaws used in advertising and promotional strategies such as this one regarding the case of Tyson Foods.

Competitors Perdue and Sanderson argued that Tyson’s ads are misleading because none of the companies uses those types of drugs and consumers could be led to believe they and other companies are using the drugs. Sanderson said it lost $4 million in sales since last year as a result of the Tyson campaign, while Perdue contended it lost $11 million.

(Source) Brandweek

Technorati Tags: tyson, foods, advertising, competitors, tyson foods, promotional strategies

Advertising is tough to get into. The application process is often subjective and sometimes creative directors want to make sure that your personality is match for the company. With the economy slowing down, it’s even harder to get an interview. So how do you break into the business? Unfortunately, I don’t have great advice. But, here’s what some high ranking ad and brand people from companies like R/GA, Yahoo, Google, JWT and Crispin had to say. These folks are members of VCU Brandcenter’s board of directors talking directly to grad students getting ready for the ad biz. If you pay close attention, there’s even some Yahoo/AOL buyout banter.

In honor of Earth Day, here is a catchy poster by a non-profit organization called Pro WildLife. Located in Germany, Pro WildLife is committed to protecting the world’s wildlife from over-exploitation, habitat destruction and abuse. In this particular poster, penguins are pictured with what appear to be machine guns. Not only is is both edgy and attention grabbing, but it also drives the point home that we should never take for granted nor abuse our environment, including the other animals we share it with. This is just one of several posters in the campaign which can be seen here.

And he’s hitting more than a movie theater this spring. Since the announcement of the return of the legendary archaeologist, Indiana Jones (with Harrison Ford reprising the role), quite the buzz have been generated about the long-awaited film. Without surprise, marketers have wasted no time in attaching their brands to the Lucas/Spielberg franchise. In what can only be hopes to raise sales (I mean, hey, it worked for Reese’s Pieces in ET), you’ll be able to catch the cast members faces in places other than the silver screen. Indy and other characters will be gracing packages of M&Ms, Lunchables and Dr. Pepper. But that’s not all - you’ll even be able to take a bite out of the movie with the Indy Whopper at Burger King. 

Sure, big chain stores get plenty of advertising. When was the last time your Sunday paper didn’t have the latest flyer for Best Buy? And how often do you catch their commercials on TV? Unfortunately, powerhouse companies like those are causing several small record stores throughout the country to close. In efforts to increase awareness of these independently owned shops, tomorrow is Record Store Day. A “holiday” designed to celebrate boutiques filled with all those music geeks that know more about your favorite album than you ever cared to. So just for tomorrow, go grab that CD you’ve been jonesing for at your closest local store. Click the logo below to find a mom & pop near you.

One thing that television advertising offers is that you have to be wise as to what time slot you want your ad to come out. In events such as the Oscars or the closely watched sporting events such as boxing and the Super Bowl, slots will surely be packed and if you really want the exposure, you have to think ahead and get the ideal ad slot to get your money’s worth.

Often, you will find tough picking when you are up against the aggressive advertising giants who want maximum exposure. While they are preferred by most event organizers, the best you can do is find the next best slot to place your ad and get the required exposure your product or service needs.

 

 

We are all aware the web is full of advertising tactics to help promote products and services covered by various companies. But while these online advertising practices are indeed something to behold, the question of effectiveness and consistently hitting the actual target market really leave a large cloud of doubt.

  

Yahoo knows this all too well and apparently this is what their planned release of AMP. AMP intends to simplify the whole buying and selling process through online ads which is a welcome development for businesses sorely lacking in getting results from their online targeted advertising.

  

According to a company statement, the platform will enable advertisers to “precisely yet easily” target audiences, while also allowing publishers to “better monetise their content”.

  

“While online advertising grows more sophisticated, the process of doing business today is surprisingly cumbersome and manual,” stated Hilary Schneider, executive vice president of global partner solutions at Yahoo!.

 

(Source) Bigmouthmedia

As if Rick Astley wasn’t getting enough inexplicable renewed popularity, here’s a bit more. A brilliant digg user decided to solicit the help of fellow dig users on a level of epic proportion when he discovered that the New York Mets are holding a contest to vote for the 8th inning sing-a-long song. Potential to be quite possibly the largest Rickrolling of all time.

And for those not too familiar with the concept of Rick Rolling, here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Around the year 2003, an Internet prank known as “rickrolling” appeared involving misleading links redirecting to the music video. It increased in popularity as a 2008 April Fool’s Day joke through various media, including YouTube rickrolling all of its featured videos on that day, and a website allowing people to Rickroll their friends phones.

In ‘a couple of weeks’, about 13 million people had been ‘rickrolled’ into watching Astley’s video, the BBC reported on 1 April, 2008.”I think it’s just one of those odd things where something gets picked up and people run with it,” Astley told the Los Angeles Times in late March 2008, adding: “That’s what’s brilliant about the internet.”

So now the link has been dugg over 8000 times, and it’s spreading on fark and 4chan as well. Tomorrow is the final day to vote. It’s certainly a very real possibility that the NY Mets (and fans) may have just been Rickrolled like never before. Which says a good deal for internet memes and the significance of internet users (like those on digg) in swaying public polls - and who knows what else. Just something to think about while you try to imagine a packed Shae Stadium sinning “never gonna give you up…”

Ok so today is April Fools day and while jokes and pranks are spreading all around, sometimes you just cannot distinguish the funny ones from the serious ones. Remember, jokes are jokes but when it comes to drawing the line you better be careful. Take this video ad for example. You will probably end up playing an April Fool’s joke on your friend or co-worker wherever you may be. However be careful because just like this guy, you may end up getting the false impression of being the fool on April Fools Day!

Newly launched hair care brand Salon Selectives is scheduled to kick off a national advertising campaign that will surely bolster its brand and service towards the people who put value for their hair. In these modern times, if you have the budget for aggressive advertising, it is best to plan it and implement it with a bang. Salon Selectives is putting a lot of weight on this advertising campaign and the results are expected to be great for them.

“The new campaign leverages the brand’s original core messages of transformation and customization while modernizing the theme. We have developed a new ad approach for the hair care category, moving away from product demonstrations and impossibly beautiful hair close ups, to connect with women through fantastical action-adventure stories.”

(Source) Business Wire

Social marketing has an interesting, often overlooked, and somewhat confusing place in the advertising world. Using talent and skills to promote actual social change is no easy task, and it’s good to see agencies and events promoting positive social messaging every now and again. Good 50×70 is back in it’s second year, promoting “awareness amongst the creative community of the power they have to be a force for good.” Good 50×70, while much more at it’s core, is essentially a poster design contest:

There are 7 briefs from 7 charities on 7 issues that affect thousands of people around the world. All you have to do is pick a topic that inspires you and submit a poster on that theme. 210 posters (30 from each brief) will be selected by our jury of leading designers and exhibited around the world and published in a catalogue,but more importantly they’ll be presented to the charities for their use as a potential campaign.

This year has a broad and impressive list of charities involved and a hefty list of endorsers, including AGI, icograda and BEDA.

Cool stuff. Photos from last year’s event are on the Good50×70 flickr page. Good 50×70 is open for entries starting today, February 18, 2008, and entries are accepted through April 20th, 2008. And as it should be, entry is 100% free.
[via osocio :: photo via flickr]

The Association of Independent Commercial Producers, AICP, is holding the 2008 call for entries. The Show debuts on June 3rd at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, under the aegis of Show Chairman Robert Fernandez, CEO/partner of Moxie Pictures. For the first time in its 17-year history, the Show has two entry deadlines: February 15th (for work airing February 5, 2007 - February 3, 2008), and February 29th for work airing February 4, 2008 - February 24, 2008). The conversations campaign was created by students at VCU Brandcenter. There’s still time to enter. The AICP’s site has an archive of past winners. It’s a great resource for ads and a nice place to kill some time.

In a continued battle for post-56k modem relevancy, AOL has reportedly purchased online advertising company Quigo for $350 million. Quigo, which has steadily grown in the past two years, will be AOL’s fourth advertising acquisition this year. The move signals a continued shift into the realm of web advertising for the company.

As the once great ISP struggles to find its place in the era of broadband and social media, AOL will fight an uphill battle for advertisers who have long trusted their web-based text content to Google and Yahoo. Quigo has found successes against the two behemoths, but there is certainly a long way to go before a lion’s share of the internet’s advertising revenue is handed over to AOL.

Still, Quigo offers advertisers another option. It remains to be seen, however, if that option will catapult AOL into a three-way race for our dollars or if Google and Yahoo are too far ahead to catch.

Technorati Tags: advertisers, web advertising, aol, social media, Quigo