Comments for Cool Rules Pronto

Comment on It’s About Time: Fox TV Acknowledges That Less Is More by Doug aka nullvariable

Doug aka nullvariable — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:28:58 +0000

In an age progressing to the likes of Blade Runner with advertising blimps floating around or Minority Report with its targeted retinal scans this is like a breath of fresh air. I’ve always believed in quality of quantity and its nice to see I’m not the only one…

Comment on File Under “WTF?”: Belvedere Goes Down… Town by Not a Belvedere Employee

Not a Belvedere Employee — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:14:34 +0000

be careful patting yourself on the back on this one. although you were smart enough to get into harvard, you really missed the point here.

there is a new definition of luxury in today’s world. it used to be the very old school image of old money going to the tennis club for tea and a round of golf where you cheat about your score. now it is the hipster generation that goes to clubs, drops huge $$ on bottles and looks to find a way to show the world that they are above old school rules even though they have money. using a belt buckle to put on lipstic as a tease, not after giving oral sex, captures the essense of the new definition of luxury and the hipster generation.

if you missed the point, it probably wasn’t meant for you. unless you can honestly say you either spend (or aspire to spend) $400 for a bottle of vodka at a club and still missed the point. but i don’t think that you do that or aspire to do that. which is really not relevant. what is relevant is if you can see from a marketing perspective who the target user is and if this add reaches them.

note, i am not a plant. i don’t work for the company. i just happen to work in the industry and disagree with you on this.

Freddy: I think you missed the point of my article. 1) Wired magazine is a bizarre choice for this ad placement. You say “what is relevant is if you can see from a marketing perspective who the target user is and if this add [sic] reaches them.” Oh, I do see it from that perspective, and in my opinion, Belvedere is way off target. Now if they had the model putting on lipstick using the reflection off a $4000 gaming laptop, then they would be on target. 2) The ad’s low-brow innuendo is neither clever nor impressive. If faux-latio is your “new definition of luxury in today’s world,” then the young and rich obviously have lost their standards and might as well be drinking $400 cans of Schlitz malt liquor. I love edgy advertising, but instead of elevating the Belvedere brand, this ad cheapens it.

Comment on Freeze: “Paralysis by Analysis” and other Joys of Marketing Research by Robert Ellis

Robert Ellis — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:00:53 +0000

Some people want to research everything to death because they don’t have the balls to pull the trigger. Others look to outside consultants to provide the big ideas to make their business successful. Neither approach works. It all boils down to this … Some people are destined to hire people, and some people are destined to be hired.

Comment on Freeze: “Paralysis by Analysis” and other Joys of Marketing Research by Sophia

Sophia — Mon, 12 May 2008 02:15:35 +0000

Word Freddy! Preach on.

I have the opposite problem - jump in with no research-itis. But I definitely am culpable of wanting to cheap out “for now” regarding a website. Cough up the bucks now when I’m a no-name nobody? ::shiver:: Convince this Chinese to give up the dough!

May is Money Month, btw, here at 52 Faces.

Comment on Freeze: “Paralysis by Analysis” and other Joys of Marketing Research by Doug

Doug — Sun, 11 May 2008 19:08:26 +0000

Yeah…this is the fatal flaw of many small businesses. The test market is essential but sometimes (like Robert Downey Jr says in Iron Man) “You have to run before you can walk.”

In other words some things have to be jump started before you can run around and test things out…how do you know that this one feature will be needed until you have 10,000 users on your website?

Comment on Freeze: “Paralysis by Analysis” and other Joys of Marketing Research by taltalk

taltalk — Sun, 11 May 2008 09:06:18 +0000

I had a lot more to say than what I’m going to say here because I was sidetracked by this flashback: “VP of Marketing” (little more than a former computer engineer with a Stanford MBA). I have no words for that. :-) :-)

Your approach to the research and campaigns can be extended to launching websites as well.

I know a site (not the aforementioned one) that had several versions of the site created before launching because it took so long to build the “perfect” site with so much in it, that by the time it was ready, it was no longer relevant to their needs.

Sometimes you just need to know how to choose the important elements, launch as a beta, and continue adding from there, or it will never happen.

Freddy: Amen, sister. I would also add that companies should hire the best, most experienced professionals to work on the project from the get-go. Too often I’m called in to fix a website that was thrown up (pun intended) in a hurry by the cheapest web-development firm the company could find. Research and testing? Be strategic and moderate. Professional talent? Go all the way.

Comment on File Under “WTF?”: Belvedere Goes Down… Town by Daneboe

Daneboe — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:30:32 +0000

I think it can be summed up in two words: sex sells. Is it fair or right? Maybe not, but it does get people’s attention.

Comment on File Under “WTF?”: Belvedere Goes Down… Town by jeremy

jeremy — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:07:10 +0000

I understand their overall goal… show a girl that looks like she is about to perform or has just finished performing some kind of oral act and just show a url. That way the reader thinks he is going to see something dirty when he goes to the website.

The style and the message is what doesn’t fit. If it were an American Apparel ad it would fit perfectly. Maybe they want to change their image from upper class “stiff” to upper class “slutty” that is why they are using the tag “Luxury Reborn”. You would expect more from an established well known brand such as this.

Show me a pair of good tits with a url and I don’t care what you are selling… I’m going to the website!! Thats an easy sell!

Comment on File Under “WTF?”: Belvedere Goes Down… Town by Doug

Doug — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:22:50 +0000

haha…sad you had to bring up the age of the batman movie :P

I usually enjoy seeing an ad for say Absolut in Wired but I agree seems a bit over the top.

Comment on This Way To The Egress: The Pros and Con Artists of Marketing by Bethany

Bethany — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:43:57 +0000

Funny comment about Frontier Airlines. Obviously, by the recent Chapter 11 filing, those animals aren’t helping much. Personally, I always hated that campaign.

And, though I am not sure I remember the Outpost.com commercials, I did giggle at the tattooing the kids one. Don’t tell my pre-school teaching boyfriend, though.

As for the disconnect factor, great explanation. Hope Mr. Monica is listening.

Comment on This Way To The Egress: The Pros and Con Artists of Marketing by Daneboe

Daneboe — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:45:54 +0000

Wow! I totally remember the marching band commercial…that was 10 years ago?! Yikes!
Very insightful article…you make some really great points.

Comment on This Way To The Egress: The Pros and Con Artists of Marketing by Doug

Doug — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:00:04 +0000

I’d have to say…having never caught the Outpost ads before they certainly made me laugh…and I have bought stuff from Outpost.com…but then the ads weren’t what got me to buy…one thing that sucks about outpost is they are not integrated with the frys stores like they should be…a poor decision that led me to go into the store much more often…

Comment on This Way To The Egress: The Pros and Con Artists of Marketing by taltalk

taltalk — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:14:59 +0000

I realize this isn’t the point of the post, but the Dubya quote is my fav ever - every time I see it or hear it, I can visualize the video. Also - there’s a Leann Rimes song that has the actual quote in it, so every time the song is on the radio, it brings it up too.

Comment on So Robotic: The Terminator In Review by Summer Glau (replicant)

Summer Glau (replicant) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:00:54 +0000

I love this show, best show nobody is watching!

Comment on Say Vhat?! Do the People Want a VW with a German Accent? by Bethany

Bethany — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:13:22 +0000

Here, here. The “people” say (or at least I do) Bring back the Nick Drake inspired VW campaigns!

I know it was for the Cabrio, but it was still a better ad from VW.

Comment on Dan Neil: Your Automotive Word Slut by Doug

Doug — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:07:45 +0000

Nobody can replace the Stig!

Comment on Bring on the Packrats! How to Stimulate a Hoarding Frenzy by ejly

ejly — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 19:20:11 +0000

Great post; I found you when checking out your piece on Monica Rockle and stuck around when I saw some of your other posts. After reading this article, it occurs to me that iTunes Music Store missed a great opportunity to encourage hoarding in advance of it starting to sell non-DRM protectied files…..or, perhaps it was being nice to consumers? Wow, that’s terrific when one can’t tell corporate ignorance from beneficence.

Comment on Are You For Real, Monica Rockle II: The Updates, the Photo, and… the Haunting? by Bethany

Bethany — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:16:25 +0000

Fully enjoyed both Monica posts - great reads, but also an interesting case study. Love the screenshot, thanks for including it. That dang M proves the point!

And, the comment about writing what people actually want to read is…well…to steal a phrase…priceless.

Comment on That Great Big Sexy Mistake: 5 Reasons Not To Use Flash by Bethany

Bethany — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:00:50 +0000

How funny: I am one of those people who found your “small obscure blog through various searches” - “google flash driven site” was my search. I was looking to share, with a potential client, why a flash driven site would not rank well in google. So, thanks for the fun and informative article - I’ll definitely return to read more, but right now, I have to share your ‘direct link’ with my prospective client!

Bethany
http://UniqueThink.com

Comment on American Apparel Sports a Woody: Madness is the Method by jeremy

jeremy — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:40:38 +0000

I was just in American Apparel for the first time the other day. Very hip store. The first thing I noticed is how well designed their print material was. I grabbed a catalog and a few cards they had lying around. I didn’t look at the catalog for a few days but when I did I thought… man these guys are pushing the edge. All of the woman looked in their teens (very young) and in some of the pics you could clearly see their nipples. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was sexy but for a product catalog I thought it was a bit much. I mean, they obviously weren’t trying to sell their products to my mother! Also, while the catalog featured all women’s clothing I think they were selling something else to men!