pr, schme-r – you say tomato, i say rutabago

Hollywood gospel says there’s no such thing as bad p.r. Unless it’s no p.r. Which is exactly what happened to Clearwater Wednesday night, as the A&E (originally named for arts and entertainment – how far we’ve fallen) cable channel beamed live footage of illusionist Criss Angel ‘s escape from a blown to smithereens beachfront hotel.

Except that the on-air program guide described the hotel as a condo. And the location as Miami. Be assured this was not what the city bargained for when they put up the security and such needed to accomodate a live feed and a crowd estimated at perhaps 50,000. I know this because I’m right down the road from an event that dominated the local papers. As Casey Stengel said, “You could look it up.”

busted flat in (baja) rouge

Riding a quick night solo down the coast on his fave XR650R yearly riding pal Steven Soto stepped in it big time over the weekend when, headed for a Baja rendezvous with Big Red champ Steve Hengeveld, he discovered the down side of a blown clutch, moonless night and way remote location.

Steven’s adventure came to an abrupt halt around 9:30 p.m., along with the instant realization there’d be no sweep, no cerveza, no shower. He spent the rest of the night stoking the fire and keeping critters at bay before setting out at dawn for the 18-plus mile walkabout to Rancho El Coyote and help. We’re glad he’s in one piece. Probably no need to mention why riding with a buddy is suggested.

american quantum? quick, get the stake!

Let me first say that my odds of getting a phone call from advertising’s The One Club are slightly more remote than a hi-def video of me windsurfing on the moon. Not so industry guru Jerry Della Femina, who was inducted into their Creative Hall of Fame last month as announced in this spread that ran in Ad Age. Read on.

His shop, Della Femina Rothschild Jeary, has churned out big ad hits for, well, decades. Including the notoriously hilarious Isuzu “lie” campaign that broke new ground back when broadcast was king. So far be it from me to rap a real creative heavyweights’ work that’s featured in perhaps the top forum of advertising greatness – except for that one ad shown that few will recognize for what it represents – pimping a disaster of a client that was a forerunner of many more to follow in this industry. Continue reading →

sXs previews polaris ’09

Side X Side Action has one of the better online powersports online offerings available. They use enhanced content to extend their print product while making the best use of web functionality without caving in to the temptations of superfluous Flash gadgetry.

Well thought out design takes readers where they want to go quickly and efficiently, without risking getting ambushed by cheesy guitar loops or overblown commentary.

Video, polls and plenty of gallery views round out the editorial content. If you’re into UTV/SXSs, this is a bookmark worth keeping in the menu bar.

virulent viral video

This YouTube hit monster – over 5 million as of this post – is one of those oddities the web’s (in)famous for. As viral goes it’s out of the park. I’ve seen it mentioned just this week in both the New York Times and Ad Age, a quinella that doesn’t happen every day.

It’s just your average guy – he could be the greeter at TGIF – performing a slightly goofy dance in 40-plus locales around the world. That’s it. Amy Winehouse should be so lucky.

The point being that young Matt’s sole sponsor, Stride Gum, is getting hit on like Jessica Simpson at a bachelor party. You can’t predict viral – and you can’t, as they say, buy this kind of publicity. But we’d like to think we can help.

don’t mention it – just kidding

We provided stick and ball manufacturer Shock Doctor with sorely needed ink and a few public relations hookups at Dealer Expo this year.

Despite brand recognition in the motorsports venue, as recent entrants in the powersports industry they’ve been acutely invisible, lacking minimal awareness among dealer and trade attendees about their line of gear bags.

We connected them with

  • off-road vendors,
  • b2b and consumer publications,
  • a distributor,
  • and a major OE.

They left Indy with a pocket full of key contacts to go with their freshly minted status as fully fledged two-wheel participants.

Building recognition with connections and communications – all in a day’s job that starts with the industry and extends to the marketplace.

what’s new, pussycat

Ben Montgomery is a damn fine writer for the St. Pete Times. When he’s not covering the impact gulf drilling would have on Florida beaches, he’s giving readers a first timers view of the road from behind the handlebars of his massive new mistress red manly machine as it roars up and down the highways of greater Tampa Bay.

This is a wicked bad riff on machismo, life in the mellow lane, teenage taunting, and the memorable vagaries of owner’s “manuals” authored by the Chinese. As the flood of scooter related mentions goes these days, it’s well worth a read.

new urgency for web solution

I’d planned a post on the shifting attitudes towards e-advertising (worth $21-billion last year) when I got a query from a Canadian dealer friend, still using traditional methods, asking pretty much the same questions only from the retailer side. How did/can you (the customer) find us? This is when I coincidentally started seeing H-D’s new second tier banners popping up on Yahoo.

A recent Washington Post feature summarized the latest look back on major brands’ adventures with web advertising. And the big news is, the biggest spenders aren’t who you might think: number eight Netflix lays out $10-mil a month to push those irritating popups in our face. So what’s going on these days? Continue reading →

messing with icons – sometimes it’s necessary

Hello! What’s this? Decades of caramel colored soda showing through green glass is out, aluminum bottles with ultra-fresh graphics is in. Or at least alongside, for now.

Design firm Turner Duckworth’s responsible for the who’d have guessed red sells best brand makeover that just won the Cannes Best Design Gold Lion Award.

When it comes to brand projection – and it does – the perennial member of the world’s most identifiable top ten brands list shows it’s not afraid to throw the dice. We can just see this combo as an end capper that draws crowds in the wire cage locked horns battle for soda surpremcy.