Fat Shaming

There's something that has been bothering me for a while. Every time I've visited Women's Health Magazine's website, I've seen a nasty little message. As a person who is trying to better themselves by finding effective workouts, healthy recipes, and healthy living tips, I'm pretty sure that the last thing I need to see when I visit womenshealthmag.com is this message:

Women's Health Magazine #FatShaming message

When a company wants to earn new customers or have people sign up for their mailing list, they usually aim to please them. Women's Health Magazine has devised a way for people to feel bad about themselves when clicking through their website. Not only does this disturb me as a consumer, but it disappoints me. The world doesn't need any more negativity, especially from a magazine whose website is introduced as "It's good to be you! Feel better and look younger with the best workout routines, easy eating plans, printable guides and more" in search results.

It fascinates me that someone on the Women's Health Magazine team thought this was a good idea.

Do It for Denmark

A truly genius campaign from a Danish travel agency. They noticed a very low birthrate in Denmark, and the statistic that "Danes have 46% more sex on city holidays". So, they came up with this gem of an advertising campaign: "Do It for Denmark"

This campaign is one of  the reasons why I love and enjoy marketing so much. They have used humor and some facts to create a simple slogan that is hard to forget. Thank you Spies for creating this amazing campaign that will likely forever be on people's minds when they think of Denmark and its people.

Koko Brown from Kona Brewing Co.

One day we will make it to this brewery. One day. And it will be glorious...

Bottlecap from a tasty Koko Brown

It's been a couple of years since I discovered this brewery. My first beer was the Pipeline Porter, which is a dark beer made with Kona coffee. It's delicious.

The most recent one that I found was Koko Brown, a dark beer made with toasted coconut. It's also delicious.

But, my favorite thing about Kona Brewing Co. are their bottlecaps. Since their beer is brewed in Hawaii, they teach you a Hawaiian word on each of their bottlecaps. It's supposed to make us smarter by drinking their beer, but I think that it's a charming way that they've emphasized the Hawaiian language and culture with their brand.

Taking Advantage of the Polar Vortex

I found this incredible tourism ad via Mashable:

Image from Mashable.com

The genius of this billboard for Arizona Tourism is that it was smack-dab in the middle of the cold Chicago winter. I've never been to Chicago, but I've heard that it gets pretty darn cold there.

What a great way to generate interest in your warm-climate state when people are tired of wearing winter jackets and shoveling snow.

If Only for a Second

The beauty of this video is that the idea is so simple. The Mimi Foundation took 20 cancer patients and offered them a makeover. The only catch was that they couldn't open their eyes during the makeover.

The Foundation then recorded the first moment when the patients opened their eyes. It's wonderful to see their surprised expressions when they see how ridiculous they look. It helped them forget about the cancer, if only for a second.

This is such a beautiful concept. Everyone needs to laugh, especially when they're dealing with something as uncertain as a cancer diagnosis.

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.