It's great to be reminded that there are always opportunities for innovation. Shower Shock is the original and world's first caffeinated soap from ThinkGeek.

Tired of waking up and having to wait for your morning java to brew? Are you one of those groggy early morning types that just needs that extra kick? Know any programmers who dont regularly bathe and need some special motivation?

Each bar of Shower shock contains approximately 12 servings/showers per 4 ounce bar with 200 milligrams of caffeine per serving.

No, they're not kidding and no you don't eat it. The caffeine is absorbed through the skin...

And what a great name too!

I've just discovered www.advertisingarchives.co.uk - over 1 million catalogued images of advertising dating back to 1850.

You'll have to register, which is quick and simple, and it's a great resource for anyone interested in browsing through, or researching, old ads (they have recent work too). Take a look!

Is it just me, or is the Yahoo! logo starting to look a little dated? It's looking a little 1990's and doesn't compare well with Google (for example).

Perhaps it's time to refresh the brand's visual identity?

FIrst off... good viral. This is part of the Ray-Ban 'Never Hide' campaign. The whole campaign carries a big idea that taps into youthful individualism, making a classic brand relevant.

This viral ad on YouTube has already been viewed over 2 million times, and manages to engage, laugh at, and laugh with, the tubers that Ray-Ban are after. And most importantly it has that magical pass-along quality, in this case created by a 'how did they do that' curiosity.

(Is the branding too subtle? Maybe, but remember, this is part of a larger compaign.)

Take a look...

Now, do you want to see some shockingly bad viral, from Panasonic? Just look at this next clip. The last scene has now been removed from www.hedidnotseethatcoming.com, the minisite developed to promote the Panasonic Viera Plasma TV.

OK, perhaps you're thinking "Well, it's gone viral, so it can't be that bad" - but yes, it is. It's truly awful.

Take a look...

Trashy shock value that damages the brand and shows no respect for consumers. As marketers get to grips with how to create viral content, there are some really BIG mistakes being made!

Take a look at these two parodies of the very popular Mac ads...

And rapidly becoming one of the most popular videos on YouTube...

As awareness of the issues grow the main challenge would seem to be "can I trust the blue label, is it really proof of sustainable practices?" In fisheries, more than in many other industries, this seems to be the big difficulty. They need to be more explicit in their communications about how this is achieved.

Despite this, I hope you'll be looking for the blue label yourself!

Search for spleak@hotmail.com, or take a look at http://gallery.live.com/messenger - there are bot tools for music, games, news. They even help my daughter with her homework. Just add them to your contact list and interact with them in natural language.

How long before these bots become brand tools? News of latest product launches, basic product info, promotions... as usual the opportunities are endless :))

The only hitch, I had to download the screen and install it onto my desktop. This is a fairly high barrier to participation, even for a brand fan like me. Well, I did it out of curiosity... downloaded and installed the Bud Screen.

This was maybe 9 months ago. I looked at it once, enjoyed the ads, and forgot about it (I've just been tidying up my desktop, which is why I rediscovered it). Where are the free downloads? The special offers? the "more"?

They have direct access to my desktop! And they've chosen to do nothing with it. Nothing at all. Very disappointing.

Once consumers have purchased a product, their preferences change. Suddenly, usability matters very much.

These are the findings of research published in Harvard Business Review. And of course, it makes perfect sense. But what are the implications? Well, one implication is that loading a technology product with a high number of features can maximize initial sales, but will not maximize lifetime value (because usability of the product is low).

The solution? On a limited budget?

www.experiencesomethingnew.com It's worth looking at (though it's all in Chinese). It's a blogging site, featuring Chinese celebrities that have visited New Zealand, sharing their great experiences of the country (and the airline). It's a great way to get the message out to blogging crazy Chinese consumers, in a way presents New Zealand in a very positive light, and more importantly, overcomes all the barriers to travelling to and experiencing this great country.

Only 3 brands from the USA in the top 10, which surprised me: Colgate-Palmolive, Coca-Cola and 7-Eleven. (Though plenty in the top 100.)

The two biggest markets, China and India, showing a stonger presence of local brands (which makes sense if you think about it, they have the critical mass to build their own brands). In China this is particularly true: with local brands such as Mengniu, Haier, China Mobile, Lenovo and Nongfu Shan Quan making it into the top 20 brands.

Across the region, Heineken the leading brand in the beer category :))

The survey was conducted by Synovate for Media magazine. Nine markets were included: mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, India and Indonesia. Synovate interviewed people aged 15 to 64 years old, with sample sizes per country of 500 (apart from China and India, where the sample was 750 across three and four top-tier cities respectively).

Young consumers in the UK are now reported to have an effective tax-burden of 48%, plus student debts, soaring mortgage costs and all in all, a pretty tough life. Gone are the care-free young years of the baby-boomers. That generation, now entering their 50's, are still "living the life of teenagers", while young people of today are writhing in angst. Is it really so? Take a look...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/18/nipod18.xml