What happens in Loleta…

Chocolate makes it all better
According to a new study, in the US, the recession has consistently brought out feelings of disappointment about ambitions and dreams, and a desire to escape. How are we escaping? Through small indulgences like candy, booze (at home), and take-out. Candy manufacturers all had record results last quarter. (source: Marketing Daily, 3/31/09)

Scrape poof snap
It doesn't take much to make a successful iPhone app. Case in point, Zippo. Flick your phone, it opens and lights. Flick it again and it snaps shut with the distinctive Zippo sound. It's been in the top 40 for 5 months, lived in the top 3 for 2 weeks, and is still downloaded 100K times a week. But it takes much to make them stick--only 1% of apps are still in use over the long term. Use falls off significantly a month after downloading. (source: Ad Age, 3/30/09)

Sheep pong
Wales: Where the men are great whistlers, the dogs are serious suck-ups, and the sheep are too stupid to just say no. Over 4.5 million views. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw

Go for baroque
The first day of spring was only last week, but here come the home decor trends for fall: African influence, citrus palette, industrial chic, French romantic, flowers everywhere. (source: Metropolitan Home) Check it out here
http://www.pointclickhome.com/style_guide/articles/design_trend_forecast_fall_2009

Hook ‘em quick or be zapped
Make the first 3 seconds count. According to a new biometric study commissioned by TiVo, that's all you have to get viewers involved in your commercial before they fast forward. But don't stop there, if your ad loses momentum, even if they started watching, they won't finish. This one got test subjects' attention and kept it all the way through. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr-wISyGSW0 (source: Ad Age 3/31/09)

We really don't like the new package
It seems it wasn't just the vocal minority that didn't like Tropicana's new brand look. The company's dollar sales for the 2 months with the new packaging were down 19% (vs. 5% for the rest of the refrigerated-orange-juice category) and their competitors' are up. That kind of result deserves another look. Old (and future) package at left; new (and soon former) at far left. (source: Ad Age, 4/3/09)

Fast, friendly, clean
That's Walmart's new in-store motto. You see, the average Walmart supercenter shopper spends only 21 minutes in the store. So much store, so little time. Hence Walmart's new simplification strategy--making main aisles clean zones and reducing the number of items the stores carry. And they're following up: Walmart surveys about 500,000 customers each month. Bonuses at all levels will be based on successful implementation of the motto. (source: The Morning News, local news for Northwest Arkansas)

Girl in the hood
An information-age retelling of the Grimm fairytale. College project of Swedish design student, Tomas Nilsson. Best appreciated in full screen. (source: Very Short List, 3/30/09)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y54ABqSOScQ

This is a water bottle
It may not be sexy enough for FIJI, but this bamboo-and-palm paper container is a great idea for disaster relief and other occasions when you just can't bring your own. Since there's no doubt if it's been opened or not, maybe airlines would let us carry on again? (source: goodlifer.com/Chatfield--tx, Michael)

Quote of the week
"Cool only lasts for so long, but being useful is something that applies to everyone." - Chris Cox, Facebook's director of products on how he and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, make decisions for their brand. (source: NY Times, 3/28/09)

Punxsutawney
Aka "Gnat Town" as named by the pre-European locals. Not such a bad provenance if you consider Memaloose Island, WA (corpse), or Snoqualmie Falls, WA (the worthless people), or Anaktuvuk Pass, AK (the place where dung is found). Oh yea, Loleta, CA..."Let's have sex." Thank you Colonel Rochester for being egocentric, and happy 175th birthday to the ROC. (source: National Geographic, April 09)

Brands consumers recommend most
1. USAA (an insurance company, wow)
2. Apple
3. Amazon.com
4. Costco.com
5. Google
6. Facebook
7. Wikipedia
8. eBay
9. Craigslist
10. bn.com (Barnes & Noble)
(source: Satmetrix/Brandweek, 3/31/09)

There's Nemo
This seems like a lot of work, but a fun idea all the same. People walking by empty store windows in 6 US cities this April will be enticed by motion-activated digital seaweed. A prompt will tell them to call a number on their cell where they can then create their own digital fish and make it do aquabatics in the window using their cell's buttons. Afterward they get a text giving them a URL for Carnival Cruises. (souce: PROMO, 3/31/09)