In this day and age of social media and social marketing it is all about connecting with your friends, finding that brand that cares (ya okay) and then seeing if they are selling something that you want.

Well if the scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have their way that style of marketing will be old hat because marketers will be able to read your mind – literally – in order to sell you exactly what you thought you wanted. The work being done by the scientists at this point is centered around the ability to decode brain activity (thought) into audible sounds, and while this mind-reading requires some 256 electrodes to be surgically attached to your scalp the likelihood of this happening in your corner store is pretty slim – for now.

Of course the final product of something like neuromarketing is still a long way, and thankfully so in my opinion, but not as far as some might like it to be especially when you start combining disparate types of research like the one at Berkeley and the research being conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science.

At Max Planck they are looking at how our decisions are being made and finding out that in fact that our decisions are in fact made up some 10 seconds before we are aware of them. The thinking is that by monitoring the micro patterns of activity in the frontopolar cortex we would be able to predict what the participant would do seven seconds before you or I was even aware that we had made the decision.

Now to you or I seven seconds is a flash in time but to computer algorithms and predictive software that seven seconds might as well be infinity.

With the recent findings made by the neuroscientists at Berkeley and those from the Max Planck Institute, does this mean that the “buy-button” has arrived? Not exactly–and, may I add, thank goodness. Reading our consumer mind is somewhat creepy. However, on the upside, many of the more dated research techniques (questionnaires, for example) are dying a natural death. Questionnaires believe emotions can be determined by “yes” or “no” questions, with a few extra lines to scribble in a more detailed explanation.

The days of relying on one source to draw an empirical conclusion are well and truly gone.

via Martin Lindstrom – Fast Company

So the reality is that an age when our minds are being read by ever obtrusive marketing machinery and computer programs in  order to bring us the true “Minority Report” style of advertising that will know instinctively what we want to buy isn’t going to happen any time soon – but chances are, given the money involved, it will one day happen.

Neuromarketing – the art of reading your mind to sell you more crap you ‘thought’ you wanted is a post from: The Inquisitr

I don’t hold the highest of opinions for social media, I figure it is just the newest and hottest ways for us to be conned into handing over our information under the illusion that the free stuff we are being given in return is actually worth something so that we can be marketed to.

So needless to say when I saw this infographic I couldn’t resist the temptation to share it with you.

Enjoy.

via Bit Rebels

Social media is ruining our minds and we have the proof [Infographic] is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) today announced the finalists for its annual awards shindig, the 2011 Mobile Marketing Awards.

The finalists encompass some of the world’s biggest brands, including Coca-Cola, Giorgio Armani, Pepsi Max, Pringles, and Converse. All will be fighting out across categories such as ‘Branding,’ ‘Innovation,’ ‘Best Product Launch’ and more.

The winners will be announced at the MMA Awards Gala in Los Angeles on November 17th. MMA bossman Greg Stuart had this to say:

“The over 25% increase in submissions from all over the world is indicative of how mobile marketing is being embraced by major brand marketers everywhere as integral to their marketing mix. Chosen from an extraordinarily competitive field of entrants, our finalists showcase the immense potential of the mobile medium.”

Yeah, thanks, Greg. Here’re the finalists in full:

BRANDING

Coca-Cola and UM and McCann Worldgroup Ltd. for “Coca-Cola Summer Campaign” Hong Kong / APAC
Converse and R/GA for “Converse The Sampler” USA/NA
OMO washing powder and BRANDTONE for “OMO ‘DOOR TO DOOR CHALLENGE’ – BRANDTONE mobile engagement” South Africa/EMEA
Louis Vuitton and Ogilvy France for “Louis Vuitton” France/EMEA

CROSS MEDIA INTEGRATION

Pringles and Crispin Porter + Bogusky for “Pringles Crunch Brand App”
Old Navy and Crispin Porter + Bogusky for “Old Navy Records”
Coca-Cola and Scholz & Volkmer GmbH for Coca-Cola “Snowglobes” iPhone Application Germany/EMEA
National Geographic Society and One to One Interactive for “National Geographic Kids Almanac 2012 QR Code Campaign” USA/NA

DIRECT RESPONSE

Pepsi MAX for “Cut to Max – Clubhouse in the Corn” USA/NA
Situation Sthlm and Mobiento for “Sms is King!” Sweden/EMEA
Unilever and BRANDTONE for “SUNLIGHT LAUNDRY BAR – BRANDTONE Mobile engagement campaign” South Africa/EMEA
Garanti and Rabarba for “Garanti-The Last Person on Earth Who Doesn’t Use Online Banking” Turkey/EMEA

PRODUCT/SERVICES LAUNCH

MINI / MINI and MOBILE DREAMS FACTORY for “MINI COUNTRYMAN” Spain/EMEA
Lawry’s and R/GA for “Lawry’s Digital Dinner Bell” USA/NA
HBO and PHD for “HBO GO” USA/NA
Peugeot and NAVTEQ Media Solutions for “Peugeot RCZ launch” UK/EMEA

PROMOTION

Coca-Cola and UM and McCann Worldgroup Ltd. for “Coca-Cola Summer Campaign” Hong Kong / APAC
United Airlines and Barrie D’Rozario Murphy for “Promotion for Travel Options” USA/NA
Pepsi Co. and Rabarba for “Pepsi- Content In a Bottle” Turkey/EMEA
Mobiento for “What the … fast” Sweden/EMEA
Mars Canada and Proximity Canada and for “M&M’s Find Red” Canada/NA

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING

Syniverse for “Text4baby Campaign —National Healthy Mothers; Healthy Babies Coalition” USA/NA
Dressbarn and MSLGROUP Americas for “dressbarn Mobile Fashion Club” USA/NA
Nike+ and R/GA for “Nike+ GPS App” USA/NA
Hennessy V.S.O.P. and Cherrypicks for “World’s first location-enabled Augmented Reality Vision; iPhone and Android App”

INNOVATION

Converse and R/GA for “Converse The Sampler” USA/NA
ESPN and Wieden + Kennedy for “WatchESPN” USA/NA
Coca-Cola and UM and McCann Worldgroup Ltd. for “Coca-Cola Summer Campaign” Hong Kong / APAC
Old Navy and Crispin Porter + Bogusky for “Old Navy Records”

SOCIAL IMPACT

Giorgio Armani and R/GA for ” Aqua di Gio Armani Drops for Life App”
Waterfall Mobile for “Waiting for ‘Superman’ Social Action Campaign”
YoungAfricaLive & Praekelt Group for “YoungAfricaLive”
Busday and TELiBrahma for “Busday gets buzzier”

MOBILE MARKETING ACADEMIC OF THE YEAR

Jeff Rohrs and Morgan Stewart for “SUBSCRIBERS, FANS & FOLLOWERS”
William F. Humphrey, Jr., MBA ; Debra A Laverie, Ph.D. for “Brand Community and Location Service Social & Mobile Research”
Ramin Vatanparast

MMA Announces Global Mobile Marketing Award Finalists is a post from: The Inquisitr

One of the most popular games happening right now has to be Minecraft and players are extremely passionate about their love of the game. Well for those folks who like to show off their passion for the game when out in public you can now get yourself Minecraft socks.

Yup, you read that right. From Swedish company Happy Socks you can order yourself a box of three pairs of socks that are crafted with a Minecraft theme.

There are three in all, which ship together in a handsome box mimicking the iconic look of the grass block. One celebrates the “natural” beauty of the Minecraft landscape, the second are designed after the pink blocky pigs that roam the digital fields, and the third take their form from the highly explosive creepers.

via Geekosystem

Here’s a further sample of what you get to keep your feet warm and show off your Minecraft love.

Minecrafters get your Minecraft love on, on your feet that is. is a post from: The Inquisitr

Have you long suspected that many items you see on menus billed as “salads” are really just gloppy messes of pasta and mayonnaise prettied up for the weight conscious?

You may be right in your inkling, and if you think the nameology bestowed upon certain less than healthy dishes in restaurants and on store shelves is luring misguided or in-denial dieters, that could be part of the problem as well. A study published in the Journal of Consumer Research measured the impact of product names on the food consumption habits of dieters and non-dieters alike, and the research found including words like “salad” or “fruit chew” significantly upped dieters’ acceptance of otherwise non-diet-friendly foods.

The study somewhat sanctimoniously referred to the dishes as “salads in name only,” citing milkshakes called “smoothies,” potato chips billed as “veggie chips” and sugar-laden beverages dubbed “flavored water” as common calorie-traps for those attempting to lose weight. One portion of the study allowed participants to snack on jelly beans- when the sweet was labeled as a “fruit chew,” study participants consumed 25% more of it than when it was simply called candy.

The study labeled dieters as “highly suggestible” when it comes to food labeling practices.

[Study] Dieters heavily influenced by presence of word ‘salad’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Amazon just announced a new way to get yourself a new Kindle and save $25.00 in the process, the only catch is that you have to be willing to live with ads as well as things like sponsored screensavers and other special offers that will show up in your Kindle whether you like it or not.

From their press release:

Millions of people are reading on Kindle, Kindle has more 5-star reviews than any other product on Amazon, and in just five months the latest-generation Kindle became the bestselling product in the 16-year history of Amazon.com. Today, Amazon introduced a new member of the Kindle family – Kindle with Special Offers for only $114. Kindle with Special Offers is the same #1 bestselling Kindle, plus special offers and sponsored screensavers. Kindle special offers and sponsored screensavers display on the Kindle screensaver and on the bottom of the home screen. Learn more about all three latest-generation Kindle family members–$114 Kindle with Special Offers, $139 Kindle, and $189 Kindle 3G–at www.amazon.com/kindle. Kindle with Special Offers is now available for pre-order to customers in the U.S. and will ship on May 3.

So,let’s see, you get to save $25 off of the stock $139 Kindle and in return you agree to have ads .. err .. special offers and ad sponsored screensavers 365 days of the year.

Yup, that sounds like a fair trade in order to save a measly $25. NOT!

Sorry, but if you want me to have a Kindle that I agree to having ads in my face for 365 days then you are going to have to do a lot better. Like for free better.

Save $25 buying a new Kindle, as long as you don’t mind the ads is a post from: The Inquisitr

Using a technology of indeterminate origin, Kraft has come out with an kiosk designed to scan customer’s faces in-store and determine which Kraft foods are best suited to certain consumers.

Annoyingly, the Fast Company piece doesn’t say whether this scanning of faces is opt-in, or if the machine just scans every poor schmuck that passes by. Also not addressed is whether the data is stored or if it is used in any other ways. But scanning your supermarket loyalty key-fob will enable the kiosk to go through your prior purchasing history and make suggestions based on how frequently you veg out in front of 30 Rock with a sad Lean Cuisine. Last item of note in this vein- the kiosk is quite creepily called the “Meal Planning Solution.”

Although the machine deals exclusively in Kraft-brand recommendations (duh), the company says the goal is to broaden consumers’ dinner repertoires with suggestions of mac and cheese and frozen pizza:

The average shopper, says Kraft’s VP of retail experience, Don King, has a paltry 10 recipes in his or her average meal-time rotation: Spaghetti, pizza, hamburgers, chicken, etc. Kraft’s goal is to help them expand that repertoire using, of course, Kraft products. Plus, 70% of them enter the store without a clue as to what to serve that night for dinner.

There is one bright spot, however- the machine dispenses samples, which improve grocery shopping by approximately 117%. Do you see yourself using a marketing tool like this? Do you think this kiosk will encourage customers to try new foods, or is it another greased slope on the slide into crushing obesity and reliance on frankenfoods?

[Fast Company via Gawker]

Kraft unveils kiosk that reads your face, selects your dinner is a post from: The Inquisitr

I have never been a bottled water proponent. In fact I think it is the greatest marketing con game ever pulled on consumer on such a global level; this was before I watched the excellent documentary called Tapped.

So it was rather interesting today to come across a post on the Yahoo! Green blog by Lori Bongiorno about a recent study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) that analyzed the labels of 173 unique bottled water products, as well as company websites, to determine if the companies disclosed where the water actually came from, how it – or if – the water was treated, and whether they revealed any results from purity tests.

According to the report more than half of the bottled water products failed the EWG’s transparency test. Of the 173 only three brands: Gerber Pure Purified Water, Nestle Pure Life Water, and Penta Ultra-Purified Water, passed while earning the highest marks for disclosure as well as using the most advanced purification methods.

Flip the coin and we have at the bottom six brands that got the worst marks from EWG for not proving with a minimum of three basic facts about their bottled water product. Thos companies are: Whole Foods Italian Still Mineral Water, Vintage Natural Spring Water, Sahara Premium Drinking Water, O Water Sport Electrolyte Enhanced Purified Drinking Water, Market Basket Natural Spring Water, and Cumby’s Spring Water.

How to  the brands stack up score wise and popularity in sales:

1. Pure Life Purified Water (Nestle), EWG grade = B
2. Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = C
3. Aquafina Purified Drinking Water (Pepsi), EWG grade = D
4. Dasani Purified Water (Coca-Cola), EWG grade = D
5. Deer Park Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D
6. Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D
7. Ozarka Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D
8. Poland Spring Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D
9. Zephyrhills Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D
10. Crystal Geyser Natural Alpine Spring Water (CG Roxane), EWG grade =  F

Gee color me surprised.

Then of course there is Penn and Teller who pointed all this out years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfPAjUvvnIc

The bottled water sham continues is a post from: The Inquisitr

They say all is fair in love and war but those two things pale in comparison to the the current smartphone battlefield where even the slightest victories can be worth millions.

Of course the uncontested winner at this point is Apple and its just launched iPhone 4, even with it’s myriad of problems. Everyone wants a piece of the pie that Apple has so far managed to keep for itself and as competitors bring newer and better versions of the Android based smartphones to market competition is definitely heating up.

With new Android phones showing up on handsets of all kinds smartphone manufactures are hard pressed to not only rise above the fandom of the iPhone but also stand out from their fellow Android based phones. Such is the case of the new Galaxy S smartphone from Samsung and while it is getting some pretty rave reviews from some in the tech blogosphere that alone won’t get the handset into the hands of the consumer.

So Samsung has come up with a rather interesting, albeit some might say sneaky and underhanded, campaign to accomplish just that – get into the hands of the comsumers. Of course it goes without saying that as with any marketing campaigns these days there is a heavy use of Twitter and Samsung is using it for all it is worth.

You see, there are a lot of people who aren’t happy with their iPhone 4 purchase and they have taken to Twitter to express their displeasure and this is where Samsung has possibly hit marketing pay dirt. You see what they are doing is monitoring Twitter for these plaintive cries and coming to the rescue.

Yup, Samsung is reaching out to those unhappy iPhone users and offering them a brand spanking new Galaxy S smartphone in exchange for the iPhone; but here’s the kicker – their free.

Matt Brian at The Next Web has one story of this happening as was told to Wired and it goes something like this:

Tiffany, one of the lucky few contacted spoke to Wired:

“My iPhone and I have been inseparable for almost a month now, tomorrow being one month since the iPhone OS 4 launched. But the honeymoon period ended this week as repeated dropped calls, and a sudden unexplainable inability to make or receive calls or send texts left me disgruntled.

“So I did what anyone else would do: I vented my frustration on Twitter. Imagine my surprise, then, when this morning I am tweeted by Samsung offering me a free Galaxy S, their latest phone. Too good to be true? I decided to investigate.
“I called a friend at Samsung, and though she was initially sceptical (sic), it has now been confirmed: the campaign is legit. Samsung is so confident about the superiority of the Galaxy S that they’re sending free ones to existing iPhone customers so they can decide for themselves.”

Looking on the Samsung UK Twitter page, the devices have started to make their way to the chosen few.

Now you have to admit, as well as maybe wishing you could be one of the lucky ones, that this is one damn smart move on Samsung’s part.

Samsung’s Galaxy S campaign on Twitter is sneaky, underhanded but damn it’s clever is a post from: The Inquisitr

In an interesting move Facebook has added its name to the small group of companies looking to replace Nationwide as the sponsor of the England football (soccer to those of you in North America) team. Those currently via for the contract that could be upward of £20 million now include: Facebook, Orange, o2 and Santlander.

As Matt Brian notes in his post at The Next Web:

It’s an interesting approach for Facebook, a company that traditionally hasn’t ventured into avenues such as corporate sponsorship, especially after Fabio Capello’s outright ban on players using social networking services prior to the World Cup.

Personally, I think this would be an incredibly brilliant move on Facebook’s part that could pay back multiples of what the contract might end up costing.

The reason why is simply this – football is the global game of the people. Outside of the US only cricket comes close to inspiring the passion that football does. In some countries you might as well shut everything down during events like the World Cup.

As huge as we might think Facebook is most of those numbers come from the US side of the service. This doesn’t mean that Facebook isn’t growing outside of North America – it is but not at a pace that gets Zuckerberg and company all tingly inside.

But being identified with a world class football club on the other hand could prove invaluable in expanding the company’s reach outside of North America. In this way Facebook’s attempt to secure the sponsorship deal makes absolutely perfect sense and could prove to be one of its smartest marketing moves to date if they win the contract.

hat tip to my colleague Kim for the original image

Facebook looking to sponsor England FA team – talk about smack in the face brilliant is a post from: The Inquisitr

Peter Kafka at Media Memo is out with the exclusive news today that Twitter is looking at expanding its Sponsored Tweets ad platform with a new idea called Promoted Trends. The idea here is that advertisers can insert their own terms into the list of  trends that Twitter displays on our Twitter homepages, as well on its own login page.

Word is that advertisers can expect to pay tens of thousands of dollars for this prime placement and would see people clicking on those paid for trend items switching over to a Twitter search result page which would then display that advertiser’s “promoted tweet”. From Peter Kafka’s post:

But the basic gist seems to be this: Advertisers will be able to insert their own terms into the list of trends Twitter displays on users’ homepages (see image below; click to enlarge) and on its login page. Clicking on a term would call up a Twitter search results page, which would feature the associated advertiser’s “promoted tweet” at the top of the results.

Advertisers who have heard Twitter talk about the product say the service imagines charging “tens of thousands of dollars” a day for exclusive placement rights.

If Twitter moves forward with the plan, it’s going to need to iron out some details: For instance, will every one of Twitter’s 190 million users see the same promoted trend? Or will the service figure out how to filter them?

Just as important: Can Twitter ensure that its trending topics aren’t cluttered with spam?

I’m sorry but there is something about this that just rubs me the wrong way. Slowly more and more of Twitter is becoming the playground for advertisers and marketers, and I’m not talking about the incredible number of questionable accounts slamming us daily. This is much more insidious in my opinion as it is going to make it harder to tels what part of Twitter is ads and which part is actually of any value.

Twitter on ups its Sponsored Tweets with Promoted Trends is a post from: The Inquisitr

Let’s set the record straight right from the beginning.

Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Gowalla, Buzz or any of the other hundreds of wannabes out there fishing for VC dollars as their only viable business model are not social media. At best they are just another play on the whole social network idea and at the worst they are nothing more than marketing coal mines.

All those so-called social media gurus or experts out there who do nothing more than get companies all jacked about the idea that followers and friends are the new marketing crack are no better than snake-oil salesmen. The only problem is that in the process of lining their pockets they have polluted and torn apart something that could have been a turning point in our society.

For the longest time now I have been a firm believer that Social Media at its heart was the platform by which we as individuals could come together and through conversation, effect change like never before. Instead what we get are companies pandering to the lowest common denominator in order to create pipelines of personal information for which they can charge top dollar to companies that just want to sell us some more garbage – social change be damned.

It has only been in the last little while that I have even begun to question the idea about Social Media being about the larger conversation. I still hold out hope for that admittedly idyllic dream but the reality is that Social Media has lost to Facebook and the marketers when it comes to the small conversation. In fact I would suggest that while people like Joel Postman and Tom Foremski suggest that social media is more about publication rather than conversation, I am seeing it as nothing more than a marketing platform.

In his post Joel writes

Problems arise when we behave in so-called online conversations as if we are in real conversations. We say things without considering whether we want them permanently recorded in an online archive available to nearly 2 billion people. We tweet an offhand remark to a friend, in a simulation of a one-to-one conversation, which happens to be visible to 500 million people. Our most casual remarks are recorded for future employers, business competitors, customers, clients, potential litigants, political adversaries and others.

Well I would go one step further than and suggest that this has become the intention of all current social networks and ones that are in development. Everything is being structured in such a way to make us believe that these online conversation are indeed just like having a coffee with friends. This way we keep feeding the data pipeline being maintained by companies like Facebook and Twitter.

Tom writes

That’s what social media is about. It’s about publishing, allowing anyone to publish back. It’s feedback, it’s a response, it’s not a conversation.

He’s right but I also would suggest that the publication we are doing isn’t our own anymore, or at least a very small portion of it is. Rather we have become re-publishers for marketing spam. It is all about retweeting, sharing, rebuzzing other peoples content. It is about passing along the latest contest, the latest meme (increasingly started by some marketing firm) or a link to the latest viral video.

Take a look at the hottest topics when it comes to Social Media and it is all about telling companies better ways they can con us into thinking they care about having a conversation. It’s all about getting more eyeballs on your Facebook Fan page or how to best use 140 characters to get your non-sales sales pitch across to as many people as possible, and then get them to retweet it.

For once we had the possibility of a global platform from which we had the power to make those in power listen to us. What we have ended up with is nothing more that a digital Madison Avenue and a whole lot of digital garbage that won’t shut up.

I would like to hold out some hope that the original intention of Social Media could make a resurgence. A hope that we can take back our platform for change. I just don’t see it happening which is really sad.

R.I.P. Social Media, it was a nice dream while it lasted is a post from: The Inquisitr

I’ve been disconnected from the United States since that time, so this post applies primarily to Australia. But given Australia’s ability to follow the trends out of the States, I’d bet that this might apply there as well.

In August, I wrote that “the label social media expert is being used by all and sundry just because they have used Twitter, or started a blog, or at the extreme, have a Facebook account.” I further discussed that this proliferation would in itself undermine social media because those that have no experience in the field would be preaching to those that want to know more, while those with the real experience were too busy using their knowledge to make a non-speaking living.

I’m sad to report that in March 2010, the crisis is here.

My first pointer was at the Media140 conference in Sydney in November 2009. I hold no grudge against the organizer, who I’ve since learned is fairly switched on. But she was compromised by the sponsors, and the speakers who she was forced to line up. I’ve never been as gobsmaked before to see speaker after speaker get up and say “I’ve been on Twitter for 6/12/18 mths because I was told to join by my boss/ someone told me I should join and this is my experience.” Apparently being on Twitter for 5 minutes gave these people the license to speak for 5-25 minutes on being a social media expert.

But that was November.

In March, the madness has become like an outbreak of the plague, particularly among the PR/ Marketing crowd, not only in Sydney, but mostly.

If you’ve gotten 200 followers for your corporate Twitter account in Sydney, and sent out 20 tweets, that’s now ample qualification that you are a social media expert.

I spoke to someone recently who works in IT but consults to some of Australia’s largest brands on social media; mostly from the tech/ implementation aspect. The stories he told me turned my hair grey…well, more grey. Companies that think less than 100 mentions in a month is a social media success, because their marketing/ PR ppl told them. Companies who are reluctant to tweet, but want to have a social media strategy without Twitter.

Australia is suffering from a major outbreak of social media experts, and it is and will damage the whole space.

The problem, as I wrote in August, comes back to trust. There is little to no trust in every man and his dog who uses twitter in PR/ Marketing claiming to be an expert. There is zero trust in those who have never really practiced in the space, or have only done so 5 minutes ago, preaching.

There are great, legitimate social media experts out there (and a shout out to Laurel who I’d defer to any day,) but many of the rest are essentially the unwashed swill who are going to ruin it for everyone else.

Can we change this though: probably not. It is always the case that those most successful practice, while those who can’t, preach. But my concern remains is that the advice given now isn’t just shallow, it’s bad. Not just bad, but damaging. Like in August, I offer no solution, because I don’t know what it is, but recognition of an issue should always be the start.

Image: Gaping Void

The Social Media Expert Crisis Descends is a post from: The Inquisitr

One of the hottest terms and ideas these days it augmented reality which basically means a computerized information overlay that informs you about things, items, places or people in your daily life.

It sounds like a really cool idea but like everything else humans do the chances of this being taken to extremes is pretty likely. Keiichi Matsuda’s film Augmented (hyper) Reality: Domestic Robocop is a glimpse into this likely future.

Augmented (hyper)Reality: Domestic Robocop from Keiichi Matsuda on Vimeo.

Augmented reality overload is a post from: The Inquisitr

The iconic packaging artwork on Sun-Maid Raisins has been static since 1915, and the Sun-Maid Girl’s total makeover in some TV spots is sparking a weird amount of unease in the population.

The original Sun-Maid girl, Lorraine Collett Petersen, has a bit of backstory on the Sun-Maid website:

In May 1915, she was discovered drying her black hair curls in the sunny backyard of her parents’ home in Fresno, California. She was then asked to pose for a painting while holding a basket tray of fresh grapes.

Lovely. But later for you, Lorraine, we’ve got a Sim Sun-Maid girl now. In a commercial shot not far from Uncanny Valley, the new CGI Sun-Maid girl is here, and she’s got tits and a totally creepy facial expression. The change was adopted three years ago, but the new Sun-Maid girl is only garnering media feedback now.

New Sun-Maid girl lost the flowy top, and there’s talk of sticking her in ads where she’ll do other things “modern women” do like “going to the gym, shopping at the market, and speaking multiple languages.” (Note to Sun-Maid, you may want to do more market research.) If you’re one of the people not pleased with the Sun-Maid girl’s new look, all is not lost. The original picture is not going to be removed from packaging, and the new chick’ is only going to be in ads, like this one:

The Sun-maid Raisins girl gets some work done is a post from: The Inquisitr

That picture, above, is actually a KFC marketing stunt. (That worked or failed, depending on your definition of “fail.”)

Actor Robert Thompson, dressed as the iconic Colonel Sanders, got as far as posing for a picture with President of the UN General Assembly Ali Treki, before his presence was detected and he was ejected from the area. (The actual Colonel Sanders, who invented the secret Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe, has been dead for nearly 30 years.)

The stunt is part of the ceaseless campaign to promote KFC’s grilled chicken, and involves KFC “lobbying” the UN to admit their new “Grilled Nation” to be accepted as a UN member state. (Okay, that’s kind of funny and clever.)

The fast food giant has written to (UN secretar-general Ban) Ki-moon personally asking for grilled chicken lovers to be be represented at the assembly, in a letter dismissed by Mrs Montas as “absolutely void.”

For reasons unknown at this time, a UN security guard escorted the actor into the secure area:

“It should not have happened – that I will stress, and very strongly,” Michele Montas told Canwest News Service, the Canadian news agency.

“There was some lapse in security and the individual in question was, on the initiative of one security guard, taken into the UN.”

[via snopes]

KFC marketing goes off the reservation, crashes UN is a post from: The Inquisitr

While a lot of attention surrounding the new guidelines being issued by the FTC is regarding bloggers there is also another who section of advertisers that is going to get hit hard by these new guidelines. Ignoring the fact for now that newspapers are being given a clear path to maintain their current status quo of self-regulation guerilla marketers are going to have a very hard time doing business under these guidelines.

For those not familiar with the term guerilla marketing it is a type of marketing where for example sake you are sitting at the bar having a nice cold beer and some-one you don’t know sits down beside you and you both start talking about brands of beer and why you like certain ones. This person beside you starts really talking up the brand of beer, one you’ve probably never tried because it’s new, their are drinking and then offers to buy you one, or two.

That is what is commonly referred to as guerilla marketing.

To the FTC this type of advertising would require full disclosure

A young man signs up to be part of a “street team” program in which points
are awarded each time a team member talks to his or her friends about a particular
advertiser’s products. Team members can then exchange their points for prizes, such as
concert tickets or electronics. These incentives would materially affect the weight or
credibility of the team member’s endorsements. They should be clearly and
conspicuously disclosed, and the advertiser should take steps to ensure that these
disclosures are being provided.

(page 81)

As I said earlier the only medium not covered by any of these new guidelines is the traditional print media – anyone else … well you’re fair game.

FTC guidelines take aim at guerilla marketing as well is a post from: The Inquisitr

It doesn’t happen very often but at least once a year I like to treat my self to a really nice bottle of single malt scotch – none of that blended crap for me. I know there are a lot of really good single malts available but my all time favorite has to be Glenfiddich.

As good as it is though I doubt I will be lining up any time soon to grab one of the special bottles that Glenfiddich is producing as a limited run each year. The fact that there will only be 500 bottles available of their 50 Year Old Glenfiddich might be an enticement to enjoy a really rare pleasure the price is going to be a real killer.

The fact that each and every bottle will be made from hand-blown glass, individually numbered, adorned in Scottish silver and packaged in a leather bound case will of course up the stakes but still the price will make sure that only the upper crust of scotch drinkers will even think about signing up to get this slice of scotch history.

The price you ask – try $15,000.00

But still it looks damn good and one can only image how smooth it must be.

hat tip to The Dieline

[DROOL] Now this is scotch is a post from: The Inquisitr

How can you tell when technology has become totally mainstream?

Well when a major marketing campaign centered around something totally different targets the growing  number of people who live online regardless of where they are. The perfect example of this kind of marketing comes to us from Toyota as they launch the 2020 3rd generation Prius in the US.

Rather that paste billboards all over the place and plaster us with all kinds of print advertising Toyota is heading right to the minds – and wallets – of those people who will most likely be their future Prius customers. They’ve done this by planting 18-foot high flower sculptures that are doubling as public comfort zones as well as solar powered wi-fi stations. As well you can also plugin to the portable charging stations that are a part of the ‘green zone’.

You gotta admit it’s a great idea but unfortunately they are only temporary and will soon be moving from their current location in Boston to other temporary homes during the campaign.

hat tip to My Modern Metropolis

Very cool Toyota, too bad the flowers are only temporary is a post from: The Inquisitr

Viral marketing is the nirvana that just about every company is looking to achieve these days. There are some good attempts and then there are some that drop with a dull thud. Usually they involve websites related in some fashion to the product trying to gain market share or some cutesy video that generally just wants to make you gag.

Terminator Salvation though look to have raised the stakes in their marketing campaign that they have been building on slowly in the lead up to the movie’s release. The most recent move in this campaign according to Alex Billington at FirstShowing.net has been the release of the Skynet Distributed Computing Platform (DCP).

Yup you heard that right – you can now download an application that will link in with every other computer in the world running the DCP. The application is located on the Warner Brothers servers (probably due to legalities) and you have to agree to the terms of service that come with the application, so as Alex suggests this might not be something to do at work.

Alex as well has a bit of a lowdown on what exactly the DCP does at this point which really doesn’t seem to be all that much

Once you launch the application, it shows you two primary views, one of the entire world with little yellow dots indicating where each computer that is connected to Skynet’s DCP is located. You can also click on the odd yellow/green graph in the lower left corner and it brings up another new display with more information. Also found in the lower right corner a section that says "Input Code" and a space for 9 characters. We’re guessing there is some code that can be entered here, but I have no clue where to find this or what’ll happen when you put it in. Any ideas? If you’re into this viral, I’d suggest you download this right away!

It’s interesting to see just how far some of these marketing folks will go to get our attention but given that the movie is already going to be insanely popular one has to wonder if all this extra stuff is worth the time and effort.

[picture of DCP courtesy of FirstShowing.net]

Terminator Salvation expands Skynet to your desktop is a post from: The Inquisitr