See Ya!
Over the last four years I've posted over 1,500 serious and very important things to this blog. I realize that many readers have come to depend on it for regular updates on space advertising, The Wienermobile and every new animal, mineral or vegetable upon which mankind has managed to place a logo or advertisement. Some might even say this blog has transformed the promotional products industry. (No one has, but in theory someone could.)
To anyone who's followed this blog, thanks! And keep following, because it will continue. Perhaps even better than ever. You'll just have to find out.

Posted by mark at 12:36 PM. Permalink: See Ya!
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Promo Ideas from Art
At least since Warhol, and probably before, there's been a fine line between promotion, advertising and art. At its most creative, advertising occasionally approaches art. More often, it doesn't. In fact, it often borrows from quirky or cool non-commercial sources and sucks the life out of them. Perhaps it has to be that way. If great art were easy, the world would be very different, and more awesome. Assuming that advertising and promotion are still limited by the need to achieve specific commercial goals, and that we'll still be borrowing ideas from non-commercial sources, I think there's still room to promote in ways that are more interesting, more exciting and more beautiful. With that in mind, what can we learn from the total crisis panic button?

Posted by mark at 12:21 PM. Permalink: Promo Ideas from Art
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More Foodvertising
This is how you do stationary for your charcuterie:

And, though times are tough, the Obama brand still has some legs. Obama sushi anyone? It goes great with the Nemo maki.

Posted by mark at 12:16 PM. Permalink: More Foodvertising
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Advertising Surfaces
Soon, every available surface on the planet will be covered with some form of advertising. So far, the process has taken about 4.5 billion years, but it started accelerating rapidly after humans developed civilization. In this post, we explore some of the surfaces that have recently been advert-ized.
First, we have the garage door, which is transformed to make it look like there is an Audi inside. Previously, most garage doors were simply painted with no advertising content, often the same color as the rest of the house.

Next, we have the baggage claim belt. This surface has been used as an advertising medium in the past, but to date we have not added advertising to every single one. This is a particularly valuable advertising space because travelers stare mindlessly at it for long stretches of time.

| Finally, we have the climbing wall. As you can see, this surface is ideal for advertising acne medication. Simply design a background that transforms the hand and foot holds into pimples. This not only serves a crucial advertising function, but it also makes rock climbing practice immeasurably more enjoyable. Keep an eye on this space for our ongoing coverage of advertising being added to every possible surface on earth! | ![]() |
Posted by mark at 11:38 AM. Permalink: Advertising Surfaces
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Yahoo! Schwagstravaganza
Yahoo! may be done as a search engine if their deal to have Microsoft provide their search results goes as planned. They may also be sad that their advertising campaign based around Yahoo! being all about "you" is not as popular as the one HTC just started with the exact same theme. Still, they've got some great promos, like this corporate colors gum:

Continue reading "Yahoo! Schwagstravaganza"
Posted by mark at 9:50 AM. Permalink: Yahoo! Schwagstravaganza
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Vintage Promo Favorites
You can still get promotional cameras, but not like this. Happy times indeed when Coke and Kodak put this together. One interesting note: this seems to predate the "have a Coke and a smile" campaign, which would have been a perfect match for this product.

Continue reading "Vintage Promo Favorites"
Posted by mark at 9:54 AM. Permalink: Vintage Promo Favorites
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This Packaging Goes to Eleven
For those about to shell out for this AC/DC box set, I salute you. I guess it is important to go all out on the packaging when you are trying to convince people to buy a box set of a band that really only has one song. To be clear, it is one glorious, rocking song, but it is still basically just one song.

Posted by mark at 1:13 PM. Permalink: This Packaging Goes to Eleven
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Flyvertising
Flyvertising had to happen. There is literally no way we could have existed any longer as a society without coming up with the idea of hanging tiny banners behind flies to promote stuff. After all, we've already had miniature RC planes flying around with miniature banners, and we've already put logos on insects. So, it was inevitable that two major promotional trends to come together like that at the Frankfurt Book Fair. (via AdLand)
Posted by mark at 3:29 PM. Permalink: Flyvertising
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Flake-vertising
Perhaps there has been widespread counterfeiting of Kellogg's Corn Flakes. After all, how would we even know? Well, now you would know because corn fakes would not be laser etched with the Kellogg's logo. It seems like a crazy idea, but we've actually already done this with nuts, eggs, sausage and bologna. Basically, it was only a matter of time. Imprinting the milk should be tricky, though. (Hat tip to Dave.)

Posted by mark at 11:12 AM. Permalink: Flake-vertising
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Windows Whopper: Why?!?!?!
| So everyone knows that Microsoft Windows Vista was a flop. Too bloated to run on some hardware, Microsoft ended up caving to popular demand and letting people reinstall their older operating sytem (XP) rather than have to use Vista. So, they spent some time pulling together Windows 7, a leaner OS that should be able to run well on inexpensive netbooks and other low-powered computers. And what says lean operating system like A WHOPPER WITH SEVEN PATTIES? I'm not sure, but that's what they're doing in Japan to promote the launch. Of course, if you think that makes absolutely no sense, check out the commercial they did to try to convince people to host Windows 7 launch parties in the US. Good luck with that, guys! | ![]() |
Posted by mark at 10:50 AM. Permalink: Windows Whopper: Why?!?!?!
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A Cue from Guinness
Once again we have a promotional product that approaches perfection in being appropriate for the brand. In this case, we have pool cue tips that are designed to look like frothy pints of Guinness. I find it hard to imagine that anyone could play a game with these and then order anything else.

Posted by mark at 2:20 PM. Permalink: A Cue from Guinness
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Red Bull Cola Launch Promo
Here's a lavish promo created for the launch of Red Bull Cola. Inside the custom bag is a custom box and inside the box are samples of the various natural flavors that contribute to the taste of Red Bull Cola. At the center is a sample of the cola itself. Overall a stunning promotional piece to show that the product isn't just an energy drink, but also a great-tasting drink. (via The Dieline)

Posted by mark at 11:22 AM. Permalink: Red Bull Cola Launch Promo
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Giant Promotional Rubik's Cube?
Or tiny storm troopers?

Posted by mark at 10:34 AM. Permalink: Giant Promotional Rubik's Cube?
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Life Saving Vehicle
My friend Dave was kind enough to forward me a link to this amazing vehicle. Perhaps a predecessor to the much-loved Wienermobile and the lesser-known Voxmobile. This particular carvertisement is from Australia in 1934.

Posted by mark at 11:06 AM. Permalink: Life Saving Vehicle
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Healthy Holidays!
Someone came up with a food gift that's as fun as going to the gym. You thought your trainer got you a box of chocolates as a customer gift, but it turns out to be something even better: vegetables! A pretty crudité gift if you ask me.

Posted by mark at 9:39 AM. Permalink: Healthy Holidays!
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Frontiers in Bagvertising
We've seen many creative promotional bag designs over the years. Designer Karl Lagerfeld kicks things up a notch with a bag handle that mimics his distinctive sunglasses.

Posted by mark at 5:08 PM. Permalink: Frontiers in Bagvertising
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Promos Hit the Retail Racks
Here's a terrific promotion by The North Face. The outdoors outerwear and equipment manufacturer was having trouble finding ways to promote their brand in retail stores, so they created a series of "Outdoor Essentials" like stick and rock, that were put into retail packaging and left in the stores. Not surprisingly, the promotion attracted a lot of attention and increased sales of actual North Face products significantly. (via Direct Daily)

Posted by mark at 11:20 AM. Permalink: Promos Hit the Retail Racks
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The Chocolate of Change
| Apparently change can come in the form of a chocolate bar. I'm not sure where this candy bar came from, but the sheer volume of merchandise featuring Obama must function as some form of stimulus for the economy. | ![]() |
Posted by mark at 11:11 AM. Permalink: The Chocolate of Change
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The Audacity of Soap
| First he had the Audacity of Hope, then there was the audacity of soap, and now Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace prize. (And smashed a rocket into the moon on the same day!) Some folks think the prize is premature, but I think it is impossible to really have that argument until they announce who the other nominees were. In the meantime, enjoy this soap. | ![]() |
Posted by mark at 11:02 AM. Permalink: The Audacity of Soap
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A Great Deal of Tea
Local falafel shop Crisp came up with an interesting promotion: free iced tea through the end of the year when you buy one of their insulated travel tumblers. It looks like a pretty good deal for everyone: you get a great deal on tea if you drink frequently, they get brand exposure near their shop and they get you to stop by and hopefully buy stuff, and there are less disposable cups headed to the landfill. Since tea is one of those things that probably costs them way less than the two bucks or more that they charge for it, it's an easy thing to give away for free. (via Midtown Lunch)

Posted by mark at 11:42 AM. Permalink: A Great Deal of Tea
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