Seattle Mariners Advertisiments

If anyone knows baseball, you will understand that the Mariners, although filled with a lot of heart, are a pretty bad baseball team. However, there is hope! They recently signed a large, very expensive deal with one of the best in the game, Robinson Cano. Cano has given a ray of light to Mariners ownership as they now have a reason, other than their great ads, for people to come and watch the games.

cano 1

I have been to many Mariners games, as I am a fan and ball player myself, but the most fun experience the Mariners provide is not within the game at all, it actually comes from their unbelievably good advertising. Although they do not have any all-stars on their team, until now, they certainly have hired a top notch marketing company in “Copacino+Fujikado” who have handled their commercials for over 20 years.

copa fuji

AdWeek posted about these Mariners ads and their new one featuring the very good Robinson Cano. Cano is featured in the ad as if he is always in slow motion and has music following him around in the most cool and awesome way possible, because he is just that good. The add that “Copacino+Fujikado” produced was absolutely phenomenal because it encapsulates the essence and suave of Cano while also providing the humor that most people look for in commercials.

mariners

So if Cano doesn’t bring people to the stands in Seattle through his play, I strongly believe he will bring them to the games through his ad which can be watched HERE.

I ‘Moustache’ a Heineken Light

Excuse my very poor pun on the word moustache, but I feel that those who have a moustache would appreciate it.

Anyways, while browsing through commercials, I cam across a Heineken light commercial in which a rather average looking man, with a very distinct curled moustache, is the main character in a commercial centered around the idea that although his moustache is unconventional there is a time when it will be very appreciated, must like the new Heineken light.

moustache 1

Being a man with blonde facial hair means that I could never grow any sort of moustache without it looking absolutely ridiculous, so this ad enticed me. It got me thinking that if I had a moustache like his I would be like the character who ends up bare-knuckle boxing another man, getting the girl and then sipping on a nice cole, light beer. So then I realize that i could not grow a moustache like that, so I would have to be ‘hip’ in another way, perhaps by drinking the new light beer by Heineken.

moustache boxing

Considering that moustaches are very cool right now the ad makes great sense and appeals to all of those, with or without the ability to grow a moustache, in a very cool way. And linking light beer, which is traditionally not for bare-knuckle boxing men with the guy with the awesome moustache just shows that the beer is a lot more awesome and distinct than any other light beer.

Take a look at the video HERE

Netflix “Pep Talk” Commercial

This is a post in reference to Neil Mannings post about a great commercial done by Netflix. Neil mentions the great effect the commercial had on him, after all he is a hockey player and been in a similar situation before. Although I have never played, which I know is like a cardinal sin to canadians, or experienced a locker room pep talk I still see the humor and effectiveness of the commercial.

Locker Room Pep Talk

To answer his question whether this commercial would have been as effective in other countries, I would reply yes. Although not all countries are as big of hockey fans like us Canadians, I think the sports culture is prevalent in the countries that Netflix is available. One should not focus purely on the fact that it is a hockey dressing room, but more the fact that all people in sports, watch iconic sports movies, and remember iconic pep talks from those movies.

We Are Marshall Pep Talk

For example, the scene could have had the same script but had the players be football, soccer, or basketball players and the humor and effectiveness found in the commercial would still be prevalent to Canadians or anyone else in other countries.

Jaguar “It’s Good to Be Bad” Superbowl Ad

Have you ever noticed that movie villains are always British? Jaguar is hoping you have for their new ad campaign that is taking off. It started with a prime, $4 million dollar ad spot during the Superbowl. The ad has famous British Actors, Sir Ben Kingsley, Tom Hiddleston and Mark Strong who are all notorious for playing bad guys on film. The ad shows these men speaking low and intelligently, as the Brits do, and with an ominous original soundtrack in the background, all you can think of is evil. The ad also sports a high powered helicopter and a two new Jaguar F-Type cars racing towards a destination that seems to be a “high tech command center” in London, where Kingsley ends with the phrase, “It is good to be Bad”.

the villains

To me the ad brings up a couple of ideas, first is that it does seem that British actors are portrayed as the villains. Secondly, the car is stunning. As someone who enjoys cars and is interested in them, the fact is that the Jaguar is always put behind Porsche, Mercedes, or BMW. But should it be?

Obviously this is the goal of the ad, to bring light to a good looking, powerful car for those who want to look “bad”. And having this display of two cars swerving around the streets of London being chased by a helicopter is pretty cool, and shows that their product is a sleek, and powerful like James Bond’s Aston Martin, but te jaguar is a little edgier… and a lot cheaper than the car used by the infamous 007.

In my opinion, the ad is good, it is dark and cool and makes you appreciate that there is more out there than the typical high end cars you see, for now there is one driven by the dark-side.


Comm 296 Business Ethics

In the world there is a sudden urge for people to become more healthy, eating better and staying active. However, it is Reebok that may have taken this just a little too far. An Advertising Poster in Germany stated, “Cheat on your Girlfriend, not on your workout”. Like I said, there is nothing wrong with promoting working out and becoming a healthier person, but when it comes to this there is a problem.

Reebok poster

So is this an issue of Morals? Of course! It is disrespectful to women, it advocates infidelity, as well as stating that it is in fact OK cheat on your better half.

To make matters worse, the response by Reebok was no better. When brought to the attention of the higher ups, they responded with,

“The signs were removed as soon as we were made aware of them. I can assure you that Reebok does not condone this message or cheating in any way. We apologize for the offensive nature of these materials, and are disappointed that they appeared at all.”

As a population are we to believe that Reebok would make a poster to be distributed without the go-ahead from the company? Unlikely.

This is just an example to show the lines that companies are willing to cross. Ethics are beginning to be something that some companies truly care about, while others trounce over it as if the word Ethic does not exist.

Response – RIM: Where’s the innovation?

After reading over Robby Gill’s Blog and the article I find myself asking a similar questions. Thorstein Heins has signed on as the new CEO of RIM and he said he did so “because there was ‘a core of innovation’ inside the Company that showed a ‘path to the future.'”

Blackberry 10

Robby could not have said it better, there has been very little innovation for Blackberry’s in the past. You never hear of the “new” great functions of a blackberry.

Even after taking a look at the new BLackberry 10, that is set to launch on the the 30 of January in the New year does not seem to exciting. Personally I am waiting what Samsung will unveil as their Samsung Galaxy S4 will also be dropped in the coming months after the Blackberrry.

Samsung s4

I have never been apart of the “Crackberry” family, and after taking a look at the Blackberry 10 i porbably wont join anytime soon. Maybe next time RIM.

Call of Duty Game ‘Kills’ Record

Video games these days are setting many records, and not for the large amounts of children addicted to playing, but in sales. Coming from a guy who plays video games, the Call of duty franchise contains some of the best games ever made, and their sales represent that. Last year the Call of Duty game “Modern Warfare III” saw an amazing $400-million day; However they surpassed the record with their more recent game “Black-Ops II”, Which had an amazing $500-million day.

Their are thousands of games that get released each year and yet Call of Duty year after year sets landmarks.

To think that a single item can make that much money in a single day is absurd, much like the release of the iPhone 5. Call of duty will release a new game next year and there is no doubt in my mind they will surpass this record again, as their addictive game will attract more and more buyers.

Article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/gaming/gaming-news/call-of-dutys-500-million-day-sets-sales-records/article5364698/

Nike Cutting the Fat

I remember playing soccer as a kid and using the ever popular Umbro soccer cleats. At that time Umbro was a top the world of soccer; however they seemed to decline in stature among other brands, however the being from England, the England football team continues to support them.

umbor pic

Nike acquired the company Umbro in 2008 at a price of £285 million. And they just sold the company to Iconix Brand Group for $225 million. Nike has decided to do so for the reason of cutting costs. Nike wants to focus on its “core Nike brand and … Jordan, Converse and Hurley business lines”

Cole haan logo

Nike has also said they are willing to sell Cole Haan. This is a way to strengthen the brand image of Nike and make it less scattered. In my opinion this is a deal that makes since, and should not hurt the stock value at all.

article: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/398b126c-1dde-11e2-8e1d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2CeCcPXUg

Promising Social Entrepreneurs

Bloomberg businessweek has noticed some of the most promising social entrepreneurs in a reach out to their readers. This is their fourth time doing this kind of article, but it does wonders in helping these people get their names out there.

They as readers for suggestions then they get them to vote for their favorite. After learning about social entrepreneurship this article will have a great impact on their businesses.

The highest rated Social enterprise is called “The Paradigm Project“. At the time of the article they had 14 employees and roughly $700 000 in revenue in 2011. The company sells “clean-burning, highly efficient wood or charcoal cookstoves”. These stoves help to “reduce deforestation and long treks for firewood”. The objective of the company is to sell 5 million by 2020.

Stove Man

Social entrepreneurship was a career path I never thought of before, and now after reading of the good these business people are doing It has really brought to light a wonderful career path. This contest hosted by Bloomberg also sheds the light to others of the great work many people are doing around the world, which is just fantastic!

Election Effects Not Only the Americans, But the Asian Stock Market

Asian markets moved higher after President Obama was re-elected to the White House. As we all know the finances of the US is still horrible and their economy is still hurting, but the “fiscal cliff” that is approaching in the New Year might make things worse for Americans. This cliff will raise taxes and reduce government spending, and if this happens, the economy will almost surely enter recession again.

Obama Biden cheering

But what does this mean for the Chinese Market… not a whole lot. They expect “Nothing will change. [They] will still have ultra-low interest rates, a $1 trillion deficit, and quantitative easing.”

The re-election of Obama has proven to be good fro the Asian market for the US is heavily indebted to them, hence the increase in the stock market across seas.

It makes me curious to have seen the markets if the republican candidate, Mitt Romney, had been elected. I believe that the Asian market and Canadian market would have seen a loss because of the effect of a new style of government in office. It is an interesting thought though.

Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/asian-stock-markets-rise-after-president-obama-wins-another-term/2012/11/07/7dc8908e-289d-11e2-aaa5-ac786110c486_story.html