Category Archives: Marketing & Advertising

Marketing and advertising news and tactics that caught my eye.

Say Something Nice

Improv Everywhere constructed a custom wooden lectern with a megaphone holster and an attached sign that read, “Say Something Nice.” The lectern was placed in public spaces around New York and then left alone. They wanted to see what would happen if New Yorkers were given the opportunity to amplify their voices to “say something nice.”

I wonder if Minnesotans would be too shy to do this.

Say Something Nice

Source: Improve Everywhere

A cool idea for a direct mail envelope

Who doesn’t love a clever advertising idea? Check out this window cleaner envelope by Henk Oortwijn.

window cleaner envelope by Henk Oortwijn
(via Inspire Me Now)

Banned 90s LUNCHABLEZ commercial

Appealing to youth has been an important part of marketing and advertising for decades. It’s no longer just the parents making the buying decisions. Children and teens have influence over their parents, particularly when it comes to selecting lunch products.

This video spoof takes a look at a “commercial” that never aired when it was “made” in 1996. There’s a valid reason why it wasn’t made public until now. NSFW.


(via icanhasinternets)

A small bookstore in West Virginia

A small bookstore in West Virginia

The Paradox Bookstore

A small bookstore in Wheeling, West Virginia has a charming business model. The Paradox Bookstore is located at the Centre Market in Wheeling, WV. This eclectic used bookstore is actually the oldest used bookstore in West Virginia. It was opened by Tom Stobart 35 years ago when he was just seventeen and a young playwright. He can still be found behind the low counter reading and smoking as if time has forgotten him and he could care less. Their hours are posted as “irregular,” and they have no phone.

What kind of business would you have if money didn’t matter?

Food police now targeting hot dogs

Evil Hot Dogs
Yes folks, this is happening. The food police are at it again. This time they are erecting billboards near venues that sell a lot of dogs. A billboard, located near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, from the Cancer Project of the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine reads, “Warning: Hot Dogs Can Wreck Your Health.” The headline is accompanied by an image of a cigarette pack filled with hot dogs.

So how many packs of hot dogs are you up to per day?

Are there awards for magazine covers?

national lampoon(via Smoke and a Coke)

What was playing at the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis last week

Here’s what was playing at the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis last week.

Uptown Theater in Minneapolis

(via The Daily What)

Batman Forever 2012 movie poster and trailer

batman forever movie poster
Watch the trailer here:

Anti-litter ad from 1955

Anti-litter ad in the middle of Times Square. (via Copy Ranter)

nti-litter ad in the middle of Times Square

Inserting ads into old TV shows

The Bad Teacher poster in the second photo (below) with Ted (Josh Radnor) and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) was added to a lamp post that was already in the scene.

Why does this 2006 episode of How I Met Your Mother include an ad for the 2011 movie Bad Teacher? Because it can. Technology is advancing in the advertising world. A company called SeamBI (Seamless Brand Integration) can inject new ad units into the content of old syndicated shows. They do this by digitally altering scenes of old TV show episodes with new products and brands. If there is an appropriate space for an ad naturally in the shot (i.e. billboard or TV in the background), they use that space. If no natural space exists, then one is created. The plasma hanging in the background in this photo was digitally rendered and added  into the shot. The original airing never had a TV on the wall.

In the coffee shop scene with Marshall (Jason Segel) above, the plasma TV screen was inserted

Not sure where I stand on this. I think it would be distracting to be watching a rerun of My Name is Earl and see an iPad ad on the screen behind Crabman. Advertisers know that people are fast-forwarding through the ads though, so product placement is becoming more important. (via ADWEEK)