Banned Bud Light ad:

Banned Rolling Rock ad:

Here’s one that should have been banned, for totally seperate reasons:

Wavy Lay’s:

Finally, here is a list of advertisers who are approved heading into Sunday’s big game.  Hopefully there are some good ones in there.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Via Jezebel.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Many sports fans know that Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt recently competed in the track and field world championships in Berlin, Germany.  During two outstanding performances in the 100m and 200m races, Bolt broke both world records that he previously set at last year’s Beijing Olympics.  What makes these feats newsworthy in this space is the story behind the shoes he wore.  (Yes, it’s got to be the shoes.)

Bolt had his custom-made Pumas designed in a color to mirror his favorite root vegetable, the yam (see above).  Apparently, Bolt grew up loving the tuber, and it clearly has made an impact on him.  The question is, has it made him the runner that he is today, and is it too late to invest in yam futures?  Regardless, I hope it brings more attention to the delightful root, which it high on my deliciousness scale.

H/t to Stuff/Nz for the photo, and for those sweet potato/yam lovers out there, a great recipe here.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

As reported back in January, due to financial concerns, the NBA is allowing courtside liquor advertising for the first time since 1991.  This was hardly shocking news considering how much NBA teams will be going into the red next season, and their subsequent need to generate revenue.  What is interesting here is some of the partnerships that have formed between booze companies and teams. The Miami Heat has deals with Bacardi, Grey Goose, and Dewar’s (covering the young, midde-aged, and old demos).  Also, the Los Angeles Lakers just signed the first exclusive deal with 1800 Silver tequila.  (Apparently, Lakers fans drink more tequila than other booze.)  Regardless, it will be interesting to see the affect of every arena being wallpapered with liquor ads as well as which new partnerships form – Toronto Raptors/Canadian Club?  Atlanta Hawks/Southern Comfort?  New York Knicks/Aristocrat Vodka?

Which teams/brands make the most sense to you?

H/t to Media Post for the pict.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The stadium will feature NYC’s third Shake Shack location as well as a “Catch a Day” fish shack and many more treats.  I won’t say much more. Serious Eat’s Robyn Lee took the photo above, as well as photos of all the food she tried at the stadium, and her pictures are FANTASTIC. You absolutely must head over to Serious Eats to get the full scoop on Citi Field’s eats.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Deadspin has a new post up this afternoon titled March Madness Devolves Into All-Out Meat Blogging War.

The post reports on something I have already touched on here – the fact that ESPN Page 2 columnist Paul Lukas posted a column featuring a meat bracket a week after So Good had already launched our Meat Madness tournament.  The Deadspin post features a quote from Lukas in which he calls for a battle of the brackets:

What we need, clearly, is a bracket of meat brackets, so MY meat bracket can face off against (and, of course, defeat) HIS meat bracket, along with the several others floating around out there.

First of all, a bracket of brackets is the most asinine suggestion ever. I think that idea should be the #1 seed in a bracket for the  “Worst Idea Ever” tournament.  Look, I know he had 64 meats and I had 32. Plus he went all weird and had chicken tails in the final four.  But even if my bracket were to face off against his bracket, there is no debate which is better.

Even if my Meat Madness tournament had only 8 meats it would be superior.  Why? Lukas wrote a column in which he told you, on the spot, which meat he picked in each match up. In the three minutes it takes you to read the column, you knew the seeds, who had won and who had lost. Sure, if you like your debates wrapped up in a neat tidy bow after 3 minutes then it was great, but there was no suspense and no audience participation.

So Good’s Meat Madness is an ongoing contest determined by you, the people. Sure I could have run through a bracket and told you what I think, but it’s much more fun to see what consensus opinion emerges on each meat in question.

While it was amusing to see Deadspin pick up the story, the thing to remember is Lukas’s meat tournament ended the moment you finished his column, while So Good’s Meat Madness will continue for the next few weeks.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Update: Unlike Kellogg’s, Subway has announced they are standing by Phelps and keeping him as their spokesperson. Bravo Subway, bravo.

Yeah that’s right, I said it. I’m going to boycott Kellogg’s. Why? Because otherwise they will think everything is just hunky dory after they fired an American HERO for doing what millions of other 23 year-olds have done before: smoke pot.

We’re talking about freakin Kellogg’s here people. Are they not aware of who their customer base is? Do they not know who is regularly buying Pop Tarts? I’ll give you a hint: it ain’t sober people. You’re honestly going to tell me that the guy who created Pop Tart’s wasn’t high at the time? Rubbish.

Personally, I’m not even a fan of Michael Phelps.  In his media apperances he seems about as smart as a bag of rocks. However, you cannot deny that his performance this past summer united Americans and instilled many of us with patriotic pride. There is no debate: Michael Phelps is the single most successful athlete in the history of the Olympic games.  The man is, plain and simple, an American hero.

So how does a company like Kellogg’s treat American heroes? By not renewing their contracts, a.k.a FIRING them. Yes, that’s right, Kellogg’s fires American heroes. Are you patriotic Kellogg’s? Do you love America? Then why are you taking money out of the pocket of an American hero?

Michael Phelps was photographed smoking pot. Newsflash: Barack Obama used to smoke pot. The mayor of NYC, Michael Bloomberg, used to smoke pot.  The American people have decided that if you have smoked pot, you are good enough to manage a city of 14 million and good enough to be leader of the free world. Clearly Kellogg’s does not agree with the American people – in their eyes, if you smoke pot, you are not even good enough to be a cereal spokesperson.

Lee Strahan, writing at Huffington Post, is also calling for a boycott, pointing out:

Kellogg’s has profited for decades on the food tastes of marijuana using Americans with the munchies. In fact, we believe that most people over the age of twelve would not eat Kellogg’s products were they not wicked high.

Andrew Sullivan has also weighed in, asking, ”When on earth are we going to grow up as a culture?”  Supporters on Facebook have set up a fan page titled, “I don’t care that Michael Phelps smoked a bong” that is already above 2,000 members. An online petition has been set up, and there are now a flurry of news articles about how the story is uniting pot smokers, which CNN even did a report on:

I ask you So Good readers, who do you want dictating who your cereal spokesperson is? A) Puritanical anti-drug zealots?, B) The 41% of American’s who believe pot should be legal? or C) Patriotic individuals who don’t fire American heroes? Me? I choose B or C.

Some of you may be saying, oh it’s bad PR to keep Phelps, Kellogg’s had no choice, blah, blah, blah. WRONG. Kellogg’s could have easily stood by Michael Phelps. Both Omega and Speedo have NOT dropped Phelps as a spokesperson, and put out statements saying that the picture of him smoking a bong was a private matter. I don’t hear any deafening chorus of people telling me not to buy Speedo’s anymore. So I say bravo Omega, bravo Speedo. I vow to all of my readers that if I ever decide to do a total 180 with my preferred beachwear and buy a bathing suit that exposes 100% of my white, hairy legs, I will make it a Speedo bathing suit.

Subway is already making noises indicating that they will be the next company to cut ties with Phelps. As a former “Sandwich Artist” and lover of Subway, I’m asking you Jared, I’m asking you Subway corporation: don’t do it.  Fear my wrath, fear the wrath of So Good’s readers, and fear the wrath of rational thinking American’s everywhere who have already elected a pot-smoking President and can therefore totally, most definitely, handle a pot-smoking sandwich spokesperson. I don’t want to have to boycott you Subway, but mark my words, I will.

There’s plenty of other cereals out there. General Mills, Post, those weird bags that are always on the bottom shelf. Sure, Pop Tarts are pretty tasty, but I’m sure the store brand “toaster pastries” are fine too. Be honest with yourself: you could live without Kellogg’s. So do it. DO IT. Boycott Kellogg’s.  It’s time to stand up for Michael Phelps, and stand up to American corporations who want to take money out of the pockets of American heroes just because when they are partying they prefer to smoke a plant instead of chugging a Coors Light.

If you feel the same way I do, let Kellogg’s know how you feel:

Kellogg’s Consumer Affairs: kellogg@casupport.com
Kellogg’s corporate responsibility department: corporateresponsibility@kellogg.com

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

I know that money is tight for a lot of the companies out there these days.  For this reason, I expected a little more in the creativity department for those lucky enough to be able to afford Super Bowl air time.  Overall, the spots, especially the food ads, left me empty.  The few that I did find somewhat appealing were…

Miller High Life:  One Second Spot – Talk about making the most of an opportunity.  This one-second ad featured the lovable Miller High Life beer man shouting “High Life.”  Very creative and economical. 

Coke: Heist – Just a great looking ad.  I know it’s not the greatest thing since sliced bread, but it just has a fun quality about it that made me take note.  Also, no reference to the recent death of ‘Classic’ Coke, unfortunately.

Pepsi: Pepsuber – Any pop culture reference to MacGuyver is a good thing in my book.  That said, this was good in concept, but pretty mediocre in execution.  And wow – does Richard Dean Anderson look old. 
 

Notable Mention for Being Terrible:

Sobe: Lizard Lake – from the ‘what were they thinking dept?” comes this weird-a-rama display of NFL players doing ballet, CGI lizards and other junk – and did I mention it was all in 3D?  Please…

Any additions/subtractions to the list?

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Anything that involves Twinkies, Vienna sausages and a turkey baster filled with sour cream has bad idea written all over it.  Now I applaud the resourcefulness and creativity, but unless this is going to be bronzed and sent to the Smithsonian, I don’t see this ending well for anyone that partakes in this gluttonous display.

Thanks to Deadspin for the news. See Holy Taco for the stadium creation play-by-play.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The pitch  is that if you drink your soda slower, you enjoy it more. In a world where many of us chug soda to quench our thirst, and don’t appreciate the delicious, delicious flavor combinations some sodas have, this is a marketing campaign I can definitely embrace (disclosure: Dr. Pepper is, and has been for as long as I can remember, my favorite soda).

So does drinking soda slower really make it taste better, or is this just Dr. Pepper blowing smoke? I In the ad, Dr. J says, “Scientific tests have proven that when you drink Dr Pepper slowly, the 23 flavors taste even better.” Wait, really? There have been scientific tests about drinking Dr. Pepper at different speeds? Well, kind of:

The “scientific tests” Dr. J quotes was a study done by market research firm The Marketing Clinic in 2006, which has done research on the taste of food and beverages for marketers such as Coca-Cola, Mars and Procter & Gamble. On behalf of Dr Pepper, the firm asked about 50 people roughly 400 questions each about their soda drinking habits — and watched how they consumed the soda. Not only did the study find that slower drinkers enjoyed it more, but those slower drinkers tended to be heavier consumers of Dr Pepper.

Cool. As a Dr. Pepper drinker, I believe it. I really do think that I enjoy my soda more than you plebs who go around drinking whatever else your preferred flavor may be. That’s right, I’m a soda elitist, and in my mind, it doesn’t get any better than Dr. Pepper. In fact, I think I am justified in acting elitist, because the soda I prefer is, in fact, among the “elite” sodas available. The ad is below. Check it.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

How Papa John’s averted a WOM disaster

By Jon Eick

A recent Papa John’s public relations blunder gave the brand the opportunity to turn the episode into a brand publicity stunt — offering 23-cent pizzas to eager customers.

On May 2nd, as Game 6 of the Wizards-Cavaliers playoff series drew to a close, reporters began filing reports on the lopsided Cleveland victory. Stories focused on the conclusion of a hard-fought series between two bitter rivals. But none of these reporters highlighted what would become the biggest news story of the entire night: Those in attendance had been witness to one of the biggest and most knuckleheaded marketing decisions in recent memory, and through the citizen journalism of observant bloggers, Papa John’s quickly became aware of the magnitude of its mistake.

At the game, several Wizards fans were sporting t-shirts declaring Cleveland Cavaliers star Lebron James a “Crybaby.” As a Wizards fan, I wasn’t offended by the shirts, but as someone who works in marketing, I was stunned that the shirts were emblazoned with the Papa John’s logo.

Later that night, I tracked down an image of the shirt and wrote a post titled, “Does Papa John’s Hate the State of Ohio?” questioning why a national chain would attach its logo to such a divisive image. What was equally puzzling was how, in the Web 2.0 world that we live in, a national brand could think that it could behave in one time zone one way, and not have it impact the brand in another.

Twelve hours later, with still no signs of coverage from the mainstream media, the story was beginning to go viral. On NBA message boards and Ohio sports blogs people were buzzing about the news. By mid-afternoon, the popular sports blog Deadspin had picked up the story. Links to a website and Facebook group urging a boycott of the chain were beginning to circulate.

As online anger grew, Cleveland media rushed to cover the story, interviewing me to help gauge the online buzz surrounding the story and speaking with local franchise owners about the impact this could have on their sales. By early Sunday night, less than 48 hours after the conclusion of the game, Papa John’s had issued a formal apology, donated $10,000 to the Cavaliers’ youth foundation and announced that the company would be offering $.23 pizzas to those in the Cleveland area.

Having engaged in online PR and damage control for clients of mine in the past, I was impressed with the speed at which Papa John’s recognized and addressed the situation. The company also showed respect for the medium in which the story first broke. Its online actions on Sunday afternoon foreshadowed the company’s official public apology. Hours before a public statement, one or more individuals purporting to be from the corporate office in Ohio posted on blogs covering the story. Apologizing for the incident, they explained that the decision had been made by a DC area franchise owner without the knowledge or approval of the Papa John’s corporate office.

The company also made what appeared to be a wise decision to capitalize on the media attention. Utilizing its brief national spotlight to offer a promotion, Papa John’s made a valiant effort to turn a negative story about a mass marketing mistake into a positive story about the company’s responsiveness to customer concerns.

Unfortunately, Papa John’s didn’t fully anticipate the impact of setting the price point for its promotion so low. The resulting chaos — traffic jams, fights, angry employees and five hour lines — probably negated some of the goodwill the $.23 pizza promotion generated.

Papa John’s quickly learned the lesson that rivers and mountains don’t stop the internet. News in your own backyard quickly becomes news in everyone’s backyard. It’s essential to always be listening and observing what consumers online have to say about your brand. Pandering to consumers in one region by mocking the popular teams or athletes in another region is going to have consequences. This story may spur national chains to consider greater oversight of marketing by regional franchise owners, with the goal of preventing damage to the company’s national brand image.

A few people have commented to me that this is the kind of classic marketing blunder that will be written about in marketing textbooks — and I agree. The story has enough interesting hooks (star athlete, a trash-talking rivalry, taunt-based marketing and “rogue” franchisees) that the lessons learned from studying it could help prevent a similar mistake in the future.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned with total certainty, it’s that Lebron James won’t become a spokesperson for Papa John’s anytime soon.

Jon Eick writes the food blog sogoodblog.com and works as an online brand manager for New Media Strategies.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Some customers are waiting as long as 2 ½ hours for the cheap pizza. At the University Heights Papa John’s, the wait is up to five hours.

Who has time to wait that long for pizza? This video posted about 30 minutes ago seems to confirm the lines. The video also shows that Papa John’s, at least at this specific location, is limiting peoples topping choices to either pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms or extra cheese. WTF Papa John’s? You’re sorry for your mistake, but not sorry enough to hook me up with some pinneapple?

Damn those lines are long! Not that I’m surprised, obviously people love cheap pizza. Two quick thoughts:

1. I’ll bet you every single employee working at a Cleveland area Papa John’s is just absolutely HATING life right now.

2. The homeless population in Cleveland must be having a field day going from location to location.

I’ll be curious to see more media reports tomorrow on how the promotion went.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

There appear to be at least 3 postings on the Washington, DC craigslist site requesting one of the shirts if anyone has one they are willing to sell.  Additionally, there appear to be one or two dozen shirts posted on ebay right now.  However, it appears that all of the shirts are being sold by a company called the Urban Soldier Clothing Company.  The “item location” is listed as being from Los Angeles, CA, which leads me to believe these aren’t original shirts from the game this past Friday, but rather reprints being made by an enterprising businessman.

How can one confirm if a shirt put up for sale is an original, “from the game” t-shirts? If there is a way to confirm that, how much money do people think one of those shirts ultimately sell for?

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Here’s how the story unfolded — and it might not have gone anywhere if not for local blogger Jon Eick of sogoodblog.com — in the last few days.

First came Haywood’s comment that Cavs forward LeBron James needed to stop being a crybaby about the hard fouls. Then came a local Papa John’s chain — it’s uncertain which one — printing T-shirts with the number 23 and the words, “Crybaby 23” (along with the Papa John’s logo). A very few handful of fans wore them to the game; but one of those fans was shown often on TV.

Eick, who says in his blog that he’s a Wizards fan, then blogged about it, igniting a firestorm. (A Wizards spokesman said the team had nothing to do with the T-shirts). Turns out Eick found more than a dozen Papa John’s located within 12 miles of Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites