There's a foot of snow on the ground here in Milwaukee...office is closed. We're all working from home.
If you need help, call 262.789.7630 and press pound for the directory. Leave a message for your lead contact and we'll get back to you ASAP. You can also call our cell phones.
Remember the scene in the Rodney Dangerfield movie, "Back To School", where the snooty economics teacher talks about "Widgets" and Dangerfield's character, Thornton Mellon responds bluntly, "What the hell is a WIDGET?*
* - Sidenote: Mellon later on goes into a rant about how the proper way to sell the Widgets would be to "grease the politicians" and "have a chat with the teamsters", but that is neither here nor there. Long story short, RIP Rodney Dangerfield.
My point is that the term WIDGET is way past the hypothetical! We have an answer now, Mr. Mellon! It is an application on a homepage or mobile device that provides the user with real-time information like stocks, weather forecasts, sports scores, or new columns by their favorite writer. Whatever information you want to have at your fingertips, a widget can provide that.
How does this help brands? It can help immensely. Attention spans are nosediving at alarmingly fast rates. When a service like iGoogle or MyMSN can provide all the relevant information in one place, it makes the user's life a lot easier.
Look to "widgetizing" your brand and bring some sense to the question Thornton Mell- I mean Rodney Dangerfield asked 22 years ago, "What in the HELL is a Widget?"
Cable network TV shows don't interest me much. But when I saw an ad for a new show on TNT about two creative partners at a Chicago ad agency, I sat up a bit straighter in my recliner. It won't be the first show about an ad agency. , set in 1960s New York, is already earning stellar reviews.
But a show cast in the present in nearby Chicago? It's called, rather humorously, The show premierers Monday, January 26 at 9:00 p.m. CDT.
Making the show more interesting from the onset is that the creative partners are also best friends and one of them is promoted over the other. Without knowing anything about the show that isn't on the Web site, my initial guess is that it will be an enjoyable, humorous program that isn't altogether accurate in portraying what ad agencies are really like. But it'll be interesting to see how Hollywood views us!
I wonder how I'll respond to it. My parents were teachers and whenever Boston Public was on, the world momentarily stopped as they disected what was realistic or beyond impossible during the show. The water cooler promises to be the most popular place in the office on Tuesday mornings starting in late January.
All eyes are on Washington D.C. and the Big Three. Will , and get the bridge loans they need to weather the storm, or are they headed to Chapter 11? As we await the fate of the American automobile industry, let's take a minute to remember the happier times, or "Glory Years" as I like to refer to them.
I was digging through my attic last night and stumbled across a program from the 1988 . I nearly hit the floor when I turned to page 125 and was greeted to a personalized autograph from the best basketball player on the plant, . (My buddy's dad owned a Chevy dealership on the south side of Chicago. He got us into to the Chevy suite to meet M.J.).
After I picked myself off the floor, I started to flip through the program and chuckled at the ads scattered throughout. Remember "Joe Isuzu?" Who can forget the comical pitch man for Isuzu who made us laugh with all his crazy antics?
Remember the LeMans from Pontiac? What a piece of crap. The headline from a 1988 LeMans ad reads, “The imported Pontiac, packed with pizzazz, affordably priced!” It goes on to tell me how the car has reclining bucket seats, twill cloth upholstery and an electric rear defogger. Holly crap! Sign me up.
Check out this ad from Oldsmobile. The headline reads, “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.” Are you kidding me? That was exactly what my father was driving (he also owned an AMC Gremlin).
All kidding aside, it’s easy to rip on ads from 20 years ago. After that many years, just about everything looks funny. Heck, you should see photos of me from 1988. I had a mullet, wore acid-washed jeans and was sporting a heavy metal concert t-shirt.
With all the depressing news coming out of Detroit and D.C., it was fun to take a trip down memory lane. Let’s hope the Big Three can restructure and create a new business platform that brings strength and vitality to American automobile manufacturing!
You may find this hard to believe, but the is celebrating its 20th birthday. The iconic pink bunny that keeps going and going and going was conceived in 1989 (seems like yesterday).
Here are some interesting stats I pulled from an AP story:
The bunny was created by DDB Needham Worldwide in 1989
In a recent study, 95% of respondants were aware of the bunny
AdAge.com has named the bunny one of the top 10 advertising icons
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the Energizer Bunny as "a persistent or indefatigable person or phenomenon"
Check out this article from about a teacher selling ads on his tests in order to cover costs.
It's a creative way to keep the curriculum going, but is it entirely necessary? Isn't education a cause worth fighting for on a non-commercialized level? How about a Bake Sale? How about going door to door? What I'd like to know is whether he tried things like that before electing to this.
In the teacher's defense, having inspirational quotes put in by parents is nice, the ads aren't for fast food or anything negative, and teacher isn't padding his pockets here, but what's next? I worry that future situations will arise and the wrong side will cite this teacher's practices for the wrong reasons.
I had a simple thought as it pertained to the world of advertising while watching television last night: Just how many cars are sold in advance of the holidays as a direct result from advertising?
Each year, several automakers aggresively advertise "Tis the season to buy that special someone a new car for Christmas." Really? Who is honestly purchasing a car for someone for the holidays? In all my years I'm yet to meet a person that has given (or received) a new car as a present.
For all the time and effort that goes into creating a national television spot, automakers would be better served advertising their brand in a different manner.
Step inside Suite 206. Grab a cup of coffee or a Guinness if you prefer. Let's chat about Celtic and our work. We'll even share our perspective on the world of marketing communications. Come inside. Relax. You're always welcome at Suite 206!
Our Agency
Celtic is a marketing communications agency offering a variety of integrated services, including: brand planning, marketing, advertising, creative, media planning, public relations, promotions and interactive.
Posts