Porn Stars Added to the "Sex Sells" Advertising Tactic

I suppose sex can persuade just about anybody to do anything so it is not a surprise that we see so much sex related material in advertising campaigns. Recently, there was the famous Miller Lite Cat Fight mudwrestling spot and the Gucci Crotch Shot Ad. Now we have famous porn star Jenna Jameson selling shoes.

Yup. She's in an ad campaign for Pony athletic footwear which will break in March on billboards and in magazines. Read more about this and the increasing trend of using sex to sell in this New York Times article.

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by Steve Hall    Feb-25-03    




'My Big Fat Greek Life' Plumps Up the Ratings for CBS

NEW YORK (AP) -- The TV series adaptation of the hit movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" drew robust ratings for its premiere Monday night on CBS.

The renamed "My Big Fat Greek Life" not only won its time slot in a special airing at 9:30 p.m. EST but was the most-watched premiere of a comedy on any network in more than four years, CBS said. It had an audience of 22.7 million viewers.

The 2002 film, which takes a lighthearted look at a Greek-American family's reaction to their daughter's non-Greek suitor, has made box office history by grossing $240 million, and counting. It was filmed for $5 million.

The new series, starring the film's writer and star Nia Vardalos, picks up as the newlyweds return from their honeymoon.

Most of the film's major cast members are back, including Lainie Kazan, Michael Constantine, Louis Mandylor, Andrea Martin and Gia Carides. Steven Eckholdt has replaced the film's John Corbett as the husband.

"My Big Fat Greek Life" now moves to its regular time slot, Sunday at 8 p.m.
The last sitcom to premiere as successfully was NBC's "Jesse," which bowed in September 1998.
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by Steve Hall    Feb-25-03    




Looks Like 'Buffy' Will End After All

So Sarah Michelle Gellar has made it official that she will be leaving 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' at the end of this season. I had picked up on a report earlier that Eliza Dushku would step into the a role and continue the series but it looks like I was wrong about that. Dushku has signed with Fox to do a drama series next year instead.
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by Steve Hall    Feb-25-03    




Google Won't Kill Blogads

Henry Copeland, founder of Blogads, a service that allows placement of advertising on weblogs, comments on the effect Google's purchase of Blogger may have on weblog advertising. While he may be nervous, his Blogads service does offer some unique benefits over what Google Adwords currently offers.

For the forseeable future, we offer bloggers and advertisers certain unique advantages:

a) Bloggers get the bulk of the proceeds from their Blogads sales.

b) Bloggers get to approve every ad before it appears.

c) Advertisers get more options (images, longer text, comments.)

d) Advertisers can use words like "lowest" which are not allowed in Google Adwords.

e) Google kills ads that don't get a 1% clickthru, so its ads are only effective for direct marketers rather than brand-builders.


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by Steve Hall    Feb-25-03    




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Magazines Make Advertising Plans for the War

The major newsweeklies have come up with some proactive plans on how they will handle advertisers if a war breaks out with Iraq. The magazines have received notice from several advertisers that they want ads pulled if shooting starts. So the magazines are reacting in hopes of keeping ad schedules. Some will create separate sections, in essence, dividing the magazine in two: war section and non-war section. Each magazine has it's own plan:

U.S. News and World Report is taking this approach by developing a second section that will have it's own cover and table of contents and will contain no war news.

Newsweek will allow advertisers to move ads into non-war editorial sections.

Time will not make any changes to their format. While U.S. News and World Report and Newsweek have had advertisers indicate canceling schedules in the event of war, Time has not had any advertiser pull out or threaten to. [via USA Today]
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by Steve Hall    Feb-25-03    




Advertising Partnership: Condoms, Coffee, and Scooters

There is never an end to interesting co-marketing and advertising partnerships. now, we have Italian Scooter maker, Vespa, teaming with condom maker, Trojan in a new ad campaign with the predictable taglines, "Ride Safely" and "Let's Get It On" Ha Ha.

How does coffee "fit in"? Oh, sorry for the pun. Starbucks will display POP material featuring the scooter and the condom. There will be a sweepstakes to win a trip to Italy and a Vespa. Also, 100 Starbucks will have actual Vespas on display, Vespa/Starbucks Card, and a "Passion Patrol" that will ride Vespas around cities handing out Starbucks Coffee. Nifty.

Here's my contribution:

"Put It On, Get On, And Ride Me Baby."

Way too wordy, you say? That's why I'm not a copywriter. [via Ad Age]


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by Steve Hall    Feb-25-03    




Marketing Fix Online Headlines

From MarketingFix:

Overture Launches Contextual Advertising Product
Industry Study Reveals Greater Advertising Spend in 2003
Overture Buys Fast's Internet Business Unit Assets
Weather.com Increases Weather Related Targeting Categories
MSN Viral Showcase is Bollocks
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by Steve Hall    Feb-25-03