It's About Time

Sorry for not updating in a while. I got a new job for the summer, and a lot of my time has been occupied checking in travelers, making sure there are enough towels, and reminding them that breakfast is served from 6 to 9. We do have wireless Internet, but I'm only allowed online for work-related activities.

The following is an update of happenings previously mentioned here.

Tread Lightly

Boeing has unveiled its environmentally conscious 787 Dreamliner. It's big and beautiful. Airbus has been marketing its A380 as environmentally friendly, but it's big and ugly. The two companies are using the same USP, which is not unique at all. Staying with the eco-friendly people pleaser, airlines should no longer serve beef, as it makes a bigger carbon footprint than driving a car nonstop for three hours.

Experienced Virgin Gets Her Wings

Also in airline news, the first ever mood lighting on a U.S. commercial flight has been introduced. Virgin America, its hub located in San Francisco, has officially opened booking for its flights. Features include 3,000 mp3s, open source Doom (the game), the largest seatback TV available on a U.S. airline, and over 20 pay-per-view movies to choose from. Save your playlist, and it will remember you the next flight. An ethernet jack is at every seat, in case you don't have wireless; WiFi is available. You can also order food/drinks while at your seat with the swipe of your credit card.

Before Virgin America launched, while it was having some problems getting off the ground, VA wanted the general public to name its planes and vote on the best ones. You could do so on nameourplanes.com. 'Jefferson Airplane' is one great name that has joined the fleet. The link is no longer available and redirects the user to the VA home page.

Prof Gilzot is Real?

No, he's not real. Yesterday, though, the bot instant messaged me out of the blue. In this new age of permissive marketing, steps are being taken to give consumers more control. AOL gives you the option to accept or deny an instant message. But perhaps someone who has never heard of Prof Gilzot could be mislead. Also, I was very disappointed to see that the question he asked me was not even related to SATs or education, but a matter of his own personal opinion of a current event.
















London 2012 Gets Even More Retro
The logo for the 2012 London Paralympic Games is even worse than the 2012 London Olympic Games. It adds more color and crazy 80's style patterns.



London 2012 also uses an antiquated idea by using the New Year's Resolution and adding five years. What would you challenge yourself to do by 2012?





BBDO CCO Wins Breakfast, Award

David Lubars, Chief Creative Officer of BBDO North America, has won the Wall Street Journal's Creative Leaders contest. Lubars has won countless awards, from Emmy's to a Titanium Lion. He's changing the model of agencies, which for most is a good thing. Look for a new face within the next week on a full-page ad for the WSJ. Lubars is now joined in notoriety with the creative ranks of Alex Bogusky, Gary Goldsmith, Lee Clow, Jeff Goodby, Tom McElligot, and more.

In other news, the site still sucks. Words and graphics overlap that aren't supposed to overlap. It would have been nice if they had filmed the event and posted it online. At the least -- tell us that it's over, who won and why.

BBDO Sidenote

Not only does the agency have a winning creative mogul on their hands, but they themselves are winners. In Cannes this year, the agency won "Network of the Year", a brand new award that "recognizes an agency network's creative excellence across the full range of marketing communication channels" (PRNewswire).

Harry Potter Lives On

Plans have been made, and the paperwork has been signed. The Harry Potter theme park is slated to open in 2009. Harry will live on in the hearts and official merchandise of fans worldwide.

Feed Me!

The Ad Feed's creative portion is still not up yet. But I'll be sure to let you know once the stellar renovation is at 100%. Meanwhile, visit Ads of the World or Shedwa.

Hillary's Campaign Song

To announce Hillary Clinton's campaign song, she made a video that spoofs the 'Sopranos' finale. At the end of the video, a Web site address is given to find out the winning song. If you don't want to register and listen to what she picked, go here.

(via Drudge)

DIY Advertising

Make the logo bigger has recently pointed out Xbox wanting concepts from consumers. A lot of this Do-It-Yourself advertising has been going on lately.

Shedwa has also let us know about a cool contest Mountain Dew has developed for designers.

Pepsi did this, too. Now you can vote on the design you like the best.

Yesterday, I had dinner at Applebee's and saw something I thought was a coaster at first. After a better glance, I thought, "how innovative, a flip book." To my dismay, it was a large pad of paper that customers can peel off for where to go for more information to enter the contest. Applebee's is having the big Burger Showdown with Food Network chef, Tyler Florence -- a somewhat new addition to the menu. (I thought Bobby Flay handled all the showdowns/throwdowns.) If you make the best burger, you'll win $5,000, a trip to New York, and more.

Even the locals are doing it. Midwest fast-food chain Taco Tico invites everyone to make a two-minute commercial on why they love Taco Tico. Every accepted entry will earn a free combination meal. The grand prize winner will receive $3,000 and free Taco Tico for a year (once a week). The winning entrant's commercial will also be in the ad campaign.

A while ago, I read online that it is more costly for advertisers to let consumers make a commercial or design their product. I don't remember where this information was at though. Does anyone know?

Does this really produce more ROI than if an ad agency created a campaign? Is it more effective? Is it worth it?

WSJ Creative Leaders Contest

The Contest
The Wall Street Journal is re-launching the Creative Leaders Campaign with their Weekend Edition, but now they want you to choose the creative leader. Like the ads before, the nominee must have some connection or relation to the advertising or marketing industry.

The nominee is also required to complete and sign a consent release. You need to pose a series of questions, enter the nominee's answers, and upload a photograph of the nominee. All of this information is on the Contest Webpage. Basically, it will be the same template as the ads that have run in the Wall Street Journal for over 25 years.

But this is better for you. The winner will receive a trip to New York City to the Museum of Modern Art for the new Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition Creative Leader unveiling event on July 17th. The trip includes a two-night stay in a New York City hotel for you and the winning nominee, in-ground transportation to and from the airport, your hotel, and the MOMA. (APR: $3,500)

Hurry though. The contest ends at midnight (EST) on June 23, 2007. Best of luck to you!

(via Shedwa)

Interactive
The contest began on May 14, 2007, but the Web site is not yet fully complete; the gallery is coming soon, and two creative leaders are also coming soon. On the home page, there are pictures compiled to look like the silhouette of a human. When you scroll over each picture, it reads who that creative leader is. I wish that once clicked, it would take me to information about that person, but it does not. Or perhaps if the pictures turned into the specific creative leader's form, and then his or her picture was shown, complete with more information. The site does give a date and small bio on past creative leaders. I'm not exactly sure if the date is when the company was founded or if it is saying when the ad ran. There is a recent ad of Alex Bogusky in dirtbike attire that you can see as a PDF.

Inspiration
The Advertising Education Foundation has all of the past ads, written by Doug and Jim Johnston, for the Wall Street Journal Creative Leaders Campaign, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.