Infomercials are amazing spectacles of creative genius. Not only in the creativity of the products but in the profound awesomeoness of the actual ads.
How did I not know about the Hawaii Chair?
I’m totally asking for one at work.
If you love infomercials as much as I do check out the YouTube Channel for the Infomercial Reviewer.
I don’t know what he is singing about and I don’t care. The video is brilliant and the song makes me smile.
I am totally impressed with Bing, Microsoft’s attempt to get back into the search game, and its not just because of the plethora of results of my vanity search – I finally beat out the Erin Norton who makes jewelry.
Bing’s spin is that its a “Decision Engine” so they’ve organized and categorized the results to help you make decisions. I highly recommend testing out an image search (limitless scroll bar!), a restaurant search (check out the left hand options!) and a travel search (they graph out ticket prices!). For some more capabilities check out this video -
However, I’m really very disappointed by the display ads. These are just crap – so far I’ve only seen them on tech heavy/early adopter web sites – show me some flights to SFO, comparison shopping a new tech gadget an image search for some nerdy movie if you’re going with the early adopters.
Creepy guy in mirror, woman giving me evil eye surrounded by photos and crappy stock “I can do it” photo = what is this ad for again? Erectile dysfunction? Anti-depressants? It’s so generic, no defined personality and totally lame.
I highly recommend reading more about this article from ReadWriteWeb – Search 2.0 vs. Traditional Search.
I love foregin commercials. Via BrandFlakesForBreakfast.com
The power of community is evident through many social media platforms. Companies are learning that cultivating a positive brand experience through open communication and 24/7 availability can create consumers who are your brand advocates. I am a huge believer of social media participation and online reputation management (really you can’t create your presence without closely monitoring the results through a rep management process).
Sometimes the community takes something and owns it in a way you could have never imagined making it 100 times awesomer. In those times you can only be thankful that some people have way too much free time on their hand and just the right dose of creativity. Yahoo Answers, Amazon Reviews and some people’s random sites have generated hundreds of users to participate and hundreds of thousands to view.
Here are some of my favorite:
Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt (Amazon Review)
This item has wolves on it which makes it intrinsically sweet and worth 5 stars by itself, but once I tried it on, that’s when the magic happened. After checking to ensure that the shirt would properly cover my girth, I walked from my trailer to Wal-mart with the shirt on and was immediately approached by women. The women knew from the wolves on my shirt that I, like a wolf, am a mysterious loner who knows how to ‘howl at the moon’ from time to time (if you catch my drift!)……
Does anyone know a website where for cool bebo profile names? (Yahoo Answers)
…The internet burned brightly as an escape, a way to show who you were to a wider audience, a way of discovering and sharing things you never knew existed, a way of forcing back the ever encroaching shadows of the real world to keep your internal flame burning just that little bit longer….
Tuscan Whole Milk, 1 Gallon, 128 fl oz (Amazon Review)
One should not be intimidated by Tuscan Whole Milk. Nor should one prejudge, despite the fact that Tuscan is non-vintage and comes in such large containers. Do not be fooled: this is not a jug milk. I always find it important to taste milk using high-quality stemware — this is milk deserving of something better than a Flintstones plastic tumbler. One should pour just a small dollop and swirl it in the glass — note the coating and look for clots or discoloration. And the color — it should be opaque, and very, very white. Now, immerse your nose in the glass and take a whiff. Tuscan transports you instantly to scenic hill towns in central Italy (is that Montepulciano I detect?) — there is the loamy clay, the green grass of summer days, the towering cypress…
There are some great TV spots out in rotation right now – here are my top 5 (in no particular order)
Check them out after the jump
Back in the olden days of the internet, Facebook was just for college kids, flash sites were cool and you couldn’t rely on someecards to be there to help you communicate openly with your friends.
All the way back in 2003 you had to rely on your own internet skills to send out cards to your friends, family and complete strangers. You bought a URL, maybe the name of your pet, you created a real life card and then you uploaded it to the previously mentioned URL.
The result of your efforts would be Jara.com.
Simple, effective and peaceful. Thank you Geoff and Jara. You made my day.
I can’t even be mad that I wanted your URL for a client. You’ve paid 6 years worth of domain and hosting fees so you could continue to wish those closest to you (and those of us who stumbled upon it) some much needed Peace on Earth.
Taking something lame and making it cool again is the ultimate re-branding. A major crisis is difficult to come back from, but it happens all the time; coming back from the depths lameness is a rare phenomena. Which is why I applaud you Happy Cow.
Fanny Packs are for the 80s costume parties, older tourists, Hulk Hogan and people who wear socks with their sandals. But you Happy Cow, have decided to make them cool again as “Side Bags” and “Hip Bags”. Tricky.
Not only did you change their name, you’ve also changed up the look of the fanny packs on your website.
By far my favorite is the pocket skirt, because why would I want to ruin the look of my pants with bulging pockets or an unsightly purse when I can cover them with a skirt with one tiny little pocket.
Please, please, please make an infomercial…I can only imagine how incredibly awesome it would be. Ok back to figuring out how these “pockets” work on all my pants. Ugh I wish I could afford your innovative “waist pouch”.
Jack from Jack in the Box is my favorite brand persona. He’s hilariously human with his giant head, busy career and random friends. And the Sourdough Jack is without a doubt the best hangover cure.
Anyone watching the Super Bowl who lives within driving distance of a Jack in the Box saw his horrific bus accident. Jack suffered severe head trauma and is not doing well in the hospital.
Once you’ve wiped away the tears head over to HangInThereJack.com
for in-depth updates or you can keep up to date via his twitter (Barbara, Jack’s assistant is keeping up to date).
The entire campaign is based on the fact, that just before he was hit by the bus Jack was talking about how great it is that any item on the menu is available anytime. So those worrying about Jack should indulge and order breakfast for lunch and dinner for breakfast.
I adore the campaign, as much as it breaks my heart. Jack in the Box HQ is here in San Diego and loyal fans and Jack supporters have created a vigil in his parking spot. Check out all the pictures below.
My favorite kind of advertising innovation, taking something tradtional and boring (print) and making it interactive and able to live on its on.
Well done Saxso Funny! This interactive singage says all images have a sound. Umm can you say brilliant!?
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