Advertising walk of fame winners

In conjunction with Advertising Week 2007, the winners for favorite icon - Orville Redenbacher, the Chick-Fil-A Cows. For favorite slogan - The US Marine Corps' "The few. The proud. The marines." and Southwest Airlines' "DING! You are now free to move about the country!"

Pretty underwhelming, if you ask me. I think there were a few in both categories more worthy of the recognition, but then again it is a popularity contest. I mean, really, do those cows really deserve the same honors bestowed upon such great icons as Tony the Tiger and the Pillsbury Doughboy? The thing that is puzzling me, and probably many other people in the industry, is this - Why is the Advertising Icon Museum going to be located in Kansas City, and not in New York? Okay, I could easily accept Chicago, where some of the great icons were created by the Leo Burnett agency. But KC?

TerraCycle v. Scotts as a Case Study

A few more thoughts on the TerraCycle suit. Writing for Chief Executive magazine, Fayazuddin Shirazi says TerraCycle's fight with Scotts Miracle-Gro might become a case study for small upstart companies on how to survive disputes with bigger - in this case much bigger - counterparts. And he points to a Wall Street Journal report indicating that TerraCycle's sales increased by 122 percent since TerraCycle launched their media campaign against Scotts. A little controversy goes a long way, and evidently it can be pretty darned profitable too.

In the epic battle of Worm Poop vs. Miracle-Gro, who's the winner?

It was the epic battle of Worm Poop vs. Corporate Giant. Last week, TerraCycle Inc. and The Scotts Company announced the agreed settlement of their legal dispute regarding false advertising claims and trade dress infringement. In this rather nasty battle, Scotts claimed that TerraCycle, the upstart company founded in 2001 by two Princeton University Freshmen, was infringing on its Miracle-Gro brand. In the end, TerraCycle agreed to change certain advertising claims and its package design to avoid possible consumer confusion, and Scotts agreed to dismiss its false advertising and infringement claims. A September 21 news release by the two companies announcing that they'd resolved their differences made it all sound very proper, with predictable, carefully crafted quotes from Tom Szaky, the founder and CEO of TerraCycle and a Scotts spokesperson.

Is there a clear winner and loser in this battle? Seems to me the Worm Poop guys come out on top. The suit can only be a good thing for TerraCycle, who prior to the suit, didnt even show up on the consumer radar screen. Although there isn't much chance this will become a standard tactic by upstart marketers, you have to admit; the whole mess certainly put TerraCycle on the map.

The bigger picture? I'm old-fashioned enough to think that marketers should use the best and brightest original thinking in product development, branding and media executions. On the other hand, I'm enough of a realist to admit that making your product look like the established big "Brand X" to intentionally confuse the consumer might bring you some degree of short-term success. Enough to charm the buyers at the big mass merchandisers. For them, it's all about the numbers. They don't care how much time, talent, creativity and sweat has gone into a brand. I'm compelled to root for the little guy in this battle, but at the end of the day you have to respect the fact that Scotts has made a huge investment in the brand and has every right to protect it. The guys who use copycat tactics may get some short-term results, but they don't build strong brands. They're perceived as knock-offs, and the consumer has a very short attention span.

What's your favorite icon and slogan? Celebrate Advertising Week 2007 and cast your vote.

The best and brightest in the advertising industry will be getting together September 24th-28th in New York City for Advertising Week. Even if you can't make it to the Big Apple for all the fun, you can cast your vote for America’s Favorite Advertising Icon and Slogan now through September 24th. This year, two icons and two slogans will join the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame. Click over to advertising.yahoo.com/advertisingweek_07/ to cast your vote.

Previous winners include Colonel Sanders, Juan Valdez, Tony the Tiger and the Pillsbury Doughboy.
If it all seems a little silly - well that's the very reason many of us are in this crazy business to begin with. It's fun. If you can have some fun and make the client's product sell better at the same time, then you've really got something. And when the business stops being fun, then it's game over.

Can Wal-Mart change its story with new campaign from Martin?

David Kiley's post about the Wal-Mart campaign breaking this week is interesting. On the Brand New Day blog he describes Wal-Mart's first work from The Martin Agency. I encourage you to check it out at businessweek.com. The new slogan is "Save money. Live better." Wal-Mart bashing has become a favorite past-time in this country. I know it has for me - for very good reasons. My feeling is this - can Wal-Mart really believe that it can promise to make the American consumer's life better? What about the typical Wal-Mart employee? Is he or she basking in the glow of the American dream, or working 2-3 jobs to make ends meet? And does having more cheap stuff make your life better?

If ever there was an accurate advertising slogan, it was "Always Low Prices." Not the most poetic, but certainly accurate. I think Wal-Mart should have stuck with that one.

Marketing to Baby Boomers - Whole Lotta Hype, Indeed.

Just finished reading a piece by Paula Burkes Erickson of The Oklahoman newspaper that was picked up by my local news-astonisher. It's one more in a stream of stories on the subject of marketing to baby boomers, and it compelled me to write something. The boomers - those of us born between 1946, when all the GI's came home from the big war and started making lots of babies, and 1964, when the Beatles showed up here - are certainly a marketer's dream. I'm getting just a little tired of hearing about how marketing geniuses are doing so many creative new things to attract the boomers and their spending power. It's ridiculous. In our fair city, one of the ad agencies touts its considerable research prowess and specialty into the boomer pyschie. Is this anything new? It's not rocket science people; the boomers are the ones with money to spend, so you create advertising that appeals to them.

Now, will hearing that Led Zeppelin song 38 times a day really make you want to test drive a Cadillac? Actually, since they only bought that one song, I got so sick of it that I wanted to kill Robert Plant with my bare hands! In sharp contrast, put Dennis Hopper, the aging counter-culture hipster icon himself, on the beach for Ameriprise Financial, and you've got something. A little more cerebral and way better executed than the Cadillac campaign. It works, because it has a well crafted message. So kudos to the folks at Saatchi & Saatchi who created that campaign for Ameriprise, the newly re-named American Express Financial Advisors unit. I don't care if Ad Age's Bob Garfield thinks Hopper was the wrong choice for spokesperson. I give it a big"thumbs up."

What's really different about the boomers? I think it's that we are the first generation to grow up with television, and to grow up without having to endure lengthy economic hardship. Sure, we had the Cold War, Viet Nam, Watergate, the gas crisis of '74 and several recessions along the way, but we still know how to have fun. And even the boomers who are pushing 60 don't think of themselves as adults. Sure they're battling osteoporosis and E.D., but they are kids at heart. They buy what they want, without remorse. And they have fun, without guilt.

Viva Viagra.

Will so-called New Chrysler be a better brand?

Heard some interesting things during the past week about the so-called "New Chrysler Corporation." This is apparently the result of a media blitz by the new corporate ownership to get the buzz going. First, I heard they are restoring the old star logo. May be a big mistake. Why? Seems to me the old five-pointed star logo will do nothing more than remind everyone in their target demographic of those crap cars of the 70's and 80's. Remember the Aspen and Volare? The K-cars? Remember when all the keys were shaped like that goofy star? I guess if you happen to have fond memories of your Aunt's Dodge Polara, or spent some time in the back seat of a Dodge Polara police cruiser, or you are a Mopar muscle car fan, this could bring a smile to your face. As for me, I received a mailer with that stupid star die-cut right into its cover the other day. It was underwhelming.

Interesting thing number two - they've hired Bob Nardelli as the new CEO. This is the guy who left Home Depot in disgrace - with a pile of big corporate CEO money. A guy who doesn't know the car business. Did they do it for the media shock value alone?

For this brand to return to the glory days, when people took notice and said, "Hey, Chrysler's putting some great cars on the road," they're going to have to do beter than this.