Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Idea: AD-EXORCIST widget

an idea for a browser plugin to get rid of those annoying banners and popups while you surf the web

Friday, July 24, 2009

Great product, silly slogan (2)

awhile ago I made a post (Great product, silly slogan) where I criticized a slogan on a website and offered a more honest version ... and today I accidentally found out that the company responded and changed that slogan on their website. Grrreat!
(They didn't notify me about the change directly, but I guess they were worried that I would be asking money for that. Which is kinda silly too :)))

No magick in interruptive advertising

Here's my personal take on why classical interruption ads don't work any more as they used to.

Think of advertising as a dominant and controlling type of person in a social group. He exudes power, authority and influence upon this group... but only to a certain point! As soon as the group starts perceiving him on a conscious level, for example becoming aware of his manipulation tricks (body posture, eye contact, voice, etc.) - his credibility and influence on this group starts to wane rapidly.

The same is happening to the classical format of advertising. It's been around for too long for consumers to learn almost every trick of the trade. Look at the growing trend of online advertising contests where "amateurs" are imitating "professionals" and produce their own ads.
(AdHack, Poptent, Eyeka to name a few)

In other words, consumers became well conscious of the method and therefore immune to it.

Of course, there are still some ad-literate laggards left in the world, but they are no longer a dominant majority and their numbers are constantly dwindling.

To summarize: it is not enough to communicate a selling proposition and put a logo with a slogan in the end. It's too obvious for increasingly critical consumers. I believe that the future credibility of advertising will depend on two main factors:

1. more subtle formats (seeking innovative methods of product placement, for example)
2. integrity of the message ( lovertising / ethics)

here's a classic interruption ad for laggards:



and this one experience engaging for more enlightened ones : )

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Benjamin Fulford's vision of the future

Armed also with a contagiously optimistic vision of the future, Benjamin is fully prepared to be the next Finance Minister for Japan. His plans for how he would spend Japan's $5 trillion of foreign reserves to eliminate global poverty are plausible and inspiring as practical steps, way beyond rhetoric, to repair the generations of damage done by a ruthless ruling elite. This is a man with a deep understanding of both East and West, a global economic historian who thinks way outside of the box, a lover of peace who is unafraid to speak warrior words.

In this comprehensive three part video, the first two parts focus on global financial history and Benjamin's most interesting personal story leading up to his approach by the Ninja. The third part contains the details of The Ultimatum itself.




And his interview with David Rockefeller:

Monday, July 13, 2009

A tribute to the cheesy 80's..

Total Eclipse of the Heart: Literal Video Version

The future of advertising

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Prediction: Brand vs Customer video wars

Here's a case at hand: United vs United customers

"Carroll and his band, Sons of Maxwell, decided to write a song about the incident, called 'United Breaks Guitars' and posted the video on YouTube, which has been viewed nearly half a million times since July 6.

United caught wind of the video and apologised to the singer for the dispute, issuing a statement via Twitter, which read: "This has struck a chord [with] us and we've contacted him directly to make it right." source Revolution



After watching this one can only sympathize with the makers of the video.
I wouldn't be surprised to see in the near future more videos like this one coming from ordinary pissed off customers using digital media and expressing their grievances in an artistic way . For example: private videos that make fun of bad customer service in a restaurant, or unfair treatment of insurance company, or just about any product or service a consumer finds a fault with.

This video is a kind of celebrity endorsement for it.

Benefits:

For video makers - fame and recognition
For customers - improvement of the product (brands can't afford to ignore it)
For brands - improvement of the product (and customer relationships)

here's a link to my previous post about a pissed off customer burning his creditcard and making a public statement about it.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Best Job in the World

An open letter to my former boss Jean-Remy von Matt:

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Idea: Daily Mirror Special Edition

Why not to have a special event when Daily Mirror online display goes literally mirror?
Imagine you go online to check out news and instead of a normal display you see a mirror image (click to enlarge):



those who have difficulty to read backwards can always click on "normal view" button.
the idea would work as a total surprise and generate a lot of buzz.
for the 1st of April addition, perhaps?

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Comment: Great product, silly slogan



the link

why use meaningless and silly slogans for such a great experience that this french company is offering? Enjoying the stars (instead of conquering them) at least makes sense.