Competitive Media Placement

Apple and Microsoft ("PC") have been at each others' throats for a while. Whenever I hear about their tiffs, though, it's usually through trade pubs, and never through first-hand experience.

This morning, though, after browsing PCMag, I came across this homepage takeover, and realized the extent to which this war raged on.


Kind of ironic for PCMag to accept this buy. I've heard of different sites accepting ads from supposedly credible sources that turned out to be malware, but I'm pretty sure this was done on purpose.

Is losing credibility and selling out worth it?

When I Grow Up

This circulated my community a few years ago. It's interesting to watch it now because I have a much, much better idea of how the industry works than when I first saw it. I understand and appreciate it a lot more, now.


It's also funny because I used to desperately want to be in Account Services (1:53), but now I want to be a Media Director (:24) ... which, please note, is the only position without anything miserable attached to it. Thank goodness.

Fav part (1:07): "When I grow up, I want to be a Copywriter ... and lie awake at night writing the great American novel that will never get published."

Fly By Advertising

A company at a German trade show attached tiny banner advertisements to flies and set them loose on unsuspecting visitors, in a bizarre yet effective marketing stunt.

"One marketing creative's stroke of genius is another person's animal cruelty."

The banners, measuring only centimeters across, seemed weigh the flies down. This forced them to rest more often, which is a stroke of genius on the part of the marketing creatives: the flies end up at about eye level, and whenever a fly is forced to land and recover, the banner is clearly visible. What's more, the zig-zagging of the fly naturally attracts the attention because of its rapid movement. (via Kottke)

Having Fun at nFusion

My question for nFusion is as follows:



How do I get in on this??
Also, please note at 1:43, Longhorn and TAGger Celina Bonugli makes an appearance!

All Digital, All the Time

Southern Comfort has announced that in order to reach its target market of 21-29 year olds, they will be spending all of their budget online.

The ads began airing on Hulu, which allows viewers to choose their method of advertising -- pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll. Spots are also running on Break.com, CBS.com, Comedy.com, Fox.com, FX.com, MyDamnChannel.com, NBC.com, Playboy.com, TheFader.com and Pitchfork.tv, as well as at Southern Comfort's Facebook fan page. (via AdWeek)



I have a feeling this campaign is directed mostly towards men... (I've never heard of MyDamnChannel, TheFader or Pitchfork...?) I'm also impressed Hulu has given the consumer the choice of how to take their advertisement.

Overall, this shift really excited me because as a Digital Media hopeful, media plans like this mean I will have a job for a very long time. Thank goodness!

UT Speed Networking

Professor Gene Kincaid of The University of Texas, along with his Digital Media Class, is coordinating an Advertising/PR networking event as a fun initiative to connect the Department's alumni and students.


All are welcome to come Thursday, November 12, 6-8p at the Pickle Research Campus - 3925 West Braker Lane in Austin, TX. For more information and to rsvp, please visit the Facebook Page.

Fruits of My Labor ... Sorda

While interning at Mindshare New York this past summer, I worked on several accounts including Lufthansa and Wisk. Even though I left in August, I still feel very much connected to my team when I see the plans we worked on come to fruition and hit the blogosphere.

I'd like to say I had a direct hand in these two campaigns:

Lufthansa-My Sky Status:


Wisk-Scrub Your Facebook Photos:

Both of these are ingenious uses of social media and relevant brand integration, and have gathered a lot of press coverage in the blogosphere. Way to go Mindshare (and specifically, my team on floor 2).