This is (Almost) Too Much

When I saw the photo below, I knew that I had to use it on my blog. Photos like this are one of the reasons why I started this blog.

Images courtesy of MotoCorsa.com

How ingenius that the team at MotoCorsa, a Portland, Oregon, Ducati dealership decided to do their photoshoot with both a sexy female model and some of their own male employees! What a smart way for this dealership to get tons of attention.

It's a little bit ridiculous, but hilarious that they did this campaign. It's always great when a brand can show that they don't take themselves too seriously!

P.S. The video that they posted on their YouTube page is pretty amazing. It's posted below:

Nivea Ad with Phone Charger

Last week, I attended a Social Media Club Dallas event. They're always fun and I learn a lot about marketing and of course, social media. The speaker was Jay Baer, who has written a book called "Youtility", which is marketing by helping your customers.

One of the examples of Youtility used in marketing was a Nivea sunblock print ad in Brazil. They were selling suntan lotion and created an ad that could charge your smartphone using solar electricity.

Incredible! People will remember this campaign because of its genius. They will also likely tell their friends about it because it helped them to easily charge their phones.

Water-Generating Billboard In Peru

I am a sucker for any marketing campaign that can make the world a better place. That is exactly what UTEC, Peru's University of Engineering and Technology, accomplished with a campaign to increase their enrollment.

They teamed up with Peruvian ad agency Mayo Publicidad to create an incredible billboard that helped turn the humidity in the air into clean drinking water.

Check out the video below:

Let's Grow Mold Together

I love plays on words, especially when they are used in marketing. Murray's Cheese has used an expression that many of us are familiar with, "Let's grow old together." Instead of "old", they used "mold" to represent cheese in this relationship. 
 

Image from MurraysCheese.com

I always wonder how people come up with such great ideas! Some people just have a gift when it comes to wordplay. 

The German Quiz

I recently stumbled on a lovely thing called The German Quiz, which was a quiz to see exactly how German you are. It's quite facetious, but still hilarious, including an image of a man wearing a fanny pack and rocking his socks with sandals.

Image from adam-fletcher.co.uk/howtobegerman

After taking the quiz, I realized that The German Quiz was a clever ploy to draw attention to a new book written by Adam Fletcher, an Englishman living in Berlin.

Hashtags in Music Videos

This might not be a new phenomenon. I must admit that I listen to music and other things while I'm working, but I don't watch the videos.

When I showed the video for Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines to my husband, he asked what the hashtags were all about. That is a very good way for Robin Thicke to inspire his fans to mention his song via social media. 

I Heart Shiner

There's a marketing campaign that Shiner Bock beer has been using:

Image from BeerTripper.com

I love how they've added the heart to the map of Texas, where the city of Shiner is located. It's an innovative way to show how Shiner Bock beer is used to represent Texas and Texas pride. 

Who Rescued Who?

Image from Petco.com

I have seen this sticker on a few vehicles lately. As a pet lover, I find this message very powerful.

Animals bring so much joy into our lives. At my home, we have one dog, and a kitty who has his own bowl and a litter box, but does not technically live with us. I don't consider him a rescue, though, as I know that he visits his real home sometimes.

They bring a lot of joy to our lives. Animals are so wonderful for your well-being. Every time I see this message, it makes me smile and think about the two sweet boys that I have at home.

Child Abuse Billboard

The first time I saw this video about a billboard for the ANAR Foundation, I was blown away. How interesting that marketers are using creative technology to ensure that their messages are seen by the right demographic (and not the wrong ones).

I would love to see (and share) more examples of marketers thinking outside of the box.

Ze Frank and his Incredible YouTube Videos

I'm sure by now many of you have watched the "Sad Cat Diary" on YouTube. For anyone who's familiar with cats, this video perfectly shows their me-centered personalities.

After showing this video to my husband last weekend, we dove a little deeper and watched many of "Ze Frank's" YouTube videos.

He does a series of videos about quirky animals that are incredible. They're a little off-color, but hilarious. Our favorite so far is "True Facts About The Sea Pig".

His personal commentary is so funny. The beauty of these "True Facts About...." videos is that they're educational and funny. It's definitely a win-win for all of us, as we learn about unusual animals and are entertained at the same time.

How To Quit Your Job

When this picture went viral in April, it was incredible! This is an amazing way to quit your job, especially if you want to work full-time baking cakes.

Image from Epicurious.com

Epicurious.com took it one step further by interviewing Mr. Cake. What an inspiring story for anyone who wants to follow their dreams.

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2013/04/how-to-quit-your-job.html

Drink Water, Not Sugar

I love sparkling water when it has a hint of flavor. I've been drinking Canada Dry Sparkling Seltzer Water for years. All of the flavors are good, especially raspberry, lemon-lime and mandarin orange. They're perfect when they're cold.

My husband bought a couple of hint waters for us to try. The water isn't carbonated, but it is naturally flavored with fruit and/or herbs. It doesn't have sugar or cancer-causing aspartame.

Image captured from drinkhint.com

The best thing about hint water is their motto, "Drink Water, Not Sugar". Every single time I drink a carbonated beverage loaded with sugar (or high fructose corn syrup), I wonder why I do it. I would much rather drink something that's naturally flavored without sugar.

Woman Within

I'm not sure why, but we received this in the mail for my dad. It's a clothing catalog for women that runs from sizes 12W to 44W.

 

Receiving this catalog made me question the merits of the direct mail list that this company purchased. I'm inclined to think that sending a catalog to male baby boomers is not a wise use of marketing dollars. 

It does make me laugh to tease my dad about this catalog, though. 

Safely Working

One of my favorite things that I picked up a few years ago at an antique store is this gem:

Ashtray was a reward to employees for working safely

I love the fact that, in 1961, employees at an electric company were rewarded for working safely. Their reward was an ashtray. An ashtray! So, for working safely, they were essentially rewarded with an apparatus that encouraged them to continue smoking. Amazing. 

My, how times have changed....

No Words

Sometimes you don't know what to say when something horrible has happened. You don't know what to say to others. Some of us try to bury ourselves in work and act like nothing has happened.

Last week was a terrible week. All of us kept on moving on, even after we had heard about the bombings at the Boston Marathon. We kept working after we heard about the devastation from an explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas.

But, I think that it took a toll on a lot of us. I know that it has taken a toll on me.

What I hope that we can all cherish from these incidents is the basic goodness of people. I have loved  hearing the stories of people coming to help others in the aftermath of disaster. Hearing about first responders helping people in Boston and in West, Texas, has left me with knowledge that there are many good people in this world.

Mobile Clothes

I found a great article this morning called "Why Your Clothes Need A Mobile Upgrade" on Computerworld.com. The author talks about how our clothes need to be more mobile-device friendly. I often wonder about this, because of the sheer size of iPads and iPhones.

It is very strange, when you think about it. There are bags and briefcases with pockets for devices, but clothes often don't have large enough pockets to comfortably fit an iPhone.

The author highlights several companies who have designed clothing to comfortably and safely fit mobile devices. Check out Scottevest.com and their ingenious vests, pants, jackets and more. 

Image captured from Scottevest.com

How interesting that so many clothing companies have not caught up with the gadget and mobile-media craze...

Bock By Popular Demand

There is a billboard that I've seen a few times in the DFW area. I finally got a chance to pull over & snap a picture. It's a play on words by Lone Star Beer and looks like this:

I enjoy a good play on words. Lone Star has replaced "Back By Popular Demand" with "Bock By Popular Demand".

Smooth Move

I visited a natural food store with a good friend and saw this gem, which instantly made me giggle:

Screenshot courtesy of TraditionalMedicinals.com

I'd never seen "Smooth Move" tea before. It helps relieve constipation & apparently will help things "move".

It reminded me of the beginning of a very funny book by Peter Mayle, an English writer who spent time in the South of France and wrote about his adventures. "Toujours Provence" begins with a funny tale of the author being given a pamphlet with constipation advice from a pharmacy in France.

I love when people write about cultural understanding and misunderstanding, especially when it comes to sensitive issues, like bowel movements.

First World Problems Anthem

A friend's wife posted this recently on her facebook page. It served as a reminder of how some of our so-called "problems", which are really minor annoyances, aren't real "problems".

It's so easy to forget how good we have it. I love the expression "First World Problems" because it reminds me that our current cell phone charging, having to plug in our iPad, etc, problems aren't critical.

I love it when non-profit organizations can take advantage of creative marketing and great ideas. This campaign was created for WaterIsLife.com, a charity that was created to provide clean water solutions to communities in developing countries.

Can't get it up?

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving on the highway on my way to work. Minding my own business, and all of a sudden, I saw one of the best things I've ever seen on a wrapped vehicle:

Photo courtesy of Open Up Garage Doors

My mind was like "What???? I have to see what they're talking about. Speed up! SPEED!"

Now, I was in a construction zone, where the speed limit is 50. I wasn't able to do much speeding, but I made a mental note to get in touch with that company, as that's the best question I've ever seen written on the side of a company vehicle.

Turns out, the "Can't get it up?" truck was from Open Up Garage Doors, a garage door company based in Hurst, Texas.

It still makes me laugh when I think about that truck. Props to Open Up Garage Doors for having the guts to turn heads! Also, thank you to Jenny, their Office Manager, for the picture.

Dr Pepper Ten

Last night I went to my first Dallas Stars hockey game. We had a good time, but I was surreptitiously watching all of the marketing going on most of the time.

According to my family, hockey in the South is not the same hockey that was played years ago in Canada. There is much more of an emphasis on marketing and fighting. But hey, people go to hockey games to be entertained, not necessarily to watch and enjoy the sport.

I think that one of my favorite ads was this one by Dr Pepper Ten:

From Dallas Stars Program

I love the use of Duck Tape spelling out the word "ten" and how Dr Pepper Ten is trying to assert its own manliness with this ad. 

Cheetos & Other Visual URLs

One of the recent Cheetos commercials ends with an interesting way of representing its URL. Here is a screenshot from the end of the commercial:



What impressed me the most is that I've hardly ever seen URLs represented in this way. I started trying to imagine what other companies could get away with using an image of their products and a .com to represent their URL.

Last week, I saw a different representation of a visual URL. This time, instead of typing out facebook.com/sokaglam, I noticed this on the Soka Glam website:

It makes me wonder if this is the future of visually representing URLs. 

Generic Trademarks

Does it ever catch your attention when you talk about qtips, band-aids or Kleenex? I think about it a lot when I use these words. They're brand names of items that we have started using for mainstream items. We not only use these words for Kleenex brand products, but we also use them for off-brand tissues.

It's an interesting phenomenon that has evolved over time. Descriptive terms like jell-o, saran wrap and xerox are used to describe both brand name and off-brand items. It's difficult for the companies that paid to have these items trademarked.

Can you think of any other examples of generic trademarks?