No One's Watching That YouTube Video You Paid For

justin_mailbox.jpg

MultiVu, a service of PRNewswire, will help you create and distribute a multimedia news release to "more than 100 million consumers and investors who get their news and information on the Web."

If you have a company video or ad embedded into your release, MultiVu will share it on popular sites like YouTube and Veoh as part of its distribution service. Pretty cool, right? It's not all good though.

more »

by Amanda Mooney    Apr-10-08    
Topic: Online, Opinion, Video



47 Minute Movie of Surfer Babes A Commercial for Roxy Clothing

roxy_surfers.jpg

There simply aren't 47 minutes in a day which can be allocated to watching a video simply to appreciate the fact, so we're told, the whole thing's a commercial for clothing brand Roxy. Even if it is, who really cares? The parts of the video that were viewed were enjoyable enough and, hey, who doesn't like to watch girls in bikinis surf, pose and frolic on the beach?

more »

by Steve Hall    Apr- 7-08    
Topic: Brands, Good, Opinion, Video



Social Media Kicks the Ass of Old Media

SteveHall_lois_paul.jpg
Who's This Pompous Idiot?

Want to hear an interesting conversation about social media and it's impact on marketing, advertising, public relations and journalism? Want to know how the role of public relations is changing in the world of public relations? Want to explore the differences in mentality between new media and old? Want to now whether or not it's sinful to publish a story before every last detail of the story is known? Want to know why readers, who are now commenters, are so important to the whole of the story? Then give this podcast a listen.

more »

by Steve Hall    Apr- 7-08    
Topic: Opinion, Social, Trends and Culture



Twitter Will Trump Facebook

twitter_facebook.jpg

Writing on Entrecard Graham Langdon makes the argument Twitter will be bigger than Facebook. He's right. Twitter is many things but it lacks the baggage and some of the "creepy" aspects of Facebook. All within 140 characters, Twitter is IM, email, mobile app, chat room, focus group, news source, a wall on which to bounce ideas, a research resource, presence indicator.

more »

by Steve Hall    Apr- 7-08    
Topic: Opinion, Social



Google Hate Website is Back in Business

google-evil.jpg

Ahhh. Nothing spells success like the obsessive, well-indexed and unquenchable hatred of an anti-corporate website.

Rejoining Starbucked, I Hate Microsoft, Untied and Comcast Must Die is Fucked Google, which was shafted in 2006.

We're not sure what tipped the scale back in its favor. Probably had something to do with all those firings. Because the author of Fucked Google has this to say: "I finally have a good stream of pissed-off Google employees feeding me information so you guys can look forward to lots of valleywag-style dirt in the coming days."

more »

by Angela Natividad    Apr- 4-08    
Topic: Brands, Consumer Created, Online, Opinion



Seven Reasons Why Twitter is a Great Social Media Resource

pamela_sieple_big.jpg

One of the students who attended our Social Media panel at Boston's Emerson College Tuesday, April 2, Pamela Sieple wrote a wonderfully concise article about Twitter and why it's a great resource. She's right. Twitter goes far beyond its "What are you doing?" roots as anyone who uses it will tell you.

Pamela says Twitter is a great resource for the latest news, feedback on immediate thoughts or needs, a basis for networking, a channel through which live news coverage can be had and, of course, a bit of self-promotion. Give it a read and forward it to everyone you know who's jaded about the purpose and benefits of Twitter.

by Steve Hall    Apr- 4-08    
Topic: Good, Opinion, Social



When Advertising Maturnity Bras, Use Models Who Actually Need Support

target_maternity.jpg

You'd think if a maternity bra ad was going to get all constructionist with cranes to depict the supportive nature of the bra, they'd get a model with huge boobs who actually looked like she needed support like this lady or this lady who both look like they need cranes to hold their breasts up. Except, of course, when they're modeling ridiculously too small bikini tops.

Come on people. If you want to make a statement, get a bit more dramatic about it. People might actually notice your ads a bit more.

by Steve Hall    Apr- 1-08    
Topic: Creative Commentary, Opinion



Newsflash! Marketers Must Learn Digital Marketing! Ad Age Says So!

lm_en_1.2.1_pe_001.gif

What? You've got to be kidding. What year is it? Oh, it must be 1992 or something because it's that Total Quality Management verbal diarrhea management consultancy crap all over again. After reading this Advertising Age article penned by a couple of Booz Allen dudes, I'm wondering if the two authors found an old IBM PC in the storage closet, booted it up and found this very same article on it which, itself, was probably a 64th generation copy of the same management blather that's been spewed forth over and over for years offering absolutely nothing of value other than the invention of a few new buzz words each go 'round.

more »

by Steve Hall    Mar-30-08    
Topic: Opinion, Research



Media Optimization Has Trumped Creative Optimization

LineCHart.jpg

It seems we've taken a step backwards when it comes to online creativity. Not so much in terms of its excellence, rather its importance as a factor in online marketing. Certainly technology has made possible a vast array of online advertising units which provide advertisers and publishers the ability to tailor programs to marketers' needs. But what happened to taking advantage of online media's flexibility as it relates to creativity?

more »

by Steve Hall    Mar-28-08    
Topic: Online, Opinion, Tools



So, Uh, About that Rape Thing.

wienerschnitzel.jpg

Yeah, that was kind of a stretch.

Here's what happened. Some tipster emailed us sounding off all offended about rape connotations in an ad on Wienerschnitzel's homepage. So we looked and saw this shit with the hungry Eskimos, and we were like, "Okay, whatever. We can kinda see the creepy rape angle."

The dude emailed us again today and said the spot on the site had been changed, which is why the whole Eskimo thing jived so badly with rape. Apparently the previous ad featured a wiener being harassed in an office setting, after which an HR woman says, "you asked for it."

more »

by Angela Natividad    Mar-26-08    
Topic: Bad, Commercials, Opinion, Television