an egocentric collection of my thoughts for the world to enjoy
Monday, January 29, 2007
They ripped us off!
Arg! The December OMMA Magazine features nuru | ant farm's christmas party...which is suspiciously similar to Capt'n Kidd and Crew's christmas party. Apparently, they had eye patches and labels with pirate names. They also made a special logo for the event. And a treasure chest. Hmmm sounds familiar. Maybe because we did the SAME THING! But - did they have a themed drink with a sword-speared gummy eye garnish? Or maybe logo etched beer steins and knives for the employees? I think not. Oh yea, and pirate map invites were considered, but we put our invites into glass bottles and stamped them with wax. Plus I think the above picture looks way more fun than any showed in the mag.
One of my friends in elementary school used to call me M&M b/c those are my initials. In case you were wondering what I look like, this is a pretty realistic animation. My dog actually isn't a pug, but there were no jack russell terriers to choose from. Enjoy.
I love this spot. I tell my roommates how much I love it every time it runs (which is quite often). I'm pretty sure they are really sick of hearing about it ("Uh. We know you like it. You say it every time. And you like the new Target ad. And you hate the Dove campaign."). The spot just makes me laugh and the music is perfect. Yay for unbelievable commercials.
Just a quick post because I'm so happy my spam-blocker actually worked and didn't block this week's MediaPost Magazine Rack. Larry Dobrow is a contributing writer and does a fantastic (read: humorous) review of American Photo. I did some stalking and learned he also writes sports commentary. Really random. If you are interested in media, read MediaPost - their stuff is first-rate.
(This is a photo of Larry Dobrow so you can put a picture to the writing. Go Larry!)
..determines what you buy. Check out this study about how social network connections can predict purchasing patterns. It's a really interesting idea and can help refine target marketing if harnessed by MySpace, Facebook or other social networks. It makes sense that people with common interests would also tend to buy the same stuff. The study was not able to prove whether these people actually discussed the products or if they were more likely to buy simply because they were similar to each other. I think it just furthers the argument for word of mouth type efforts.
No, not the country - the network. Thank you for marathon-ing this summer's Pysch, which is coming back next week with new episodes. Here's a little taste for those who have not watched this excellent show. Hopefully I'll get to buy a few episodes for our clients ;) Oh, and while I'm at it, thanks for marathon-ing Law and Order SVU approximately every 2 weekends. I get nothing done around the house.
They aren't the One Show or Cannes...but it's all we got! And we've entered a ton of cool stuff this year. In fact, that's all I did yesterday. Now, I realize that agencies devote entire teams and weeks to enter award contests and some people think that's a waste of time and money. I've read all about how these awards are silly and expensive and how bad it is to reward creative that may or may not make products sell, blah blah blah. I can understand these concerns, but here is my list of "why you should enter creative into competition:"
1. To make the agency feel good. This is important. There is nothing wrong with applauding creativity and it may even inspire the creative team to continue putting out great stuff. Morale boosters help especially when an agency has lost accounts or is feeling less than stellar.
2. To show clients that the work is good. Probably the best reason to enter work. Also the least self-absorbed. This will ensure that your clients appreciate your work. It is simple added-value.
3. To make the clients feel good. Happy clients are good clients. Now they can brag to their industry frenemies about how great their advertising is. And how great their agency is. Word of mouth is very powerful.
4. To show prospective clients the work is good. Everyone wants to be "award-winning." An agency with a reputation for quality work will be hired over one without. For example, The Zimmerman Agency is the largest agency in my city. And big surprise, they always enter a TON of stuff in local competition.
5. To get inspired. Surrounding yourself with creativity is likely to spark some. That should be reason enough.
This local spot went all the way to national ADDY competition!
