Noel Martin, a nationally known graphic designer who was one of the first to modernize art museum catalogs and who simplified the cluttered look of industrial trade catalogs has died. He is said to have “created a style which has been emulated by most other American museums during the last 40 years.”
With the ubiquitous branding and expert merchandizing of museums today, it is easy to forget that graphic design was once a low priority for them. In 1947, when Mr. Martin became the Cincinnati Art Museum’s first graphic designer, most museum publications were staid and musty.
Mr. Martin maintained that contemporary typographic design, as practiced by the European Modernists, would enhance these documents and make art, particularly abstract art, more accessible and more appealing to younger museumgoers. He introduced a distinct blend of classical and modern typography to the museum’s exhibition catalogs.
Austrian jeweler Peter Aloisson has created the world’s most expensive phone: the Apple iPhone 3G Kings Button.
Retail price...US$2.5 Million.
The Apple iPhone 3G Kings Button phone is made of solid 18-carat yellow gold, white gold and rose gold. It has a white gold line encrusted with a total of 138 high quality diamonds.
The San Francisco Chronicle is this urban city's main daily newspaper. For now,
It is being reported that the Hearst Corporation is considering closing its flagship San Francisco paper within weeks.
Hearst said in a statement on its website yesterday that the Chronicle
lost more than $50m last year and that this year's losses to date are
worse. The publisher said it is "undertaking critical cost-saving measures
including a significant reduction in the number of its unionized and
non-union employees". It added that if these savings cannot be accomplished within weeks, the company will be "forced to sell or close the paper".
The paper has already tried to increase revenues through a cover price increase, and is planning to implement a new color printing giving it "industry-leading colour reproduction capabilities" but these efforts could be for not if Hearst plans to shutter the paper.
Frank Bennack Jr, vice chairman and chief executive of Hearst
Newspapers, and Steven Swartz, its president, said in a joint
statement: "Because of the sea change newspapers everywhere are
undergoing and these dire economic times, it is essential that our
management and the local union leadership work together to implement
the changes necessary to bring the cost of producing the Chronicle into
line with available revenue.
"Given the losses the Chronicle continues to sustain, the time to
implement these changes cannot be long. [They] are designed to give the
Chronicle the best possible chance to survive and continue to serve the
people of the Bay Area with distinction, as it has since 1865.
"Survival is the outcome we all want to achieve. But without the
specific changes we are seeking across the entire Chronicle
organization, we will have no choice but to quickly seek a buyer for
the Chronicle or, should a buyer not be found, to shut the newspaper
down."
Of course, the San Francisco Chronicle is not the only paper struggling to survive. Philadelphia Newspapers, which owns
The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com,
has filed for bankruptcy (but has said that it is not closing). And Hearst is considering selling its Seattle Post-Intelligencer paper and is examining the option of moving it entirely online. Plus, The New York Times Company recently suspended its first quarter dividend in order to pay off its debt and conserve cash.
In addition to General Motors' decision to reduce its U.S. car line-up down to four core brands, there comes word of the car company's decision to try to sell its stakes in the UK car brand Vauxhall and Germany's Opel. This follows on the heals of GM's appeal to the Swedish government to help it prop up Saab.
Brand Republic reports that the company said yesterday: "Management is willing to consider strategic third-party partnerships, alliances and equity stakes in case such an approach is seen as beneficial for GM Europe and Opel/Vauxhall's viable and sustainable future."
Air New Zeland has launched a new mobile advertising campaign using what's called Cranial Billboards.
That's right. "cranial" as in the human skull.
For shaving their noggins and displaying the ad copy for two weeks in November, 30 human billboards will receive either a round-trip ticket to New Zealand (worth about $1,200) or $777 in cash (an allusion to the Boeing 777, a model in the airline’s fleet).
Here's the noggin copy: “Need A Change? Head Down to New Zealand. www.airnewzealand.com.”
And, the billboards are not only mobile they talk--the participants become brand ambassadors. As The New York Times puts it: "when co-workers or strangers behind them in the grocery store line asked about New Zealand, they could speak enthusiastically right off the top of their heads — so to speak."
Cliff Freeman, who co-founded the creative shop in 1987, has bought out MDC Partners' 19.9% equity stake, which is estimated to have been bought by MDC for around $3-5 million and may be worth under $1 million now.
If these numbers are correct (or even close) Freeman ended up with a pretty good deal.
The reality of the demise of some long-standing brands is becoming more apparent.
As part of its attempt to secure government bailout funds, General Motors.said Tuesday that it would phase out its Saturn brand by 2012, and dismantle Pontiac as a separate division, but keep it as a “focused brand” with fewer models.
It has previously announced that it would try to sell Hummer and Saab.
This leaves GM focused on four brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.
It is the final nail in a company strategy of expansion and market coverage who's time has past.
“A volume brand and a premium brand can get the job done. Toyota has proven that,” said Karl Brauer, editor in chief of Edmunds.com, a Web site that offers car-buying advice. “Cadillac, Chevy, done.”
The more brands a carmaker has, the more it must spread money around to develop vehicles and market them.
As a result, “every brand suffers,” said A. Andrew Shapiro, a managing partner with the Casesa Shapiro Group. “No particular brand or brands can achieve the share of voice that they need.”
Its extensive brand lineup has long been G.M.’s primary weapon. Founded in 1908 by William C. Durant, who brought together a collection of car companies, G.M. made the concept of “a car for every purse and purpose” its strategy during the 1920s for retaining buyers from their first car to their last.
Sirius XM radio has been in the news lately as they fought a do-or-die battle to find a suitor to save them from bankruptcy.
And, this morning, Andrew Ross Sorkin's DealBook is reporting that Sirius' white knight has come in with a surprise deal.
Liberty Media, owner of (among other holdings) DirectTV, will extend $530 million in loans to Sirius, in exchange for preferred stock convertible into 40 percent of Sirius’s common equity. They'll also get a few Board seats.
The surprise comes in two ways. One, Liberty chose to LOAN Sirius the money, rather than buy them out. and Two, this deal seems to squelch a plan by EchoStar, which owns the Dish Network, to take over Sirius XM by buying Sirius’s debt in hopes of taking control of the company if it defaulted.
So now the two TV satellite competitors Dish Network and DirectTV own a big piece of the combination of two former satellite radio competitors, Sirius and XM.
Delhaize, one of Belgium's leading retailers with more than 775 stores, has announced that it is taking 250 Unilever products off its shelves after a disagreement over pricing and merchandising.
This is a problem not necessarily for Unilever, but for Delhaize. It seems that shoppers are boycotting the chain as a result, according to research by local agency Brandhome.
Nearly a third of Delhaize shoppers are heading for rival chains in search of their favourite Unilever products, says the online survey carried out over the past five days. The poll of 3,500 people in Flanders found that 31% of Delhaize shoppers had decided to shop elsewhere for Unilever goods, flocking to rivals Carrefour and discounter Colruyt. One fifth of Delhaize shoppers had yet to make up their mind. About half of those remaining with Delhaize said they would switch to rival branded goods while the other half said they would buy the retailer's own label versions of the unavailable Unilever products.
"It shows that customers are dependent on brands and that they have carefully selected the ones they want," said Erik Saelens, Brandhome's director of strategy.
"I think that nobody wins and it's not intelligent to start extreme price wars like this," he added.
Note: Delhaize also operates over 1,500 stores in the United States under the Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar, Harveys, Hannaford Bros., and Sweetbay brand names.
It's a case of supply and demand in the advertising business.
With the economic downturn, advertising space is readily available, as the buyers are scarce.
Or at least the traditional type of advertisers--automotive, fashion, retail, etc.
It wasn't long ago, during the Internet boon, that advertising rates were at a premium. During the 1999 Holiday season I was told by an advertising media buyer that there were no outdoor boards available in any of the 10 major cities we wanted to advertise in, and that Print, broadcast and online rates had increased 10-fold from the previous year.
But times have changed. The economic downturn is causing a lot of pain in the media world. Print ad pages are way down, and major advertisers are pulling budgets way back.
All of this is forcing media outlets to look for new revenue sources.
A few examples:
The Absolut Vodka commercials that aired in Los Angeles and 14 other
cities during the Grammy Awards marked the first time in years that
liquor ads ran in prime time on network-owned stations.
KROQ-FM (106.7) in Los Angeles has been running ads for the Ashley Madison Agency, which promotes extramarital affairs
The NBA rescinded a ban on courtside advertising by liquor companies.
Google and Facebook too, are allowing liquor companies to run ads on their websites.
Billboard operators have allowed more strip clubs to hawk their establishments on roadside signs.
The Los Angeles Times reports that these types of ads for distilled spirits are appearing on prime-time TV with increasing frequency, while billboards for strip clubs and radio ads promoting extramarital affairs are becoming part of the local media landscape.
"When you have the evaporation of advertising revenue, you have to look for new and creative ways of getting sellers in the door," said Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council. "It's coming in the way of adult-themed products and content."
Southwest Airlines has announced a promotional tie-up with Sports Illustrated to promote its annual S. I. Swimsuit Edition.
Cover model Bar Refaeli will travel to publicity and promotional events across the country in her very own 737 jet dubbed "S.I. One." It is, of course, photo-wrapped in her bikini-clad likeness.
All of this is quite ironic given the P.R. flack Southwest recently endured when a Southwest employee almost kicked San Diego resident Kyla Ebbert off a flight to Phoenix because her clothing was considered too immodest. (she changed into something less provocative and was allowed to stay).
Following-on the success of Apple's foray into retail stores, Microsoft has announced that it will launch its own branded stores, selling computers installed with Microsoft software as well as other company products.
Microsoft dipped its toe in the retail waters last fall when it posted 144 Microsoft employees in electronics chain stores around the world to talk with shoppers about Windows. Now they're diving in by hiring a seasoned veteran to run the business.
David Porter has been hired as corporate vice president for Microsoft's retail stores. Porter was head of worldwide product distribution at DreamWorks Animation SKG since 2007 and is a 25-year veteran of Wal-Mart Stores,
Some question the timing of such an effort--with all sorts of retailers hit hard by the current recession. But I say, the best time to launch an effort is in a down-market. By the time they figure out there plan, and secure the retail space (which might be at bargain prices right now), the economy might well be on the rise again.
Blackwater, the private security firm that got into hot water in Iraq for killing innocent civilians, says that it will drop the tarnished brand for a disarming and simple identity: Xe, which is pronounced like the letter "z."
It's a rare surrender for a company that cherished a brand name inspired by the dark-water swamps of northeastern North Carolina, one that survived another rebranding effort about a year ago, following a deadly shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square. The decision to give it up underscores how badly the Moyock-based company's brand was damaged by that incident and other security work in Iraq.
"They have established themselves as the bad guys," said Katy Helvenston, who sued the company following her son's death during a mission in Fallujah while working for Blackwater in 2004. "They've established such a horrible reputation. Why else would they change their name?"
Presumably they'll also drop their claw logo which bares a striking resemblance to the Gay "Bear" moniker.
It is Friday afternoon. Friday the 13th. The Friday before Valentine's Day. And the Friday before a 3-day (President's Day) weekend.
So, I thought it time for a little 5 Blogs Before Lunch, off-the-topic fun.
I heard, amongst all the depressing economic news, there's one bright spot.
It seems that head shops dealing in roach clips, rolling papers and hand-blown glass water pipes have proliferated Haight Street — so much so that a San Francisco politician has proposed a law to prevent any more from opening in the neighborhood.
Yes, this is San Francisco. They're not proposing a BAN on head shops, just a moratorium so that other businesses will have the opportunity to flourish.
There was a time when Sanka was the new and popular way to drink cough-ee coffee. Busy Americans could get an "instant" cup of coffee without waiting to brew the good stuff.
Then, Starbucks changed how we thought of coffee by building a quality brand that was as much about the experience as it was about the coffee.
Now, reports are that Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is going to be selling "instant coffee"--now called "soluble coffee" (which sounds even worse to me) at its cafes.
Starbucks declines to comment on the launch, although it seems to have leaked all over the media, so I doubt there's much to hide.
The Seattle Times obtained a memo that was sent to employees after news of Via began to leak yesterday. Public Affairs svp Vivek Varma writes: "We are hosting exclusive events next week in New York and other cities where we will unveil the product. We have been working on this project for over 20 years, and have a patent pending on the technology that enables us to absolutely replicate the taste of Starbucks coffee in an instant form. And as Howard has always said, 'The proof is in the cup.'"
A Pew research study suggests that 11% of Internet-using U.S. adults have used Twitter (or other microblogging services). The study suggests that, not surprisingly, Twitter's audience is young, and more mobile than the general Internet population.
Overall, Pew observes that Twitter users engage news and technology at roughly the same rates as everyone else, "but the ways in which they use the technology—to communicate, gather and share information—reveals their affinity for mobile, untethered and social opportunities for interaction."
Another point worth mentioning out of the Pew report, Twitter usage trends seems to be picking up at a fast pace. The firm notes that, just a few weeks prior to the December 2008 sample, only nine percent of Internet users said they used Twitter, and in May, only six percent.
This was the Pew Internet & American Life Project's first look at Twitter users.
Three weeks ago, Google ended its Print Ads program, which sold spots in newspapers. Now comes word that their radio inventory project is being canceled as well.
In 2006, Google bought dMarc Broadcasting to test the elasticity of its ad sales brand with the goal of selling radio ad inventory using the kind of automated technology it has applied to search engine ads.
The test proved a bit of a stretch for the radio industry, never gaining traction, with the exception of a significant deal with Clear Channel that reportedly did not live up to expectations.
A Domino's Pizza in Birmingham, England has stopped selling pizzas with pork products to appeal to the area's large Muslim population who follow a strict non-pork diet.
That means that bacon, ham and pepperoni have been replaced with halal spicy beef sausage, roast and tandoori chicken, halal pepperoni and halal cured turkey, all produced and stored within the Halal Food Authorities guidelines.
The decision to remove pork products is receiving opposition from the non-Muslim population around the neighborhood. Perhaps a better approach would have been to add the halal products without removing the other pork options for those wishing to have them.
Brand Republic reports that It is Domino's first fully halal outlet in Britain, but more are expected to follow.
A spokesman for Domino's said: "In that particular area of Birmingham there are a large number of Muslims so there is naturally more of a demand for halal based products."
One of my favorite ads of late is the Hulu.com ad featuring Alec Baldwin--a 40-50-something pitching online TV viewing, not to the 18-24 crowd, but to Baby boomers.
Hulu.com's strategy of attracting attention through media coverage has drawn a viewing audience that is on average much older than those of other streaming-video sites. That's a good thing right?
When you look at the audience of well-known Web 2.0 properties like YouTube, Facebook, MySpace or Twitter, their rapid adoption was fueled by 18- to 24-year-olds. At YouTube's launch in late 2005, more than 50% of its site visitors were 18- to 24-year-olds.
This was not the case with Hulu.com. When the company launched its public site last March, the largest age group visiting the site were those Internet visitors over 55 years old, accounting for 47% of all site visits, while traditionally younger early adopters accounted for only 17% of traffic.
What's even more interesting is that traffic to the website is coming from a decided;y old-fashioned media--newspapers (albeit of the online variety). More than 20% of Hulu's traffic came from newspaper Web sites. The largest age demographic for visitors to print news Web sites is older Internet users over the age of 55.
So, it seems, the so-called Greatest Generation may be leading us to the true convergence of television and computer--not the web-savvy 18-24 year olds, and marketed through the power of traditional media players.
Kellogg isn't the only brand concerned by the behavior of one of its endorsers.
Wrigley is suspending any Doublemint gum marketing or advertising featuring singer Chris Brown, who was arrested Sunday and is under investigation for an alleged battery of his girlfriend, pop singer Rihanna. The company is waiting for the situation to be resolved, it said.
Looks like Olympian Michael Phelps will get to keep his endorsement deal with sandwich shop Subway.
While the deal stands, the nation's largest fast-food chain is likely to delay the launch of its first TV campaign starring the bong-smokin' Phelps.
"Like most Americans, and like Michael Phelps himself, we were disappointed in his behavior," Subway said in a statement. "Also like most Americans, we accept his apology. Moving forward, he remains in our plans."
Advertising Age is reporting that Kellogg's has decided to drop Michael Phelps' sponsorship deal.
One bong hit seen around the world and Olympian Michael Phelps is watching at least one contract go up in smoke. Kellogg will let the swimmer's contract expire at the end of the month.
"We originally built the relationship with Michael, as well as the other Olympic athletes, to support our association with the US Olympic team," a Kellogg spokeswoman said in a statement. "Michael's most recent behavior is not consistent with the image of Kellogg. His contract expires at the end of February and we have made a decision not to extend his contract."
Auto advertisers are particularly smitten by cinema’s recall power, which is two to five times more than TV, according to a National CineMedia analysis of data from Nielsen IAG. Last year, for example, the cinema campaign for the Lexus IS F had 75 percent unaided recall.
To get that kind of recall, auto advertisers are investing in creative by producing advertising specifically for the big screen. “It will feel contextually relevant and allow us to incorporate one of our main themes of ‘Make Every Drive Epic’ as an integral part of the story line,” Jacoby said.
Though cinema advertising offers practically unlimited creative flexibility, it also puts pressure on the advertiser to be as memorable as the movies. “People are looking to be entertained, and we can do something different,” said Chaney. “You just can’t throw something up there.”
A group of French anti-ad activists called "the Dismantlers" are drawing attention to their cause by defacing billboards with slogans decrying advertising and material culture.
"We challenge the mercantile society that destroys all human relationships, professional relationships, health, the environment," said Alexandre Baret, 35, a founder of the group. "It's a message that proposes to attack advertising as the fuel of this not very healthy society."
And, like many things in France that we don't understand, whereas we would perhaps call them vandals, the French refer to the activists as protestors and invite the police to protest rallies where they deface signs. The Times reports that "With a copywriter's flair, one of their slogans warns: "Attention! Avert your eyes from ads: You risk being very strongly manipulated." The goal of the Dismantlers is to get arrested, argue the righteousness of their cause in court and, you guessed it, gain publicity."
One passerby at a Dismantlers rally said, "I find it funny, but a little useless. ... A sign full of graffiti is even worse than having to look at an ad."
OK, let's face it. The action on the field during this year's Super Bowl game was more fun to watch than most of the commercials.
THERE. I said it.
Ouch.
The Super Bowl is one of those events that makes boisterous, opinionated, arm-chair creative directors out of just about everyone.
And, from my unscientific scan of comments from the peanut gallery what did I hear?
YAWN.
I, on the otherhand, was entertained a little bit more than many of my friends.
I particularly liked the Cars.com spot. It was entertaining (to me) and had a clearly articulated strategy--the torch has been passed to the Internet generation--watch out white-shoed car salesmen.
I also liked the Pepsi ads, and was as perplexed when BOTH Pepsi and Coke ran ads during the game--no one bought exclusive rights?
Bud, as always, demonstrated its showman-like skills. Congrats.
The Career Builder ad seemed like an old concept, but got the point across and entertained.
But my favorite--and I do this for a living (HA!) was Alec Baldwin in the Hulu ad "...TV only softens the brain"
Now, tell me what you think, you armchair creative director-you...
Today is Super Bowl Sunday, a few hours before the advertising showcase game begins.
While I stick-by my vow to not watch any of the ads pre-game, let's talk about what we WON"T see during this afternoon's event.
GO-DADDY's ONLINE-ONLY ADS
Known for its racy and testosterone-spiking ads, GoDaddy.com, plans to once again air a web-only version of its too-hot-for-TV ads.
From Wired.com: "Viewers have come to expect our edgy internet-only versions on Super Bowl Sunday and this year's online video really pushes the envelope," said Bob Parsons, GoDaddy's CEO and founder. "In fact, the extended version of 'Baseball' almost makes me blush."
WEATHERPROOF GARMENT'S 2-SECOND AD A 30-second spot on the Super Bowl costs a whopping $3 million. So, the Weatherproof Garment Company offered to split the 30-seconds with 9 other advertisers willing to run 2-second spots during the game--think of it it like a time-share arrangement. NBC said no to the idea, but Weatherproof, unwilling to give up their 15-minutes of PR fame, kept hammering the story to the media. At the end of the day--no 2-second time share will appear during the game.
PETA's "VEGGIE LOVE" But there's a Super Bowl ad getting even more exposure without the $3 million price tag--PETA's "Veggie Love", which depicts scantily clad woman licking, stroking and nearly having sex with vegetables. The Chicago Tribune described it as "an absurd lingerie-and-vegetables fantasy that would make a European television censor blush." The folks at NBC just said "NO." The ad will never actually be aired during the game.
Oh, and there's one more ad
rumored to have been banned. TMZ is reporting that NBC has also banned
a spot by "America's favorite extra-marital dating website",
AshleyMadison.com.
From TMZ: But there is some good news for cheaters, the ad will air in
Texas. According to Noel Biderman, the site's CEO, hard economic times
have made some local stations willing to accept their tawdry
advertising dollars "even in this post-wardrobe malfunction Super Bowl
climate." Miss Jackson, if you're nasty!
