Friday

What the hell happened?

Remember when Old Spice spots were good? Now that the good creatives at CP+B are bored of the Old Spice briefs, they're giving the hack teams a chance.

Wednesday

Man vs. Banner

When was the last time you clicked on a banner? I bet when you did you were on the site for about 2 sections and went straight for the "back" button. Or it was just a mistake when you were trying to click on the "photo" tab in Facebook.

But sometimes Banners win. And here's how:




From Valleywag

Google Trends for Websites

Paul has written numerous times about his love for Google Trends. If you are going into a client presentation or trying to convince a coworker with some good online stats, it's worth checking out.

Google has recently updated Trends with a new feature - the ability to search approximate web traffic against other sites. It's quite amazing to be able to compare, so simply, one site to another - especially in the same category.

For example, check out the traffic patterns between the National Post and the Globe and Mail:

LinkAlthough we can't fully understand what lead to the dramatic rise in the Post (increased circulation, awareness ads, SEO), a graph like this would probably raise questions at the Globe and Mail - especially for advertisers who are trying to speak to the same audience.

Another example is even more interesting. MTV.ca vs rival Muchmusic.com.

The spike in June is most likely to the Muchmusic's biggest event of the year - the MMVA's. MTV seems to have a stronger TV program schedule (the Hills...) and their peaks most likely reflect series finales or new programs.

Finally, a personal point of interest, Canadian political sites. Let's take a look at the Conservatives, Liberals and NDP:



These results are interesting and sad. Even in the midst of a leadership convention, the Liberals couldn't generate more than a few thousand uniques a day. And the Conservatives and NDP? Non-existent. With the current success of American candidates, these groups might want to think about beefing up their web strategies. Or at least play around on Google Trends first.

Found on Laughing Squid.

JC Penny + Teen Sex



Good execution. Nice spot.

I like the JC Penny strategy, however this is an interesting choice to come out of the gates with. Has anyone seen any other spots that follows this campaign?

Thanks to Chirs for the link.

Tuesday

New Media D-Bag's

Got sent this video from a friend...nothing like being a Web 2.o D-bag.



Found on MakeJohnnyCash

Your Knockers...An Open Casing Call

Finally, a user-generated content idea that really hits home. Wonderbra has announced that they are going to be holding an open casting call in London to find their next models. It is being billed as the largest underwear shoot ever.

Here's to the million views that the post-tryout video gets. Only one question: What percentage of those views will be male?

From copyranter.

Monday

Dos Equis - The most interesting man in the world





Etrade baby is back

Mercedes Benz Oil

Oil...apparently Mercedes Benz wants a piece of that profitable pie.

Every other car manufacturer is jumping on the hybrid bandwagon while Merecedes Benz gives oil a shot.

Best Gatorade Spot

Can you spot the gatorade in this video?

This video is really getting attention. Over 5000 diggs, about a half million views in 2 weeks over 3 videos.

Internet Spending Continues; TV and News Decline

AdAge has just release a report that states that the top 100 advertisers in the US have increased their online display budgets by approximately $4.3 billion (33%) in the past year. Although ad spending only grew by 0.6%, the top dogs (who represent 41% of the total spend) clearly showed an interest in the web.

Who got hurt? "Traditional media" - especially TV and News.

From AdAge:

Put another way, these top-tier marketers increased measured internet spending by $1 billion; slashed newspaper spending by $674 million; and cut TV budgets by $406 million.

This is not to suggest that traditional media is dying, but the web is growing. And when budgets get tight, most markers seem to gravitate to spaces that can prove the success or failure of their campaigns.

Read Wired


Over the last year, I've become addicted to Wired. At first, I thought it was a tech nerd magazine - something that only early adopters could read because it was too advanced, to technical, too geeky.

But after reading the last year of issues, I can honestly say its one of the best magazines out there. Not just for the latest in technology but mainly because the magazine's editor - Chris Anderson - is so forward thinking.

From articles about global warming to the latest news on Facebook, Wired is essential reading. Pick one up the next time your in an airport (and are sick of reading US Weekly).