So, as I've turned over a new leaf (eh, hem...trying to lose 20lbs) I went for a bike ride after I got back from Happy Hour at Pub 44 this evening. I know how strange that sounds, but it was rather innocent. I only had one drink!
Anyway, I stashed my cell phone in the pocket of my shorts because I don't like the feeling of riding around near dusk with out any form of communication if something should happen. As I'm rolling along, I pass by a bunch of adolecent boys enjoying the first balmy days of summer, riding their bikes and swooshing along on their skate boards.
I have to dodge off the sidewalk a few times, and into the road, as people are taking their pets for evening walks and I don't dare take the chance of riding to close to a dog that could very well jump up and bit me.
With the breeze keeping me cool and my mind trying to commit something to memory (I'm trying to remember the topic of the next article I want to write for work) I find myself in a new neighborhood that requires my full attention. Since I'm not too familiar with the surrounding I have to put my article out of my mind in order to make sure I don't fall off my bike.
It's then that I check my pocket (for some unknown reason) for my cell phone. IT'S GONE! "Oh, Sh*t", I say aloud. Not only does it suck to have your right arm cut off, but I just got that one and spent about 10 bucks downloading new ringtones!
I immediately turn around and start back tracking, hoping against hope that I dropped it in the grass infront of my house. As I'm heading back in the direction I came, I remember the boys! "Damn it!" What are the chances that they would find a cell phone on the ground and just leave it there? In this day and age, and especially in my neighborhood...not likely! Infact, a snowball would have a better chance in hell, than my cell phone still laying in the grass, or on the sidewalk, or in the street after a gaggle of geeky boys cruised on by.
I passed two boys who were still out and about, but they made no gesture to me, and I was too focused on looking at the ground to notice anything suspicious. I made it all the way back to my house and searched the grass to no avail. I dared not ask Kenny for assistance as I would then be subjected to a lengthly lecture aboubt being irresposible with my things and that I should never have taken the phone with me in the first place.
It wasn't worth the trouble.
I hoped back on my bike and headed back to where I came. I suddenly had the sneaking suspicion that those boys weren't just hanging around for their heath. As I winged back around the corner, one of the boys was heading back in my direction. When he saw me, he stopped and looked at me. Then he turned and looked at his friend. I slowed down and asked if he had found a cell phone and he immediately started telling me that it had fallen out of my pocket and he tried to yell after me, telling me that I had dropped it. At this point, his friend had started coming my way, too, carrying my phone. He little one informed me that the battery had fallen out, and reittearated that he tried to call after me.
After handing my phone back to me, I replaced the batter and turned it back on. It still worked! I had no idea if it had fallen on the concrete or in the grass. My guess is the concrete, since the batter was knocked out. I guess the boys had been waiting at the location where I had dropped it, for me to (hopefully) come back. I thanked the boys for staying and waiting for me.
It is a refreshing thought to know that there are still kids out there who have respect for other people and their belongings. While, I know that those boys might not represent the majority of today's youth (or maybe they do and I've just been subjected to the minority), it still restores my faith just a little bit in the youth of America.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Cavemen Rule the World!
What does it say of the state of TV land when execs are harvesting ideas from popular commercials? Creative drought or ingenious marketing tactic?
As the major networks spent the past week revealing their line-ups for next Fall, a buzz began over ABC’s decision to green light the creation of a 30-minute sitcom starring the now famous characters from the commercials. The three cavemen, originally played by John Lehr, Ben Webber, and Jeff Daniel Phillips in the commercials are set to be played by a new cast of Bill English, Dash Mihok, and Nick Kroll.
No word on why the original cavemen won’t be filling the roles.
While this seems like an original concept, making a series out of a popular commercial character, it isn’t the first time it’s been done. However, you’re not likely to remember the first attempt. Remember the old Quizno’s commercials with the annoying talking baby? Yeah, that was the first attempt. Lame, right? Well, in 2002 CBS decided to give it a shot. The show centered on a couple, played by Joely Fisher and Alan Arkin, whose infant son could (you guessed it) talk.
Amazingly enough, “Baby Bob” managed to last two seasons before getting the ax, so you could consider it somewhat successful. Given the passage of time, the show has passed from viewers’ consciousness (you can’t even find a clip on youtube). There is hardly more than a trace of it on the Internet with the exception of an entry on the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) and a few mentions in the news recently thanks to ABC taking a crack at the commercial-turned-sitcom genre.
From an advertising perspective, this is the epitome of branding success. What company wouldn’t want one of their brands to become so recognized and popular that it gets its own television show? GEICO is at the top of the advertising world at the moment, after churning out such entertaining and successful ads like, “Tiny House”, the GEICO Gecko, and the “Cavemen”. And, who can forget the commercials that made you think it was one commercial (where you’d either get really excited about the “make-believe” product or annoyed at the “infomercial”) only to have it turn out to be a GEICO ad. Since 1998, GEICO has seen their business rise from a $2.8 billion to an $11 billion dollar industry.
The question isn’t really WHY ABC has decided to do this, but HOW has it gotten to this point? Even though it’s not a popular trend (yet), if “Cavemen” ends up being a success you can probably expect to see this commercial-inspired type of television more frequently. What does that mean for the advertising industry? Nothing. It won’t change the way the ads are created or the purpose and intention of the ads. It will simply draw more attention to the creative power of the industry.
Television and Advertising industries are evolving, and rightly so. With the onslaught of DVR’s and the consumer’s ability to avoid commercials they don’t want to see, advertisers have had to come up with a new way to get their products seen. That comes in the form of product placement with in the show.
Now, does that mean that the Cavemen show is just going to be a half hour of shameless self-promotion by GEICO? Not exactly. While the copywriter who created the ads will be writing for the show, GEICO will have no creative control and will only receive royalties for the use of the characters.
What it does mean, however, is that the Advertising Industry’s power is having a greater effect on consumers than just getting them to buy the brand. With nearly 2 million views on YouTube, the Cavemen commercials are clearly capable of selling more than just car insurance. Time will tell if these characters have true staying power.
And, yes, like the Cavemen Ads, maybe a few ads here and there will have what it takes to be turned into TV shows. But, wait! Imagine the ad that goes on to inspires a movie! Who wouldn’t want to be working at that Agency?
As the major networks spent the past week revealing their line-ups for next Fall, a buzz began over ABC’s decision to green light the creation of a 30-minute sitcom starring the now famous characters from the commercials. The three cavemen, originally played by John Lehr, Ben Webber, and Jeff Daniel Phillips in the commercials are set to be played by a new cast of Bill English, Dash Mihok, and Nick Kroll.
No word on why the original cavemen won’t be filling the roles.
While this seems like an original concept, making a series out of a popular commercial character, it isn’t the first time it’s been done. However, you’re not likely to remember the first attempt. Remember the old Quizno’s commercials with the annoying talking baby? Yeah, that was the first attempt. Lame, right? Well, in 2002 CBS decided to give it a shot. The show centered on a couple, played by Joely Fisher and Alan Arkin, whose infant son could (you guessed it) talk.
Amazingly enough, “Baby Bob” managed to last two seasons before getting the ax, so you could consider it somewhat successful. Given the passage of time, the show has passed from viewers’ consciousness (you can’t even find a clip on youtube). There is hardly more than a trace of it on the Internet with the exception of an entry on the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) and a few mentions in the news recently thanks to ABC taking a crack at the commercial-turned-sitcom genre.
From an advertising perspective, this is the epitome of branding success. What company wouldn’t want one of their brands to become so recognized and popular that it gets its own television show? GEICO is at the top of the advertising world at the moment, after churning out such entertaining and successful ads like, “Tiny House”, the GEICO Gecko, and the “Cavemen”. And, who can forget the commercials that made you think it was one commercial (where you’d either get really excited about the “make-believe” product or annoyed at the “infomercial”) only to have it turn out to be a GEICO ad. Since 1998, GEICO has seen their business rise from a $2.8 billion to an $11 billion dollar industry.
The question isn’t really WHY ABC has decided to do this, but HOW has it gotten to this point? Even though it’s not a popular trend (yet), if “Cavemen” ends up being a success you can probably expect to see this commercial-inspired type of television more frequently. What does that mean for the advertising industry? Nothing. It won’t change the way the ads are created or the purpose and intention of the ads. It will simply draw more attention to the creative power of the industry.
Television and Advertising industries are evolving, and rightly so. With the onslaught of DVR’s and the consumer’s ability to avoid commercials they don’t want to see, advertisers have had to come up with a new way to get their products seen. That comes in the form of product placement with in the show.
Now, does that mean that the Cavemen show is just going to be a half hour of shameless self-promotion by GEICO? Not exactly. While the copywriter who created the ads will be writing for the show, GEICO will have no creative control and will only receive royalties for the use of the characters.
What it does mean, however, is that the Advertising Industry’s power is having a greater effect on consumers than just getting them to buy the brand. With nearly 2 million views on YouTube, the Cavemen commercials are clearly capable of selling more than just car insurance. Time will tell if these characters have true staying power.
And, yes, like the Cavemen Ads, maybe a few ads here and there will have what it takes to be turned into TV shows. But, wait! Imagine the ad that goes on to inspires a movie! Who wouldn’t want to be working at that Agency?
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
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