Do status updates make good body copy?

Of course, VH1 wants to hook up on Facebook. What brand doesn’t?
And it makes sense to hedge your social media bets with traditional advertising. And I do like that they didn’t smack a url on these ads.
But I wish they brought something unexpected to the party when I showed up.

Can you order a beer with your popcorn?

Nice lines for Heineken's sponsorship of the Tribeca Film Festival.

Would you mind a little flagrant self-promotion?

A video we did at The Concept Farm for Greenpeace is up for a Webby People’s Voice Award.


If you’re feeling generous (and actually like the piece) please toss me a bone and go cast your vote before April 30th.
Just go to: http://pv.webbyawards.com/
-Register to vote (It’s easy)
-Click on “Online Film & Video Vote Now”
-Scroll down and click on “Public Service and Activism”
-Vote for “Breaking The Addiction”

Thanks and enjoy, BT

When ad blogs attack

The gang at the The Denver Egotist don’t like the new menu and campaign that Chipotle has rolled out in their town.
So they’ve started an email carpet-bombing campaign asking people to send Chris Arnold, Director Of Hype, Hoopla and Ballyhoo at Chipotle their "Cheapotle Plea"

Being a fan of Chipotle's giant burritos and ads, I sent this:

From: AskACopywriter
To: Chris Arnold
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 3:07 PM
Subject: Couldn't agree more - Chipotle love
I discovered my love of Chipotle when I lived in Dallas and have spread the word around my new home in NYC.
The new advertising waters down everything I enjoy about Chipotle - Those giant burritos were already a bargain.
I hope you'll listen to these guys.
http://thedenveregotist.com/editorial/4115/cheapotle-plea
Thanks, BT

I was a bit surprised to get a personal reply:

From: "Chris Arnold"
To: AskACopywriter
Date: Wed, Apr 22, 2009 3:50 pm
Subject: RE: Couldn't agree more - Chipotle love
And the remain a bargain. We still do burritos. More than anything else we do. Problem is, many of our own customers don’t understand the variety of things we offer. So we’re trying to educate them, with a slightly different menu (and advertising to support it) that speaks to variety. For now, it’s only a test, and only happening in Denver. It’s entirely possible that we won’t like everything that comes from it. But it’s something we need to figure out.
Meantime, we still do everything we’ve always done – big burritos; food made with ingredients from more socially responsible sources, interactive service, each restaurant designed for the space it occupies, all of that.
While I appreciate your comments on the advertising, I merely ask that give us a chance to figure this out as we move through the test. Maybe we’ll land someplace even better.
Cheers…
Chris

Seems to me like the brand is in good hands.

Pepsi is ok with sharing the love if you keep it in the family

Pepsi is trumpeting their new status as the official soft drink of the Yankees, but their sister brand is being a bit more subtle with their status as the team’s official sports drink.

Turns out you can please everybody

So I chided Pepsi for not choosing sides between the Mets and Yankees. I assumed that being the official soft drink of rival teams would alienate fans of both.
I’ve been forced to change my mind. While taking a picture of this Yankee ad I hadn’t seen before, a man passing by called out, “Why would you wanna take a picture of the Yankees?”

Then 10 feet later, he passes a Mets ad, stops to point and says “Now that’s more like it. You need to get a shot of this.” Then he held the pose until I pulled out the iPhone again and snapped his pic.

Do you have to choose sides?

Pepsi doesn't think so.


Official soft drink of the Mets and Yankees? I don't think that's gonna make fans of either team too happy.

Has the media landscape become uncharted territory?

Making up words (especially ones ending in "-nomics") is an ad trend that needs to stop.
But there's a lot I find intriguing about the Independent Film Channel’s indienomics campaign targeting the marketing industry.





Insightful and somewhat provocative statements. And numbering the ads is oddly engaging. Even better, the site follows up with a compelling case.

This was the only ad in last month's Wired magazine that stopped me from turning the page. I guess a simple visual and a nice line can still get the job done.

What's your purpose?

Can't find a job in this terrible economy? Why not make the world a better place?

Ready to get ginned up this weekend?

My cocktail of choice is a gin and tonic, so this caught my eye:

Not quite sure what's going on in the model shot, but the bottle looks cool. The name Bulldog ties to London with a nice bit of attitude. And their tagline, The Brazen Breed, is fun to say.

How is this viral different from all other virals?

Today is the second day of Passover, the Jewish holiday celebrating the Exodus from Egypt. And this link is making the rounds.
It shares the story of the slaves' escape as if it was told on Facebook:

Forget Charlton Heston.
This is the best version since William Shatner’s.

It also incorporates links to a Facebook app called Yes We Conserve.

They were both created by the same guy. He’s a chemist – and a marketing genius.

Will people still buy upscale food in a downturn?

I think these ads do a good job of selling Whole Food’s premium grocery shopping experience during a recession.


You can see previous work from Whole Foods here.

Are you ready for more fun?

Spent yesterday in Philly for a meeting and saw
Carnival's Fun For All. All For Fun. campaign all over Union Station.


Yes, that's a giant Twister board.

Who is Vince?

Now this is a teaser:

Who is Vince? And what's at 833 Washington Street?
I might have to leave the office and head down to the meatpacking district to find out.
Google Maps street view isn't any help.

Have teaser campaigns become a waste of money?

My love affair with teaser campaigns is waning fast.
Slapping an intriguing url up all over the place is a pretty sure way to get some attention. But it’s a waste if you don’t pay it off quick or pull people into a bigger mystery.
The latest attempt are the hideous patterns that say WhatIsTheNewBlack.tv popping up on bus ads and wild postings around the city.

I’ll spare you the suspense, it leads to a site where you can dress up a model and have your fashion choices rated.


It has a send to a friend button, which generates this:

No branding anywhere. No next step.
Who is throwing their money away on this?