Proving once again that San Francisco is nobody’s bitch, the city’s homeless and diabetics–the chemically challenged"–rose up last week to denounce the latest salvo in Goodby’s "Got Milk" campaign–cookie scented bus shelters.

In what was possibly the most impressive piece of general agency PR ever spawned by a buy of less than $5,000 and no more than 8 hours of daylight, Goodby secured nationwide headlines with its new outdoor program. Prompting a post in even this, the most august of blogs: "Scratch N’Sniff bus shelters".

Mind you, considering it took the good people of our fair city just 24 hours to get the program pulled I am not sure which lobby is the most effective. 

Our hearts go out to the creator, Louis Zafonte of Arcade Marketing, the company behind scent strips. He pretty much watched his entire business implode last week. Rumor has it he’s a little ticked too.
A little birdy tells MortarBlog that Goodby’s PR team went off half-cocked.

There’s an insight here ladies and gentleman: don’t test your wacky ideas in freaky San Francisco. 

Hot on the heels of last week’s launch of the Mortar 360 Brand-o-meter comes the new site for Mortar’s PR team.  Click through to learn about the offering that Hugh (our gracious writer) describes as "finding new ways to tell the most important love story of all. Yours." So sweet. And did we mention that PR is very reasonably priced? (Shut it-Ed)

Several blogs covered our new campaign for San Francisco’s St Mary’s Medical Center. Check them out:

St Mary’s Center Ad: A humorous approach to healthcare.
"…Of course, this ad campaign has humorously treated a very sensitive
aspect of human life and it could be dubbed as a path-breaking
advertisement in healthcare advertising.

MortarSF uses light hearted approach to healthcare advertising. Adland was the first to pick up the post. Their readers commented:

Come onnnnn. Not to be nasty, but the famous last words idea has been done a bazillion times. No, wait – quadrillion. – Plywood.

Well I like it. It feels fresh in this category and loads better than the last tagline I heard for an a & e clinic "Treat every illness like an emergency". I reckon consumers would appreciate this light-hearted approach. –  Genau

See also St. Mary’s Medical Center unveils "QuickCare ER",  Adhurl and MarketingBlurb picked up the release.

For less than $2 million you, thou blessed reader, can charter a flight aboard Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo. Soar 63 miles above sea level and experience weightlessness
firsthand. After returning to Earth, you and your guest will
enjoy luxury accommodations on Necker Island and four nights of
all-inclusive festivities on Sir Richard Branson’s private island
retreat in the British Virgin Islands.

The Virgin spaceship vacation is just one of the many delights in the recently published Nieman Marcus 2006 Xmas holiday catalog. Other gifts include a personal 7ft skyscraper made of #2 pencils ($40,000), and luxury pet homes by Italian designer Marco Morosini featuring wheels and crafted of poplar with an interior
rug and coordinating wallpaper ($6,000 +).  See the rest here.

Funny enough, most of the spectacular gifts never sell.

Nieman’s report only half of the items on its fantasy list sold last year, and other retailers report similar results.

Limited Brands jewel encrusted $3 million bra for Victoria Secret failed to find any takers last year.  Sam’s club offered a custom 1968 Camaro by Chip Foose for $198,000  and a wine tasting trip to New Zealand for $48,000. Neither sold.

So why do they do it? For the free PR. The Journal reports that Nieman’s estimate the publicity from their fantasy list generates $9-$12 million of TV coverage. For Victoria Secret, the million-dollar bra "elevates the brand to the status of ultimate luxury".

So effective are these programs that a whole slew of rivals are planning similar promotions this season. Watch out for seven "wow" items from Saks including a walk-on role in an American Ballet Theatre production, and a day at the Super Bowl accompanied by a famous football player. Bloomies is auctioning  designer-themed travel packages, and even Target is getting into the game with a $10,000 Lionel train set.

Read the full story here (subscription required).