C Suite Favors E Media, Study Finds 'Business Elite' Embracing Online

MediaPost Publications, May 13, 2008 — America's business elite, the so-called "C suite" that run our country's medium and large size businesses, are changing their personal media habits and spending much more of their time online. That may come as little surprise given the corresponding shifts that have taken place in the consumer population but the new findings, released this morning by global market research giant Ipsos, provides tangible proof of the impact digital media is having on one of the most difficult to reach, but most important media targets of all.

Forever Chasing Its Action Demo, Mountain Dew Rolls Out Street-Skating Film†

Brand Is Largely Unseen in Documentary About New York Scene

Advertising Age, May 13, 2008 — Mountain Dew makes its return to film production with its new skateboard documentary, "Deathbowl to Downtown," which follows the rise of street-skating in New York's shifting urban landscapes from the '70s to the present. The documentary, which took three years to make, is as much a sports action video as it is a look back at the Big Apple.

The Open Secret of Success

New Yorker, May 13, 2008 — In the current atmosphere of economic tumult, the announcement that Toyota sold a hundred and sixty thousand more cars than General Motors in the first three months of this year might seem like a minor news item. But it may very well signal the end of one of the most remarkable runs in business history. For seventy-seven years, in good times and bad, G.M. has sold more cars annually than any other company in the world.

Ogilvy, Dove Miss Chance to Turn Bad Press Into 'Debate'†

If They Wanted to Be Word-of-Mouth Marketers They Should Have Been Listening

Advertising Age, May 12, 2008 — The latest Dove controversy epitomizes the ad industry's struggle to reinvent itself as a participant in an ongoing conversation rather than an old guy with a megaphone barking orders to people who no longer follow them.

Ogilvy's work for Unilever's Dove brand has been a poster child for this conversion. Here was a campaign that used traditional one-way stuff such as TV spots, banners, billboards and magazine ads but did it in a way that encouraged and facilitated debate everywhere from Oprah's studio to the smallest blog.

Sampling: The New Mass Medium†

Tactic Has Won Over Likes of Starbucks, McD's and Morphs Into Big 'Event'

Advertising Age, May 12, 2008 — One of marketing's oldest and least glamorous practices — doling out free product — has come a long way from the gray-haired ladies in the supermarket aisle. No longer the province of marketers who can't afford to buy mass media, deep-pocketed giants from McDonald's to Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Dunkin' Donuts are adopting sampling on a grand scale, turning it into a media event — and, in some cases, the media buy.

Shape of Things to Come†

How Apple's trademark for its iPod protects its brand -- and offers lessons for other companies on how to leverage their intellectual property

Wall Street Journal, May 12, 2008 — On Jan. 8, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple Inc. a trademark for the three-dimensional shape of its iPod media player.

This was more than a recognition of an innovative product design. It also was Apple's capping piece in a multiyear marketing and legal campaign that pushed intellectual-property rights to new competitive advantage for the company.

Dove: 'Real Women' Ads Were not 'Digitally Altered'†

Marketer and Celeb Photographer Deny Reports of Retouched Images for Campaign

Advertising Age, May 9, 2008 — Dove's "real beauties" were not airbrushed, but their photos were treated to eliminate dust from the film and provide "color correction," according to Unilever and celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Dove's 'Real Beauty' Pics Could Be Big Phonies†

Photo Retoucher Says He Improved Images in Controversial Campaign

Advertising Age, May 7, 2008 — Dove's "real beauties" may not be so real after all, at least by the account of a renowned airbrush artist.

In a May 12 profile in The New Yorker posted online, Pascal Dangin of New York's Box Studios is quoted as saying he extensively retouched photos used in the Campaign for Real Beauty, which, if true, could seriously undermine an effort that already has subjected Unilever to considerable consumer and activist backlash in recent months.

Red Robot Helps Crocs Take a New Path†

Branded Online Travel Guide Provides a Platform for Footwear Maker

Advertising Age, May 7, 2008 — To pierce through the ad clutter and really engage your consumers, offer a service, not an ad.

That, in a nutshell, is the logic behind Cities by Foot, a new travel-guide website unveiled today that provides high-definition video presentations of local shops and restaurants in different cities, devised by entertainment and marketing agency Red Robot for its client, footwear maker Crocs.

Economy, Rivals No Match for BK's Marketing†

Fast Feeder Notches Sales Gain of 5.4%, Trouncing Even Ascendant McD's

Advertising Age, May 5, 2008 — Burger King is giving rivals a solid thrashing — and marketing is getting the credit.

While other fast feeders fault the recession and housing crisis for tepid sales, Burger King posted a healthy same-store-sales gain of 5.4% in its fiscal third quarter, well ahead of even McDonald's, which reported a comparatively anemic 2.9%.

No. 3 burger chain Wendy's, now in the throes of an ownership change, saw same-store sales fall 1.6% at company-run stores in the same period.

Analysts are crediting Burger King's marketing with some of the gains.