Innov8 (or Die): Skunkworking the Motorola Razr

CNN/Money recounts the story behind how a team of engineers and designers defied Motorola's own rules to create the cellphone that revived their company.

The RAZR - a play on a code name the engineering geeks dreamed up - was hatched in colorless cubicles in exurban Libertyville, an hour's drive north of Chicago. It was a skunkworks project whose tight-knit team repeatedly flouted Motorola's own rules for developing new products.

They kept the project top-secret, even from their colleagues. They used materials and techniques Motorola had never tried before. After contentious internal battles, they threw out accepted models of what a mobile telephone should look and feel like.

The "thin clam" project became a rebel outpost and a talent magnet within the company, and the team grew to as many as 20 engineers who met daily at 4 P.M. in a conference room in Libertyville to hash over the previous day's progress.

"Anytime you've got something radically different, there will be people who feel that we should be putting our resources on other stuff," says Roger Jellicoe, team leader on the project. "It was a kind of lock-the-door-and-put-the-key-beneath-it approach to product development." Digital pictures of the project were prohibited, so nothing could be inadvertently disseminated by e-mail. Models of the phone could leave the premises only when physically accompanied by a team member.

With an ambitious deadline of completion within the year, Jellicoe relied on non-standard methods to drive morale and speed ideation. For example, he set up a competition among five of his engineers to see who could come up with the best design. And engineering and design teams began combining their work, a back-and-forth process that became known as the "dance."


Lessons from MOTO RAZR:

1. Secrecy limits distractions.
By insulating its RAZR development team from the influence of corporate groupthink, Motorola got an innovative product that wowed the industry and consumers.

2. Research isn't everything.
Motorola's "human factors" unit dictated that phones more than 49 millimeters wide would be deemed uncomfortable by consumers. The RAZR team concluded otherwise. Their only data points: their own instincts.

3. Niche products can have mass appeal.
The RAZR wasn't designed to be a blockbuster. It was supposed to be a high-priced, high-end jewel to regain luster for Motorola. Yet with high demand, unit costs plunged along with the price for consumers - to as low as $99.

4. Missing deadlines doesn't mean failure.
The RAZR team was supposed to be done by February 2004; they weren't until summer. But getting it right meant a whole lot more than getting it done on time.

Brand Cult: 55 Ways to Have Fun With Google

How elastic is your brand?

Google's mashable interface is unique in that it is intentionally opened to all users for mass hacking and improvement.

One believer has uncovered at least "55 Ways to Have Fun With Google" including the Google Snake Game, Googledromes, Memecodes, Googlesport, The Google Calculator, Googlepark, Google Weddings, Google hacking, fighting and rhyming?

Download PDF to start having fun with Google.

Mass Interactive: Groundswell

Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff at Forrester research have a good blog you should read, Groundswell, and a developing book about winning strategies in a world transformed by social technologies.

And as you'd expect for a book about such a topic, they are reaching out to the masses, You.

Their book will be crammed full of proprietary Forrester data, and insider case studies from organizations that succeeded through embracing consumer technologies.

Feel free to join the conversation and tell them about what you're doing.

Some of the things they're looking for:

-Good stories about how you got started and kept going.
-Real business results you can speak about. (Successes are great, but we'd also like to hear about projects that flopped or haven't succeeded yet, too.)
-Real people involved in the project that we can speak with.
-And in case you are worried about the public nature of sharing, they'll keep your examples confidential until the book is published some time next year.

Connect with Josh Bernoff/jbernoff@forrester.com or Charlene Li/cli@forrester.com

FallonLabs: Striegel's Wall Writer

Our own Jason Striegel and the interactive team is in the laboratory cookin' up some new interactive experiments. This homebrew "wall writer" is intended to eventually project onto a large wall or side of a building and allow the user to draw an image using the building as a canvas and the laser pointer as a pencil.

It's still in the early stages of development and is currently being rigged from a computer, photoshop, a standard web camera and a simple laser pointer.

"Package Up" Your Packaging

Got an email from Aki this morn, titled "funny observation" and which read, "this link still drives em in aftr all this time (14 yesterday alone) i always see it in the most linkd box...the gift that keeps on giving (for better or worse)." (Note: I printed this without Aki's permission.)

He was probably trying to coax me into post a "Dick In the Box" remix, but instead I remembered this post at Kottke.Org, which I some how "Stumbled Upon the other day. (Note: I didn't actually use this service.)

Seems that Gatorade may have lucked out (or knew all along) when designing its bottle for a mostly male sports drink consumer. It's not just the urinal peek or the locker room full exposure anymore; it's an AREA OF EXPERTISE.



Focus and learn men, focus and learn.

Mass Interactive: DeathSpace

Philosophical ponderings: In this age of digital second lives and multiple online identities, what happens to one's digital essence when the physical body dies? Is there a heaven or hell for the digital soul? Do androids dream of electric sheep?

Check out DeathSpace, a self-described "collection of dead myspace users."

Mass Interactive: Justin.tv

One day plus and counting...check out Justin's streaming live "reality" show.

Twitter, MySpace and Facebook options available too, so you never miss a move!

2007 Planner Survey

Planners, time to take some of our own medicine!

It's time for the 3rd annual planner survey.

If you haven't participated before, Heather LeFevre at Martin Agency conducts an informal survey that is designed to let us all see what planners at different agencies think about their jobs, understand what drives salaries, and hopefully learn more about how our discipline is changing.

192 people participated last year.

Please only take the survey if you are working as a planner (freelance and those who work outside the US are welcome), and your answers stay anonymous.

This link captures your email so you may receive results.

Feel free to post on your blogs and/or pass the link on to all the planners you know.

Survey
Email capture

Politics 2.0: James Kotecki

We've had many a debate around here about the new wave of citizen journalists and their "lack of experience".

One side says these are just loudmouths with technological access to millions and no basis or experience to intelligently inform what they say.

The other side says, well, true, but A) what truly "qualifies" the professionals to speak on matters of state?, B) at least these citizen journalists are speaking in tones and terms that most of us can relate to, and C) quit yer whining and embrace it...or get trampled over.

Here is an enterprising Georgetown student, who is giving campaign advice for free on YouTube and his website. James Kotecki, 21, is building a name for himself as he dissects the candidates’ online vids. His message: “The web isn’t TV.” Just because you’re a politician who is “on the web” doesn’t mean you’re using the web well. So as candidates for the 2008 election increasingly put video online, Kotecki critiques.






The candidates and traditional media seem to be noticing - and some are even responding to him.

Could a 21 year old with a web camera and a DSL line actually affect the direction of America's elections? I hope so.

Trend: Return to Simplicity :: Mims

An unlikely example of an oft-observed trend that stems from increased choice, complexity, information, and overall nonsense/bullshit is what I, upon first (and second and tenth) hearing, would have described as "more ridiculously dumb and unnecessary shit." However, the charts have proven me wrong as hip hop artist Mims catapulted to #1 on the Billboard Charts last week with his first single, "This is Why I'm Hot".

But now that I've put down the Hateorade, I hear the beauty (and profitability) in its simplicity. In fact, I didn't have to listen very hard since Mims actually outlines his plan/sums it up with one line in the first verse: "I could sell a mil', sayin' nothin' on a track." Combine that to the familiar samples that put the hip-hop enjoying masses in our rap comfort zone. And even note the obviousness of using his rap name/legal last name as an acronym for his first album title -- M.I.M.S. - Music Is My Savior. You've got yourself a hit like Norbit. (Rhyme intended.)

For a better and graphical interpretation of this song, check out this amazing article from the Village Voice.

And in case you haven't checked out the video:


"To be continued"?

Postcards From Second Life: The Diaries of Molotov Alva

An interesting bit I came across on YouTube. Filmaker Douglas Gaeyton apparently came across a series of documentary-like films shot entirely within Second Life. The thing is, a man by this same name seems to have disappeared from California earlier this year.

Peep the official Molotov website.

I'm trying to uncover whether this is actually true or an imaginative story, but in the meantime it's a cool piece to take in-- a man escaping from the brand he's made for himself in First Life to redefine Brand Molotov in a new world.

Hactivism: Home Depot Forced to Respond to Message Board

The web continually enables the masses to not only whine and complain, but actually channel a loud enough voice to force change from brands and corporations.

Consider this: after readers flooded MSN Money's message boards with tales of lousy service, Home Depot's new top executive says change is on the way!

Last week, MSN Money published a column by Scott Burns that focused on customer-service problems at Home Depot.

The response was overwhelming: THOUSANDS of readers posted messages on the MSN Money boards and more than 10,000 took the added steps of e-mailing editors to MSN to share their own stories of time wasted at Home Depot's stores. Oh, and did I mention that Home Depot is in a announced a 28% decline in earning for 4Q, and same store sales are down 6.6%?

In response to message board outcry, Home Depot’s new CEO, Frank Blake, posted his own message promising change. Below is his posted promise of change:


I'm Frank Blake, the new CEO for The Home Depot. I've read a number of the postings on the MSN message board (unfortunately, there were a lot of them), and we've dispatched a dedicated task force -- working directly with me -- that is ready and willing to address each and every issue raised on this board. Please give us the chance.

There's no way I can express how sorry I am for all of the stories you shared. I recognize that many of you were loyal and dedicated shoppers of The Home Depot . . . and we let you down. That's unacceptable. Customers are our company's lifeblood – and the sole reason we have been able to build such a successful company is because of your support. The only way we're going to continue to be successful is by regaining your trust and confidence . . . and we will do that.
We've already taken steps to cure many of the ills discussed on this message board:

We will be and already are increasing our staffing in the stores.

We're also in the early stages of launching a nationwide program to recruit and hire skilled master tradespeople to staff our stores so that our customers receive the kind of service and expertise that made The Home Depot great.
We're investing significantly in the appearance of our stores to make them an easier and more fun place to shop.

And we're making it clear to all our associates that nothing is more important than you, the customer. Every associate knows that his or her number one job is to make you smile and to help you solve your home improvement problem … no matter how big or how small.

But the real judge of all of these changes we’re making is you. All I ask is that you please give us the opportunity to win you back. When you enter our stores, you should receive a personal greeting. After that, you should encounter a helpful associate who will walk you to find the tools, material or service you need. If you don’t, please let us know . . . just like Scott Burns did.

A response box has been opened at wehearyou@homedepot.com

More Hactivism +/+/+


via Consumerist

Innov8 (or Die): What Banks Can Learn from Geek Squad

The Geek Squad seems an unlikely model for banks to emulate, but founder and "chief inspector" (read, CEO) Robert Stephens has a lot to say about how banks can improve their customer experience. Interviewed in the March/April 2007 issue of BAI's Banking Strategies, Stephens says banks should strive to make the routine activities of banking fun, such as waiting in line at the branch or at the drive-thru. He also calls for innovative business cultures able to nurture small, inexpensive experiments that could later on have a big impact.

Some excerpted mindbombs to consider:

ON THE CULTURE OF INNOVATION
•Think of every company not as a company but as a software program—as a system you're buying into. Customers, either consciously or unconsciously, choose companies based on their interface.

•There are endless ways to innovate. We need cultures inside companies that are constantly turning out these ideas.

•What makes the Geek Squad unique is that we are defined by the employee. Labor is our biggest expense, as it is with most other service businesses, so we define ourselves by our relationship with our employees. The technology will change, but how we deliver service and what people expect from good service, those things won't change.

•The customer experience is a product of your employee experience, especially if you're customer-facing. For banks, the branch is just one part of it. That's why online and phone are probably the most important channels, because even if you come to a branch, you might be calling first to get driving directions, or going online to find out about the hours. So, the online and the phone experiences almost should be taken care of first, since they can be more easily controlled.

ON SAYING "NO"
•For example, we're launching Geek Squad in London early this year. I told the team: "You have no money for public relations—none." I told the marketing team: "You can't do marketing, but I'm going to give you money for creative endeavors. What you're going to do is, you're going to design the call center scripts to make it fun to be on hold."

•The reason they have no money for PR is because I expect them to make that experience of being on hold enjoyable. The experience should be so memorable that the press will line up to call us and ask us to come on their TV or radio show and talk about it. Now, that's public relations. Operations become marketing. They become indistinguishable from each other. That's when you know you have accomplished your mission.

•I ran into our chief financial officer the other day in an elevator and said, "You know, the finance department is the most important catalyst to creativity in the entire company." He looked at me, like, "Really? Why?" I said, "Because you say 'no' more than you say 'yes.' And saying no frustrates people. But the successful people, the persistent people, will always seek to find a way."

ON THE PIRATE MENTALITY
•I learned this from not having the resources, as a small company, to do things. So you tend to do them differently. That's a lesson that I'm learning now, even in a large environment like at Best Buy. The best thing that ever happened to me was not having money when I started my company. That starves the organization, which fosters creativity.

•A large bank may give up on innovation for many reasons, such as we're government regulated, we can't get things through too quickly or there are Wall Street pressures on a quarter-to-quarter basis. But I would argue that those pressures are the source of the creativity; they are not the limiter.

•That's the riddle. We tend to give up too easily and just throw our hands up, saying, "Well, we can't innovate," and then complain. But that's a form of competition because that kind of attitude prevents you from beating your competitors.

ON ASSEMBLY LINING INNOVATION
•It's easy to blame the faceless monolith, but if you're competing for its resources against a peer, well that's different. You can look at which idea contributes to a better customer experience. If you can't measure that, then it's back to the drawing board.

•That criterion creates a Meritocracy; it's one idea versus another. But the ideas should start small. If you ask for a lot of money for a project, you're going to be subject to a lot of restrictions, a lot of barriers. Not spending a lot on a project provides greater creative freedom because there's less risk for the organization.

ON FAST PROTOTYPING
•Tiny experiments can snowball into great revenue producers, and that's what companies need to do. Software is your process in real time. It offers the ability to design, to experiment, at a really low cost. That's where I think banks are specifically missing out on a coming revolution in software development at low cost and high speed.

•Banks should continually set a goal of coming up with one new idea a month, one new little service. They don't have to be large, massive undertakings, but simple, tiny stuff.

•I recently launched a rapid prototyping program at Best Buy called "Two weeks: $500." Basically, if anybody in the organization has an idea and can give us a prototype in two weeks, we'll give them $500 to develop a simple software feature or function to demonstrate it. The feature can be made accessible on the company network so people can check it out. Then, to take it to the next level, we can add a few more zeros, maybe do a $5,000 prototype. When you get to the $50,000 level, maybe you invite your top customers in to beta test it.

•Eventually, you might move to the $5 million implementation, but you start with $500 to force that creativity and de-risk the idea to get it off the ground. You can't even get to the $5,000 level unless you've proven out some kind of working prototype.

via BAI Banking Strategies

Inbox of Immaturity: March Madness Begins

Not too many links being sent this week as the majority of my friends' time has been spent filling out tournament brackets and talking smack. This clip should sum up the type of conversations that are taking place and will continue to happen over the next few weeks. WARNING: Explicit lyrics (and parts in particularly bad taste - even for the IOI).



Timely, after Duke's loss to VCU tonight. If you decided not to click on it, here's a good typed example of the craze that is March Madness.

Plus, here are a few other links passed on for your Friday: Ahnald, A.S.S., and from Aki, who decided not to put it in the "How to..." category of posts, here's Strobing.

Happy St. Patty's Day from the Irish half of El Gaffney.

Politics 2.0: 08 Bloggers Network

The 08 Bloggers Network is comprised of blogs that discuss the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election.  The function of 08 Bloggers is to increase bloggers’ access to candidates by establishing an organization capable of leveraging campaigns for access as well as establish a mutually beneficial community.

08 Bloggers will eventually assist members with scheduling interviews, gaining access to events, fact checking, research, acquiring credentials and a whole host of other services.  Additionally, the 08 Bloggers Network is a great way to promote your own site, while facilitating access to relevant information.

Among other activities, the network is currently in the process of organizing a massive presidential bloggers convention tentatively scheduled for this summer.

Politics 2.0: Dreampolitik

Re-imagining progressive politics?

Aroused by a mix of jealousy and excitement, author Stephen Duncombe formulates a colorful curriculum that calls for an injection of imagination into the politics of the Left.

To quote from a review on Boldtype:
"Progressives, Duncombe maintains, currently operate within a political model founded on the admirable yet outdated Enlightenment-era principles of reason and rationalism. If their purpose is to effect meaningful political change, then it's time for a new strategy. Duncombe's solution? Dream. By envisioning and enacting a political spectacle that heeds fantasy more than fact, progressives might capture the popular imagination and, possibly, the popular vote."

This includes lessons from such disparate source materials as Grand Theft Auto , the Billionaires for Bush network, Madison Avenue-crafted McDonald's commercials, and Las Vegas' urban planners. The focus of this fluent narrative is what he calls "dreampolitik" — realpolitik's creative counterpoint.

Throughout Dream, the author deftly explores American pop culture and political symbolism. With humility and humor, he explains why his political nemeses are more effective at motivating the masses than his comrades. He offers a re-imagined brand of progressivism, suggesting that his readers play politics a bit more like a video game.

at Amazon

Bankrupt!: The Big Payback

I have posted more than a few times about what I see as the emerging New American Dream: Freedom from Debt!

Seattle Times reports on an extreme (maybe), and amusing (sorta) example of a dude who is so committed to getting out from under the debt that he's been living in his truck for nearly 19 months, skirting rules against sleeping in vehicles while otherwise living the life of a mainstream student and full-time employee.

"Even though I had a good job, I was tired of living paycheck to paycheck and not making any headway with my credit cards," says truck-dweller Andy Bussell.

The odyssey began in 2005. Bussell was working full time as a "Mac genius" at the Apple Store in Newport Beach, sharing a $1,600-per-month apartment. He had racked up more than $10,000 in credit-card debt and was struggling to pay for school and save money. So on July 29, 2005, he started living in his truck, with the goal of lasting one year.

Most mornings, Bussell heads to the university gym to shower, shave and brush his teeth. Then he heads to class, and later to work. Evenings are often spent rock climbing or doing yoga, visiting friends or studying in the student union, which has wireless Internet access. Then he heads back to the truck, which he parks in a variety of locations, and plays guitar, reads with a battery-powered headlamp or watches DVDs on his laptop.

His mail goes to a post-office box. What he misses most are a kitchen and a bathroom. To deal with the former, he buys food such as yogurt and fruit in small quantities; for as regards the latter, he takes advantage of public facilities. On occasion, he has resorted to employing an empty Gatorade bottle.

On the bright side, after 19 months of peeing in Gatorade bottles and eating yogurt, Bussell's credit card debt is nearly paid off.

via Consumerist

Viral Learning Center

Finally, ALL THE SECRETS REVEALED TO MAKING A SUCCESSFUL VIRAL VIDEO! Enroll now at the Viral Learning Center and get the confidence and know-how to succeed!

Thanks VLC!

Black Sheep of Advertising: P.T. Barnum

Ad for P.T. Barnum circus, 1879 (click to enlarge).

From "Twenty Ads That Shook The World" by James B Twitchell:

"Today, we use the term hype. In the nineteenth century it was called humbug. Humbug was part of a new lexicon that included words like hoopla, ballyhoo, bunkum, flimflam, claptrap, and codswallop. These were the new words to describe a new form of uniquely American entertainment: the media-made confected event, high on promise, low on delivery, and probably costing something. As the actress Tallulah Bankhead once remarked after a rather disappointing but much-hyped evening at the theater, "There is less in this than meets the eye." This was exactly the kind of media-made event that P.T. Barnum first mastered."

Innovation Timeline 1900-2050

Nowandnext.com offers up an Innovation Timeline from 1900 all the way up to 2050 - yes that’s right, 47 years that haven’t happened yet!

The timeline is offered in the same spirit as the 2007 Trendmap - it’s open source so people are encouraged to adapt or play around with it or use it in anyway they like.

"The Long Tail" and Brand Communications

Mohammed Iqbal of O&M has written an interesting white paper on how Chris Anderson's long tail theory can be applied to brand communications.

In crafting his argument, Iqbal challenges theories such as Maurice Saatchi's One Word Equity (+), which claims that the essence of a brand should be boiled down to just one word-- Coke: Refreshing, HP: Invent, etc.

Iqbal's stance is that, in today's world, brands need not be defined by a singular proposition, but because they mean different things to different people, they should be expressed as such.



Old brand thinking:
New brand thinking:
Iqbal's key steps for utilizing The Long Tail in building a brand (peep the full paper for more depth):

1. Seek help in populating the curve (consumers, people who interact with your brand).
2. Time is a natural elongating-agent of a brand communication market.
3. Recognise that ones and twos can add up to quite a few.
4. Employ recommendation and word-of-mouth for your brand-building efforts.
5. Don’t try and predict. Measure and respond instead.
6. When you have infinite choice, context is more important than content.
7. Build negative databases of your brand communication.
8. Trade control for influence.

Culture: Revenge of the Ghost Rider

AllHipHop.com reports that Oakland rapper Mistah F.A.B.'s "Ghost Ride It" video has been banned from all media outlets because of the video's use of the Ghostbusters car and logo. Mistah F.A.B.'s "Ghost Ride It" song exploits the phenomenon of "ghost riding," which is when the driver stands on the hood of a moving vehicle and dances a jig (and preferably tapes it for exhibition on YouTube or those 'Dummies Gone Wild' video shows).

According to reps for Mistah F.A.B., who appeared on Fox's Hanity & Colmes show over the subject, the video for the single had already been edited 52 times to meet MTV and BET's guidelines. The video was being aired on MTV2's Unleashed MTV Jams, MTVU and MTV's Sucker Free Countdown when Columbia Pictures threatened legal action over the usage of the Ghostbuster's logo and likeness in the video.

In Dec. 2006, the song came under scrutiny when an 18-year-old man and a 36-year-old man died in separate ghost riding incidents.

*AKI COMMENT: You would think that the resulting deaths from ghost riding would be more of an issue for banning ghost riding videos, but eh, I guess the misuse of logos is a bit more pressing. Either way, you can't ban these streets - check out more Ghost Riding mayhem from YouTube:






It's all fun and games until...

PR and Marketing, like Ebony and Ivory

Jonah Bloom at Ad Age writes a timely commentary about "The Cultural Gulf that separates marketing & PR - and why both sides must work harder to bridge it"

To excerpt from the article:

"Transparency means that marketing departments, so often home to hyperbole in the past, are also confronting the fact that an over-claim in promotional material can be exposed as a lie in the time it takes some blogger to write that his whites don't wash whiter and his phone service actually drops calls every other conversation. Ad execs are also learning the importance of listening to influential consumers before crafting messages and are trying to facilitate word-of-mouth programs -- two tactics some PR practitioners see as inherent to their discipline."

"Conversely, many companies' PR executives, who once massaged other people's messages and left most content creation to the marketing department, are now building and populating websites, social networks, message boards, blogs, vlogs and podcasts. They're no longer just intermediaries; today they're becoming media and message originators, too."

"Its a big cultural gulf, but as the internet makes the relationship between corporate reputation and brand equity ever more transparent, the two departments will have to use their new found common language to bridge it."

And with that, I cue Paul and Stevie...

Lyrics


via Ad Age

Play Money: Game of Life Takes Visa

Hasbro and Visa have partnered on an update to the classic Game of Life board game with a credit card that is integrated into gameplay.

The effort plays off Visa's "Life Takes Visa" tagline. "Hasbro gets the chance to reflect consumers' desire to use electronic payment in the course of their daily lives and Visa gets a great brand fit," said Visa spokesman Michael Rolnick. "The fit between the brands is so natural."

In addition to the Visa card, the game also features elements of Visa's financial literacy curriculum Practical Money Skills for Life. Players can choose four paths to pursue their life goals, including the adventure track, family track, college track or the career track.

"For us, it’s an opportunity to give parents a chance to start a dialogue with their kids about financial practices," Rolnick said.

Critics, however, say the deal is the latest attempt by marketers to exploit young children.

"This co-branding with children's toys means that children can't even play a game without having some product marketed to them," said Susan Linn, do-founder of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and the author of Consuming Kids. "Credit card companies have saturated the teen market and are now trying to seek younger and younger customers. That's concerning, especially when credit card debit is a growing, among young people. It's just sleazy of Hasbro."

Rolnick, however, countered that Visa's goal is to teach players about financial responsibility. The company will place brochures for its Practical Money Skills for Life curriculum in board game packaging, he said.

"We are not marketing to kids," Rolnick said. "We are helping to educate kids. It’s never to early."

Game of Life: Twist & Turns edition hits stores in August, selling for $34.99.

via Promo

Supplemental:
Cashless Monopoly
Play Money

Mass Interactive: Trusted Computing

"Trust" in the age of transparency and digital community.



via Thoughtspurs

Culture: Nike Sponsored Music Videos

Culture? Or Advertising?
Either way, it's fresh.

Kanye West, Nas, Rakim and KRS-One perform a new, Rick Rubin-produced original song (remixed by Premier), dedicated to the 25th year anniversary of Nike's Air Force 1. And openly commissioned by Nike.

If you don't know, the Air Force 1 sneaker has become a staple of fashion in the Hip-Hop community and has been the topic of several songs (most unpaid), including Nelly's No. 1 hit, "Air Force One's." The sneaker was created in 1982 and has remained one of Nike's top selling shoes for over two decades.

Git dat audio here:
DJ Premier Remix asx
Rick Rubin Original

Soda Wars: More "Intelligence" Needed

Having essentially given up soda in the new year, I feel like there's been lots of "pop" (we're in the Midwest, remember) in my life lately. From news of companies starting to make and market them as healthy to recent advertising of Nutrisoda as Good Soda, of course most of the talk is about moving the category into a less fat future.

Yet, AdAge tonight posted this interesting article about how the two biggest players in beverages (and carbonated soft drinks in particular) are in a possibly not-so-healthy competition for McDonald's "love." It seems that Mickey D's is currently conducting preference research in test markets that places Coca-Cola and Pepsi head-to-head. Well, almost head to head.

(Such an Aki photo)

From the looks of it, this isn't quite the Pepsi Challenge—the Coke will remain in the fountains while Pepsi will be offered in bottles and/or cans. Thus not only will the taste preference be swayed by the method of delivery, but also a variety of other factors—which leads to host of other questions: Will a fixed quantity benefit Pepsi as consumers feel a lack of self control when offered "free refills"? Will people feel more comfortable/safe drinking from the sealed closed package because the trust the Pepsi factories over the McD's employees responsible for mixing the fountain drinks? Or more likely, will the bottle completely win at drive-thru due to spillage and flattening? Or will Coke hold strong as Pepsi is not part of combo meals due to price consciousness trumping health consciousness? You know that dollar menu is doing great. Speaking of price, I wonder how this will affect the Golden Arches profit margins? Isn't fountain soda the way the make their cash money? And what will be the impact of Arc's (the agency) promo materials for this new option?

Health and price consciousness aside, is there something about a McDonald's meal only really being complete with the visual appeal of a McD's branded cup on the tray or brought to your dinner table? Even as simple as color compatability of Coke and McDonald's vs. Pepsi? Okay, that may be stretching it, but I would like to know which of these or other factors they are taking into account and how they're measuring the results of this test.

PS3 Fights Back With It's Own Virtual World

While the Wii enjoys the spotlight and seems to be roundly praised as the most unique and innovative next-gen console, Sony has been losing big. In fact, according to Gamespot each unit sold is a loss of +$300 for the electronics giant.


But it seems Sony may have stumbled upon something. MarketingVOX reports that Sony has launched a console-only virtual world for PS3 gamers, allowing users to interact in a toned-down "Second Life" type environment. Though not nearly as customizable and open as the latter, Playstation Home goes on sale this Fall, and allows people to create their PS3 virtual self and even pimp out their virtual apt. People can gather in public places such as movie theaters, and play multi-player games with one another back at their virtual crib.



Well...its a step. But at $600, I have to be honest, this doesn't make me any more likely to go out and get a PS3. I suppose if I already had one, its a cool feature and I'd feel a like I got a little less screwed over.

I guess its as good a move as they could make right now- try and tap into the sense of community and get gamers to interact beyond playing each other online, and more importantly increase interaction with the brand. But I think there's a larger issue for Sony. The consensus is that Wii's success is based on the fact that they kept things simple- Nintendo made a game system that is really fuckin fun, and didn't over-extend themselves trying to be something more.

Sony, on the other hand, tried to create the uber-entertainment center, all things to everyone, and people are just not keen on it. Perhaps this will change as prices come down, developers learn how to harness the power of the system, etc. But I doubt that Sony will be able to close the gap that Wii is quickly widening.

I know I'd take a Wii anyday.

Inbox of Immaturity

Though I missed it, I'm going to start off this week's IOI with a shoutout to Piers and the PSFK Conference. Not suggesting that it was at all adolescent, rather because of a note that Michael sent me about one of the speakers/speeches.

Namely, the founder and editor of Deal Breaker, Elizabeth Spiers attribution of her site's success to its ability to provide guilt-free entertainment to its finance-guy and -gal audience. And because it is so niche and witty, it rewards the readers' intelligence and sense of belonging. I think that's a really great observation (heard there were some insight vs. observation discussions as well), and would apply it to the IOI in the following way:

Read this article from The Onion and think about how it makes you feel (assuming your in the mktg/adv field). I, for one, feel not just rewarded, but also a sense of ownership of it, and thus am compelled to act (send it to my friends, especially the non-mktg ones). By the way, ever notice how The Onion always uses Leo Burnett as the agency - love it.

Anyway, what's great about our industry (and planning specifically) is that we can justify just about anything as "peripherally-related" (a thought a few people probably take into tax season) and in fact make it our job to stay culture-current. So with that said, here are a few more relevant links...

Gotta keep up on Fox's Lost. Plus there's an added design bonus with the Photoshop use. Presenting: John Locke Speed Painting. TV aside, let's take a "quick" look at this year's AA-winning (AA used with purpose). Presenting: The Departed. (Yes, I agree, this is type of editting is getting f'in played out.) Speaking of the Oscars, I don't have to tell you that penguins have been having a great year, though hip hop/rap is on the decline. Presenting: Gangsta Feet. And finally what's really going down in local advertising—not the mini-mall again, but a man who believes and is out to profitably prove, "the second amendment is live and well. Presenting: Don's Guns.

I'll end this post with one of my favorite Onion articles of all time. Happy weekend. Go Hoyas!

How to...figure out who's actually out there

Social Explorer is a tool that shows population distributions for the US based on census data. It's cool because the map scales down to a county-by-county level and because it offers quite a large variety of characteristics from standard marital status info to some pretty interesting categories for employment. High factoid potential: South Dakota has an unmatched population of family households headed by women.

It’s got easy-access trend analysis, too, because information dates back to 1940 by decade.

Other "How To..." from the Fallon Planning Blog-Time Life Compendium
...Track your socially contagious virals
...Make the Digg top 10
...Make a viral video

Bankrupt!: A Perfect Storm Forming

Been a minute since I reported on "Maxed Out"(+/+), a scathing documentary exposing the effects and inner workings of America's debt crisis and debt industries.

Since then, James D. Scurlock, director of Maxed Out has been a busy bee, as screenings play nationally throughout this month in 12 cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington.

His companion book — formally titled “Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders” — is being published by Scribner.


Yet, more interestingly, Stuart Elliot and NY Times reports on a general trend towards louder and harder-edged criticism of lending practices.

A coalition of organizations, called Americans for Fairness in Lending, which is comprised of the Consumers Union, the N.A.A.C.P., Acorn, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, the Center for Responsible Lending, the Consumer Federation of America, United Automobile Workers, and the National Consumer Law Center are teaming with Maxed Out's director James Scurlock, to launch an advertising campaign that compares the effects of so-called unfair lending practices with the havoc wreaked by natural disasters like earthquakes, fires, hurricanes and floods.

The campaign from the coalition, which includes print advertising and a web site, has been in the works for more than two years, its organizers say. The ads are being introduced 13 days after a trade organization for the payday-lending industry, which provides short-term cash advances, began a campaign centered on what it calls a voluntary “customer pledge” to help shield borrowers from abuses.

Members of the coalition wanted a campaign that would be perceived as “different for folks from nonprofit organizations,” says Kirsten Keefe, the executive director of the coalition, by being more like hard-hitting, attention-getting ads for products and less like warm and fuzzy public service announcements.

The ads depict unhappy families and their meager possessions in makeshift circumstances, as if they were evacuated or rescued from nature’s wrath. In each instance, readers are told that the “crisis,” “tragedy” or “disaster” was caused by “credit card debt,” a “400 percent payday loan” or a “late mortgage payment” rather than, as they would expect, a natural calamity.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ring, stands the trade organization
Community Financial Services Association of America, made up of Cash America International, the largest pawnshop chain; Check Into Cash; the Dollar Financial Group; Express Check Advance; First Cash Financial Services, and Rent-A-Center which all say they will spend $10 million on its campaign. The coalition campaign, by contrast, has a budget estimated at $500,000, although the member organizations are hoping to raise additional money.

Print ads for the trade association carry headlines like, “A customer pledge from the payday advance industry” and describe steps that members are taking to address critics.

They include a new feature, called an extended repayment plan, which will offer some borrowers more time to repay loans; adding to “all marketing and advertising materials” an advisory that payday loans “are for short-term use only,” and an agreement to refrain from advertising payday loans “for frivolous uses.”

AKI COMMENT: I still predict we are fast approaching a tipping point - a shift in mass sentiment (and demands for action) on par with recent cigarette industry backlash, Wal-Mart backlash, sweat shop production backlash. Consider recent fast food industry backlashes after effective hactivist exposes such as Fast Food Nation and Super Size Me goosed the rising tides of consumer dissatisfaction into organized movements for change.

Some additional light reading:
Bankrupt!: The Unbanked: Payday Lending
Bankrupt!: The Unbanked: Payday Lending to Military
Bankrupt!: The War On Soldier Debt
Bankrupt!: Ominous Housing Market Bubble
Bankrupt!: Young and In Debt
Bankrupt!: Youth Debt Burden
Bankrupt!: Retiring In The Red

Trend: White Rappers

Google and Current.tv reveals that white rappers are on the comeback. Recognize.

Supplemental Reading vEl Gaffney
10 Best White Rappers of All Time
10 Worst White Rappers of All Time

Brave New Media: Net Neutrality

A good, and entertaining film that compacts the history of the internet and provides a caution about it's future.



via Thoughtspurs

Black Sheep of Advertising: BluBlockers/Joe Sugarman

"In 1971, Joe left an ad agency to form a company in the basement of his home to market the world's first pocket calculator via mail order. He soon became America's largest single source of electronic space-age products. In the late 1980s, someone loaned him a pair of sunglasses which blocked out blue light and ultraviolet rays. The concept was not new; it had been around for 50 years, but was used by less than 1 percent of the market."

And the rest, as they say, is history. Joe saw an opportunity and named the product, BluBlockers.

Direct marketing was his forte (check out his copywriting books), and because he felt he needed a bit of time to tell the brand story, he helped pioneer the 30-minute infomercial on cable TV. BluBlockers were wildly successful for years and in 2006, Dr. Geek helped rekindle the flame:


Suck to Success is a process. As Joe says, “I failed at practically everything I tried, but I never gave up. I just knew that one of these days I’d make it if I just hung in there...The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a problem and turned it into an opportunity."

Black Sheep of Advertising: Ronco/Ron Popeil

"But wait, there's more!"

How did Ron Popeil build an empire on the kind of advertising that, technically, defies every single rule of "good" advertising? Well, that's just it...you're concerned about finesse and refinement!

The key rule he disregards is "less is more"...in fact, for Ronco, "More Is More". And more is good. These spots are dense with so much information and stimulation for the brain, they just never end.

Secret Sauce Revealed: Ronco taps into American propensity for MORE, excess, the unbeatable bargain. Look at it this way-we don't care that the BK Stacker is sub-par dining, we only care that there is 3 honkin' layers of meat, cheese, onions and mayo, and 2-for-1, too, plus a side o' fries for only .25? Oooooweee, I'll take 2 orders!

Ronco is offering more than the cheezy gadget, he's offering unbridled abundances, all-you-can-eat, 5-in-one, all for the low-low price of next-to-nothing!

Ginzu Knife II


Ginzu Knife I


Mr Microphone


Armourcote II

Black Sheep of Advertising: Mentos, the Freshmaker

Secret Sauce Revealed: Repitition breeds comfort, protagonist "conflict" to overcome against 'the man'...the final frame is a subliminal "Fuck you" and middle finger to those who hate on a playa. Just brushin' that dirt off my shoulder.

And don't forget these spots are universal use for any country, any language. Can't knock that hustle.

Suck to success.

Black Sheep of Advertising: Ch-ch-ch-Chia Pet

Ch-ch-ch-Chia!

Black Sheep of Advertising: Head On

"Apply Directly to the Forehead!"HeadOn is logging some heady growth rates -- 234% from 2005 to 2006. And for the first half of 2007, the brand looks to be on track to double sales. HeadOn ranks No. 9 in the external-analgesics-rubs category and logged $6.5 million in sales last year, up from just $1.9 million in 2005, according to Information Resources Inc. That's not including Wal-Mart, who is "one of our biggest customers" said Dan Charron, VP-sales and marketing at Miralus Healthcare, the marketer of the headache remedy.







Miralus' ActivOn, for joint pain, launched in 2006, has leapfrogged past HeadOn, topping out at $5.5 million in sales and jumping to the No. 6 spot in the $278 million external-analgesic-rubs category. Within that category, Head-On is stealing share from such brands as Icy Hot, which was up just 4.4% in 2006; Bengay, which was down 2.5% last year; and Aspercreme, down 12.6% in 2006.

Black Sheep of Advertising: Tom Vu

Another entry in my series on advertising's classic "suck to success" stories (as Seth has termed it).

Tom Vu ruled the late night infomercials in the early 90's by selling secrets of real estate fortunes from aboard his yacht, in his stately mansion, luxury cars, while surrounded by gorgeous bikini-clad babes.

Secret Sauce Revealed: This was a Diddy video for the real estate set (the original "Tea Partay"!) And with this simple set-up, Tom Vu embodied the immigrant-up-from-poverty, rags-to-riches American Dream. But note Tom's clever exploitation of unmentionable American fears of immigrant success. His schoolyard taunts from his yacht are intentional and directed square at the middle masses, and most advertisers wouldn't even dare go there. Frankly, I can't hate on a dude getting paid off of deep-seated prejudices of foreign invaders hacking our American system, and getting richer than us.



Classic quotes from Tom:

"Are you man enough to get off your lazy American ass and go to Vu’s seminars?"

"A lot of your friends will tell you, 'Don't come to the seminar. It's a get-rich-quick plan.' Well, tell them, It is a get-rich-quick plan because life is too short to get rich slow."

"There's two kinds of work in America: hard work and smart work. Which one are you doing now?"

"This is not a country club! This is my house!"

"Today I'm gonna show you how to drive a sports car. First, you need a lot of money!"

"Don't listen to your friends. They're losers!"

"Do you think these girls like me? NO, they like my money!"



Tom Vu often told the story of how "three little words" inspired him to achieve his success. The 3 words were revealed only after you paid for and attended a day's seminar. Those 3 magic words were: "Don't Give Up". Pearls of wisdom, indeed.

Conscious Consumption: (Product)Red Results Redux

Ad Age says, "the tally raised worldwide is $18 million."

Yoinks!

The disproportionate ratio between the marketing outlay and the money raised is drawing concern among nonprofit watchdogs, cause-marketing experts and even executives in the ad business. It threatens to spur a backlash, not just against the Red campaign -- which ambitiously set out to change the cause-marketing model by allowing partners to profit from charity -- but also for the brands involved.

By any measure, the buzz has been extraordinary and the collective marketing outlay by Gap, Apple and Motorola has been enormous, with some estimates as high as $100 million. Gap alone spent $7.8 million of its $58 million outlay on Red during last year's fourth quarter, according to Nielsen Media Research's Nielsen Adviews.

"Red has done as much as we could have hoped for in the short time it has been up and running," says Rajesh Anandan, the Global Fund's head of private-sector partnerships, adding: "The launch cost of this kind of campaign is going to be hugely frontloaded. It's a very costly exercise."

Julie Cordua, VP-marketing at Red and a former Motorola marketing exec and director-buzz marketing at Helio, said the outlay by the program's partners must be understood within the context of the campaign's goal: sustainability. "It's not a charity program of them writing a one-time check. It has to make good business sense for the company so the money will continue to flow to the Global Fund over time." She added that since many of Red's partners haven't closed their books yet on 2006, more funds likely will be added to the $18 million.

AKI COMMENT: Despite the hatitude, Bono recently accepted his Honorary Soul Brotha Award from the NAACP. Below is his strangely moving and inspiring speech. The man just may be untouchable, ya'll.


+

Brave New Media: Geico Caveman TV Show?

The Wall Street Journal informs that Walt Disney Co.'s ABC will pay for the production of a pilot for a show about a trio of prehistoric characters--based on Geico's cavemen characters--who battle prejudice in modern-day Atlanta. There's no script or cast yet, but plans call for the comedy to be titled "Cavemen."

The characters have achieved celebrity status, thanks, in part, to Geico's enormous ad budget. More recently, the caveman has been showing up outside ads. Eight days ago, an actor dressed as a caveman appeared at the Ocars. Last month, a caveman played golf with football analyst Phil Simms during his Super Bowl pregame show on CBS.

A spokeswoman for ABC Television Studio cautioned that there is no guarantee "Cavemen" will result in a prime-time show. If the series does make it to air, it will leave the Geico's famed Green Gecko behind, which is more popular than the cavemen, but has no spinoff in the works. "Evidently the Gecko doesn't have the right agent," says Ted Ward, Geico's vice president of marketing.



via MediaPost's Marketing Daily and WSJ

Brave New Media: Red Bull Crashed Ice

In addition to sponsoring sports, athletes and teams like the Red Bulls of Major League Soccer, the Red Bull company has created new sports, ostensibly to sell more energy drinks. One of them--Crashed Ice--is a cross between hockey and snowboard, in which three racers at a time, dressed in hockey equipment, whip down what looks like a large bobsled run.

Crashed Ice was conceived almost 10 years ago when executives at Red Bull's Austrian headquarters heard a pitch for a new sport based on downhill in-line skating. "The next generation of sports fans are participatory in nature," says David Carter, executive director of the University of Southern California's Carter of the Sports Business Institute.

Three weeks ago, 50 workers began constructing a 1,500-foot course past Old Quebec's historic architecture for a Crashed Ice event held Saturday that was expected to draw 50,000 people. One excited participant from Madison, N.J., 21-year-old Jamie McGrath, knew nothing about the sport before a friend saw it on television. "Our goal for the entire thing was to get a Red Bull jersey," McGrath says.



via MediaPost's Marketing Daily andNYT

Politics 2.0: YouTube YouChoose

YouTube has launched You Choose '08, where voters can find the official Web videos from Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, Barack Obama et al., all listed on one page. You know, the ones that the candidates want you to see, as opposed to the unofficial videos that are some of the most watched on the site.

Savvier by the minute to the power of video sharing and social networking to reach potential voters, most of the presidential candidates had put their videos on the site on their own "channels." Now YouTube has pulled them all together, free of charge. On You Choose '08, viewers are encouraged to post text comments and video responses and rate candidate-created videos.

But Adam Paul, an online strategist at ID Society Inc., an interactive design and marketing agency, has a warning: "Candidates have to remember that the more content they put out there, the more content there is for people to change and try to control."




via Washington Post

Inbox of Immaturity

This week has one potentially-serious-amount-of-time-wasting link. It's a site called 101 Great Goals, and believe me you can spend hours going through links like Ashley Young's "Y' Know-ometer and Benni McCarthy's blast vs. Arsenal.

The rest are pretty quick and harmless:
An Italian Beatboxer that would give Rahzel a run for his money. (From Jack Cheng.)
A beer-launching fridge with awesome accuracy.
A Pole dance. That's right, just a pole dance. When I was sent this, I kept waiting for the punchline or mishap, but it never happened. It's a women showing off her moves.
And Save the Fightin' Illini Chief's last dance.

Except for this video of terrible sports injuries in honor of Shaun Livingston. And this mistaken sword-usage.

P.S. If you have a nasty snowy or rainy weekend, go see Reno 911: Miami. Here's the gang keeping Georgetown safe.