Category Archives: Blog

The Day the Internet Went Dark

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Mitch Devine| 9 Comments

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Posted in Blog, political, technology

Tagged activism, blackout, censorship, Internet regulation, legislation, PIPA, piracy, politics, SOPA

33 Chilean Miners, 1 Year and Freshly Pressed

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Mitch Devine| 3 Comments

My Freshly Pressed experience came from a post about the Chilean miners, who were rescued October 13, 2010.

It was one year ago that 33 trapped Chilean miners were freed from their underground captivity while 1 billion people around the world watched live.

I watched “Los 33,” too. Then I wrote a post shortly afterwards: Oakley and the Chilean Miners—Publicity Goldmine. It was about the rescue from the perspective of how Orange County-based Oakley benefitted from the “product placement” of having the miners emerge wearing their sunglasses.

Was the publicity avalanche opportunistic or inadvertent? Did it matter? Why were some people so upset if Oakley happened to benefit by helping? I hit “publish” late that night, then went to bed without giving it much more thought.

Then next morning I checked my email to find a surprising number of blog comments. Continue reading →

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Posted in Advertising - General, Blog, fashion, Marketing, Public Relations, writing

Tagged blog, blogging, Chile, Chilean, Freshly Pressed, Miners, Oakley, pr, public relations, publicity, rescue, WordPress

Where Where You When Steve Jobs Died?

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Mitch Devine| 8 Comments

How did you find out about Steve Jobs death?

Years from now, will you remember? I think I will, which is why it’s worth at least a blog post.

I first heard about Steve Jobs passing via Twitter. On my MacBook Pro. The poetry of the “coincidence” didn’t escape me. As Matthias Worch put it, “That’s not a bad way to go.”

iHeaven. A poetic tribute.

We have the technology, so let’s put it to use in remembering one of the pioneers who made it all possible. Steve Jobs not only helped create a new industry with the Macintosh personal computer, but also revolutionized software, music distribution, digital moviemaking, smart phones and tablet computing. And along the way, Apple also put out some pretty mean advertising, usually in collaboration with agency TBWA Chiat/Day.

Here’s the TV commercial that launched the Apple Macintosh computer. It’s widely regarded as one of the best, most effective adverts ever made. Directed by Ridley Scott, the spot aired only once in January 1984, but it turned the Superbowl into the advertising showcase it’s become today.

RIP Steve, and thanks for showing us how to Think Different. “Because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

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Posted in Advertising - General, Blog, Career, creativity, Marketing, technology, television

Tagged 1984, ad, advertising, agency, Apple, Chiat/Day, commercial, macintosh, marketing, steve jobs, Superbowl, technology, Think Different

Advertising Tributes to 9-11

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Mitch Devine| 11 Comments

American Airlines ran this ad following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

In the wake of September 11, 2001, advertisers struggled to find the right tone in their communications. It didn’t seem appropriate to try to be funny following the devastating terrorist attacks that took nearly 3,000 lives. But it was also difficult to appear serious and sincere while promoting a commercial venture.

Sympathy Ads

The vast majority of print advertising that ran in the immediate aftermath offered sympathy and condolences. Businesses that had been located in the World Trade Center expressed remorse over the loss of their employees and vowed to continue.

I was amazed to see the variety of condolence ads that came from countries all over the world, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where the majority of hijackers were originally from. For a while I saved a file with many of these ads, but it got to be overwhelming. I now wish I had some of them to post a few images for you.

Life—and even advertising—had to go on. Continue reading →

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Posted in Advertising - General, Blog, Branding, Marketing, print, television

Tagged 2001, 9-11, advertising, airport, American Airlines, Anheuser Busch, Applause, attacks, branding, Budweiser, commercial, LAX, Marines, marketing, military, patriotic, proud, September 11, soldiers, United Airlines

What Do You Do When the Power Goes Out?

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Mitch Devine| Leave a comment

The famous Victrola brand, made by the Victor Talking Machine Co. of Camden, NJ.

Boy, we sure do depend on electricity! So, what do you do when there isn’t any?

Besides remembering where the candles are, I had to explain to my kids which of the house phones would work in the event our power went out. Of course, the laptop and phone batteries will only last so long. But without a phone, computer, video game or TV, what would they do for entertainment? Somehow I can’t picture them reading by candle light.

Even before the San Diego power failure, I was thinking about how fun it could be to use my recently restored Victrola phongraph in the event of an outage for some old-school musical entertainment. (Better than trying to act out a home-style version of “Glee,” right?) Continue reading →

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Posted in Blog, entertainment, Marketing, music, print, technology, vintage

Tagged advertising, antique, brand, electricity, entertainment, Gordon Moore, innovation, Moore's Law, music, obsolescence, old school, outage, phonograph, power, record player, records, technology, turntable, Victor, Victrola, vintage