A steady flow of thoughts about advertising
and marketing from True Creek.
Posted by truecreek on March 20, 2012 under More Dam News, Opinions. Everyone has them. | 
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Very cool new site from Microsoft. Self-effacing copy can often do the trick. Surprises you in a way that keeps you intrigued. Check out the graphs. Nice design, overall.
The Browser You Loved to Hate.
Posted by truecreek on March 7, 2012 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
What do you think about the pricing of the new iPad? Very aggressive move to the upside, IMHO. I’m sure the early adopters won’t push back too hard, but the second tier customer might just need a decent incentive to make the purchase decision.
Posted by truecreek on March 2, 2012 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Read the First Comment
You have to be kidding me. Here you have passengers who have just disembarked from a hellish three-days adrift in the Indian Ocean. After fearing for their lives due to the ravages of an uncontrollable fire, they had to endure an environment that I’m sure was just lovely. No AC. No electrical power. And the toilets were overflowing. Must have been a dream vacation on the high seas.
With just a little bit of effort, Carnival/Costa could have assembled a small army of people whose sole responsibility would have been to help passengers with their luggage once they reached dry land. No biggie, right?
Instead, they had to schlep all their own luggage around.
Just a little help at the dock could have gone a very long way. Shame on you, Carnival.
Posted by truecreek on December 13, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them., The Work | Be the First to Comment
Another nice piece of work from Chris Elmore, a very talented art director that I’ve worked with for years. He recently won a contest to design a poster for Swedish House Mafia’s sold out show at The Garden in NYC. Good stuff.
Posted by truecreek on December 12, 2011 under More Dam News, Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
This really brings home the new online world we live in, doesn’t it? First time in all my years of doing this that a have actually seen this type of list using LIKE from Facebook as the selection data. From CNBC.
Posted by truecreek on November 17, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
The always controversial Benneton has done it again with a series of posters entitled UnHate. The concept is one that I can embrace as a marketer and the truth is, the imagery is just amazing. While some folks may find this to be a bit tawdry, it is some compelling work. See it all here.
Posted by truecreek on September 27, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
One of my all-time favorite skits on SNL was Alec Baldwin’s ‘Schweddy Balls.” If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out here.
But should Ben & Jerry’s actually crafted an ice cream under the moniker? Don’t know if I’ll be rushing out for that flavor, but I have to admit I did ask my wife to check for it last night at the grocery store….
The whole thing has prompted a group to ask people to boycott Ben & Jerry’s. Fox News has been all over it and of course, NPR just appreciates the recognition.
Even CNN had a poll. Looks like a ‘split.’
Posted by truecreek on September 13, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
When you look at some of these, it’s just amazing to see the change in art direction over the years. Back in the day, copy seemed to be what drove everything. Then, as time went on, we started leading with visuals and copy was sent to the background.
I have always felt that copy needs to lead the way, with the headline enticing the reader to want more. Most of these campaigns relied on a spectacular headline.
That being said, the Absolut campaign has just been incredible, with some of the most compelling and imaginative imagery ever used in the business.
Another wonderful slideshow, from Ad Age and CNBC.
Posted by truecreek on under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
When looking through this, I couldn’t believe that the Michelin Man was first introduced in 1898. Bibendum, his real name, is mute. So that’s why the poor guy never says anything. At least Michelin saves on the VO.
Some great ones in this slideshow. From Ad Age and CNBC.
Posted by truecreek on August 2, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
I think this could be the biggest hit of the summer. Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The production and CG is incredible. Light years advancement in facial recognition. Amazing.
Following up the record-setting Captain America, this is going to be a whale of a weekend at the box office.
Box office update: ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ thrashes expectations, earns $19.8 million on Friday
Posted by truecreek on June 24, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
For years, Don Lapre offered up a too good to be true story about how we would all be mega-millionaires if we only followed his advice. Just send him some money now and he would be more than happy to tell us all of his secrets to making it big.
Now the government says 220,000 people were defrauded by this guy, to the tune of at least $532 million. Lapre used broadcast and cable television to get his fraudulent message across.
My question is: what is the responsibility of the TV networks here? I’m sure he’s screwed them out of some money as well, but do they even bother to do any kind of due diligence before accepting advertising such as his? What about a few weeks in, when everyone had seen the spots? Didn’t any network executive say to themselves “Is this guy for real?” How about when SNL did a sketch about him? Nothing?
I guess one could make an argument that he would not have been able to succeed in his scam without the networks lack of concern, so are they part of the problem?
When I was with CBS Radio, I couldn’t even run a spot for a costume contest on Halloween without having everything delineated in writing by the advertiser. You would think that the networks would have some sort of policy in place to assure that these snake oil salesmen don’t use their spot inventory to commit fraud.
Does it show contempt for one’s audience when the broadcaster doesn’t seem to care that the advertiser is shilling for something that is just too good to be true? Is it more important to get the business and close the deal than to protect the financial interests of your viewers?
My guess is that the networks will probably say ‘we will offer our support in any way we can’ when it comes to finding this guy and putting him in jail for good. But the truth is, had they been a little more skeptical early on in the game, the scam might not have succeeded at all. And 220,000 of their viewers would have a few more bucks in their wallets.
Posted by truecreek on June 8, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
I don’t normally comment on architectural design, but Kroon Hall at Yale University is just something special and deserves some thoughts.
A net-zero building, it’s one of the finest pieces of architecture I have seen in the U.S. in a long time. It has solar panels, a geothermal energy system and was manufactured with more recycled materials than I would want to list here. They even use water from a pond to flush toilets. Now that’s design.
Posted by truecreek on June 2, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
I am so glad to see that the U.S. auto industry has come back. Collectively, the domestic automakers have made some amazing strides in a very short period of time. The culture change alone has been astounding, never mind what they have done on the design and production side of the equation.
The cars being produced by GM, Ford and Chrysler are amongst the very best in the world. As Chrysler says in one of their spots, ‘perhaps we should RAISE our standards and buy American.’ Or something like that. I wholeheartedly agree.
For the entire article, click.
Posted by truecreek on April 25, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Read the First Comment
Spurlock has done it again with “POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.”
As he did in “Super Size Me,” Spurlock pulls you through the story, working hard to educate you on the nuances, verbiage and acronyms that are a critical part of the storyline. In this case, he’ decides to make a movie about product placement, financing it through product placement. It’s just a hoot.
He gradually becomes a learned student of the process. He makes one presentation after another to agencies and their clients, changing and adapting his pitch along the way. Finally, when he’s asked by one prospect “how much?’, he seems a bit taken aback at first. Then he calmly spits out a fair, but low, number.
Many of the marketers he presented to seem to have been taken aback by his unpretentious nature in the meetings. It’s was like like they were listening to their crazy brother or sister at the dinner table. You know what they are saying sounds weird, but than again….
You know he’s not trying to, but he makes more than a few of the marketers look pretty stupid in the process. And I think that is one of the things I find most interesting about Spurlock; it’s his unpretentious nature. You just feel for the guy and know that he’s just trying to make things happen. So what if he steps in it once in a while?
In one scene in the movie, he gets in the elevator after having pitched four or five great ideas to POM, only to be told that they would prefer another direction. Of course, it’s the one that they have been thinking about since he last presented to them. His stuff didn’t have a chance. How many times have we all been there?
This article from Ad Age speaks to the success Spurlock is having selling the movie. But his success doesn’t surprise me. He’s a great salesman. Perhaps he could offer versions of the movie as he adds more and more sponsors. That’s how the industry would do it, right?
Read more about this in AdAge:
Posted by truecreek on April 4, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
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Posted by truecreek on under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
I’m working on a new project right now with one of my favorite directors. He’s recommending we shoot this series of commercials with the new ALEXA, from ARRI.
He’s all pumped up about the extraordinary 35 format film-style digital camera system. He insists it’s just perfect for what we’re looking to do.
The camera will give us outstanding image quality with the organic look and feel of film, but what happens afterward is what is juicing him so much.
We’ll shoot with the HD on-board recording and after our shoot, we’re just going to pull out the large card we’ve recorded on and move the files right over to the Mac to edit, saving a tremendous amount of time and money in the process.
It does beg the question. Is film dead?
Posted by truecreek on March 25, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
My clients are well aware of my affinity for cinema advertising. I just love the tactic. With cinema, you have a captive audience that considers movie advertising a part of the experience. The demos are great and your message is not lost in the clutter we see every day in other forms of media.
We’re closing in on a great summer movie season, with dozens of potential hits coming your way to the big screen, like . This is going to be one of the big hitters, I think. Captain America, another great Marvel story.
Posted by truecreek on March 9, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them., Research | Be the First to Comment
Interesting article from AdWeek. As the young users age, I wonder if they will keep their strong opinions about brand presence on social media.
By Mike Shields
Bad news for brands enamored with the possibility of connecting one on one with each and every consumer through the magic of social media: Young people don’t want to be friends with you.
According to a new report from Forrester Research, just 6 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds who use the Web desire to be friends with a brand on Facebook—despite the fact that half of this demographic uses the site.
Among Web-connected 18- to 24-year-olds that figure does double—meaning that 12 percent of that demo is OK with befriending brands—though the vast majority of young adults are not, per Forrester.
Even scarier for brands: Young people don’t want brands’ friendship, and they think brands should go away. “Many brands are looking to social media as a strong digital channel to communicate with these consumers, since it’s where 12- to 17-year-olds are spending so much time,” wrote Jacqueline Anderson, Forrester’s Consumer Insights Analyst, who authored the report. “But research shows that it is important to consider more than just consumers’ propensity to use a specific channel: Almost half of 12- to 17-year-olds don’t think brands should have a presence using social tools at all.”
To arrive at these conclusions, Forrester surveyed 4,681 Americans aged 12-17 on the Web in September of last year.
So what should brands do? According to Forrester’s report, they might be better off being more reactive than proactive, and they should listen. Just 16 percent of young consumers expect brands to use social media to interact with them, and 28 percent expect those brands to listen to what they say on social sites and get back to them.
Regardless of their willingness to interact with brands, nearly three quarters of 12-17 year olds—74 percent—use social networks to talk about products with friends and make recommendations.
Posted by truecreek on March 8, 2011 under More Dam News, Opinions. Everyone has them., Research | Be the First to Comment
Surprising to see this happen so quickly. I would have thought this shift would have taken another ten years or so. It must be a youth thing because I prefer HD on a big screen for my TV and gaming.
By John Eggerton — Broadcasting & Cable
Consumers are spending about 20 hours per week accessing digital content-including video games and print content–on a cell phone, computer, or mobile device, with the majority of that TV shows, movies and other videos.
That is according to a just-released consumer research study from PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers). The study found that across all age groups, respondents watched 12.4 hours of TV shows/videos and movies online, while only 8.9 hours of that content on network TV and basic and pay cable.
Not surprisingly, the 44 and under crowd do the majority of that digital viewing, but even the 45-59 age group was close to even, with 9 hours of traditional video watching vs. 8.3 hours of online video viewing.
Mobile devices trailed as the screen of preference, in line with PWC’s forecasts that mobile TV is a very small percentage (1%) of the total TV subscription marketplace. The study found that 80% of respondents would not pay a premium for early access to content on their mobile device.
When asked about the ways they obtain movie content, only 12.9% cited purchasing via VOD from their cable company, which put that ninth on the list behind streaming from Hulu for free (30.7%), renting from an actual brick and mortar store (23.3%), or borrowing one from a friend or relative (19.8%). The two top answers were renting an actual copy from a Netflix (42.6%) and renting an online copy (31.7%).
Posted by truecreek on January 26, 2011 under More Dam News, Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
So, did this thing help communicate the level of threat? Wonder how much was spent on it? Well, as of today you can say goodbye.
Posted by truecreek on under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
Pictures tell a thousand words, yes? This is a sad compilation of photographs showing the demise of one of our Nation’s great cities.
Posted by truecreek on January 17, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them., Research | Be the First to Comment
For years, it’s been a given that women were primary decision-makers in most households, especially in the grocery store. They were always the keeper of the checkbook. But tough times can often change things and this recession has been no different. We’re spending less and watching our dollars more closely than ever before. But there is something more to the story.
I would never have thought that more than half of the Men surveyed now think they control the grocery cart. That is a HUGE shift from most current perceptions and might just mean a sea change in the way grocery stores market. A new survey from Yahoo is striking in it’s results.
BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) — Mom is losing ground to Dad in the grocery aisle, with more than half of men now supposedly believing they control the shopping cart. The implications for many marketers may be as disruptive as many of the changes they’re facing in media.
Through decades of media fragmentation, marketers of packaged goods and many other brands could take solace in one thing — at least they could count on their core consumers being moms and reach them through often narrowly targeted cable TV, print and digital media.
But a study by Yahoo based on interviews last year of 2,400 U.S. men ages 18 to 64 finds more than half now identify themselves as the primary grocery shoppers in their households. Dads in particular are taking up the shopping cart, with about six in 10 identifying themselves as their household’s decision maker on packaged goods, health, pet and clothing purchases. Not surprisingly, given that such ads long have been crafted for women, only 22% to 24% of men felt advertising in packaged goods, pet supplies or clothing speaks to them, according to the Yahoo survey.
The Great Recession has thrown millions of men in construction, manufacturing and other traditionally male occupations out of work and by extension into more domestic duties. At the same time, gender roles were already changing anyway, with Gen X and millennial men in particular more likely to take an active role in parenting and household duties.
Posted by truecreek on December 8, 2010 under More Dam News, Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
It stands to reason. Might our entertainment industry be offering up the best form of propaganda? Desperate Housewives being used to ‘counter the extremists?’ Amazing. Wonder how Modern Family is going over?
By Devin Dwyer.
American television shows broadcast across the Middle East are proving to be effective “agents of influence” in the ongoing battle over hearts and minds of ordinary Muslims pondering jihad against the United States, a confidential government cable published by Wikileaks reveals.
ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” and “World News with Diane Sawyer,” as well as CBS’ “Late Show with David Letterman” and NBC’s sitcom “Friends,” all carry more sway with viewers than a U.S. taxpayer-funded Middle East broadcast network, an unnamed Saudi source told U.S. embassy officials last year.
“It’s still all about the War of Ideas here, and the American programming on [privately-owned] MBC and Rotana is winning over ordinary Saudis in a way that ‘Al Hurra’ and other U.S. propaganda never could,” the source said.
“Saudis are now very interested in the outside world, and everybody wants to study in the U.S. if they can. They are fascinated by U.S. culture in a way they never were before.”
The Saudi government, which exerts tight control over media in the country, has permitted the satellite broadcasts of American programming uncensored with Arabic subtitles over the privately-owned Middle East Broadcasting group (MBC) as a “means of countering the extremists.”
Posted by truecreek on November 17, 2010 under More Dam News, Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
Just yesterday, General Motors announced a 31 percent increase in the amount of shares the company is going to issue in common stock for their IPO tomorrow. It very possibly could become the largest IPO in history. This dramatic increase in issuance is due to the demand generated by the buzz associated with the offering. And it’s a buzz that is not all about just the financials. UPDATE FROM AP: GM’s landmark stock sale is now set to raise up to $22.7 billion, the biggest IPO in history.
I think it says a lot about the product offering. Dropping Saab, Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer has allowed the company to FOCUS their attention on their four remaining core brands: GMC, Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac. GMC trucks are some of the best in the world, the Chevrolet and Buick brands are on fire and Cadillac is staying strong.
According to the company, year-to-date, combined sales of the Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Camaro, Buick LaCrosse and Regal, GMC Terrain and Cadillac SRX and CTS Wagon are up 323 percent.
And today, even more good things to say. The highly anticipated VOLT has been named Car of the Year by Motor Trend and Automobile. I’m sure Car and Driver won’t be far behind. Without a single car having been delivered. Now that’s confidence in a product. Add to that, GE’s decision to buy 25,000 Volts by 2015 and you have a winner here.
The quality of the GM build today is second to none. Factories are in the best shape ever, utilizing build and production techniques that will assure buyers of a high quality product with minimal defects. Reliability and quality engineering is now a part of the overall message for all the brands. Take a look at some of the new GM advertising. Best in a long time.
So, tomorrow will be a good day, maybe even a great day, for GM. And they deserve it.
(Chevrolet’s SS concept, from GM’s North Hollywood Design Center.)
Posted by truecreek on November 16, 2010 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Be the First to Comment
2011 is set up to be another exciting year at the movies. There’s guaranteed to be something for everyone with plenty of thrillers and comedies. Just throw in some romance, a little horror, lots of drama and exciting action and you have another great year in cinema.
It also looking to be the biggest year ever in 3-D.
Here are just some of the blockbusters you’ll see in 2011:
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
The Hangover 2
Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom
The Dark Fields
The Green Hornet
The Rite
Scream 4
The Green Lantern
Cars 2
X-Men First Class
Transformers 3
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II
The Three Musketeers
Twilight Saga
Happy Feet 2
Mission Impossible 4
Sherlock Holmes 2
