Media [Ad]itude

Collecting advertising & media tidbits, learnings, laughs, and words of wisdom from the experienced. From a Los Angeles-based ad geek working on her game. This is easier than writing it down.

[vixli]

[vixli]

"What the brand thought: Women in bikinis sloshing each other with milk + fried-dough-auto-stunt pun = playful, clever sales pitch.

What the universe thought: This is the tiny car for drooling man-pigs."

Attik - seriously?

[vixli]

Moment of creepy nostalgia. First commercial from McDonald's. Ever. 

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Via

[vixli]

Dailey Dose, December perspective on Media

[vixli]

Adweek's 10 Best Commercials of 2011. I always enjoy this. 

[vixli]

2012 Political Logos tell you less than nothing about Candidates

Click here for the full read (because it's fantastic). Below is an excerpt:

It's the Message, Stupid

If Obama's branding in 2008 redefined what a presidential candidate's logo can achieve, what can we say about his current crop of would-be challengers? Adweek asked some of the country's leading design gurus their opinions of the logos of the Republicans currently in the race. In a nutshell, Obama's design influence is felt, but nothing comes as close to being so evocative.

Herman Cain "Dignified to the point of dainty. Clearly angling for credibility with the torch logo, but it looks like the Olympic torch." – Debbie Millman, president of the design division at Sterling Brands "It's nice that it's a torch; it has meaning. [But] I don't think anyone, including him, is particularly clear what that is." – Scott Stowell, founder of the design shop Open "It has real elegance. It has a real nice intelligence about it. But no logo can help him now." – Karl Gude, graphics editor-in-residence at Michigan State University

Rick Perry "It's reminiscent of a car showroom, trying for a badge of trust, but not very memorable." – DM "It's sort of nothing. It just looks like a big pill that you take." – SS "I don't like it. It's lost on the page. The red is too deep, you don't really see it; it doesn't stand out." – KG

Jon Huntsman

"A nice reinterpretation of the Hilton logo. Did they provide him with a swag donation for his campaign?" – DM "It's very nice. Of course, the red is saying 'Republican.' It's sort of a stenciled 'H,' which gives a feeling of activism. It's like something connecting things." – SS "You could read that as 'I don't connect with the other side of the aisle. My ideas are not unified; I'm falling apart.' I understand why they did it, though, because it does look really nice." – KG Michele Bachmann "Old and trite; the branding has a corporate hollowness to it." – DM "There are things that look very much part of this Obama world, this particular kind of blue and glowing background that feels inspirational." – SS "The spacing between all the letters is too spread out. It looks weak, like you could just blow it away. It needs to be more of an anchored, kerned typeface." – KG Mitt Romney "Simple and self-confident, but very much about the man--not so much about our country or our future." – DM "It's the opposite of the Obama logo. It's a drippy thing that doesn't stand for anything." – SS "The 'R' is really awkward. It looks like it wants to fall over, without that leg to stand on." – KG Newt Gingrich "His branding and website look like a banking identity. Is it intentional?" – DM "It's very much in the world of Rick Santorum, where it's a remix of the stars and stripes." – SS "I like it a lot. I think it says 'strong,' it says 'unity.' The only thing I really, really hate about it is his name. 'Newt.' His being a salamander is hard for me to overcome." – KG Rick Santorum "For a corporation, it would feel established, and a bit stuffy." –DM "This logo is so conservative. It just looks like it's from the past. It looks like a candidate running in 1982 or earlier." – SS "I'm seeing 'Rick Sant,' and then 'Rum' on the right. Unless you know Rick Santorum, you wouldn't know that's an 'O.' You think his name is Rick Sant and he's into rum." – KG Ron Paul "Ron Paul's identity system rivals Verizon's for the winner of the busiest logo award. It also looks like a slasher took to the letter 'A.'" – DM "Not in iconography or meaning, but in style very much like Obama's." – SS "I found myself trying to scrape off the little red smudge over the 'A,' and when it wouldn't come off, I realized it was part of the logo! It's kind of wimpy and says to me he doesn't throw enough solutions at the problem." – KG

[vixli]

Dailey shared this fun Friday video: New marketing opportunity arrives in the ever-changing advertising landscape. Ask yourself, what can this do for your client? 

[vixli]

Yahoo's "IntoNow" App hears what you're watching on TV, then serves up related content on a second screen. Now we're moving beyond the arbitrary App check-in's into a personalized tablet experience. 

[vixli]

Infographic: The anatomy of an agency

Highly amusing. Just needs a sprinkle of the media species!

[vixli]

Ad of the Day: Dermablend transforms Zombie Boy (aka. Rick Genest) from a decomposing tattoo'd corpse to just another brooding dude on the street. The visual effect is so stunning, as is the visceral reaction.  

[vixli]

In this video with Digiday, Mindy Guillama-Rodriguez, a digital strategy supervisor at Horizon Media, discusses the role of click-through rates online, whether the Web needs a commercial break, and the frustrations consumer goods manufacturers have with online advertising.

[vixli]

TechCrunch caught a Pampers iAd running on the "300+ Sex Positions" iPhone app. Users are directed to the diaper brand's "Hello Baby" app which helps you track your pregnancy. Quite the mood-setter.

"Media Fail of the Day" award recognizes an outstanding job of making viewers nervous and uncomfortable.

[vixli]

Great story. Jobs - seen through the evolution of Apple's ad campaigns.

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"Three Apples that changed the world: Eve’s, Newton’s and Steve’s"

Heard on NPR

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Guilty?

[vixli]

Highly enjoyable video from JESS3 explaining how the TV ratings system works—reminiscent of “Schoolhouse Rock” meets “Sesame Street” with an old-school, 1970’s ESPN SportsCenter vibe. Fun AND educational!