I recently viewed this Hardee’s Ad and thought, “Can this be real?” It seems Hardee’s now sells little breakfast items that compete with donut holes. And this ad takes a blind taste-test theme, wherein the participants choose between the “A-holes” and the “B-holes”. (I swear, I’m not kidding)

Now I’ll be the first to admit: normally this sort of humor is right up my alley — I’m the one in the FutureNow office who sees “giggle-value” every time a new iPhone…

...continue to read "Hardee’s b-holes — do they sell?"

Steve Krug has famously compared Web pages to billboards, meaning that Web visitors are task oriented, and therefore on-the-move.  They click through websites, sizing up any individual page’s content in about as much time as a driver takes to glance up at a billboard, roughly 7 seconds or so.

The difference of course, is that material in the active window is being actively and consciously engaged and evaluated by the Web visitor, who can then slow down and read material…

...continue to read "Visual Scandal, Story Appeal, and Banner Ads"

In my tenure here on GrokDotCom, I’ve done a pretty good job avoiding the snarkiness and sarcasm that permeate my whole being.  I open with that so you’ll indulge me on this one

Recently, I went to MySpace.com to look up a semi-obscure band.  Why did I go there instead of my usual search engine query?  Because every band is on MySpace.  If you are a band, and live in the Milky Way solar system, you are…

...continue to read "Step Right Up and Try the Latest Disruptive Advertising!"

So apparently the Internet Advertising Bureau is dissatisfied with search-based Internet ads.  Seems they want to “overcome perceptions of ‘creative shabbiness’ in online media, and to help prevent the slide toward a ‘performance-based’ Internet advertising economy.”  Ouch.

While I can’t help but shake my head at the elevated nose and depressed intelligence of a dying attitude that associates “performance-based advertising” with creative shabbiness, that’s not what really bothered me about this piece.

What bothered me was two-fold:

1)  …

...continue to read "Let’s Get Rid of Performance Based Marketing, Huh?"

Do you have the courage to say what you’re not?

Most people don’t want to draw that sharp line of distinction, and it’s why their marketing efforts blend into the clutter.

Discernible edges and silhouettes allow us to visually “grip” an object and separate figure from ground.  Eliminate those edges and you’ll effectively camouflage yourself.

In the picture above, notice how the legs present a solid silhouette and are easily identified, while the man’s upper body camouflage breaks up his silhouette and…

...continue to read "Branding Through Reverse Camouflage"

While most copywriters have avidly studied Claude Hopkins’ Scientific Advertising, very few have even heard of Theodore MacManus, let alone read his book, The Sword Arm of Business.  And yet MacManus was, in some ways, a more successful ad man, having:

Established his own (very successful) ad agency Launched the Dodge and Chrysler brands Hired and mentored Leo Burnett, creator of the Marlboro Man, Tony the Tiger, Pillsbury Doughboy, and many other advertising icons that made his clients rich Turned positioning…

...continue to read "Sword Arms vs. (Semi) Scientific Advertising"

During recent casual browsing, I noticed the following magicJack ad (on the left):

Now can anyone tell what the heck the product is? (I happen to know, since I also remember a late night commercial that explains it.)*

Put yourself in the place of the site visitor who is seeing this for the first time. I mean, thanks for the Freebie and all, and congrats that PC Magazine seems to like it … but what is it?

A product? Perhaps magicJack is a…

...continue to read "Sell Me Something, Not Some Thing"

First, if you haven’t seen it yet, watch Microsoft’s response to Apple’s infamous “I’m a Mac” campaign.

Here’s the question: what do you want to bet that Apple has been just waiting – even itching – for Microsoft to release that kind of response to their “I’m a Mac” campaign?

Why do I ask that?  Because I’d bet anything that Mac’s marketing was smart enough to engage in what Mike Smock has termed The Three Move Set.  You see, when…

...continue to read "Microsoft’s Ad Vs. Apple’s Three Move Set"

Wow! Is that true? I know lots of my colleagues wouldn’t want to believe it, but it certainly could be true, based on an interesting blog post I just read from Bob Hoffman.

The Ad Contrarian writes:

One of the axioms of Web 2.0 zealots is that “markets are conversations” (see Clueless and The Cluefree Manifesto) and that online social media (blogs, networking websites, Facebook, MySpace, etc.) are uniquely capable of stimulating “conversations” among consumers. Just one tiny problem. They’re wrong.

On June…

...continue to read "Traditional Media Stimulates More “Conversations” Than Digital Media?"

How many complaints does the FTC have to get before they file a suit against Ziff Davis?

In February, Jeffrey asked “Does Ziff Davis’s Spam Damage its Brand?” Both Jeffrey and I could not get off of Ziff Davis’s email list, no matter how many times we tried to remove ourselves. Thankfully, a reader (James) left a comment on June 10th about how he solved this problem:

Hi all,

I found a solution to Ziff Davis SPAM. I spent an hour searching every…

...continue to read "Sloan Seymour, President of Ziff Davis, Spammer Extraordinaire"