Conformity

новая кофейня

Translation: The New Coffee House

Starbucks opened its doors last Thursday in a Russian mega mall in Khimki (pop. 180,000), about 45 minutes away from Moscow. The mall has 10,000 outlet stores; you know it gets some good foot traffic. As the country's first Starbucks, it will be a suitable fit to warm them up, especially during the extremely cold, long winter months. This is the first of probably thousands to come. But Starbucks is taking their time.

For now, only one more is planned in Moscow by the end of the year. "This is an important step for the company, and we are looking forward to being a part of every day life for Russians," says Cliff Burrows, President of Starbucks Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Hopefully they'll give the Russians a break with free Wi-Fi, but I doubt it.

(via MSNBC)
(Translation via Babelfish)

Philips Seduces Viewers

Philips has begun an international campaign for the Aurea, a Flat LCD HDTV that projects ROY G BIV onto your wall. It's much more than that, though. The Aurea is endless visual pleasure. The experience is like tripping on acid -- without the acid. The sad news: currently, it's only available in Europe.

DDB concepted the idea of a short film, directed by Wong Kar Wai, which can be seen on the Web and in stores. You are given the option to keep the "Ambilight On" or "Ambilight Off" to compare and contrast. A beautiful musical score, by Mark Slater and members of the London Symphony orchestra, labeled as the "Aurea Soundtrack", may also be downloaded on the Web site, created by Tribal DDB.

Most of the advertising will be television-based, by DDB Amsterdam, showing the brilliant, upgraded feature with a 60-second spot. Vincent Peters, fashion photographer, shot the print.

Philips is also staying ahead by partnering with Swarovski, a world-famous crystal and jewelry company. They're launching the Philips-Swarovski Active Crystals collection.

Rudy Provoost, Philips CEO, says it's a "fusion of function and fashion." Philips is targeting the female touch. "It's kind of bringing Philips 'sense and simplicity' with style and seduction" (Shiny).

C-K Selected to Steer Porsche

No, this isn't a charity event where celebrity Calvin Klein drives a Porsche in a Race to Save the Whales. (Though, that would be an important cause.) I'm talking about Cramer-Krasselt, an independently owned and managed advertising agency, headquartered in Chicago.

Out of three other agencies, including incumbent Carmichael Lynch, Porsche North America has finally and decidedly chosen Cramer-Krasselt to head the creative and media duties. David Pryor, Porsche svp, marketing, said, "Their team very quickly showed a tremendous passion and understanding of our business and developed a compelling, evolutionary expression of our brand." (Adweek). From the great work CL has done for Porsche, I'm really interested in seeing Porsche evolve.

And they've done so just in time for the release of the 2009 Porsche Panamera, a new four-door sedan hybrid with a V-8 engine. "Carmichael Lynch, according to Pryor, will continue to work on a 'significant project' for the company through the first quarter of next year"(Adweek). Porsche spent $25 million on the account with CL, but the upcoming year is an estimated $40 million.

Starbucks Goes Wi-Fi with iTunes

The iPod touch was released today by Steve Jobs. It's really thin and can play your favorite movies, YouTube, Cover Flow, and you can hop on the Internet with the Safari Web browser. The iPod nano also has received a big face lift with a new design, new colors, a larger display with video, Cover Flow, and enhanced interface.

But now Apple has joined with Starbucks, so the iPod touch user will be able to download the music that is playing in the coffee shop. No more asking the barista what the tune before last was while you were in the bathroom.

Now you can download it with their free wireless connection. Until the release of this news, Starbucks Wi-Fi has only been available to T-Mobile users, and it wasn't free.

According to Apple, New York and Seattle Starbucks should have it integrated sometime next month. The San Francisco area should get it in November. Next year, Los Angeles should have it in February and Chicago in March.

The new iPod touch doesn't have that much memory. There's an 8 GB and a 16GB, in comparison to the 160 GB possibility for the iPod Classic. This should be enough for your duration at Starbucks to watch a movie and listen to some tunes on the walk back home.

Something to chew on.

That's the new tagline for the KSU Ad Club this year. I am priviliged to be the Vice President with the voluntary duties of maintaining a blog, inviting guest speakers, and creating a campaign. We're all really looking forward to what the future holds. Below are the posters created for the ad lovers on campus.

These Colors Don't Run, They Drive

"Rethink American" is Saturn's new tagline. Everything in the commercial (below) by Deutsch LA, to my knowledge, is driven to be American -- except for the song. "Higher" is performed by British band Soundcage, composed by Daniel Cage. He's also written music for major brands like Nike, Reebok, Pepsi, and Coke. According to Cage's official Web site, he graduated from the University of Southern California, and his next show is in New York -- performing at a charity benefit with Bette Midler and Kanye West. But he's still from the UK; it's an American-themed spot with a British song. This contradicts the whole message and makes me wonder why more people aren't seeing this disconnect. Details shouldn't go unnoticed. Isn't it Rethink Canadian, anyway?

The Drop Zone

Another company that's right on target is Perris Valley Skydiving. They've uniquely placed themselves as California's only resort skydiving center.

Driving to work, I saw a large plane on its approach. I get excited when I see jets because our airport is small, and the only flights are on a Beechcraft 1900D to Kansas City International. The airport is located in the middle of the United States, and one runway is long enough for the Space Shuttle to land on. Piloted by Steve Fosset, Virgin's longest flight around the world started and ended here. The airport is also a testing area for aircraft companies, training for the military, and a semi-frequent refueling stop for private jets and props. Back to the story. Driving 75 on the Interstate, I quickly glanced up a few times at the large jet. It couldn't be private; it was too big and didn't look like a Gulfstream or Learjet. My eyes only saw "Skydive", which immediately made me question if I needed my eyes checked. Skydive out of a jet? No way.

After further investigation, Skydive Perris is not only the sole skydiving center with a resort in California, but it also uses the only jet in the world that is certified (just last year) for skydiving. It's nicknamed the "pocket rocket", as it can take off on reasonably short runways. The McDonnell Douglas DC-9-21 is commissioned once again. (It may sound a little scary to use an old aircraft, but as long as the maintenance is kept up, you're good to go.) What used to be a commercial airliner for Scandinavian Airlines in the 60's, is now flying to drop people off who hardly ever land. There are only three of these planes left in service. Even better, the jet can take 80 experienced jumpers up to 15,000 feet, going 220 MPH -- at the price of $85 a person. Amazing.

Mailing Maelstrom

Junk mail is everywhere, attacking your mailbox like a tempest. About 44% of it is thrown back without reading, and after it's read, there's a 95% chance you'll throw it into the Neverending Pit of Garbage. You can fight it and sign up for "do-not-mail" lists, but most likely, the sea of mail will keep surging.

Why not invite them onto your boat by encouraging them to use other means of communication? Like e-mails you receive with an "unsubscribe" option, businesses could include an "unsubscribe" envelope -- guaranteeing no more mail from them if you send it back. Using this, they could reach their target audience better. (Hopefully they have one.)

If junk mail was reduced, it would leave a much smaller carbon footprint. "The average American household receives unsolicited junk mail equal to 1.5 trees every year—more than 100 million trees for all U.S. households combined" (About.com). And that's what this is all about, right? As much as we would like to think businesses care more about Mother Earth's green than your green, it's usually quite the opposite.

Targeting the right audience is a major dilemma for companies.



This week, I received an invitation to a retirement planning seminar. A complimentary meal for myself and three adults is included. There is no mention of anything free in the letter, besides the toll free number I am supposed to call for reservations. But I am not retiring anytime soon. I'm still in college, as a matter of fact. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2000, 14.3% of citizens in the city I reside in are 65 years and older. This makes me curious as to how many young people like myself received this letter. It's only one piece of paper, an envelope and a stamp. But it costs them more money than they should be spending. They're spending it in the wrong place. If I went to the lunch or dinner seminar with three guests who are not close to the age of retirement, that company is losing four possible clients and an innumerable amount of money.



But there can be a calm in the storm. Procter & Gamble's Gillette does it right. Soon after I turned 18, I got a free Mach3 razor. After my sister turned 18, she got a free Venus razor. We use the product and become familiar with the brand we become dependent on -- for our hygienic and cosmetic needs. When corporations, small businesses and the like spend money on targeting the right audience, there's more chance the consumer will develop a relationship with their brand, which is much more valuable than a "catch of the day" to the business.

Contagious Commercial

This commercial by BBDO New York for Diet Pepsi Max interacts with the audience, and sometimes -- depending on if yawning is contagious for the individual -- the audience interacts with the commercial. I yawn just thinking about yawning. The other commercials in this campaign aren't as focused. Is Diet Pepsi Max trying to get the consumer to identify (the absence of) yawning with their brand? It's a somewhat creative approach, but any caffeinated product can give you a kickstart in the morning. Now I can't...stop...yawning.