Stream of Consciousness » Opinions. Everyone has them.

The Browser You Loved to Hate. Introducing the New IE.

truecreek — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:49:36 +0000

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.

New iPad Pricing Model.

truecreek — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 22:13:21 +0000

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.

Shame On You, Carnival.

truecreek — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:05:25 +0000

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.

Elmore’s Been Busy.

truecreek — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:35:22 +0000

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.

World’s Most LIKED Brands, from CNBC.

truecreek — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:20:19 +0000

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.

The UnHate campaign from Benneton.

truecreek — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:30:58 +0000

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.

Ben & Jerry’s Tribute to Schweddy Balls.

truecreek — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:03:25 +0000

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.’

Top Ad Campaigns of the 20th Century.

truecreek — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:17:38 +0000

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.

The Top Ad Icons of the 20th Century.

truecreek — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:06:58 +0000

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.

I can’t wait. Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

truecreek — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 20:02:53 +0000

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.

Official site here.

Box office update: ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ thrashes expectations, earns $19.8 million on Friday

TV Pitchman Indicted. What Responsiblities Do TV Networks Have?

truecreek — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:49:15 +0000

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.

Kroon Hall at Yale University. An Award-Winner.

truecreek — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 20:42:23 +0000

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.

Complete article here: