My buddy Mike Z passed along a portion of a job description from a local broadcasting company in upstate NY:
“Expected to log onto the computer on a daily basis and use department electronic mail and message boards to receive and send messages important to the department’s objectives. Also, expected to check mailbox, voice mail and e-mail messages periodically throughout the day.”
I suggest they add the following, just so there’s no gray area: “Upon arrival each day, expected to greet co-workers, proceed to assigned workspace, and sit in chair. Also expected to consume food, drink coffee (or other preferred beverage) and take potty breaks at established intervals throughout the day.”
Compelling content will drive word of mouth for your brand, even if that content is irreverant and in the form of *gasp* a 30-second spot on broadcast TV. Exhibit A: McDonald’s talking fish.
YouTube views of most popular posting of the spot: 246,757 <warning: this tune will stick in your head like spackling paste>
Was in Montpelier, VT this past weekend for a family wedding, and was fortunate enough to catch, from our hotel room window, the tail end (so to speak) of a nude bike race through town to protest rising gas prices and oil consumption.
Today, Ad Age reports that GM is considering selling off its Hummer brand. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
I’ve been getting the usual stream of spam comments on my blog, but lately they’ve followed a new trend: all the poseur/posters have Greek names. What’s behind this new tactic in the spammers’ playbook? Do studies show that people are more likely to click on links from Greeks? Why am I being subjected to the wrath of these ancient gods? Evripides, Athones, Aikos, please explain yourselves. Oh, never mind – I just jettisoned you to WordPress’ version of Hades.
WASHINGTON (AP) — All sleeping pills, including the blockbusters Ambien and Lunesta, may sometimes cause a bizarre but dangerous side effect — sleep-driving, the Food and Drug Administration warned Wednesday.
It’s like sleepwalking but behind-the-wheel: driving while not fully awake after using a sleeping aid — with no memory of doing so.
The FDA ordered the makers of 13 products to strengthen warnings on their labels about two rare but serious side effects:
• Sleep-driving, along with other less dangerous “complex sleep-related behaviors” — like making phone calls or fixing and eating food while still asleep.
• And life-threatening allergic reactions, as well as severe facial swelling, both of which can occur the first time the pills are taken.
I would hope that some savvy pharma marketer somewhere can turn these developments into a catchy new direct-to-consumer promotion – maybe a mashup of Lunesta’s soothing butterfly with the Ford Edge campaign. But we shouldn’t joke about these things. Seriously.
For the past few weeks I have been waking up just about every night at 2:18 a.m., give or take a couple of minutes. It’s starting to freak me out. So I Googled “2:18” and, not surprisingly, found a lot of Scripture:
Ephesians 2:18: “… for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”
Genesis 2:18: “The LORD God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.”
John 2:18: “Then the Jews demanded of him, ‘What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?’ ”
Thessalonians 2:18: “Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.”
Last night I caught the new ConAgra ad featuring a digitally reanimated Orville Redenbacher, and I have to say it was the creepiest thing I have seen in many years. Poor Orville, who died in 1995, has been brought back to life as zombie-like pitchman by Crispin, Porter + Bogusky and Hollywood special effects company Digital Domain. The spot features Orville – a questionable choice as a spokesman even when he was alive – hip-hopping around a modern kitchen with MP3 earbuds and a bag of microwave popcorn. The computer-generated images are truly disturbing – he actually LOOKS dead, even as he’s speaking. My kids nearly ran screaming from the room; I considered sleeping with the light on.
From ConAgra’s press release: “Orville … would have turned 100 years old this year, making this a centenary cause for remembering him.” And someone thought this was a good idea?
Magnosticism 