So far, it is obvious that the Ad Men have been busy this holiday season. Some have been nice and some naughty but in general, it is a pretty unoriginal year for holiday ads. Below are a smattering of some of the best, worst and the one that I would say is the most shocking of them all. Most Cliched: Tommy Hilfiger – House Par-Tay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyyI3WtKMO8 I like watching half naked, sculpted men dancing around as much as the next girl, but seriously? This is the best they could do for the Holidays? The dog at the end is the real savior of this ad…make it stop! Most...

It is that time of year again – the “Best of” list time of year, that is. I have read a few and have now made my own list and because it is almost Christmas, I thought I might ask Santa to maybe rush forward some inventions that might be on the way. Item 1: Microsoft Kinect for XBOX 360: Yeah, yeah, I know this came out last holiday season but its full impact was not known to me until 2011. This fantastic invention has allowed me to spend some quality time with my kids on games that I actually enjoy. Call me old or whatever, but I CANNOT get into Modern Warfare 3. I CAN however...

I love Halloween. Something about the decorations, old horror movies on TV, make-believe, and candy all coupled in my favorite season of the year make it fun. And in keeping with that theme, I wanted to write a blog post that wrapped in some fun while maybe offering some good advice. So as I was reading my Twitter feed on one of my flights this week, I stumbled upon this graphic: Check it out here. I like the sentiment in here but would offer my own take on a couple of them. Let’s take them in order. 1. Don’t Be Afraid to Cross the Streams: I love this one. It could have said “1+1=3″...

I am an avid football fan and have to admit that I get excited to see what the marketers will put up during that first week of the NFL games – they are usually pretty good. Also, you may know that I was once the head of marketing communications at Chrysler (then DaimlerChrysler) so I have a soft spot for those guys. But as I was watching the games this past weekend and heard Jennifer Lopez (JLo) start singing, only to pop out the top of a Fiat 500 I was really puzzled. I knew I was not alone when I received a text message almost instantly, from my husband (I was traveling) who was...

As a marketer, you can’t help but watch the latest happenings in Washington and think about the marketing implications of this debt war and the high unemployment numbers. The job numbers may actually result in a huge opportunity for some. That opportunity is the fundamental changing of the traditional job resume or CV (curriculum vitae). If you have been in the job market for any time period and have both tried to be creative with your active word choice (developed, designed, delivered, created, generated) for that tired resume or if you have been on the hiring side reviewing these...

As we head out to buy the fireworks, brats and beer this holiday weekend, we undoubtedly will think fondly on 4th of July celebrations of our past. Remember running around the backyard through those oscillating sprinklers? How about cooling off with those red, white and blue rocket ship popsicles? Remember camping out with no possibility of contact with people back in civilization unless you were willing to driving to the local mom and pop convenience store that boasted the only payphone in town? As I was thinking about this I stumbled upon an article that was written in June 1982. This 29-year...

OMG: What Marketers Want from us in their social media campaigns. Ford’s is using a puppet named Doug in its social online campaign (YouTube). Watch the puppet. Like me. Buy the car. That is what some may think Ford wants us to do as a result of its latest social media campaign. And truth be told, that is just what the company is trying to do. Ford recently introduced a social media campaign centered around an orange puppet named Doug to drive fresh interest in the Ford Focus. The idea behind the social online campaign is to create humorous, if not slightly misogynistic, short videos that...

Super Bowl Post Mortem Shows Who Really Won The real winner of the 2011 Super Bowl ads will be decided by sales (YouTube). The big game has been over for almost three weeks and many have already forgotten who the MVP of the game was. Most viewers probably can’t recall more than two or three of the ads. This stands in marked contrast to the Monday after, when there were tweets, articles, surveys and blogs declaring winners in all categories. I was among them. As a quick refresher, I gave the Chrysler ad for the 200 with Eminem high marks, along with the Volkswagen Darth Vader ad and...

In the digital age, successful marketing organizations embrace and leverage the complexity wrought by interactive technologies—they’re fearless in the face of empowered consumers and ever-changing media. On Monday, February 28, our second CATFOA speaker, Julie Roehm (@jaroehm), will bring decades of global marketing experience to the Twin Cities to discuss the advantages of her fearless approach. Julie spent six years as a brand manager at Ford, before serving as Director of Marketing Communications for Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge, overseeing $2.1 Billion in marketing investment—earning...

The Volkswagen Passat ad was one of the most popular from Super Bowl XLV (Hulu). At least from my perspective, this year’s Super Bowl ads made automakers look good, for the most part. And at $3 million per 30-second spot, they really ought to. All the rage this year was linking digital media and other social initiatives to the TV ads to boost the results and amortize the costs of the ads. It is, after all, far less expensive to invest in these channels than in the TV ad itself. Facebook integration into the ads was good and while Twitter saw less action from the advertisers themselves, there...