I'm a big fan of LAUNCHcast, and love the convenience of music online. I've been listening for years, and for years Yahoo! has been tempting me with all those LAUNCHcast plus offers. Only $2.50 a month for unlimited music, so why not?

So finally I decide to upgrade (big excitement!) ... only to be let down. LAUNCHcast plus is only available in the US. They obviously know I'm not in the US ('cos they turned me down)... so why have they been dangling this offer in front of me so often!!!

Next time, Yahoo!, if you can't deliver the product to me, don't promote it!

Posted by Colin at 09:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Red Bull have done this before, and for me it is the ultimate branded event. On September 14th, at the bull fighting ring of Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, (in Madrid) young 'Matadors' will put there lives on the line in a motocross freestyle event.

Take a look at the Red Bull X-Fighters Mexico event earlier in the year, from the biggest Bull ring in the world:

The location, the sport, the excitement (Red Bull gives you wiiings!)... everything about this is absolutely 'on brand' and works perfectly in so many different ways. Then TV, DVD's, internet: it all spins out from this awesome night of entertainment.

Posted by Colin at 08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

YouTube has been getting an enormous amout of free press coverage in the UK recently, much of it thanks to geriatric1927, a 79 year-old widower who posted his first video a few weeks ago...

Just search google for 'geriatric1927' - it's amazing the coverage this guy is getting. The coverage, in all the national newspaper titles, must be equivalent to $$,$$$,$$$ of ad dollars (and there are fan sites too!)

A lucky break for YouTube? I think not. This guy was one of the 'featured videos' on the home page, my guess is some smart cookie at YouTube recognized the news potential of 'an old guy on the net'. And the rest is history...

Posted by Colin at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The movie launches today, it feels like a bit of an after-thought. The marketing has been so great to watch.

It all started with the name... 'Snakes on a plane'... difficult to imaging a better name for a movie. Then there was the screenwriter's blog, then the 'fan-made' advertising (see below)...

The fan-blogs, check out www.snakesonablog.com, it's one of the best.

The the t-shirts, the home-made trailers, blah blah blah. Just search google and you'll get a taste of it.

With out a doubt the most internet-hyped movie of all time. The producers must be laughing all the way to the bank.

Oh, and here's one of the Urban Dictionary definitions...

Snakes on a plane
A simple existential observation that has the same meaning as "Whaddya gonna do?" or "Shit Happens". Taken from the upcoming Samuel L. Jackson movie of the same name, and immortilised by screenwriter Josh Friedman on his blog post of Wednesday, August 17, 2005.

Guy 1: (irate) Dude, you just ran into the back of my SUV!

Guy 2: (calm) Snakes on a plane man. Snakes on a plane.

Posted by Colin at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Advertising that makes an impact, creates word-of-mouth, and breaks through the clutter...

It's classic "we've got nothing new to say, but we want to make some ads" advertising.

Posted by Colin at 01:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

BP has spent millions of dollars over recent years advertising its 'green' credentials, and it's easy to be cynical. So it's good to see that the company has done the right thing, closing down the Prudhoe Bay pipeline after a leak of only 4 to 5 barrels. (Not surprisingly all the news coverage is of rising oil prices.)

A company spokesman said: "We don't know how long the field will be down but we will not resume operation of the field until we and government regulators are satisfied that they can be operated safely and pose no threat to the environment".

Of course, there are still criticisms that can be leveled at BP: earlier spills are under investigation, questions are being asked about why the pipeline has been allowed to deteriorate to such a level. All valid concerns.

But hopefully public opinion (and prospection!) are starting to make environmental protection a higher priority, in actions and not just words.

Posted by Colin at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Branding commodities is always a huge challenge, product innovation (even in packaging) can help. UK-based Lion Quality Eggs have achieved that, and more.

You can now buy eggs marked with 'thermochromatic' invisible ink. The inks have been created to appear after three minutes to indicate a soft-boiled egg, after four minutes for medium and after seven minutes for a hard-boiled egg.

It could be an answer to the prayers of people who, quite literally, cannot boil an egg.

Posted by Colin at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)