Archives: March 2009

Sex Sells for Hardee's After Success With Carl's Jr.

Posted by: David Kiley on March 30

Once you have a winning formula, I guess there is no reason not to go back to the well. Fast food burger chain Hardee’s has tapped super-model cum TV foodie...

BMW's "Art Cars" roll into Grand Central Station

Posted by: Helen Walters on March 25

I recently sounded off about Mini's partnership with Airstream on a one-off concept intended for display at the Milan Furniture Fair next month. I wasn't convinced that the program made...

Ad Spoofs Kick The Butt of Real Ads

Posted by: David Kiley on March 25

Wish this car ad spoof featuring Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Prius and Nissan with Andy Richter was a real spot:...

BMW Mini + Airstream = Mistimed?

Posted by: Helen Walters on March 19

BMW has consistently positioned its Mini line as more than just a car. Instead, it's a lifestyle brand, with a range of driver accessories and even its own attempt...

Panera Bread's Apple Strategy

Posted by: Michael Arndt on March 19

Panera Bread is the Apple of fast food. While even Starbucks has jumped on the cheap-eats bandwagon--a 12-oz. coffee and hot breakfast sandwich for just $3.95!--Panera continues with its pre-recession...

More Piling on Arnell's Tropicana Fiasco.

Posted by: David Kiley on March 18

Of course, I have already blogged about how much I delight in the failures of Peter Arnell of The Arnell Group. His latest fiasco was the redesign of Tropicana's...

Dunkin Donuts: Name Your Donut

Posted by: David Kiley on March 18

Dunkin’ Donuts is going back to its roots and “thinking inside the box,” launching a national campaign aimed at shining the spotlight on donuts as the perfect treat for these...

Why Won't the Internet Stop Making Fun of Me?

Posted by: Burth Helm on March 16

I'm talking about "Brandjacking." It's when those merry pranksters of the internet turn their attention to your brand. It isn’t a new problem, but for marketers, it’s only getting worse....

What the Weird Retail Sales Figures Mean For Marketers: Economists Weigh In

Posted by: Burth Helm on March 13

Lately I’ve been baffled by this: As the economy collapses, spunky retail sales have held up. The spending measure increased 1.8% in January, adjusted for seasonal variation, and fell just...

Cramer's Brand Substantially Dented. Will It Bounce Back with the Market?

Posted by: David Kiley on March 13

CNBC’s Jim Cramer was obliterated by Jon Stewart on Comedy Central last night. From time to time, Stewart transcends his needling, lampooning and satirical approach on his show and...

AOL Snags Armstrong From Google

Posted by: David Kiley on March 12

It isn't often that a struggling company snares a new CEO, and my reaction is..."Whoaaaaaaa." But that's what I said upon finding out that AOL had nabbed Google's Tim...

Lay's Made For Each Other Ads: No Need For A Double Dip

Posted by: David Kiley on March 12

There are times when I wonder if being 45 is making me too curmudgeonly. I was once referred to as such in The New York Times. No kidding. But, seriously,...

Hewlett-Packard CMO Michael Mendenhall Wants A Corporate Version of Twitter

Posted by: Burth Helm on March 05

I thought this was interesting: Hewlett-Packard Chief Marketing Officer Michael Mendenhall thinks famously un-monetized Twitter should make money by selling an enterprise version of its software. Companies would use it...

Consumers Should Know How Much of Their Personal Data is Out There

Posted by: Burth Helm on March 05

What would we think if we knew just how much of our personal information advertisers had? One panelist wondered that out loud this morning during a discussion entitled “We’ve Heard...

First Day of 4A's Media Conference Concerns Those Pesky Internet Ads

Posted by: Burth Helm on March 04

I’m here in New Orleans for the 2009 American Assoc. of Advertising Agencies Media conference, the biggest confab in the U.S. for advertising planning and buying agencies. I’ll try to...

Ford Fusion Hybrid Ads Going For Halo

Posted by: David Kiley on March 03

Ford finally has an aspirational passenger car besides the Mustang. It’s the ">Ford Fusion Hybrid. Ford breaks advertising for the new hybrid sedan today on American Idol. The focus of...

Does Brand Strength Lead to Better Returns?

Posted by: Burth Helm on March 02

On a day when the Dow Jones closed down more than 4%, this study sparked my interest: Jennifer Openshaw, the founder of an investment advice website called WeSeed, took a...