Mind Soup

If you own or manage a Facebook page for a brand, cause or personal reason, you are bound to get spam messages from people claiming to get you more Facebook likes for cheap or free, something like the below: What is more annoying is how they try to convince you that their services are legit. Check out the below conversation that occurred on one of my client's pages. To begin with, I do not allow any of my clients to purchase fans or likes on any platforms. If you know anything about marketing, you would know that purchasing bulk followers does not get you anywhere, for the following reasons: These users approach uniformed or uneducated page owners to take advantage of them. These "companies" work by hiring a bunch of underpaid people in China, India or Egypt and stuff them in an overcrowded room to create fake Facebook accounts with randomized named and their only job is to like "client" pages. ( Side article:   83 million Facebook accounts are fake...

Below is one of the most simple yet touching TV commercials that I have seen in a long time. The simplicity and yet complete relevance to the topic at hand is striking (especially with Gebran Tueini's quote - may he RIP), and the visuals compel you to focus on every detail. I usually do not like political advertisements, and this one is not entirely political but advertising for Annahar newspaper (which tends to have a political side), but I felt that it was much more creative than other advertisements in this category. This campaign was done by GREY. Let me know what you think. UPDATE : Apparently, this ad has been inspired (I don't want to say stolen) from a Chinese Ad for CCTV . Thanks Nadim for the info.

Most of you might have noticed how the whole world is tending to become more fake: from fake noses and boobs to fake personalities to fake brands and products. Sadly, very little is being done to promote originality and uniqueness, especially those relating to human traits and physical appearance -- however, this is not our topic for today. The purpose of this post is to shed light on a very successful campaign that is currently taking place in Lebanon. BPG ( Brand protection group ) is an international organization that protects brands and consumers from fake products by creating awareness campaigns & seminars. The objective of this campaign is to create as much awareness as possible about the fact that there are fake products in the market and to promote a number that consumers can dial to report those imitated products. What I loved the most about this campaign is that its everywhere. Leo Burnett have outdone themselves this time. They have created a very interactive camp...

Before I start getting disgusted looks and weird boggly eyes, I should point out that this title is misleading - kinda the point of this whole post and advertisement. (And yes it is suitable for work - don't worry :P) And yes, I find it very creative, appealing and eye-catching for the following reasons: Jennifer Aniston <3 Lip-syncing toddler Acknowledgement of the online community, viral videos and including "internet geeks" Cute little animals crawling all over the place Talking parrot that refers to the show "Friends" by calling Jennifer Anniston by her character name "Rachel" Skate-boarding dog in the background Dancing babies Double-rainbow guy parody Kicking a guy in the balls (which is apparently worth 100,000 hits) Herbal Essences sort-of ending which targets the sexy appeal The daring title Some people might not be as daring or risky in a marketing campaign but I think it works. The video has something for everyone and can p...

I completely fell for this at first. It is filmed in a documentary-style, so you would assume that they are telling the truth. Apparently, this is all one big hoax just so people will want to buy the shoes they mention in the video. It's very clever advertising because they don't even mention the names of the shoes (from Hi-Tec) in the video. Check it out and then you can read the article that explains the whole hoax by clicking here .

From:  Simon Edhouse Date:  Monday 16 November 2009 2.19pm To:  David Thorne Subject:  Logo Design Hello David, I would like to catch up as I am working on a really exciting project at the moment and need a logo designed. Basically something representing peer to peer networking. I have to have something to show prospective clients this week so would you be able to pull something together in the next few days? I will also need a couple of pie charts done for a 1 page website. If deal goes ahead there will be some good money in it for you. Simon From:  David Thorne Date:  Monday 16 November 2009 3.52pm To:  Simon Edhouse Subject:  Re: Logo Design Dear Simon, Disregarding the fact that you have still not paid me for work I completed earlier this year despite several assertions that you would do so, I would be delighted to spend my free time creating logos and pie charts for you based on further vague promises of future possible payment. Pleas...

(Credit: Burger King) Facebook's developer platform has been used for a zillion marketing campaigns so far, but this one is actually dead-on hilarious. Fast-food chain Burger King has created " Whopper Sacrifice ," a Facebook app that will give you a coupon for a free hamburger if you delete 10 people from your friends list. Burger King has put out some interesting campaigns as of late ("Whopper Virgin," "Subservient Chicken"), but this one piques our interest because of how gleefully it pokes fun at our social-networking obsessions. "Now is the time to put your fair-weather Web friendships to the test," the Whopper Sacrifice site explains. "Install Whopper Sacrifice on your Facebook profile, and we'll reward you with a free flame-broiled Whopper when you sacrifice ten of your friends. The funniest part: The "sacrifices" show up in your activity feed. So it'll say, for example, "Caroline sacrificed Josh Lowensoh...

A segment from the popular series "Buy Me That." We'll meet a "makeup artist for food," who surprises us all with this behind-the-scenes look at how burgers (and fries) are made to look their best for television.

 

(Read from bottom to top)

From left, Carrie Underwood, Lauren Hutton, Brooke Shields, Eva Longoria, Anjelica Huston, James Mischka and Mark Badgley pose for a print ad campaign celebrating the 20th anniversary of Badgley Mischka. (Photo by PRNewsFoto/Iconix Brand Group, Inc.) Oklahoma country music superstar Carrie Underwood, Eva Longoria, Brooke Shields, Lauren Hutton and Anjelica Huston will appear alongside fashion designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka in an advertising campaign celebrating Badgley Mischka’s 20th anniversary. The 20th anniversary campaign will debut in April issues of magazines such as Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and InStyle. The print campaign was shot by legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles.