Tag Archives: ad age

harley again in the headlights

billy's always riding off into the sunsetIn an Ad Age marketing report out today, staff reporter Judann Pollack shoots – and misses – on a roundup of her Top 15 list of baby boomer brands. She hitches HD in the number two spot, right behind Levis (good call) and two spots ahead of — Slinky. Slinky? The Walking Spring Toy? What the…?

Other head spinners include Noxzema, Frye boots, Clairol, and Club Med. Hey, I’m confused! Just because you can still remember doesn’t make it so.

At least one commenter has already posted up the news that Honda, in the ’60s, was all over the joint with their iconic message of meetups with swell sidekicks.

The topic of which boomer brands deserve top billing is one I’m not going to fire up here. But the contributions by AA posters sure bring back memories, some of which were perhaps better forgotten. (If Boone’s Farm rings a bell, well, too damn bad. My head’s still clanging like a cheap car alarm in a parking lot full of blind drivers.)

The Hollywood adage that there’s no such thing as bad publicity is probably safe. Then again, check the list and wonder, as I do, if this doesn’t complicate, rather than improve, TMC’s message.

mmm, med. rare creative hits the spot

great creative from a steak house includes the hilarious expense report generatorSomehow the hilariously effective Expense Report Generator from NYC steakhouse Maloney & Porcelli escaped mention on our blog. Until now, thanks to Ad Age’s Bob Garfield’s sharp eye.

We’ve never eaten there, but will at the drop of a hat if we’re ever in the same zip code. This is the kind of all around professional creative that separates ROI from DIY.

Clever, original, funny. Served with a satisfyingly snarky attitude, both the clean and functional web site and the technically over the top flash driven report generator easily make our list of neat-O stuff done really well.

physician, heal thyself

Ad Age reports today that automotive site edmunds.com has embarked on a self-styled industry PSA to kick start the moribund car market.

The quasi-campaign, which dots the car buying site’s hundreds of thousands of pages with banners pushing consumers to buy now, right now, is internally valued at $10-mil plus.

Why? According to Edmunds own ceo, it’s time to “give back,” with car sales the worst since 1992 and predicted to slump even lower.

Could the same concept work for the powersports channel? Could powersports media run their own version of in-house creative designed to motivate consumers? Worth a try is all we’re saying.