CAANZ Calls, Copy Can, VH1 Chats, Woot Wins

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- Some guy's hoping for Million Dollar Homepage fame after having fallen prey to a Woot.com April Fool's joke by offering his Woot "bag of crap" to the person who wins a drawing he will hold tomorrow morning. To enter the drawing, people have to donate money.

- Creative Director Laura Sweet responds to David Pogue's article about marketer's adoption of "web 2.0" and offers a few tips.

- CAANZ wants your entries. New Zealand's CAANZ wants your submissions for its media awards and has a little commercial to urge you to do so.

- Copyblogger has the goods on how to create a "rock-solid tagline" that works.

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by Steve Hall    Apr- 2-08    
Topic: Mobile/Wireless



Statistical Fodder for Your Next Creative Brief!

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- The Economist takes No.1 in AdweekMedia's Annual Hot List, up from No. 10 last year -- the biggest jump on a list otherwise dominated by women's lifestyle titles.

- 33 percent of iPhone users are cheating on Steve Jobs with other handset makers.

- Advertising affects prescriptions more than science does. Hrm. *Checks medicine cabinet* Yeah.

- The Apple brand makes the biggest impact on global consumers. (Yawn.) Those most in need of brand refurbishing were Microsoft and the United States. Mommy, why does the world hate us?

- More than 90 percent of email is spam. By the way, the term "spam" was coined 15 years and 2 days ago.

- Kids love social networks. O RLY? Thanks for the insight, champs.

- Joffrey's, a coffee hub that launched a "beta" tasting program for bloggers, has released survey results on coffee trends in the blogosphere. More on that.

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iPhone Doesn't Just Want to Be Your Expensive New Friend; It Wants to Be Your Lifestyle Companion

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Engadget says Apple has applied for six patent applications that reveal plans to turn iPhone into a "lifestyle companion." (Is that anything like a domestic partner?)

The patents would make iPhone the only product of its kind with the ability to scan product barcodes, track workouts and suggest new ones.

This probably doesn't mean the days of Nike+ are numbered, but we still want to say something ominous like, "Watch out, Nike. When you dance with the devil..."

Not that Nike ever needed help being bad-ass.

by Angela Natividad    Mar-27-08    
Topic: Brands, Mobile/Wireless



Guinness Mobile Application Speaks Cantonese

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OgilvyOne Hong Kong along with XS2TheWorld and the Hyperfactory, in partnership with rugby tournament Sevens, have created, for Guinness, what's being touted as the first Cantonese-speaking mobile guide. The application, Guinness Passport to Greatness, tournament attendees match schedules, stadium information, maps, reviews and a guide to the city. Of course, spots where one can have a Guinness are highlighted.

For those attending the tournament who don't speak Cantonese, the mobile application speaks the language so non-locals don't get lost in the labyrinth of a foreign land. With prerecorded phrases such as "Take me back to the South Stand", "Another round of Guinness please" and "Can you direct me to the nearest ATM machine?", visitors will be well cared for. Well mostly. We're guessing it won't ask, "Where the nearest strip club?"

by Steve Hall    Mar-27-08    
Topic: Good, Mobile/Wireless



One Year of Standby No Good? How About 666 Days?

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Claim the I-Coloured Mobile ZJ268 today for the low price of $128 and your soul.

by Angela Natividad    Mar-20-08    
Topic: Mobile/Wireless, Promotions, Strange



Spitzer Scandal Spun to Promote Virgin Mobile

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"I'm tired of being treated like a number..." laments NY Governor Eliot Spitzer in this print ad for Virgin Mobile in Canada.

The copy goes on to read "At Virgin Mobile, you're more than just a number. When you call us we'll treat you like a person, not a client. Whether you're #9 or #900, you'll get hooked up with somebody who'll finally treat you just how you want to be treated."

How very wicked. But revelations of Spitzer's place in the queue (Client #9) at a busted prostitution service come at an opportune time for Virgin Mobile, which only revealed its preoccupation with American politics this month.

Just another instance of Virgin behaving badly.

by Angela Natividad    Mar-11-08    
Topic: Magazine, Mobile/Wireless, Political, Poster, Spoofs



ANONYMOUS Introduces Walkman Slider to the Daisy Cutter

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This is kind of quirky. To promote AT&T's Walkman Slider, BBDO/NY and production company ANONYMOUS tried building an association between fireworks and the phone's blinky lights and slidiness.

Didn't LA Gear try saving its ass with some similar effort? We're always a little wary about products whose many merits begin and end with a light show.

by Angela Natividad    Mar-10-08    
Topic: Brands, Commercials, Mobile/Wireless, Television



Sprint Quick-Fixes Out of Kindness ... or Total Brand Negligence

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Sprintcuts, a handy-dandy Sprint campaign, gives tips on how to quick-peel a banana and dry nail polish in a blink.

The campaign leads people to Waitless.org, which shares other somewhat-productive tips on "time rebates" that are supposed to leave you with the sense that Sprint = time savings.

We've actually seen this spot, Instant Baby Soothe, a few times on either Hulu or ABC.com. We thought it was cool, but until this very moment we had no idea whose ad it was. Which would actually be helpful, because then we'd know who to blame when our relatives "WTF?" us as we carry their spawn to a nearby sink.

Big-ups to Candace for sharing.

by Angela Natividad    Feb-28-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Mobile/Wireless, Online, Video



Test Drive a Land Rover. On Your Phone!

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"But how do I do that?" you wonder.

Actually, you can't. But if you have a Blackberry, Treo or iPhone, you can locate a dealership and schedule a test drive.

"This is everything I've ever wanted!" you cry.

Wait! Don't thank us. Thank Ford, Mediaedge:cia and AdMob.

by Angela Natividad    Feb-22-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Mobile/Wireless, Promotions



Yahoo Justifies Greystripe Collabo with Financially-Bereft Stats

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So Yahoo got all chummy with Greystripe, an ad-supported mobile game and apps purveyor. For two months they worked together to promote Yahoo oneSearch, a universal search tool for mobile.

The campaign was called "Be a better..." (handyman, explorer, etc) and you can check out some executions here.

To demonstrate how smart (or how adept at denial) Yahoo is, the results of the campaign have come in.

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by Angela Natividad    Feb-15-08    
Topic: Brands, Mobile/Wireless