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AdJack News/Blog

  1. What good is advertising?

    April 3, 2009  | Comments (1)

    Here’s how advertising actually works:  an Internet reporter on branding trends wrote in a blog this morning about hearing a JC Penney commercial last night.  “Although I can’t tell you if it was on the radio or TV,” the reporter wrote, “I fleetingly thought to myself, ‘Oh, they’re still around?’ That’s nice.  They’re good people.’” The reporter continued, “Penney’s has always had an aura of friendly Midwestern earnestness about it, like the kid who’d do anything for you in high school but you haven’t seen since graduation.’”

    Well, how’s that for an unsolicited branding statement? I submit that the blogger, a veteran observer of the marketing business, would not have had that fleeting thought about… more

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  2. Not Trusted, Not Wanted, Not Needed?

    March 29, 2009  | Comments (1)

    Professor Eric Clemons of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania says advertising as we know it is doomed because it is not trusted, wanted or needed. 

    In a March 22 TechCrunch guest blogpost, Prof. Clemons says consumers do not trust advertising, citing credible studies that advertising and company- sponsored blogs are the least-trusted source of information on products and services. 

    He says consumers don’t want to watch ads, illustrating his point with the fact that TV network programmers synchronize ads around the evening news so channel surfers can’t avoid messaging of some kind.

    And he says that consumers don’t need advertising because they can get whatever information they… more

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  3. No Knock Outs for Oscar

    February 25, 2009  | Comments (0)

    Three and a half hours of program time were devoted to the 81st Oscar Awards Ceremony on Sunday night. The big sponsor was J.C. Penny women’s fashion.  Their ads were well written and produced but left at least a portion of the 36 million-plus viewers uninspired to do their part toward stimulating the economy.  Apparently Oscar’s audience is primarily female.

    I probably should have taken some notes, but I was counting on being impressed enough to remember what I saw. Turns out I’d seen most of the commercials elsewhere, including the 2009 Super Bowl, which BTW, drew the biggest sports audience in televised history at almost 99 million.

    Audience tracker Nielsen Media Research says the Oscar show still ranks as the year’s highest-rated entertainment spectacle on TV, and it’s a cash cow for Walt Disney Co.’s ABC, but Sunday’s figures continue to mark a general decline in American TV audiences over the past 10 years.  In 1998, a record 55 million tuned in to watch “Titanic” sail off with 11 awards.

    TV critics were less than excited about the show. The New York Times’ Alessandra Stanley, borrowing ad speak to describe host Hugh Jackman’s performance, said it was… more

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  4. Report Says One in Six TV Ads During Football Wrong for Kids

    February 24, 2009  | Comments (2)

    Common Sense Media, a national non-profit organization led by concerned parents and individuals with experience in child advocacy, public policy, education, media and entertainment, released a report this month on the content of ads shown during NFL broadcasts.

    The news isn’t good, according to the report.  Broadcast Dysfunction: Sex, Violence, Alcohol and the NFL says many ads supporting more than 50 games this season trade in sex, violence and Viagra®.

    “Nearly 5.3 million kids watch football each week, yet one in six of the ads shown during the broadcasts features contents… more

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  5. Sandwich Wars: Was Research Half-Baked?

    January 27, 2009  | Comments (4)

    Did anybody ask you which you like better, Domino’s new sandwiches or Subway’s? 

    Ol’ Jack got passed over when it came to participating in the alleged big taste test, but if you were one of the chosen who declared Domino’s sandwiches superior to Subway’s, I hope you’ll come forward and tell us just how the test was run. 

    Were Subway’s sandwiches indeed served cold, as Jeff Moody, CEO of Subway’s Franchisee Advertising Trust, supposes?  Were the three Subway sandwiches that were allegedly stacked up against Domino’s piled high with the whole gamut of Subway veggies?  (Veggies?  Ewwwwww.) And were said three sandwiches supposed to represent Subway’s entire selection?  Did the Domino’s testers pit the Domino’s Philly Cheese Steak against Subway’s Philly Cheese Steak, or, as Moody guesses, did the nefarious scientists substitute the Subway Steak and Cheese?

    You may marvel that grown men in expensive suits are outraged on both sides of this issue, but millions of dollars are swirling around the argument.  And your curiosity may be raised enough for you to search out Domino’s when lunchtime rolls around, just to see what all the fuss is about. 

    One thing’s for sure; Domino President David Brandon’s nationally televised commercial showing him figuratively spitting in the eye of Subway’s legal department got both companies tons of valuable “earned” media attention on editorial pages.  According to a Brandweek report, Domino’s spent $135 million on media January through November, 2008 to Subway’s $412 million in the same period. 

    That ain’t hay, as we say here in the barn.

    Jack, OSA

    BTW, thanks, folks, for the lively discussion about the state of our economy in the blog comments for January 20’s entry.  Usually when I suggest that folks write their Congress rep or senator, I’m just joking.  But not this time.  I think it’s important that you express your opinions in writing so that our representatives cannot ignore what you are saying.
    … more

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  6. And What Will Become of Ad Theatre?

    May 30, 2008  | Comments (0)

    There’s a lively discussion on New York Times reporter Saul Hansel’s blog about cable television shows moving to the Internet where they are “free”—Internet service fees notwithstanding—and mostly free of commercials.

    Hansel points out that only recently have we been able to watch a wide variety of content on the Internet that was originally created, supposedly, exclusively for cable TV distribution. The cable companies are hollering that they pay big bucks for exclusive rights, and now producers are putting that content on the Internet where we can watch it whenever we want. 

    Hansel says that as late as last November, the brass at Comedy Central told him they would not put full episodes of The Daily Show on the Internet because of their relationship with cable operators.  Something’s changed, because The Daily Show, the Colbert Report, and South Park will now be webcast.

    “They can’t have it both ways,” Hansel quotes Time Warner Cable’s Alexander Dudley.  “If they put the same content on the Internet for free that they’re asking cable companies to pay for, they are making it less valuable and we should be expected to pay less for it.”

    One commenter said that cable’s pitch long ago was “…you pay for cable …because there are no commercials,” and points out that cable companies make m-m-m-millions on an overpriced product and slam the consumer with commercials, to boot.  He says cable companies appear to want it both ways, too.

    My concern, of course, is for the future of classic commercials.  Good ol’ 30 and 60 second short form pop theatre that gives us something in common besides the weather.  I know I’m not the only one who gets a kick out of them, even if I am among the few who admit it.… more

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  7. Some Questions For You

    May 23, 2008  | Comments (3)

    Do you see more commercials on cable TV than on broadcast TV?

    The Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau recently asked that question, and reports that you say there are fewer ads on cable.  In fact, the CAB says that some 33 percent of viewers surveyed believe there are fewer ads on cable. Twelve percent of those surveyed said there are fewer ads on broadcast TV than on cable TV.

    So, is perception reality?  Nope.  The fact is that the cable TV industry runs significantly higher advertising loads than broadcast TV, according to multiple industry studies. At least, according to Wayne Friedman, reporting in a trade webzine, MediaPost’s TV Watch.

    Friedman says cable ad sales folks could respond to this perception by running even more commercials until viewers cry uncle—or “until they realize four car commercials in a row is not a new ‘Speed Racer’ series.”

    Friedman says the survey was part of a bigger survey showing TV overall is still good for communicating brand messages. The CAB’s new global viewpoint is what’s good for TV is good for cable. Uh, I know I’m just an ass, but how is cable not TV?

    Friedman wonders if viewers care when there are lots of commercials on TV, whether programming is delivered via cable or broadcast. Do ads on TV annoy you? Do you prefer watching them on your own terms, selecting what you want to see, when you want to see it?… more

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