Yeas & Nays: IV

found here, re: greyhound stabbing here
Riot saith: NAY!
okay, so, i'm sure for all humourous purposes, this advertisement has surfaced. i would imagine, and from the look of it assume, that the ad came out before the stabbing. (i really, really hope so.) it's almost in bad taste to show it, if only because it makes me make that groaning noise. for those of you who don't know, a sleeping person on a Canadian Greyhound was stabbed in the throat and decapitated with a hunting knife on a bus full of people. what's Greyhound doing about it? not enough, Jaffe says, and i have to agree. on another note, the advertisement is pretty shitty, regardless of timeliness. i haven't heard of "car rage" either, and both buses and cars (and trucks and hummers) all use roads. 'nuff said.

TIGS, re: gorillas, chimps, ads, primates
Riot saith: YEA!
as if you didn't already know, Faris is wicked awesome. his post, linked above, catalogues something we all learned in 3rd grade and forgot: "they may not remember what you say, but they will always remember how you made them feel." that was supposed to teach us to be nice to one another. and even if advertising isn't exactly about being nice, it is about emotional response. i would like to see an effective ad that appeals not at all to any emotions--in an unironic way. the more and more i think about advertising, the more and more i come to realize that the youth injection is important. folks have got to stop thinking like marketers and remember that they're people, and relearn those things that made them people in the first place.

doesitsellstuff, re: social media
Riot saith: YEA!
i love stumbling across blogs that make me want to redo my entire blogroll (which i will be getting around to doing, there are some much needed additions). this is one such blog. Scott Sigler chronicles social media campaigns and their effectiveness in really interesting ways; the ways that make you actually want to spend time reading it all. and it is really, really interesting. i forget how i stumbled across it but i'm very glad that i did. his blog's subhead reads: "A look at case studies of companies using Social Media to, well, sell stuff. Forget theory - does it add to a company's bottom line, or is it all just a waste of money?" if you're into social and strategic planning, check him out.

Yeas & Nays: III

the site, adgoodness, re: party art Power Plant
Riot saith: YEA!
despite the following comment on the adgoodness post (where you can also see the other 2 in this campaign) -- Although it’s pretty lame photography, and the models them selves are not that interesting. Nor is the scene all that believable in the case of the third one.. It’s a good concept. 3/5 not so much on the execution though. -- i like this campaign. i don't think the photography is particularly 'lame.' it reminds me of a campaign i did for the Museum of Modern Art. as in--trying to make the prospect of a museum not boring to anyone who doesn't already go. making the museum into the party is, i counter, a clever idea. especially when modern and contemporary art lends itself to some wacky and interesting pieces. not to mention, it ties into the fact that they're actually hosting a party, which doubles on its usefulness. kind of like that "go metro. miss traffic" ad.

the site, brandweek, re: targeted ads
Riot saith: DUH!
haven't i been saying this for, oh, say... ever? yes, i think so. "These users want, and welcome, information about new products, savings and other offers, and they're clearly stating that if the ads were more targeted and relevant, it would be worthwhile to them," said Jere Doyle, CEO of Prospectiv. no shit sherlock. we need studies for this? i shouldn't talk. i know it takes a lot to convince people who don't already see that. but i feel like i'm seeing a lot of things quoted, referenced, and studied lately that make me go "DUH!?" isn't that a GIVEN? i'm going to start keeping track of things that make me go "duh" rather than make me say "huh!" am i alone in this feeling? or do people just need validation on the obvious?

the site, greg verdino, re: 'generation v'
Riot saith: NAY!
don't get me wrong. it's truly not all bad. like greg points out, some of my peers don't know what Twitter is. me, i've never used, or wanted to use, Second Life. i don't podcast, even if i know what it is. but to claim that "the generational distinctions break down" online is an unfair and, i believe, flawed generalization. i'm all about connecting human experiences, but you need to understand that each human has a distinct experience they bring to the table. my values are radically different than the generation before me, and no amount of Facebook Chat is going to rectify that. not to mention, HOW each generation comes to the "virtual generation" is different. how and why we interact with it is often different. how we think about it, craft ourselves, to why, and why--all of these are different. my little brother's reason for using Myspace is not my aunt's reason for using Myspace. it's simply not. i think that to fall prey to this idea as a new "generation merger" is a product of living too long in the social media state of the internet bubble. treating each personae, even if a person has multiple personae, different from a marketing standpoint does have merit. i'm just saying that not everything is that easy, and i do believe digital natives--whether or not they podcast as well as a 35 year old--do come to the virtual table for different reasons, values, and views. technographics is a better answer, to me, than "generation v." i find the umbrella term dangerous.

Yeas & Nays: II

the site, adrants review, re: whore diamonds.
Riot saith: NAY!
this is revolting on so very many levels--and probably none of the ones you're thinking of, either. Two cents from Sam Elhag, head of strategy for Drunk University Network: "We don't feel that only politicians and Emperors Club members should have an exclusive on rating today's generation of working girls. This opens up the process to the masses. Who knows, a 'five diamond' girl to a Spitzer may only be a 'three diamond' to the rest of the world." ...is the rest of the world buying?? i don't care what YOU think about this woman. YOU are (likely) not going to employ her. this is NOT a democracy; it's a business. you shouldn't be able to vote on how hot a "whore" is unless you're spending money on her or one of her colleagues. you could be hurting her sales simply because a bunch of numb nuts decided they don't like her nose, when she was making fine sales before--and now someone with money won't buy her for fear of what a hundred anonymous internet geeks will think of them for it. this is not Hot-or-Not. these aren't candids, this isn't Girls Gone Wild (don't get me started there). she is not your girlfriend, even if you paid her to be. if this is what it says it is, this is about employment, not your latest social network where you get to degrade women and their choices or situations. shame on you. go watch porn. at least you pay for that. on a side note, do these women get to opt-in to be on the site? that's also relevant. if they don't get a choice, it's worse. if they do, perhaps it helps the sales of lesser-known women? i am trying to see how this could be empowering, and i just don't.

cnet, eff, re: Universal.
Riot saith: YEA!
you go, EFF. i just don't understand how out of hand the record labels can get over this sort of stuff. Lenz was not selling her YouTube video. she didn't even show the full song. are we as humans supposed to never interact with the products you convince us to buy? she can own a Prince CD but she can't video her kid dancing to it and share it with her family and friends, who might also find the child somewhat adorable when dancing to Prince? it's not like Lenz is making DVD copies and selling them on eBay under the title 'Beborn Baby Prince' or something. ye gods. at least it's back on YouTube, the whiny brats. if record labels want to win people back, making us pissed off at you isn't the way to do it.

the site, adage review, re: Heineken
Riot saith: NAY!
wow. talk about shitty. that song is really, really annoying. the syncing of the images doesn't flow with the music, either. the cuts feel off and forced. some of it is really nonsensical. a ballerina serving beer to a sauna full of old guys? right. some of these situations i buy, and some i don't, at all. i don't feel united, or even happy. i feel like the spot instead grated on my nerves and took away my last interest in Heineken (which wasn't that great to begin with, so you didn't sell me on it). i don't think the heart of the issue is "get drunk" versus "pay it forward"--i just think the ad fails to relate to anyone currently. a better idea would have been to take where sharing beer is relevant: different party scenes (bachelor's, reunions, birthdays, etc) and show buying a round and celebrating. that's what we do, right? eat, drink, and be merry? bring in some more merry and less kumbaya.

Yeas & Nays: I

the site, brandweek, re: Crocs.
Riot saith: NAY!
Brandweek feels that Crocs have lost their 'bite' and i tend to agree. i NEVER liked them. i always thought they were ugly and smelly (literally, they gave the visual impression that because they were plastic, they would smell) and so regardless of supposed comfort i stayed far, far away from the fad. turns out, i wasn't the only person who thought they were ugly. despite making high heeled crocs, people still aren't buying. and guess what? they're still ugly. adding a chunky, "funky" 4 inch heel is not going to fix that.

the site, mtlb review, re: Cadbury.
Riot saith: YEA!
i like the use of exclusivity (you need a password to get into the vault) and how it fosters interaction (the password is somewhere on the site... i haven't had time to find it yet). it also responds to engaged customers by a) posting consumer cadbury commercial remixes, and, b) offering a nifty 'trick out our truck' contest. moreover, in case i don't have the stamina for all the cool mouse-responsive images (nice floating milk glass sculpture!) there's also an html version, which many flash/etc sites tend to forget or forgo. so generally, i say yea to this, even if i'm not quite certain what spawned the link between chocolate and truck racing.

the site, mediapost, re: Sony.
Riot saith: NAY!
i don't care about your "knowledge transfer." i don't care that someone who thought up the "$100,000 professional camera that films the Super Bowl are the same minds behind Sony's $500 to $1,000 camcorders you use to film your child's birthday party." the quality is different, the technology is different. you're not going to assuage me with reassurance that 'the best minds of NASA Sony' came up with my mini-dv. make a better product, if you're concerned about the quality of your image. telling me smart people made it doesn't change the thing i bought. it's not a 100,000 dollar camera, and we both know it.

site1, site2, adage review, ian schafer, re: Myspace.
Riot saith: YEA!
i am not the biggest lovefool for myspace, but i still log in. i've had it since high school. i still check it, at worst, monthly, and at median bi-weekly. i don't go daily but i used to. i would again. that's a big deal. facebook creeps me out too much, still, and nothing has replaced myspace yet. with their new music merger, i think it's too early to discount myspace as relevant. i think that deep focus is doing it right, and i think offering long-term branding aspects that are relevant to the myspace user (KEY here) are much more valuable than the hit-and-run campaigns. i'm for the development. (consequently, i'm also pro-packet.)

the site, adweek review, re: Garmin/live commercials.
Riot saith: YEA! ...for now.
until everyone else jumps on this retro-savvy bandwagon, i think this is a really cool and interesting idea. i'm for the break-up in the usual visuals in commercials and a retro throwback always wins with nostalgia value. i like how Garmin used this technique; i think a company that represents an improvement on the "old ways" (maps < gps) is the best sort of brand to harness live commercials. kudos to Garmin; we just bought one, ourselves. i look forward to more until i'm too tired of seeing them.

Riot's blogects. [blog...projects? ...rite.]

i have decided to do a number of stints on my blog:

Hook, Line...:
wherein i find really crappy punctuation and grammar usage. i will write a friendly service announcement regarding why, exactly, the grammar and/or punctuation deserves a ride on the copy failboat. occasionally supplemented by excellent copy.
>> previous: Share Our Strength.

Lovefool:
posts about how much i love your brand. why i love your brand. and how much i'm willing to talk about how much i love your brand.
>> previous: brands i love.

Moot Court:
where i bring a brand, campaign, or ad to justice based on how much they lie about who they are, what they do for you, or what exactly they're selling. it's about representation, baby.
>> previous: Target, Dove.

Yeas & Nays:
so much to read. especially on mondays. this will be my "yeas" and "nays" to news in the ad and blog worlds... and how!
>> previous: none. next post!

will be the editions. keep your eyes peeled.
all "previous" examples will not necessarily be the form each of these take in the future. since gender-centric posts and youth-injection posts make up the brunt up what i have to say anyway, these projects will be inter dispersed.

suggestions welcome.