Just look to the heavens, and then buy some beer.

Well, when you run out of things to exploit on Earth, I guess the next logical place to go is the moon.

We can't move there yet and create our very own Jetsonian society, but Rolling Rock is going to project its logo on the moon during the next full moon come March 21. Moonvertising, the way of the future.




Where to begin with this one. First, from what is flying around the internet, it's a hoax. No laser is strong enough to put an image on the moon, not to mention numerous other factors that makes this currently impossible. A nice PR stunt, either way. It has garnered a lot of attention and a lot of word of mouth just discussing the advertising before it is even happening. It's a nice tounge-in-cheek campaign.

It's a creative idea and guess someone had to do it sometime. If society is going to accept anyone defacing the moon, beer seems like a logical choice. I think its going to be fairly easy to get a bunch of drunks to stare at a logo on the moon. But why Rolling Rock? Sure, the moon is a large, rolling rock, but this style seems more consistent with the branding of RR's other green-bottled competitor- Heineken.

I love the idea of projecting things on the moon, but RR seemed to stop the creativity there. They are relying solely on the publicity of projecting on image on the moon to sell there product. Very much to their credit, the cross-platform thinking is there. The Web site allows visitors to see the videos on the background of the project, write their own messages on a virtual moon, and see a calendar listing of full moon parties for that night. Kudos, kids.

But other than name recognition, what is RR gaining? I could not even tell you their current tagline or, really, a solid brand positioning for RR. Given that, RR can only exploit the publicity of the event and not their own USP or branding. From what I can tell, RR already has brand recognition, but perhaps not the brand affinity that competitors have. This latest stunt will only help the former. There is no tie-in back to their brand. Yet, even with that potential set-back, the publicity of the event should still be enough to throw this latest stab-in-the-dark advertising attempt into the success column.

Given this, I am not as interested in this initial test run of advertising on the moon (which is undoubtedly cool), but more interested in seeing where moonvertising goes from here as a medium. There is creativity beyond just using the moon as a medium that has yet to be discovered.

One last thing. Moonvertising? That's what you went with. All the creativity that went into coming up with this project and you call it an obvious moonvertising? From a creative stand-point, bit of a let down there.

Every Second, Brain Cells Die.

This is by far the oddest, catchiest, funniest, worst/best PSA I have ever seen. It is supposed to teach people the early warning signs of stroke and how important it is to get help quick. Pretty noble a quest, indeed.

What we got was a cartoon that just makes the inner kid chuckle. Whether its the guys face drooping or the horrible rhyming, I can't help but laugh [funniest- check]. That laughter, however is shadowed a bit when you think about how creepily chipper the characters are and how upbeat the song is. [odd- check]

But the larger question is how did this get passed? I mean who signed off on this and thought, yeah this is the right way to teach people about the early warning signs of stroke. Cartoons? Upbeat about a serious issue? Elementary production? A fucking jingle? None of it, theoretically or strategically works. [worst- check]

Yet, what happens is they do such a horrible job at producing this commercial, it becomes funny enough that people pay attention to it. Read the comments under it on YouTube. People saying that they were looking for the commercial because they loved it so much. A friend ripped the song from the commercial to my iPod [catchiest- check]. It's hysterical, but I do know the warning signs of the stroke. Give it a week, you will too. [best- check]

Well. Enjoy...





does it droop when you ask him to smile???.....

Hijacked.

Well, Jen starting writing in a blog again and while we do not know how long she will keep up with it, it has inspired me to start blogging again, so please blame her. And Colleen, who keeps up with her blog. Oh, and my strong desire not to do work and the fact that they are doing construction on my balcony, causing them to put a tarp over my windows, which has cast a blue eerie glow in my crap apartment, causing it to be transformed into a creepy set from the X-files, making me hide in my room. Keep up.

So with that being said, I have henceforth hijacked the The Queen's Arms and hope to post on it.. lets say at least bi-monthly. I think that is a reasonable goal, and one that I will surely fall short of given time.

The reason for blogging? The futile hope that writing for fun will allow me to enjoy writing for work-purposes more. Class started again and I am taking portfolio development for, well, the third time. Not because I failed it twice, but because I have taken it in undergrad and now port dev I and port dev II on the grad level. Yeah I have grown pretty tired of the class. And when I have to be creative all day at work and then come home and do it for class, burnout gets close and wine consumption goes way up, which my liver and wallet are opposed to. Hopefully with the new job, which should be effective at the end of October, I will have more time to enjoy writing again. Oh the poor, troubled life of a burnt-out creative whose career hasn't even started yet. Wah.

Dr. Z: Awesome commercial or strange German Man?

The new ads by Diamler-Chrysler are, well, odd.

I get that they want you to convey that the German Engineering has bettered the American-made cars/trucks.... but is that really in line with the branding efforts of some of their lines? Dodge for example is very much about power and has a very rugged brand image (grab life by the horns) which doesn't really mix with the charming but uppity Mr. Z. Don't get me wrong. I think Dr. Z is a cool guy, especially since he is the chairman of the company. But no middle-america trailer trash is going to be woo-ed by the stuck-up German.

Even if you could convince someone that the German connection was a good idea and the commercials were different enough from v-dub, is that direction going to alienate the people that already buying your product. They have a commercial with a redneck director yelling at our dear friend Dr. Z hwo is messing up another line. It's just too forced. The only way this scene works is if you replace Dr. Z with Dr. I need another beer because I wrecked my truck, my dog died, and my wife left me.

Chrysler is too weak of a company to be having an identity crisis.

FX: A Crafty Network?

FX is doing something brilliant - I think. Otherwise, it is I who is brilliant.

About a week ago, I discovered the show 30 Days was a free iTunes download, and being a free iTunes download junkie, I watched it and concluded it was an interesting show. Not something I would probably purchase for $1.99 a piece, but something I would set TiVO to record and watch at my leisure.

So, I set the TiVO and checked for upcoming episodes. They were infrequent. Strange, for a new show, I thought. Many of the commercials I'd seen promoted episodes of the show that were not set to air, apparently, for several weeks. Forward thinking, I think.

Then last night, I was watching Always Sunny in Philadelphia, also on FX, and a commercial came on telling me, nay, teaching me, about the first season DVDs of 30 Days, which are available for purchase.

First, I thought that FX was being tricky and innovative. They launch the show on iTunes with a free download. Then, the shows start to play on FX at the announced time slot, and commercial promotion hypes the forthcoming episodes. BUT if you don't want to wait every other week for a new show, conveniently, you can already purchase a full DVD of the current season. No waiting week after week; no cursing TiVO for cutting off the last important 3 minutes, and most importantly, instant gratification, something people will often pay dearly for.

But apparently, it is I who is brilliant, as a quick check on EPGuides (a great place to get episode titles and air dates without worry of confronting "spoilers") tells me that we are actually in Season 2 of this show, which airs only 6 episodes per season. This explains the infrequent showings and the DVD promotion of Season 1. Huh. Not so out of theordinary afterall.

But I think I'm on to something. Make a series, every episode, give 'em the first taste for free and watch as they come running back for more. Or is that crack?... Either way, a good strategy, yes?

Some Inspiration

Jen was talking today that we need to form and audience for our blog, but before we did, we needed to get more content on here. So, here is our inspiration. Ah... look what a dilligent little blogger we have here.

PIP PIP!

Oh To Work at BravoTV.com

Copywriter/Editor - Bravotv.com

---

staffingcenter@nbcuni.com	Thu, Aug 3, 2006 at 8:06 PM
Reply-To: staffingcenter@nbcuni.com To: cvlayman@gmail.com
Thank you for your interest in opportunities with NBC Universal. Unfortunately, Copywriter/Editor - Bravotv.com position has been put on hold at this time. It is unknown when this position will become active again. Should there be an interest at that time, you will be contacted. We encourage you to continue to visit our website. We wish you the best of luck in your pursuit of your career objectives. Sincerely, NBC Universal Staffing CoE

Episodes of Office Life

Our heroine is seated at her desk, checking email and listening to music. Two large stacks of files sit untouched on her desk from Boss #1. This is her project for the day. It should take her "awhile." She makes her tea. She eats some oatmeal. Enter Boss #2.

In all seriousness, he says, "Could you do me a quick favor? I know you're busy with the files..."

"Yes, very busy, I say." Humor, sarcasm remain lost.

Mike's in the closet.

Well, it seems as though someone is in denial. The new Mike's Hard Lemoade commericals are promoting the brand and their new drink-- the Mike-arita. The worst. The ads show girls trying out to be the spokesperon that are breast size z and wearing very little clothing. The ads try to be hip and tries to be witty-you know let's have sasquash try out, won't that be funny. This is a horrible ad and let me tell you why.

One. Mike. You're gay. You are trying to hard to be straight. As my good friend Willie says in the cover song "Cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other" : "Well, a cowboy may brag about things that he does with his women,
But the ones who brag loudest are the ones that are most likely queer." Give it up Mike. Don't try to advertise to younger guys. They don't like you because you are gay. I know it's sad they can't accept you the way you are, but that's how society is these days. Stick with the women and gays. Nothing bad about the gays here, just that they are the ones are most likely to drink "Mike-aritas". More power to them (or in British, fair play to the gays).

Second. When you try to be witty, you suck at being witty. The ads are obviously written by some washed-up copywriter (or younger dude that thought it up while high) that is trying to relive his past by writing these edgy ads. Get over the fact that you are old and stop making me watch these ads.

Third. The ad shows older and younger mexicans dancing in the street enjoying their libations. No way in hell you got a mexican- who grew up in the best tequila producing country in the world- to drink whatever mix a malt liquor company came up with that supposedly tastes like tequila.

Craptacular.

better than a dry run

Here it is folks. Run free.