Fake Ad of the Day

Well, a logo, that is:

Courtesy of False Advertising.
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by Steve Hall    Oct- 1-02    




A Brand is Not an Ad Campaign

I used to joke with people who would ask me what exactly I do in advertising by saying, " Oh, I sell crap to people who neither need it nor want it"

It's too bad that there is so much crap out there and that our jobs put us in the position of selling that crap. Of course, it would be nice if you could hand pick your clients. Well, you can't. You can, however, give them some advice that I have long believed in.

Make damn sure that you have a well defined brand to start with before you even consider communicating any sort of brand message to your audience. You need help defining that? Sure, we will help you with that definition. But the solution is not throwing millions of media dollars at the problem like so many of us did (myself included) with the vaporware dotcom clients we all had.

Here is a wonderful article from MarketingProfs about the most important thing in building a brand: Consistency.

What Becomes A Brand Most?

Somewhere along the way, there�s been a presumption attached to the idea of branding. Many think that in order to brand your product or service, you must advertise. Not true. Many brands have grown and thrived without advertising: Krispy Kreme, Starbucks, and Pret A Manger spring to mind.


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by Steve Hall    Oct- 1-02    




Another Spammer Bites the Dust

Slashdot | California Sues Spammer for $2 Million

"The Mercury News reports that the California Attorney General, Bill Lockyer, filed suit against Internet marketer PW Marketing LLC, accusing the company of illegally spamming millions of Californians.


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by Steve Hall    Oct- 1-02    




The Camel Cadaver

In a previous post, I referred to an anti-smoking campaign that was done as a partnership between Crispin Porter & Bogusky (creators of the Truth campaign) and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). As part of the campaign, stickers were handed out spoofing cigarette packaging to schoolchildren as young as 6 years old.

Tony from TonyPierce fame pointed out that the possible genisis for one of these stickers, Camel Cigarettes, came from the Wacky Packages originally created by Topps Chewing Gum Company. Starting in 1967 they produced "Die Cuts" which were perforated with glue on the back. Then in 1969 Topps produced "Wacky Ads" which were a little larger but still had to be punched from the card and the glue moistened. In 1973 Topps switched to a sticker back and thats when things went crazy or "wacky" and became an obsession to many kids.

So, there you go. There really are no more original ideas in advertising :-)


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by Steve Hall    Oct- 1-02    




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A Good Site For Bad Ads

I'm quite sure I have seen this site before in a previous iteration but I know I have not seen it since I began this blog. The site is called BadAds.Org and the purpose of the site is to inform the public about the types of ads that are out there what the definition of a bad is is. According to the site, a bad ad is:

1. You can't turn it off. You can close a magazine and turn off the television, but billboards tower overhead night and day.

2. It enters your home without permission. Pardon me, Mr. Telemarketer, may I see your invitation?

3. You're a captive audience. This can be in schools, in movie theaters, at a urinal, or waiting for your receipt at the ATM.

4. It doesn't support anything, or it costs you money. Radio ads support free programming, but you pay, directly or indirectly, for faxed ads and junk e-mail.

In addition to this definition, there are sections on each advertising that includes an explanation as well as resources to help minimize the "badness". I think this site is a valuable service to consumers since, in most cases, it is the consumer that determines what is defined as an acceptable form of advertising. This site provides a forum for the creation of that definition.

It is also of great value to advertisers to know what the acceptable limits, as defined by the consumer, are. We all know that there are forms of advertising out there that are simply horrible. BadAds is not an ad slamming site as I see it. It is a site that brings clarity to the definition of acceptable consumer advertising. Are we marketers going to heed all of it's advice? Of course not. We are marketers after all:) But it pays to know what you are up against.


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by Steve Hall    Oct- 1-02