Twitter. Still Free. Still Seeking Business Model. Still Getting Slammed

twitter_logo_clear.png

As only Simon Dumenco can, Twitter gets yet another lashing from an unbeliever. While Dumenco may be a non-believer, not one to drink the cult's Kool-Aid, he a makes a few good points. Twitter was launched in 2006 and still has yet to institute a business model steering the company towards anything more than its current status as plaything for social media-obsessed digerati.

more »

by Steve Hall    Oct-27-08    
Topic: Online, Opinion, Social



Advertising Community Site AdGabber Hits 6,000 Members

adGabLogoBlue150_6000.jpg

Today, the 6,000th member joined AdGabber, a Ning-powered community site for the advertising industry. Created and managed by Adrants, the site offers all the usual social networking goodies such as photos, videos, forums, groups, events, jobs, blogs, profile pages, news feeds, commercial and all kinds of other networking goodness.

If you're in the ad business, you should be hanging out at AdGabber so you can find out what everyone else in the industry is doing and then copy it...uh...get inspired and motivated to create your own masterpiece.

more »

by Steve Hall    Oct-21-08    
Topic: Announcements, Social



MySpace Music Promotes Artist Individuality

MySpaceMusicMobyFINAL.jpg

MySpace Music, which went live in late September, is running a print ad campaign composed of artists and some of their favourite playlists.

At left is an ad featuring Moby, complete with link to his MySpace site. The text, presumably hand-written by The Man Himself, gives us the skinny on Moby's New York playlist.

Also see "Songs to Come Down To," a handwritten playlist by Kings of Leon, and "Music that My Friends Wrote" by Jenny Lewis.

Sedate, distinctly cool and in keeping with the network's indie band community feel. This is the first time MySpace has stepped beyond its borders to advertise. But hey, this is also the first time major labels have been willing to help foot the bill.

by Angela Natividad    Oct-21-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Magazine, Poster, Promotions, Social



Terry Tate Tackles Palin, Twitter Fundraises, Pepsi Trouble BBDO

palin_terry_tate.jpg

- Terry Tate make a triumphant return taking down Sarah Paling for failing to answer a simple question.

- Last week, Amanda Mooney organized the first Twitter-based fund raising event. $180 was raised through $5 donations fo The Susa G. Komen Foundation.

- BBDO appears to be getting the push side from Pepsi which has given a portion of its three year, $1.2 billion advertising to Arnell which will redesign the Pepsi logo and packaging.

- If you're Hooter and your in Vegas, this is what you do to boost business.

- Creeping is wrong.

by Steve Hall    Oct-20-08    
Topic: Agencies, Brands, Celebrity, Political, Social, Strange



Just Another Square in a Wide-Brimmed Hat.

jake-indi-hat.jpg

Jake of Zoomdoggle is scruffy and cute, so you must love him. Do everything he says. In this case, find the 8000 Indiana Jones hats he and his friends have hidden all over LA, and take pictures of yourself being just as animated and ironic as he is. (Don't forget to tag them!)

Adrants reader Jay notes this apparently casual scavenger hunt was announced the same day Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came out on DVD, so he's pegged it as a below-the-radar marketing ploy. "Wonder what they're going to do with all the pictures," he ruminates suggestively.

I'm sure we'll all find out.

UPDATE: Cunning's 'fessed to using Jake and Friends as vehicles for an over-arching Indiana Jones promotion. (Not in so many words, but I feel my assumptions are safe -- or if not, they'll be corrected with lightning speed. See comments.)

Nice save.

by Angela Natividad    Oct-15-08    
Topic: Brands, Games, Guerilla, Online, Promotions, Social



Cactus Banned, IAB Does Porn, Buck Hated, Best Buy Listens

cactus_guy.jpg

- Cactus guy gets girl pregnant. Ad gets banned. Yea, it really is that weird. Check out the whole story here.

- The Interactive Bureau endorses Porn. OK, well not really. They just let adult entertainment agency Traffic Dude oin the organization.

- Aston martin hooks up with Bang & Olufsen for sonic goodness.

- Make the Logo Bigger hates Joe Buck but hates his National Car rental commercial even more.

- Newsflash! Best Buy listens to customers and introduces Blue Label, a new process for developing products inspired by customer comment.

by Steve Hall    Oct- 8-08    
Topic: Social, Strange



7K Gorilla Run, Absinthe Revisited, Gay Puppy Poems

odnvdbtoxekwy4gyxsvs8mmbo1_400.jpg

- Gay folk write odes to pet pups.

- Folksy new site for Kubler Absinthe. The "Creativity" tab suggests an upcoming CGM effort where people can "contribute to the myth of Absinthe." See videos for preparing mixed drinks. They're cool, and don't you love that background music? Also check out "fact and fiction" and the how-to-drink, which I thought was really neat. By Decon/NY.

- Palin inspires rampant web subculture. So many options! Brings back fond memories of Miss South Carolina.

- Really good resource on getting paid to blog.

- M. M. McDermott is not impressed by Millennials, but he'll cater to them on the Baltimore Sun's hipster spin-off. While reading a stylebook and wearing a nametag labeled "COCK."

more »



Chevy Plays Taxi Cab Confessions With College Students

livin_large_chevy_cab.jpg

In what is sure to prompt all manner of debauchery, Chevy is bringing back its Aveo Livin' Large promotion to college students. this in time in the form of the Chevy Aveo5 Livin' Large College Cab. Students on six college campuses are filmed in the back of the Aveo5 College Cab as they go to class, the dorms or to parties. They then have seven days to get as many people to view their video as possible. The most viewed video from each school will compete in a final round of competition where the students in the video with the most votes at the end of the five days win brand new Aveo5s of their own.

by Steve Hall    Oct- 2-08    
Topic: Online, Promotions, Social, Video



Book Helps Brands Avoid 'Social Media' From Destroying Reputation

radically_transparent.jpg

New friend and blogger for elasticpath's Get Elastic blog Linda Bustos just published an article entitled How to Find an Online Reputation Manager. In the article, she highlights Andy Beal's book, Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputation Online, which serves as a training manual for companies concerned with getting a handle on and participating in online communities and conversations about their brand.

With the proliferation of every conceivable manner of online communication and the dramatic change it's made to the old school rules that govern who, in theory, is supposed to have the ability to publish news and opinion, brands have to take a very different approach in how they influence their brand's perception.

more »

by Steve Hall    Oct- 2-08    
Topic: Brands, Good, Online, Social, Tools



Volvo Doesn't Want Any Piece of Our Lov

volvo-lov-puzzle.jpg

In an effort called "A Piece of Your Lov," Volvo invites online users to contribute to the first Volvo XC60 billboard, which looks something like this (except without the "download wallpaper" bar up top).

The image has been cut jigsaw-style. You'll be given a puzzle piece upon which to inscribe a raving little message about the XC60. These notes are called pieces of "Lov," named after the Swedish town of Lov, home of the XC60.

more »

by Angela Natividad    Sep-25-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Consumer Created, Online, Outdoor, Social