Verizon Wireless has recently inked a multi-million dollar deal making it the ‘Official Provider of Wireless Phones’ to the National Hockey League (NHL) for the next several years. The agreement entitles Verizon advertising spots on the NHL website, during the Stanley Cup, and other prominate positions. Verizon customers will now be able to access exclusive NHL ringtones and background pictures. My only question is what sort of ringtones can you get that are ‘NHL-themed’?

There’s a new annoying new character in the car insurance world (buh-bye Geico Gecko) called the General (a poorly animated 3D character). He’ll claim to save you big money on auto insurance on his website. It’s pretty annoying that this company basically stole the whole ‘cute-image’ of Geico’s Gecko and I am supposed to trust a 3D General animation with my car insurance. As a consumer, I can tell the company didn’t pay much to have the 3D General made which means they probably won’t care much about me either as a client. This ad is just horrible and annoying on top of that.

Have you seen John Madden naked lately? Neither have I and I certainly do not want to. Imagine what you would do if you were a parent and for Christmas you bought your kid a copy of Madden NFL 07 from Circuit City and when he popped it into his XBOX 360 he saw naked people? That’s exactly what happened to a 14 year-old whose parents bought him the game.

The kid’s parents called Electronic Arts (the game’s creator company) which is investigating the incident and giving the kid a new game for free.

It would appear that consumers are starting to take over advertiser’s jobs! An entry level advertising position requires a 4 year Bachelor’s Degree in most states with a starting salary of only $30,000 or less. Why is it everyone is trying to take our jobs? Is it illegal immigration?

Nope, big corporations would rather hold consumer-generated contests than hire a marketing/advertising firm to do their publicity. There’s a crisis in the post 2007 world where consumers will often times create better content than dedicated advertising employees. The advertising industry really needs to start finding new mediums and kicking things up a notch if they are going to be around a decade from now.

Campbell Soup hopes to bring in some new life by revamping the V8 Vegetable Juice campaign. The brand is starting to get a little old and the cute ‘V8′ (what engine do you have?) tagline is starting to wear. BrandWeek reveals an interesting find that ‘brand equity’ is something the company and people over 40 are starting to discover a new life in the brand. Four television spots will air for the new campaign which will reinforce the health benefits of the product. The commercials will show people regretting not having had a V8 earlier.

The NY Times has an interesting article about the air freshener companies starting to target college kids (it’s about time isn’t it?). Beer breath and the smell of rotten Ramen noodles you left under the footon will be history when you buy air fresheners. More and more college campus students are starting to buy air fresheners and pay extra for ones that plug into outlets. Some companies are even making air fresheners that resemble cd players to target young people. Advertisements on television will be geared towards young people too (hopefully not in the lame McDonald’s Dollar Menu soft-of-way).

SpotRunner is a company that allows advertisers to create an entire television campaign online. SpotRunner recently has aided Warner Independent Pictures promote their upcoming ‘The Painted Veil’ movie. The SpotRunner system has allowed them to create a mini targeted television campaign that highlights when and where the movie will be playing in the local market. Television commercial spots for the flick will air on local television stations.

It was at one point in time that individuals would branish a logo as a symbol of status in society. Whether we’re talking Mercedes, Abercrombie and Fitch, or Nike it was the label that made a product more appealing.

The world is changing though as a new article from the Courant points out. Shoppers are now going from one brand to another depending on what’s “hot-or-not” in celebrity gossip and fashion magazines. These ‘brand sluts’ are only loyal to the latest trend and can easily switch. Instead of looking for brand names, consumers are now concerned with the end result of a product or service rather than the status symbol behind it.

The Tanzschule Carsten Weber Dancing School has an exciting new dance advertisement for their school. The text of the advertisement reads “Learn Dancing Faster” and they are displayed as footprints on the tredmill.

The new poster being thrown around local movie theatres is having some movie-goers turning their stomachs. The sequesl to the 2005 horror movie features a close-up picture of organ tissue that’s been bloodied and beaten. The movie’s website features the poster with viewer responses which aren’t too friendly.

Horror fans (those with strong stomachs) will fall in love with the torture poster. When it comes to little kids seeing the poster, I think the image is too vague for children to really understand what the fleshy image depicts.