“The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”
After several minutes of furious Googling, it’s unclear whether Oscar Wilde actually spoke the above quote or if it’s just from the Monty Python skit but, either way, it sums up the current Web video phenomenon pretty frickin’ well.
Go viral video PR!
Case in point, the Boston Pops’ current promotional contest. The Pops are running an online (you can also send in VHS tapes if you’re still living in the 20th century) contest called PopSearch. Yes, American Idol is now influencing respectable cultural institutions. The winner gets 5,000 samoleons and a chance to sing with one of the foremost interpreters of John Phillip Sousa’s oevre. If you want in, you’ve got to submit your video by 11:59 p.m. tonight. Get singing!
The contestant featured below is San Francisco’s own Aaron Drake.
Apple’s famously recognizable silhouettes are making their way from brand to brand and has now jumped into a new industry: sex toys. Check out the iGasm.
C’mon Apple, talk about giving the world some leverage with a great idea like silhouettes and a simple lowercase “i.”
G-rated companies like ivillage, itools and ifilm have already showed themselves to the public. But this new ‘iGASM’ may spark an entire new trend in the X-rated community with x-rated, sexual jargon beginning with that famous, influential baby “i.”
Who knows, the new iGasm may bump up sales for Apple in the UK.
Do we see a new X-rated brand identity for Apple in the future? Probably not, but one never knows what Steve Jobs and his brilliant team of innovators are cooking up.
You may recognize the gentleman holding the cup of gourmet coffee as one Winston "The Wolf" Wolf.
He solves problems.
What, you may ask, is The Wolf doing on the Mortarblog? Did Will get careless with a firearm? Are people frantically cleaning the back seat of a 1974 Chevy Nova right now?
No.
The Wolf, as you may know, is played by actor Harvey Keitel, whose birthday is May 13th.
Someone else we know shares Mr. Keitel’s birthday.
I have been eyeballin’ the new Volkswagen Eos hardtop convertible I have seen tooling so stylishly around town lately. Looks like a perfect city car: smooth, hip VW looks, small enough to easily park, micro-climate friendly (read: keep the hardtop up all summer when driving within the city limits of San Francisco, but put it down once you get one mile North, South, East… or in the Potrero Hill neigborhood).
I saw a banner ad for the car, and I actually clicked on it. Yes, me, a jaded advertiser, was moved enough to click a banner ad!
It took me to a site called Eos Botique, where you can buy silk scarfs, cashmere wraps, driving shoes, even a "Two in One Sculptural Coat/Blanket for Two". Beautiful items, replete with illustrations on how to wear them… here’s the double blanket:
Shannon on the blog Pierce Mattie states it perfectly:
Lutz & Patmos, Hable Construction, and Sigerson Morrison are the designers involved in the new lifestyle accessory line found at the Eos Boutique. There is no other car company doing cross branding like this. Volkswagen may have hit the mark by knowing the type of style-addicts their owners are, seeking out fashion designers that can create a lifestyle accessory line that meets their distinct sense of sophistication and appreciation of quality.
Talk about a media frenzy - ‘Paris Hilton’ and ‘jail’- two words that have sent the press through the roof.
Has PR gone wild or something?
Judge for yourself – here are some of the facts:
- CNN (Nancy Grace Show) replaying the coverage of her trial like it was OJ Simpson’s murder case.
- Google searches turning up more than 5,000 media hits with the magic words - ‘Paris Hilton’ and ‘Jail’.
- MySpace pages like Rescue Paris dedicated to supporting the superstar.
Can this desperate PR crusade keep Paris out of the slammer? This is where the power of PR comes into play – according to The Associated Press article:
“Paris is distraught and traumatized as a consequence of the findings at the May 4 hearing … and her fear of incarceration."
It might take more than making tear jerking petitions with statements like “Paris provides beauty and excitement to our otherwise mundane lives,” and dressing in conservative courthouse couture to keep her from living the life behind bars.
It seems the best PR move might be to take the ‘when life hands you lemons, make lemonade’ kinda approach and turn Paris’s Jail sentence into the next season of the Simple Life: “Paris & Nicole: I Know What You Did in the Slammer” (I think Nicole has a few charges she can do some time for as well).
Talk about a great media opportunity… Now, that’s PR folks!
This site… it’s so freaking cool… words fail us. It’s a website and mailing list. A website and mailing list that tells busy brand builders like us where all the free drinks in town are. And not just our town. Other towns, too.
It tells us. Where. The Free. Drinks. Are.
We raise our Goblet of Rock in tribute.
"Needless to say, the beast was stunned.
Whip-crack went his Whoopy tail,
And the beast was done.
He asked us: ‘(snort) Be you angels?’
And we said, ‘Nay. We are but men.’
Rock!"
If you’ve ever wondered why you often start your week reading less-than-compelling information about this study or that over your corn flakes, Jack Shafer at Slate has the answer. Reporters don’t “do” weekends - unless you count a couple of sculling sessions at the local watering hole.
It seems a few press agents will “pre-release” information that’s set to “officially” release the following Monday to selected reporters on Friday so they don’t have to go out and do any actual reporting on Saturday and Sunday.
This is why, though scandal after scandal has rocked the executive branch lately and 3,400 American service people have died in Iraq, the story that assaulted readers from all sides yesterday had to do with the prevelance of people shopping for clothing online.
The city is outraged. Billboards are torn down. Reputations are dirtied. Children weep and parents everywhere shake their fists violently, praying for retribution.
And while the sign only lasted one week, business for Fetman Garland skyrockets.
Talk about some good, wholesome family values.
I would sit here and say I’m offended too, unfortunately, I’m too busy wishing I had my own law firm and that we had thought of this idea first.
Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings delivered the commencement ceremony address at Mortar-client Golden Gate University. We captured this footage of the Secretary’s speech on the importance of higher ed, in which she gives accolades to the graduating class coupled with an unexpected endorsement of Starbucks. Check out the video (in two parts):
While it’s far too early for any candidate to earn the highly coveted Mortar Endorsement, we thought we’d take a moment to heartily applaud these ads from New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. Two simple spots, with just a hint of humor to them, and the proverbial switchboards are lighting up.
The spots are the:
18th most viewed today on Youtube
3rd most viewed Political Video
2nd most linked-to political video
Why are people reacting so positviely to Richardson’s ads? Because political advertising is a wasteland.
And we’re insulting wastelands when we say that.
Richardson’s ads prove once again - creativity is the ultimate "force multiplier." It makes the little guy seem big. When you’re running a distant fourth in the horse race, do you do what everyone else is doing? We think not. We think, you get creative. Sure, being different is scary for some. (The D.C. establishment is, as usual, scratching its collective head over the spots,) And sure, everyone will tell you why you shouldn’t. But the payoff? Unquestionably the biggest bang for your buck there is.
C’mon Apple, talk about giving the world some leverage with a great idea like silhouettes and a simple lowercase “i.” 
