Barnes & Noble End Cap A Religiously Sexy Mashup

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John Kreicbergs was in his local Barnes & Noble the other day and walked past an end cap that caught his attention. At the end of one of the aisles was a display for Sex and the City. Pictured was Sarah Jessica Parker in a low cut top but that's not really why Kreicbergs noticed the end cap. In an odd sort of juxtaposition, the display caps the end of the Christianity section of the store.

It's not that religious people never think about or have sex, it's just that it's likely not the first thing on their mind when seeking a book on the topic.

by Steve Hall    Jun-27-08    
Topic: Point of Purchase, Strange



Recession Makes Me Want to...Shop!

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This weekend, I noticed a local store window with several signs promoting its blowout "economic stimulus sale." Dominos has similarly launched a "recession-buster deal." I even saw Craigslist postings using the recession as a marketing message.

IMHO there's nothing better than reminding me of our country's financial woes to entice me to spend more money. Sure, the economy's tanking, but at least now I can get 20 percent off everything!

by Amanda Mooney    May- 6-08    
Topic: Point of Purchase, Poster, Promotions



Freeze-Packed Used Condoms Call Attention to Beach Pollution

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If you're one of those beach police dudes, you might want to make sure you take your keys out of your little beach cart before you inform a beachgoer they're on a private beach lest you want an angry walrus to drive off with it. That particular scenario is part of a Saatchi & Saatchi LA-created campaign for the beach protection cause group Surfrider.

Along with an amateur-style video with the walrus antics, which, let's be honest, is pretty lame, comes seafood packaging placed in local farmer's markets which don't contain fish, rather various collections of trash collected from the beach. Not exactly the sort of thing you'd want to see when digging through the cooler for that prefect cut of fish.

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Kinkos Uses Brilliant Blatant Subliminal Strategy to Drive Unnecessary Banner Sales

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So this week when I joined the millions of college students around the country camping out at Kinkos to print final class projects the night before---or, is as often the case, the morning that---it is due, I noticed a large white banner hanging behind where the nice Kinkos employee was struggling to print my paper (shout-out to Scott). It read, "Thank you for staring at our banner! You are subliminally causing other customers to want to buy a banner."

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by Amy Yen    May- 4-08    
Topic: Point of Purchase



Skunk Hypes Marc Jacobs Footwear

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It's not clear why Marc by Marc Jacobs footwear would want to associate themselves with a skunk but that's what they've done with a recent in-store promotion. Megan and Susan, while in San Francisco for ad:tech, wandered into a Marc Jacobs store and posed with the skunk for a picture.

Hmm. Skunk. Shoes. Not two things one would normally see associated with one another but, hey, this is marketing. We do that crazy shit.

by Steve Hall    Apr-28-08    
Topic: Point of Purchase



Journelle Lingerie Creates Visual Feast of Beauty

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For Journelle's new "lingerie concept" concept store at 5th and 17th in New York City, WIKA Director Gabriel Winer shot five soundless films featuring New York women alluringly move about their apartments showing off their lingerie and their beauty. The films are being projected on a flat glass wall which separates the dressing rooms from the rest of the store.

First, we have Sam, the auburn-haired, freckled, girl-next-door modeling simple, white, tame underwear. Then, we have Aslin, an exotic looking brunette slowly going through her morning routine while offering us beautiful views of herself and the lacy black booty-barring lingerie that leads one to believe there's still a man in her bedroom.

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by Steve Hall    Dec-18-07    
Topic: Good, Point of Purchase, Video



Triumph Boat Baits Anglers With Fish Fry Feeding Frenzy

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Does PETA care about fish? If they do, they might not like this new ad campaign from Triumph boats which promotes a Triumph Boat-sponsored "Feeding Frenzy" fishing tournament. With a Game Fish Identification Chart, the campaign, tagged "Good For You, Bad For The Fish," gleefully celebrates the all you can eat fish fry.

The campaign, created by The Republik in Durham, NC, includes posters, print and t-shirts to aid Triumph dealers in co-ordinating their individual fish fry events. And in case PETA wants to stage a protest, The first event will be held January 18 at Merritt Marine in Hillsborough, NC.

by Steve Hall    Dec-12-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Good, Magazine, Newspaper, Point of Purchase, Poster, Specialty



Home Depot Shopping Carts Spout Text-Based Marketing Messages

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This unnecessarily long article by Forbes, chock-full of handy-dandy survey data, tells us one -- well, two -- important things:

- A new concept is born: "shopper marketing." (Known to you traditionalists -- har har -- as in-store advertising.)
- Concept shopping carts are getting outfitted with a text messaging device, courtesy of Modstream. It's appearing at Home Depots in 8 states.

The idea is that shoppers, which haven't warmed much to video-outfitted shopping carts, will take advantage of coupons, or marketing messages, or whatever-else, at their fingertips.

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Restaurant Campaign Says Chew 'Chew Chew' Style

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There once was a time restaurants where just a place you went to eat food. The came the chain and all the thematics that came along with it. Now, you can't operate a restaurant without investing heavily in a theme that will set you apart from every other restaurant in your are.

To help set Wisconson's Bridge Street Station apart from the competition, DDB helped tap into the owner's love for burgers and trains and gave the restaurant a railroad theme. Complete with the headline, "Chew, Chew," the campaign consists of ads, posters, branded take out boxes, signage, sound cards that delivered a steam engine's trademark "chew chew" sound, direct and table tents.

It's nicely done. Check out all the creative here.

by Steve Hall    Nov- 1-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Direct, Good, Magazine, Point of Purchase, Poster



Frozen Babies Found In Grocery Freezers, Child Abuse Prevented

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If you live in France and happen to have found a baby in the frozen food section of your local grocer, fear not. This isn't the latest baby dumping stunt by a distraught teenager; it's just a home-grown campaign to promote France's national child abuse phone number, 119. Another clue this isn't one of those baby-in-a-trash-barrel things: the babies here are tiny, plastic and wrapped in bags like toys.

It's not a sanctioned campaign but a one-off from a group of people who think the cause needs greater promotion. We're not sure what we'd do if we found a frozen baby while reaching for a bag of frozen peas but we sure like the approach these guys took to call attention to the issue. Watch the video.

by Steve Hall    Oct-29-07    
Topic: Good, Guerilla, Point of Purchase, Specialty, Strange