Marketing and all things related

Okay, boomers. If you don’t know Tony Hawk, just ask the neighborhood kids--if you can tear them away from the videogames. Tony Hawk is a real life skateboarder, a guy who performs stunts that would kill mere mortals like most of us. And, Tony is a virtual performer as well, with a series of his own videogames which allow players to match his moves, narrowly escaping death without leaving their family room, bedroom or basement. But you should also know that Tony Hawk drives a Jeep in these games. And when he cruises over to Venice Beach, he is likely to park his digital wheels next to other Jeep Wrangles, Grand Cherokees, and Liberties. This is paid placement, naturally—but unlike television, the 13-25 year males who play these games enjoy countless (and we do mean countless) exposures to the brand. And a majority of players studied by Neilsen said that relevant advertising like this actually enhances the quality of the game. Business Week has more (paid subscription required.) Photo Credit: Activision 

You already know that product placement is the hot technique to expose your brand inside the story line of popular television and movies. But if you did not cut your product placement deal in time—don’t worry. Now you digitize in... Continue Reading

Marketing Blurb loves glamour as much as the next pundit. But we’re usually just too busy to pay much attention to the designer fashion scene, until celebrities grab the headlines. This time it is the Olsen twins, who although they... Continue Reading

Politicians loved soccer moms, and then NASCAR dads. Well, advertisers love the NASCAR fans as well. The television audience for the sport has grow 80% over the last 15 years. The Daytona 500 kicks off the season this weekend. Last... Continue Reading

Now you may or may not be in the market for a Lexus these days. But you have certainly noticed that your Lexus-driving buddies have way-cooler cell phones than yours. Sure, you can take grainy pictures with your cell phone... Continue Reading

It’s been two long years, since Ken and Barbie split. But face it, Ken was a dweeb, and easily booted out the door by Blaine, Barbie’s hip Australian surfer dude. Well, since then, Barbie’s stock has dropped considerably (both with... Continue Reading

The famous Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition is about to hit the newsstands. But over the years this popular page-turner has morphed into an outrageous franchise. According to The New York Times (free registration required) fans can also view the bikini... Continue Reading

Perhaps you noticed, but Marketing Blurb only discussed Super Bowl advertising before the game. We decided to leave the post-game creative critique to more qualified pundits. In our simple subjective opinion, the advertising was lame at best. But one issue... Continue Reading

Remember, readers, we already warned you about Unforgivable, a new fragrance spawned in the passion of P. Diddy Combs. Well, if P.Diddy is not your style, you can still embarrass yourself with a new collection of KISS Cosmetics to be... Continue Reading

Okay, folks. You know that Marketing Blurb has called Kellogg’s and other cereal companies on the carpet for advertising to children. But we decided to back off, for awhile anyway, because we just learned that February 19th is the 100th... Continue Reading

Now you might think it is a good idea for Madison Avenue and Hollywood to confab on a regular basis. Advertising Age sponsors one such event, called Madison and Vine in Los Angeles. This year, members of the Screen Actors... Continue Reading

Now you might think that buying a tube of toothpaste is buying a tube of toothpaste. But not so, according to Carisa Binachi, president of ad agency giant TBWA/Chiat/Day  —especially if you are using your Visa card. "Visa is not... Continue Reading

Retailing is a tough business. It can take years for a retailer to establish a credible brand image or positioning in the marketplace, only to discover than image is suddenly passé. According to The Wall Street Journal (paid subscription required,)... Continue Reading

The 2005 holiday season is still in session. A diverse collection of merchants including Wal-Mart Stores, Target, Costco, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Nordstrom Inc. and J.C. Penney all reported increased same store sales increases over January last year. A number... Continue Reading

Life is too short for Marketing Blurb to waste time with television shows like The Contender. But it turns out, that if we had been watching; we would have seen an average of 500 individual occurrences for the Everlast brand.... Continue Reading

Late last year, America Online took the plunge, and launched their own web-based portal at Aol.com to compete with MSN, Yahoo! and others. The move was intended to offer advertisers a new high traffic venue. Since then, AOL has been... Continue Reading

You already know that Marketing Blurb is not especially keen on celebrity endorsements. But we must concede the technique increases brand awareness and ultimately sales. Of course, not all celebrity endorsements are overt advertising. In fact, if you are lucky,... Continue Reading

My copy of Fortune Magazine arrived in the mail yesterday. In the Editor’s Desk pub note, Managing Editor Eric Pooley asks the question “What do you get when you marry Fortune’s deep drives and smart analysis with CNN’s breaking-news chops?... Continue Reading

Well, the results are in—from Brandchannel, anyway. And according to their global study of over 2500 people from 99 countries, consumers consider Google the most influential brand for 2005. Respondents choose the brand with the greatest impact (good or bad)... Continue Reading

Let’s hope that by now you know that Marketing Blurb loves coffee more than the next guy. And while young women are often enchanted by our wit and charm, we only have eyes for our lovely wife, thank you. But... Continue Reading