Carey Says Ums | Betwixt Ideas | Blog

The Real Call

Carey Says Ums — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:09:04 +0000

This N. C. Winters comic strip reveals another side of freelance copywriting . . .

This appeared earlier today on Freelance Switch, a great blog for any writer.

Biscuit Hole Rebuttal

Carey Says Ums — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:46:39 +0000

Quizno’s. Burger King. And now dirty-minded Hardee’s chimes in.

Thanks to LA’s Mendelsohn Zien Advertising, we have a poppin’ fresh perversion for Biscuit Holes with a smutty spot that proves everyone goes Harlequin for Hardee’s.

In this commercial, passersby name these risqué rounds of dough.

I wonder which part of Hardee’s demographic will crave Goody Balls or Sugar Nuts. Young men? Older women? A bus load of 14 year-olds en route to an all-day field trip. That’s it.

Or maybe we’re all just perverted Biscuit Hole munchers at heart.

What does it really require to be an award-winning ad agency creative director these days? For the fast food franchises, smut experience is in. Good marketing sense is out.

I interned for Howard Stern; throw me a f@*#ing bone . . . or not.

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King of Poppies

Carey Says Ums — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:37:04 +0000

Yes, I know . . .

Michael Jackson is dead. So what?

I’m not a cold person, but the posthumous “I love the King of Pop” parade on Twitter is really starting to rot my crotch.

If we were tweeting about MJ yesterday, it certainly wouldn’t resemble today’s emotional fanfare. We’d be harsh, cruel, judgmental and on a witch-hunt to deck the off-white diva with a thing for kids, animals or perhaps just a 1988 bottle of Pepsi. Earlier today, @leica0000 provided a real break from the fake tears: “Jacko tried to get into heaven, but God told him to beat it.”

Crotch grabs. Makeup. Noses. You name it. This washed up, washed out pop star was an easy target, and we went for it.

And now, we’re sad? We’re so bad.

At least we’re funny.

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Burger King Blows

Carey Says Ums — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:25:45 +0000

Copyranter alerted me of this tasteless ad.

In Singapore—where all the funny (but ill-targeted) ads go—Burger King gets hard to combat hard times.

Perhaps the ad for Quizno’s 12-inch Toasty Torpedo could use a hand from this target-bouncing beauty.

Nice work, Bon-Foods PTE, Ltd.

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Foreign InFUELdels

Carey Says Ums — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:40:58 +0000

Venables, Bell + Partners sticks it to the Saudis with this new Audi TV ad.

This commercial introduces Audi’s turbo-direct injection clean diesel engine and shows how this technology can quicken US energy independence.

A slick move. It’ll go over nicely with Americans, but this spot smacks of the Louisville, KY pastor who’d rather watch over his lock, stock and barrel.

Jesus Chrysler, when are we going to start biking here, walking there and driving less? When will we stick it to our own gas/oil/diesel-guzzling ways?

Until we answer those questions, we’ll have to answer to someone for fuel.

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I Follow @ssholes

Carey Says Ums — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:50:19 +0000

Twitter. It’s an unruly red-headed stepchild.

Love it or hate it, this is one social media tool that can’t be ignored. It’s revolutionizing the way we pawn off ebooks.

If you’ve been in a coma, Twitter ideally provides a platform that begs the question, “What are you doing?” This video explains.

Problem is, Twitter is becoming a sayspool of rudeness and ill-informed viral witch hunts. To all that mess I say, “Thanks . . . ”

Because I left my TweetLater auto-reply on.

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Agency News Flash

Carey Says Ums — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:39:28 +0000

[Insert Big Vancouver Ad Agency Name Here] kicks ass! Um . . .

I love Flash. It’s awesome, but it’s a terrible way to share news with visitors, right? Some might disagree.

Meet Advertising, one media-making industry that just can’t get past its Flash fetish. When [Insert Big Vancouver Ad Agency Name Here] has a artsy news spread a few pages into its site, how am I supposed to come back to it? Del.ici.ous? Nah. Crawl back? Nope. Print out the PDF version from a button? Not a chance. Just like 38,257,356 other web users just like me, I want my news fed to me. Some agencies get it. Rethink. Cowie and Fox. Karo. And others. But [Insert Big Vancouver Ad Agency Name Here]? Nada.

Don’t get me wrong. Your news section looks dreamy. It just doesn’t give me a chance to dream on with you.

Today, there are only two options: connect or die (in a flash).

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Selling with Cells

Carey Says Ums — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:37:03 +0000

Here’s a link for you.

MaleCopywriter.com. It’s a must-see online presentation. Stellar work. I’m jealous.

The best part of Lawson Clarke’s portfolio is a mobile-initiated campaign for Carnival, which features an interactive aquarium that lets passersby dive right into the fun (What a cliche!). The gist: use a cell to choose a fish and a keypad to give it life.

With mobile marketing genius like this, you’ll never have any time for a vacation.

But hey, cells sell.

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Come Back, 1985!

Carey Says Ums — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:29:32 +0000

How we reach out to consumers must change with the times.

That no-brainer statement was the result of a new study by Miller Zel . . . just in case we wanted to think small again or attempt to sell another New Coke.

The study suggests in-store advertising is slightly more effective than out-of-store displays, giving the out-of-work billboard guy a big “Nana nana boo boo!”

To fall asleep over the full Adweek.com article, read it here.

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Right Brain Rendezvous

Carey Says Ums — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:45:49 +0000

I just stumbled upon an annual conference for local creatives.

CREATIVEMIX is Vancouver’s Ideation Conference. Huh? It’s a gathering of creative minds (“Brains!”). This presentation offers a panel of creative egos who will share their artful wizardry. Get the scoop at CREATIVEMIX.ca.

This one-day ditty takes place Thursday, October 22, 2009 at Vancouver’s Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown. Tickets range from $129 to $159 per creative mind. Click this link to register online for CREATIVEMIX.

I’m curious. If it’s stuffy and boring, I’ll just doodle through.

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