iWOWZA

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.

Eos Botique: “Car Freak Style Addicts” Rejoice

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.

I don’t want candy!

Mother’s Day ads. Brings to mind flowers, candy, jewelry, foofy pampering stuff… But that’s not what I want. Not one bit.

Don’t give me candy to make my waist expand even further. Send me no flowers that last a few days at best. And even though jewelery won’t wilt or make me fat, I don’t really wear much of it. And don’t get me started on pampering.

Since I am a Working Mom, my pampering time is almost nil; by default, I usually take
care of myself last (I am at the bottom of the totem pole below my
preschooler Nora, my uber-industrious husband Dell, and
Otto, the family English Bull Terrier).

Now, a new cell phone would be great, since mine is getting tired.
Or a new laptop to help me keep track of the family calendar and sundry
needs. Or Tivo (I know – are we the only household in San Francisco that owns a TV and doesn’t have Tivo?). Give me technology tools to help me make our collective lives better.

MarketingProfs is speaking my language in this article entitled "The (Shiny and New) Way to a Woman’s Heart" by Marti Barletta, author of PrimeTime Women: How to Win the Hearts, Minds, and Business of Boomer Big Spenders (Jan. 2007), and the founder and CEO of consulting think-tank The TrendSight Group. Marti insightfully writes:

"Guys, listen up… the way to a woman’s heart is not through these traditional ‘feminine’ gifts. What’ll really make her swoon and sigh is sleek, metal, shiny, and fast—women want the latest and greatest consumer electronics and have the hots for high tech, just like men."

Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) states that women buy 57% of consumer electronics, and according to Best Buy, women influence 90% of consumer electronics purchases. In fact, in 2004, the CEA started its annual "Technology Is A Girl’s Best Friend" campaign and awards program, which gives awards in eight product categories for excellence in marketing-to-women.

Marti goes on to show some hits and misses on marketing-to-women in the article, and here’s a prime example of a hit (coming from a "real, not ideal" woman, I can totally relate to this ad):

"My favorite consumer electronics ad comes from Epson.

This ad is chock full of examples of marketing-to-women principles:

* "People power"—Women are hardwired to respond to people as the most important and interesting clement in life. Focus on the prospect, not the product.

* "We not me"—Women are the family "memory keepers," and they look for ways to create experiences where everyone can have a great time.

* "Real not ideal"—Women respond better to advertising that features real people, real situations, real product usage, and real reactions. This ad is genuine, and the people in it look like they could be my next door neighbors."

Thanks Marti for writing this article. Who knows, maybe I will get a cell phone for Mother’s Day instead of a bouquet. And if I don’t, I will just go out and buy it myself – Word from Da Muddah!

TMNT Beamvertising: Brazilian Turtle Rescue

Very cool use of beamvertising… Watch the video.

From Adrants.

"Beamvertising is back and bringing the Ninja Turtles to life outside the big screen.

For the Brazilian film Tartarugas Ninja, the beamvertised Turtles enacted a mini-rescue
against a building, utilizing its actual dimensions, which made the
show that much more realistic."

MortarBlog reveals North Korean secrets.

AbeBooks.com promotes fake books to remind readers "If you can’t find it here, it doesn’t exist". Click thru for more examples. Seen on Adrants and AdPunch.

Bleeding coasters save lives. But scare Mortar.

Indians love their beer. They are also rather prone to mow down their fellow countrymen after a Kingfisher or two. To combat the problem, Mumbai ad agency Contract has produced beer coasters that appear to bleed when wet.

Um. And we thought that great creative would be immune to outsourcing? Visit the agency here. See the work here. To see a Google map of Mumbai click here (hey you’re not the only one who thought it was just outside Croydon). Thanks AdRants.

Who Needs The Kwik-E-Mart?

While we remain incredibly bitter about the replacement of San Francisco’s legendary 7-11 Club with an actual 7-11, we applaud the retailer’s sense of humor and market savvy for repackaging 12 of their stores as “Kwik-E-Marts” in anticipation of the release of The Simpsons Movie. 

According to MediaWeek, customers will also be able to purchase KrustyO’s cereal, Buzz Cola and Squishees, and customers will find messages like “Mmmm … sandwich" on food wrappers. 

As Chief Wiggum would say, "That’s some nice cross-promotion, there, Lou."

It’s enough to make us want to break into song

.

Vanilla Ice Does TurboTax

As reported on Church of the Customer Blog yesterday, Intuit’s TurboTax unit has teamed up with rapper Vanilla Ice to launch a citizen marketer-esque YouTube video contest. Contestants videotape themselves rapping about the tax software for a chance to win $25,000.

We are hoping our resident Account Executives, Suzanne and Molly will join in the fun; they have some incredible rhythm they share with us daily in the Mortar hallways.

Check out the contest here…

What makes advertising successful?

CREATIVITY AND EMOTION ARE THE TWO KEY CHARACTERISTICS!!!!

What you say? Jam-packing an ad with product feature after product feature doesn’t work? That’s crazy talk!

Dr. Heath from the University of Bath has got the answer we have been searching for. Not only the answer, but proven scientific results.

"Dr Robert Heath, from the University of Bath’s
School of Management, found that advertisements with high levels of
emotional content enhanced how people felt about brands, even when
there was no real message.

However, advertisements which were low on
emotional content had no effect on how favorable the public were
towards brands, even if the ad was high in news and information.

Dr Heath, working with the research company
OTX, tested 23 TV ads that were on air at the time in the USA and 20
that were on air in the UK, for their levels of emotional and rational
content.

They then asked a second sample of 200 people
in each country how favorable they were towards the brands in the
advertisements. Those who had been exposed to ads with high emotional
content showed a marked positive shift in their favorability towards
the brand. But those who had seen ads with low emotional content showed
no real shift in favorability, even when they had a high level of news
and information."

Thus, the most effective advertising  to establish a preference among brands are ads with a large amount of emotional content and very little actual information.

"In advertising, it appears to be the case that it’s not what you say, but the way that you say it, that gets results."

Read the whole article  here

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

XLI Candy: Three We Liked. Three We Hated. Three We Were Kinda “Meh” About.

Man, what a steaming pile that Super Bowl was. Eight turnovers!? Eight!? And would it be possible for someone at CBS to spend $0.99 on a frickin’ squeegee for the camera? (It’s called "rain" fellas. They have a lot of it in South Florida. You might have been better prepared.)
The ads? In keeping with the theme of this game, they were soggy, sloppy, and barely – just barely – capable of holding our interest.

But there is good news – only 10 days until pitchers and catchers report.

Three We Liked:

Career Builder: “Promotion”

Sticky Note Guy? Dude With Notebook on Head? Fighting to the death in the Promotion Pit? Oh hells-to-the-yes. Let’s take a simple idea: “This site is where all the good jobs are,” and blow it out in a humorous, eye-catching manner. Their other spot, “Training Session,” was terrific, too, but the audio was a bit muddy. GRADE: A
P.S. Where was Monster.com this year?

E-Trade: “Bank Robbery”

A very clever, well-cast, well-executed idea: Your bank is robbing you. We won’t. Dramatic and traffic-stopping. We expect no less from E-Trade.  GRADE: A-

NFL: “It’s Hard To Say Goodbye”

A lot better than the game. Great soundtrack, funny visuals (We especially enjoyed the pressure washer being applied to the Body Paint Guy,) and huge extra points for the last-minute Brett Favre reference. Nice touch on the logo-as-heartbeat outro, too.  GRADE: A-

Honorable Mention: Bud Light “Guy With Ax.” GM: “Robot’s Dream,”  Garmin: “Mapzilla.”

Three We Hated:

Blockbuster: “Mouse”

Are you #^&*ing kidding us!? You guys spend $2.6 mil on the media alone, and the best idea that excretes from your boardroom is to dust off the guinea pig (who wasn’t funny the first time around,) and have him “click” a real mouse? (get it? “click?” “mouse?” ) You know, Blockbuster, you actually do have something to say: “You can walk into our stores, you can’t do that with Netflix,” and yet you ignore it for…this? Who’s in charge over there, Rex Grossman?  GRADE: D-

Coke: “Coke Side Of Life/Motorcycle”

OK, new rule: Soda Companies Are Prohibited From Doing The “Hip-Old-People” Thing Ever Again. 
No more rappin’ grannies. No more skateboarding granddads. Just stop. This idea was hackneyed in the 1980’s – it’s just tragic now. Also, you didn’t fool anyone with the retread of the Grand Theft Auto spot. Not only is it no longer topical, the use of the retread tells your audience – “Welcome to the Coke Side Of Life, Where We’re Too Damn Lazy To Do A New Ad.”  GRADE: D

SalesGenie: “Doing Great”

This ad is so bad, it’s good. We’re talking, Mentos-In-The-UnIronic-Years-Bad.
The “I’m Making Up For My Tiny Genitalia” car?
The blonde who says “how a bout a ride!” wink-wink-nudge-nudge?
The boss inviting him to dinner?
You have to be kidding. You guys are kidding, right? Wait. You’re not kidding? Well, we suppose if all you have to sell are “100 sales leads,” (and none of them are the Glengarry leads, we checked,) then you’ve got to work with what you have.

But the piece de resistance?

“Motley, only fools work hard. I work smart.”

That’s the line your agency used, isn’t it.

GRADE: F. Or A. We’re not quite sure.

DISHONORABLE MENTION: All the Doritos stuff, particularly the Fat Obnoxious Cashier. Also, Chevrolet.

Three We’re Pretty Much “Meh” About:

Nationwide: “K-Fed.”

Losing the element of surprise by leaking this early probably didn’t do this spot any favors. It ended up, like its star, overhyped. It was pretty decent, really – terrific production values, topical, and Mr. Federline clearly has a healthy sense of humor about himself. But we don’t think it’ll sell much insurance. Still, pretty good effort. We just weren’t bowled over. Meh.  GRADE: B+

SIERRA MIST: “Beard Comb-Over.”

Great visual. And at least there weren’t any rappin’ grannies. But – Sierra Mist peeps? Here’s a free tip from the Mortar: Michael Ian Black = Kiss Of Death. He’s like the fat girl at the party who keeps getting drunker and sluttier in the vain hope she’ll become "fun." You just know she’s going to barf on something that you don’t want barf all over and in the end…everyone just wants the pain to stop. GRADE: B-   

BUDWEISER: “Dalmatian”

Enough with the frickin’ Dalmatians, already.  Let’s agree on a ten-year moratorium on spotted dogs, ok? It was cute about five years ago. Now it’s just predictable and boring. And that "Crab" spot? Great print idea. Not thrilling on TV. Kind of like the game. GRADE: C-