Serendipity

Marketing 2020

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 10:22:14 -0400

Marketing 2020

Dream Collective: The Erosion of Empathyby Kalle Lasn and Micah WhiteThe first time we...

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 19:26:36 -0400

Dream Collective: The Erosion of Empathyby Kalle Lasn and Micah WhiteThe first time we...:

The Erosion of Empathy

by Kalle Lasn and Micah White

The first time we saw a starving child on a late-night TV ad, we were appalled. Maybe we sent money. But as these images became more familiar, our capacity for compassion waned. Eventually these ads started to annoy us, even repulse us….

pewresearch: See our chapter on newspapers from The State of...

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:16:57 -0400

pewresearch:

See our chapter on newspapers from The State of the News Media 2013: Newspapers Stabilizing But Still Threatened

Expose The Hidden London - March 16th (by TheRulesOrg)

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:55:40 -0400

Expose The Hidden London - March 16th (by TheRulesOrg)

dailydiplomacy: There was a lot of Coca Cola in the news this...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 08:03:01 -0400

dailydiplomacy:

There was a lot of Coca Cola in the news this week after a new TV commercial launched. The ad explains Coke’s concern for the obesity epidemic, listing all the low-calorie choices Coke offers and citing their “new thinking on innovative things like no-calorie sweeteners.”

AdWeek critiqued the ad as a “surprisingly ham-fisted answer to the latest attacks on the soda industry from public health crusaders like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Alex Bogusky-aided, polar-bear-amputating Center for Science in the Public Interest, which wasted no time calling Coke’s new campaign ‘just a damage control exercise, and not a meaningful contribution toward addressing obesity.’ …It’s easy to imagine the marketing bogeyman holed up in a windowless room, tapping his pen against his forehead as he tries to come up with the most Machiavellian way of making Coke look good on this issue.”

The clever, catchy video from CSPI shows a polar bear who loves Coke (don’t they all? it’s just like the commercials). But he drinks too much of the stuff and ends up with Type 2 Diabetes having to amputate his foot, lose teeth, and be diagnosed with ED. CSPI’s head of communications Jeff Cronin told AdAge that they’re reclaiming the polar bear, whose majestic but hapless species was “cynically co-opted by Coke.” The tagline in this other video released in response to Coke’s campaign is, “Coca Cola: we’re partially responsible for America’s obesity problem.”

Coke’s second new ad entitled “Be OK” features several ways to burn the 140 calories in a 12oz can of Coke. The ad is absurd (it takes a long time to burn 100 calories by wiggling around a dance floor), dishonest (not all calories are gained and burned in the same way), and manipulative (communities face very different challenges in food knowledge and access). In the words of FoodPolitics.com, “Oh, please.”

But it’s still a sign of what’s changing in big business. In a FastCo Exist article this week, Cheryl Davenport of Mission Measurement explains the importance of this shift in Coke’s marketing. ”If Coke is a bellwether for consumer mega-brands,” she says, “Then gone are the days when such companies can use feel-good philanthropy to distract consumers from the real social issues affected by their business. Consumers—with the help of stakeholders and activists—drove this change by demanding transparency, holding charity aside, and making product choices based on, well, the products.”

Damage control or a sincere socially conscious contribution?

bitesbitesbites: Ad Age’s 2013 Agency A-List1: 72andSunny2:...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:55:16 -0400

bitesbitesbites:

Ad Age’s 2013 Agency A-List
1: 72andSunny
2: 360i
3: Grey
4: R/GA
5: Droga5
6: Pereria & O7Dell
7: La Comunidad
8: Mullen
9: Razorfish
10: Deutsch
http://bit.ly/VrxurY

Alex Horvitz | Media Literacy: Celebrities' changing roles in the branding world

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:53:38 -0400

Alex Horvitz | Media Literacy: Celebrities' changing roles in the branding world:

alexhorvitz:

AdAge published an article today that discusses the changing roles of celebrities in the branding world. As early as 1890, brands have used celebrities to sell more of their products; however, this article brings up the interesting point that today, celebrities are more than just a…

Is this true also for charities or just commercial brands?

bitesbitesbites: Ad Age Presents the 2013 Digital A-ListWelcome...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:51:36 -0400

bitesbitesbites:

Ad Age Presents the 2013 Digital A-List
Welcome to Ad Age’s Digital A-List, where we honor the people, companies, products and things changing the way we think about digital.

THE ONION

THE WEATHER CO.

NATE SILVER

OREO

GE

FIRST ROUND CAPITAL

GOOGLE APPS

DEADSPIN

3-D PRINTING

SAMSUNG GALAXY

http://bit.ly/XV7sbk

good: Last month, we pledged to commit 1% (20hrs) of our time...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:46:49 -0400

good:

Last month, we pledged to commit 1% (20hrs) of our time to service. And some folks here at GOOD HQ have already started by doing pro bono design work and reading to kids on the weekend.

Join the GOOD community and take the pledge!

- GOOD HQ

#dogood

ucresearch: If your Valentine’s Day is less than ideal, don’t...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:46:26 -0400

ucresearch:

If your Valentine’s Day is less than ideal, don’t worry — your hat is awesome.

Further reading: Dr. Lewis’ A General Theory of Love

Love it

latimes: Every person has their price, and for a 14-year-old...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:40:07 -0400

latimes:

Every person has their price, and for a 14-year-old Boston girl, her price to quit Facebook is $200.

In light of Paul Baier giving his daughter $200 to stay away from Facebook for five months, we just have to ask: How much would it take for you to give up your social network of choice for five months, or even forever?

Read more on the Baier family’s Facebook dealings, or follow tech reporter Salvador Rodriguez!

#strangeworldwelivein

cheatsheet: You guys are young, rich, and urban! <3 u...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:36:06 -0400

cheatsheet:

You guys are young, rich, and urban! <3 u Tumblr!

(Full report)

Ah ah

explore-blog: How Americans spend money on food. Also see...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:33:49 -0400

explore-blog:

How Americans spend money on food. Also see Hungry Planet – a portrait of the world’s weekly food budgets, from $1.23 in Chad to $376.45 in Australia.

explore-blog: From Henry Reich, the brains behind the wonderful...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:33:06 -0400

explore-blog:

From Henry Reich, the brains behind the wonderful MinutePhysics – who have previously illuminated such scientific curiosities as the arrow of time and why the color pink doesn’t exist – comes MinuteEarth, a new YouTube channel exploring our planet’s story.

(↬ It’s Okay To Be Smart)

Yes, It’s ok to be smart… or at least to want to be smarter ;)

kickstarter: Congrats to Inocente, Academy Award winner for...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:23:58 -0400

kickstarter:

Congrats to Inocente, Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Short, and the first Kickstarter project to win an Oscar!

Proud to be part of Kickstarter

Over 15% of Americans—46.2 million people—are living on less than $17,916 a year for a family of three.

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:15:17 -0400

Over 15% of Americans—46.2 million people—are living on less than $17,916 a year for a family of three.:

Unbearable

stephenabbott: The Guardian Begins American Ad Campaign -...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:14:37 -0400

stephenabbott:

The Guardian Begins American Ad Campaign - NYTimes.com

Powerful and interactive
Wonder how many ppl sent a pix?

latimes: A new study suggests record warming is in store for...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:05:50 -0400

latimes:

A new study suggests record warming is in store for us: By observing several indirect temperature indicators, researchers looking at weather patterns since the end of the last Ice Age are predicting that average surface temperatures will be at their highest point in human experience by the end of this century.

Photo: John McConnico / Associated Press

How many more studies will we need before we ALL act, seriously?

motherjones: Happy International Women’s Day. You’re probably...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:04:16 -0400

motherjones:

Happy International Women’s Day. You’re probably working.

Quite telling… ;)

storyboard: Fighting Street Harassment Online Dhruv Arora...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:00:38 -0400

storyboard:

Fighting Street Harassment Online

Dhruv Arora lives in Delhi, India, and he’s had enough. Enough of rape, enough of harassment and enough of the belief that what women wear has something to do with it.

“I am tired of people getting harassed on the street. I am tired of victim bashing. I am tired of people saying it happened because she was ‘inappropriately dressed,’” says the 24-year-old engineering student.

And so, in January of last year, Arora and a friend — outraged by the story of a 22-year-old woman raped by a cab driver, then blamed for it in the press — decided to do something about it. They created a Tumblr with a simple request: send in photos of what you were wearing when you were harassed on the street, along with your story. Consider it a personal form of protest.

Read More

Thought-provoking