Poets of Commerce

Keeping up with the news you can use.

2011-10-08T07:41:00.000-07:00

Need to know of what's hot, but don't have time to cruise the web. Value journalism? Not just the buzz, but a thoughtfully edited compliation, organized by your business interest? Then check out SmartBrief. For example, here are the top five most-clicked links in SmartBrief on Social Media:

The Lost 1984 Video: young Steve Jobs introduces the Macintosh

2011-10-07T06:56:00.000-07:00

Steve Job's baby was totally awesome. Not to date myself (as much as I enjoy that), but my dad had one of these: a Macintosh 512 K. It may not have been the first Apple personal computer (the Lisa came before it), but it was the first PC to have WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) and a GUI (graphical user interface) if I recall correctly. The programs it ran are still the bones of today's robust graphics programs, like MacPaint. And not only did it talk, but you could choose different voices.

Too bad Apple's computers are so high-priced. Where it used to be the computer of the everyman, it now leverages "snoot appeal".

10 Facebook Timeline Designs That Will Blow You Away [PICS]

2011-10-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

10 Facebook Timeline Designs That Will Blow You Away [PICS]

Facebook app called Timeline lets you "easily" rearrange your profile page. I couldn't find any information when I searched on Facebook itself.
But for the FB geeks and designers out there, this looks like it could be a lot of fun.

Search-Engine-Friendly Design and Development Basics[1]

2011-09-29T17:49:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's a good idea to review the basics -- whether it's SEO or watercolor painting. I remember when I was finishing up my art school courses at School of Visual Arts, and decided to take a drawing class at my local night school. I learned as much there as I had in college. Below, you'll see what I've condensed from SEO authority, Seomoz. And whether you're an SEO pro or new to the whole idea of search engine optimization, I hope you'll either learn from or get refreshed by these handy guidelines.

Indexing

HTML is good. Flash is bad.

By using tools like Google'scache, SEO-browser.com, the MozBar or Yellowpipe you can see what elements ofyour content are visible and indexable to the engines.

According to Seomoz, theyhave "a nifty tool called 'Term Extractor' that will display words andphrases ordered by frequency."

Keyword Density and PageOptimization

Contrary to popular belief,keyword usage and targeting are only a small part of the search engines'ranking algorithms according to SEOMOZ. However, they recommend that you:

· Place your keyword closeto the beginning of text.

· Use the keyword at leastonce in the

o Title tag

o H1 header tag of thepage

o alt attribute of animage

o meta description tag

o URL

· In the body copy, use itat least 3X, bold it at least once.

Title Tags

Experts agree that the titletag is the most important place to use keywords to achieve high rankings(afterall, it is the summary of the site that comes up in search).

Keep your most important copy to 70 characters or less, asthat is all that shows on the page.

Meta Tags

The meta description tag serves the function of advertisingcopy, drawing readers to your site from the results and thus, is an extremelyimportant part of search marketing. Crafting a readable, compelling descriptionusing important keywords (notice how Google "bolds" the searchedkeywords in the description) can draw a much higher click-through rate ofsearchers to your page.

Redundancy confuses search engines

Give each page unique copy. If that's not possible, say youhave text and a PDF download of that text on the same page, you can use a "301" redirectin the PDF's URL. Alternatively, you can do a "Canonical URL tag" inthe HTML description of the page. You'll have to look up what canonical means for yourself :)

[1]http://seomoz.org. "The Basics of Search Engine Friendly Design andDevelopment" . http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo/basics-of-search-engine-friendly-design-and-development.Accessed 9/22/11

Optimize search by speaking like a person, not a corporation.

2011-09-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

You can write for people and search engines, too.

Recently I wanted to test my instincts and show the client how well I was writing copy for search-friendliness.
Writers have a natural tendency to make up terms like the one I just used. But when writing online, you need to think quite literally: keeping the intelligence level of your search engine robots...not not to mention the 6th-grade level literacy of your readers... in mind. That doesn't mean you have to publish the same copy over and over again (in fact, duplicate content on different pages will confuse the search engines) or dumb everything down. But you do need to think what is the person looking for and what would they type into the search engine. In this case, I was appealing to high-level managers to attend a marketing course.

Since this course costs more for 4 days than I make in the month, I figured I'd appeal to a 10th grade reading level. Then I tried to instill some emotion into the writing, as I usally do. What I tested (using google search) and found, was that a colloquial terms outranked the business terminology. See below (in bold) how the marketing term "customer-centric" performed compared to "give the customer what they want", outranking it by about 500 to 1.

Here's how some of the terms used stacked up.

customer-centric marketing 1,360,000
customer engagementmarketing 5,530 M
customer engagement7,610,000 results
customer centered marketing2,130,000
customer experience82,400,000 results
marketing innovation 102,000M
what the customer wants196,000,000 results
giving the customer whatthey want 106,000,000
givethe customer what they want 521,000,000 results

The Mad Men Account by Daniel Mendelsohn | The New York Review of Books

2011-09-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

I just started watching the Mad Men series via the Wii and Netflix. I'd tried watching it when it first aired. But I couldn't stomach it. It was just too depressing. I had believed in the "Golden Age of Advertising." You could be creative and make lots of money! But by 1980 that era had passed. We'd entered the age of feminism, and unlike Peg, it didn't occur to me what a lethal combination it was to be both a young woman and a lousy secretary!

I had the nerve, as I sat behind my selectric, of telling one of the older print rep guys that my name was not "honey." I had the silly nerve to suggest to the alcoholic production chief process improvements after only a year of typing.

In Mad Men, we see the emptiness of the early '60's zeitgeist, through a glass darkly. These characters are as plastic and fantastic and self-serving as a slick ad. Even though not everyone in the early '60's—even in advertising—was a racist, misogynist, bigot, chain-smoking sex and alcohol addict. Unlike the reviewer, I think this show is filmed, acted and directed brilliantly. The characters walk stiffly like headless mannequins through their blank lives, consumed with image over substance.

When I was a little girl, my older sister's Barbie had heavy blue-lidded eyes and a big bald spot on the top of her skull when you took out out her pony tail. She would make out with the Lone Ranger. I couldn't abide by this so I lynched her over the upstairs railing. I still remember feeling remorse for that. I knew I was being "bad" ...But now I am glad I did.

2011-09-14T08:09:00.000-07:00

Giving Customers What They Want

Before "customer-centric" marketing grabbed the ear of the executive suite copywriters were crying in the wilderness: "Give your customers what they want." In the process of writing copy, the copywriter has to make stuff up they think the customer wants -- not just what they want to hear. In doing so, they are providing their clients with invaluable creativity at a very reasonable price. But all too often, when a copywriter even questions a creative brief, or makes a suggestion not on the brief, they get their hands slapped.

I'd like to remind marketers to think of customers/potential customers as an audience, rather than a target, and the copywriter as a translator between the two. Equip your writer with your ideas, the support information they ask for and work with them on a direction. If you don't give them that, don't be surprised when they "fill in the blanks" differently than you expect. The writer should be encouraged to make suggestions about what the product can deliver, not discouraged.

Speak Softly and Listen to Your Copywriter

Think how you would feel if you were the object of a sales pitch, and you'll understand the challenge the writer faces as the intermediary between you and your customer. Ask yourself these questions when reviewing your copy:

"Do I want to be yelled at?" (how many times must you say free and how loud?)
"Do I believe that?"
"Does that sound true?"
"Am I giving the person an idea they can focus on?"
"Am I putting the person to sleep with too much information?"
"Am I giving the person too little information?"
"Does the information relate to a need or desire the person has?"
"Am I wasting this person's time by using the same words my competitor's use?"
"Why would they choose me over my competition?"
"Do I like listening to 'corp speak' or do I prefer conversations?"

Niche Marketing through RSS Feeds (RSS marketing basics)

2011-09-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

What is RSS? Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary (RSS) finds and gathers headlines and snippets of content (both text and multimedia) together with their links from across the web. RSS content management software organizes these feeds by topic, and sometimes category. Users select the topics they want to read about through a news feed, either installed on their computer or through an online service, such as delicious (which I use through my Yahoo! account) or newsgator. Then you can have the service deliver the latest news of current interest to you to your email. Here's a list of RSS readers and aggregators.

By subscribing to an RSS feed, you can stay up to the minute with industry buzz. RSS is a great tool for market research and competitive analysis. If there’s a news or blog storm brewing, you’ll be among the first to know about it.

By syndicating your content through RSS, you’re creating a viral niche marketing opportunity – with a virtually unlimited ability to be linked by any number of subscribers or sites. As a promotional tool you can
Feature your news aggregator button on your site. Put an RSS newsfeed on the news section of your website, and news sources interested in your topic may find you even if you never send them a news release.
Unlike email marketing, the opt-in is built-in.
RSS is spam-free, so you don’t have to worry about your information getting blocked.

What’s more, you can pick up fresh content daily to add to your site, since copyright on shared content has been cleared by the posting source. Timely commentaries direct from your website or blog, if RSS enabled, create more exposure for your company.

You can find those who've bookmarked a topic you're interested or engaged in. And then add them to your network and share bookmarks back and forth. Sites where you frequently post and to which you link may feature your RSS link -- so it's a great link building tool. With a bit of dedication, you can become an industry insider in a topical circle on the web.

The Ultimate Niche Marketing Tool

The beauty of RSS for marketers is that your prospect is already receptive to your message. RSS allows the user ultimate control over how and when they receive information, which can comethrough their TiVO, iPOD, text message, satellite radio, and other consumer-controlled media. In fact, RSS is increasingly
interactive: Yahoo! Shopping allows users to create lists of products they like or don’t like, and distribute these lists via RSS. So, although it’s a bit of a double-edged sword if your news isn't necessarily good news, marketers who are on their toes can really tune into their customers.

American Life Project found that 6 million Americans use RSS aggregators for online news in 2006. Slashdot.org, a leading edge technology blog, showed that 73 percent of its existing RSS users intend to increase their RSS consumption this year.

Ready for RSS Advertising?

Advertising embedded in RSS feeds is a hot topic. You can find case studies on Pheedo and other web analysis services. Pheedo as well as FeedBurner and Syndicate IQ provide RSS Metrics. You can get statistics on the daily circulation, activity, advertising stats and the number of requests for your feed.

Words Matter: "a super Moon" or a "Supermoon" hoax or not.

2011-03-16T05:46:00.000-07:00

The day before the terrible Tsunami struck Japan, Yahoo! News carried a story entitled "Will March 19 'Supermoon' Trigger Natural Disasters?" picked up from Life's Little Mysteries (March 10). After a quick read it was clear that the term "Supermoon" was coined by an astrologer, but the possibility that the moon might have a greater pull on ocean tides, thus relieving pressure on the tectonic plates (especially in the Northwest U.S.) was posited by a U. of Washington scientist. I did wonder if the 8.9 earthquake may have been affected by this closeness, called a perigee. But by the 4th paragraph it was clear that it's the fullness of the moon, not it's distance, that affects tides. Theoretically it should affect seismic activity, but scientifically there has not been any historic correlation.

Life's Little Mysteries (March 11 story) clarifies the correlation between seismic activity and the moon. A scientist friend of mine said that the "Supermoon" was a "hoax". But that's not quite true. The "Supermoon" is really a superb moon. It underscored to me that words do matter -- especially about the way we interpret facts vs. ideas. And that neither science nor mysticism is clearly separated in our concept of the world. The only thing that clarifies the distinction is the use of words.

Unfair Balance in Pharmaceutical Ads

2010-11-17T08:48:00.000-08:00

Playing Literati on Yahoo! the other day, I decided to look at the banner ad interrupting my game and noticed it was for "Pristiq". Well, I like Pristiq very much, so I actually read this ad: All it had was the "Pristiq" logo and a scrolling list of "Important Safety Information" along with a button for "Important Safety Information" and a link to their website.

The most important safety information is so dull and long that I doubt very many people want to read it on a banner ad. I mean, this ad didn't even show the wind-up doll. There was nothing but the brand's logo on it. Not even the FDA-approved indication.

I propose making the important safety information more palatable to the average consumer -- after all, I'm a consumer myself. Why not something like, "Pristiq, like all anti-depressants in its class, has not been ok'd by the FDA for adolescents or pregant women. Also, people with X, Y, Z problems really need to be careful about it. For more safety information click here.

Brainstorming and Climate Change

2010-09-29T12:59:00.000-07:00

When I first entered the advertising business, one of the best parts was the "brainstorming" session. Since then I've seen the technique either drying up or being used in increasingly disjointed ways during my travels through ad agency lands. Too often, a brainstorm is done under the duress of an impending storm, where the client needs a solution the next day. Or, the brainstorm doesn't include a key player.

However, brainstorming best practices are starting to make a come back. "North Carolina State University researchers have found that steps taken to make brainstorming sessions more productive can actually lead to success in real-world business environments." says a recent story in the Washington Post, "The researchers also found one variable that can negate any potential benefits of high quality brainstorming: managerial bias. If a team leader comes into the brainstorming process with well-known preconceived notions, that effectively short-circuits the brainstorming effort -- and using best practices will not help."

Who messed up the Oath of Office?

2009-01-21T05:28:00.000-08:00

Is the Oath of Office written grammatically? Or grammatically written? And who actually messed up? Or who messed up, actually? Was it President Obama or Chief Justice Roberts?

Should "faithfully" come, as an adverb, at the end of the sentence, to modify the whole sentence. Or after "execute"? Or is the oath correctly written with "faithfully" as an adjective placed before "execute"?

Protocol-wise, whose interpretation matters most: Obama, Justice Roberts or God. Apparently Justice Roberts added, "So help you God?" or "So help you God." at the end.

This last bit-- whether declarative or posed as a question -- is especially interesting: Is the Chief Justice asking if the President wants God's help, giving him God's blessing, or telling him to start praying?

Here's the actual written oath:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Where does the oath of office come from? Marvin Pinkert, executive director of the National Archives Experience, displays several original documents regarding the presidential oath of office. Getty Images. From NPR website.

Do you believe in ghosts?

2009-01-16T08:05:00.000-08:00

Today there's a lively discussion about Blogging, Social Media and Ethics on MarketingProfs. The question is whether or not it's right to outsource your corporate blog to a ghostwriter. Some have issues with transparency, others with revealing too much to the competition. However, having a pro outside the organization -- an outsider looking in, looking out -- writing your blog who is sensitive to the issues and ethical, too makes sense.

I agree with both camps. First off, who wants to read your blog? If it's dull and corporate, no one -- except possibly your competition trying to uncover strategy. Also, why in the world would a CEO want to publicly discuss his business? GM's CEO has done a stellar job of this. But maybe he should have spent more time watching the bottom line? I found this commentary on corporate blogging from a PR pro insightful.

Using a blog to create a conversation with potential clients is a good idea. If you can show them that you're thinking about issues that concern them. And want to have them control the conversation.

Copy editing is definitely a good idea (someone of you had "their" instead of "there") on a corporate blog. If you have one person overseeing the contracted writer/blogger...who's available on a daily basis...outsourcing to a pro is a great idea: Simply give them a byline as editor to solve the transparency issue.

The more it costs, the better it tastes

2008-10-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, now the National Academy of Sciences is in on this neural marketing thing. Wine tasters thought "more expensive" were "more pleasant' and even experienced greater pleasant sensations in the neo-cortex, even though, in reality there were no differences in the wine. Hmmm, I guess advertising's "snoot appeal" can now be proven!

Hmmm, I wonder who funded this study, using MRI brain scans, at the California Institute of Technology? Next thing you know, panels will have their brains wired up during concept testing.

Mind Mapping Software

2008-06-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

I've often wondered when the day will come when your thoughts and ideas can immediately be transcribed and organized. However, until we can perform the Vulcan Mind Meld, here may be the next best thing: Mind-Mapping and Concept-Mapping software. Mind maps let you make a web of ideas and link files to them. Great for brainstorming or doing a story web. Concept mapping is similar, but the construct is more hierarchical: sort of like an outline. This would be ideal for site maps and project management. You can link graphics and files to the branches. There's even online reviews, such as the Mind-Mapping Software Blog, where today posts a mind-mapping conference in Mooristown, NJ. Or visit The Mind Mapping Blog

Most provide trial downloads or subscriptions. Many offer online collaboration. I am checking out online mind-mapping at the MindMeister site (see illustration to the right). I'm not sure it provides the hierarchical configuration, which is what I really prefer in a brain-storm and for getting too many ideas in the right place. I've downloaded a desktop program FreeMind; oddly-enough you'll find the download link software of this java-based software on Wikipedia, which I'm not sure is quite kosher: but it is open-source.

How good web writing is good copywriting. Or not?

2008-06-04T10:48:00.000-07:00

Revisiting what makes good web copy, I am further convinced that most of the same principles apply from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0.

Usability guru Jakob Nielsen tracked how visitors scan a web page way back in 1996 (see the hot spots in Nielsen's eyetracking study). He found that readers prefer to scan text written in a concise and objective style. Concise, scannable and objective text scored 128% higher usability.

Another study of video on the web notes that "Talking head videos are boring." Though the analysis wasn't yet in, Nielsen surmises that the web is an interactive medium, and that's why I'm not alone when on zipping through the fast forward. However, a talking head in any promotional context is a killer if you ask me. I grab the remote when that garmento from the Men's Wearhouse guarantees I'm gonna love the way I look.

But time is shorter than ever. And the need for linking is great. After all, the web is all about linking. So to further paraphrase many a smarter usability expert than me...

Here are my top 8 rules of good website sales copy

Use your titles and subheads to reflect search terms

Tell clearly what it is that you've got in your first two sentences. Here a picture is worth a thousand words

Make your next sentence or two about the problem they're trying to solve by visiting you.

In the next paragraph tell them why you can solve it for them better than anyone else.

In the last paragraph reinforce how you will do it, better than anyone else.

Give them specific links to pages that address their concerns, worries or need to know.

Before they leave, give them an offer they want to refuse...but just can't.

So what's different?

To that list, I would add that best practices now dictate keeping your copy "above the fold" or above the cut line. Unlike with the print media, your reader (not you) is in control of the flow and ready to either click to your order, or click away to another interesting site. The trick is to structure your story with the fewest necessary words...not necessarily the shortest copy. Nielsen needs more words to tell his story. Dunkin' Donuts needs less.

Never overhype or oversell. Nor undervalue what you can offer. Convince your visitor first that what you offer has unique value, and they'll give you the attention you deserve. If they jump away before ordering or trying, provide them with a promotional pop-up reminder with a deal- sweetener.

Thanks to search engines, and search engine analytics, the copywriter's job is easier: helping you find the key words and descriptions your audience use to find you. (By the way, I hate that word 'prospect', since no one likes to think of themselves that way). But SEO is only the beginning.

Speaking of which: for an insightful and easy read about SEO copywriting, check out CopyBlogger, whose success is the envy of many a writer. It goes to show that the same copywriting rules -- which are good writing rules -- are the foundation of success, online or off.

The Elements of Style

2008-06-04T06:29:00.000-07:00

Traveling back further to good writing. Every writer (and that means you) should read the definitive style manual: Elements of Style originally written by William Strunk in 1918, an easy read full of pithy advice such as:
"Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, non-committal language."
—Rule 12
It was updated in the '50's with the help of another one-time copywriter, E.B. White, author of Charlotte's Web -- a timeless inspiration to all of us do-it-yourselfers on the web.

But how does that translate to this web?

Then as now, give your reader a solution they are searching for. Spin a good story. It could mean saving their life or their livelihoods. Make so easy to understand that solution, that even a child (or caveman or even a pig) can do it. Avoid clunky corporate jargon like "utilize" when "use" will do (by the way I don't like usability, but it's a useful word). Then give them more reasons why to use you.

IDEA LAND new forum on google

2008-05-08T07:06:00.000-07:00

They say that which you resist persists. I've been wondering, for about 20 years, why people are seemingly so unable to communicate and cooperate. Why don't things get done?
What persistent BIG question have you been unable to resolve? I'm talking business-wise, not personal-wise (there's more of that than can be handled here.)

Cooperation, not competition

That's why I started IDEA LAND. Creative problem solving is something we all need. So, I started this forum to address these Big Questions with an exchange of Big Ideas.

It's brand new, so we welcome your participation (no spam or scam allowed.) Here's your opportunity to promote yourself through cooperation.

The only proviso is that what you provide is authentic, original, thoughtful help...and remember the Boy Scout motto to "Do Your Best".

Interesting Site

2008-05-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

A gazillion things competing for attention on the web. Having a great name like Sally Hogshead and smart concept and audacity helps. Sally Hogshead is aiming toward the high life as a consultant and writer of a book/site/attitude called "Radical Careering". Haven't read the book, yet, but she's definitely an inspiring, energetic writer (who's "easy on the eyes").

Having a clear POV and engaging in a dialogue with your audience is one of those elephants on the table that many companies miss. Ms, Hogshead hasn't. Although mine is a more linear virtual world view, I find her site refreshing, ambitious, if not perfectly navigable. (Like I should talk me with my old posts and broken links :)

I comment about what it really takes to be a great online writer on her Hog Blog, It’s Time to Upgrade to You 2.0.

Guy Kawasaki Drinks Mountain Dew

2007-02-10T14:25:00.000-08:00

Blogging is a great way to connect with people you'd never imagine you could.
If you're an entrepreneur or marketer, you'll be inspired by Guy Kawasaki's Art of the Start . He really distills everything down into an entertaining 20 minute talk!
The original Mac Evangelist is now Managing Director of Garage Technology Ventures...I found his blog exceptionally refreshing. He embodies all that we love about Apple: Simple, elegant, and about "Changing the World."

I wish the Corporate Entity that Apple has become lived up to its earlier promise. A couple years ago I tried to discontinue the iLife subscription, which I couldn't do except through the .mac website...which wouldn't let me. My long-held affection for Mac completely ended when a tech support assured me it was ok to reboot the computer from the disk, "to fix the permissions" while FileVault was on. NEVER DO THIS!

All my files got locked away in a sparse.image file and my master password no longer worked. Apple reminded me that there's a warning, but they did give me and a free copy of Tiger.

However, when I compare this experience to my fiance's frustration with Vista and automatic Nazi-like updates from HP, I remain an Apple Evangalista.

Reflecting on the Shine of the Super Bowl

2007-02-05T13:07:00.000-08:00

If advertising is a mirror that reflects society, as Stephen Fox says in "The Mirror Makers", what do the latest Super Bowl ads say about us? Looking in this giant convex mirror, objects appear closer than they really are: the babes, the celebs, even the animals, are self-deprecating in a way that makes them seem "more like us". If you consider it's mostly bright 20-something men (and I use that term loosely) writing the ads (and the demographic all marketers desire), you can understand why advertising as an art form has become more self-referential, ironic, fantastic and deconstructed. As advertising, what are we selling here? Super Bowl ads are less about the product benefits and more about our messy psyches and desires. Like Bud-light, they exist to generate buzz :)

Alexander de Toqueville, if he were to visit America today and become instantly acculturated, might observe:

Every American can (literally) have his 15 minutes of fame or at least an easy Creative Directorship.
Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" commercial (See earlier "Doritos" post) My favorite, "Checkout Girl" was the winner: the chubby cashier checks out and wins over the junk-food hunkie through her provocative recitation of Doritos spicy flavors. This is good advertising.
Chevy'snaked men tearing off their clothes in the street to go wax the chevy was the winner of a college competition (note to self: definitely not sending my kids away to college). Clients just love seeing the masses flocking to their product. No wonder GM is in trouble.

We live in desperate times. It seems we have come to accept humiliation as a norm. To wit:
Budweiser's "Slapping". Funny, yes, in a slapstick way. But "Dogs" was better: A downtrodden mutt, splattered with mud, finally rides in a parade with the Clydesdales ("Under Dog", or "Dog Day Afternoon", or "Every dog has its day" would have been better titles).
Into this cute animal category you could add GM's "Robot Arm", where a robotic arm gets fired for lack of performance (guess he didn't pay his union dues). I bet you GM's employees really relate to Career Builder's campaign. No more monkeying around, the "Jungle" spot shows "best practices" gone awry when corporate team members break into a free-for-all armed with office equipment.

Every ghetto has its silver lining.
Coke's "Vice", turns a "Grand Theft Auto" character into a Good-Deed Doer. Nice attempt, except for the crashing cars, to turn a negative into a positive.
Finally, as much as I admire the Nationwide campaign for making annuities relevant, I'm sad to say that it reinforces the notion that no financial institution, including Nationwide, is "on your side"...

View my list of Super Bowl Ads

PS: My personal favorite is for Jack-in-the-Box that didn't air in my market. I love the twist at the end where JB jr. mixes up "Vegetarian" with "Veterinarian".

Explosion of the Nuclear Family

2007-01-31T15:05:00.000-08:00

Last night my town made the NBC-10 local news with a story about showing third-graders "That's a Family!" "A film for kids about family diversity". It apparantly features families headed by those of mixed race and unmixed gender. About 300 families, mostly irate, showed up at a school meeting.

it is a great way to get more people involved in the PTA, if you ask me :-) But one wonders why talking about alternatives to the Mommy-and-Daddy-headed-household is so controversial. Over half the nuclear families are now divided. And the "alternative lifestyle" is a staple of prime-time TV, with freaks and fantasy increasing ratings. My guess is that these families' V chips work better than mine, because my kids seem to know more about what goes on in the privacy of alternative lifestyles than I do.

What probably irks my neighbors, as it does me, is that there is very little support for family ideals of any sort. In the real world, family is "99% perspirations and 1% inspiration" -- it's difficult, tedious and subject to uncontrollable forces of erosion. So, when we go to our local video store to rent a movie to escape from all this -- could we possibly have more choices for families, of whatever stripe?

Indeed, why can't we get versions of hit movies, such as "The Aviator", with the smuttier scenes deleted? And, hey Hollywood, could we have a little more about Howard Hughes as the ingenious aviator and entrepreneur that he was...and less about the playboy and freak he became?

Trump Ad

2007-01-26T12:22:00.000-08:00

Ridin' with the Donald

This ad appeared in USA Today, and I hear, on "Live! with Kelly and Regis" as well as bus stops and billboards throughout Atlantic City.

The Trump organization loved it.
Behind the scenes...It almost wasn't even presented, but in the end won out from among a dozen other entries. It took the art director and me just one day to do it. The agency had only a couple of shots of Donald to choose from. Thank you, Photoshop.

Doritos Superbowl Commercial Contest

2007-01-25T08:51:00.000-08:00

January 23rd, 2007 at 4:30 pm

Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" promotion, sponsored by Yahoo! video, is totally brilliant if you ask me: Regular junk-food eating Americans submitted 30-second spots for a chance to have their ode to Doritos air on the Super Bowl. You'll have to wait till February 4th to see the Big Game Winner. (What do you bet that more people vote in this "election" than in the presidential primaries?).

Does it matter that they're not really all that good. That's viral marketing, if you ask me.
(However: I had trouble viewing some of the spots [http://promotions.yahoo.com/]). I'm less impressed however with envelope-stretching Frito-Lays' ads for Tostitos. The mom and dad are reviewing jr's art works, one of which is of "mommy and daddy wrestling." Freud would have a field-day with this one.

Not to get your ito's mixed up with your id -- I ask your vote on this one: Bags of Doritos washed up on the beaches of Virginia. Is it a happy accident or guerrilla marketing?

Seems pretty incestuous to me. But I regress.

People gather bags of Doritos in various flavors.

Photo by Donna Barnett / special to The Virginian-Pilot