What the deuce?

Freaky beefy
2,100 calories. 5 inches of meat. For a limited time only in Japan. Could you eat it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCHhWX205bY
(source: Christian Science Monitor, 10/23/09)

Advocate
Anthony Toth loves Pan Am so much he's spent the last 20 years tracking down authentic bits and pieces to recreate a first-class cabin in his garage http://tinyurl.com/yfme7y8 . (source: Wall Street Journal, 10/27/09)

Badvocate
Those are people who say negative things about a brand online. They're about 20% of the world adult population and reach an average of 14 people with their opinions. (source: Weber Schandwick/Forbes, 10/2309)

It's cheap, but is it a good value?
According to a new grocery study, consumers don't care as much about price as about usefulness. "Works well, tastes good." and "Will it be consumed in its entirety by my family?" were criteria #1 and 2 for purchase. Price was #6. They found that people aren't really spending less at grocery, just being more careful about buying things that won't go to waste. For example people thought a multipack of chips where their family would only eat ½ the flavors and wouldn't touch the other ½ wasn't a good value, even though the multipack was really cheap. Waste equals expensive whether it really is expensive or not. (source: MediaPost, 10/23/09)

Show me the shelf talker
A new survey from Miller Zell shows instore marketing kicking ads' butts.
- 32% said instore marketing is very effective; 27% said the same about ads outside of stores
- 69% called the instore experience "make or break"
- 65% make lists, but 60% are still making brand decisions instore
- The most engaging materials? End-aisle (70%), merchandisers (62%), department signs (58%). Ceiling banners and mobiles were least impactful.
- Gen X & Y particularly like shelf strips and blades with lots of info
- Gen Y women were most influenced by instore marketing
(source: ManageSmarter. Com, 10/20/09)

The short list
According to Mintel, the food trend to watch in 2010 will be simplicity. Doesn't matter so much if the ingredients add up to healthy, but the list better not be too long. Items like Häagen-Dazs "Five," which has 5 ingredients, or Starbucks smoothies, now with a mere 4 ingredients. Also hot are more detailed descriptors. Take Triscuits which once were made with "wheat," but now contain "soft white winter wheat." (source: USA Today, 10/28/09)

Novel solution to traffic chaos
In La Paz, Bolivia, there are rules of the road, but there may as well not be for all drivers pay attention to them. Scary place for pedestrians. That's why you're likely to be helped across the street by a zebra. The 100 costumed, at risk youth, who are paid a solid hourly wage plus health insurance, are trained not only in traffic safety but also crowd dynamics and street performance. They've been at it for 8 years, and apparently are far more effective than the fines and coercion police had been plying to get motorists to heed crosswalks. (source: Christian Science Monitor, 10/28/09)

Duracell bunny
You read that right. Duracell had a bunny before Energizer, and he's ba-ack, in Europe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OHY-2bv0vk . (source: MediaPost's Out to Launch, 10/28/09)

Frosty upside your jack-o-lantern
When's it ok to break out holiday-themed ads? Consumers say:
- After Halloween (42%)
- After Labor Day (8%)
- After Thanksgiving (35%)
- Never (12%)
(source: AdweekMedia, 10/23/09)

Do-re-mi-fa...
Swedes make taking the stairs fun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw . (source: Cori. Hi, Cori!)

Godzilla vs. the hummer
Yup, that's a mantis sucking a hummingbird dry at a sugar-water feeder. The feeder's owner says once the mantis learned the trick, he did it over and over. Smart bug. (source: National Geographic, November 2009)

Consumer finance
If you owe $1K on your credit card at 20%, compounded annually, providing you pay nothing off, how long will it take for your debt to double? If you figured five years, you're one of only 46% of men and a frightening 26% of women who got it right. (source: Harvard Business Review, November 2009)

Happy 15th, banner ads
The first one appeared this week in 1994 on Hotwired.com, the first commercial e-zine, and a division of Wired magazine. (source: Ad Age, 10/27/09)