Brave Advertising
We all know Pepsi don't we?
You know - Pepsi the soft drink. Pepsi the only major competitor to Coca-Cola in the soft drink game. Pepsi that plasters their (sometimes tacky) image everywhere so that their presence is well-know throughout the world. Well Pepsi is about to change their game, 'forever'.
It was announced on Monday (28th Sept) that PepsiCo would cease all advertising for it's flagship product immediately and instead rely upon consumer opinion, demand and it's current standing in the market to advertise for itself. They want to focus on making soft drinks as opposed to playing the marketing game - stating that a company such as themselves should not be focusing on advertising but rather on making beverages because afterall that is what the company is all about. My thought is that this is an incredibly brave and just move - making an attempt to get back to basics and reinvigorate the company with enthusiasm and focus. Having said this there is the fact that this itself could be an advertising ploy and if not i think by this point there is enough existing market opinion(s) that make advertising for Pepsi (and Coca-Cola) unnecessary. Everyone know that these 2 companies are the big names in the industry and that they are really only in competition with each other and seemingly even within the borders of their own companies (Mount Franklin v. PUMP? They're both owned by Coke!). It will be interesting to see what Coke's opinion on this is.
A chosen quote from the CEO;
"Vying for the greatest market share shouldn't be a soft drink company's be-all and end-all,"
Damn straight it shouldn't be. Read the article after the jump.
Goodbye iSnack 2.0, you were awful.
Kraft have responded to the general consensus that the name for the new Vegemite is god awful and have thus retracted the brand. There is a snapshot of an article below. Follow the link to the full article; http://www.smh.com.au/business/kraft-crumbles-isnack20-scrapped-20090930-gc9z.html
"Kraft has bowed to public pressure and ditched the name iSnack2.0 for its new Vegemite-cream cheese blend.
“We have been overwhelmed by the passion for Vegemite and the new product. The new name has simply not resonated with Australians. Particularly the modern technical aspects associated with,’’ said Kraft spokesman Simon Talbot.
In a statement this afternoon, the company said it would once again throw open the challenge to Australians to come up with a new name.
But the company denied it had all been a publicity stunt.
"At no point in time has the new Vegemite name been about initiating a media publicity stunt," Mr Talbot, said. "We are proud custodians of Vegemite and have always been aware that it is the people's brand and a national icon."
Thousands of the jars with the new name will be distributed to supermarkets ready to go on sale, ensuring that the soon to be scrapped name will quickly become a collectors' item.
"Our Kraft Foods storeroom currently has thousands of jars of the iSnack2.0 named Vegemite. This product will be distributed around Australia, and will continue to be sold in supermarkets for months to come - until Australia decides upon a new name," Mr Talbot said."
Blogging ala. Time Filler/Killer
I am sitting here desperately trying to think of a tagline for part of a advertising campaign for a new (completely fictitious) caffeine-free/sugar-free energy drink for uni. I had the perfect tagline once upon a time but i forgot to write it down thinking - yeh sure i'll remember that. Oh well. The concept is there, it is just a matter of nailing that one line. Here's a work in progress shot of part of the campaign (print side);
Sorry for the blue there in the image. It's not as horribly vibrant in actuality as it is there, cmyk on the web you know.. =p The general idea behind the concept is that the drink ('Now') allows you to revitalize yourself in a healthier way than say red bull, v, mother etc. and give yourself that boost of energy without the adverse effects of high levels of caffeine and sugar which is degrading to your general health. The idea that this new drink takes you out of the moment and transports you into your 'fantasy' - allowing your mind to relax whilst your body catches up, recharges - gets that boost of energy.
So there's the idea, now how to put it into a cohesive, concise sentence that is both catchy and straight to the point.
Anyway, that's where my mind is at currently. I am struggling to come up with a decent line so i thought blogging may be a nice alternative. Let my own mind wander a bit as i attempt to resolve the issue. A few of my current tagline thoughts follow;
LET IT TAKE YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GO. NOW.
LIVE THE DREAM. NOW.
LET IT TRANSPORT YOU.
LET YOUR MIND WANDER WHILE YOUR BODY CATCHES UP.
GIVES YOU THE BOOST YOU NEED TO ACHIEVE.
BOOST INTO THE DREAM.
LIVE THE DREAM.
BE THE MOMENT. NOW.
Not really happy with most of these. There's potential there however.
I came across this trailer moments ago;
Looks quite good, although admittedly i am a sucker for post-apocalyptic films - it is nice to see Mila Kunis getting her action star boots on, i have always been a fan of her since That 70s Show. It's also fantastic to see Gary Oldman back as a villain.
Ummmm. What else was i going to mention? Ah yes, so this is the final week of my final uni holidays and it is strange to think that after this there will be no regimented holidays or schedules that dictate my year as such. No month gaps of leisure that are pre-determined and organised by others - it will all be reliant upon my employment (status) and other circumstance *cough* money *cough*. I am positive that i will be completely unsure as to what to do with myself at the end of this year. Although i do have a solid plan for moving from Wagga, i shall be departing permanently when i go home for Christmas (whenever that may) and then hopefully between Christmas and New Years I shall wander up to my temporary accommodation in which i will be staying until Liz and I can get ourselves sorted and set up. Which will also hopefully be relatively hassle-free (although i have my doubts). Some random cool videos that i want to remember about rather than having a billion bookmarks.
Also a picture of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's upcoming film that i am sure i have mentioned, Paul - i found these over at collider.com;
Sorry for the blue there in the image. It's not as horribly vibrant in actuality as it is there, cmyk on the web you know.. =p The general idea behind the concept is that the drink ('Now') allows you to revitalize yourself in a healthier way than say red bull, v, mother etc. and give yourself that boost of energy without the adverse effects of high levels of caffeine and sugar which is degrading to your general health. The idea that this new drink takes you out of the moment and transports you into your 'fantasy' - allowing your mind to relax whilst your body catches up, recharges - gets that boost of energy.
So there's the idea, now how to put it into a cohesive, concise sentence that is both catchy and straight to the point.
Anyway, that's where my mind is at currently. I am struggling to come up with a decent line so i thought blogging may be a nice alternative. Let my own mind wander a bit as i attempt to resolve the issue. A few of my current tagline thoughts follow;
LET IT TAKE YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GO. NOW.
LIVE THE DREAM. NOW.
LET IT TRANSPORT YOU.
LET YOUR MIND WANDER WHILE YOUR BODY CATCHES UP.
GIVES YOU THE BOOST YOU NEED TO ACHIEVE.
BOOST INTO THE DREAM.
LIVE THE DREAM.
BE THE MOMENT. NOW.
Not really happy with most of these. There's potential there however.
I came across this trailer moments ago;
Looks quite good, although admittedly i am a sucker for post-apocalyptic films - it is nice to see Mila Kunis getting her action star boots on, i have always been a fan of her since That 70s Show. It's also fantastic to see Gary Oldman back as a villain.
Ummmm. What else was i going to mention? Ah yes, so this is the final week of my final uni holidays and it is strange to think that after this there will be no regimented holidays or schedules that dictate my year as such. No month gaps of leisure that are pre-determined and organised by others - it will all be reliant upon my employment (status) and other circumstance *cough* money *cough*. I am positive that i will be completely unsure as to what to do with myself at the end of this year. Although i do have a solid plan for moving from Wagga, i shall be departing permanently when i go home for Christmas (whenever that may) and then hopefully between Christmas and New Years I shall wander up to my temporary accommodation in which i will be staying until Liz and I can get ourselves sorted and set up. Which will also hopefully be relatively hassle-free (although i have my doubts). Some random cool videos that i want to remember about rather than having a billion bookmarks.
Also a picture of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's upcoming film that i am sure i have mentioned, Paul - i found these over at collider.com;
ODST.
Earlier this week meant the arrival of yet another Halo game, Halo 3: ODST - which has grown from its humble beginnings as an expansion to a full-blown game. My interest in the Halo universe has dwindled since the release of Halo 3 and with the exception of the past few weeks i doubt that i have even touched it in roughly a year. Halo Wars came and went unnoticed, only playing my brother's copy for half an hour or so.
So i wasn't too excited about ODST. Yes i had preordered it and looked into the previews, but there was no real anticipation or excitement towards the new game. I actually played Halo 3 on Live a fair bit over the weekend which actually assisted in raising some enthusiasm for this new game. Early reviews spoke of how disappointed they were in the fact that the campaign only lasted 4 - 6 hours on average. Perhaps reviewers should actually go through and play the game on Legendary and take the time to wander around the streets of New Mombassa and explore the content as much as possible.
Personally I have found the game incredibly enjoyable. The game is actually more difficult and far closer to the original Halo as opposed to Halo 2 or 3, in which you so ridiculously overpowered that you cruised through the game without a second thought that you may actually die if you try and take on those 10 guys by pistol whipping them to death. Speaking of pistols, it is nice to see the pistol back in a capacity that makes it my go-to weapon once again. As we all know Halo 1's pistol was incredible. Ridiculously overpowered, but still fantastic. After realising how ridiculous it was Bungie dumbed it down to the point that it was not usable (except in desperation). So that was a thrill, as was Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin and Alan Tyduk voicing 3 members of your squad (being a Firefly/Chuck/Castle fan it is glorious). I was suprised to see that Fillion's character was actually modelled after himself, especially since Adam Baldwin did not appear as himself.
There is alot to adjust to in the game, such as Hunters finally providing the challenge that i feel they were always supposed to. No Battle Rifle, no bubble shields (etc) and the inability to take over Wraiths and Banshee's after boarding. These seemed like steps backwards, but after some thought i came to the conclusion that all these were reasons why the game was more challenging - which is something that i value. There is the bonus that you can carry soooo many more grenades which accounts for alot of these.
Despite the age of the Halo 3 engine the game looks amazing - the Art Direction was fantastic. The stark contrast between the night and day levels is magical, the music most definately adding to it all. The feeling of intense loneliness at night when playing as the Rookie is breath taking and the fact that you are actually on Earth for the whole game is always a bonus.
Overall, although I am yet to complete the game I am very satisfied with the game. Especially since the 2nd Disc includes all new multiplayer maps for Halo 3. One disappointment is the fact that apart from the Firefight Mode (which is fantastic, but not quite as good Horde in Gears of War 2) and Co-op there is no stand alone mutliplayer - i believe that free for all multiplayer would have been a fantastic alternative to Halo 3.
0403
Is it just me or did Zachary Quinto's inflection on the word 'life' at the end there reek of similarities to Heath Ledger's Joker?
Quinto always does an amazing job, especially when he is given the freedom to play around with the role of Sylar and let him be both threatening, hilarious and all out terrifying.
On another note, it would appear as though a meeting between Hiro and Peter is coming - the 2 heroes in the show that have lost their original abilities only to have them replaced with lesser equivalents - Hiro may only freeze time (and even that nearly kills him) and Peter may only take a single power through physical contact). Some of my favourite moments have been when Peter and Hiro are together, which from memory happens very irregularly;
Season 1 - on the train (Future Hiro), somewhere in Texas(?), the Future and Kirby Plaza.
Season 2 - Primatech Paper(?)
Season 3 - Government Plane & aftermath.
That's all that springs to mind.
Luxo Lawsuit
Reposted from over at the Pixar Blog;
" Lampmaker Luxo ASA, creators of the original Luxo desk lamp, unexpectedly filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Pixar in U.S. federal court* on Friday, ending some twenty-three years of amicable relations between the two companies.
The lawsuit stems from Luxo's discontent at the soon-to-be-released Luxo Jr. Premium Combo Pack of the Up Blu-ray, which will include a working replica Luxo Jr. lamp and also the giant audio-animatronic Luxo Jr. at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.
Pixar's c. 1986 agreement with the Norway-based lamp manufacturer has long allowed the studio to use the Luxo name in connection with the character from Pixar's first short film Luxo Jr. and to use the character in its logo. But Luxo holds that the making of actual goods, especially functioning lamps, with the name is an infringement on their trademark not covered by the agreement.
While Luxo's statement in their complaint that the Luxo Jr. replicas will "cause devastating damage to Luxo and dilute the goodwill which Luxo has built up" is utter nonsense, someone at Disney's legal department really should have checked with the company as to whether they had any objection to the expanded uses for the character.
Interested to see how this will play out in court...
(via Bloomberg)
*For the legally inclined, the case is officially Luxo ASA vs. Walt Disney Co., 09-cv-7689, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan)"
*For the legally inclined, the case is officially Luxo ASA vs. Walt Disney Co., 09-cv-7689, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan)"
The Forest
The Forest from David Scharf on Vimeo.
I came across this video today on Vimeo, i really like the style and the way that it is animated is very impacting - check it out. Synopsis follows;
"Antonia is a 12 year old girl. She often has daydreams, in which she wanders of in to a magical far away forest, were she hides from the problems of the real world. One day, however, her father takes drastic measures and she has to face a decision.
Is your inner peace an utopian state until you have finally escaped the grip of the society and its rules? Or is affirmation a faster way to your personal luck? And what are you supposed to do, if you have to answer this question at the age of 12?
In the Animated Short "The Forest" by David Scharf, the protagonist has to cope with this question and her hostile environment and finds a simple but radical solution."
My New Face?
Could this be the new face of Scrubs?Sources have hinted as such, that Kerry Bishe's role in the 9th Season of Scrubs will to provide narrative to a story that would be lost without it. Good news? Who knows. I am still undecided about how i feel about Scrubs continuing when it had such a beautiful ending (if not a few seasons late). I don't mind the idea of trying to transition the show into an ER type show with a continual changing cast, but isn't it 8 years too late to think of doing that? Veteran's Johnny C (Cox) and Donald Faison (Turk) are back, filling their roles as Chief of Medicine and Chief of Surgery respectively in what has been described as a 'Med School' - which is what the show will become. It makes sense, because that is what the show has always been about; teaching. But i do think that the absence of Carla will be something that they can't make up for through guest appearances. Even the shows recurring cast are in almost every episode *cough* Ted *cough* so i remain curious.
Zach Braff has confirmed he will be back for 6 episodes to assist with the transition, which in some ways disappoints me - they were all so ready to depart Scrubs and say goodbye and yet here they are. Neil Flynn (Janitor) has stated that he will not be returning, for his part Scrubs is done - though he did say he may appear to give closure to his character. I am at a loss, i don't know whether to watch it or not - i loved scrubs and i loved the ending, but i just don't know where it's going. There was talk of rebranding the show (Scrubs: Med School) but ABC clamped down on that saying that the name was 'a badge' (ala. the show wouldn't survive without the name and therefore ABC would have wasted their time and money, couldn't have that).
It just.. uh... frustrating.
nb. I jsut read that they're also not filming at the hospital??? WHAT THE HELL? You can't change the setting for the show, that was part of the essence of the show. Damn people. Let things die when they're supposed to.
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