Think outside the boxffice

This isn't a revolutionary idea but it is something I believe in, so it makes an appearance on the uber-exclusive Kliff's Notes blog.

Sometimes it is easy to get stuck in a rut walking into the office five days a week, sitting in the same chair, in front of the same computer for eight plus hours each day. This rut can affect your demeanor, your mood, and ultimately your creativity.

That's why some of my best thinking happens when you get the chance during the week to get out of the office. Whether it is heading to a clients, attending an event or just taking a half hour and walking around the neighbourhood, that bit of change seems to spark the brain into creating new opportunities that may help one of my clients. Some of them are completely off the wall and probably don't deserve to see the light of day, but giving the old brain a chance to breathe makes work a little more interesting and effective I find.

A couple of weeks ago I was taking the subway out to an event with my client and I found it much easier to articulate what I was working on for her and how it was going to help their business. Something about being free of the shackles and corporateness of an office just allowed my thoughts and concepts to flow smoothly.

Give it a try next time you are stumped or want to impress a client. Maybe i'll have all my client meetings on the subway from now on!

Cialis commercials come up limp

As most people in the marketing world know Cialis, Viagra, and other pills aimed at adding some pop to people's peckers have restrictions on the type of things they can say and do in their advertisements. This has led to some amazingly creative work from Viagra and to a lesser extent Cialis.



But some of the latest Cialis commercials are more puzzling than interesting, funny, or attention-grabbing. First they had one featuring a guy at work sitting on some scaffolding (I can't find the commercial on youtube) and then all of a sudden the scaffolding starts moving and being pulled down roads back to his house where his "lady friend" is watering the garden or something. They are clearly going for a symbolism-type commercial but I am totally missing this one.

Then they came up with this

cialis morning from Me on Vimeo.

Here's my idea for the next Viagra/Cialis/Levitra campaign.

A man is rummaging around in his record/CD collection. He picks up a new disc/record and looks at the back of it. He throws it over his shoulder. More rummaging ensues. Again he picks up a disc, looks at the back, thinks about it for a moment and then tosses it over his shoulder. More rummaging. He finds another disc, and a broad smile crosses his face. He removes the disc and puts it in the player. Cut to his wife reading in another room. Marvin Gaye, Let's Get it on, begins to play loudly and the noise enters the room the wife is in. A broad smile crosses her face. Close with the standard Viagra ending.

BAM! That's how its done Cialis.

Lightning strikes

It seems that Milk is trying to capitalize on the concept of energy renewal and replenishment these days. Probably a smart idea since there is a get in shape craze going on and around that comes a need for post exercise nourishment. Good tactic.

Unfortunately, it looks like their creative company has dropped the ball on this one. Take a look at this new campaign's identity




Hmmm lets see, this reminds me of something......

Oh yeah, an energy replenisher that has been around for a long long time and has marketed itself as that much....



Whoopsie....

I'm guessing that Gatorade is not going to adhere to the age old adage of not crying over spilled milk. Anyone else sense a lawsuit coming?

Other than this rather monumental mistake I do quite like milk's tactic of branching out and trying to grab a piece of the work out market. They do a great job with the website.

The best thing since.....

Well maybe this blog isn't the best thing since sliced bread, but hidden in the blog will be some ideas that possibly are. My head always seems to be full of them....with no outlet, well now I have found somewhere to dump them all. Hopefully people enjoy the random thoughts and ideas that pour unfiltered from my brain and maybe this current of ramblings has some nuggets of uber-genius (personally I think they all are) flowing through it. For too long these wonderful little lightbulbs have been burning and then slowly finding their way into that little lightbulb graveyard in the netherworld. Well, No longer! I am a marketing guy and therefore see the world in a slightly different hue, i'm constantly analyzing the purpose behind advertising campaigns and ranking and critiquing them, finding niches, seeing "TBAs" in the world that need something to fill them. So let's uncrank the floodgates and see what comes pouring out.