We Will Not Go Down – Michael Heart

This song continues to inspire me… Michael Heart’s "We Will Not Go Down" www.michaelheart.com

Ray-Ban Uses Flash Mob to Market Its New Shades

This is an interesting viral marketing campaign.

Ray-Ban utlised the vision of Culture Jammer, Ron English in order to further guerrilla market their Project Colorize campaign. They unveiled the billboard (pictured above) and added to this they had a flash mobs organise below the billboard and stand there staring up at it while they each wear Ray-Bans… cute.

Animal New York has pictures and video of the interview with Ron English.

Source: Adrants
: Ray-Ban, Marketing, Cool, Flash Mobs, Interesting, Marketing

Dissecting Consumer Culture: The “American Dream” Documentary

Adrants points us to a new documentary currently being by filmmaker Joel Christian McEwan called American Dream which will examine America’s obsession with instant-gratification and material possessions as well as the corporate force which feeds and profits from that obsession. Featuring Danny Glover, Ed Begley Jr., Jean Kilbourne, Howard Zinn and many others, American Dream will try to make sense America’s consumer culture, it’s causes and its effects.

What is interesting is that the filmmakers have approached Adrants in order to secure material for the film. Adrants are looking for:

-Funny, ridiculous advertisements
-Lewd, suggestive ads/commercials
-Ads/Commercials that make you want to buy something
-Ads/Commercials that you dislike and want to see removed

So for anyone with a few ideas or examples… head over to Adrants and help the guys out. You can mail your submissions to americandream@adrants.com

: Adrants, American Dream, Documentary, Joel Christian McEwan

SA Energizer Ads win Cannes Grand Prix

What a brilliant concept, you can just feel the anxiety parents will have if they see their kids in this situation. Very insightful intot hte target market and a very interesting twist. The ads were created by DDB South Africa and the Creative Director is Gareth Lessing, who, if I remember correctly, used to be with Lowe Bull and was also behind that brilliant Axe Campaign “Get a Girlfriend” about a couple of years back.

Really good work. I think this works both creatively and from a sales perspective. It would grab attention.

: Energizer, South Africa, Batteries, Cannes, Grand Prix, Winner

A Positive Twist Away from Xenophobia: The Standard Bank TV Ad

I thought Standard Bank’s new TV ad for Africa day which ends with something like… “It’s not that we are in Africa, Africa is in us…” is a very effective ad for the bank.

It capitalises on Standard Banks’ diverse range of African personell (40000) across the continent as well as being pertinent to Africa Day and the current xenophobia crisis in South Africa. It does a great job with advertising the Standard Bank Brand – capitalising in organisational competencies, brand values and some very appropriate timing.

You can catch the making of the TV ad here. Or download the video here.

Creating awareness for Africa Day took on a practical meaning for our staff, who starred in this TV advertisement. Shot in Durban, South Africa, we were able to draw on the inherent diversity of our people from across the continent. Staff chosen from our 18 countries of operation participated in the filming, most appearing in front of the camera for the first time. – from the “Standard Bank Africa Day” website

: Standard Bank, Advertising, Bank, South Africa, Africa Day, Brand

Unilever’s 10,000 Domain Name Portfolio

Unilever, at current has more than 10,000 domain names attributed to it, when just 10 years ago they had less than a 100. 50% of the 10,000 were registered in the last 2 years and most of the sites are unused or direct traffic to out of date sites.

Unilever, recently crowned Digital Marketer of the Year, had registered so many domains so that it could promote it’s various brands and promotions. Obviously the registration of these domains had occurred via the brand teams within Unilever with no real thought as to the bigger picture or follow-up of what the domains would be doing after they had been used.

Unilever is now moving to cull at least 30-40% of its domain name portfolio after carrying out a trademark audit on each of the domains (that’ll take some time…)

For domain name squatters, those guys who register domain names in anticipation that some big corporate entity would want it later and dish out the dough to get it. Unilever actually has a policy around dealing with anyone who practices domain name front-running, cyber-squatting and domain name speculation and are not afraid to sue. In fact they are also involved in creating legislation around the very issue.

This is interesting stuff too keep in mind, especially when we look into the legalities of cyberspace and how these laws cross boundaries and get implemented.

Technorati Tags: Unilever, Marketing, Brands, Domain Names, cyber-squatting

This Weeks Coolness.

If you’re planning a holiday.. try out St. Lucia on the Kwazulu Natal NorthCoast (that’s in South Africa)… It’s beautiful, calm, serene, lots of animals, lots to do.. I loved it:)

In the Coolness News Today…

MIT students demonstrate wireless power transfer – In an experiment, a team from MIT were able to power a 60W light bulb
from two meters away. Calling their demonstration ‘WiTricity,’ the
researchers believe that a system is possible that could send
electricity to your battery powered devices within a room sized space.

How cool is that! No more huge power cables to carry around for laptops, no more plugging things in.. just stand near a socket and you get yourself charged :P

Scott Adams (The Guy who Draws Dilbert) has got a really cool piece on why he thinks the guy who decided to sell ski masks to insurgents in Iraq is probably the best Entrepreneur, ever!

and finally…
Tetris Fridge Magnets…

also in case you’re interested… “Where did the Swastika come from?”

Technorati Tags: Cool, News, Dilbert, Scott Adams, Tetris, Swastika, MIT, Witricity

Humour in the Court…

This is a classic… I think lots of people musthave it by now one-mail somewhere. It just always makes me laugh :)

These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.

ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth?
WITNESS: July 18th.
ATTORNEY: What year?
WITNESS: Every year.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at
all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you
forgot?
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you?
WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can’t remember which.
ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you?
WITNESS: Forty-five years.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, “Where am I, Cathy?”
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in
voodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do.
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning?

WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
____________________________________

ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-one-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: Uh, he’s twenty-one.
________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Would you repeat the question?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Uh….
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a
deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on
dead people?
WITNESS: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you
go
to?
WITNESS: Oral.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing
an autopsy on him!
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Huh?
____________________________________________

And the best for last

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check
for
a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and
practicing law.

Technorati Tags: Courts, Humour, Lawyers

That Feeling.

You know… that feeling… when you just know something’s wrong  and you know what it is but it’s more of a process rather than an event.. and you’re just waiting for things to happen.  For things to get sorted out. For some closure.  But you don’t know what lies at the end and it might be the hardest choice you ever have to make.

All I feel is this dread, this heavy cloud floating above me.  Just waiting to rain down at any given moment.  And the thing about the situation is that it just has to be.  Change has to occur.   Some shit just can’t go on unchecked.  Unless you’re okay with living your life the way it is.  Something big, something critical needs to occur.  Change habits, change the way things are done.  Your entire comfort zone needs to be shaken to shit to wake you up.

It sucks being in this position but its a situation that just has to be.  Otherwise things could be worse.

Word.

M.

Marketing and Linkage

Judge rules that a burrito is not a sandwich

Robots re-enact “royale with cheese” scene from Pulp Fiction (Youtube Link)

Play Station 3 Taken Apart (For you MJ!)

Check out these cool Hot Wheels Ad Stickers from Ogilvy India

And finally… How Marketer’s Really Think…
Hitchhiker: You heard of this thing, the 8-Minute Abs?

Ted Stroehmann: Yeah, sure, 8-Minute Abs. Yeah, the excercise video.

Hitchhiker: Yeah, this is going to blow that right out of the water. Listen to this: 7… Minute… Abs.

Ted Stroehmann: Right. Yes. OK, alright. I see where you’re going.

Hitchhiker: Think about it. You walk into a video store, you see 8-Minute Abs sittin’ there, there’s 7-Minute Abs right beside it. Which one are you gonna pick, man?

Ted Stroehmann: I would go for the 7.

Hitchhiker: Bingo, man, bingo. 7-Minute Abs. And we guarantee just as good a workout as the 8-minute folk.

Ted Stroehmann: You guarantee it? That’s — how do you do that?

Hitchhiker: If you’re not happy with the first 7 minutes, we’re gonna send you the extra minute free. You see? That’s it. That’s our motto. That’s where we’re comin’ from. That’s from “A” to “B”.

Ted Stroehmann: That’s right. That’s — that’s good. That’s good. Unless, of course, somebody comes up with 6-Minute Abs. Then you’re in trouble, huh?

[Hitchhiker convulses]

Hitchhiker: No! No, no, not 6! I said 7. Nobody’s comin’ up with 6. Who works out in 6 minutes? You won’t even get your heart goin, not even a mouse on a wheel.

Ted Stroehmann: That — good point.

Hitchhiker: 7′s the key number here. Think about it. 7-Elevens. 7 doors. 7, man, that’s the number. 7 chipmunks twirlin’ on a branch, eatin’ lots of sunflowers on my uncle’s ranch. You know that old children’s tale from the sea. It’s like you’re dreamin’ about Gorgonzola cheese when it’s clearly Brie time, baby…