Renegotiated Propaganda
Worth1000.com ran a series of contests for the best photoshopped propaganda poster. This "Ride With Prozac" masterpiece, based on the WWII "Riding with Hitler", is one of the winning entries.
 |
| home | about | activities | benefits | join | knowledge | weblog | contacts | |
Worth1000.com ran a series of contests for the best photoshopped propaganda poster. This "Ride With Prozac" masterpiece, based on the WWII "Riding with Hitler", is one of the winning entries.
What Makes Food Look So Good in Ads
"This luscious-looking roasted turkey has been washed in dish washing detergent, cooked briefly, painted with ten coats of food colouring, and blowtorched (to give it that lovely roasted look!)"
Learn more about why ad food looks so good at this Canadian media literacy site.
Colonel Sanders Gets A Face Lift
"Col. Harland Sanders, the advertising icon of KFC restaurants for decades, has a new image as the company seeks younger customers.
Yum! Brands Inc., which operates the fried-chicken restaurants, is testing a more youthful version of Sanders image and bringing back the Kentucky Fried Chicken name to 50 stores that it's opening, company spokeswoman Bonnie Warschauer said."
-- Sun-Sentinel.com
Update: Sorry, the Sentinel article has apparently been achived and the link works no more. And welcome to the PlasticBag readers; you guys have made a month worth of traffic in one day.
Ronald McDonald To Get A Makeover
"Ronald McDonald - the iconic character that is not only a corporate mascot but also a global symbol of everything good and bad about America - is undergoing a makeover that will change his look, sense of humor and role at the fast-food chain.
McDonald's has been quietly tweaking the character's image in recent years as it struggled to revitalize its marketing, menu items and sales. Corporative executives are preparing for a coming out, of sorts, of the revamped Ronald in the near future.
The clown will frequently drop the familiar red, yellow and white jumpsuit and size 29EEE shoes and don different outfits, such as a basketball jersey, a beach outfit and a tuxedo. In all, there are seven new costumes, Light said.Plans also include depicting Ronald at sporting events on the tray liners, creating a television show to be aired in U.S. schools with Ronald as a "motivator" to get kids to eat right and to be more active. Similar computer software is in the works."
Fighting Flatulence Through "Ailment Placement"
Rekha took a break from her thesis and wrote on Technology Review's blog about what looked like an unlikely plug for the irritable bowel syndrome on, of all places, "America's Next Top Model":
"A friend who's a pharmaceutical sales rep told me it's quite possible that I witnessed a cousin of product placement -- what I'm calling 'ailment placement' until I learn the term of art. The IBS mention (and ensuing conversation about flatulence) might be related to a new marketing push by an IBS drug approved not so long ago by the FDA. I won't name it because this is speculative at this point."
Earlier:
Illnesses Invented by Advertising
Motivated by Super Heros
"Nearly all men can withstand failure... But if you want to test a man's character; give him power." Motivational posters, by Marvel.
In the spirit of equal airtime, see these uplifting demotivational posters, by Despair, Inc.
Product Placement Comes to Broadway
"Product placement and endorsement deals have long been staples in television shows, movies and radio programs and even, more recently, on video games. But they have been rare on Broadway. Now, advertisers, casting about for new ways to attract increasingly distracted consumers, have turned their attention to the theater world. And producers, always looking for extra cash to offset rising costs, are receptive.
The deals are for amounts estimated to range from $500,000 to more than $1 million, depending on how long they last and how extensive they are. But just as there are critics of shows, there are critics of branding Broadway, who worry about blurring the line between art and commerce."
-- NY Times, x-posted on Advertising Lab
Media Literacy and Game of Advertising
Advertising Challenge is part of the Media Smart media literacy initiative for Britain's middle schools, supported by Masterfoods, P&G, Unilever, Turner Broadcasting, Viacom Brand Solutions and many others. Stay Free Magazine says the initiative also distributes a free Hasbro-made board game about advertising.
Illnesses Invented by Advertising
Pronation / Muscle Builder Shoes
Bone Hunger / Scott's Emulsion
Bustringitis / Tomgut Tennis Strings
Choker's Cramp / Super-Shell Gasoline
Coffeeitis / Black Gold Coffee
Corditis / Belden Electrical Cord
Dermerosion / ompeiian Cosmetics
-- more at Stay Free Magazine
U.S. Graphic Novel Market Hits $200M
"Total estimated retail sales of graphic novels in the U.S. in 2004 were between $205 million and $210 million, about a 35% increase over 2003 sales, according to Milton Griepp, director of ICV2.com, a trade news Web site focusing on comics and pop-culture merchandise. The sales figure includes sales from general bookstores and the comics shop market. The 35% growth rate was down from the nearly 50% sales increase posted in 2003."
-- Publishers Weekly (subscription)
Earlier:
Comeback: Advertising in Comics
McDonald's: R U Lovin' It?
Not everyone is lovin' it. Steven at The Sneze is wisnin' they used protection and is givin' it roofies.
MIT Forum: Branding Urban Landscapes
If you are in the area on Thursday, come to the MIT Communication Forum session on Branding The Urban Landscape. The three speakers for the evening are Jon Cropper from Y&R Brands, Thomas Ryan from EMI Music North America, and Jesse Shapins, who invented Yellow Arrow.
The event is free and open to the public. Details:
Thursday, April 21, 2005
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
MIT 6-120
Also, don't forget about the MIT conference on media in transition, May 6-8.
Billboard Liberators
Wooster Collective: Billboard Liberators Retrospective
Earlier:
Digital Billboards: Defacing
Apple Engineers Trading Cards
"After a bit of laying out the cards, adding cheesy trading card / Magic the Gathering inspired humor to it and waiting until the backdrop artwork is public, I present you with the full set of the WWDC 2005 Engineer Trading Cards game."
-- CodingMonkeys.de
The Other Side of Consumerism
Chris Jordan's photography: "This body of work examines the phenomenon of American consumerism. In large-format color, these images take the viewer on a tour behind the façade of the American Dream into the underbelly of our consumer society, where the vast cumulative effects of our individual consumer choices are more visible."
Robber Inspired by TV Commercial
"The first time, authorities said, Timothy Connor just slipped a note to a bank teller. The next time, he slipped the note while nonchalantly talking on his cellphone. Then he stopped using notes altogether. He just spoke on the cellphone, and demanded the money. After one robbery, police said, he shook the woman teller's hand after she gave him the money, as if it were a common transaction.
His technique, police said, is similar to one used in an Ameriquest Mortgage Company commercial that debuted during the Super Bowl. In the commercial, a man talking on his cellphone at a convenience store tells the person on the phone that he/she is getting robbed, and the store clerk thinks the store is being robbed."
-- Boston Globe via AdLand
Logos and Labels Losing Consumer Appeal
"A new study by Brand Keys of fashion and apparel brand labels and logos demonstrates their power declines over aging market segments. What was surprising was that even among the youngest age group (21 to 34), over twice as many respondents said logos and labels are now less important to them than those that said the logos and labels are now more important."
-- press release
Flickr Brandspotting
AdPulp writes:
"We know that brand managers need be monitoring what's being said about their brands in the bloatosphere, by using Technorati, for instance. It might also be wise for them to see what's being posted to Flickr and other photo-sharing sites. In a quick experiment I turned up all sorts of interesting brand-centered images, proving (in case you're still wondering how well advertising works) just how deeply brands are embedded in our daily lives. By using "tags" one can easily find just about anything of interest on Flickr. Simply type "flickr dot com slash photos slash tags slash (your brand here)".
McChronicles Chronicles Brand Experience
The author of McChronicles blogs about his and others' bad (and good) experience in McDonald's restaurants around the country.
Gatbustaz Release McGangsta
"Gatbustaz have just released the first single from their Gut U Bitch EP." Dated April 1.
Earlier:
BigMac to Buy Its Way Into Hip Hop Tunes
Startbucks Delocator
"Currently, independently owned cafés around the world are under aggressive attack; and their numbers have been sharply decreasing for many years. Delocator.net is a means to preserve these local businesses. On the delocator.net web site, users are enlisted into a temporary coalition to post information about cafés in their neighborhood (for instance, location, hours, open mic. nights, local artist exhibits, book readings, wireless internet service availability, organic and/or vegetarian food options, etc.)"
Rival's Ad Ambushes 'Apprentice' Deal
"Marketers who tie into product placement deals that are often known well in advance of when they air, give competitors the opportunity to ambush their efforts. That was the case when pizza chain Papa John's broke an ad campaign ambushing rival Domino's Pizza's placement in last week's episode of NBC's 'The Apprentice.'"
--MediaPost
..BLOG'S HOME
-
This blog has moved to a new location.
- This Blog Has Moved
- The Marketing Empire of Neopets
- Misguided Business Metaphors
- Cola Wars: Museum of Beverage Containers and Advertising
- Russian Agency Streamlines Product Placement in Books
- Subservient Donald
- Town Changes Name In Exchange for Free Satellite TV
- Drawing Logos from Memory
- Blogs Encourage Ad Critique
- Focus Groups Under Fire
- January 2005
- February 2005
- March 2005
- April 2005
- May 2005
- June 2005
- July 2005
- August 2005
- September 2005
- October 2005
- November 2005
- December 2005
- March 2006
- Current Posts
- MIT Advertising Lab
- Agenda Inc.
- Brand Cameo
- Brand Experience Lab
- CMO Magazine
- Jeff Greenfield
- Branded Entertainment News
- Church of The Customer: Evangelism
- Inside Branded Entertainment
Visit other projects by our members:
- Advertising Lab
- Billboardom
PREVIOUS POSTS
ARCHIVES
NEWS & BLOGS
Industry Research
