March 2010

Nice Surprise: Marketing Sherpa is Quoting Me on Email Tricks

March 26th 2010

My friend Steve Singer just emailed that Marketing Sherpa is quoting me on one of my favorite contrarian email tactics. Act like a person, not a marketer. Most people don’t send html emails full of images to their friends; it’s just not necessary. They already have a relationship with the recipient and something of value […]

Law Firm Files AdWords Suit in Wrong Court, Loses, Declares Victory

March 25th 2010

New Haven law firm Stratton Faxon sued Google for selling competitor ads triggered by searches on their name. Specifically, they alleged that these ads interfered with the firm’s business relations with clients, were an unfair business practice under Connecticut state law, and resulted in unjust enrichment. Read the details on Lawyers and Settlements. Note the […]

Bad Airport Advertising #535: Only the Mint Can Make Money Look Cheap.

March 24th 2010

Everyone likes samples. To advertise, the Mint should offer  money. James Gardner of Adverlicious kindly shared this bad airport advertising from Boston’s Logan Airport. It stands outside the gate for the commuter flights to New York at Boston’s Logan Airport.  James doesn’t recall ever seeing a child on the commuter flights he frequents.  Further, the […]

The UK’s Massive eGov Portal Plan: The UK’s Digital Big Dig?

March 22nd 2010

Today, Prime Minister Gordon Brown will announce a massive IT project to move in-person transactions with citizens online.  (See coverage in the Telegraph.) This will change a wide range of interactions, including tax disputes and payments, vehicle licensing, applying for school, public housing issues, and passport applications. No less than  Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the World […]

Nestle’s Bogus Copyright and Trademark Complaints Fuel a Streisand Effect for Greenpeace

March 20th 2010

This week, Greenpeace posted a gruesome anti-Nestlé commercial on YouTube complaining that Nestlé SA buys palm oil from companies that destroy the Indonesian rainforest to plant oil palms. The 60-second video depicts a bored office worker enjoying a Kit Kat, which, rather than being the popular chocolate-hazelnut ladyfinger-style confection, appears to be a chocolate-covered ape […]

Bad Airport Advertising #534: Let’s Get You a Machine Gun.

March 19th 2010

World traveler Jay Ratcliffe sent this one in from the Las Vegas airport. Imagine seeing this ad just after TSA screeners have taken your nail clippers and liquids in containers of >3oz. Who at the airport hasn’t felt a the need for a machine gun, at least for a brief rental? Where else could you imagine this […]

Manifesto: Why the Next Nobel Should Go to the Net

March 12th 2010

The Internet is much more than a network of computers. It is an endless web of people. Men and women from every corner of the globe are connecting to one another, thanks to the biggest social interface ever known to humanity. Digital culture has laid the foundations for a new kind of society. And this […]

Lindsay Lohan vs. E-Trade: Rights of Personal Publicity Gone Wrong

March 11th 2010

According to the New York Post, actress Lindsay Lohan is suing E-Trade for $100 million for pain and suffering caused by their Super Bowl ad. The semi-funny (and non-compelling) ad shows a milkaholic baby named Lindsay (or Lindsey) with a guilty looking baby-husband. Yes, the ad is pretty terrible; so is the legal claim. However, […]

Disney Copyright Video: Another Fair Use Provocateur Par Excellence

March 10th 2010

Remember my 2010 prediction that brand holders should beware of clowns? I called it the Coulrophobia Epidemic of 2010.   Logorama did it with trademarks, and won an Oscar. Girl Talk did it with music, gaining top rankings from Rolling Stone, Blender and Time magazine. And now Eric Faden uses the most copyrighted video anywhere, Disney® […]

Logorama, Short Film Made of Trademarks, Wins Oscar (Watch it Online, Free!)

March 8th 2010

Last night, a 16-minute animated film, entirely populated by trademarks as both characters and props, won an upset Academy Award. Its producer, Nicolas Schmerkin, explains: It’s about the way we live and the way we react to these logos. The brain can register 14 logos in less than one second. Making the logos characters with […]