Harder than I thought
Thursday, December 14th, 2006Which is the real logo?
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Archive for December 14th, 2006
Sure…get the US post office to do marketing for KFC
Thursday, December 14th, 2006The “face from space” stunt was an obvious and harmless marketing ploy,
but petitioning to put the colonel’s face on postage stamps and encouraging consumers to sign a petition… that’s another story.
Their case…as stated in their petition letter goes like this:
Hollywood legends, American Superheroes and Hall of Famers have graced the stamps that pass through hands of Americans everywhere, and Harland “Colonel” Sanders deserves to stand amongst these American icons as a true testament to the American Dream.
From the KFC press release:
“The Colonel’s entrepreneurial spirit and hospitable nature made him an American legend,” said James O’Reilly, interim Chief Marketing Officer for KFC. “We believe that a postage stamp in his honor would be a fitting tribute to his memory.”
Colonel Sanders recently was named one of America’s two favorite advertising icons for 2006 and inducted into Madison Avenue’s Advertising Walk of Fame. He is the first real person ever to receive this designation.
Did the post office opened a can of worms when they started the commemorative stamps? According to the USPS, they are to depict individuals, events and subjects instrumental to the American experience. But what if that individual is deeply entrenched as an advertising icon? And his image is on TV every few minutes hawking something or other? Doesn’t that then turn the stamps into a marketing media? That’s what it feels like to me.
GSD&M Opts Out of Wal-Mart Review
Thursday, December 14th, 2006Yesterday it was announced that Wal-Mart choose Select Resources International, the consultancy that handled its recent ill-fated $580 million creative and media review, to manage its upcoming mulligan.
Today, GSD&M says “Thanks but no thanks,” leaving only Ogilvy & Mather and the Martin Agency contending for the business (plus Carat for the media business). BTW–Bravo to GSD&M for saying NO to that craziness again.
Why hire a search consultant…again… especially with only two contenders (that have already pitched before) and one media agency?
Makes no sense whatsoever. Just pick one…for God’s sake. Don’t put them through the hoops of a pitch yet again. It’s bad enough to have to pitch once, but twice…that’s pure torture. It’s a ridiculous waste of time and money — for all parties.
Given the debacle this has become, I wouldn’t’ t be the least bit surprised to find out that with GSD&M opting out, that Select Resources opens the door wide open to a whole new review.
What a fiasco! The entire review process our industry lives by is so massively flawed, it should be thrown out.