Motorola, Inc. today announced it is the first mobile device manufacturer to offer its products to consumers through robotic retail stores in a pilot program providing automated, on-demand retail solutions in key markets.

Moving beyond the traditional retail experience, Motorola is testing this new automated vending format as a way to directly connect with consumers in places and at times where convenience is needed most. Leveraging small format robotic stores operated by Zoom Systems, the new retail option will be placed in high traffic locations giving consumers the immediate satisfaction of getting the products they need and want on demand.

These robotic stores will be branded “INSTANTMOTO”, and are expected to be deployed in approximately 20 locations nationwide from airports to malls by November 2006. The stores will house more than 25 Motorola products including carrier-ready MOTORAZR(TM) handsets, Bluetooth(R)-enabled headsets, cordless phones, car chargers and more. Currently these vending systems are in the San Francisco International Airport and Macy’s on State Street, in addition to more locations across the country.

Read

This never before seen commercial is pretty self explanatory. Sex sells and so does the “2004 seven inch longer Dodge Durango.”

I was browsing MySpace today and clicked on the “Contact Us” link. To my suprise I saw an image with “Tom’s” face and a cheaply done graphic with a circle and cross through it with the words “You are e-mailing Customer Service, not Tom.”

DUH! True, many people are falsely believed that MySpace was somehow started by this “Tom” guy and the site somehow now has over 100,000,000 members. This just reiterates in my mind that Myspace’s market idea to create this almost “fictious” Tom Anderson character as more of a PR or mascot theme has backlashed.

So much so that Myspace has to draw little cartoons and maps to let users know that Tom Anderson did not start nor runs MySpace. Rather, MySpace was created by a company named eUniverse (who later changed their name to Intermix Media). eUniverse was a marketing and entertainment company who had over 50 million e-mail addresses in their databases, as well as over 18 million monthly web users.ÂÂ

Read More

The Drinkers Beer Belt was recently developed by United Kingdom based “The Donkeys Stable” to promote their idea of the ultimate pub companion.

The belt, able to strap around your waist like any belt, “immediately makes you feel like the King of the Bar.” I don’t know about any of you out there, but if I were to wear this around the bar I would probably get my face pushed in by a couple of drunkard jocks. I think this thing will be the “kick my butt” flashing sign that the fanny-pack once evoked in the 1980s.

Find It On eBay

What marketer or bad publisher came up with this book cover. “How To Good-Bye Depression: If You Constrict Anus 100 Times Everyday. Malarkey? or Effective Way?”

Here’s a short exerpt of the book’s description:

I think constricting anus 100 times and denting navel 100 times in succession everyday is effective to good-bye depression and take back youth. You can do so at a boring meeting or in a subway. I have known 70-year-old man who has practiced it for 20 years. As a result, he has good complexion and has grown 20 years younger. His eyes sparkle. He is full of vigor, happiness and joy. He has neither complained nor born a grudge under any circumstance. Furthermore, he can make love three times in succession without drawing out.

And please, you don’t even want to know about his other book, “Golden Fountain : The Complete Guide to Urine Therapy”

Read More

I am devoted but concious and outside the realm of a cult-catholic type of guy having gone to 9 years of Catholic School growing up. This billboard ad outside the “Riverview Baptist Church” is really nothing new to me.

Sure, it is funny as hell but many churches nowadays have no real way to get their messages across. They can try to be “hip” but they will get slammed by the media who thinks they are trying to hard (See: Jesus’s Myspace Profile and Jesus Found In Beer Mug).

Then again, the church can outright try to scare you by either telling you (like the nuns did to me) that I would go to hell with firey demons if I were to even mention the name of God in vain. By the way, they said I would go to hell for not capitilizing His name or capiltizing Him in a sentence.

“McDonald’s beer is luxurious. Beef is healthy. And, yes, beef is sexy.” - The startling new messages McDonald’s Corporation is using to promote their products in the Chinese market.

Seducing seems to be the new trend for McDonald’s in China. Sex sells and I suppose no one wants to do this better than McDonald’s with their low grade beef hamburgers. With Angelia Jolie-like lips, one raunchy billboard seduces customers with a close up of a puckered mouth almost salivating over a McDonald’s hamburger (Note: Those burgers look much bigger than the ones we have here in America). Another ad (not shown), features a woman stroking a man’s flexed bicep with the tag line “Flirt with your senses” in Chinese.

The campaign to support the release of the Quarter Pounder (which actually looks like the 1/4lb of beef is should there) demonstrates a marketing shift for McDonald’s Corp. in the Chinese market. It is also a shift to push the American-Style fashion of “big eats” to the Chinese consumers. As China’s market, economy, and culture begin to change McDonald’s is hoping to have a leg up on the competition. In addition to looking different (scale), the Chinese Quarter Pounder had cucumbers (not pickles) and tomatoes and spicy sauce as well. Because domestically grown beef costs more in China, the large mark up makes beef a luxury rather than a day to day commodity we see it as Americans. Therefore, the heightened sex appeal the ads depict might not be that bad afterall. Also, because “beef” means manliness and strength in Chinese the sex appeal billboards add to the meaning behind the word.

Watch The Television Ad Spot

Windows Media Player
Real Player

Focusing on brand awareness, next week the Cobra Beer company will be launching the largest-scale advertising campaign ever.

The television based campaign, “Unusual Thing, Excellence’ will begin airing on ITV1’s UEFA Champions League coverage of Benefica v. Machester United on September 26th.

The company will be spending £10 million in order to gain market share within Indian Restaurants in the United Kingdom. Suprisingly, the company only has a £80 million turnover. Cobra, an Indian beer, also wants to expand its’ share amongst the highly competitive UK beer market. The ads themself are a cross between a sci-fi and a visual masterpiece. The creative masterminds behind the Cobra Beer project also produced recent MTV and Nike Shoe advertisements in recent months. Cobra’s philosophy behind this “largest campaign ever” will involve “looking at a problem, approaching it differently and doing something better.”

Read More

I discovered these really disturbing newspaper and magazine advertisements while surfing and collecting on the web today. Definitely worth checking out and to show some of the younger crowd how advertising was back in the 1930s - 1960’s. I mean come on, they use a baby on a Marlboro ad which reads “Gee, Dad, you always get the best of everything… even Marlboro!” The confused look on that poor kids face. I can already see the wrinkles forming.ÂÂ

   ÂÂ

PC World published a list of 25 worst sites in the world . The first place went to MySpace.com, which is one of the most visited sites in th world. Hotmail.com and Microsoft Windows Update sites also were listed as the worst.

Funny that MySpace.com is neighbours with websites, which once were a sensation, such as IKissYou, the dancing baby and even popular chamster song .

The Leo Burnett Agency developed these trendy zoo animal ads with the slogan “Get outside more often.” The ad was designed for Drifters Adventure Center. I guess Burnett wants to imply we sometimes forget what animals look like.

ÂÂ

A recent political commercial slamming Senator Conrad Burns for cursing out a firefighting crew could have been fined by the Federal Communications Commission. The ad spot was pulled by the Montana Broadcaster’s Association. Sen. Burns could have faced a $325,000 per violation fine from the F.C.C. if the ad was continued to be broadcasted.

Sen. Burns was truly immature and irrational in this political spot. He even refers to the firefighters doing a “poor job” while using curses galore. Burns later apologized for his actions and the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee contends that the public must know what he said.