What's the difference between what people, or things created by people,say and what they mean? Why is that difference often so great? This blog about media,the psychology of consumer behaviour, visual communications,and the strange cultural history of advertising will investigate what things say and what they mean and what that says about the strange strange world that is us.
Advertising Age is reporting on Brand tracking company Vanno who says that Kellogg's brand rating dropped significantly after they dropped Michael Phelps as a spokesperson.
The wave of negative press has it's epicenter in the "stoner community' they report. No kidding, Really?
From the Feb 25 article Emily Brison York reports, "The waves have been sizable enough that "off the box" is becoming a euphemism for getting fired for doing something stupid. UrbanDictionary defines it as "the state of being removed from a position of prominence/importance due to a foolish mistake."
Funny the things you stumble upon while not looking for them. My students know that I have long been a fan of George Brown. Yes, it's the name of the college where I teach, but it's also a man who I've got a crush on.
OK, I know he's not perfect. He kinda wasn't a fan of unions, but the things he did were dramatic and important and I've long felt that he has been ignored and unappreciated- unloved even. Who can't relate to that?
Last year I co-authored a college writing text and of course I managed to put in an example paragraph that gave a little history about George, and I talk him up every chance I get. Pointing out to my students how just down the street on King Street at St Lawrence Hall he worked to abolish Slavery as one of the founding members of the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada.
As if that wasn't enough, he established the Globe newspaper and was a leader in the Reform party (which later became the Liberal Party) and was one of the Fathers of Confederation. But who knows George?
Guess what? George Brown is on Facebook and not just any old George but my George. Who knew? Of course I have requested friendship. But what's it about? Well it turns out that I am not the only one who believes that George deserves a little recognition.
"A young Canadian sets out to discover why George Brown isn’t recognized for his role in Confederation and how this omission has implications for present and future generations," in this YouTube video
There's a website too http://www.gbdoc.ca/. ¡HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE! George Lives!
Del Jones of USA TODAY reports that a book written for seventh graders called Problem Solving 101 by Ken Watanabe which became Japan's best-selling business book of 2007 is due for release here in March. The author believes the book should sell well to a business audience in North America.
Short and pitched at a grade 7 audience its juvenile-looking illustrations and flow charts take the reader through diagnosis and steps to a solution.
His book recommends, "listing potential causes of a problem, arriving at a hypothesis for the most likely cause, analyzing that cause, coming up with possible solutions, then prioritizing action and implementing a plan."
OK, I admit it, in the past I have had occasion to dress my dog up. You see here Spot wearing a Rude Dog T-shirt. It was my boyfriend's T-shirt and he was off on the road, so Spot kindly donned his wardrobe.
It was a different day, my dog Dax would never ever have any part of such kind of nonsense, being the man's man that he his.
And I guess Alpo would say he's their kind of dog.
Their recent campaign features pictures of dog's in less than manly poses- in dresses, pampered in a spa or attacked by a cat some on LOST posters! They're lost and Alpo wants them to be helped all by a little of that manly chow-Alpo. There's a website too QuickGetThatDogSomeAlpo.com where you can put your dog to the test to see how Alpoian he is. And to increase your involvement, there's a gallery where you can post a picture of your pet dressed up.
OK, I posted a pic of Spot. You'll see my Spotty in the Photo Gallery...I feel so proud..tee hee..Dog lovers are suckers for these things.
Cupcakes where the flowers made of icing look so much like icing that the gardener, the humming bird, and the bumble bee can't tell the difference and chocolate crumbs resemble dirt. The campaign is for Toronto-based Eini & Co., creators of high-end cupcakes for weddings, birthday and events.
You've seen them on TV all smug in their Snuggies. You've laughed at the parodies on YouTube, but now they are coming for you, for real.
Thousands of them.
More than 2365 so far have signed up online at http://www.snuggiepubcrawl.com/ to take part in the Snuggie Pub Crawl. The event thought up by two twenty something internet marketers is planned for Chicago on April 18.
From their site, "The SnuggiePubCrawl.com team is donating proceeds from the event to the AC-Orphanage in Arusha, Tanzania. AC-Orphanage rescues orphans from the streets of Tanzania whose parents have been victims of HIV and TB. Your donations will go directly to providing food, clean water, clothing and schooling for these children."
The event is strictly BYOS- Bring Your Own Snuggie.
Advertising Age is reporting on Brand tracking company Vanno who says that Kellogg's brand rating dropped significantly after they dropped Michael Phelps as a spokesperson.
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