Samsung and Apple Fanboys. Fight.

If you happen to read a newspaper today or for the next few, Samsung, is launching an ad campaign to somehow stop the line at Apple stores around the world from forming. Good luck with that. The newspaper ads is simply a shot of the two phones together with the tagline “It doesn’t take a genius” with a rundown of arguably superior features of the Galaxy S III compared to the features of the iPhone 5. Pretty clever, I guess.

Unfortunately, the leak on a few news sources before publication and Apple fanboys/girls have decided to fight back. With a few of their renditions. Pretty clever. I personally like the PSA anti-bully one below. Nothing makes it more serious than pointing out which tech company is the bully.

Samsung has a pretty clever ad campaign here. These ads are running in a few newspapers around the country. In my opinion, those who will probably view these ads will be people who are late adopters and may be thinking about purchasing their very first smart phones or purchasing one as a gift. Smart on Samsung, if they recognize this potential. But in reality too much negative feedback has been created with the ruling against Samsung in their copyright case with Apple.

Just move on and stay away from that whole debacle. Yes, any press is good press, but public opinion has already swayed in favor of Apple. It will take a much stronger push than a comparative ad between the Galaxy and the iPhone to change that. If your phone is really strong in features and supposedly leap years ahead than the iPhone, use the phone as your tool. Not words. Show off your phone in action. Create the desire.

Gangnam Style

Check out this pretty interesting analysis on the possible satirical undertones of Psy’s Gangnam Style by Max Fisher of The Atlantic. If you haven’t seen the video, Psy, real name Park Jae-Sang, goes through a scenery of imagination and riches. Some would find it hilarious, but to others, it is a funny satirical analysis of the excessive consumerism of Korean aspirations. Hopefully people see more than just a funny video, but something more of a serious view of life outside of America. Really changed my understanding of this video.

Nike & Wieden+Kennedy: Greatness

Nike and Wieden+Kennedy are at it again.

The Knicks are at it again…

The Knicks somehow don’t like money all of a sudden. The NBA Tim Tebow is on the move and is now officially set on taking his talents and considerable money making clout onto the Houston Rockets. The Rockets offered a contract to Jeremy Lin that was unbelievable to say the least. $25 million for 3 years. Simple right? Nope, a $5 million second year that jumps to $15 million in the final year. Accepting this contract means the Knicks face a luxury tax for being over the budget as well. Amazingly played, Houston.

As fast as Linsanity grew to a fever pitch in New York, the exit went to the 11th hour before he officially became a Houston Rocket. Speculation abounded for whether the Knicks would decide to keep Jeremy Lin in a blue and orange uniform. They made a basketball decision, a good decision for their team but clearly is something that is not going to be appreciated by the already rabid New York Knicks fans.

Face facts, Jeremy Lin prints money when he is in the court. Whether it be because he is Asian, or the personification of the American dream of personal struggle to riches, Jeremy Lin was the hot topic for much of the second half of the 2011-2012 NBA Season. MSG sells out on a regular basis, but it was different. Fans didn’t want to see the Knicks just for the Knicks, their asses were on those seats for #17. The same jersey that was #2 in total sales for the NBA. More than Koba and Lebron. More than Melo and Amar’e at 5 and 11, respectively.There was true buzz in the air for the Knicks for once.

We won’t know till halfway through the 2012 season if Jeremy Lin is really legit or just really lucky. But I know that in Houston he is about to be the face of that team. How is it that the Rockets become the center for Chinese NBA stars with Yao Ming and now Jeremy Lin? Some would say it’s a small market town in terms of business and endorsement, but it’s the 4th largest city in the USA, and about 6% are of Asian ethnicity. Jeremy Lin will have no problem transferring his considerable financial success for the Rockets.

Media attention was there for Yao Ming, if Jeremy Lin continues his success on the court, the media will pay attention to the Jeremy Lin story. Season tickets will be sold and asses will be on those seats. Advertising for the Rockets will jump tremendously as soon as the ball drops on the first game.

 

The Dark Knight Rises – Smart Advertising

The marketing budget for the Dark Knight Rises is being well utilized by Warner Brothers. With the movie coming in a few weeks, Warner Brothers, placed this 3D Billboard Ad on Sunset and La Brea in Hollywood. This is not actually graphic with elements spewing out, but an actual hole in the billboard with pieces of billboard spewing out.

This screams ACTION! Movie billboards should convey the proper attitude about action/adventure movies. This hits it on the head what Dark Knight Rises moviegoers will expect about the movie. Hopefully, the other big action movie this summer, The Expendables 2, will follow with this strategy. Imagine billboards placed all over the country with past action heroes flexing and blowing things up.

How social networking can work against you #exilepitbull

Oh, Pitbull. How I envy thee. Walmart and Pitbull joined together in a contest to send the artist to an in-store visit at any Walmart in the USA that receives the most Facebook Likes. A few gentlemen at the website Something Awful have rallied fellow internet users to send Pitbull to a Walmart in Kodiak, Alaska. Wow. Just Wow. I bet the marketing department at RCA Records, Sheets Energy Strip, sand Walmart didn’t see this coming.

The Walmart in Kodiak, Alaska is the most remote store. The store already has more likes than it’s 6,000+ populations. Even though being a remote store, this Walmart is no ordinary Walmart. It has bear repellants on stock. Bear Repellants. On STOCK!!! This is a long way from Miami, Pitbull.

Microsoft Surface thoughts and Ideas

is it Microsoft Surface? Or THE Microsoft Surface. How about Surface by Microsoft. At least it isn’t Microsoft Surface for Windows 8 RT. Oh, that’s the official title. Microsoft at it again.

The Pro is a product that serves no purpose other than a product that will be bought by stupid early adopters who mistake this as something better than a ultra book. I think the Pro is dead on arrival.

Microsoft has been getting a lot of flack for how everything and anything. Critics are giving bad reviews to a product that hasn’t come out yet. It doesn’t help that not even a third through the product presentation, the Surface crashes and has to be switched out for a fresh unit. It seems like that was planned or expected somehow. Regardless, the product isn’t ready. RELAX.

Regardless, I like the Surface. It’s a product that adds something fresh to the market. Android and IOS are the de-facto tablet operating system choices and I feel innovation has been stagnant from both ends. Surface probably will not succeed in the tablet market but it has a good chance of helping drive the future computing user experience.

Pricing has not been released, but if they try to match prices with Apple, Surface is going to have a really hard time competing with the iPad. I think price points for the Surface RT and Surface Pro should be, $349 and $749, respectively. Microsoft can afford to lose money for the sake of sales on this product. Microsoft may not be as dominant as they once were, but their cash resources are as abundant as before.

American Made Apparel?

The mystic of American made products have always been interesting to me. Companies can get away with outsourcing by stating it’s designed in America. Some companies can get products 90% completed and have shipped to their home countries for finalization, but only then can the company say the product was made in America or Italy, etc.

American Apparel has been strongly stead forward with their vertical integration strategy of American manufactured clothing. The company has been known to produce clothing, such as t-shirts, hoodies, and underwear, in their factory in LA. They produced their own clothing, have in-house dye facilities, and shipped to their own retail stores. The company can respond quickly to trends and be able to stay ahead of the curve against competitors who may typical see months of planning before production and then retail.

Unfortunately, according to a recent Los Angeles Times interview, internal and external pressures are causing the company to take a long hard look at outsourcing production to overseas factories. Financial strains are the main culprits of these problems. Posting strong revenues, the company face overhead expenses befitting their quality American made strategy.

Can you still call the company American Apparel if it’s not fully made in America?

Microsoft Surface: iPad Killer?

So Microsoft dropped a bombshell on the tech industry on Monday. A secretive, but well speculated and informed bombshell. The Surface is probably the most important product launch for Microsoft since the original Xbox.

This is not the first time that Microsoft has tried Tablet PCs. Their first effort were hardware driven products with patched on hand writing recognition features. Clunky devices that were more laptop than true tablets of today. Microsoft would have been more successful if the product was more integrated.

Make no bones about it, Microsoft is still all about the software. But for a company known for 3 decades as a software company, suddenly making hardware products is a big leap. Microsoft used to just license software and wait for hardware manufactures to create and innovate around their product. With this strategy, there was not an harmonious connection between hardware and software. Windows based PCs feel like clobbered messes. Junk software wth mix and match hardware. Microsoft is taking a stronger control with their overall product presentation. Their own software and hardware in a strong synergetic fit.

Microsoft has also been known to have one of the most confusing product segmentations in the tech industry. Windows 7 comes in 6 flavors with also 3 additional sub editions. Microsoft thankfully avoided that with the surface and Windows 8. 4 editions of Windows 8 and there are only two flavors of their tablet, Surface and Surface Pro. No more confusion and regrettable decisions at the computer store. You’re either a basic user who only wants the essentials or someone who knows their way around the computer and wants full power. This is a sign of the evolution at Microsoft.

No longer a broken company with a disjointed company culture, Microsoft now has a strong design and software language.  The future is strong for Microsoft and the technology industry as a whole. Competition is strong and innovations are coming. Android and iOS are at the top, but Windows Phone 8 is a strong product. Microsoft has answered the Mobile challenge and they are coming in strong.

Things you should now before you read further

This blog is about my love for consumerism and branding. I believe that every one of us is a Kaibutsu (Monster) Consumer. We all have wants, needs, and desires. Our culture facilitates a gluttonous haven for these human characteristics.

I started this blog because I wanted to write what I thought were cool, interesting, and desirable. I still have that desire. But I want to discuss and analyze what consumers and cultures, importantly, find cool, interesting, and desirable. Music, Fashion, Technology, Cars, etc. I want to learn and analyze how our consumer minds work. I also want to learn about how companies are changing their tactics. Companies and Industries have a strong sense of what consumers want. At least they used to. Their is a shift in how consumers consume and producers produce. No longer are products thrown down our throats and expected to be the de facto choices for consumers. This is interests me.

Follow me as I bring this desire back to life.

Thank you, Rob Walker, rediscovering your book about Brands and Consumers, Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are, brought back a fire I deeply needed.