MarketingBlurb: June 2006 Archives

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Jun30	Bubbles Wrapped in Chocolate Rich Ottum June 30, 2006 Know More: Product Marketing We love to grocery shop, but our wife and our girlfriend try to discourage our participation whenever possible. That’s because we handle every new product on the shelf without regard to price or nutrition. If we did go shopping this week, we would have lingered over a new product called Bubble Chocolate from Bubble Chocolate Inc. Bubble Chocolate is--ah—aerated chocolate with bubbles inside. These bars are available in three flavors, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and coffee. You take a bite, and these puppies melt in your mouth (we are told.) The company does not make the claim there are fewer calories because of the bubbles—but hey—there is always the opportunity for a product spin-off! Posted at 4:00 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun30	Chain Store House Wines Rich Ottum June 30, 2006 We are not ashamed to admit we have enjoyed a glass or two of Charles Shaw Cabernet from Trader Joe’s, more affectionately known as “two buck Chuck.” But we were not aware that house-brand wines are sweeping the chain store... Continue Reading Posted at 3:23 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Old Navy Sails Uptown Rich Ottum June 30, 2006 Whenever we question our life choice as a marketing pundit, we realize it could be worse—we could work in the fashion industry. We love fashion more than the next pundit, but we just can’t keep pace with the right stuff.... Continue Reading Posted at 3:19 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Ocean Spray Craisins Rich Ottum June 30, 2006 Marketing Blurb is a great fan of raisins. We add raisins to any recipe imaginable, and like major league ball players, stuff a wad of raisins between our cheeks and gums when we cannot gracefully enjoy a fistful in public.... Continue Reading Posted at 3:14 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Mobile Couponing Rich Ottum June 30, 2006 Marketing Blurb realized awhile ago, that there is no way to stop mobile marketing. Mobile marketing is not an idea whose time has come. Rather, mobile marketing is an idea whose people have come. It has become increasingly difficult to... Continue Reading Posted at 3:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun29	Honda Fit Print Supplement Rich Ottum June 29, 2006 We already admitted that we don’t know much about the new Honda Fit. Advertising targeting Gen Y zaps through media channels boomers can’t even tune in. But we finally got the scoop from an eight-page bed sheet fold supplement in... Continue Reading Posted at 8:05 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Cookin’ With Twinkies Rich Ottum June 29, 2006 If you’ve had enough of the healthy food police ruining your fun, take heart, and order the Twinkie Cookbook from Ten Speed Press. Hostess authorized the cookbook to showcase creative and unusual recipes in celebration of the 75th anniversary of... Continue Reading Posted at 6:47 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Britney Spears Poses Nude on Marketing Blurb Rich Ottum June 29, 2006 Okay, so this headline is not really true. But Britney Spears does appear nude on the cover of the August issue of Harper's Bazaar magazine. She is also featured nude on an inside photo spread. Yes, Britney is six months... Continue Reading Posted at 4:12 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Upscale Famima Convenience Stores Rich Ottum June 29, 2006 We often gripe that the US exports junky culture overseas. So maybe it is only appropriate that Japanese convenience store Famima is quietly invading Los Angeles. But in this deal, US consumers win. Famima is not your typical US convenience... Continue Reading Posted at 4:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Jaguar Reality Product Placement Rich Ottum June 29, 2006 Marketing Blurb is not especially keen on product placement, but we accept it as one technique to reinforce brands in a cluttered advertising environment. But why place your product in a sophomoric game show or crime drama, if you can... Continue Reading Posted at 4:03 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun28	Yet Another Buried Treasure Promotion Rich Ottum June 28, 2006 Look, folks--the buried treasure promotion idea is tired. Marketers should stop burying stuff in the real world or the virtual world, and let consumers do something simple like scratch a game card. But Jeep is obviously not listening to our advice... Continue Reading Posted at 5:22 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Muhammad Ali Snack Food? Rich Ottum June 28, 2006 Get ready for the Rumble on the Playground. Former heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali just announced a partnership with Mars Inc. and Arnell Group to develop a line of low-calorie snacks for kids and adults. The products will be 150 calories... Continue Reading Posted at 5:05 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Jetta Trains Backseat Drivers Rich Ottum June 28, 2006 It seems that business magazines are tipping in all kinds of advertising inserts these days. Most of these inserts just annoy us, because the magazine pages clump together and don’t flip easily. We do like removing the larger ones to play with the... Continue Reading Posted at 4:31 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Starbuck Cautiously Courting Kids Rich Ottum June 28, 2006 When we visit our friendly neighborhood Starbucks, parents often bring their pre-school children. They are always well-behaved, and we don’t really give them much thought (other than to realize that our own children grew faster than science fiction movie mutants.)... Continue Reading Posted at 4:27 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Much Ado About Ketchup Rich Ottum June 28, 2006 Marketing Blurb does not think much about ketchup. We love tomatoes, but wasabi mustard, which we also use for toothpaste, is our condiment of choice. But we do know that ketchup is a big deal for HJ Heinz Company. In fact,... Continue Reading Posted at 4:17 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun27	Carbonated Soda Sales Continue to Flatten Rich Ottum June 27, 2006 Back in March, Marketing Blurb alerted you that sales of carbonated soft drinks actually dropped for the first time in twenty years. This is good or bad news, depending on your product portfolio. But according to Morgan Stanley, soda sales... Continue Reading Posted at 3:25 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Martha Stewart Smiles for Kodak Rich Ottum June 27, 2006 Marketing Blurb is not keen on Martha Stewart. While we concede she serves some function in the domestic food and dwelling chain, we are bored—okay—mildly annoyed by her public persona. We don’t care what Martha thinks or recommends. (We feel the... Continue Reading Posted at 3:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Steel Industry to Buff Image Rich Ottum June 27, 2006 We laughed when Dow Chemical decided to re-brand, and then apologized after seeing their new Human Element approach. Well, today we learned from The New York Times (free registration required) that the steel industry is stoking a new image. You... Continue Reading Posted at 3:17 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Auto Advertising Not on Message Rich Ottum June 27, 2006 The US auto industry is in a funk. Marketing is not the problem. Product is the problem. Consumers perceive foreign brands superior to comparable US makes. Marketing cannot fix this problem, but it would help if auto marketers could get... Continue Reading Posted at 3:09 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Crest Gunning for Top Spot Rich Ottum June 27, 2006 Procter & Gamble’s Crest toothpaste used to be the number one toothpaste brand in the county--but the title is currently held by Colgate Total. But P&G has decided to dethrone Colgate with an aggressive $ 100 million marketing campaign in... Continue Reading Posted at 3:07 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun26	Nestea Online Game Rich Ottum June 26, 2006 If you are looking for refreshment this summer, try loading a tennis ball machine with snow balls. Rather than using a racket to wallop those snowballs, just take them on the chin, chest and so on. That’s refreshment. Oh, and... Continue Reading Posted at 7:17 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Ricart Automotive to Carry Chinese Imports Rich Ottum June 26, 2006 Just outside the I-270 outer-belt around Columbus, you will discover Ricart Automotive, the largest auto dealer in the free and non-communist world. The Ricart Mega Mall campus occupies a landmass equal in size to the states of Rhode Island and... Continue Reading Posted at 6:32 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Are Americans Hungry for Yuzu? Rich Ottum June 26, 2006 If you are to believe a new report from research firm Mintel International, Americans are hankering for new flavors. It seems that vanilla doesn’t cut it anymore, so we are expected to adopt bold new flavors from Latin American and... Continue Reading Posted at 4:04 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	GRP-like Measurement for Magazines? Rich Ottum June 26, 2006 When we teach marketing, there is an obligatory discussion of Gross Rating Points from the textbook. While students are usually intrigued by the concept, I remind them that reach and frequency are losing their meaning in a world where you... Continue Reading Posted at 3:56 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Motorola Favors Foreign Celebrities Rich Ottum June 26, 2006 Now you might think it would be a good idea to use celebrity endorsements for pitching cell phone, and you would be right, naturally. But the choice of celebrities might surprise some. Motorola, for example, relies on international stars, rather... Continue Reading Posted at 3:18 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun24	Dow Chemical Unveils the Human Element Rich Ottum June 24, 2006 Back in February, we told you that Dow Chemical was about to embark on a major re-branding campaign. We reminded readers that Dow was hoping to break free from Vietnam-era defoliant Agent Orange, cancer-causing breast implants, and the Union Carbide... Continue Reading Posted at 7:12 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Transamerica Celebrates 100 Years Rich Ottum June 24, 2006 Our Business Week arrived in the mail today, and we noticed a two-page spread inside with Transamerica celebrating their 100th anniversary. The left page includes iconic images from the past, and the right page includes a die-cut Transamerica tower. The... Continue Reading Posted at 7:09 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	An Iron Man is Hard to Find Rich Ottum June 24, 2006 Marketing Blurb loves comic superheroes. We are less enchanted by their movie make-overs, and fear the big screen may soon suffer from an overdose of caped characters. But the next superhero waiting in the wings is sans cape, and comes... Continue Reading Posted at 10:37 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Six Flags Magic Mountain for Sale? Rich Ottum June 24, 2006 The Brooklyn Bridge is not for sale. But we can interest you in a fine roller coaster or perhaps even the entire Six Flags Magic Mountain Amusement Park. As it turns out, the Amusement Park business is not fun anymore.... Continue Reading Posted at 10:33 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Side Effects Include Death and are Generally Mild Rich Ottum June 24, 2006 Marketing Blurb is weary of television commercials for prescription drugs. When we watch the evening news on television, it is painfully obvious the audience for evening news programming is dying. All (let’s repeat--all) the advertising during the national news attempts... Continue Reading Posted at 10:27 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun23	Shell Free Gas for Life Rich Ottum June 23, 2006 Times have changed. Gasoline is suddenly a coveted affinity reward and sweepstakes prize. This seems strange since gas smells bad, and is flammable, but hey—gas keeps the economy rolling (with the exception of GM.) So to take advantage of gas... Continue Reading Posted at 7:14 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Special K Protein Water Rich Ottum June 23, 2006 Flavored water sells well in Europe. Every few years, US bottlers launch similar products, and the results are always the same—failure. Bottlers try positioning the flavored water for women, for athletes, for mom, or whatever, and the results never change.... Continue Reading Posted at 5:27 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Positioning Your Brand with One Word Rich Ottum June 23, 2006 When we teach marketing, we preach to students that successful companies must distill their brand message to a single sentence or phrase. If a brand message requires even a compound sentence, consumers glaze over and you’re forgettable. But it seems... Continue Reading Posted at 3:31 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Chrysler and Auto Industry to Fall on their Swords (again) Rich Ottum June 23, 2006 Last summer, GM launched a dynamite “employee discount” sales campaign. The technique was quickly imitated by both Ford and Chrysler. Every domestic automaker wanted to offer cars to the public at their “employee discount” price. As you might expect, savvy... Continue Reading Posted at 3:21 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Smelly Marketing Rich Ottum June 23, 2006 Back in March, Marketing Blurb told you that Westin Hotels wanted to appeal to traveler emotions. So they tried a novel gimmick, scenting the lobby with the aroma of white tea. Well, apparently the technique works, because parent company Starwood... Continue Reading Posted at 3:13 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun22	Big Ten Sports Network (without beer commercials) Rich Ottum June 22, 2006 College sports fans, take heart. Beginning August of 2007, the Big Ten Conference is partnering with Fox Cable Networks to offer a 24-hour sports news channel devoted exclusively to Big Ten sports. The programming will include live football and basketball... Continue Reading Posted at 6:48 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Going Local with Wachovia Rich Ottum June 22, 2006 In case you’ve been asleep for awhile, you already know that mass media advertising is meaningless. But if you know where your target audience lives, you’re in luck. Wachovia decided the ideal audience for their financial-planning and retirement services lives... Continue Reading Posted at 4:22 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Sephora Doesn't Take any Lip Rich Ottum June 22, 2006 Fashion is a tough business, and to score in the Big Apple, you need a stiff lower lip. Cosmetics retailer Sephora found a novel way to draw attention to a new store opening. In Manhattan’s financial district, coffee vendors filled... Continue Reading Posted at 4:05 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Reynolds Wrap Trumps Your Brand Rich Ottum June 22, 2006 Our economy is cheap with powerhouse brands that consumers know and love. And these brands earn their recognition with monster budget media campaigns, right? Well, you wrong. According to a national consumer survey by Harris Interactive, Reynolds Wrap, with only... Continue Reading Posted at 3:57 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Go Long with Online Video Rich Ottum June 22, 2006 Marketing Blurb already told you about the one-second radio spot. But is you want to capture attention for your advertising online, use video, and go long. According to a new report presented at the Advertising Research Foundation's Audience Measurement Symposium... Continue Reading Posted at 3:52 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun21	Video Game Your Brand Rich Ottum June 21, 2006 You already know that product placement in video games is a growing trend. But if you really want to engage gamers with your product, why not just develop your very own branded mini game? Game developer Shockwave has just what... Continue Reading Posted at 3:21 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Disney on MySpace Rich Ottum June 21, 2006 Disney wants you to see their new Pirates of the Caribbean movie—badly. They want you to see this movie so much that they created a sweepstakes, advertisement and member page on social networking site MySpace. But Disney did not allow... Continue Reading Posted at 3:13 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	McDonald’s to Devour the Chinese Countryside? Rich Ottum June 21, 2006 Marketing Blurb believes in free trade with international partners. We love foreign goods as much as the next pundit, and we hope other nations want our exports as well. We just wish we had something better to export than McDonald’s... Continue Reading Posted at 3:07 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Anheuser-Busch Thinks Outside the Can Rich Ottum June 21, 2006 Okay, folks—the domestic beer industry is in a funk. We believe we know at least two reasons why. First, mass market domestic beer (and we won’t name names) tastes awful compared to micro brews and foreign beers. Secondly, much beer... Continue Reading Posted at 2:56 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Selling Kids with Product Placement Rich Ottum June 21, 2006 Product placement (which some people prefer to call branded entertainment) is creeping into media everywhere. Now you might think that product placement targeting children too young to distinguish between programming and advertising is a bad idea, and you would be... Continue Reading Posted at 2:52 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun20	Your Childhood Exported to Singapore Rich Ottum June 20, 2006 Okay, so this headline is not entirely true—but here is the deal. Lego, the company that markets those delightful plastic bricks, is shuttering their expensive plants in native Denmark and Switzerland, and moving production to the more cost-effective eastern European... Continue Reading Posted at 4:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Coke Vlogging to Reach UK Teens Rich Ottum June 20, 2006 While it might be lost on US sports fan, the World Cup Football Tournament (that’s soccer for all you NASCAR moms and dads) is the real mother of all sporting and advertising events in the free world. Coke is a... Continue Reading Posted at 4:13 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Ford to Ride the Broken Trail Rich Ottum June 20, 2006 Back in May, we commented that Ford’s Bold Move television campaign reminded us more of a Rally’s burger commercial than a serious attempt to brand or sell automobiles. We haven’t changed our mind. But we have learned that Ford will... Continue Reading Posted at 2:34 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Calling Christina Milian Rich Ottum June 20, 2006 Let’s say that you’re a male or female trapped in a crowded bar. A loser you cannot shake keeps pestering you for a phone number. So give the loser a number and get on with your life. That is the... Continue Reading Posted at 2:29 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Citigroup to Close Red Umbrella? Rich Ottum June 20, 2006 Now you might think that the well-recognized Citigroup red umbrella would be considered a sacred brand symbol, and you would be wrong, naturally. The icon originally belonged to Travelers Insurance which Citigroup acquired in 1998. Newspaper ads featuring the Travelers... Continue Reading Posted at 2:24 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun19	Drinkin’ Your Way Through Beverage Nation Rich Ottum June 19, 2006 In simpler times, fast food or casual dining restaurants offered few drink choices. You could have one brand of cola (from whichever bottler controlled the venue license) milk, ice tea, and hey—don’t get fussy. But it turns out that today’s... Continue Reading Posted at 2:47 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Procter & Gamble Blesses Mobile Marketing Rich Ottum June 19, 2006 Just when you think it is safe to forget mobile marketing, P&G decides to give the medium a nod with a new campaign for Crest Whitening Plus Scope Extreme Toothpaste. (Perhaps this is what you need if you spend too... Continue Reading Posted at 2:44 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Alka-Seltzer to Reprise "Try it, You’ll Like it" Slogan Rich Ottum June 19, 2006 The Alka-Seltzer is brand is older and wiser than you are. In fact, the brand is celebrating 75 years of relief of upset stomach, headache, hangover, or whatever. Students of the brand know Alka-Seltzer reinvents itself every ten years or... Continue Reading Posted at 1:59 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Oops—Don’t Mess with Hip-hopping Rappers Rich Ottum June 19, 2006 Okay, to be honest, Marketing Blurb does not get invited to many hip-hop parties. But if we were invited, we would certainly drink Cristal Champagne, because hip-hoppers know this is the bubbly of choice. These grapes sell for between $ 100... Continue Reading Posted at 1:55 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Clear Channel Branded Cities Rich Ottum June 19, 2006 Now you might that cities already have enough outdoor advertising, and you would be wrong, naturally. If you are impressed by advertising display of Disney Word or Times Square—you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. We just learned from Ad Age (free... Continue Reading Posted at 1:51 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun18	Look Up in the Sky—TV Commercials! Rich Ottum June 18, 2006 Now maybe you think you own a kick-ass plasma television bigger than your dining room table, but you ain’t seen nothing yet. A blimp company in Orlando named The Lightship Group just launched a 170 foot blimp which sports an... Continue Reading Posted at 1:44 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun17	Honda Fit Jams with House of Blues Rich Ottum June 17, 2006 If you can’t quite conjure the Honda Fit, you are obviously not young, urban, and hip—the three requirements to drive this car. (Strike three for Marketing Blurb--we are only allowed to view them from a distance.) So to reach the... Continue Reading Posted at 3:15 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun16	Starbucks Next Target of Trans-fat Police Rich Ottum June 16, 2006 Earlier this week, we told you that the Center for Science in the Public Interest targeted KFC in a lawsuit over their unhealthy fare. Apparently the CSPI’s next target is Starbucks. The activist group is demanding that Starbucks disclose nutritional... Continue Reading Posted at 7:00 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Creative Director Auctions Right Brain Rich Ottum June 16, 2006 We suggested earlier today that TBWA\Chiat\Day might have tried another approach on their new campaign for Nissan. This is very easy for us to say because we are just a marketing pundit, and not an agency of record for anyone.... Continue Reading Posted at 4:02 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Nielsen to Update TV Rating Service Rich Ottum June 16, 2006 In a world of electronic entertainment and advertising marvels, it seems amazing to Marketing Blurb that Nielsen is still able to sell their television rating service base on viewer self-reporting diaries. Everyone in the industry agrees, and Nielsen Media Research... Continue Reading Posted at 3:55 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Nissan Tries Advertising 2.0 Rich Ottum June 16, 2006 Lacking a degree of inspiration and imagination, TBWA\Chiat\Day decided to mimic the language of the software industry for the launch of five new Nissan vehicles. Headlines include Excitement 2.0 and Passion 2.0 and the claim “Five new vehicles. All have... Continue Reading Posted at 3:32 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	M&M’s Joins Pirates Movie Promotion Rich Ottum June 16, 2006 Everybody and their dog wants a piece of Disney’s upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean movie. (That is everybody who is not already wed to Cars or Superman Returns.) We can’t really understand the connection between Volvo and the movie, but... Continue Reading Posted at 3:17 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun15	$ 18 Billion of Logo Trinkets Rich Ottum June 15, 2006 Marketing Blurb is a sucker for logo coffee mugs. We have an impressive collection of consumer, b2b, and academic models to choose from, and we delight in rotating through the collection. We’re partial to Denison University this week, but hey,... Continue Reading Posted at 2:02 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Marketers Acknowledge the Limitations of Advertising Rich Ottum June 15, 2006 When we teach our undergraduate level marketing class, we are always forced to explain to students that advertising and marketing is not the same thing. By the end of the course, our students understand that advertising is only a subset... Continue Reading Posted at 1:48 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Preaching Kosher Beef-Dogs to Gentiles Rich Ottum June 15, 2006 Marketing Blurb is headed to the ball stadium tonight with our son. We are going to watch a couple of so-so AAA teams play, but nothing can match our bonding experience with each other and with of a couple of... Continue Reading Posted at 1:41 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Can German Engineering Retool Chrysler? Rich Ottum June 15, 2006 Only a year ago, Chrysler was on a roll (right over the backs of Ford and GM.) Their chunky 300 model was a monster success with everyone from old ladies to rappers. But higher gas prices have flattened Chrysler sales... Continue Reading Posted at 1:35 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	United Airlines Cuts Ad Budget 80% Rich Ottum June 15, 2006 To keep our students engaged with contemporary topics, Marketing Blurb recently asked our marketing class what steps United Airlines should take to build their brand after declaring bankruptcy. Students realized it would be necessary for the airline to improve service... Continue Reading Posted at 1:29 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun14	Mattel Displays Lack of Imagination Rich Ottum June 14, 2006 Marketing Blurb loves Barbie and Hot Wheels as much as the next pundit. But we are disappointed to learn that Mattel has entered into a global licensing deal with the Cartoon Network to product toys, games, and puzzles based on... Continue Reading Posted at 7:28 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Ten Step Guerilla Marketing for Small Business Rich Ottum June 14, 2006 Marketing Blurb spends most of our time ridiculing or praising the 800-pound gorillas of marketing. But the heavy-lifting in our economy is really handled by much smaller business simians who practice so-called guerilla marketing tactics. These less expensive yet effective... Continue Reading Posted at 1:50 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	This is your brain on Yahoo! Answers Rich Ottum June 14, 2006 Months ago, we visited a beta site called Yahoo! Answers. We assumed this would be a so-called expert site, where once could pose a question to a subject expert. We should have known better. This is actually a social networking... Continue Reading Posted at 1:23 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Toyota Brands ‘em Young Rich Ottum June 14, 2006 Marketers think they know how to brand products for boomers. But tweens frighten marketers, because these young consumers are less brand conscious and more skeptical of advertising claims. So Toyota decided to start early by branding their somewhat whacky Scion... Continue Reading Posted at 1:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Seek Peace with TV B-Gone Rich Ottum June 14, 2006 From time-to-time, Marketing Blurb complains about television. We are not especially keen on television programming or television commercials as an advertising medium. We can easily regulate our viewing habits at home, and urge readers to do so as well. But... Continue Reading Posted at 1:13 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun13	$ 600 Million of Teen Ringtones Rich Ottum June 13, 2006 When the cell phone rings, we answer. We do this because someone is trying to reach us, and because the sound of ringing phones is annoying. Yes, our LG phone comes with umpteen ring tones. Some tones are even snippets... Continue Reading Posted at 7:35 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	The Colonel Wrestles with Trans Fat Rich Ottum June 13, 2006 Marketing Blurb often cautions readers to watch their diet by avoiding fast food restaurants. We have nothing against the fast food industry, mind you, it is just their food that will kill you. Or at least that is the story... Continue Reading Posted at 7:19 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Road Runner Wants Us to Live Life Fully Rich Ottum June 13, 2006 The folks at Time Warner are still struggling with online advertising. While AOL battles to build their non-member audience metrics, the TW Road Runner service is devoting prime advertising real estate to house ads. We were intrigued by the image shown here,... Continue Reading Posted at 5:57 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Explaining Disney to The Chinese Rich Ottum June 13, 2006 Now you might think that every country in the world should have a Disney theme park, and you would be wrong, naturally. True, residents of almost every country in the world have heard of Disney, but brand recognition is not... Continue Reading Posted at 5:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Talking Beer Cans Announce Prizes Rich Ottum June 13, 2006 You know you’ve had a long day, when you crack open a cold one, and your beer can speaks to you. But maybe you should listen to what that can of beer has to say. You see, your can of beer... Continue Reading Posted at 3:35 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun12	Video Game Product Placement Rich Ottum June 12, 2006 We’ve told you about video game advertising before, but now we’re ready to put some numbers to the talk. According to the Yankee Group, revenue from in-game advertising generated $ 56 million last year. But the fast growing category is... Continue Reading Posted at 4:17 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Postal Service Says Use DM to Outsmart the Office Rich Ottum June 12, 2006 Let’s say you are a direct marketing type, and you want to use direct mail to deliver an offer. Well, you might be discouraged from your efforts by colleagues at the office like Cyber Kyle, Derec Creative, and Mora Media.... Continue Reading Posted at 4:01 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Clear Channel Considers One-Second Spots Rich Ottum June 12, 2006 Quick—can you pitch your brand in one second? (Can you pronounce your brand in one second?) Well, get ready because Clear Channel Communications is considering a new one-second ad spot called the “Blink.” The idea may not be as far-fetched... Continue Reading Posted at 3:23 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Times Square Squared Rich Ottum June 12, 2006 Someday, the entire world will look like Times Square. But until then, if you want attention, you should buy advertising on either the Nasdaq Tower, or the Reuters sign across the street from each other on Times Square. But what... Continue Reading Posted at 3:18 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Diet Coke Mentos Fountains Rich Ottum June 12, 2006 Marketing Blurb spends much of the day on the Internet, but we were just too busy to discover the hundreds of amateur videos of people dropping quarter-size Mentos into bottles of Diet Coke. Doing so results in a geyser of... Continue Reading Posted at 3:15 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun11	What Dad Might Not Want Rich Ottum June 11, 2006 Maybe you heard the news that Mom might not want a frying pan or a vacuum cleaner for a Mother’s Day gift. But marketers are still behind the times with regards to Dad. Everyone assumes that Dad wants tools or... Continue Reading Posted at 4:00 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	McDonald’s Adds Local Cuisine to Chinese Menu Rich Ottum June 11, 2006 Marketing Blurb shudders every time we see a photo of a McDonald’s restaurant in a foreign country. No, we are not against international marketing. We would just prefer to export the best rather than the worst of our culture. But... Continue Reading Posted at 3:37 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Coors to Recognize Hispanic Leaders Rich Ottum June 11, 2006 We have often criticized beer advertising as juvenile, but Coors has decided to take higher ground with a new campaign recognizing male and female Hispanic leaders. The new print campaign is running in Hispanic publications in Dallas / Ft. Worth,... Continue Reading Posted at 3:21 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun10	No More Biggie Size It at Wendy’s Rich Ottum June 10, 2006 Marketing Blurb does not eat at Wendy’s. But we are still fond of their imperative to “biggie size it” whenever people order fries or soft drinks. We use the expression anytime we seek more of anything. But we just learned... Continue Reading Posted at 11:06 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	The Elephant in the Living Room Rich Ottum June 10, 2006 Consumers and marketers are embracing the explosion in media entertainment opportunities. Whether you prefer your music from terrestrial radio, satellite radio, digital radio, CD audio, MP3, or iTunes, there are seemly endless ways to purchase, download, transfer and listen to... Continue Reading Posted at 11:00 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Alcohol Advertising in Campus Newspapers? Rich Ottum June 10, 2006 Now you might think that advertising alcohol in campus newspapers is not a good idea, but students at Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia disagree. The newspapers have enlisted the ACLU to represent them in a lawsuit against the... Continue Reading Posted at 10:55 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Real Women Watch Basketball Rich Ottum June 10, 2006 According to The New York Times (free registration required) the NBA wants more women to watch basketball. Specifically, the league “wants more women, especially those 18 to 34, to watch its games, talk about its players and wear the jersey... Continue Reading Posted at 10:49 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 9	7-Eleven Partners with "The Heat" Rich Ottum June 9, 2006 Now you might think that using “the heat” to promote 7-Eleven Slurpees would not be a good idea, and you would be wrong, naturally. In Dallas, 7-Eleven uses the Aberdeen and Hoquiam Police Departments to distribute Slurpee coupons to kids... Continue Reading Posted at 6:55 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	OGO Oxygen Water Rich Ottum June 9, 2006 Years ago, Marketing Blurb was an ace science student. We haven’t studied chemistry for years now, and we must be rusty. We just discovered this wonderful product called OGO Oxygen, which purports to have 35 times more oxygen than regular... Continue Reading Posted at 6:50 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	We Know it’s Only Rock and Roll Rich Ottum June 9, 2006 The Wall Street Journal (paid subscription required) is running a wonderful story today regarding rock and roll music themes in advertising. Once considered anti-establishment, rock music is not the anthem behind a number of mainstream advertising campaigns. According to The... Continue Reading Posted at 4:11 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Disney Year of a Million Dreams Rich Ottum June 9, 2006 Somewhere, there is a place where dreams come true, and Uncle Walt (rest his soul,) wants you to believe that place is Disney World. And beginning this fall, Disney is about to make dreams come true with their Year of... Continue Reading Posted at 4:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 8	Real Men Eat Baby Ruth Rich Ottum June 8, 2006 Marketing Blurb is not convinced that Major League Baseball needs an official candy bar. Official peanuts we can understand. An official bratwurst and beer make sense. But if the league must have an official candy bar, it might as well... Continue Reading Posted at 4:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Burger King Joins the Coffee Wars Rich Ottum June 8, 2006 Marketing Blurb has already told you how Dunkin Donuts and McDonald’s have decided to go uptown with their coffee. And we just learned from The New York Times, (free registration required) that Burger King has decided to join the band.... Continue Reading Posted at 4:12 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Junk Food Without Guilt Rich Ottum June 8, 2006 Marketing Blurb is intrigued by the wave of new “calorie controlled” products we’ve seen. The deal is to create a single serving size package where the number of calories is the selling point. Think a 100-calorie bag of Fritos, for... Continue Reading Posted at 4:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Panasonic to Neuter Your Bunny Rich Ottum June 8, 2006 Marketing Blurb hates to sound skeptical of marketing claims, but we believe all batteries are pretty much the same. We use re-chargeable batteries whenever we can, and when we buy batteries, we select whatever brand is on sale. But in... Continue Reading Posted at 4:04 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Quality, Value, Service and Blah Blah Blah Rich Ottum June 8, 2006 All marketing pundits should work as a copywriter at some point in their careers. We wrote ad copy and direct mail for awhile, and it was a character-building experience. Sure we had a few brilliant moments, but for the most... Continue Reading Posted at 3:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 7	AbeBooks 10th Anniversary Not-Book Campaign Rich Ottum June 7, 2006 Until today, we were not familiar with AbeBooks, a well-know international bookseller based in beautiful Victoria, BC. But a colleague at Know More Media sent us this link to their wonderfully witty 10th anniversary celebration. The celebration offers a list... Continue Reading Posted at 3:02 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Starbucks to Offer Breakfast Sandwiches Rich Ottum June 7, 2006 Okay, folks—here is one headline we never wanted to post. We love Starbucks more than the next pundit. (Even when they screw around with their basic business model and pitch music and movies we don’t need.) But we just learned... Continue Reading Posted at 2:57 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Gap Back to Basics Rich Ottum June 7, 2006 Marketing Blurb is not a fashion pundit. Occasionally we will dress all in black for some business function, and pretend we are trendy. But we do know that clothing retailer Gap has been struggling for years now to reclaim their... Continue Reading Posted at 2:53 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	TV Ads Not Credible in UK Rich Ottum June 7, 2006 Marketing Blurb enjoys a wide international readership, so we thought everyone should know that television viewers in the UK are skeptical regarding commercial advertising claims. In a survey of 4000 viewers by the ITV television network, only 1 in 8... Continue Reading Posted at 2:46 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Seagram’s Summer Reading Program Rich Ottum June 7, 2006 Back in elementary school, we could not wait to join the summer reading program at the library. There was always some nifty chart where you could add a gold star for every book you read. At the end there was... Continue Reading Posted at 2:41 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 6	The Scoop on Impressions (but who’s counting?) Rich Ottum June 6, 2006 Now you might think that if you wanted the maximum number of brand impressions in sports advertising you would advertise on the Super Bowl, and you would be wrong, naturally. Statistics released by Nielsen Sports’ Sponsorships reveal that tennis and... Continue Reading Posted at 3:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Gas Station TV Rich Ottum June 6, 2006 Standing at the gas pump and watching the numbers race is not fun. So an enterprising company called Gas Station TV wants to give gas customers something else to do—watch television with advertising—naturally. The start-up company is offering national and... Continue Reading Posted at 3:05 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Advertisers Wake up to Boomer Opportunity Rich Ottum June 6, 2006 Marketing Blurb has reminded readers many times that boomer women control the fate of our economy. Well, according to The LA Times, other marketers are finally getting the message as well. Think of Fidelity investments using wailing guitars and psychedelic... Continue Reading Posted at 2:57 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Casinos to Claim Maxim and Playboy Brand Names Rich Ottum June 6, 2006 Marketing Blurb has not been to Vegas for a few years now, but we doubt much has changed in our absence. People keep losing money and developers keep erecting casinos. Maxim magazine just announced they will lend their brand name to real... Continue Reading Posted at 2:47 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Father’s Day Retail Projections Rich Ottum June 6, 2006 The National Retail Federation released their projection for Father’s day shopping this year. The headline is simple—Dad is ¾ as important as Mom—in spending at least. The average person is expected to spend $ 88.80 on Dad this year, compared... Continue Reading Posted at 2:43 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 5	Crusin’ to and from School with Bus Radio Rich Ottum June 5, 2006 Face it kids—school buses are a drag. First of all, they arrive too damned early in the morning. Next, they force you to sit next to stupid dork wadsor geek wads, and finally-- they take someplace you really don’t want to... Continue Reading Posted at 4:15 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	If the World Gives You Lemons… Rich Ottum June 5, 2006 While Marketing Blurb has discussed the issue of childhood obesity, we refrained from commenting on the movement to remove soft drinks from school vending machines. (People would consider our idea too old fashioned—why do schools need vending machines, period?) But... Continue Reading Posted at 4:10 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Giant Cows are Cool Rich Ottum June 5, 2006 When we are reading The Wall Street Journal during the evening news, television commercials must be damned clever or annoying to catch our attention. Last night we saw an amusing animated commercial from Turkey Hills Dairy imploring us to visit... Continue Reading Posted at 4:03 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	AMA to Debate Prescription Drug Advertising Rich Ottum June 5, 2006 Even when times are tough for marketing pundits, Marketing Blurb has no desire to be a family physician. Who needs the headache from patients marching in and inquiring about prescription drugs they’ve seen advertised which promise to solve all their... Continue Reading Posted at 3:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Radio Advertising Sluggish Rich Ottum June 5, 2006 Marketing Blurb loves radio advertising. A good radio advertising copywriter easily captures our attention and then encourages our own imagination to do all the heavy lifting. We believe listening and using the imagination creates an impression more lasting that drooling... Continue Reading Posted at 3:03 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 4	Cashing In on Hell Rich Ottum June 4, 2006 Marketing Blurb is not into the occult. But we have been told that the number 666 is the mark of the devil, and we take that on faith (clever, no?) And we just found out that the number has special... Continue Reading Posted at 2:07 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	AARP to Serenade Boomers with Music Rich Ottum June 4, 2006 Marketing Blurb likes to believe that Boomers invented rock and roll. This is not really true, of course, but like all generations, Boomers lay claim to the good stuff. (After all, the music died about 1974, remember?) So it only... Continue Reading Posted at 1:59 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Ocean Spray Offers Vacation from Diet Beverages Rich Ottum June 4, 2006 Marketing Blurb is a great advocate of product sampling, street marketing, and promotional tours. As such, we are pleased to learn from Promo Magazine that Ocean Spray is taking their beverages on the road this summer with the theme: Take... Continue Reading Posted at 9:38 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Morton Salt Cryptic Sweepstakes Rich Ottum June 4, 2006 Once again, Marketing Blurb is perplexed by a confusing sweepstakes promotion. This time, the sponsor is Morton Salt. We all know and love the Morton Salt girl, who has been around since 1914. The premise of the sweepstakes is simple... Continue Reading Posted at 9:28 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Disney Broadband Offers New Ad Option Rich Ottum June 4, 2006 Disney has decided to offer selected full-length content from the Disney Channel as online downloads on their website. Kids can view free episodes of "That's So Raven," "American Dragon: Jake Long" and "Kim Possible" on their computer or view-enabled portable... Continue Reading Posted at 9:26 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 3	Russia’s Plan for World Domination Rich Ottum June 3, 2006 Marketing Blurb is not a political pundit, but we just discovered this dandy article in Wired magazine that change the balance of geopolitics. It turns out there is a music downloading site in Russia, with an excellent catalog of western... Continue Reading Posted at 3:04 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Beetle Art Rich Ottum June 3, 2006 In the UK, Volkswagen is launching the new Luna Beetle special edition, with a custom decal design contest. You can visit the New Beetle Art website and decide if you would like your Beetle personalized with decals prepared by four... Continue Reading Posted at 2:46 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	New Digital Reality—Junior is Wired Rich Ottum June 3, 2006 You probably don’t need Marketing Blurb to tell you that today’s kids are wired to the gills. They own more digital gizmos at age seven than you’ve ever owned in your entire lifetime. Audio-video content is fluid an omnipresent for... Continue Reading Posted at 2:44 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	The Architecture of Advertising Rich Ottum June 3, 2006 Marketing Blurb is not a creative director. We are sometimes critical of advertising because we value results over creativity. (As such, we prefer direct marketing where we can measure what is really happening with target audience response.) But we are... Continue Reading Posted at 2:38 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	P&G Top Advertiser in First Quarter Rich Ottum June 3, 2006 Now you might think that consumer giant Procter and Gamble spends a considerable amount of money on advertising, and you would be right. In fact, for the first quarter this year, their ad spending was about $ 794 million, almost... Continue Reading Posted at 2:34 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 2	Infiniti Outmaneuvers Other SUVs with Clever Headline Rich Ottum June 2, 2006 Our son’s new Motor Trend magazine arrived in the mail today. On the cover is an aggressive Shelby GT 500, and we are inclined to believe the article subhead Across America in the Greatest Mustang Ever. But the real story... Continue Reading Posted at 3:57 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Kraft Foods Seeking Innovation Rich Ottum June 2, 2006 Everyone is familiar with Kraft Foods, and their well-known products Oreo cookies and Miracle Whip dressing. But as it turns out, the company is in somewhat of a funk of late. Profit is down 24% over the past two years,... Continue Reading Posted at 2:36 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Hilton Hotels Targets Younger Demographic Rich Ottum June 2, 2006 We can’t pretend to understand the complex hospitality industry, but we do know that Hilton Hotels Corp. is concerned about their aging guest demographic. As such, the chain has decided to sponsor 2006 AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, which decided... Continue Reading Posted at 2:22 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Hellmann’s Rate My Sandwich Rich Ottum June 2, 2006 Marketing Blurb usually concentrates on US marketing, but we are delighted to share this nifty promotion from Hellmann’s UK called Rate My Sandwich. The promotion allows consumers to enter the recipe (which includes Hellmann’s mayonnaise) for their personal sandwich creation.... Continue Reading Posted at 12:49 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Dum Dum Celebrates Brand Centennial Rich Ottum June 2, 2006 Now you might think that your brand is forever, but few brands can claim a centennial celebration like Dum Dum Suckers from Spangler Candy. (The same folks would make those orange marshmallow Circus Peanuts.) Beginning June 12th, consumers can visit... Continue Reading Posted at 12:46 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 1	Celebrity Endorsements Fail to Charm Affluent Consumers Rich Ottum June 1, 2006 Every few weeks, Marketing Blurb has something to say about celebrity endorsements. Usually, we make fun of celebrities because their behavior routinely embarrasses the brand marketers they represent. But today, we just want to share a simple research survey from... Continue Reading Posted at 1:15 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Bizarre Baskin-Robbins Pink Spoons Promotion Rich Ottum June 1, 2006 Now don’t get us wrong, Marketing Blurb loves ice cream as much as the next pundit. But we are baffled by the Baskin-Robbins Find the Pink Spoon promotion. The ice cream maker is partnering with Best Western, Orbits, and Budget... Continue Reading Posted at 1:01 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Segway Still Rollin’ Along Rich Ottum June 1, 2006 We used to ask our students about how to market the Segway Human Transporter, but we receive blank stares—what’s a Segway? Well, in case you have forgotten, Segway is a perfectly balanced, two-wheeled, battery-powered scooter. The creator of the Segway... Continue Reading Posted at 11:15 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Bad Television Gets Worse? Rich Ottum June 1, 2006 You already know that Marketing Blurb is unimpressed with existing television programming. But we fear it could get even worse. The monster on the horizon is user-generated content. In other words, the mouth-breathers who watch television will soon produce television.... Continue Reading Posted at 10:59 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Oops—Google Print Ads Disappoint Rich Ottum June 1, 2006 Marketing Blurb has already explained how Google sold print advertising and expects to sell television advertising. Some claim these are stepping stones on the path to world domination. (And you used to worry about Microsoft.) But according to MediaPost Publications... Continue Reading Posted at 10:54 AM \| Permalink \| Comments

« May 2006 | Main | July 2006 »

Jun30	Bubbles Wrapped in Chocolate Rich Ottum June 30, 2006 Know More: Product Marketing We love to grocery shop, but our wife and our girlfriend try to discourage our participation whenever possible. That’s because we handle every new product on the shelf without regard to price or nutrition. If we did go shopping this week, we would have lingered over a new product called Bubble Chocolate from Bubble Chocolate Inc. Bubble Chocolate is--ah—aerated chocolate with bubbles inside. These bars are available in three flavors, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and coffee. You take a bite, and these puppies melt in your mouth (we are told.) The company does not make the claim there are fewer calories because of the bubbles—but hey—there is always the opportunity for a product spin-off! Posted at 4:00 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun30	Chain Store House Wines Rich Ottum June 30, 2006 We are not ashamed to admit we have enjoyed a glass or two of Charles Shaw Cabernet from Trader Joe’s, more affectionately known as “two buck Chuck.” But we were not aware that house-brand wines are sweeping the chain store... Continue Reading Posted at 3:23 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Old Navy Sails Uptown Rich Ottum June 30, 2006 Whenever we question our life choice as a marketing pundit, we realize it could be worse—we could work in the fashion industry. We love fashion more than the next pundit, but we just can’t keep pace with the right stuff.... Continue Reading Posted at 3:19 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Ocean Spray Craisins Rich Ottum June 30, 2006 Marketing Blurb is a great fan of raisins. We add raisins to any recipe imaginable, and like major league ball players, stuff a wad of raisins between our cheeks and gums when we cannot gracefully enjoy a fistful in public.... Continue Reading Posted at 3:14 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Mobile Couponing Rich Ottum June 30, 2006 Marketing Blurb realized awhile ago, that there is no way to stop mobile marketing. Mobile marketing is not an idea whose time has come. Rather, mobile marketing is an idea whose people have come. It has become increasingly difficult to... Continue Reading Posted at 3:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun29	Honda Fit Print Supplement Rich Ottum June 29, 2006 We already admitted that we don’t know much about the new Honda Fit. Advertising targeting Gen Y zaps through media channels boomers can’t even tune in. But we finally got the scoop from an eight-page bed sheet fold supplement in... Continue Reading Posted at 8:05 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Cookin’ With Twinkies Rich Ottum June 29, 2006 If you’ve had enough of the healthy food police ruining your fun, take heart, and order the Twinkie Cookbook from Ten Speed Press. Hostess authorized the cookbook to showcase creative and unusual recipes in celebration of the 75th anniversary of... Continue Reading Posted at 6:47 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Britney Spears Poses Nude on Marketing Blurb Rich Ottum June 29, 2006 Okay, so this headline is not really true. But Britney Spears does appear nude on the cover of the August issue of Harper's Bazaar magazine. She is also featured nude on an inside photo spread. Yes, Britney is six months... Continue Reading Posted at 4:12 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Upscale Famima Convenience Stores Rich Ottum June 29, 2006 We often gripe that the US exports junky culture overseas. So maybe it is only appropriate that Japanese convenience store Famima is quietly invading Los Angeles. But in this deal, US consumers win. Famima is not your typical US convenience... Continue Reading Posted at 4:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Jaguar Reality Product Placement Rich Ottum June 29, 2006 Marketing Blurb is not especially keen on product placement, but we accept it as one technique to reinforce brands in a cluttered advertising environment. But why place your product in a sophomoric game show or crime drama, if you can... Continue Reading Posted at 4:03 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun28	Yet Another Buried Treasure Promotion Rich Ottum June 28, 2006 Look, folks--the buried treasure promotion idea is tired. Marketers should stop burying stuff in the real world or the virtual world, and let consumers do something simple like scratch a game card. But Jeep is obviously not listening to our advice... Continue Reading Posted at 5:22 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Muhammad Ali Snack Food? Rich Ottum June 28, 2006 Get ready for the Rumble on the Playground. Former heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali just announced a partnership with Mars Inc. and Arnell Group to develop a line of low-calorie snacks for kids and adults. The products will be 150 calories... Continue Reading Posted at 5:05 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Jetta Trains Backseat Drivers Rich Ottum June 28, 2006 It seems that business magazines are tipping in all kinds of advertising inserts these days. Most of these inserts just annoy us, because the magazine pages clump together and don’t flip easily. We do like removing the larger ones to play with the... Continue Reading Posted at 4:31 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Starbuck Cautiously Courting Kids Rich Ottum June 28, 2006 When we visit our friendly neighborhood Starbucks, parents often bring their pre-school children. They are always well-behaved, and we don’t really give them much thought (other than to realize that our own children grew faster than science fiction movie mutants.)... Continue Reading Posted at 4:27 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Much Ado About Ketchup Rich Ottum June 28, 2006 Marketing Blurb does not think much about ketchup. We love tomatoes, but wasabi mustard, which we also use for toothpaste, is our condiment of choice. But we do know that ketchup is a big deal for HJ Heinz Company. In fact,... Continue Reading Posted at 4:17 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun27	Carbonated Soda Sales Continue to Flatten Rich Ottum June 27, 2006 Back in March, Marketing Blurb alerted you that sales of carbonated soft drinks actually dropped for the first time in twenty years. This is good or bad news, depending on your product portfolio. But according to Morgan Stanley, soda sales... Continue Reading Posted at 3:25 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Martha Stewart Smiles for Kodak Rich Ottum June 27, 2006 Marketing Blurb is not keen on Martha Stewart. While we concede she serves some function in the domestic food and dwelling chain, we are bored—okay—mildly annoyed by her public persona. We don’t care what Martha thinks or recommends. (We feel the... Continue Reading Posted at 3:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Steel Industry to Buff Image Rich Ottum June 27, 2006 We laughed when Dow Chemical decided to re-brand, and then apologized after seeing their new Human Element approach. Well, today we learned from The New York Times (free registration required) that the steel industry is stoking a new image. You... Continue Reading Posted at 3:17 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Auto Advertising Not on Message Rich Ottum June 27, 2006 The US auto industry is in a funk. Marketing is not the problem. Product is the problem. Consumers perceive foreign brands superior to comparable US makes. Marketing cannot fix this problem, but it would help if auto marketers could get... Continue Reading Posted at 3:09 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Crest Gunning for Top Spot Rich Ottum June 27, 2006 Procter & Gamble’s Crest toothpaste used to be the number one toothpaste brand in the county--but the title is currently held by Colgate Total. But P&G has decided to dethrone Colgate with an aggressive $ 100 million marketing campaign in... Continue Reading Posted at 3:07 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun26	Nestea Online Game Rich Ottum June 26, 2006 If you are looking for refreshment this summer, try loading a tennis ball machine with snow balls. Rather than using a racket to wallop those snowballs, just take them on the chin, chest and so on. That’s refreshment. Oh, and... Continue Reading Posted at 7:17 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Ricart Automotive to Carry Chinese Imports Rich Ottum June 26, 2006 Just outside the I-270 outer-belt around Columbus, you will discover Ricart Automotive, the largest auto dealer in the free and non-communist world. The Ricart Mega Mall campus occupies a landmass equal in size to the states of Rhode Island and... Continue Reading Posted at 6:32 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Are Americans Hungry for Yuzu? Rich Ottum June 26, 2006 If you are to believe a new report from research firm Mintel International, Americans are hankering for new flavors. It seems that vanilla doesn’t cut it anymore, so we are expected to adopt bold new flavors from Latin American and... Continue Reading Posted at 4:04 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	GRP-like Measurement for Magazines? Rich Ottum June 26, 2006 When we teach marketing, there is an obligatory discussion of Gross Rating Points from the textbook. While students are usually intrigued by the concept, I remind them that reach and frequency are losing their meaning in a world where you... Continue Reading Posted at 3:56 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Motorola Favors Foreign Celebrities Rich Ottum June 26, 2006 Now you might think it would be a good idea to use celebrity endorsements for pitching cell phone, and you would be right, naturally. But the choice of celebrities might surprise some. Motorola, for example, relies on international stars, rather... Continue Reading Posted at 3:18 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun24	Dow Chemical Unveils the Human Element Rich Ottum June 24, 2006 Back in February, we told you that Dow Chemical was about to embark on a major re-branding campaign. We reminded readers that Dow was hoping to break free from Vietnam-era defoliant Agent Orange, cancer-causing breast implants, and the Union Carbide... Continue Reading Posted at 7:12 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Transamerica Celebrates 100 Years Rich Ottum June 24, 2006 Our Business Week arrived in the mail today, and we noticed a two-page spread inside with Transamerica celebrating their 100th anniversary. The left page includes iconic images from the past, and the right page includes a die-cut Transamerica tower. The... Continue Reading Posted at 7:09 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	An Iron Man is Hard to Find Rich Ottum June 24, 2006 Marketing Blurb loves comic superheroes. We are less enchanted by their movie make-overs, and fear the big screen may soon suffer from an overdose of caped characters. But the next superhero waiting in the wings is sans cape, and comes... Continue Reading Posted at 10:37 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Six Flags Magic Mountain for Sale? Rich Ottum June 24, 2006 The Brooklyn Bridge is not for sale. But we can interest you in a fine roller coaster or perhaps even the entire Six Flags Magic Mountain Amusement Park. As it turns out, the Amusement Park business is not fun anymore.... Continue Reading Posted at 10:33 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Side Effects Include Death and are Generally Mild Rich Ottum June 24, 2006 Marketing Blurb is weary of television commercials for prescription drugs. When we watch the evening news on television, it is painfully obvious the audience for evening news programming is dying. All (let’s repeat--all) the advertising during the national news attempts... Continue Reading Posted at 10:27 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun23	Shell Free Gas for Life Rich Ottum June 23, 2006 Times have changed. Gasoline is suddenly a coveted affinity reward and sweepstakes prize. This seems strange since gas smells bad, and is flammable, but hey—gas keeps the economy rolling (with the exception of GM.) So to take advantage of gas... Continue Reading Posted at 7:14 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Special K Protein Water Rich Ottum June 23, 2006 Flavored water sells well in Europe. Every few years, US bottlers launch similar products, and the results are always the same—failure. Bottlers try positioning the flavored water for women, for athletes, for mom, or whatever, and the results never change.... Continue Reading Posted at 5:27 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Positioning Your Brand with One Word Rich Ottum June 23, 2006 When we teach marketing, we preach to students that successful companies must distill their brand message to a single sentence or phrase. If a brand message requires even a compound sentence, consumers glaze over and you’re forgettable. But it seems... Continue Reading Posted at 3:31 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Chrysler and Auto Industry to Fall on their Swords (again) Rich Ottum June 23, 2006 Last summer, GM launched a dynamite “employee discount” sales campaign. The technique was quickly imitated by both Ford and Chrysler. Every domestic automaker wanted to offer cars to the public at their “employee discount” price. As you might expect, savvy... Continue Reading Posted at 3:21 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Smelly Marketing Rich Ottum June 23, 2006 Back in March, Marketing Blurb told you that Westin Hotels wanted to appeal to traveler emotions. So they tried a novel gimmick, scenting the lobby with the aroma of white tea. Well, apparently the technique works, because parent company Starwood... Continue Reading Posted at 3:13 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun22	Big Ten Sports Network (without beer commercials) Rich Ottum June 22, 2006 College sports fans, take heart. Beginning August of 2007, the Big Ten Conference is partnering with Fox Cable Networks to offer a 24-hour sports news channel devoted exclusively to Big Ten sports. The programming will include live football and basketball... Continue Reading Posted at 6:48 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Going Local with Wachovia Rich Ottum June 22, 2006 In case you’ve been asleep for awhile, you already know that mass media advertising is meaningless. But if you know where your target audience lives, you’re in luck. Wachovia decided the ideal audience for their financial-planning and retirement services lives... Continue Reading Posted at 4:22 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Sephora Doesn't Take any Lip Rich Ottum June 22, 2006 Fashion is a tough business, and to score in the Big Apple, you need a stiff lower lip. Cosmetics retailer Sephora found a novel way to draw attention to a new store opening. In Manhattan’s financial district, coffee vendors filled... Continue Reading Posted at 4:05 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Reynolds Wrap Trumps Your Brand Rich Ottum June 22, 2006 Our economy is cheap with powerhouse brands that consumers know and love. And these brands earn their recognition with monster budget media campaigns, right? Well, you wrong. According to a national consumer survey by Harris Interactive, Reynolds Wrap, with only... Continue Reading Posted at 3:57 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Go Long with Online Video Rich Ottum June 22, 2006 Marketing Blurb already told you about the one-second radio spot. But is you want to capture attention for your advertising online, use video, and go long. According to a new report presented at the Advertising Research Foundation's Audience Measurement Symposium... Continue Reading Posted at 3:52 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun21	Video Game Your Brand Rich Ottum June 21, 2006 You already know that product placement in video games is a growing trend. But if you really want to engage gamers with your product, why not just develop your very own branded mini game? Game developer Shockwave has just what... Continue Reading Posted at 3:21 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Disney on MySpace Rich Ottum June 21, 2006 Disney wants you to see their new Pirates of the Caribbean movie—badly. They want you to see this movie so much that they created a sweepstakes, advertisement and member page on social networking site MySpace. But Disney did not allow... Continue Reading Posted at 3:13 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	McDonald’s to Devour the Chinese Countryside? Rich Ottum June 21, 2006 Marketing Blurb believes in free trade with international partners. We love foreign goods as much as the next pundit, and we hope other nations want our exports as well. We just wish we had something better to export than McDonald’s... Continue Reading Posted at 3:07 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Anheuser-Busch Thinks Outside the Can Rich Ottum June 21, 2006 Okay, folks—the domestic beer industry is in a funk. We believe we know at least two reasons why. First, mass market domestic beer (and we won’t name names) tastes awful compared to micro brews and foreign beers. Secondly, much beer... Continue Reading Posted at 2:56 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Selling Kids with Product Placement Rich Ottum June 21, 2006 Product placement (which some people prefer to call branded entertainment) is creeping into media everywhere. Now you might think that product placement targeting children too young to distinguish between programming and advertising is a bad idea, and you would be... Continue Reading Posted at 2:52 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun20	Your Childhood Exported to Singapore Rich Ottum June 20, 2006 Okay, so this headline is not entirely true—but here is the deal. Lego, the company that markets those delightful plastic bricks, is shuttering their expensive plants in native Denmark and Switzerland, and moving production to the more cost-effective eastern European... Continue Reading Posted at 4:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Coke Vlogging to Reach UK Teens Rich Ottum June 20, 2006 While it might be lost on US sports fan, the World Cup Football Tournament (that’s soccer for all you NASCAR moms and dads) is the real mother of all sporting and advertising events in the free world. Coke is a... Continue Reading Posted at 4:13 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Ford to Ride the Broken Trail Rich Ottum June 20, 2006 Back in May, we commented that Ford’s Bold Move television campaign reminded us more of a Rally’s burger commercial than a serious attempt to brand or sell automobiles. We haven’t changed our mind. But we have learned that Ford will... Continue Reading Posted at 2:34 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Calling Christina Milian Rich Ottum June 20, 2006 Let’s say that you’re a male or female trapped in a crowded bar. A loser you cannot shake keeps pestering you for a phone number. So give the loser a number and get on with your life. That is the... Continue Reading Posted at 2:29 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Citigroup to Close Red Umbrella? Rich Ottum June 20, 2006 Now you might think that the well-recognized Citigroup red umbrella would be considered a sacred brand symbol, and you would be wrong, naturally. The icon originally belonged to Travelers Insurance which Citigroup acquired in 1998. Newspaper ads featuring the Travelers... Continue Reading Posted at 2:24 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun19	Drinkin’ Your Way Through Beverage Nation Rich Ottum June 19, 2006 In simpler times, fast food or casual dining restaurants offered few drink choices. You could have one brand of cola (from whichever bottler controlled the venue license) milk, ice tea, and hey—don’t get fussy. But it turns out that today’s... Continue Reading Posted at 2:47 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Procter & Gamble Blesses Mobile Marketing Rich Ottum June 19, 2006 Just when you think it is safe to forget mobile marketing, P&G decides to give the medium a nod with a new campaign for Crest Whitening Plus Scope Extreme Toothpaste. (Perhaps this is what you need if you spend too... Continue Reading Posted at 2:44 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Alka-Seltzer to Reprise "Try it, You’ll Like it" Slogan Rich Ottum June 19, 2006 The Alka-Seltzer is brand is older and wiser than you are. In fact, the brand is celebrating 75 years of relief of upset stomach, headache, hangover, or whatever. Students of the brand know Alka-Seltzer reinvents itself every ten years or... Continue Reading Posted at 1:59 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Oops—Don’t Mess with Hip-hopping Rappers Rich Ottum June 19, 2006 Okay, to be honest, Marketing Blurb does not get invited to many hip-hop parties. But if we were invited, we would certainly drink Cristal Champagne, because hip-hoppers know this is the bubbly of choice. These grapes sell for between $ 100... Continue Reading Posted at 1:55 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Clear Channel Branded Cities Rich Ottum June 19, 2006 Now you might that cities already have enough outdoor advertising, and you would be wrong, naturally. If you are impressed by advertising display of Disney Word or Times Square—you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. We just learned from Ad Age (free... Continue Reading Posted at 1:51 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun18	Look Up in the Sky—TV Commercials! Rich Ottum June 18, 2006 Now maybe you think you own a kick-ass plasma television bigger than your dining room table, but you ain’t seen nothing yet. A blimp company in Orlando named The Lightship Group just launched a 170 foot blimp which sports an... Continue Reading Posted at 1:44 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun17	Honda Fit Jams with House of Blues Rich Ottum June 17, 2006 If you can’t quite conjure the Honda Fit, you are obviously not young, urban, and hip—the three requirements to drive this car. (Strike three for Marketing Blurb--we are only allowed to view them from a distance.) So to reach the... Continue Reading Posted at 3:15 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun16	Starbucks Next Target of Trans-fat Police Rich Ottum June 16, 2006 Earlier this week, we told you that the Center for Science in the Public Interest targeted KFC in a lawsuit over their unhealthy fare. Apparently the CSPI’s next target is Starbucks. The activist group is demanding that Starbucks disclose nutritional... Continue Reading Posted at 7:00 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Creative Director Auctions Right Brain Rich Ottum June 16, 2006 We suggested earlier today that TBWA\Chiat\Day might have tried another approach on their new campaign for Nissan. This is very easy for us to say because we are just a marketing pundit, and not an agency of record for anyone.... Continue Reading Posted at 4:02 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Nielsen to Update TV Rating Service Rich Ottum June 16, 2006 In a world of electronic entertainment and advertising marvels, it seems amazing to Marketing Blurb that Nielsen is still able to sell their television rating service base on viewer self-reporting diaries. Everyone in the industry agrees, and Nielsen Media Research... Continue Reading Posted at 3:55 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Nissan Tries Advertising 2.0 Rich Ottum June 16, 2006 Lacking a degree of inspiration and imagination, TBWA\Chiat\Day decided to mimic the language of the software industry for the launch of five new Nissan vehicles. Headlines include Excitement 2.0 and Passion 2.0 and the claim “Five new vehicles. All have... Continue Reading Posted at 3:32 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	M&M’s Joins Pirates Movie Promotion Rich Ottum June 16, 2006 Everybody and their dog wants a piece of Disney’s upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean movie. (That is everybody who is not already wed to Cars or Superman Returns.) We can’t really understand the connection between Volvo and the movie, but... Continue Reading Posted at 3:17 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun15	$ 18 Billion of Logo Trinkets Rich Ottum June 15, 2006 Marketing Blurb is a sucker for logo coffee mugs. We have an impressive collection of consumer, b2b, and academic models to choose from, and we delight in rotating through the collection. We’re partial to Denison University this week, but hey,... Continue Reading Posted at 2:02 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Marketers Acknowledge the Limitations of Advertising Rich Ottum June 15, 2006 When we teach our undergraduate level marketing class, we are always forced to explain to students that advertising and marketing is not the same thing. By the end of the course, our students understand that advertising is only a subset... Continue Reading Posted at 1:48 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Preaching Kosher Beef-Dogs to Gentiles Rich Ottum June 15, 2006 Marketing Blurb is headed to the ball stadium tonight with our son. We are going to watch a couple of so-so AAA teams play, but nothing can match our bonding experience with each other and with of a couple of... Continue Reading Posted at 1:41 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Can German Engineering Retool Chrysler? Rich Ottum June 15, 2006 Only a year ago, Chrysler was on a roll (right over the backs of Ford and GM.) Their chunky 300 model was a monster success with everyone from old ladies to rappers. But higher gas prices have flattened Chrysler sales... Continue Reading Posted at 1:35 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	United Airlines Cuts Ad Budget 80% Rich Ottum June 15, 2006 To keep our students engaged with contemporary topics, Marketing Blurb recently asked our marketing class what steps United Airlines should take to build their brand after declaring bankruptcy. Students realized it would be necessary for the airline to improve service... Continue Reading Posted at 1:29 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun14	Mattel Displays Lack of Imagination Rich Ottum June 14, 2006 Marketing Blurb loves Barbie and Hot Wheels as much as the next pundit. But we are disappointed to learn that Mattel has entered into a global licensing deal with the Cartoon Network to product toys, games, and puzzles based on... Continue Reading Posted at 7:28 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Ten Step Guerilla Marketing for Small Business Rich Ottum June 14, 2006 Marketing Blurb spends most of our time ridiculing or praising the 800-pound gorillas of marketing. But the heavy-lifting in our economy is really handled by much smaller business simians who practice so-called guerilla marketing tactics. These less expensive yet effective... Continue Reading Posted at 1:50 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	This is your brain on Yahoo! Answers Rich Ottum June 14, 2006 Months ago, we visited a beta site called Yahoo! Answers. We assumed this would be a so-called expert site, where once could pose a question to a subject expert. We should have known better. This is actually a social networking... Continue Reading Posted at 1:23 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Toyota Brands ‘em Young Rich Ottum June 14, 2006 Marketers think they know how to brand products for boomers. But tweens frighten marketers, because these young consumers are less brand conscious and more skeptical of advertising claims. So Toyota decided to start early by branding their somewhat whacky Scion... Continue Reading Posted at 1:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Seek Peace with TV B-Gone Rich Ottum June 14, 2006 From time-to-time, Marketing Blurb complains about television. We are not especially keen on television programming or television commercials as an advertising medium. We can easily regulate our viewing habits at home, and urge readers to do so as well. But... Continue Reading Posted at 1:13 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun13	$ 600 Million of Teen Ringtones Rich Ottum June 13, 2006 When the cell phone rings, we answer. We do this because someone is trying to reach us, and because the sound of ringing phones is annoying. Yes, our LG phone comes with umpteen ring tones. Some tones are even snippets... Continue Reading Posted at 7:35 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	The Colonel Wrestles with Trans Fat Rich Ottum June 13, 2006 Marketing Blurb often cautions readers to watch their diet by avoiding fast food restaurants. We have nothing against the fast food industry, mind you, it is just their food that will kill you. Or at least that is the story... Continue Reading Posted at 7:19 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Road Runner Wants Us to Live Life Fully Rich Ottum June 13, 2006 The folks at Time Warner are still struggling with online advertising. While AOL battles to build their non-member audience metrics, the TW Road Runner service is devoting prime advertising real estate to house ads. We were intrigued by the image shown here,... Continue Reading Posted at 5:57 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Explaining Disney to The Chinese Rich Ottum June 13, 2006 Now you might think that every country in the world should have a Disney theme park, and you would be wrong, naturally. True, residents of almost every country in the world have heard of Disney, but brand recognition is not... Continue Reading Posted at 5:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Talking Beer Cans Announce Prizes Rich Ottum June 13, 2006 You know you’ve had a long day, when you crack open a cold one, and your beer can speaks to you. But maybe you should listen to what that can of beer has to say. You see, your can of beer... Continue Reading Posted at 3:35 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun12	Video Game Product Placement Rich Ottum June 12, 2006 We’ve told you about video game advertising before, but now we’re ready to put some numbers to the talk. According to the Yankee Group, revenue from in-game advertising generated $ 56 million last year. But the fast growing category is... Continue Reading Posted at 4:17 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Postal Service Says Use DM to Outsmart the Office Rich Ottum June 12, 2006 Let’s say you are a direct marketing type, and you want to use direct mail to deliver an offer. Well, you might be discouraged from your efforts by colleagues at the office like Cyber Kyle, Derec Creative, and Mora Media.... Continue Reading Posted at 4:01 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Clear Channel Considers One-Second Spots Rich Ottum June 12, 2006 Quick—can you pitch your brand in one second? (Can you pronounce your brand in one second?) Well, get ready because Clear Channel Communications is considering a new one-second ad spot called the “Blink.” The idea may not be as far-fetched... Continue Reading Posted at 3:23 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Times Square Squared Rich Ottum June 12, 2006 Someday, the entire world will look like Times Square. But until then, if you want attention, you should buy advertising on either the Nasdaq Tower, or the Reuters sign across the street from each other on Times Square. But what... Continue Reading Posted at 3:18 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Diet Coke Mentos Fountains Rich Ottum June 12, 2006 Marketing Blurb spends much of the day on the Internet, but we were just too busy to discover the hundreds of amateur videos of people dropping quarter-size Mentos into bottles of Diet Coke. Doing so results in a geyser of... Continue Reading Posted at 3:15 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun11	What Dad Might Not Want Rich Ottum June 11, 2006 Maybe you heard the news that Mom might not want a frying pan or a vacuum cleaner for a Mother’s Day gift. But marketers are still behind the times with regards to Dad. Everyone assumes that Dad wants tools or... Continue Reading Posted at 4:00 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	McDonald’s Adds Local Cuisine to Chinese Menu Rich Ottum June 11, 2006 Marketing Blurb shudders every time we see a photo of a McDonald’s restaurant in a foreign country. No, we are not against international marketing. We would just prefer to export the best rather than the worst of our culture. But... Continue Reading Posted at 3:37 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Coors to Recognize Hispanic Leaders Rich Ottum June 11, 2006 We have often criticized beer advertising as juvenile, but Coors has decided to take higher ground with a new campaign recognizing male and female Hispanic leaders. The new print campaign is running in Hispanic publications in Dallas / Ft. Worth,... Continue Reading Posted at 3:21 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun10	No More Biggie Size It at Wendy’s Rich Ottum June 10, 2006 Marketing Blurb does not eat at Wendy’s. But we are still fond of their imperative to “biggie size it” whenever people order fries or soft drinks. We use the expression anytime we seek more of anything. But we just learned... Continue Reading Posted at 11:06 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	The Elephant in the Living Room Rich Ottum June 10, 2006 Consumers and marketers are embracing the explosion in media entertainment opportunities. Whether you prefer your music from terrestrial radio, satellite radio, digital radio, CD audio, MP3, or iTunes, there are seemly endless ways to purchase, download, transfer and listen to... Continue Reading Posted at 11:00 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Alcohol Advertising in Campus Newspapers? Rich Ottum June 10, 2006 Now you might think that advertising alcohol in campus newspapers is not a good idea, but students at Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia disagree. The newspapers have enlisted the ACLU to represent them in a lawsuit against the... Continue Reading Posted at 10:55 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Real Women Watch Basketball Rich Ottum June 10, 2006 According to The New York Times (free registration required) the NBA wants more women to watch basketball. Specifically, the league “wants more women, especially those 18 to 34, to watch its games, talk about its players and wear the jersey... Continue Reading Posted at 10:49 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 9	7-Eleven Partners with "The Heat" Rich Ottum June 9, 2006 Now you might think that using “the heat” to promote 7-Eleven Slurpees would not be a good idea, and you would be wrong, naturally. In Dallas, 7-Eleven uses the Aberdeen and Hoquiam Police Departments to distribute Slurpee coupons to kids... Continue Reading Posted at 6:55 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	OGO Oxygen Water Rich Ottum June 9, 2006 Years ago, Marketing Blurb was an ace science student. We haven’t studied chemistry for years now, and we must be rusty. We just discovered this wonderful product called OGO Oxygen, which purports to have 35 times more oxygen than regular... Continue Reading Posted at 6:50 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	We Know it’s Only Rock and Roll Rich Ottum June 9, 2006 The Wall Street Journal (paid subscription required) is running a wonderful story today regarding rock and roll music themes in advertising. Once considered anti-establishment, rock music is not the anthem behind a number of mainstream advertising campaigns. According to The... Continue Reading Posted at 4:11 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Disney Year of a Million Dreams Rich Ottum June 9, 2006 Somewhere, there is a place where dreams come true, and Uncle Walt (rest his soul,) wants you to believe that place is Disney World. And beginning this fall, Disney is about to make dreams come true with their Year of... Continue Reading Posted at 4:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 8	Real Men Eat Baby Ruth Rich Ottum June 8, 2006 Marketing Blurb is not convinced that Major League Baseball needs an official candy bar. Official peanuts we can understand. An official bratwurst and beer make sense. But if the league must have an official candy bar, it might as well... Continue Reading Posted at 4:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Burger King Joins the Coffee Wars Rich Ottum June 8, 2006 Marketing Blurb has already told you how Dunkin Donuts and McDonald’s have decided to go uptown with their coffee. And we just learned from The New York Times, (free registration required) that Burger King has decided to join the band.... Continue Reading Posted at 4:12 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Junk Food Without Guilt Rich Ottum June 8, 2006 Marketing Blurb is intrigued by the wave of new “calorie controlled” products we’ve seen. The deal is to create a single serving size package where the number of calories is the selling point. Think a 100-calorie bag of Fritos, for... Continue Reading Posted at 4:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Panasonic to Neuter Your Bunny Rich Ottum June 8, 2006 Marketing Blurb hates to sound skeptical of marketing claims, but we believe all batteries are pretty much the same. We use re-chargeable batteries whenever we can, and when we buy batteries, we select whatever brand is on sale. But in... Continue Reading Posted at 4:04 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Quality, Value, Service and Blah Blah Blah Rich Ottum June 8, 2006 All marketing pundits should work as a copywriter at some point in their careers. We wrote ad copy and direct mail for awhile, and it was a character-building experience. Sure we had a few brilliant moments, but for the most... Continue Reading Posted at 3:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 7	AbeBooks 10th Anniversary Not-Book Campaign Rich Ottum June 7, 2006 Until today, we were not familiar with AbeBooks, a well-know international bookseller based in beautiful Victoria, BC. But a colleague at Know More Media sent us this link to their wonderfully witty 10th anniversary celebration. The celebration offers a list... Continue Reading Posted at 3:02 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Starbucks to Offer Breakfast Sandwiches Rich Ottum June 7, 2006 Okay, folks—here is one headline we never wanted to post. We love Starbucks more than the next pundit. (Even when they screw around with their basic business model and pitch music and movies we don’t need.) But we just learned... Continue Reading Posted at 2:57 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Gap Back to Basics Rich Ottum June 7, 2006 Marketing Blurb is not a fashion pundit. Occasionally we will dress all in black for some business function, and pretend we are trendy. But we do know that clothing retailer Gap has been struggling for years now to reclaim their... Continue Reading Posted at 2:53 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	TV Ads Not Credible in UK Rich Ottum June 7, 2006 Marketing Blurb enjoys a wide international readership, so we thought everyone should know that television viewers in the UK are skeptical regarding commercial advertising claims. In a survey of 4000 viewers by the ITV television network, only 1 in 8... Continue Reading Posted at 2:46 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Seagram’s Summer Reading Program Rich Ottum June 7, 2006 Back in elementary school, we could not wait to join the summer reading program at the library. There was always some nifty chart where you could add a gold star for every book you read. At the end there was... Continue Reading Posted at 2:41 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 6	The Scoop on Impressions (but who’s counting?) Rich Ottum June 6, 2006 Now you might think that if you wanted the maximum number of brand impressions in sports advertising you would advertise on the Super Bowl, and you would be wrong, naturally. Statistics released by Nielsen Sports’ Sponsorships reveal that tennis and... Continue Reading Posted at 3:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Gas Station TV Rich Ottum June 6, 2006 Standing at the gas pump and watching the numbers race is not fun. So an enterprising company called Gas Station TV wants to give gas customers something else to do—watch television with advertising—naturally. The start-up company is offering national and... Continue Reading Posted at 3:05 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Advertisers Wake up to Boomer Opportunity Rich Ottum June 6, 2006 Marketing Blurb has reminded readers many times that boomer women control the fate of our economy. Well, according to The LA Times, other marketers are finally getting the message as well. Think of Fidelity investments using wailing guitars and psychedelic... Continue Reading Posted at 2:57 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Casinos to Claim Maxim and Playboy Brand Names Rich Ottum June 6, 2006 Marketing Blurb has not been to Vegas for a few years now, but we doubt much has changed in our absence. People keep losing money and developers keep erecting casinos. Maxim magazine just announced they will lend their brand name to real... Continue Reading Posted at 2:47 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Father’s Day Retail Projections Rich Ottum June 6, 2006 The National Retail Federation released their projection for Father’s day shopping this year. The headline is simple—Dad is ¾ as important as Mom—in spending at least. The average person is expected to spend $ 88.80 on Dad this year, compared... Continue Reading Posted at 2:43 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 5	Crusin’ to and from School with Bus Radio Rich Ottum June 5, 2006 Face it kids—school buses are a drag. First of all, they arrive too damned early in the morning. Next, they force you to sit next to stupid dork wadsor geek wads, and finally-- they take someplace you really don’t want to... Continue Reading Posted at 4:15 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	If the World Gives You Lemons… Rich Ottum June 5, 2006 While Marketing Blurb has discussed the issue of childhood obesity, we refrained from commenting on the movement to remove soft drinks from school vending machines. (People would consider our idea too old fashioned—why do schools need vending machines, period?) But... Continue Reading Posted at 4:10 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Giant Cows are Cool Rich Ottum June 5, 2006 When we are reading The Wall Street Journal during the evening news, television commercials must be damned clever or annoying to catch our attention. Last night we saw an amusing animated commercial from Turkey Hills Dairy imploring us to visit... Continue Reading Posted at 4:03 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	AMA to Debate Prescription Drug Advertising Rich Ottum June 5, 2006 Even when times are tough for marketing pundits, Marketing Blurb has no desire to be a family physician. Who needs the headache from patients marching in and inquiring about prescription drugs they’ve seen advertised which promise to solve all their... Continue Reading Posted at 3:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Radio Advertising Sluggish Rich Ottum June 5, 2006 Marketing Blurb loves radio advertising. A good radio advertising copywriter easily captures our attention and then encourages our own imagination to do all the heavy lifting. We believe listening and using the imagination creates an impression more lasting that drooling... Continue Reading Posted at 3:03 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 4	Cashing In on Hell Rich Ottum June 4, 2006 Marketing Blurb is not into the occult. But we have been told that the number 666 is the mark of the devil, and we take that on faith (clever, no?) And we just found out that the number has special... Continue Reading Posted at 2:07 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	AARP to Serenade Boomers with Music Rich Ottum June 4, 2006 Marketing Blurb likes to believe that Boomers invented rock and roll. This is not really true, of course, but like all generations, Boomers lay claim to the good stuff. (After all, the music died about 1974, remember?) So it only... Continue Reading Posted at 1:59 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Ocean Spray Offers Vacation from Diet Beverages Rich Ottum June 4, 2006 Marketing Blurb is a great advocate of product sampling, street marketing, and promotional tours. As such, we are pleased to learn from Promo Magazine that Ocean Spray is taking their beverages on the road this summer with the theme: Take... Continue Reading Posted at 9:38 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Morton Salt Cryptic Sweepstakes Rich Ottum June 4, 2006 Once again, Marketing Blurb is perplexed by a confusing sweepstakes promotion. This time, the sponsor is Morton Salt. We all know and love the Morton Salt girl, who has been around since 1914. The premise of the sweepstakes is simple... Continue Reading Posted at 9:28 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Disney Broadband Offers New Ad Option Rich Ottum June 4, 2006 Disney has decided to offer selected full-length content from the Disney Channel as online downloads on their website. Kids can view free episodes of "That's So Raven," "American Dragon: Jake Long" and "Kim Possible" on their computer or view-enabled portable... Continue Reading Posted at 9:26 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 3	Russia’s Plan for World Domination Rich Ottum June 3, 2006 Marketing Blurb is not a political pundit, but we just discovered this dandy article in Wired magazine that change the balance of geopolitics. It turns out there is a music downloading site in Russia, with an excellent catalog of western... Continue Reading Posted at 3:04 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Beetle Art Rich Ottum June 3, 2006 In the UK, Volkswagen is launching the new Luna Beetle special edition, with a custom decal design contest. You can visit the New Beetle Art website and decide if you would like your Beetle personalized with decals prepared by four... Continue Reading Posted at 2:46 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	New Digital Reality—Junior is Wired Rich Ottum June 3, 2006 You probably don’t need Marketing Blurb to tell you that today’s kids are wired to the gills. They own more digital gizmos at age seven than you’ve ever owned in your entire lifetime. Audio-video content is fluid an omnipresent for... Continue Reading Posted at 2:44 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	The Architecture of Advertising Rich Ottum June 3, 2006 Marketing Blurb is not a creative director. We are sometimes critical of advertising because we value results over creativity. (As such, we prefer direct marketing where we can measure what is really happening with target audience response.) But we are... Continue Reading Posted at 2:38 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	P&G Top Advertiser in First Quarter Rich Ottum June 3, 2006 Now you might think that consumer giant Procter and Gamble spends a considerable amount of money on advertising, and you would be right. In fact, for the first quarter this year, their ad spending was about $ 794 million, almost... Continue Reading Posted at 2:34 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 2	Infiniti Outmaneuvers Other SUVs with Clever Headline Rich Ottum June 2, 2006 Our son’s new Motor Trend magazine arrived in the mail today. On the cover is an aggressive Shelby GT 500, and we are inclined to believe the article subhead Across America in the Greatest Mustang Ever. But the real story... Continue Reading Posted at 3:57 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Kraft Foods Seeking Innovation Rich Ottum June 2, 2006 Everyone is familiar with Kraft Foods, and their well-known products Oreo cookies and Miracle Whip dressing. But as it turns out, the company is in somewhat of a funk of late. Profit is down 24% over the past two years,... Continue Reading Posted at 2:36 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Hilton Hotels Targets Younger Demographic Rich Ottum June 2, 2006 We can’t pretend to understand the complex hospitality industry, but we do know that Hilton Hotels Corp. is concerned about their aging guest demographic. As such, the chain has decided to sponsor 2006 AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, which decided... Continue Reading Posted at 2:22 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Hellmann’s Rate My Sandwich Rich Ottum June 2, 2006 Marketing Blurb usually concentrates on US marketing, but we are delighted to share this nifty promotion from Hellmann’s UK called Rate My Sandwich. The promotion allows consumers to enter the recipe (which includes Hellmann’s mayonnaise) for their personal sandwich creation.... Continue Reading Posted at 12:49 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Dum Dum Celebrates Brand Centennial Rich Ottum June 2, 2006 Now you might think that your brand is forever, but few brands can claim a centennial celebration like Dum Dum Suckers from Spangler Candy. (The same folks would make those orange marshmallow Circus Peanuts.) Beginning June 12th, consumers can visit... Continue Reading Posted at 12:46 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Jun 1	Celebrity Endorsements Fail to Charm Affluent Consumers Rich Ottum June 1, 2006 Every few weeks, Marketing Blurb has something to say about celebrity endorsements. Usually, we make fun of celebrities because their behavior routinely embarrasses the brand marketers they represent. But today, we just want to share a simple research survey from... Continue Reading Posted at 1:15 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Bizarre Baskin-Robbins Pink Spoons Promotion Rich Ottum June 1, 2006 Now don’t get us wrong, Marketing Blurb loves ice cream as much as the next pundit. But we are baffled by the Baskin-Robbins Find the Pink Spoon promotion. The ice cream maker is partnering with Best Western, Orbits, and Budget... Continue Reading Posted at 1:01 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Segway Still Rollin’ Along Rich Ottum June 1, 2006 We used to ask our students about how to market the Segway Human Transporter, but we receive blank stares—what’s a Segway? Well, in case you have forgotten, Segway is a perfectly balanced, two-wheeled, battery-powered scooter. The creator of the Segway... Continue Reading Posted at 11:15 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Bad Television Gets Worse? Rich Ottum June 1, 2006 You already know that Marketing Blurb is unimpressed with existing television programming. But we fear it could get even worse. The monster on the horizon is user-generated content. In other words, the mouth-breathers who watch television will soon produce television.... Continue Reading Posted at 10:59 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Oops—Google Print Ads Disappoint Rich Ottum June 1, 2006 Marketing Blurb has already explained how Google sold print advertising and expects to sell television advertising. Some claim these are stepping stones on the path to world domination. (And you used to worry about Microsoft.) But according to MediaPost Publications... Continue Reading Posted at 10:54 AM \| Permalink \| Comments

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