Marketing and all things related

Perhaps this is a sign of the end of times, but Walt Disney Company is ending its 10-year relationship with McDonald’s as a supplier of Happy Meal premiums. Disney is reportedly concerned about associating itself with childhood obesity, and as such, is backing away from fast-food industry partners. Of course Ronald McDonald had a few choice words for Mickey: "If this was prompted by concerns of childhood obesity, Disney should look at the food it serves at its parks. I don’t think anybody ever accused Disney World of being a health farm. You'll find bags of Mickey Mouse French fries [there]. It seems a little disingenuous of Disney to suddenly be worried about children's healthy eating habits. It sounds much more like a smoke screen than a serious concern." See Promo Magazine for more, but Marketing Blurb is staying out of the crossfire.

Marketing Blurb will be one of countless people reminding you that Mother’s Day is, um—sometime this month. And as it turns out, 75% of small businesses are planning promotions to remind you to honor mom. But unlike in years past,... Continue Reading

Marketing Blurb keeps a low media profile, and as such, we thankfully miss an overdose of celebrity nonsense. But even with out reading-centric entertainment habits, we can’t seem to avoid Tom Cruise and his girlfriend what’s her name, and their... Continue Reading

Warner Brothers will release a new animated movie in November called Happy Feet. The movie features Emperor Penguins in Antarctica, which means there is not much opportunity for product placement. This is a family-friendly film, and a number of advertisers including... Continue Reading

A few years ago, we made a conscious decision not to own a Blackberry. Yes, we knew our girlfriend would leave us, and the maitre d' of our favorite restaurant would shun us. But those keys are just too damned... Continue Reading

Now you might think that a health conscious pharmaceutical company like Bayer AG would avoid sponsorship of unhealthy events, and you would be wrong naturally. Much to the embarrassment of the German giant, their US arm signed a deal for... Continue Reading

Marketing Blurb is not a gamer, but we do know that gamers are serious about their boxes. And since we are somewhat of a geek, we are interested in game boxes as well. As such, we are waiting the generation... Continue Reading

Six brands are coming together this weekend to host “Fresh Start for Spring” in 1000 Wal-Mart stores. The brands are Weight Watchers, Suave, Nature Made, Mott's, Sunkist and WD-40. (How many of these products will loosen that rusty screw?) This... Continue Reading

We already explained that Wrigley’s was struggling to revive the Altoids and Lifesavers brands they acquired last summer. Marketing Blurb even gave the company free advice. But instead, Wrigley’s is running a poker-themed collect-and-win chewing gum promotion. The top prize,... Continue Reading

Marketing Blurb has nothing against Ronald McDonald. In fact, we love his smile and colorful threads. We would gladly invite Ronald to join us for a beer. But the Burger King is another matter. Maybe Gen Y thinks the King... Continue Reading

Unless you’ve been hiding inside your garage too long, you already know that Disney/Pixar is about to release a new animated feature called Cars. The cartoon feature autos, which windshield eyes and grinning grills as the main characters. This will... Continue Reading

When Marketing Blurb and our friends were young, we delighted in Popsicles on a hot summer day. Yes, we usually ended up with lime green lips and tongues--but hey--we were kids. Too bad we didn’t have the chance to participate... Continue Reading

You don’t need Marketing Blurb to tell you that sports marketing is huge. Sponsoring a NASCAR team is an ideal way to help brand products targeted to NASCAR Dads and Moms. And sponsoring kids sporting events is a fine idea... Continue Reading

Marketing Blurb loves college football more than the next pundit. But we never realized that the game needs an official quick serve restaurant. Fortunately, Taco Bell has stepped up to the line of scrimmage as the "Official Quick Service Restaurant" of... Continue Reading

Marketing Blurb loves brandy as much as the next pundit. But we don’t drink it often, because brandy seems to demand some special occasion, and we just don’t feel special much anymore these days. But maybe our problem is that... Continue Reading

Marketing Blurb loves amusement parks as much as the next pundit, but we haven’t been to one in years. (The kids are grown, and we don’t really have a good excuse.) But when we used to frequent amusement parks, we... Continue Reading

Marketing Blurb loves to poke fun at ridiculous marketing campaigns—but we’re just a blog pundit standing outside the kitchen. As such, we realize we should also applaud the efforts of those who create intelligent campaigns that motivate consumers to take... Continue Reading

Your mother always told you to eat breakfast, and your mother is wise. Your mother never told you to eat at McDonald’s for breakfast, because she knows better. But since countless Americans ignore mom and skip breakfast, McDonald’s sees an... Continue Reading

If you are a disenchanted auto worker, we feel your pain. But it could be worse, you could work in the airline industry. Fortunately, there are a few bright spots, including JetBlue’s new mixed media campaign. The campaign features traditional... Continue Reading

Marketing Blurb did not see the King Kong movie. (We heard from a favorite movie critic that some people left the theater with their hearing impaired for life. Note to theatre owners—we are never coming back until you turn down... Continue Reading