5 Blogs Before Lunch

Homer Simpson's Duff Beer is being sold on the DL in Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Columbia

The fictional TV character Homer Simpson has been guzzling Duff beer at his favorite watering hole--Moe's for some time now.

But did you that Duff beer can be guzzled in the real world too?  Just as long as you are in Latin America.

20th Century Fox (who owns The Simpsons) has never licensed the beverage in the United States. According to several reports, Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening fears that bringing Duff into the real world would be tantamount to pushing alcohol on minors.

It seems that the beer can only be purchased in Mexico, Argentina, Columbia and Chile. The bottle's look just like the ones on TV, but with an added motto: "Yes it does exist."

Oddly though, according to the Miami Herald, the beer is being sold on the down-low.

The makers of Duff in South America say they aren’t allowed to talk to the U.S. media. And 20th Century Fox, which owns the rights to The Simpsons, said it would not say if it has a licensing agreement with any of the Duff producers.

The owner of the Chilean franchise, Enrique Robles sees the opportunity for success: “Two generations of young people have been raised on the Simpsons...What we have is an unsatisfied fantasy.”

You want proof of the demand? On eBay, an empty bottle of Duff beer from Argentina sells for $14.99; a decal off the Colombian product is being offered for $8.99.

Naomi Campbell does not like being compared to a Cadbury chocolate bar

Model and celebrity Naomi Campell does not like the latest ad of Cadbury''s Bliss chocolate bar.

"Move over Naomi, there's a new diva in town," is the headline of the new print ad, which includes an image of the candy placed on a mound of diamonds.

Apparently she's not concerned with being called a diva--no, she's concerned  with being described as chocolate.

Campbell sees that ad as racist, and an insult to "all black women and black people."

Says Campell: "I do not find any humour in this. It is insulting and hurtful." Her mother, Valerie Morris, explained, "I'm deeply upset by this racist advert. Do these people think they can insult black people and we just take it? This is the 21st century, not the 1950s. Shame on Cadbury."

Interestingly, Kraft Foods, which owns Cadbury appears to be admitting that the "Naomi" in the ad is indeed Campbell, as it says all billboards featuring the ad have been taken down, adding, "It was certainly never our intention to cause any offense and the campaign itself is a light-hearted take on the social pretensions of Cadbury Dairy Milk Bliss."

This brewhaha reminds us of the E*Trade/Lindsay Lohan dispute where a character in an ad was called "Lindsay" the Milkaholic. Lindsay settled that $100 million lawsuit. Perhaps Naomi is looking for a payday as well.

Sources: Daily Mail  UK Independent and LA Times

Has the McDonald's brand left Ronald McDonald behind?

As McDonald's modernizes it restaurants to fit in a post-Starbucks world, the fate of its 48-year-old, red-haired mascot is being questioned...at least in the press and among health-care advocacy groups.

Anti-obesity groups suggest that Ronald encourages unhealthy eating habits for kids. But the company disagrees. The Wall Street Journal reports that Chief Executive Officer Jim Skinner staunchly defended the clown at the company's annual meeting on Thursday, saying, "Ronald McDonald is going nowhere."

Children's eating habits aside, the question as to whether Ronald McDonald adequately, and accurately represents today's burger brand is the real question.

McDonald's has been spending tons of money remodeling restaurants around the globe with sleek new designs featuring upholstered furniture, flat-screen television and wi-fi--encouraging a Starbucks-esque destination setting. And with McCafe, frappes and smoothies, the company is moving decidedly with the times.

The big question is whether the Hamburgler, Grimace, Ronald and the French Fry Gobblins would be caught dead sipping a McCafé Frozen Strawberry Lemonade and tweeting from their iPad.

Me thinks the brand has McMovedOn.

From The Wall Street Journal: "Mascots were heavily used in the mid part of the last century, but not so much anymore unless you're an insurance company and you have a duck or a gecko or a caveman," says Cheryl Swanson, managing partner of Toniq, a brand strategy firm. "I'm not so sure Ronald is keeping up with where the brand is going. I wouldn't be so dogmatic if I were McDonald's. I'd do a deep dive into whether he's still meaningful or a throwback to the last century."

Chances are, the execs at McDonald's will hang on to Ronald for a little while longer...afterall, his 50th birthday is coming up.

Lady Gaga and Starbucks team up for a Venti promotion

Starbucks wants to reach out to younger customers; and Lady Gaga wants to expand her Madonna-esque brand empire; so, the two have paired-up.

Starbucks will host a Gaga-themed scavenger hunt across its digital presence on Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. Gaga's fans (she has 32 million Facebook fans and 10 million Twitter followers) can follow her exploits and search out clues. The top winner gets special access to a Lady Gaga concert during her 2012 world tour.

Lady Gaga's new CD releases May 23 and is titled, "Born This Way. At launch, Starbucks customers in the U.S. will be able to stream Gaga's new album, download her new song "Edge of Glory" and watch an exclusive video from the in-store Starbucks Digital Network.

"Born This Way is a worldwide cultural event," says Annie Young-Scrivner, chief marketing officer at Starbucks. "Starbucks is excited to be one of the iconic partners to celebrate the album's release in an innovative way."

Perhaps next she'll pose for the next generation mermaid logo.

 

Sears stops selling porn

Human remains, ive animals, firewood, lottery tickets, and pornography.

These are five things you will never see for sale on Sears.com

Well, except maybe the occasional porn.

Apparently, customers were recently provided the option to buy pornographic movies through the Sears.com website.

While the videos violated its standards for online merchandise, the company was unaware they were being sold. The videos were sold through an outside vendor via their affiliate program that lets other companies sell products through its website in exchange for a piece of the proceeds.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Sears doesn't monitor every item offered for sale via Sears.com but instead employs computer scans and manual keyword searches to ferret out violations of its guidelines. The explicit videos are no longer for sale on Sears.com.

The WSJ.com also points out that Sears Holdings (the parent of Sears and Kmart), has seen declining sales every year since hedge-fund investor Edward S. Lampert combined Sears and Kmart in 2005.

Perhaps they should reconsider their position on selling porn. <grin>

Foursquare is helping consumers save on gasoline

Check-in to a Murphy USA service station in the Midwest or South on Foursquare, and receive $2 off a $20 gas purchase.

Playing to consumer's anxiety of high gas prices, and drafting off the Groupon-inspired deal craze, the 1,000 Murphy USA stations located near Walmart stores will offer the "Check-in Special" until May 17.

I wonder if the Foursquare at Murphy's gets a free lube and oil change?

Source: ClickZ

American Idol is sold, along with Elvis and Ali

The parent company of “American Idol” has been sold. Along with the deal comes the name and likeness rights to Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali, and the fox franchise "So You Think You Can Dance."

Apollo Global Management bought the lot for around $511 million.

Sounds like a bargain, eh?

The owners of the franchise had it on the market for around 2 years, so its value was a bit stale.

“While we are disappointed that the company wasn’t able to garner more than $5.50/share, especially with strong results from American Idol this season and the contract with Fox up for renewal, we believe the unique nature of these assets make for a limited buying audience,” Argento said in a research note.  “Apollo looks to be getting a good deal, and will now be able to play hardball with Fox on a new [American Idol] deal.”

Source: WSJ.com

Red Bull headed to newstands and sunday newspapers with The Red Bulletin

Red Bull, the high-caffeine energy drink wants you to sit down, relax, and read.

The Red Bulletin, a glossy print magazine and iPad app is scheduled to hit newstands in the U.S. in June.

They are targeting their loyal 18- to 34-year-olds, and trying to extend the Red Bull brand presence into their day-to-day lifestyle.

"For most other brands, the commitment is just to the product," says Raymond Roker, associate publisher of The Red Bulletin, but Red Bull's aim, he says, "is to have a rich conversation with our audience."

The $4.99 magazine will have a newstand circulation of 75,000 and be available for subscription at $12 for 12 issues. Plans also call for a Sunday newspaper inserts, in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, The Miami Herald and The Houston Chronicle.

The Red Bulletin already is published in nine countries, including Great Britain, Ireland and Germany.

Source: USA Today

Hertz introduces a new animated mascot named Horatio.

Pilsbury has their Doughboy.

And of course, there's Tony the Tiger, the Kool-Aid Man, the Aflac duck and Mr. Clean.

Now, Hertz is introducing "Horatio," an animated dashboard mascot.

Like the latest iteration of Mr. Peanut, brought to life by Robert Downey Jr., Hertz has asked actor Owen Wilson, whose voice is featured in the coming animated film “Cars 2” to be the voice of the new mascot. The character will appear in a series of commercials directed by Tucker Gates, (“The Office,” “Parks and Recreation” and “Weeds”).

Hertz' latest marketing effort is designed to help make the brand more approachable to the growing throngs of 20-somethings who are beginning to rent cars (and become brand loyal) for the first time.

The New York Times describes the new mascot, as an animated yellow dashboard figurine with a football-shaped head and a permanent wink. Hertz wants consumers to see the mascot as representational of a refresh Hertz’s image and “help us re-establish ourselves as a culture brand,” said Catherine East, group account director for DDB New York, the agency that created on the campaign. Mark P. Frissora, the chief executive for Hertz, named the mascot after Horatio Nelson Jackson, a physician who was one of the first people to drive a car across the United States.

Horatio will have two real-life travel personalities joining him in the campaign. They're named Gas and Brake.

GM and Ford struggle to convince loyal Saturn, Pontiac, Mercury and Hummer customers to remain loyal to the parent companies that killed their favorite car brands

Apparently, Ford and GM did a really good job at building brand loyalty among thier customers.

Unfortunately, one of the ways they found out how loyal their customers were was when they stopped selling the brands their customers were most loyal to.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that about 70% of customers who traded in a Pontiac this year replaced their car with a non-GM model; with Saturn (another deceased GM-make) that number rises to 71%, with 23% of owners trading in their Saturn for a Chevy. Ford, which killed its Mercury division last year, has seen about 65% of the Mercury owners switch away from Ford.

Oops.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

The Beverly Hillbillies' Elly May Clampett is suing Mattel over "Elly May Barbie:"

Donna Douglas, the 77-year old actress who played Elly May Clampett on the television show The Beverly Hillbillies in the 1960's claims Mattel is using her likeness without her permission.

Mattel is marketing its Elly May Barbie with a photo of Douglas portraying the character in the packaging. The suit seeks compensation for illegal usage of her name and likeness.

Douglas appeared in all 274 episodes of the CBS comedy show from 1962-1971. The show centered around the exploits of a "hillbilly" family from the South who moves to Beverly Hills after striking oil on their land.

'hope there's enough oil money left to pay the lawyers. The federal lawsuit she filed seeks compensation for illegal usage of her name and likeness and <ahem> attributes. Reuters reports she is seeking $75,000 in damages.

Source: The Los Angeles Times and Zap2It