- A street "musician" playing "Beverly Hills Cop" on his accordian.
- A panhandler with a sign "Money needed for alcohol research."
- No sign of the guy with the Rotweiler ridden by a cat ridden by a white mouse. Maybe tomorrow...
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
"This is Radio Nowhere..."
Does anyone listen to music radio anymore? I mean, real radio—the kind where you tune in an FM station (...don’t want to show my age too completely by talking about the days when AM radio played music), tap your fingers on the steering wheel, play some air Hammond B3 organ on the dash…you know, those days?
Driving along with the windows open or the top down, if you were lucky enough to own a convertible, were special memories—of summer, of youth, of allowing the music to wash your cares away. It’s the kind of experience that you must have when you hear songs like "Boys of Summer" by Don Henley or "Born to Run" by the Boss. It’s reminiscent of the scene in Jerry Maguire where Tom Cruise wails away, in his rental car, on Petty’s "Free Fallin’."
Now the alternatives to “real” radio are incredibly varied—satellite radio with dozens of stations, six-CD players standard in many vehicles, i-Pod in-dash plug-ins, books on cassette or CD or, for those who try to impress their friends, National Public Radio or other talk radio options. (C’mon…doesn’t that person who begins a sentence with “well, I was listening to NPR this morning…” bug you!?)
To this day I can remember that I was in my car—and where—when now iconic classic rock songs like Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” or Dire Strait’s “Sultans of Swing” were heard for the first time. And, I can remember quickly changing the station when the likes of Steeler’s Wheel, Cyndi Lauper or Richard Marx interrupted my in-car reverie.
Do yourself a favor this week—take the time to unplug the i-Pod, eject the CD and turn over to an FM station of choice. It won’t be the same, but it may stir up some good memories of what it felt like the moment you found the song on the station on the day when cruisin’ along was the thing that felt so right.
(Headline source: "Radio Nowhere" by Bruce Springsteen)
Driving along with the windows open or the top down, if you were lucky enough to own a convertible, were special memories—of summer, of youth, of allowing the music to wash your cares away. It’s the kind of experience that you must have when you hear songs like "Boys of Summer" by Don Henley or "Born to Run" by the Boss. It’s reminiscent of the scene in Jerry Maguire where Tom Cruise wails away, in his rental car, on Petty’s "Free Fallin’."
Now the alternatives to “real” radio are incredibly varied—satellite radio with dozens of stations, six-CD players standard in many vehicles, i-Pod in-dash plug-ins, books on cassette or CD or, for those who try to impress their friends, National Public Radio or other talk radio options. (C’mon…doesn’t that person who begins a sentence with “well, I was listening to NPR this morning…” bug you!?)
To this day I can remember that I was in my car—and where—when now iconic classic rock songs like Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” or Dire Strait’s “Sultans of Swing” were heard for the first time. And, I can remember quickly changing the station when the likes of Steeler’s Wheel, Cyndi Lauper or Richard Marx interrupted my in-car reverie.
Do yourself a favor this week—take the time to unplug the i-Pod, eject the CD and turn over to an FM station of choice. It won’t be the same, but it may stir up some good memories of what it felt like the moment you found the song on the station on the day when cruisin’ along was the thing that felt so right.
(Headline source: "Radio Nowhere" by Bruce Springsteen)
The Masters - Par 3 contest
The Wednesday of Masters week is perhaps the most charming day of the week at this wonderful sporting event--the first major of the PGA's Tour year. While the actual tournament doesn't start until tomorrow, the annual Par 3 Contest is played today--as it is every Wednesday of tourney week--on the par 3 course that is a part of the grounds of Augusta National Golf Club.
Introduced in 1960, the Par 3 Contest that year was won by Sam Snead. The contest is played each year on the par 3 course--nine holes with a par of 27 which measures 1,060 yards in length. Just like the 18 holes of its big brother, the course is a dramatic montage of beautiful east Georgia landscape.
It's at the Par 3 Contest that you see buddies caddying for their tour pro friends, or children of the pros caddying for their dads. The competition is relaxed, the laughs are many, and the charm is abundant.
The kicker--no winner of the Par 3 Contest has ever gone on to win The Masters. So, while the competition is enjoyed by all, there is a certain desire to play well...but not win.
Introduced in 1960, the Par 3 Contest that year was won by Sam Snead. The contest is played each year on the par 3 course--nine holes with a par of 27 which measures 1,060 yards in length. Just like the 18 holes of its big brother, the course is a dramatic montage of beautiful east Georgia landscape.
It's at the Par 3 Contest that you see buddies caddying for their tour pro friends, or children of the pros caddying for their dads. The competition is relaxed, the laughs are many, and the charm is abundant.
The kicker--no winner of the Par 3 Contest has ever gone on to win The Masters. So, while the competition is enjoyed by all, there is a certain desire to play well...but not win.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Sprint's advertising in the news
What they're saying about the new advertising...
From Advertising Age--
http://adage.com/article?article_id=135822
From AdWeek--
http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3i964935f0574fe267f9e6777b294c2a80
And, from Media Post--
Sprint Launches Two-Pronged Campaign
Nina M. Lentini, Apr 06, 2009 05:19 PM
Seeking to make an impact among cell phone users who are looking to save money and among those who are data-driven, Sprint is launching two new campaigns.
One debuted during Monday night's "24" on Fox, where Sprint has already created a relationship, according to Mike Goff, VP of national advertising for Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint.
"We felt strongly that we needed to put some investment behind our positioning, to define what the 'Now Network' is all about," he tells Marketing Daily. Based on the viral success of Sprint's online widget, the company decided to bring the idea to life on TV.
In the ad, viewers learn such esoteric facts as how many tons of eggs are being laid right now, how many people are researching restaurants from a cab (and that 29 of them will leave those phones in said cabs), how many bicycles are being built and that 1,041,667 emails are en route.
Goff says the creative was designed to get people to think "in a compelling way about what's going on now. We want to change the dialog of how people think about the network they use and whether there's voice, text or email or GPS. Right now, they're conditioned to hearing about dropped calls, coverage and reliability."
The "What's Happening Now?" brand-focused ads will also appear in select print nationwide as well as on a microsite, in banner ads and several home page takeovers on YouTube, Yahoo, MSN, and AOL. The first home page takeover launches April 29 with others to follow. There also will be digital billboards in high-traffic areas later this year.
In the value piece, the notion that Spring is trying to plant in consumers' minds, Goff says, is that "you're crazy not to switch to us." Those ads focus on humorous and unlikely ways that people waste money -- for example, dumping a wheelbarrow full of quarters into a fountain.
Those ads as well as the Now Network series will appear in a mix of prime cable and broadcast.
From Advertising Age--
http://adage.com/article?article_id=135822
From AdWeek--
http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3i964935f0574fe267f9e6777b294c2a80
And, from Media Post--
Sprint Launches Two-Pronged Campaign
Nina M. Lentini, Apr 06, 2009 05:19 PM
Seeking to make an impact among cell phone users who are looking to save money and among those who are data-driven, Sprint is launching two new campaigns.
One debuted during Monday night's "24" on Fox, where Sprint has already created a relationship, according to Mike Goff, VP of national advertising for Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint.
"We felt strongly that we needed to put some investment behind our positioning, to define what the 'Now Network' is all about," he tells Marketing Daily. Based on the viral success of Sprint's online widget, the company decided to bring the idea to life on TV.
In the ad, viewers learn such esoteric facts as how many tons of eggs are being laid right now, how many people are researching restaurants from a cab (and that 29 of them will leave those phones in said cabs), how many bicycles are being built and that 1,041,667 emails are en route.
Goff says the creative was designed to get people to think "in a compelling way about what's going on now. We want to change the dialog of how people think about the network they use and whether there's voice, text or email or GPS. Right now, they're conditioned to hearing about dropped calls, coverage and reliability."
The "What's Happening Now?" brand-focused ads will also appear in select print nationwide as well as on a microsite, in banner ads and several home page takeovers on YouTube, Yahoo, MSN, and AOL. The first home page takeover launches April 29 with others to follow. There also will be digital billboards in high-traffic areas later this year.
In the value piece, the notion that Spring is trying to plant in consumers' minds, Goff says, is that "you're crazy not to switch to us." Those ads focus on humorous and unlikely ways that people waste money -- for example, dumping a wheelbarrow full of quarters into a fountain.
Those ads as well as the Now Network series will appear in a mix of prime cable and broadcast.
College hoops re-cap
The college hoops season ended last night with the NCAA Championship game and the most decisive win by a team since UNLV ran over Duke 103-73 in 1990. Congratulations to coach Roy Williams and his Tarheels...and to those players (Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson) who returned to claim North Carolina's fifth NCAA Championship. The national title also took the "he hasn't won a national championship with his own players" label off of Williams.
But, what of the pre-season predictions? How did Carolina's win match up with what the experts predicted before the season?
There are close to a dozen magazines which offered pre-season editions and dozens of online sites which offered their predictions. For the purpose of this exercise, I focused on the two most well-known sports publications, Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News.
SI's pre-season top ten was: North Carolina, Connecticut, UCLA, Louisville, Purdue, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Duke, Texas and Tennessee. The Sporting News went with North Carolina, Connecticut, Louisville, Gonzaga, Michigan State, Texas, Duke, UCLA, Pittsburgh and Memphis.
So, while both picked the same 1 and 2--the eventual national champion and a Final Four team--only SN picked Michigan State highly. And, neither had Villanova, the fourth Final Four team, in their top 10. In fact, SI had Nova 20th; SN did not have them ranked in the top 25.
What of other schools who had great years, e.g., Oklahoma? SI had OU 17th while SN had the Sooners 22nd. Missouri? Didn't crack the top 25 in either magazine. Kansas? 26th in SI's rankings and unranked in SN.
Who were the biggest disappointments? UCLA would have to be up there, given top 10 rankings in both magazines. Notre Dame would be another, ranked 6th in SI and 12th in SN. How about Tennessee? The Vols were picked 10th by SI and 21st by SN. Davidson was picked 18th in SI yet failed to make the NCAA Tournament. SN has Miami 14th, but they ended up in the NIT.
College hoops predictions are always hard--there is no pre-season to see how teams perform, injuries are always a factor and 18-22 year old kids are unpredictable. So, kudos to both pubs for picking the national champion...but also proof that coming close on a top 20 or 25 list is very, very hard.
In the "for what it's worth" department, here are our post-season awards--those who lived up to the hype, those who did not and those who deserve recognition for their season's accomplishments.
Under-performing coaches: Ben Howland, UCLA; Mike Brey, Notre Dame; and Bruce Pearl, Tennessee. Billy Gillispie of Kentucky should also be added to this list, but he faced his penance already by being ousted at UK.
Over-performing coaches: Bill Self, Kansas; Mike Anderson, Missouri; and Jay Wright, Villanova. And, special mention to Roy Williams--he didn't over-perform, given expectations, but did rally his kids past major injuries (Lawson, Tyler Zeller, Marcus Ginyard) and an 0-2 start in the ACC.
Player of the Year: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma.
Disappointing player of the year: James Harden, Arizona State. Yeah, I know, Harden had a heckuva year in the Pac-10. But, the dude flat-out disappeared in the NCAA Tournament.
One-and-done award: Tyreke Evans, Memphis.
Only a little over six months until basketball practice starts again on college campuses--and what should we expect for 2008-2009 in the Big 12? Kansas, provided Cole Aldrich and/or Sherron Collins return and Xavier Henry finds his way to Lawrence, should be a Final Four pick. And, Texas has a great incoming recruitng class to blend in with Dexter Pittman and Damion James (if James does not declare for the NBA.) I can't wait!
But, what of the pre-season predictions? How did Carolina's win match up with what the experts predicted before the season?
There are close to a dozen magazines which offered pre-season editions and dozens of online sites which offered their predictions. For the purpose of this exercise, I focused on the two most well-known sports publications, Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News.
SI's pre-season top ten was: North Carolina, Connecticut, UCLA, Louisville, Purdue, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Duke, Texas and Tennessee. The Sporting News went with North Carolina, Connecticut, Louisville, Gonzaga, Michigan State, Texas, Duke, UCLA, Pittsburgh and Memphis.
So, while both picked the same 1 and 2--the eventual national champion and a Final Four team--only SN picked Michigan State highly. And, neither had Villanova, the fourth Final Four team, in their top 10. In fact, SI had Nova 20th; SN did not have them ranked in the top 25.
What of other schools who had great years, e.g., Oklahoma? SI had OU 17th while SN had the Sooners 22nd. Missouri? Didn't crack the top 25 in either magazine. Kansas? 26th in SI's rankings and unranked in SN.
Who were the biggest disappointments? UCLA would have to be up there, given top 10 rankings in both magazines. Notre Dame would be another, ranked 6th in SI and 12th in SN. How about Tennessee? The Vols were picked 10th by SI and 21st by SN. Davidson was picked 18th in SI yet failed to make the NCAA Tournament. SN has Miami 14th, but they ended up in the NIT.
College hoops predictions are always hard--there is no pre-season to see how teams perform, injuries are always a factor and 18-22 year old kids are unpredictable. So, kudos to both pubs for picking the national champion...but also proof that coming close on a top 20 or 25 list is very, very hard.
In the "for what it's worth" department, here are our post-season awards--those who lived up to the hype, those who did not and those who deserve recognition for their season's accomplishments.
Under-performing coaches: Ben Howland, UCLA; Mike Brey, Notre Dame; and Bruce Pearl, Tennessee. Billy Gillispie of Kentucky should also be added to this list, but he faced his penance already by being ousted at UK.
Over-performing coaches: Bill Self, Kansas; Mike Anderson, Missouri; and Jay Wright, Villanova. And, special mention to Roy Williams--he didn't over-perform, given expectations, but did rally his kids past major injuries (Lawson, Tyler Zeller, Marcus Ginyard) and an 0-2 start in the ACC.
Player of the Year: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma.
Disappointing player of the year: James Harden, Arizona State. Yeah, I know, Harden had a heckuva year in the Pac-10. But, the dude flat-out disappeared in the NCAA Tournament.
One-and-done award: Tyreke Evans, Memphis.
Only a little over six months until basketball practice starts again on college campuses--and what should we expect for 2008-2009 in the Big 12? Kansas, provided Cole Aldrich and/or Sherron Collins return and Xavier Henry finds his way to Lawrence, should be a Final Four pick. And, Texas has a great incoming recruitng class to blend in with Dexter Pittman and Damion James (if James does not declare for the NBA.) I can't wait!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Monday musings
- Have you noticed the ever-present desire to juxtapose sports and entertainment, or entertainment across genres? It was evident last night at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Presenters included Sarah Michelle Gellar and Matthew McConaughey. Now, other than the fact that he's from Texas, is there anything about McConaughey that screams "country?" The same occurs in sports--consider the NFL's desire to use Opening Night and Super Bowl as not only showcases for their sport but a place where live acts like Springsteen, the Stones, Bon Jovi, Faith Hill and Kelly Clarkson have performed. The same happens with the NBA but with a more hip-hop flavor of artists who typically frequent the league's All Star event.
- Happy Birthday to home boy Paul Rudd, turning 40 today. Rudd appears tonight on The Late Show with David Letterman.
- Apparently, a front page photo of a scantily clad Britney Spears has offended some readers of the Kansas City Star. The Star used the photo last week after Brit's sold-out show at the Sprint Center. Apparently, some readers would rather see a photo of the Mayor. I worry about those people...
- Did you see that the head basketball coach at Xavier turned down Arizona for the open head coaching position in Tucson? Really!? Call me crazy but a gig in the Pac-10, in a warm climate with loyal fans and past recruiting success sounds far better than Cincinnati and the Atlantic-10 conference. (No offense to those in Cincy, where they do make a mean bowl of chili...)
- Are consumers beginning to rebel against the Apple mystique? I found the attached story funny--it's about a new i-Phone user who discovers she's not a fan of the product.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/magazine/05wwln-medium-t.html?_r=2&em
- Happy Birthday to home boy Paul Rudd, turning 40 today. Rudd appears tonight on The Late Show with David Letterman.
- Apparently, a front page photo of a scantily clad Britney Spears has offended some readers of the Kansas City Star. The Star used the photo last week after Brit's sold-out show at the Sprint Center. Apparently, some readers would rather see a photo of the Mayor. I worry about those people...
- Did you see that the head basketball coach at Xavier turned down Arizona for the open head coaching position in Tucson? Really!? Call me crazy but a gig in the Pac-10, in a warm climate with loyal fans and past recruiting success sounds far better than Cincinnati and the Atlantic-10 conference. (No offense to those in Cincy, where they do make a mean bowl of chili...)
- Are consumers beginning to rebel against the Apple mystique? I found the attached story funny--it's about a new i-Phone user who discovers she's not a fan of the product.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/magazine/05wwln-medium-t.html?_r=2&em
More new advertising from Sprint
Sprint debuts new work today positioning the brand's "Now Network."
Marketing in a recession--who's doing well...and who's not
Advertising Age published a story in their online edition citing five brands who are doing a good job of marketing in this recession...and five who are not.
The publication names Bounty, Hyundai, Miller High Life, JetBlue and XBox as those brands doing a good job of marketing in the recession.
For Bounty, Ad Age says "the brand has continued to innovate within its premium product line without ignoring its lower-priced Bounty Basic line." Hyundai, not surprisingly, is noted for its unique Assurance program. And, the pub says that "cheap beer is a recession winner" in touting Miller High Life.
So, which brands are not faring so well? DeBeers (diamonds), EBay, GM, Stein Mart and Wendy's are named. Though DeBeers is not a surprise, EBay is given that one would think that a recession would be a logical time for the online retailer to prosper. However, the online merchant has "alienated third-party sellers and been unable to create a unified shopping experience."
As for GM, this large American company has been in the news way too frequently of late. But, one statistic noted in the Ad Age story stands out--sales across General Motors' eight brands declined 53% from February a year ago. Ouch...
See the story at this link:
http://adage.com/article?article_id=135780
The publication names Bounty, Hyundai, Miller High Life, JetBlue and XBox as those brands doing a good job of marketing in the recession.
For Bounty, Ad Age says "the brand has continued to innovate within its premium product line without ignoring its lower-priced Bounty Basic line." Hyundai, not surprisingly, is noted for its unique Assurance program. And, the pub says that "cheap beer is a recession winner" in touting Miller High Life.
So, which brands are not faring so well? DeBeers (diamonds), EBay, GM, Stein Mart and Wendy's are named. Though DeBeers is not a surprise, EBay is given that one would think that a recession would be a logical time for the online retailer to prosper. However, the online merchant has "alienated third-party sellers and been unable to create a unified shopping experience."
As for GM, this large American company has been in the news way too frequently of late. But, one statistic noted in the Ad Age story stands out--sales across General Motors' eight brands declined 53% from February a year ago. Ouch...
See the story at this link:
http://adage.com/article?article_id=135780
Quote of the Day
“I have not looked at that tape, not one time. Until I die, at the Pearly Gates, if I happen to be lucky enough to go there, I’ll ask St. Peter to give me the tape and I’ll watch it at that time.”
- Roy Williams' reaction when asked if he'd ever watched the tape of last year's North Carolina loss to Kansas in the semi-finals of the NCAA Final Four.
- Roy Williams' reaction when asked if he'd ever watched the tape of last year's North Carolina loss to Kansas in the semi-finals of the NCAA Final Four.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
New Cinema advertising from Sprint
Here's Sprint's new Cinema courtesy message. This spot, created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, will air in most theaters nationwide in an effort to get theater-goers to turn off their phones and not text.
Enjoy...
Enjoy...
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