AdJab http://www.adjab.com AdJab http://www.adjab.com/media/feedlogo.gif AdJab http://www.adjab.com en-us Copyright 2008 Blogsmith, LLC. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Rocky and Bullwinkle love General Millshttp://www.adjab.com/2007/01/30/rocky-and-bullwinkle-love-general-mills/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/30/rocky-and-bullwinkle-love-general-mills/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/30/rocky-and-bullwinkle-love-general-mills/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

This is a really old Rocky and Bullwinkle opening clip complete with a General Mills product placement. I love how products were made a part of these old shows rather than today's method of sneaking in product placements. Hell, we know you can't have a show without advertisements, you might as well make it blatant. I'd love to turn on the TV and watch Colgate presents: Lost. Or something like that. Both Rocky and Bullwinkle also appeared in television and print ads for General Mills cereals, including Cheerios.

Oh yeah, and I love the theme song. Check it out:

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]]>animatedcartooncerealgeneral millsoldretrorocky and bullwinkleAdam Finley2007-01-30T10:00:00+00:00101 Dumbest Moments in Businesshttp://www.adjab.com/2007/01/24/101-dumbest-moments-in-business/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/24/101-dumbest-moments-in-business/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/24/101-dumbest-moments-in-business/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

So many dumb moments in business, so little time. But Business 2.0 mag has their picks for the 101 dumbest of 2006.

Wal-Mart is #1, for hiring a big firm to create their "Candidate Wal-Mart" campaign. #2 is Northwest Airlines, for giving their employees a "How To Save Money" booklet after laying them off. #3 is the contest McDonald's held in Japan, with the winners getting free mp3 players with a virus on them. The rest of the top 10 are GM, Kazakhstan, Steve Wynn, The New York Times, Spirit Air, Porter County, and Comcast.

There are 101 in all, so grab a hot beverage and get comfortable. You can't see the entire list on one page, which is a little annoying, but there is a handy scroll function at the bottom.

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]]>bad advertisingbusiness 2.0Business2.0comcastgeneral motorsmcdonald'snew york timesporter countyspirit airwal-martBob Sassone2007-01-24T11:00:00+00:00Dinosaur Jr on your feethttp://www.adjab.com/2007/01/23/dinosaur-jr-on-your-feet/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/23/dinosaur-jr-on-your-feet/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/23/dinosaur-jr-on-your-feet/#commentsFiled under: ,

What do you do when you're a band trying to make a comeback? That's right, you advertise. At least, that's sort of what the recently reunited original lineup of Dinosaur Jr is doing with their very own Nike shoe that's set to be released sometime next month. I was never much of a Dinosaur Jr fan; I was more turned on by member Lou Barlow's other bands such as Sebadoh and Folk Implosion. Besides, those are some rather ugly shoes. Either that or I'm too old now and don't know what cool footwear actually looks like. To me they look like part of a spaceman costume. Then again, perhaps they are. Maybe soon they'll be releasing a Dinosaur Jr astronaut suit to complete the ensemble. Then when you see an astronaut walking down your street you'll know that said person loves himself some Dinosaur Jr. My god, that's genius.
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]]>banddinosaur jrDinosaurJrfootwearpromoterockshoesAdam Finley2007-01-23T16:00:00+00:00The Office takes product placement to the next levelhttp://www.adjab.com/2007/01/19/the-office-takes-product-placement-to-the-next-level/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/19/the-office-takes-product-placement-to-the-next-level/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/19/the-office-takes-product-placement-to-the-next-level/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

The Office is my favorite comedy on television right now. Did you see last night's episode?

Last week, Dwight quit Dunder-Mifflin so his secret girlfriend Angela wouldn't get in trouble for something he did for her, and this week we find out that he got a new job...at Staples! Now, ordinarily this wouldn't be much of a plot to talk about (though on most shows the character wouldn't have gone to work at a real company, they would have gotten a job at some fictional company), but it comes a short time after the episode that had a subplot of one of the Dunder-Mifflin employees buying a special (and real) paper shredder. An episode that had a commercial for the shredder. And now Dwight gets a job at Staples?

Is this going to far, or is everything fair in love and product placement these days?

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]]>dunder-mifflindwight schuteDwightSchuteeasy buttonnbcoffice suppliespaper companyrainn wilsonstaplesBob Sassone2007-01-19T08:30:00+00:00Atlanta museum to host tribute to Cartoon Network advertisinghttp://www.adjab.com/2007/01/17/atlanta-museum-to-host-tribute-to-cartoon-network-advertising/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/17/atlanta-museum-to-host-tribute-to-cartoon-network-advertising/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/17/atlanta-museum-to-host-tribute-to-cartoon-network-advertising/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

If you wake up and find yourself in Atlanta between February 1 and May 19, mosey on over to the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) and check out "Design at Play: The High Design and Low-Brow Humor of Cartoon Network," an exhibit dedicated to advertising and promotional work created by the men and women of Cartoon Network, which is also based in Atlanta. The exhibit will cover three galleries at the MODA and will include formal demonstrations of how the company creates ads for television, billboards and the Web. Some of the shows featured in the exhibit will include My Gym Partner's a Monkey; Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends; Camp Lazlo; Ed, Edd and Eddy and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. The exhibit will also feature a look at the work of Craig McCracken, creator of The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
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]]>advertisinganimationatlantabillboardscartoon networkcartoonsmuseumwebAdam Finley2007-01-17T17:00:00+00:00The Apprentice: Pink is the new blackhttp://www.adjab.com/2007/01/16/the-apprentice-pink-is-the-new-black/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/16/the-apprentice-pink-is-the-new-black/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/16/the-apprentice-pink-is-the-new-black/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Just a quick thought: "I'm super, thanks for asking!" kept running through my head through this episode. I'm just saying.

This week the two teams competed to create swimsuits for fashion designer Trina Turk and, quite frankly, I'll never be the same after seeing the results. The teams were given access to materials, designers and such as they were asked to create the swimsuits, with success being measured by how much they sold to retailing buyers at a runway show at the end of the episode.

From the get-go Cary, a gay member of last week's losing team, dominated the design process as he created she shortest of short shorts for men. The designs he sketched out in the van after being given the assignment were so short and tight that the junk of whoever is wearing it is going to be curbside for everyone to see.

Continue reading The Apprentice: Pink is the new black

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]]>Chris Thilk2007-01-16T18:00:00+00:00Product placement: The gift that keeps on givinghttp://www.adjab.com/2007/01/12/product-placement-the-gift-that-keeps-on-giving/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/12/product-placement-the-gift-that-keeps-on-giving/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/12/product-placement-the-gift-that-keeps-on-giving/#commentsFiled under: ,

Kevin Dugan points to a study that shows nine of the top ten TV shows that contain product placement are, unsurprisingly, reality shows. "American Idol" tops that list and the soon to end "King of Queens" is the only scripted sitcom on the list. As Kevin points out, it could be worse. 2006 actually saw product placement instances decrease from 2005 to just 120 hours being devoted to the practice which, as he points out, you can't really TiVo through. Hence the attractiveness of the practice.
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]]>american idolAmericanIdolking of queenstvsquadChris Thilk2007-01-12T13:00:00+00:00Nickelodeon expands promotion in Germany with Nicklandhttp://www.adjab.com/2007/01/10/nickelodeon-expands-promotion-in-germany-with-nickland/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/10/nickelodeon-expands-promotion-in-germany-with-nickland/http://www.adjab.com/2007/01/10/nickelodeon-expands-promotion-in-germany-with-nickland/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Nickland, a new section of Movie Park Germany opening April of this year, will be the first Nickelodeon-themed attraction in Europe. The new "adventure zone" will feature rides, attractions and costumed characters from such shows as Jimmy Neutron, My Life As a Teenage Robot, SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans and Danny Phantom.

Nickland will also allow Nickelodeon and Movie Park Germany to create co-branded campaigns within the park, and to increase advertising on Nickelodeon's German network, Nick in Germany as the popularity of the Nickelodeon brand continues to grow in Germany.

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]]>charactersdora the explorergermanyjimmy neutronnickelodeonnicklandspongebobAdam Finley2007-01-10T17:00:00+00:00Previously on WINhttp://www.adjab.com/2006/12/27/previously-on-win/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/27/previously-on-win/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/27/previously-on-win/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

  • Second Life Insider has a bit of good advice for marketers who might be thinking about trying to reach out to those avatars that walk and fly around.
  • Joystiq says that ads in sports games just don't work.
  • While we're talking video games, here's the Nintendo Wii Fanboy's take on Nintendo's targeting of moms in their marketing of the new console.
  • Blogging Stocks wonders just how much faith investors will have in Google's sustainable growth as we enter 2007.
  • Slashfood lists the top 10 creepiest fast-food mascots and earns my everlasting respect by including the Domino's Noid, one of the first characters I remember ever getting his own video game.
  • TV Squad reports that ABC is running a campaign to recruit members of the "Knights of Prosperity" that's focused on reaching pre- and post-Christmas shoppers.
  • Also at TV Squad, there's word that NBC will be putting the young attractive players of a sport called "hok-eee" front and center in the network's marketing of their broadcasts.
  • Auto Blog says that General Motors will be carpet-bombing Times Square (I typed that just so I'd wind up getting an email from the NSA) on New Years Eve with hats, billboards and more.
  • Also from the Auto Blog is word that Ford chief Alan Mulally has a secret "war room" where all of the companies marketing and other initiatives are mapped out and charted.
  • PVR Wires passes on a report from Nielsen that says it's not actually reality shows that should be getting those big product placement dollars but scripted shows since they're better at avoiding time-shifted viewing.
  • Engadget Mobile has their own take on Verizon's plan to sell banner ads that will be displayed to wireless device users.
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]]>alan mulallyavatarchristmasdominosfast foodfordgeneral motorsGeneralMotorsgooglehockeyknights of prosperityKnightsOfProsperitynbcnew years evenielsensecond lifeSecondLifetimes squareChris Thilk2006-12-27T18:00:00+00:00Details on that product placement reporthttp://www.adjab.com/2006/12/26/details-on-that-product-placement-report/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/26/details-on-that-product-placement-report/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/26/details-on-that-product-placement-report/#commentsFiled under:

The other day I mentioned the results of a study that had been done on how people were discussing product placement online. The New Media Sense blog for New Media Strategies, the company that produced that report, has released some of the top-level numbers. 43 sites were involved in the study, all focused on film, entertainment, television and gaming. Those sites produced 862 product-placement discussions, 595 of which were either indifferent or positive. While gaming accounted for the least amount of discussions, the majority of those discussions were negative in tone. Most of the negatives, though, came when talking about product placement on TV. Click through to read a breakdown of these top-line numbers.

[Thanks in part to Sam for the heads-up.
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]]>new media strategiesNewMediaStrategiesChris Thilk2006-12-26T10:00:00+00:00Folks don't mind product placementhttp://www.adjab.com/2006/12/22/folks-dont-mind-product-placement/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/22/folks-dont-mind-product-placement/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/22/folks-dont-mind-product-placement/#commentsFiled under:

Well, that headline might not be completely accurate. A more realistic headline might be "When people are talking about product placement they don't seem to hate it" but I thought that was too long.

According to a new study from New Media Strategies almost 70 percent of online discussions of product placement are either neutral or positive. Overall consumers seem to be willing to tolerate product placement as long as it doesn't intrude on the entertainment they're enjoying or at least is done in a clever way. The one medium that acceptance seemed to be lowest in is video games.
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]]>Chris Thilk2006-12-22T10:38:00+00:00Details on Dials deal with The Donaldhttp://www.adjab.com/2006/12/17/details-on-dials-deal-with-the-donald/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/17/details-on-dials-deal-with-the-donald/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/17/details-on-dials-deal-with-the-donald/#commentsFiled under: ,

Dial was on the list of companies I passed on earlier that would be placing their products in the upcoming sixth season of "The Apprentice". Some details have now been released on what the company will be doing to support that appearance. Dial will use their episodes to promote both its Renuzit Super Odor Neutralizer and the Soft Scrub Deep Clean Bathroom Cleaner by giving the contestants two separate tasks to complete, one per episode.

The first show will have the teams creating a webisode for the Soft Scrub product. Following that Dial will launch a product sampling and in-store promotions for the product. The second show will be for the Renuzit product. For that task, the teams will be creating a 60-second spot (that always works out well on this show) that will shown before the movies at AMC Theaters. There will also be significant other promotion for Renuzit after that show.
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]]>dialdonald trumpthe apprenticeChris Thilk2006-12-17T12:00:00+00:00Lexus goes in-gamehttp://www.adjab.com/2006/12/14/lexus-goes-in-game/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/14/lexus-goes-in-game/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/14/lexus-goes-in-game/#commentsFiled under: ,

The video game "Atari Test Drive Unlimited" will have a bunch of Lexus models that players can download and drive within the game. That comes as a result of a deal Lexus has made to have the cars placed within the Xbox 360 title. Channel M brokered the deal, which will initially offer gamers the IS350 to drive followed by four more models this coming spring. Lexus is actually the third car brand to be in the game, with Audi and Nissan preceeding it to the virtual road.
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]]>Chris Thilk2006-12-14T10:30:00+00:00Meet the new "Apprentice" product placershttp://www.adjab.com/2006/12/12/meet-the-new-apprentice-product-placers/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/12/meet-the-new-apprentice-product-placers/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/12/meet-the-new-apprentice-product-placers/#commentsFiled under: ,

When NBC debuts the new season of "The Apprentice" in January, here's some of the companies whose marketing efforts you can expect to be run into the ground by whiny fools who should be shot if they ever came within a mile of a real marketing plan.
  • Dial
  • AdSpace Networks
  • Adwalker
  • AMC Entertainment
  • Ell Pollo Loco
  • GNC
  • Home Depot
  • KB Home
  • Lexus
  • Priceline.com
  • Ralphs
  • Sue Bee Honey
  • Trina Turk
  • SmartMouth
Expect the eye-rolling to start soon.
[via Stanley at Market My Monkey]
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]]>donald trumpnbcthe apprenticetvsquadChris Thilk2006-12-12T17:30:00+00:00Lonelygirl15 is still around?http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/07/lonelygirl15-is-still-around/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/07/lonelygirl15-is-still-around/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/07/lonelygirl15-is-still-around/#commentsFiled under: ,

The braintrust that created LonelyGirl15, the fictional character who posted a series of video journals to the internet, are now trying to convince marketers to let Bree, the "real" name of LG15, do product placement for them. They're looking for partners whose products can be integrated into storylines of the show, a tactic that gets around YouTubes lack of pre-roll ads and revenue sharing. LG15 videos will continue to be hosted, though, by Revver, which does have revenue sharing. The team assures us that placement within the "we all sold this to you as real but it really wasn't and so ha-ha" episodes will be organic and natural but I'll believe that when I see it.
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]]>lonelygirl15revveryoutubeChris Thilk2006-12-07T12:30:00+00:00Previously on WINhttp://www.adjab.com/2006/12/01/previously-on-win/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/01/previously-on-win/http://www.adjab.com/2006/12/01/previously-on-win/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

  • Joystiq has a couple good posts up. First, the 11/28 broadcast of ESPN's "SportsCenter" was brought to viewers solely by Microsoft on behalf of the Xbox360. They also pass on the opinion that in-game advertising should make those video games either free or greatly reduced in price.
  • PVR Wire weighs in on Match.com's sponsorship of the TBS sitcom "My Boys" and reminds everyone to keep their product placement deals above board and obvious.
  • Styledash talks about the Miu Miu campaign that won't be featuring Jessica Simpson.
  • The folks at Slashfood are seeing a huge picture of the KFC Colonel in the desert, which is disturbing on at least a couple different levels.
  • Cinematical has a "WTF moment" over the dropping of ads for The Nativity Story from a German Christmas festival in Chicago.
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]]>Chris Thilk2006-12-01T18:00:00+00:00Match.com sponsors TBS show "My Boys"http://www.adjab.com/2006/11/28/match-com-sponsors-tbs-show-my-boys/http://www.adjab.com/2006/11/28/match-com-sponsors-tbs-show-my-boys/http://www.adjab.com/2006/11/28/match-com-sponsors-tbs-show-my-boys/#commentsFiled under: ,

The new TBS sitcom "My Boys" about a young attractive woman who writes about sports for a Chicago newspaper (a stab at realism obviously) will be sponsored prominently by Match.com. The dating website will be the center of two of the 13 episodes and at least be mentioned and worked into the plots of the remaining 11. As with most branded entertainment deals like this, the challenge will be working the brand into the storylines in a seamless manner that feels organic, as opposed to just having the characters sound like they're ticking off the number of times they have to say "Match.com."
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]]>branded entertainmentBrandedEntertainmentmatch.commy boysMyBoystbstvsquadChris Thilk2006-11-28T16:00:00+00:00Previously on WINhttp://www.adjab.com/2006/11/22/previously-on-win/http://www.adjab.com/2006/11/22/previously-on-win/http://www.adjab.com/2006/11/22/previously-on-win/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

  • While the marketing campaign for girl-focused video games is indeed insulting to everyone, it's merely a symptom of the shoddy games that are actually produced for girls according to DS Fanboy.
  • Cinematical has the details on director David Lynch's weird - and I mean weird - cow-focused promotional campaign for his new film Inland Empire.
  • TV Squad points us to the just plain funny Japanese version of Apple's "Mac Vs. PC" ads.
  • Also at TV Squad is this story about Nielsen's attempt to get into measuring video-on-demand now that it's becoming a viable ad medium.
  • Then there's this post from Joel about last Thursday's night of a thousand product placements on NBC.
  • Cinematical says Philip Morris is taking out ads asking the movie industry to no longer use its cigarette brands in movies. This is a total PR move since the actual way this happens is by talking to the studios and not taking out general ads, even if they are in trade publications.
  • PSP Fanboy looks at the new Sony ad that has a man chasing after the girl of his dreams - one that plays video games.
  • chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, Gooogllllle!
  • While pointing to a new commercial that uses footage from Office Space to sell the World of Warcraft video game, Cinematical also questions how much longer the use of dead celebrity footage can last before someone really angers the film community.
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]]>Chris Thilk2006-11-22T17:00:00+00:00Is the tobacco industry using YouTube to get teens to smoke?http://www.adjab.com/2006/11/21/is-the-tobacco-industry-using-youtube-to-get-teens-to-smoke/http://www.adjab.com/2006/11/21/is-the-tobacco-industry-using-youtube-to-get-teens-to-smoke/http://www.adjab.com/2006/11/21/is-the-tobacco-industry-using-youtube-to-get-teens-to-smoke/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

The kids, they love their YouTube. The popular video sharing site is filled with clips of teenagers hanging out, partying, lip syncing to Pat Boone, building tricycles, planting onions, trying on mittens, whatever the hell it is kids do for fun these days, I'm not clued in to what passes for entertainment with the young generation. What I do know is that smoking is still a preferred form of rebellion, so it stands to reason that many of these videos are going to show kids trying to look sexy and cool with a cigarette dangling from their lips.

Or is there more to it, than that? I don't think there is, but a professor in Australia thinks that tobacco companies might be using YouTube as a way to attract kids by posting videos of teens smoking, and has all but accused the big tobacco companies of "dark marketing," using clandestine means to reach people.

[via FishNChimps]

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]]>kidssexysmokingteenstobaccovideoyoutubeAdam Finley2006-11-21T13:30:00+00:00Product placement story is full of *$#!@http://www.adjab.com/2006/11/16/product-placement-story-is-full-of/http://www.adjab.com/2006/11/16/product-placement-story-is-full-of/http://www.adjab.com/2006/11/16/product-placement-story-is-full-of/#commentsFiled under: , ,

You know, I was all ready to write about this new study from Nielsen that shows, among other things, that product placement helped brand awareness go up 20 percent until I read about how the results were compiled. Apparently Nielsen took participants to their Las Vegas testing facilities and showed them programs containing product placement and then asked them about how it might have affected their attitude or thinking.

That's great methodology, if your goal is to find out what kind of attitude people have in a controlled environment who are then asked specific questions. What it doesn't do is tell you how people are going to act in a real-world setting.

Continue reading Product placement story is full of *$#!@

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]]>nielsenChris Thilk2006-11-16T18:00:00+00:00