Russ Page
Exploring the Art & Science of Marketing
Shaking my head in shame – FTMG
Nov 21st
I can’t believe what my eyes just saw a few minutes ago. I was browsing through some video at video.msn.com when I saw a link to one of the new XBOX 360 commercials, which I was willing to watch. As with most video sites, this video (er commercial) was preceeded by a commercial. The funny thing is, they were trying to sell me (a male . . . not even an old, retired, golf playing male) a product called Actonel, which according to parent company Proctor & Gamble Pharmaceuticals is:
a prescription medication to treat and prevent postmenopausal osteoporosis.
That’s right. This ad for the male-popular XBOX was targeted (er shotgun blasted) at postmenopausal babyboomers (or maybe their husbands, kids or grandkids – grandma will just love little Johnny for getting her that postmenopausal osteoprosis medicine for Christmas). Again, I am not even an old, retired, golf-playing male that would even have a wife interested in this product. Now the idea that this ad is trying to reach potential buyers is just rediculous. – if that is the idea.
a) How many older ladies do you know who use the Internet, let alone to watch video?
b) How many older ladies do you know who haven’t already been told by their kids and grandkids that the XBOX 360 comes out tomorrow, which is just in time for Christmas?
c) Why did they ask me if I am the type of woman that believes in fixing a certain type of womanly problem that this drug can help? Did I know that it can help me if I ask my doctor for it?
c) Why did they run this ad before an XBOX 360 commercial? Why? Why? Why?
I think I am going to start a saying to include with posts like this – here’s how it goes. somebody fire the marketing guy! FTMG!
Dog Days of Diesel
Nov 21st
In September 2005, the average price of diesel fuel was $2.59 a gallon — a whopping 72 cent increase from last year.
Diesel fuel use to be cheaper than regular gasoline.
If you sold diesel fuel, and one of the biggest construction booms was around the corner (think back a few years before it all started) what would you do with your gasoline prices. Think about it for a minute. The construction industry runs on diesel fuel.
- Excavation equipment (track hoes, bulldozers, etc…) – all runs on diesel fuel
- Large trucks (dump trucks, semis, cement trucks) – all run on diesel fuel
- Construction workers (big Fords, Dodges and Chevys) – big trucks that run on diesel fuel
Now, here is the kicker . . . this quote is pulled from a story about how the increasing costs of diesel fuels are making waves in the eCommerce arena.
Shipping charges have been a “secret” profit source for many e-commerce companies. Adding a little extra fee onto the shipping and handling charges fattens the bottom line for many e-tailers. But increasing shipping costs shaves this modest profit source.
via [ ecommerce-guide.com ]
The Grisly Gore of TV
Nov 21st
This DesNews/AP article about the gore in television shows like CSI is an important read, and I think they make a very valid point: gore gets less attention becuase everyone has been so focused on fighting the amount of sexual content showing up in television.
• The lead character in Fox’s “Bones” discovering a badly decomposed body hanging in a tree, crows picking on the remains.
• A man preparing dinner on the WB’s “Supernatural” when his sink suddenly fills with water. He reaches in and something grabs him, pulls his head in the water and drowns him.
• On CBS’s “CSI: NY,” a man falling after trying to climb the outside of a skyscraper. He hits a ledge, and a large chunk of flesh falls to the street.
A few weeks ago, I saw a few minutes of CSI. The premise of one of the investigations on the show surrounded a man who had been partially eaten by a tiger. The scene was taking place in the coroner’s office where the camera kept showing a half eaten body (no legs, just the torso remained) and the rib cage was wide open. Enough with the imagery. This stuff doesn’t leave the mind. I was a kid once. It sticks around.
Got something to say about it? – parentstv.org/
mediafamily.org
Frog Review
Nov 18th
Ze Frank is absoultely hilarious, and he uses humor in the most unique ways. He’s a flash animator and comedian rolled up into one. His latest cartoon – making fun of Ticketmaster’s horrible web site, which is narrated by two talking frogs. Check out his other stuff at zefrank.com. He makes funny movies as well.
I heard it from Seth.
Benefits of movie piracy?
Nov 18th
“Are there perhaps some benefits to piracy because more people now have access to the movies?” – This was the question that Mike Chen, a 28-year-old medical student at UCLA, asked the MPAAs top lobbyist Dan Glickman during a speech Glickman delivered at UCLA. He is also chariman of the MPAA – via [ LaTimes ]
What do you think?
by the way, if you don’t want to register for the L.A. Times, go to bugmenot.com, type in latimes.com, and they will give you a login you can use without having to register.
China’s got girl problems – Europe’s got no kids
Nov 18th
Paul Allen is one of my favorite blog reads, and today, he’s got me thinking. Why?
We also face a new selfishness, a new hedonism in the developed world. One manifestation of this is the lowest fertility rate in the history of the world. Europes population is disappearing because the desire to reproduce and pass on values and opportunities to children seems to be disappearing.
China has similar problems headed its way because the male population outnumbers the female population pretty significantly. China’s missing girls – MSNBC.
‘Missing girls’
From a relatively normal ratio of 108.5 boys to 100 girls in the early 80s, the male surplus progressively rose to 111 in 1990, 116 in 2000, and is now is close to 120 boys for each 100 girls at the present time, according to a Chinese think-tank report.
If you multiply that by just 10, you get 1200 boys for every 1000 girls. But in China, it gets much worse when you take into account that there are 1 billion people there. For every 1 million girls, you have 1.2 million boys. That’s 200,000 extra boys per million people. If you thought it was hard to meet a nice girl before, what’s to come in China?
Counseling with Fear?
Nov 17th
“We do not take counsel from our fears”
Now that’s good advice. I heard it from Elder David Bednar. Here’s the source – Steadfast and Immovable.
Another great talk? Spiritual Crocodiles.
Invisible Boards
Nov 17th
This skateboarding video is just incredible. When I was a teen, skateboarding videos were few. Today, they are plentiful. So how does a video production house make a skateboarding video that gets noticed these days? They take away the skateboards. Watch for yourself. (Need a cheap skateboard? – try buying blank decks).
