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Looking at the world a different way…

I began watching this spot for Canadian Tire scratching my head thinking “What the heck?” But this is no normal spot gone awry; this is actually a well-executed concept. This is the type of commercial Philip K. Dick would’ve created if he had been in advertising. Philip K. Dick was a mind-bending novelist whose works inspired Blade Runner, and Total Recall. Indeed, such mind games are probably best suited to films and books, as they require more attention to detail than the average consumer normally gives to a 30-second commercial, but it works in this spot.

TO WATCH THE FUNNY COMMERCIAL VISIT: WWW.12POINTTYPE.COM

PR, Marketing, Advertising, Publicity

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Public relations. Marketing. Advertising. Publicity! If you want a tough twister that will boggle your mind as well, try saying that one ten times fast. The prior are four related, yet separate areas of the communication industry.

Marketing would likely be the area that the general public is most likely to understand and associate with. As a college student I was very involved in everything  from the student newspaper, to student government, service committee, tutoring and everything in between. Somehow, marketing was thrown in the mix when an old friend asked me to become the marketing director of the arts and lectures committee. Before this experience I had never realized how much marketing goes into keeping a university afloat. Marketing is such a large part of everyday life that many fail to see for what it is. Of course that are the common examples such as billboards and movie previews, but if everyone were r to think back to the letters that he or she recieved from assorted educational facilities , the purpose is to convince one to attend such facilities. The purpose of marketing is to create awareness of products and services while at the same time creating interest. In other words sales may finish the deal, but marketing convinces the buyer.

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Jumping the Shark

In 1977, the television show “Happy Days” ended a three-episode story arc by having the popular character Fonzie perform a stunt in which he jumped over a shark on water skis. The episode changed the show’s direction, morphing it from a sunny and homey comedy about life in 1950s Milwaukee into a melange of anachronistic pop culture references.

The episode marked the beginning of the end for “Happy Days” but gave birth to the term “jumping the shark,” which is now used to describe a poorly thought-out, game-changing and out-of-the-ordinary event that eventually leads to destroying the very thing that it was meant to help save or bolster.

Circuit City jumped the shark in the spring of 2007 when in a cost-cutting move the retailer decided to fire its veteran in-store workforce in favor of cheaper workers. The plan didn’t work out.

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Microsoft Rocks It Again!

Calling all shower singers, wanna-be rappers, pop princesses and bedroom yodellers: “LIPS” is finally here. The highly anticipated singing party game exclusively on Xbox 360, will be hitting stores on 21st November 2008.

Lips is the only music video game that comes with two wireless motion-sensitive microphones, allowing you to put your fantastic dance moves to the test! You can even get other people involved in your songs by having them playing percussion with your Xbox 360 controllers. Whether you’re throwing a party for your friends or simply staying at home with your family, Lips will have everyone singing and dancing together to party favorites, backed by their ORIGINAL music videos, lyrics and scoring.

You can even plug in your MP3 player and sing along to your own music collection while a virtual music video accompanies your performance.

So if you feel like you want to bust a move or simply want to boogie tonite, then Lips is your best choice for a night of unbelievable entertainment in the comfort of your own home. Here is their awesome new commercial for the game.

TO WATCH THE AWESOME VIDEO VISIT: WWW.12POINTTYPE.COM

Toshiba’s TimeSculpture

Toshiba shines in it’s newest spot from Grey, London. There have been very few spots that make me say wow…and this is takes first place. It’s rather hard to explain the spot…except to say that this is spectacular! This spot was made not with special cameras, or special film…but with 200 of Toshiba’s hand held video cameras. Andy Amadeo, Creative Director for Grey, London says: “This commercial is simply demonstrating Toshiba’s commitment to staying ahead of the technological advancements that are being made in film and television.” I have to say that they have accomplished that completely. You can watch how they made the spot here.

TO WATCH THE AWESOME VIDEO VISIT: WWW.12POINTTYPE.COM

Motrin Crosses the Line

McNeil Consumer Healthcare created an advertisement for MOTRIN®, a product of Johnson & Johnson. See the video below. It did not go over well with Mommy Bloggers. Not at all. And it seems, their server went down almost 20 hours after the firestorm erupted. #MotrinMoms has been at the top of the Twitter Trending Topics list for hours.

This is definitely not the result they were looking for. Their PR rep has a lot to clean up. You can read more about this here.

TO WATCH THE COMMERCIAL VISIT: WWW.FLACKME.COM

Strategy: What The 2008 Election Showed US

Now that the great race is finally over, I am thrilled that I lived to see what was previously unimaginable: An African-American candidate overwhelmingly elected President of the United States. Not as a protest or grievance candidate but as iconic symbol for change, with wide spread across the fabric of American society. This monumental achievement was in no small part made responsible by the truly brilliant strategic planning and the tactical campaigning of President-elect Barack Obama. No future presidential candidate will ever run a campaign the same way as a result of the Obama win. This should be a harbinger of sound thinking process, cerebral approaches and hopefully better decisions borne out of improved judgment from past mistakes. Taking chances means making mistakes. This is what I see as strategic development that won an election. BAD TIMES = BETTER CHANCES: Tapping into a national, across-the-board mood of anger and unhappiness, Obama’s brand embodied not only change, but more importantly hope, vision, challenging the status quo and then upsetting it like we’ve never seen before. The message was consistent, continuous, and coherent. Tap into the vein of meaning, need and relevance and people will buy what you are selling. DEFINE, Don’t Be Defined: Obama’s team managed and ran access to the candidate unlike any other Presidential candidate before. This came under a great deal of attack from the media, but what it did was important because it succeeded in Obama being able to manage the electorate’s perception of him, regardless of the press’ attempts to takeover how the voters saw him… Not since Presidents John Kennedy or Ronald Reagan has image been such a force of nature responsible for carrying a candidate in to the White House. Obama is almost a cult of personality. PERCEPTIONS: More Important Than Reality During the debates in September and October while the economy was crumbling all around us, neither candidate stepped up… FOR MORE VISIT: WWW.12POINTTYPE.COM

Obama’s savvy comms propel him to victory

Last night, America came together to make history. Our first African American President, it’s about time people! Barack Obama’s solid victory as the next president of the US not only is historically significant, but it will make a lasting impact on the communications sector. On the day of and the day leading up to the election…

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Brother of the Bride

I have a younger brother, and when I was recently married he was strangely quiet. I say strangely because he always has something to say about everything. I understood though, he was losing his sister. Well, I talk about this because I recently say this old spot from Hallmark its from Leo Burnett. This cute 2 minute spot follows the brother of the bride throughout his sister’s wedding. This poor guy who more often than not, should probably just keep his mouth shut. But with a little help from Hallmark, he makes his sister’s day priceless.

Oh, and did I mention this spot is among 5 spots nominated for the Commercial Emmy this year? If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching it yet, check it out below. It’s worth a giggle… and a small tear. Here’s to all the brothers out there - younger or older.

TO WATCH THE AWESOME VIDEO VISIT: WWW.12POINTTYPE.COM

Biotech association connects with ‘Eleventh Hour’ TV audience

The Biotechnology trade association, BIO, is using interest around CBS’ new Eleventh Hour drama to tackle misinterpretations about its industry. The Washington, DC-based group launched an interactive Web site, eleventhhourfacts.com, on October 15 to educate the public. Jeff Joseph, VP of communications for BIO said….

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