Titillate me, Elmo
American Apparel has announced a limited-edition, 40th anniversary line of Sesame Street T-shirts. Adult and kid sizes. Sing along with Cookie: "One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn't belong..." (source: Marketing Daily, 10/7/09)
"Real" beauty
Nobody needs more free makeup totes. Instead Estee Lauder is offering a makeover and photo for your Facebook page or blog or dating profile. There is a logo in the background, but Estee's hoping you'll pay back the favor by not retouching. (source: Ad Age , 10/8 /09)
Sorry, Rush
The US brand is #1 again, up from #7 in 2008. France is holding steady at #2. (source: Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands IndexSM)
Olé
Best part? Nary a disclaimer in sight. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy_qMuWgPQA
Plastics, you're dismissed
US Canteen: now that's a product I never thought I'd see advertised in the NY Times. But all the stink about Sigg and BPA opened up a golden opportunity. This model hasn't been used by the military since the end of the Vietnam War, but it could be coming soon to a yoga studio near you.
Here today...
Kraft only just introduced Vegemite iSnack 2.0 -- a reformulated version of the original spread with a new, crowd-sourced name. But it seems that people who create and vote for product names online have little in common with people who buy salty-yeasty stuff in stores. So iSnack no more. (source: Brandchannel, 10/2/09)
Cool vs. stupid
Things don't always play out in the real world the way they do in creative reviews. Case in point, Toyota thought it would be a cool idea to send people emails from a fictional drunken English soccer hooligan saying he was coming to stay, with his pit bull, at their place to hide from the police. Send them his bills for hotel damage. And a link to his MySpace page with info about "the riot." After nine such emails, they finally sent a video showing them they'd been punked and that it was all just publicity for the Matrix car model. Ha ha. Well, one woman was so freaked out by this that she couldn't eat or sleep and kept a machete with her in case the aggressive weirdo showed up. She's suing Toyota. Something about terrorism. (source: Ad Age, 10/2/09)
One more time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZIvgQ9ik48
Buffalo's on the rise
Unfortunately, not the city, but the flavor. In the last 2 years, 75 new food products have appeared with the word Buffalo in their names. Why? Boomers. a) tastebuds lose sensitivity with time and want stronger stimulation. b) Buffalo flavor, though not the products it's usually on, of course, doesn't have a lot of fat, salt, or calories, so you can get a lot of yum without clogging your arteries. (source: USA Today, 10/8/09)
Crowd-sourced cell network
O2 in UK has launched a cell service called GiffGaff that has no customer service and offers users free calls and texts based on their answering fellow users' queries and selling the service to their friends and family. "Service reps" will be user rated like eBay sellers. The biggest contributors to sales and service will receive rebates, like profit-sharing, twice a year. The only thing the company has full control of is billing. http://www.giffgaff.com/ (source: Ad Age, 10/5/09)
Hi, I'm a PC
Microsoft says this wasn't meant to be viral (d'uh). In case you're not one of the million or so people who've already laughed at it, here ya go http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cX4t5-YpHQ
Stop making sense
It'll make you smarter. Humans are wired to find patterns. A new study says that when we're confronted with something wacky, our logic sensors kick into high gear and we're likely to notice something we hadn't before. Disorientation begets creativity. So the next time you're totally stumped, try some David Lynch, or maybe Sarah Palin. (source: NYTimes, 10/5/09)
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