Did You Really Think This Was a Good Idea?
Technology that Failed, and Hard Since man first used a stick to dig under some roots and accidentally caused a tree to fall on him, humans have been doing stupid things with technology. Since the invention of the microprocessor and instant mass media, this has only become that much easier. Thankfully 2009 is gone, and with it one [...]
Just Good Food
Like junk food versus a nutritious snack, web content quality is the stuff that either fuels your brand to satisfy your audience or puts weight on your brand with little value for the caloric indulgence. Value in this sense meaning optimizing return on your investment whether that effort takes form as an offline advertisement, a new application, [...]
What You Can Learn About Sales and Marketing From A Timeshare Presentation
Two weeks ago, I attended my first timeshare presentation while I was vacationing on Maui. I wondered whether the presentation would be like the South Park timeshare episode with low brow salespeople and unending presentations. I didn’t really care. All I knew was that I was going to get hotel points worth $200 in exchange for [...]
What I wish the Apple Tablet Was
Last night, I was secretly hoping this long-rumored Apple device was just a big hoax. Seriously, how funny would that have been if all the rumors were nothing but … rumors? But as Anton and I got to talking about it, we started imagining the purposes a keyboard-less, WiFi-enabled touchscreen might have in our daily [...]
For Improved Client Relationships, Get to Know Your Employees
I saw an advertisement for a new CBS “reality” show that, while being heavily scripted, I think is going to provide some interesting food for thought for the business world. The show is “Undercover Boss,” and, according to www.realitytvworld.com, it will “follow corporate executives working in disguise at the ‘lowest level jobs’ in their own [...]
We’re All the Rage in France
How We Actually Went Viral From Boston to Bangalore and Toronto to Tunis, our little holiday endeavor has spread across the globe faster than risqué pictures of Lindsey Lohan. The Backstory Before the business world shut down for the holidays, we at Pop Art launched our 2009 e-card, The Holidizer. Running with the success of “Imma let you finish” [...]
I hate Fred Meyer’s Holiday Ad
Ahh, the holidays. The time of year when retailers turn the dials up to 11 to clear storerooms and shelves. The holiday ad has always been of particular annoyance to me, particularly those with catchy new lyrics set to old songs, tending to the punny. This year, however, a new low has been set. Northwest grocer [...]
40% Targeting, 40% Offer, 20% Creative
Having spent most of this fall with a cold or flu of some kind (blame the toddler for that one), I was especially intrigued by an ad I saw on Pandora the other night. This ad is genius, and caught my attention for a few reasons. As the old advertising axiom says, an ad’s success [...]
If I Could Tell All Young Writers One Thing…
Passing into the waning end of my twenties during a recession (which makes you age in your career faster) means I can now get away with two things: I can say “back in my day” when referring to anything before 2006. I get to dole out useful information to students and other people trying to get into [...]
