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

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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

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How I Became a Virtual Millionaire on Empire Ave

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Mitch Devine| 40 Comments

Invest in (e)DEVINELINES on EmpireAvenue.com - the Social Stock Market

If I had a dollar for every “eave,” I’d be a millionaire twice over. But as it is, I’m not even rich on paper. Only in cyberspace, and with a virtual currency.

What am I rambling on about?

Allow me to explain. A few months ago, my tech-savvy friend Oscar invited me to join EmpireAvenue.com, the social stock market. I had heard a little about it, but I wasn’t particularly interested in playing an online game. Especially not a play version of eTrade.

Not Another Game!
I’m really not a gamer. I don’t play Xbox, Wii or any video games. I’ve never played Farmville, Mafia Wars, Second Life or Angry Birds. About the closest I’ve gotten to playing any type of game is “checking in” on FourSquare. But I rationalized that this smart-phone app also had marketing applications. And FourSquare could occasionally get me a free appetizer or dessert at restaurants.

So I resisted initially. I needed another social time-sink like I needed a… well, like a hole in the wallet. Yes, Empire Avenue was a game, but it turned out to be more than that.  Continue reading →

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Posted in Branding, entertainment, Internet, Marketing, social media

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The Osama 2011 Swimsuit Issue

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Mitch Devine| 1 Comment
Photo

He’s spending a lot of time in the water these days. Gotta love the placement here.

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Posted in Advertising - General

GuitarTV.com Makes Noise on Social Media Channels

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Mitch Devine| Leave a comment

The GuitarTV.com site, showing co-creator Steve Vai in a clip from the film "Crossroads."

Ever watch a music video and wonder what kind of gear the guitarist is using? Or how much the guitar cost and what type of amplifier was used? Maybe you wanted to know which album had that song. Or find sheet music tabs. Or score tickets to the next gig.

Six-String Gearheads, Rejoice! 

You can stop wondering and start rocking. Everything you want to know—and buy—from your favorite guitar slingers can now be found in one place. (Cue drum roll…)

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome: GuitarTV.com

Back when MTV used to play actual music, the network would list the artist, song and album info, but only at the beginning and end of the video. If you missed it, you were out of luck. GuitarTV takes that idea and cranks it up by a factor of at least six. Continue reading →

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Posted in entertainment, Internet, Marketing, music, social media, video

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Taco Bell Bites Back with Ad Aimed at Hungry Attorneys

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Mitch Devine| 2 Comments

Taco Bell asks attorneys for an apology. Not that they really expect to get one. After all, that would mean admitting they were wrong.

“Where’s the beef” was an ad slogan for Wendy’s back in 1984. But lately it’s been a charge leveled at Taco Bell by a law firm out to pick the fast food giant’s deep pockets.

Alabama-based law firm Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles (now there’s a mouthful) claimed that Taco Bell’s mystery meat was comprised of only 35 percent beef, based on an unspecified test by an unnamed analyst. Taco Bell insisted their beef was 88 percent beef, 12 percent “Secret Recipe.”

Taco Bell fought back with hard-hitting ads in January that said: “Thank you for suing us. Here’s the truth about our seasoned beef…”

Obviously someone smelled a meal ticket. As USA Today reported, “With annual sales pushing $7 billion, Taco Bell ranks as the nation’s sixth-largest fast-food company, according to the 2009 findings from the research firm Technomic. Continue reading →

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Posted in Advertising - General, food, Marketing, print

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Atlas Shrugged The Movie – John Galt Goes Spartacus

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Mitch Devine| Leave a comment

The target audience for the new Atlas Shrugged movie, doing their own advertising for it. (Photographed in Santa Ana, California, April 15, 2010.)

Here’s a challenge for marketers: How do you promote a low-budget independent movie without any stars? A film based on a verbose 1,000-plus-page novel about a philosophy called “Objectivism.” Got a campaign yet?

(Hint: social media, of course!)

“Atlas Shrugged, Part 1” arrives in theaters on April 15 —“tax day” in the U.S., the traditional deadline for filing income tax returns. Coincidence? (Sure, just like the sudden omnipresence of Highway Patrol issuing a lot of piddly traffic tickets in a futile effort to bail California out of debt. But that’s another story.)

Before we get to the marketing of the movie, a little background about the book.

Communism vs. Capitalism

Published in 1957, Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand’s magnum opus. The author lived through the communist revolution in Russia and came to America because its capitalist free-market system represented her ideal of a free society. As the book jacket summarizes, Atlas is the story of a man who said he would stop the motor of the world—and did. But that doesn’t quite explain the story’s relevance today. Continue reading →

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Posted in entertainment, Marketing, movies, video, viral

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Truth In Advertising, What a Concept

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Mitch Devine| 4 Comments
Terribles

Yes, this is a terrible business name. (Sorry.) But then again, lowering the bar is a sure-fire way to avoid over-promising. After all, what do you expect from a truck stop/convenience store, anyway? If you’ve at least got a clean restroom, you’re already ahead of most of the competition. And this place was hopping. Go figure. (Found in Kingman, AZ)

 

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Posted in Advertising - General, Branding, Naming, Signage

Remember to Fix My Stinky Car, Then Pull My Finger

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Mitch Devine| Leave a comment
Fix_my_stinky_car

Let’s hope that hand’s been washed.

 

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Posted in Advertising - General, Marketing, Outdoor, Signage

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John Galt follows Jerry Garcia

Posted on March 20, 2011 by Mitch Devine| 4 Comments
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Just saw “The Music Never Stopped,” a moving movie about a father and his prodigal son, a brain tumor, and the healing power of music–especially the Grateful Dead. Looking forward to John Galt’s big screen debut with “Atlas Shrugged,” opening on April 15: tax day, appropriately enough.

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Posted in Advertising - General