The Restaurant Where You Pay What You Want (or Can)

I found this article about a couple that opened a non-profit restaurant in Denver, CO. The idea is that you can pay what you can or volunteer an hour to eat. A young couple opened the SAME (So All May Eat) cafe with $30,000 of their IRA money. The restaurant is doing well and operates upon the belief that everyone deserves to eat, no matter how much they can pay.

And get this - it's organic food.

Click here to read the entire article. Visit the Web site here.

Everyone Needs to Feel Invested in Something

The recent 6 months with the stock market have been like a soap opera. It's down, it's up, it's down - then it's WAY down....and I too got caught up in drama. Today I bought my first stocks (not linked to an IRA) and it feels pretty good.

At age 25, I am the proud owner of 150 Daktronics, Inc. stocks. I carefully monitored the stocks for about 6 months prior to purchase and feel confident. I still feel like I don't know squat - like that guy from the "Boom Goes The Dynamite" video when I try to tell anyone how the stock market actually works.

But the truth is, everyone has a need to feel invested in something. For some it's the stock market - for others Canadian pornography. It's a most righteous feeling - investing, no matter where you put your assets.

Fun To Learn Time!

The term is: "Paper Gangster." 

Fake, wanna-be who tries to be ghetto/thinks he/she is from the streets.  Should be listening to Rush and wearing Dockers while earning a living cleaning daddy's Lexus and painting his white-picket fence.

Compliments of Urban Dictionary.  You always have the right answer when I need it - big thumbs up!

Pepsi Logo Owns Up

This dude nails it.  Check out the new Pepsi logo. Ridiculous.  You can find this image along with other stuff here.

Pepsi isn't off my radar yet, stay tuned....  

Minty-Fresh Explosive Marketing

One of the coolest things about the Web is that when an idea takes off it can create tons of buzz for free. Most viral marketing is started by accident for amusement, not marketing. Remember the "dancing baby" from the mid-1990's? It was low-tech and a bit sketchy, but it was cool and instantly became viral.

The majority of campaigns created specifically to go viral fail. Worse, some companies set up fake viral campaigns with an approach that feels forced and advertisement-like. They don't understand that it's all about luck and timing.

There's a formula for creating an explosive viral campaign. This formula combines great (and free) Web content that is new, exciting or funny and may even include a celebrity. It also needs fuel - that's why you need a network of people to spread the message (thus the name viral).

My favorite example is the Mentos and Diet Coke experiment that turned viral by accident. The video clip shows what happens when you combine 200 liters of Diet Coke and 500 Mentos mints. The reaction was explosive - and it caused a classic viral phenomenon.

In only three weeks, millions of people had seen the video and the blogs were buzzing. The creators of the experiment even appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and The Today Show. Needless to say Mentos and Diet Coke marketing were excited from all the free exposure!

This is why companies need to be monitoring the Web for any content, good or bad, which is related to their products. And if an awesome viral explosion begins (and you didn't create it), don't just sit on the sidelines - get into the game!

MillerCoors Leaves Bloggers Buzzing

This question has been on my mind since Sunday night: why hasn't anyone executed the 1-second ad during the Super Bowl or even on the web before? And what is all the hoopla about?

Did Saatchi & Saatchi really pioneer this idea? Hardly. Call me a buzz kill, but check the list of attempted:

http://www.nme.com/news/eels/33707
A band called the Eels tried to do this last year but were turned down because they couldn't afford the entire 30 seconds. Also, they would not run 30 different commercials that were a second long because they feared it could cause seizures.

http://www.the1secondfilm.com/
Bringing the world together 1 second at a time also tried this. The film is one second of animation followed by one hour of credits that will include a documentary. It's a non-profit collaborative film project and anyone can join for free. If you donate $1 or more you get a Producer credit.

Let's go back to the MillerCoors ad. The 1-second execution has made headlines both in the newspapers and on the web, however, are we making a big fuss over something so simple? Don't get me wrong, I loved the spot and the concept - just seems to be a green idea (or recycled).

Maybe S&S figured out a way of producing the idea better than anyone else....or maybe they had a friend at NBC. The blogs posts have been positive except for the predictable few. Can't wait until next year to see who will steal the show.

Permission Marketing

According to Seth Godin's blog, "Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them."

I'm on my e-mail account 9 hours a day, I follow people on Twitter and feel that permission marketing is a necessity now-a-days...here's an example why:

I was at my local American Eagle store in the mall and it took forever to check out. While I was purchasing two items, the store clerk asked for my zip code, phone number and e-mail address (none of which they actually got). I can see for marketing research why they need the zip code and phone #, but I was perplexed about my e-mail address. Apparently they send out notices of when items are on sale, upcoming events and stuff along that nature. I declined to give out my info only to receive a nasty "okaaaay."

I didn't know that checkout person and I certainly don't want to be bothered with an e-mail every few days announcing it's the sale of all sales. When I do see your e-mail I'm going to block you. And I'll enjoy it.

So many companies don't understand that they need to have permission to market to their current or future customers and that it's not acceptable to gather their e-mail address from informal locations without a real explanation of what will be sent. A massive amount of spam from you is only going to turn recipients off and you'll find yourself blocked.

Permission marketing is a delicate area to master, but when done properly it serves as an invaluable resource. If you take care of your customers and treat them right, they'll take care of you.

I love Kathy Griffin but.....

This is just too awesome not to post. Thanks go to TMZ.com for the photo!

Confessions of a Copywriter

My dream is to get a job in advertising as a creative. This is how I pictured it would be:

I would show up to work 5 minutes early and stay 10 minutes late. For lunch I would eat sushi and gluten-free noodles. My choice of music would be similar to Indie-Rock or Folk and I'd refuse to buy an iPod because everyone would have one, and I'm not a sheep.

I would wear clothes that were black and brown and pair tall boots with just about anything. My make-up (if I would even apply it that day) would involve purple eyeliner and something with the title 'Rockstar Eyes.' I'd hope to hell that I wouldn't have the same look as that emo-wanna-be, Kevin, who sits near the breakroom.

I'd reference the latest social networking sites, but pray to God that no one calls me on it because I honestly have no idea what any of it is.

When I would win an award, I'd thank my co-workers for their equal effort on the project and write them a note later that week just to thank them again.

Young writers would idolize me and wish they could get where I am. I'm guilty because I make it look so easy and glamorous and secretly wish they would give up and go corporate just so I wouldn't have any competition.

I'd never take a day for granted. And I'd thank my luck stars that I decided against that career in Customer Service at Wells Fargo. No one said the road was going to be easy, but with a little dumb luck and a lot of post-it notes, I'd be just fine.

My favorite Super Bowl Ad Thus Far!

While I won't eat a "Grand Slam" breakfast I will watch this ad for Denny's.

So flippin' funny!