Author Archives: MortarMark
February 1st, 2007

Boston flips the bird to Cartoon Network.

MooniniteseBay has Mooninites for $1,215.00.

What? You missed that two operatives for New York-based Interference Inc. are being prosecuted for executing a guerilla stunt for Adult Swim?

The campaign brought Boston to a stand still yesterday.

The neon systems featured exposed wires and batteries — sparking what was tantamount to the biggest bomb scare since 9/11.  CNN reports:

"Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens were released on $2,500 bail, said Mike Rich, their attorney. The next pretrial hearing is scheduled for March 7. Both men were cooperative with authorities, and neither has a previous criminal record in Massachusetts, Grossman said.

At a news conference after the hearing, Stevens and Berdovsky stepped to the microphones and said they were taking questions only about 1970s hairstyles.

When a reporter accused them of not taking the situation seriously, Stevens responded, "We’re taking it very seriously." Asked another question about the case, Stevens reiterated they were answering questions only about hair and accused the reporter of not taking him and Berdovsky seriously.

Reporters did not relent and as they continued, Berdovsky disregarded their queries, saying, "That’s not a hair question. I’m sorry."

Um. No. We’re not making this up. See full article here.

Hey Julie, looks like there will be an opening at Turner very soon….

February 1st, 2007

Beam-Vertising

Sportlife, a Dutch chewing gum maker, launched their cool "Beamvertising" campaign. A van driving down the street projected images of a skateboarder onto building walls. Pretty neato, if you ask me.

January 31st, 2007

Monk-e-mail 2: The return of a viral idea.

Picture_17 It had to happen. Careerbuilder is the first to stoop low and produce a fracking sequel to its massively popular viral: Monk-e-Mail.

The original idea outpulled its companion SuperBowl spot. No wonder the boys from the Windy City jumped at a rerun.

Hey. People. Its the SAME IDEA. In a new wrapper. Hideous.

Why can’t I shake the idea that the client thought that maybe, just maybe, the monkeys were just too obtuse. Say it ain’t so.

Someone should write a letter.

January 31st, 2007

Mini? Me?

MimPushing one-to-one marketing to yet another level, innovative marketer Mini has launched a series of talking billboards.

The billboards identify Minis via  a coded radio signal embedded in the car’s key fob.

"As drivers approach, a
customized message flashes on the billboard. "Hi Jackie! Don’t crash
the car." comments Church of the Customer Blog.

"The messages are personal, based on questionnaires that owners filled out: “Mary, moving at the speed of justice,” if Mary is a lawyer, or “Mike, the special of the day is speed,” if Mike is a chef….

Continue reading

January 30th, 2007

Elf yourself: 11 people a second.

RenAm I the only person who didn’t realize the  ElfYourself promotion was designed to promote OfficeMax as a gifting destination.

Um. That’s a long freaking road to hoe.

What kind of person gives office supplies for Xmas?

Still, reports abound ElfYourself was a huge hit with traffic peaking at 11 people a second.

And there I was thinking the whole point was to make us feel good about OfficeMax. Apparently, that is no longer a viable marketing goal.

Read more about  Elf’s success on Ad Age here. Oh and see the thing itself here.