Greek Yogurt + Green Goblin + Dr. Seuss = Magic

This is what it's like if Willem Dafoe reads you bedtime stories.


(There's a video here. It's short. And, if you ask me, it's worth watching, so if you can't see it, click here.)

Thank you, Mullen (an agency in Boston) for this treat. Their own Brian Tierney (@BCTierney) wrote the copy.

Looking forward to seeing (and hearing) this ad again? Check.
Remember the product it's shilling? Check.
Spectacular? Check.

Sundays are ad days

For me, commercials fall into two categories: "spectacular" and "not".

What, you say? What about the terrible? The awful, the egregious, the outrageously bad? Settle down, I'm with ya. That is, you see, the beauty of the word "spectacular"— could be spectacularly good or... not.

Sometimes it's a whole campaign, sometimes it's just one ad... but I find it fascinating how much money is spent on advertising, and how many sadly mediocre commercials are produced.

Because a spectacular fail is better than a "play it safe and bore 'em to death." Don't believe me? Do you remember what Bjork wore to the 2001 Academy Awards? Bet you do. How about Julia Roberts? Or Catherine Zeta-Jones? No? See? Spectacular fails can still be marketing successes (along the lines of that old chestnut: "no publicity is bad publicity").

Spectacular Sundays are born: my weekly personal homage to the Clio (or Razz) worthy. Don't all clap at once.

Brilliant, spelled "i-d-i-o-t-i-c"

To: Whoever is in Charge at Gap
Date: A day after too late
Re: Your new logo

Please refer to page 41 in David D'Alessandro's book Brand Warfare: 10 Rules for Building the Killer Brand wherein he describes the pitfalls of brand boredom. Note the fate of the senior executive at John Hancock who insisted they "drop the famous John Hancock signature from our logo and replace it with personality-free block letters. Never mind that we'd been using the signature since 1862, and it was one of Americas oldest logos and spoke volumes about our trust-worthiness and stability. Never mind that we had a trademark recognized by anyone who'd ever sat through a fifth-grade history class, and by removing it, he almost cost us our right to use it. He was apparently tired of it."

Hmmm... "personality-free block letters." Sort of like this inspired transformation?


I see that it has taken The Gap's new President, Marka Hansen, three years to fall prey to the "I'm new and important and I'm going to make my mark on this brand" syndrome - as evidenced by her post on HuffPo last week:

The natural step for us on this journey is to see how our logo — one that we’ve had for more than 20 years — should evolve. Our brand and our clothes are changing and rethinking our logo is part of aligning with that.

We want our customers to take notice of Gap and see what it stands for today.

We chose this design as it’s more contemporary and current. It honors our heritage through the blue box while still taking it forward.

Please pay particular attention to the section where Ms. Hansen expresses surprise that Gap still connects with its customer base:

Now, given the passionate outpouring from customers... we've decided to engage in the dialogue, take their feedback on board and work together as we move ahead and evolve to the next phase of Gap.

From this online dialogue, it's clear that Gap still has a close connection to our customers, so tapping into this energy is right. We've posted a message on the Gap Facebook Page that says we plan to ask people to share their designs with us as well. We welcome the participation we've seen so far.

So, now that she sees that the Gap brand, as it stands, resonates ("still") with its customers, she plans to enlist that customer base to redesign the brand image? Evidently the lesson she took away from this is that the Gap's customer-base are branding and marketing experts. This was all just a test?

What part of that presumably expert consumer-base's message, "leave the logo alone," did she not understand?

If you're wondering about the fate of the John Hancock executive? He (and his inspired branding ideas) soon found themselves somewhere other than John Hancock. Food for thought, people at Gap. Food for thought.

Change is hard

But fun is... fun. And according to the folks behind The Fun Theory, fun is the, well, "easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better."

They're turning stairs into piano keys and recycling banks into arcades. And the people? They're playing and... playing.

Hear the music yourself:

(another video - you really should check it out if you can't see it)

The folks behind the fun Fun Theory? Volkswagen and their Swedish ad agency, DDB Stockholm. Funsters wanted.

A picture, a thousand words

One week, two flowers, 97 cigarettes.

Fischer & Fala, a Brazilian ad agency, was tasked with coming up with a campaign to coincide with new anti-smoking laws in Sao Paolo. Point made, guys.

The smoking plant (With english subtitles) from Fischer Fala on Vimeo.
(Yeah, yeah, it's a video. Can't see it? Click here.)

Miles to go before I sleep

Math can make your head spin. I was reading Seth Godin's blog (catching up on his blog actually, but whatever) and came upon his post, "Not so good at math." He reprinted the classic miles-per-gallon example, comparing Suburbans to Priuses, in which two alternative performance improvements are proposed and you are asked which is the better choice.

His point is to remind marketers that the ordinary consumer is, as he puts it "not wired for arithmetic. It confuses us, stresses us out and more often than not, is used to deceive."

Have you ever heard someone say, "numbers don't lie"? Yeah, right. Numbers may not lie, but they sure can obfuscate some cold hard facts, especially when wielded by a master.

To me, it's like the age-old question is lying by omission lying?

The mpg example goes like this:

You want to reduce gasoline consumption and, lucky for you, there are only two kinds of cars in the world. Half of them are Suburbans that get 10 miles to the gallon and half are Priuses that get 50.

If we assume that all the cars drive the same number of miles, which would be a better investment:

• Get new tires for all the Suburbans and increase their mileage a bit to 13 miles per gallon.
• Replace all the Priuses and rewire them to get 100 miles per gallon (doubling their average!)

That seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, except for the fact that you know there's a trick in there somewhere.

This is a bit of a mind bender, but think about it this way (since you've obviously figured out that the answer is NOT replacing the Priuses) — if you drive 25 miles in an "unmodified" Suburban, you'll go through 2 1/2 gallons of gas, while going through only 1/2 a gallon driving the same distance in a Prius. That's easy enough, right? Okay, stick with me. If you modify the Prius, doubling the gas consumption efficiency, and drive another 25 miles you'll save a whopping 1/4 gallon of gas.

But, if you modify your Suburban, improving gas consumption efficiency only by a third, and drive another 25 miles, you'll save 1/2 gallon of gas (actually, a little bit more). Twice as much as you would save modifying the Prius.

Basically, the Prius is already so efficient, that making it more efficient doesn't save you that much. But the Suburban is so inefficient, that even making it a little more efficient makes a big difference.

To Seth's point, however, who of us ordinary consumers would jump to that conclusion first? And no, Dad, you are not an ordinary consumer.

You're sure you want to call it that?

"Moxie," courtesy Merriam Webster:

Pronunciation: \ˈmäk-sē\

Function: noun

Etymology: from Moxie, a trademark for a soft drink

2: courage, determination;

Also the brand name for a new entry into the DVR wars, entering the lists against TiVo. I stumbled upon Moxi while comparing global annual movie attendance (twice as many tickets are sold in India than in the US—who knew? Sure, the data is 10 years old, but, what's a decade among friends?)

This Moxi thing sounded good at first read

before you spend your hard-earned cash on TiVo, you might want to consider something a little more robust, a lot more functional, and far less expensive. Tivo hasn’t upgraded its look and feel in nearly 10 years, and they stubbornly insist on charging you annoying monthly fees! Isn't electronic equipment supposed to get more functional, more powerful, and LESS expensive? Say hello to Moxi.

What could be bad, right? Ah, the power of curiosity combined with research (aided by the web, naturellement). According to cnet, "an $800 DVR has a tough row to hoe." No argument there.

I continue digging. Dave of ZatzNotFunny professes doubts regarding, hmmm, whether Moxi's UI will stay ad-free, whether its currently free features (such as HD programming) will stay free, and even whether the company will stay in business (to provide programming/guide data). He also points out that at $800, Moxi and TiVo are comparable in price over a four year span, to which I would add: who knows what technology lurks in the brains of geeks that will change our TV viewing lives by then?

So although I think Moxi is appropriately named—as in "they sure have Moxi to be charging $800 for that!"—I'm not really sure they made the best brand name choice. But that's just me.

May I propose a new tag line?

"When it's people who do the right thing, they call it being responsible.
When it's an insurance company, they call it... not being AIG."

Hey, guess what? There's a video here. Yeah, really. Click here to see it if you can't.

Couldn't really be better timing for Liberty Mutual's ad campaign, huh?

That's one expensive song, dude

Josh Freese, singer of that hit song "Since 1972" (not to be confused with that hit song "1972" by Josh Rouse), soon to be released on the hopefully hit album "Since 1972," has come up with a unique pricing structure.

Digital download of the album, including three videos: $7

-Signed CD/DVD and digital download. -T-shirt -Signed Cymbal, Drum head and Drumsticks. -Josh washes your car OR does your laundry....or you can wash his car. -Have dinner with Josh aboard the "Queen Mary" in Long Beach, CA -Get drunk and cut each other's hair in the parking lot of the Long Beach courthouse (filmed and posted on youtube of course): $10,000

-Signed CD/DVD and digital download -T-shirt -Go on tour with Josh for a few days. -Have Josh write, record and release a 5 song EP about you and your life story. -Take home any of his drumsets (only one but you can choose which one.) -Take shrooms and cruise Hollywood in Danny from TOOL's Lamborgini OR play quarters and then hop on the Ouija board for a while. -Josh will join your band for a month...play shows, record, party with groupies, etc.... -If you don't have a band he'll be your personal assistant for a month (4 day work weeks, 10 am to 4 pm) -Take a limo down to Tijuana and he'll show you how it's done (what that means exactly we can't legally get into here) -If you don't live in Southern California (but are a US resident) he'll come to you and be your personal assistant/cabana boy for 2 weeks. -Take a flying trapeze lesson with Josh and Robin from NIN, go back to Robin's place afterwards and his wife will make you raw lasagna: $75,000

Getting your debut album talked about in newspapers and blogs coast to coast before it's even released? Priceless.

Spilling the beans...

So yet again, I find that Starbucks is offering something great, and telling no one.

Can someone explain that to me?

And this one's a doozy. A double doozy in fact - maybe even a triple. As I've told you here, if you have and register a Starbucks card, you get complimentary drink upgrades (e.g., syrup and milk), and a free tall drink when you buy a pound of coffee. This all for taking your $20 bill, buying a piece of plastic , and then buying your drink. Well, okay, buying the piece of plastic, giving up your email address and then buying your drink. (Not to mention, in return, Starbucks guards that piece of plastic... Lost? Stolen? Dial 1-800-STARBUC and presto! Old card deactivated and a new one issued. Try doing that with a $20 bill.)

But if you really prefer soy to regular milk in your latte, and you're a S'bux regular, that's two bucks a week. That adds up. And if you're a grande vanilla soy latte kind of a person, well I don't know exacly, but I think that's at least another $2 a week - we're talking a pound of coffee you just basically got for free this month (plus that free tall drink).

But that's old news. It turns out that back in April, when these benefits started rolling out, Starbucks upgraded the card program to the Starbucks Card Rewards Program (I'm going to call it "SCRAP")--not that they told anyone about the name change, of course.

And the latest, or maybe the first (even I can't untangle the chronology--and honestly, I really do have better things to do today), benefit is two hours of free wifi access daily if you register a Starbucks card that you use or reload once every 30 days. That's pretty sweet. Starbucks partnered with AT&T, and when you register your card, you can sign up for an AT&T wifi account that gives you 2 hours a day free, regardless of who your wireless carrier is.

Oh, and did I mention that SCRAP holders also get unlimited free brewed coffee refills while they're in the store? How perfect does that sound? Mosey on in, get a cup of joe, log on, and drink on up--the refills are on Howie. Not that he'd tell you or anything.

It's not McWrap... but

On Grub Street today, they commented on Copyranter's blog--they were going on about cannibalism--on Subway's Australian ad campaign (see pic on left). Grub Street just had to one-up them (because you know, that's just how New Yorkers are) by posting about Chickpea's new logo on the front of its store on Houston Street in New York (see pic on right).

On the other hand, they have a point. It does kinda look like a, well, as they put it, "it's cool and all, butt..."

Honestly, this is not a contest I'd want to win.

Oh, McWrap? McDonald's latest marketing brainstorm? Go ahead--say it out loud.

No coffee, video?

Since April, Starbucks has been offering a "pick of the week" - music and music videos available free on iTunes - to its customers. Well, to anyone who walks in and takes a "pick of the week" card, actually.

But, as per Starbucks' habit of coming up with nifty promotions and then not actually promoting them (which brings a whole new perspective to the concept of consumer marketing), no one really seems to know about it.

I had this conversation last week with one of the baristas when I asked if my venti iced coffee would be the same price as a grande if I bought it with my Starbucks card.

The cashier looked at me like I had two, maybe three, heads. I didn't make this promo up, mind you - I read it somewhere, and in a Starbucks too. Off he scuttled to find someone else to take care of my clearly outrageous request.

It turns out the promotion I read was for frappucinos only - but the manager (yes, this question required a manager) quite nicely offered to honor the promotion even on my lowly iced coffee. The conversation we had was even more interesting... no matter how hard he tries, he cannot seem to publicize effectively the various promotions and benefits that Starbucks offers to its customers. The little promo cards fall off (didja catch that? they're "little"), the managers aren't fully notified of new policies (such as the free soy and flavor syrup upgrades for Starbucks card users), and on and on. Hmph.

For all of Howard's claims to the contrary, and I don't really (ok, maybe I do a little) doubt he's trying, it's not really seeming like he means it.

But I did get Duffy's Mercy for free this week - so that's something, anyway.

Thanks, Howie.

Lovemark may redeem top tier status

Lovemark, you ask? What's a lovemark? Did she make it up - you know, like "revynopsis?"

Nope - not I. Not this time. Kevin Roberts, of Saatchi and Saatchi fame (well.., fame to some, infame to others) has that honor. Wrote the book, started the website, yadda, yadda, yadda...

Take a brand away and people will find a replacement. Take a Lovemark away and people will protest its absence. Lovemarks are a relationship, not a mere transaction. You don’t just buy Lovemarks, you embrace them passionately. That’s why you never want to let go.

Put simply, Lovemarks inspire Loyalty Beyond Reason

Ah, Starbucks...

Are you going to the Starbucks there?
Coffee, tea, chai latte and time
Remember me to one who lives there,
For she once was a true love of mine.

So the coffee (and the chai tea latte, for that matter) is better at Peets. So the Ultimate Blended at Coffee Bean kicks Frappuccino's butt. So there are more Starbucks than there should be - except when you really want one. I walked a mile in New York City once - I kid you not, a mile on the Upper West Side, without passing a single Starbucks. I thought I'd walked into a time warp.

Regardless -- Starbucks was first. Starbucks is old reliable. Starbucks is omnipresent - and thank goodness, or we'd be stuck drinking coffee at McDonald's in Tokyo. I mean really. Starbucks is there when you need it -- comforting, familiar, always ready with the New York Times (Peets and CBTL can't say that). But... I have to admit that lately, I have fallen out of love. I'm talking serious lovemark status slippage.

One, and it's almost too horrible to talk about - can we discuss airport Starbucks? Where to start? With the 3 pastry selections? Excuse me, the 3 dessicated pastry selections that look like they were delivered last month after being rejected by the corner deli? How about with the "sorry, we're out of... soy milk, chai syrup, honey, water?" (Okay, they've never actually been out of water... yet.)

Two, the wait. It used to be that going to Starbucks was like going to the Barista Magic Show. Wham Bam Presto Espresso Ma'am. Now it's more like taking the short bus to school - oh, you mean you wanted that latte today? And let me tell you, in the morning, before I've had my first cup of coffee is so not the time to make me wait for it. Kind of a bummer catch-22 for that poor dude behind the counter, but get on the stick and give me my coffee. Now. Before I kill you by shoving a stir stick in your ear.

Three, the coffee really is not that good. Sometimes it's kind of like drinking the top of a really good charred steak. Which would be tasty on a plate - but in a mug?

So, you're asking - what's changed? Whassup that Starbucks might be making a comeback in the Lovemark book of g? (That's me.) Well, it's not any change in the airport Starbucks -they still pretty much suck. But I have noticed that the short bus isn't stopping at my neighborhood S'bux so much anymore... nice not to have to worry anymore about being the first to use the "I hadn't had my venti extra-hot half-caf soy dry latte with an extra shot" defense in a homicide case. Not to mention it's nice to get my morning cup of joe in a timely fashion.

And... get this... for those of you who carry around a Starbucks card (like I) - well, starting in April, your upgrades - that vanilla syrup (not my thing - but if you like it, go for it), that soy milk (now that is my thing) - are yours at no charge. That's right folks. Use your Starbucks loyalty card and get your upgrade free. Doesn't that seem like just the way to build brand loyalty? Sure does to me.

Seems as though Mr. Schultz (Howard Schultz, CEO) made this announcement at the end of the last annual meeting:

We somehow evolved from a culture of entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation to a culture of, in a way, mediocrity and bureaucracy.

That's a pretty ballsy thing to say at your annual meeting. Unless you intend to actually do something about it. (For the rest of what Howie intends to do to combat mediocrity and bureaucracy in Gotham, I mean Seattle, read Kevin Coupe's stellar cliff notes.)

Starbucks, my lovemark. Sigh.

Cause marketing, because...

I like the Dove campaign, "Real Beauty," for multiple reasons. I like the message it's trying to send to females young and old about beauty, looks, and expectations. I like the means - the TV ads are eminently watchable, over and over again. I like the production values - the magazine ads are beautifully shot and lit. I like the models - they are real and they communicate Dove's message that beauty comes in many sizes, shapes and colors; they all look beautiful in these shots.

What I particularly like, however, is Dove's ingenuity. We all know that linking your brand to a cause can be a very effective and 'sticky' method of creating brand preference. It certainly helps your cause (pun intended) if there are sincere motives behind the effort, but sometimes those are difficult, if not impossible to gauge. Several brands spring to mind as having done an excellent job, both for the cause itself as well as for creating that indelible link in your mind. Revlon is to ?? as ?? is to AIDS Research. (answer: women's cancers, MAC Cosmetics - mind you, these are not the only correct answers - thank goodness!).

Dove has taken this one step further. They've created their very own campaign for their own cause. I'm not sure if the ad campaign begat the cause or vice versa, and I'm not sure it matters. The Dove campaign for real beauty - and the corrollary "self esteem fund" - fills a hole that you (or at least, I) didn't realize existed - and in such a way as to make you say "why hasn't there been such a campaign before?" For a 'beauty' company to tackle so directly the notion of female beauty in our society, for a consumer product goods company to attempt to lift the curtain on the actuality of how those images hocking those goods are created - this is big stuff.

Don't get me wrong - I can see where the whole thing can be considered somewhat (or very) self-serving, but that is, after all, the nature of campaigns. Nonetheless, I think there is merit and value in Dove’s Real Beauty campaign – and I am happy to see it on billboards and TV screens everywhere.

Joining the fray

So, the year has ended - and in more ways than one. I was fired (for the first time) -- my friend, Deidre (the best recruiter on the planet!), put it best - "when one door closes, another one opens, but it's hell in the hallway." And, sweetie-pie, am I ever in that hallway, going full steam ahead for that open door!

In fact, I'm thinking I can build that door to be just the height, width and weight that I want. While I may not start a restaurant on an island in the Caribbean, nor be a CEO on Madison Avenue, right now I'm all about the Blanchards in Anguilla (check out their book Live What You Love), and Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi (check his book and website and philosophy, not so new, but fabulous, Lovemarks, the future beyond brands).

And why start a blog now? It's all part of that door I'm building... loving what I'm living and living what I love. Like Charles and Marie (check out their awesome site) - who have a passion for travel, for cool, for innovative, for design - and that's what they live. Add to that a passion for marketing and problem-solving, a knack for seeing connections others don't, and my door, not to mention my blog, begins to take shape.

I'm not sure the world needs another blog - even with blogidators like bloglines and newsgator to help - nonetheless, like Gene Kelly said, "gotta dance!" - though, somehow, "gotta blog" doesn't have quite the same ring. There's a glut of trendwatching with perspective out there already - some of it excellent, much of it good, some of it, well... But to share from the excellent category: Morning News Beat (don't let the food/retail slant fool you - this site has some of the best current consumer and marketing insight around!), Daily Candy (like Google, simple, true to its roots, and phenomenal), Gen Art Pulse (all that's of the moment - clothes, movies, travel, and more), Splendora (pop culture with personality - what more could you ask for?). That's it for today - have to keep some in reserve for the next post, after all.

So going forward, eat, drink and be merry (I figure being merry can incorporate all activities eating and drinking leave out)...


EAT
For those who haven't - go to The Griddle in Hollywood (Sunset & Fairfax) for breakfast, and go hungry, go starving, go famished - going hung-over would be best. This is one of the few places where the huge pancakes (the size of a dinner plate - and you get THREE!) are tasty and light, not frisbees made of pancake colored cardboard. The coffee is super dark, the bacon excellent, and the Manhattan frittata is a don't miss.

DRINK
Make your margaritas at home with Dr. Swami and Bone Daddy's incredible marg mix - use with fresh lime juice, and lots of it, for a margarita that isn't too sweet, too tart, or too sour - perfect!

BE MERRY
Go to the movies -- seriously, go. Cache - you can't quite believe it holds you the way it does, and you don't want to believe it ends the way it does. Walk the Line - it may be trite to say, but the performances really are amazing... personally, I think it's patently unfair that Reese and Joaquin look the way they do, perform they way do, and can also sing?? I already had an inferiority complex, thank you very much. King Kong - it's a spectacle, maybe a little too much so - I can just hear the visual effects team: "come on Peter, how can you NOT use our fabulous slug with teeth and slimy pink gums that can swallow a guy from the head down?" - but still, any movie that can have you believe that not only would a girl choose someone over Adrien Brody, but would choose an ape - that's filmmaking worth seeing. The Matador - a louche 007... is this what Daniel Craig has to look forward to? see it, if only to see Hope Davis utter every variation of the word "fuck" 63 times in 63 seconds (not an exact figure). Syriana - yes, it is like Traffic (go figure, same writer, same director) - this is a good reason to see it... just don't expect to get it all (that's why God invented DVDs and rewind for crying out loud), but if you miss the message, you must be deaf (or stubborn). Good Night and Good Luck - purely beautiful - and riveting. David Strathairn (whom I've loved since Passion Fish, which also stars Mary McDonnell - who is completely underrated, or at least underutilized (remember High Society on TV? No? Neither does anyone else, unfortunately. 'twas the only sitcom I've ever loved... alas, alack), but I digress...) is pitch-perfect, the cinematography is exquisite, and the cast is golden. Don't miss this. Fun with Dick and Jane - I walked out of this. You know me - for me to walk out - that's saying something, and saying enough, I think.
Still on my list - Munich, Capote, Brokeback Mountain, Chronicles of Narnia, Casanova.