Apple’s retail stores aren’t the only place where lines form these days. It’s 7:30 on a July morning, and already a crowd has gathered for the opening of Trader Joe’s newest outpost, in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. The waiting shoppers chat about their favorite Trader Joe’s foods, and a woman in line launches into a monologue comparing the retailer’s West Coast and East Coast locations. Another customer suggests that the chain will be good for Chelsea, even though the area is already brimming with places to buy groceries, including Whole Foods and several upscale food boutiques.

But Trader Joe’s is no ordinary grocery chain. It’s an offbeat, fun discovery zone that elevates food shopping from a chore to a cultural experience. It stocks its shelves with a winning combination of low-cost, yuppie-friendly staples (cage-free eggs and organic blue agave sweetener) and exotic, affordable luxuries — Belgian butter waffle cookies or Thai lime-and-chili cashews — that you simply can’t find anyplace else.

Employees dress in goofy trademark Hawaiian shirts, hand stickers out to your squirming kids, and cheerfully refund your money if you’re unhappy with a purchase — no questions asked. At the Chelsea store opening, workers greeted customers with high-fives and free cookies. Try getting that kind of love at the Piggly Wiggly.

It’s little wonder that Trader Joe’s is one of the hottest retailers in the U.S. It now boasts 344 stores in 25 states and Washington, D.C., and strip-mall operators and consumers alike aggressively lobby the chain, based in Monrovia, Calif., to come to their towns. A Trader Joe’s brings with it good jobs, and its presence in your community is like an affirmation that you and your neighbors are worldly and smart.

The privately held company’s sales last year were roughly $8 billion, the same size as Whole Foods’ and bigger than those of Bed Bath & Beyond, No. 314 on the Fortune 500 list. Unlike those massive shopping emporiums, Trader Joe’s has a deliberately scaled-down strategy: It is opening just five more locations this year. The company selects relatively small stores with a carefully curated selection of items. (Typical grocery stores can carry 50,000 stock-keeping units, or SKUs; Trader Joe’s sells about 4,000 SKUs, and about 80% of the stock bears the Trader Joe’s brand.) The result: Its stores sell an estimated $1,750 in merchandise per square foot, more than double Whole Foods’. The company has no debt and funds all growth from its own coffers.

More about Inside the Secret World of Trader Joe’s here.

From Photoblog:

Co-owner Christian Petersen looks out of a window at his bicycle shop in Altlandsberg, north-east of Berlin August 17, 2010. The owners attached about 120 bicycles on the facade to advertise their shop.

Photo credit:

Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters

After several consecutive years of modest but consistent growth, broadband adoption slowed dramatically in 2010. Two-thirds of American adults (66%) currently use a high-speed Internet connection at home, a figure that is not statistically different from what The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project found at a similar point in 2009, when 63% of Americans were broadband adopters.

The lack of growth in broadband adoption at the national level was mirrored across a range of demographic groups, with African-Americans being a major exception. Broadband adoption by African-Americans now stands at 56%, up from 46% at a similar point in 2009. That works out to a 22% year-over-year growth rate, well above the national average and by far the highest growth rate of any major demographic group.

Read more about Home Broadband 2010, a Pew Study, here.

Stella Artois has enlisted famous photographer Bert Stern to create Vogue-like images for a U.S. campaign that depicts the finer things in life.

The campaign, created by Mother New York, positions Stella Artois as “the most premium beer in the world.” It kicks off with an ad shot by Stern, which recreates a 1960 cover of Vogue. The ad shows a man enamored with a woman who is drinking Stella Artois beer. The tagline is: “She is a thing of beauty.”

That ad will run in print and out-of-home in the U.S. for six months starting this week. Michael Ian Kaye, a creative director at Mother, said additional ads—including TV—will break during the holidays (November/December timeframe).

Kaye said the U.S. effort builds on a Stella Artois campaign currently running in the U.K. Some of that overseas creative is currently featured on the company’s Web site, which also sports the new tagline.

“‘She a thing of beauty’ came from the work we’ve done in the U.K. It’s really about a brand that has been established with a sense of luxury,” said Kaye. “We were tasked with creating a U.S. print campaign that bring that notion to life.”

The ads are also meant reflect Stella Artois’ target consumer: a more sophisticated beer drinker. Kaye said: “While, it tends to be a slightly more female base, we’re targeting both men and women who lead a certain lifestyle.”

ANN ARBOR, Mich., July 5, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Domino’s Pizza, the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, is continuing its honest, transparent way of communicating with customers by walking down a new avenue of authenticity: food photography.

In an effort to display Domino’s Inspired Pizza as authentically as possible, all Domino’s national advertising pieces will feature food photography without the fancy food artistry or fake food touch-ups.

Whether it be a commercial on TV or an advertisement in the local paper, the landmark advertising approach promises that all product shots of the Inspired Pizza have been untouched by stylists or model makers typically found on food photography shoots.

“How many times have you wondered why the products you buy don’t look as good in person as they do in TV ads?” said Russell Weiner, Domino’s Pizza chief marketing officer. “That’s because most of the time companies use artificial techniques to make their products look better than they do when served to you in person. At Domino’s, we’re proud of the way our pizza looks – and tastes – right out of the oven.”

The new approach to food photography follows the same line of transparency that began in late 2009 with the launch of the company’s “Pizza Turnaround” advertising campaign – sparking critical acclaim from media, and overwhelmingly positive consumer response to the pizza itself. The campaigns following the launch of the pizza have, in one way or another, been featured in almost every major media outlet, as well as more than 1,000 local TV affiliates.

“It’s a natural progression for us now to take this step,” Weiner continued. “If we’re going to be real and honest about the taste of the product, we want to be as authentic as possible about how it looks. And there’s nothing more mouthwatering than a Domino’s pizza straight out of the oven.”

Also part of the latest chapter in transparency is Domino’s launch of an online component called Show Us Your Pizza, inviting consumers to submit their best natural Domino’s food photography to earn one of four prizes of $500.

Customers can visit ShowUsYourPizza.com to learn about Domino’s Pizza’s “photo promise,” which prohibits any artificial manipulation of the product during shooting, among other rules. The best amateur food photographers who adhere to the photo promise might also have their shots featured in future Domino’s advertisements.

Now that’s how you do it.

By Mary Madden and Lee Rainie.

Adults are just as likely as teens to have texted while driving and are substantially more likely to have talked on the phone while driving.

In addition, 49% of adults say they have been passengers in a car when the driver was sending or reading text messages on their cell phone. Overall, 44% of adults say they have been passengers of drivers who used the cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger.

Beyond driving, some cell-toting pedestrians get so distracted while talking or texting that they have physically bumped into another person or an object.

These are some of the key findings from a new survey by The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project:

• Nearly half (47%) of all texting adults say they have sent or read a text message while driving.

• Looking at the general population, this means that 27% of all American adults say they have sent or read text messages while driving. That compares with 26% of all American teens ages 16-17 who reported texting at the wheel in 2009.

• Three in four (75%) cell-owning adults say they have talked on a cell phone while driving. Half (52%) of cell-owning teens ages 16-17 reported talking on a cell phone while driving in the 2009 survey.

• Beyond driving, one in six (17%) cell-owning adults say they have physically bumped into another person or an object because they were distracted by talking or texting on their phone. That amounts to 14% of all American adults who have been so engrossed in talking, texting or otherwise using their cell phones that they bumped into something or someone.

More about Adults Text While Driving Too here.

They have been all over television over the past few years.  You’ve seen them before.  The beautifully art directed HD spots from BP. All those bright green and yellows flying around to that perfect music. It’s easy to find outstanding animated spots in just a few minutes on the web.  And from what I have heard within the business, there were some spots produced recently that were in the $3 million per range. All of that backed up by a substantial national media buy.

All concepted and produced with one thought in mind:  to position BP as a friendly, “we’re here with you” company that is working hard to make the world a much better place.

What a crock.

How long do you think it will be before the millions of dollars spent by BP to position themselves as the savior of our collective energy future just melts away?

When a brand screws us all like this, they become lepers. We cringe at the very thought of doing business with them. We now look at their brand as a ‘taker’, not a ‘giver.’  And in the case of BP, I suspect you will see a growing disdain for the company as the days wear on.

So I wonder when the first round of new TV spots will start up?  It must suck for the agency that is responsible for producing what comes next from the company.  If it were my shop, I would really have to do some soul searching before anyone spent another minute behind the lens on behalf of BP.

Last year, the industry experienced a record-breaking summer, with huge hits like Transformers, The Hangover, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and many others. Coming up this summer there will be another 13 blockbusters and remakes scheduled for release on the big screen.

Here’s just a few of the flicks you can expect to see this summer at a theater near you:

Iron Man 2

Shrek Forever After 3D

Sex and the City 2

Marmaduke

Toy Story 3D

The Twilight Saga:  Eclipse

For most consumer marketers, cinema is the place to be this summer. And throughout the year, cinema advertising is a fantastic complement to any broadcast TV schedule.  So if you are in the theater, consider yourself a smart marketer.  If you’re not, give True Creek a call and let’s fix that.

Today marks a quarter century of one of marketing’s biggest blunders — and the sixth biggest moment in 75 years of advertising, according to Ad Age: New Coke.

Still smarting from the 1975 “Pepsi Challenge” taste-test battle, Coca-Cola Co. launches “Project Kansas,” a top-secret mission to reformulate Coke. President-Chief Operating Officer Robert Goizueta appoints Coca-Cola USA head Brian Dyson, who taps marketing chief Sergio Zyman to head the endeavor. Mr. Zyman and company test a new, sweeter version of the flagship cola with 190,000 nationwide taste tests at a cost of $4 million.

At a bottlers’ meeting in Atlanta back on April 22, 1985, Mr. Zyman announced from the stage that Coke was changing its taste. The next day Coca-Cola revealed the new, sweeter taste to financial analysts and the media. But word of the new product finally leaks out and Pepsi dispatches its own press assault on the same day claiming victory. “The other guy blinked,” Pepsi says in ads saying Coke reformulated its brand to taste “more like” Pepsi.

The press hammers at Mr. Goizueta, now chairman-CEO, to explain the difference and what will happen to the old Coke, which 39% of consumers still favor. When Mr. Goizueta admits it will do away with the old formula, consumers revolt. Dazed by the backlash, management on July 11, 1985, just 79 days later, agrees to bring back the original formula, renaming it Coca-Cola Classic.

Some in the industry counter-intuitively suggested the blunder was actually good for the beverage giant — that its fans’ reactions to the idea of their beloved Coke going away, along with the reintroduction of the cola as Coca-Cola Classic, have created a fantastic new marketing strategy. But we think the lesson is pretty clear: Don’t tinker with success. Or at least think very, very carefully before you do.

After a long winter and a grim recession luxury-faucet maker Brizo wants to give consumers “a license to dream.” Online videos and print ads created by Young & Laramore for Brizo’s high-end, touch-sensitive Talo, Venuto and Virage faucets feature vivid colors that morph into butterflies, flowers, mermaids and fish.

New ad campaigns suggest marketers are eager to shake off the gloom of tough economic times–and they hope consumers will do the same. While some economists aren’t sure the tough times are history, advertisers don’t seem to care. Companies are rolling out carefree ads that use humor, colorful images and upbeat language to get consumers to lighten up–and open up their wallets.

“What you make people feel is as important as what you make,” goes the voice-over in a commercial from BMW of North America’s “Story of Joy” ad campaign, which includes print ads featuring happy-looking adults, kids and dogs with headlines that lead off with “Joy is …” The campaign was created by GSD&M Idea City.

Procter & Gamble even seems to thumb its nose at money-pinching buyers of personal care products in ads for Old Spice. In TV spots, Isaiah Mustafa taunts women with recession-induced goodie withdrawal by offering “two tickets to that thing you love,” before the tickets turn into diamonds. Spots featuring Mustafa and his treats have racked up more than 8 million views since they broke in February.

Fun and games? Those are reappearing in ads. Interpublic agency Deutsch L.A.’s playful campaign for Volkswagen  “Punch Dub,” invites consumers to play an updated version of the game “Punch Buggy,” in which the first person to spot a VW slugs his or her friend on the arm. Stevie Wonder and 30 Rock’s Tracy Morgan even get in on the game in ads.

Microsoft even promotes the idea of carefree travel in ads for the launch of its new mobile phone brand, Kin. In “The Journey,” by AgencyTwoFifteen, Rosa Salazar, a lollipop-loving Brooklyn comedian, hits the road to meet as many of her 824 social networking friends as possible.

Consumers and marketers were in the dumps last year when total U.S. advertising expenditures fell 12.3% in 2009 to $125.3 billion, compared with 2008, says ad tracker Kantar Media in New York but some agency executives say marketers are willing to spend again.

“There is a market turn toward the positive,” says Deutsch N.Y. Chief Creative Officer Greg DiNoto. “That’s a smart marketing strategy for any brand when you’re emerging from a recession.” Brands need to be associated with winning.”

A few advertisers hope upbeat taglines will do the trick. Amway’s latest campaign, one with an estimated $25 million behind it, features the tagline “The Power of Positivity.” Ads, created by Omnicom’s Element 79, feature friendly farmers and helpful neighbors and suggest that Amway is a company doing its part by creating jobs for those affected by the recession.

More here.

By Susannah Fox

A new report released today by John B. Horrigan, formerly of Pew Internet and now at the Federal Communications Commission, finds that 78% of adults in the U.S. are Internet users and 65% of adults have home broadband access.

Adults who do not have broadband at home fall into four categories:

Digitally Distant: 10% of the general population. Median age is 63. Half say that the Internet is not relevant to their lives or they lack the digital literacy to adopt broadband.

Digital Hopefuls: 8% of the general population. Low-income, heavily Hispanic and African American. Likely to say they want to go online, but lack the resources.

Digitally Uncomfortable: 7% of the general population. Likely to own a computer, but lack skills and interest in taking advantage of all the Internet has to offer.

Near Converts: 10% of the general population. Median age is 45. Cost is the biggest barrier to having broadband at home.

Several weeks ago we received a gorgeous bouquet as a gift from our parents.  The flowers were from ProFlowers.com.  So I went to their site and found a perfect deal:  two for one on roses.  Buy a dozen, get a dozen.  Now that’s the ticket.  So the order was in.

When the flowers arrived two days later, I quickly looked at the roses and determined it was only a dozen, not two. So, being the ever vigilant consumer that I am, the call went out.  Immediately, the ProFlowers customer service rep jumped all into my perceived floral quagmire and took control.  Two dozen fresh roses were headed out the door to me for overnight delivery. With the most heart felt of apologies.  And thank you so much for being a ProFlowers customer.

A minute or so later, a very professional HTML email hits my box repeating the apology and giving me the tracking number of my complimentary order of two dozen red roses.   Now that is the way you handle it.

Unfortunately, it was a call I should never have made.  Later that evening, my wife discovered that there actually were two dozen roses in the package, they were just stacked in a way that only showed the tops of a dozen or so.  Everything was there and they looked absolutely beautiful.

Ugh.

So this morning, I sucked it up and sent an email to customer service. Yes, I blew it and you actually did send the correct amount of flowers.  And please don’t hurt Gabriella, the woman who packaged the gorgeous   roses. And the email was off.

Five minutes later their reply.  You’re very welcome!

I suspect the flowers will arrive shortly and will be just amazing.  Plus, there will be another note inside with some sort of coupon for a future purchase.  Trust me,  that is one coupon that will  never be used.

But  I can tell you that ProFlowers has a customer for life.