Yaffe Tidbits

10 Good Super Bowl 2012 Ads & An Ugly One

The 2012 Super Bowl and accompanying Brand Bowl has come and gone. There were some good ads and some really bad ads, but none stood out to me as truly great ads. In the last few years, picking a number one ad was either easy because it was a standout or hard because, like last year, there were two standouts (VW Vader spot and Chrysler's Imported from Detroit spot). This year it was hard because I really didn't have strong feelings about any one spot. But be that as it may, here's my top 10 spots and my worst of the year pick.

10. Honda - "Matthew's Day Off"

So many people loved this ad, that I had to make it a top 10. But truthfully, I'm not a big fan. I think part of it was that Honda used VW's Vader kid "leak the spot online" strategy and it backfired. Instead of endearing the spot to me with all the coverage it got before the Super Bowl, I was already tired of it. I think if I saw it and it was a surprise, I might have felt - oh wow, look what they did. Instead, I felt, meh... they took an iconic movie character and reinacted some movie stuff and it didn't tie in to the car at all. If I hadn't looked up the spot, I wouldn't have been able to tell you which car it was.

 

9. Oikos Greek Yogurt - "The Tease"

This one made the list simply because it's got a woman head butting John Stamos to the floor. And who doesn't want to see that again?

 

8. The Voice - "Vocal Kombat"

Props to NBC's The Voice for creating something far more engaging than a montage of clips for a show promo. This was entertaining, had high action, cool graphics and still got across the premise of the show, which is the judges fighting to get the best voice to choose them. Love the "Kill Bill" sequences and graphics, down to Cee-Lo's outfit. And the twist at the end made me laugh.

 

7. Doritos - "Man's Best Friend"

What's the Super Bowl without dog spots. Here's the first one to make my list. One of the winners of Doritos annual Super Bowl ad contest. Clever concept, the dog gives his master Doritos as "hush money" after "offing" the cat. Nice.

 

6. Sex Sells for H&M and Teleflora

We always see examples of good and bad use of the time honored tradition of sex sells. Here's two good examples - one for the men and one for the ladies. First, there was Teleflora. I would actually call this a great product benefit spot. Guys may think giving flowers is stupid. But, with Valentine's Day coming up, Teleflora reminds us dumb guys the real product benefit of buying flowers, mixing metaphors with Christmas, using the line, "give, and you shall receive."

 

On the other hand, we have David Beckham for men's underwear for H&M. Now, you may think they're targeting the wrong market - getting the ladies attention for a men's underwear product. But, I'm sure their research shows that most of the men's underwear is actually bought by the women in their lives. Let's face it, most of us guys will keep wearing shabby, holey underwear rather than go buy new stuff. Also, judging by a lot of the tweets I read, a lot of women are buying this stuff just because they're buying whatever he's selling.

 

5. Chrysler - "Halftime in America"

I have mixed feelings about this one. For one thing, it must have run during the one time I got up and left the set - so I didn't see it in context, just later on the web. It suffers by comparison. Last year's imported from Detroit spot featuring Eminem was so powerful and poignant. Trying to recapture the magic of a special spot is very hard to do. I think they did a valiant job here, but it pales in comparison. For one thing, as someone living in Detroit, I don't remember that "we almost lost it all" - sure time have been tough and we were hit harder than most, but I don't remember ever thinking we were going to lose everything. It's a well written, well produced spot with an icon to lead the charge. But, it's not last year's spot. Not even close.

 

4. Budweiser - Eternal Optimism

Don't love the beer, but I love this ad. And I wish my clients had this kind of budgets! It's a lot of fun, with a great soundtrack featuring a mash-up The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary" and Flo Rida's "Good Feelin'." It basically shows that over time, people have always gathered together with their buds for a good time gathering - and often it's involved their favorite beer. It's a spot that works well with Budweiser's tagline "Grab some Buds."

 

3. Volkswagen - "The Dog Strikes Back"

This is really two spots in one. One spot about a dog that sees the new VW Beetle and really wants to chase it, but needs to get in shape to do so. And another that takes place in a galaxy far, far away. I think VW did a much better job of trying to top last year's special ad, than Chrysler. They didn't succeed either, but I like what they did better. Instead of the new and improved version, they went with a new spot that gives a nod to the old classic. I didn't see the twist at the end coming and I loved it. I know some think they should have just ended it with the dog's story. Personally, I think it could have come off as schmaltzy by itself. With the commercial shifting to the Star Wars bar and a blatant reference to last year's spot - I thought it was great. I also like that the pre-Super Bowl spot released on the web (dogs barking out the Darth Vader theme) was a nice hint to the eventual spot without actually being the spot.

 

2. Accura - "Transactions"

I originally had this as my number one ad, but upon further review, it turns out I like the Chevy ad better. I did really like this one though. Of all the ads, this one got the biggest laughs from me. Sure, it was a bit over the top. But, Leno in a flying squirrel jet back to steal the deal just as Jerry Seinfeld was about to seal it? Loved it. What can I say, you make me laugh, you're gonna get high marks from me. It's just how I roll.

 

1. Chevy Silverado - "2012 Mayan Calendar"

I love this ad. Talk about a brand promise - buy our product and survive the apocalypse. Sure, it's not realistic, but it's fun. And I don't mind at all that they took a poke at the competition. I come from a rural area where guys drive trucks and if you're a Chevy guy, you look at the Ford and Dodge guys with disdain and vise versa. It just taps into the target market mindset.

I like that they took something topical like the predicted end of the world and had fun with it. They didn't just stick with one reason either - you see alien spacecraft, volcanoes, meteors and even the more biblical rain of frogs. Loved the burning Big Boy statue and a play on the old joke (and recent Zombie movie) idea that one of the things that will last forever is twinkies. Nice co-branding opportunity, too, I'm sure. Added bonus for the counter intuitive Barry Manalow track.

 

And 1 Ugly One.

That's my take on the best spots. There were plenty of disappointments, too. I think the eTrade baby spots have lost their luster. Career Builder brought back the chimps and it wasn't bad, but it was just a rehash of previous spots. I thought the Cars.com one with the extra head singing was just creepy. But one advertiser was just ugly. I bet you know who it was. Go Daddy once again stunk up the place with horrible ads that just ticked off at least half of the possible customers right off the bat. As one woman tweeted, "what? Women don't buy domain names?" Where H&M and Teleflora (and even Fiat) used sex to sell in a good way, these people use it all wrong. Their spots are sexist. They play the bait and switch game - Oooo, come to our website and maybe you'll see these women naked (you won't). And to make matters worse, it's just bad, reheated creative. They've basically run the same idea for I don't know how many Super Bowls now. Time to banish them from the event, if you ask me.

So, what were your favorites? Did I miss some? Do you think I'm a moron for including one of these? I'd love to hear your take on the best and worst of 2012 Super Bowl ads.

Mike McClure, Ad Junkie

2011 Best and Worst Super Bowl Ads

The Super Bowl commercials were an interesting mix this year. Some that always have favorites (like Budweiser) feel a little short this year. Some breakthrough ads of old, seem to be wearing thin. The monkeys for Carrier Builder could have been anyone and it would still have not worked. And although still funny, I think the eTrade baby is starting to look a little creepy as he grows up. There were probably more different auto companies in this Super Bowl than ever before - and as a group, I think they mostly did a great job. And finally, some of the perennial purveyors of awful ads, produced again some of the worst ads (I'm looking at you, Go Daddy).

But without further ado, here's my personal top 10 ads of the 2011 Super Bowl:

10. Car Max "Service Station" - in this world where even the grocery store is trying to get you to do all the check out yourself, the kind of service you got back in the 50's can be kind of scary. That's what happens in this spot. It's over the top, which makes it funny. But it also makes a good point about the brand, that you'll actually get the kind of good service you're not used to seeing anymore. I like it. (assuming the brand can deliver on the promise)

 

9. NFL.com "Best Fans Ever" This spot shows how over the years, the NFL has become a part of our culture. And what better way to say that than to use pop culture to say it.

 

8. Bridgestone Tire "Reply All" "Carma" Besides sponsoring the badly mixed music during the halftime show, Bridgestone had a couple of pretty good spots in the big game. I personally like the "Reply All" one and their "Carma" one, featuring a beaver who pays back a motorist who didn't hit him, just fell out of the top 10 for me. But, so many others here at Yaffe love the beaver spot that I'm putting them both in here at number 8:

 

 

7. Coca-Cola"Border" Coke did its usual stellar job of putting a wide variety of great looking spots in the Super Bowl. Some like the "Siege" spot were beautiful and extravagant, but seemed overproduced and with a convoluted storyline. I liked the simplicity of their "Border" spot. It proves that a simple story of shared human emotion is where they always shine best.

 

6. Audi "Release the Hounds" Yes, it seems that every luxury car is doing an ad about how it's the "new" luxury not the stuffy old luxury. But, this one is just done so well. It has two rich guys breaking out of a "rich person" prison. All the little details along the way are priceless. Piping in Kenny G music to get them to turn back just tickles my funny bone, what can I say?

 

A5. Chevy "Status" Another wonderfully simple spot that does a great job of highlighting a product benefit. It's well casted and acted. Love the little quiver in his voice as he gets his car to read his Facebook updates. Of all the spots in the big game, this was just simply... sweet.

 

4. Best Buy "Bieber and Ozzy" Loved this spot. Really told the story well of how fast technology changes today. It was told in how Bieber replaced Ozzy as spokes person and by the end an old version of Bieber as looking on. It was also told by the technology changing so fast they can't get the commercial done fast enough. Can't keep up? Best Buy will buy it back and get you upgraded. Good stuff.

 

3. Doritos "The Best Part" This ad had my biggest laugh out loud moment of the Super Bowl. When the Doritos loving guy just grabs his coworker's fingers to suck off the cheese residue - that's comedy gold. Plus, you can never go wrong with tear away pants!

 

2. Volkswagen "The Force" This ad was leaked online early and was actually our ad of the week in this space last week, you can see my full thoughts on it in that post. It held up well when placed among the rest of the Super Bowl ads. Still great stuff.

 

1. Chrysler "Eminem - Imported From Detroit" Okay, I'm a jaded ad guy, but this ad actually gave me goose bumps. Perhaps it's because I'm a part of Detroit and all that goes with that. But this was an ad so well done that, even if you aren't from Detroit the emotion touched you. Here in the D, the twitter feed blew up for hours after it ran, it exploded all over people's Facebook status updates. I've never seen anything like it. But, "Chrysler" wasn't just trending here in Detroit - if you followed the twitter feeds, it was trending in cities all across the country. Kudos to Chrysler for creating a buzz about a new product by tapping into human emotons and a community rather than car attributes. It's where marketing is going in this new digital world and it's nice to see Detroit's big 3 leading the way rather than waitng to see what happens.

 

The Best of the Worst. Of course, there were some stinkers out there. Go Daddy, even with the surprise twist of Joan Rivers head, still managed to be badly done sexist tripe. The Chevy Cruz Eco spot with the old folks who can't hear the commercial repeatedly saying key copy points is a horrible device in a so-so commercial. I thought the Mercedes spot with all the different cars taking off on their own to go to the dealership or wherever that was they were going was as pointless as the random Sean Combs sighting in it. And Teleflora wasted Faith Hill in a childish ad where a studio engineer sends flowers with a note "from the heart" about the girl's awesome rack.

In other words, it was  typical Super Bowl of ads, some great commercials, some bad and some in between. What were your favorites?

Mike McClure, Executive Creative Director and big ad fan

Ad of the Week: Capital One: "The Ivan Brothers"

If you like college basketball and, like me, you still have a day job, you probably saw this week's Ad of the Week. CBS offered free streaming video of all the games on their sportsline site. Like many, I had the games running on my desktop while I was working. And the Ivan Brothers were everywhere. Seemed like almost every break, you'd see an ad for them, while a banner ad ran down the side of the video even as you went back to the game.

The ads were well done and a nice extension of Capital One's long-standing marauding horde of barbarians campaign. The spots featured fictitious college named West Eastern State who, after long losing seasons had now secured a 15 seed in the tournament, riding on the massive shoulders of the Ivan Brothers. The Ivan Brothers are two giant barbarians who wear animal skins and horned helmets under their basketball uniforms. And their unstoppable on the court. The spots consist of a variety of famous college coaches like Tom Izzo, Roy Williams and Tubby Smith lamenting how tough it would be to face the Ivan Brothers, intercut with shots of the brothers amazing dunks and feats on the court. The best line is when Danny Manning says, "It's hard to defend guys who are used to storming castles."

Capital One: "NCAA coaches on the Ivan Brothers impact"

When the spots are over, you are directed to go to www.theIvanBrothers.com to see their story. It turns out to be Capital One's YouTube channel, bedecked in Ivan Brothers graphics. All the TV and web ads are there along with a six-minute "documentary" about how the brothers were found and how they learned to harness their powers in a team format on the court. It's worth the watch.

All in all, it's a brilliant example of how to create an engaging campaign that ties into your overall one, but still is targeted specifically at the target you're trying to reach and the environment in which you see them.

Mike McClure, Izzo and Ivan fan

10 Things Marketers Can Learn From The NCAA Tournament

The 2010 NCAA basketball tournament has barely started, but already there are some lessons marketers can learn from the tournament and the teams in it. Here's 10 tournament-related winning strategies to keep the marketing for your business on track:

1. Reputation will only get you so far. Yes, reputation is very important for your business. But, you need to deliver on your brand promise consistently. The Big East came into the tournament with the reputation as the country's toughest league, but (at least on the first day) didn't live up to the promise of bringing the toughest teams in. Top teams like Georgetown lost to mid-conference teams like Ohio. Make sure in every interaction with your customers, the public and your peers that your products and services meet or exceed the good reputation you've built.

2. Never underestimate your competition. Everyone comes into the tournament hungry. And as some teams have learned, you can't take these lower seeds lightly or they can hurt you. Same is true in business. Everyone wants their business to succeed. A small competitor who is determined and marketing savvy can cut into your business. They may not have the budget you do, but outstanding creative could get them noticed. Or an innovative media strategy, like dominating a local radio station or tapping into the local community through social media. So, make sure you monitor even the little guys. Or better yet, think like one and don't just plan on winning by sheer media weight, but develop your own out of the box thinking for your marketing.

3. Engage your consumers. The huge popularity of the tournament is due to more than school loyalty and great basketball games. Over the years, a whole industry has sprung up around office pools and filling out your brackets. It's a way to engage the casual viewer. Now every game has meaning and people will watch even if they don't know a thing about the teams. Same thing happened with fantasy football helping make the NFL so popular. So, how can you put that kind of thinking to work for your brand? What can you do to deeply engage even casual users of your product or service? Find the answer and profits will increase as engagement increases.

4. Everybody love a good story. If you want to capture imagination and hearts of the people, make sure you have a good story to tell. In the tournament, that can mean a small team making an extended run, like George Mason did a few years ago. Or it can be a story about one player being a great person trying to win the big one in his last chance as a senior. Or a team or player overcoming adversity. A good story gets people talking and paying attention. What story is your brand telling? Make sure it's a compelling one and you too will get people talking and paying attention to your brand.

5. For some just being there is enough, for others it's all or nothing. When one of these small schools get into the tourney for the first time, they're just happy to be there - even though the chances of moving beyond the first game are close to nil. For a team like number one seed Kansas, anything short of a final four berth would be disappointment. How you look at your business depends on where you're at. We have a client who tells the story of when his business first got on TV. He was on camera and they had a cheesy jingle. It wasn't good, but they were just happy to be on TV and business improved for being there. Now, 20 years later, they're the leaders in their market. Anything short of beating the competition is no longer acceptable. So, wherever you're company is at, be glad to be there and have a strategy that works for where you are at the time.

6. Stay focused. We see it all the time, a team gets up big and loses focus, letting their opponent get back in the game. Just because the marketing plan you put together a few years ago has been doing well, don't let it coast without updating it. Stay focused on what you're trying to accomplish and update your plan as needed. Don't let a competitor sneak up on you. Make sure you're doing everything you can to keep your company moving towards it's goals.

7. Everyone needs to pull towards the same goal. Some teams play over their talent level to win games simply because everyone on the team has bought into the same plan and are all working perfectly together to achieve their goal. The best marketing plans can fall apart if you don't get everyone in your organization on board, marching in the same direction. First, you have to make sure everyone understands what it is you're trying to do. Then, you need to inspire them that it will be for everyone's good if the goals are achieved. No matter how good your marketing is, if the people on the front lines of interaction with your customers don't understand and buy into your plan, it's more likely to fail.

8. It makes a difference what region you're in. In the tournament, it can greatly affect how you play whether you're playing near the home crowd or are shipped to the other side of the country. Also, some regions provide easier paths than others. In business, it makes a different what region you're in, too. The competition is going to be different from area to area. Also, how you go to market will vary regionally. We've worked with furniture retailers all across the country. You need to be aware of the subtle market differences in how you advertise in Detroit or Chicago and how you go to market in Virginia or Houston. Knowing those differences and playing to them has created success for each regional client.

9. What you've done in the past does matter. How you're preformed over the course of the year and past tournament experience makes a difference in what seeding you get as a basketball team. Your past marketing efforts make a difference in how your current efforts will be received, too. If you've always been a company that does quirky marketing with a personality and you suddenly start an aggressive campaign to move products, it's probably going to lose you some customers if you don't take into account what you've done before. The reverse is true too. If you've been an aggressive marketer and want to put a kinder, gentler face on your brand, it will take more work to convince people that the new face reflects who you are.

10. Give it all you've got, because you could be out of the picture tomorrow. The NCAA tournament is a one and done proposition. If you don't put everything you can into your effort, you could lose and be gone. In today's economic climate, the same could be true for your company. Put your heart and soul into your marketing efforts. Make sure you have the smartest advisers you can and that you spend what is needed on your marketing without overspending. If not, you may lose relevancy or share of mind or simply go off in the wrong direction. Today that could lead to something worse than loss of share. Make sure you keep your eye on the ball. Good advice for both basketball and business.

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The Best and Worst Super Bowl Ads

Yesterday was the day, I don't move for 3+ hours. Being a huge football fan and a huge advertising fan, Super Bowl Sunday is one of the most anticipated days of the year. Yesterday lived up to the hype. For the third year in a row, we had a great game. And although we don't see the true wow factor in the commercials as we did in the good old days, it was a pretty good crop of ads this year - with the usual smattering of clunkers. So, let's look at what made my top ten list and what made me ashamed to be an ad man. First the good:

Number 10: Tru TV:"Punxsotawny Polamalu"

This commercial isn't getting the buzz around the agency as some of the others, but I thought it was pretty funny. Set up to look like Ground Hog's Day, the crowd is gathered around as the head guy in tux and top hat is pulling on this rat nest of hair. Finally, he pulls up a little Troy Polamalu by the hair. Polamalu sees his shadow and it's declared we'll have 6 more weeks of football, on Tru Tv's new reality show. Bonus chuckle: Polamalu's flexing at the end.

Number 9: Bud Light: "T-Pain"

Another one that just made me laugh out loud. Some random guy's wife brings home a 6-pack of Bud Light and all the sudden he's talking in the electronic T-Pain voice. He gets 3 buddies on the phone, all in the middle of doing mundane things like brushing their teeth, and they all start talking in that same electronic voice, about how they're gonna party now. At the end the actual T-Pain is at the party speaking electronically and looking for some guacamole.

Number 8: Flo TV "My Generation"

Flo TV did real well, this Super Bowl. I liked a lot of their spots, including some good ones with football announcers Jim Nance and Jim Brown. But the best of the bunch was a montage of highly charged events from the last half a century set to Will-I-am's remix of the Who's "My Generation." The base idea is nothing new, but the execution was done really well.

Number 7: Kia Sorento Toy Fantasy Life

With the Big 3 automakers pretty much out of the Super Bowl this year, we saw a flood of innovative ads from the foreign car companies. My favorite was the Kia Sorento spot featuring a hip gang of toys out for a night on the town in their new Kia. Turns out they belong to a kid who's mom drives a Sorento. Fun, cool spot.

Number 6: Doritos "House Rules"

Doritos was all over the place, producing some of the best and some of the worst ads on the Super Bowl. This one was the best of the best of them. It features his mom's date showing up, checking out the mom as she walks away and then taking a chip from the kid's bowl. The kid is having none of that and lets him know in no uncertain terms.

Number 5: Denny's Chicken campaign

Denny's had three spots featuring chickens screaming in terror in response to free Grand Slam breakfasts and how many eggs that was gonna require. The first, announcement one was only so-so, but the second two "Chickens Across America" and the :15 second "Chicken Birthday Ad" were classic. I knew it was a hit when the chicken in space floated by doing a silent scream and i could hear my son's group of 20-something friends all laughing from the other room.

 

Number 4: Vizio "Forge"

First of all, it's featuring a pretty cool looking product a flat screen TV enabled to run all kinds of Internet apps. It opens with Beyonce' singing and a huge mechanical arm snatches her mid-song, dumping her into a whole. It continues to grab all kinds of things including the Chocolate Rain guy and the Numah-Numah kid, dumping them all into the whole that apparently is the way into the new TV. Showcases cool product features in a very cool way.

Number 3: Bud Light "House"

The high point of the Bud Light stuff this year. Crazy house where everything, including the house, is made of Bud Light. There's even "Bud Light in this fridge made of Bud Light." Thirsty friends start to destroy everything to get at a can or bottle of the beer.

Number 2: Volkswagen "PunchDub"

Loved this ad. They took a simple, brandcentric game we've all played, Slug Bug, and turned into a great ad about their whole line. The spot features all kinds of people in all kinds of situations slugging someone and say, "there's a red one" or whatever color. From to Amish guys in a buggy to two partied out guys in the back of a limo. The spot has a great kicker at the end featuring Stevie Wonder and Tracy Morgan.

And my number 1 Super Bowl spot: Google "Parisian Love"

Great first effort by Google. It's simple. It's engaging. It's compelling. And it tells a story. All through simple googles a guy does over time in the process of wooing a French girl to become his girlfriend, wife and mother of his child. All done by simple product demonstration that highlights the key benefits without them getting in the way of a good story. Best one of the bunch.

Honorable Mentions:

I did have a hard time cutting this down to just 10 commercials. The ones that just missed the cut are a Snickers ad where Betty White gets drilled in a backyard football game, a touching but funny Simpsons ad for Coke, Monster's Beaver Violinist was a scream, as was their pre-game Boogy Man ad, The Letterman ad with Opera and Jay Leno at his lousy Super Bowl party, the Audi Green Police spot, the new eTrade baby spots and the Doritos "Snack Attack Samuria" spot where a guy who stole a bag of the snacks from Tim's locker finds mild mannered Tim garbed in a Dorito suit of armor.

And the Worst of the Bunch:

There were still those that made me want to make sure nobody knew I worked in Advertising. The worst offenders, in no particular order are: The Charles Barkley ad for Taco Bell. It was a lot of build up for nothing. I had a feeling from watching the teaser ads that it would be bad, but it was way worse than I thought it would be. The Go Daddy spots are now not just sexist and full of empty titillation, they're just plain stupid. The woman tries to outdo Danica Patrick and whips off her outer wear to reveal a skimpy Go Daddy beater shirt. The ad then hits us with instructions to go to the website to see what happens next. There's no real indication as to what might happen next other than to warn it's for mature adults. Why Ms Patrick does these is beyond me. Another clunker was the guy who faked his death to be put in a coffin filled with Doritos. He's inside it watching the game on a mini TV while his funeral is going on, He then gets exited and knocks the casket over spilling out him and his Doritos. And maybe the worst of the worst is the Boost Mobil Chicago Bears spot bringing back these old pros to reenact their Super Bowl shuffle. Problem is half the audience has no idea who these guys are and why they're dancing around. They just know it's awful, and it is.

What are your thoughts? Did I miss your fav or one you hated?

Mike McClure, Executive Creative Director

Is Digital Killing the Local Sports Fan?

I set my clock early this morning and got up with the eager anticipation of an old time bride and groom on their wedding night. I live for mornings like this. My beloved Spartans had made the Final 4 in the NCAA tournament the day before. Like similar days in my past, I was expecting to find the stories splashed across the front page of my morning Detroit Free Press. I expected a full sports section dedicated to MY TEAM.

I got out on my porch and stood there dumbfounded. There was nothing there. Then, the realization hit me. Today was the first day the Free Press stopped delivering a daily paper. It will only come Thursday, Friday and Sunday now. Like other papers around the country, they are failing. Too many people these days, especially the young, get all their news online and are not buying papers any more.Me?  I've read a paper every morning of my adult life. I turn 50 next week. The magic is gone. Like modern couples (who don't wait for their wedding day to consummate the relationship any more), there will no longer by any mystery and anticipation on my special days. So, I downloaded a few stories online and took them with me to read over breakfast (our home computer isn't a laptop). It wasn't the same. It was over way too soon.

Then it got worse. Before on days like this, I could listen to the local sports talk stations jabber on and on all day about every little nuance of my team's great accomplishment and break down all that was to come. Some months ago, the sports talk radio I listened to, WDFN, dropped all local programing, fired the local talk jocks and went all national syndicated programing. Part of the Clear Channelization of America. We have another sports talk station, but for whatever reason, their morning show doesn't talk about sports. They talk about local politics and local business and goofy morning talk prattle you can hear on every morning show in America.

It's maddening. Something has been lost. It's not just happening here, it's happening everywhere. In general, I love the digital revolution. And to be honest, I probably won't renew the trade magazines we subscribe to here in the office, because they sit in my mailbox for months at a time. I get most of my trade news and views through my own searches, through my twitter updates and through the email newsletters I subscribe to. That's part of the problem. I'm part of the problem. But is it a problem or something an old guy like me just needs to get used to. And more importantly, what's a local sports enthusiast to do? Will national brand name teams, college or pros, gain more prominence over local. Or will we just migrate to our favorite sites, our Facebook fan pages and Twitter sports follows? What do you think?

Mike McClure, ECD & frustrated sports fan

Pumped Up, Ratings Down

Well, the Mitchell Report comes out today (12/13), indicting hordes of baseball stars of being on the “juice” i.e. steroids.  For die-hard sports fans, this is big news.  But does the rest of America really care?  It’s no secret that TV ratings have been continuously slipping for all four major sports (if you consider hockey a major sport).  You’ll find all kinds of theories out there explaining this decline: 24-hour sports saturating the market, overexpansion, people’s disenchantment for today’s pro athlete, long regular seasons, the New York Yankees.  Personally, I love sports, but I do find myself watching less and less on TV.  How about you and why?

A Football Fan without a coach,

Ron Lee

Sr. Copywriter

Root, root, root for the (your company’s name here)

When Comerica decided to move their headquarters from Detroit to Dallas, some local yokels were demanding that The Detroit Tigers change the name of their stadium from Comerica Park to almost anything else.  Does it really matter?  Are people really swayed to buy a product because a company has its logo on the wall?  Personally, I think it’s nice to see a business support a team on the scholastic level because that school probably needs the financial help.  On the major league level, however, I think it’s pointless.  I really don’t care that this company is helping line the team owner’s pocket with money.  How do you feel?

Sports fan forever,

Ron Lee

Senior Copywriter 

Super Impact?

What kind of impact, if any, do you think the Super Bowl had on the city of Detroit?  I heard this question brought up on a local talk radio station prior to this year’s Super Bowl.  Everyone agreed it was a great pick-me-up and was good for the psyche of the city, but it seemed like a lot of callers that actually lived in the city felt it made no social impact whatsoever i.e. suburbanites won’t come into the city unless they know a lot of other suburbanites will be there too.  What do you think?

Someone who should spend more time in the “D”

Ron Lee

The consumers are watching

I get to write my blog entry right after the Super Bowl; one of the occasions when the advertising industry can either shine or come across as total morons.  There have been some stupendously horrible advertising blunders, which have been broadcast across the nation during past Super Bowl's which makes you wonder "what were they thinking".  Click here to view this year's Super Bowl ads.

Someone had to come up with this brilliant idea, pitch it internally at their Agency and then convince presumably savvy corporate executives that, for example, a talking baby would propel their brand to the next level.

I have always been very proactive when it comes to letting corporations know when I am either happy or displeased with their product.  Lately I saw an ad on TV for an auto insurance company.  It featured three women driving in an open top car and none of them were wearing seat belts, so I sent an e-mail to the company telling them that I thought this was poor advertising.  They responded, most don't.  I can only presume that my e-mail was one of many but their ad now has a disclaimer saying that as it was an older car it only had lap belts and they were wearing them.

I also wrote to a Jeans company telling them that their ads, which they ran at Halloween about a store dummy following the buyer of the jeans home and even entering the house, was creepy...I suggested their tag line should be "buy our jeans and you too can get your own stalker"....they didn't respond but I read on-line that the ad had been pulled because of complaints.

I have been told that I just didn't understand what a particular ad was trying to tell me, well no kidding, doesn't that mean that it's a poor ad? Cute ads are great, funny and many of them are memorable, but how many do you see where you have no idea what they are trying to sell you.

Anyway, the most important time of the year is upon us...DAYTONA!!!!! NASCAR's banner event is on February 18th, with February 10th being the Budweiser Shootout. This year marks the entry of Toyota into the Nextel Cup Race, the Car of Tomorrow, which will be featured in 17 races this season, and a change in the points system, in the race for the Chase.

This blogger is hoping for big things from Dale Ernhardt Jr. this year. He has been putting in some good fast practice sessions and doesn't seem to be having any issues with his cars. So, good luck to the Number 8 Budweiser, Wrangler, Menards, Bass Pro Shops, Sherwin Williams, Sunoco, Sharpie, Freightliner, Kennametal, Chevy Monte Carlo.

Sheila Smith

Agency Watchdog & Nascar Reporter