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.

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:

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.

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. 

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. 

512 Brewing (from Austin, of course)

A couple of months ago, we went to the Ginger Man Pub to meet up with some friends. It had been a few years since my last Ginger Man visit, and we went during the off-hours, so it wasn't too busy.

The Ginger Man Pubs always have a wide selection of beer on tap. I noticed one of the taps, and instantly knew (or thought I knew) where the brewery was from. This is what the taps looked like:

Image courtesy of thethreadaustin.com

The genius of naming their brewery "(512) Brewing" is that people instantly recognize "512" as an Austin-area area code. My favorite part of their branding process is the parentheses around the area code, to show that it's an area code.

Black Angus Steakhouse Sign Fail

I'm sure that many people have seen this picture before, because it's hilariously amazing. There were some very special forces that aligned in the skies to make this image possible. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them.

Image courtesy of AndrewKeir.com

You know, I bet marketers never sit around thinking of these possibilities, when devising catchy names for steakhouses.

Have you ever seen anything that compares to this marketing failure?

Mooscles

I recently found this ad via AdWeek and loved it! It's so incredible that I had to share it.

Sadly, our food supply is not what it once was. I, for one, get a bit creeped out when hearing about the antibiotics, hormones and other things that are added to our meats. Applegate Farms promotes their all-natural meats with a smart ad campaign.

Here's the link to the article from AdWeek: http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-applegate-farms-141449

Defying Expectations

I have found a few marketing campaigns and YouTube videos that have defied expectations lately. Whenever a commercial or an ad campaign defies expectations, it seems to be quite powerful and stick in my mind.

Over the weekend, I was talking with some friends about how incredible Amsterdam is. It's a gorgeous city, with beautiful canals and lovely people. Unfortunately, Amsterdam is also famous for some seedier things. No, I'm not worried about tourists smoking weed at the coffee shops. Amsterdam's Red Light District is famous for its prostitutes.

Here is a video that I would like to share. It's based in Amsterdam's Red Light District. This video was very powerful and left quite an impression on me.

Santé

There is something that has been bothering me for a few months. I have noticed a commercial for a rehab center that is located in Texas. Unfortunately, they named it "Santé Center for Healing."

Now, in theory, naming a rehab center after the French word for "health" would have been a good idea. However, if someone had spent about 10 minutes searching online, they might have realized that this word is also used as a toast before drinking alcohol.

When people go to drink alcoholic beverages in France, they say "à votre santé," which means "to your health." They also use "santé" or just "health."

I'm inclined to think that a recovering alcoholic does not need a reminder of a foreign term for toasting as they are trying to stay away from alcohol.

Has anyone else ever noticed a major marketing failure like this in the past?

The irony of the thank you bag

This morning, I realized the irony of the "thank you" bag, as it was used to pick up warm dog poo. I bet it was wanting to disown it's friendly message, as it was being used against its will.