Welcome to Room 116

Connection Planning Conference

Mark your calender for the Polygamous Marriage of account planning, media and creative in New Orleans. Precise and provocative insights from people bringing Connection Planning forward - the world's first conference as far as we know. Challenge our bullshit, call your shot and get on with the noble quest of transforming the industry. That's right: Branded Utility. Put it to work in your own little revolution. Make it a big revolution. Conversations stirred by provocateurs like:

Adrian Ho - Zeus Jones
Ed Cotton - Butler Shine Stern & Partners
Jim Elms - Barkley
Gareth Kay - Modernista!
Demian Brink - Boone/Oakley
Lisa Seward - Mod
Paul Woolmington - Naked
John King - Fallon
Rob Walker - NY Times

A scheme from your friends at Trumpet, sponsored by NY Times and lifted by the hands, brains and hearts of many. To register visit polygamousweddings.com and check out the blog while you're at it too!

Ad Schools Increase Diversity Recruiting Efforts

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- If it seems like common sense that the ad industry can only be as diverse as its pipeline, it's only sensible to ask how that pipeline -- namely the portfolio schools -- is doing with its own diversity struggles. The answer: better.

To read full article: click here

HIV A gay disease

A new aids awareness campaign claims AIDS as a disease of homosexuals and is sparking tons of controversy.

Check out the video.

Irresponsible Advertising?

So I'm driving down the road today and I see a city bus with an ad on the back of it.  The back of the bus is painted (vinyl wrap most likely) to look like the front of the bus complete with a driver.  At the top in the marquee it reads "Life Comes At You Fast", obviously a Nationwide ad.  And I realized that eventhough I had had time to tell it was an ad, someone might not and the ad could cause an accident.  If someone wasn't paying complete attention and suddenly saw the ad they might swerve to dodge the "on-coming" bus and cause an accident that should never have happened.

It's not a stretch at all to see the irresponsibility in running this ad.  They should be taken down before someone gets hurts.  I can see how the message is effective, yes, but at what cost?  If one person gets in an accident because of this, that's one too many.  TM Advertising, as far as I can tell, is the agency.

(I took a picture of it with my camera phone, but I can't seem to get the picture to upload right now.  Once I can get it to work I'll post it.)

The Opposite of Good

A disturbing article about even newer ways to invade the lives of consumers, culminating in the following statment: "They just want to put their items on the belt and get checked out. If they see it, they may not pay attention, but it's embedded in the mind a little bit."
Hooray advertising.

Here

More on Jetblue vs. StoryCorps

Excerpt from the WSJ:

While the notion of owning the idea of storytelling might seem far-fetched, StoryCorps worried the public might confuse its project with JetBlue's Story Booth effort, due to the similarity of the name and concept. Both story tours visited Washington at the same time in mid-May, it says.

Last month, Sound Portraits accused JetBlue of "an overt, willful and substantial misappropriation of the trademark rights and goodwill" that StoryCorps "has spent years to generate and maintain." It asked JetBlue to "cease and desist" using the name Story Booth.

"We are just hoping that it stops and that they change their name before it ruins our project," says Dave Isay, founder and executive director of Sound Portraits.

Wow, didn't expect to see this story in the WSJ.  Seems like such a small issue in that JetBlue's Storybooth just went to a few cities but I guess it's a much bigger issue now that its become part of their whole advertising campaign.  (I was lucky to see it and took some pics here.) But even more surprising is how did this story get its buzz?  If you google jetblue + storycorps there's only about 100 links and rm116's post is near the top.  John Winsor at Under The Radar linked to our site and his site was linked from the StoryCorps site.  So who wins in this?  I don't think StoryCorps has to worry in that this provided a bunch of press for them and they're the underdogs.  Plus, their cause is so much more authentic.  So what's the lesson here?  I guess when you're doing something similar to something else, it's not always a good idea to mention the other thing! As I wrote in the first post on Jetblue, the guy working at the JetBlue booth told me about StoryCorps.

The ad agency behind the campaign, WPP Group's JWT Worldwide, says it was aware of StoryCorps, but didn't base JetBlue's campaign on it.

It is not uncommon for marketers to trip over each other. Resolving these disputes is often difficult as it is not always easy to prove who came up with the idea first. Big companies usually like to avoid public disputes, so the squabbles rarely end up in court.

For a nonprofit, fighting a big company can be tougher. "Every penny that comes in here is put to this project," says Sound Portraits' Mr. Isay. "We just don't have the resources to take on JetBlue."

"StoryCorps is the boldest attempt I have ever seen to take the American art of storytelling and bring it everywhere in the country," says Ken Stern, executive vice president of NPR. "I find it astonishing that any company would try to capture and take that spirit and apply it for commercial purposes."

Wall St. Journal continues to impress with their interesting articles.  (see post on HK's Bus Uncle)

From the StoryCorps site:

This wedding sponsored by American Values.

One couple found the perfect way to turn the most important day of their lives into a money-making opportunity. God Bless 'em. That is, of course, if he can get a ticket.

1-800-Flowers, Other Marketers Buy Into Baseball-Stadium Ceremony

By Willow Duttge

Published: June 13, 2006
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Diamond ring? Check. Honeymoon? Planned. Advertisers for the wedding day? Got 'em.

To have a large wedding on the field of a professional baseball team, some individuals might take out a second mortgage. But a marketing-savvy couple is rallying up a stable of local and international companies to sponsor their special day.

Radio station sales manager Caroline Fisher and marketing consultant Dave Kerpen have negotiated sponsorship deals for their marriage ceremony in the Brooklyn Cyclones stadium. | ALSO: Comment on this story in the 'Your Opinion' box below.

Romance and business
"It was an idea that both met our needs romantically in terms of getting married on the field and at a baseball stadium, which we love, and simultaneously doing what we love, which is putting together promotions and selling them," said Caroline Fisher, the bride-to-be.

On July 8, Ms. Fisher, a 29-year-old sales manager for a Long Island radio station, and Dave Kerpen, 29, of Dave Kerpen Strategic Consulting, a marketing consulting company, will be wed behind home plate at the conclusion of a Brooklyn Cyclones home game in front of about 500 guests and up to 8,000 other baseball fans. The Cyclones are a class A minor-league affiliate of the New York Mets.

1-800-Flowers
While the cost of the wedding is approximately $100,000, the bride and groom only had to pony up $20,000, Mr. Kerpen said. The difference was handled by companies like 1-800 Flowers, the Broadway Mall in Hicksville, N.Y., bakery Grandma's Secrets, jewelry wholesaler Avroc International and event-planning company the Red Carpet.

Sponsors will benefit from between-inning promotions (like a bouquet toss from 1-800-FLOWERS.com), signage around the stadium and ads on the stadium's Jumbotron. The companies will also be included in the 8,000 wedding programs distributed to the crowd.

"It's all about a good buzz, viral event," said Steven Jarmon, VP-brand communications, 1-800-FLOWERS.com, which is providing several thousand dollars worth of floral arrangements.

Spirits, wine and beer giant Diageo created a signature drink for the bride and groom's big day. The couple matches the Smirnoff brand image of being "clearly original," said Christian McMahan, brand director for Smirnoff. "There's no couple more clearly original than Dave and Carrie."

For others, it's better than a business card.

Baseball field-shaped cake
Regina McRae, owner of Harlem's Grandma's Secrets, said she normally leaves her card next to her cakes, and that's the extent of her usual advertising. For the wedding, she is providing a cake that looks like a baseball field and about 8,000 people will hear about her on that Saturday night.

Christy Bareijsza, owner of the Red Carpet, is providing $10,000 worth of her event-planning services. "People tend to use you more when they can hear a story, or they can envision what you've done rather than have my name in a directory listing," she said. The event is part wedding and part business event, so it shows both sides of her company's abilities.

For the Wedding Plaza of Floral Park, N.Y., providing about $5,000 in dresses for the bride and bridal party was worth the risk. It could go flat, owner Ron Artura said, but it could catch on and become a big deal.

Planning for publicity
The bride and groom planned for publicity. They are staging a press conference and told marketers it would be a buzz-worthy event, but didn't promise them anything beyond what they knew they could deliver.

Though the wedding day is still weeks away, the buzz is building: The Wedding section of The New York Times has already done a story on the event.

But on top of the bands and flowers and dresses, the couple needed to secure the ballpark. The Brooklyn Cyclones organization tries to promote a fun time at the park for every attendee (even those who aren't baseball fans) and is always looking for fresh ideas, said Steve Cohen, the team's general manager. His goal is not to get more people at the park on July 8, but to expose new people to the ballpark.

The Decline

Ad age recently posted a list of this month's most liked and most recalled spots.
It really is quite sad almost to the point of disbelief what consumers enjoy seeing.

If you can muster the courage click here

I guess this link isn't working so paste this into your browser.
http://adage.com/article?article_id=109457
sorry guys.

Marc Ecko and Droga 5 team up and they're totally crazy.

They teamed up to pull off the "def-defying" stunt of actually filming themselves tagging a prop from some crappy Harrison Ford movie. Man, those guys are dangerous. Watch out, The Man, there's some aging guy in baggy pants on your tail.

More. Including Ecko actually believing he did something culturally important.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/airplane/tagging.asp  link

My Life, My Card by Wes Anderson

Better then Dasani.