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About a month ago I saw a Sprint commercial with Ron Livingston promoting their Product(red) Razr. This inspired me write about the Product(red) Campaign. Ever since then I have neither seen the ad again nor have I been able to find the ad online. I didn’t think much off it until today when I read this blog chastising the creators of the commercial.

…I am sure that the delivery leaves a lot to be desired here but to boil it down, Sprint has decided that their customers are so shallow and self-centered there is a good chance they would rather care that the phone is red rather than helping children with AIDS.

Did I miss a memo? Did I have a stroke and no one told me? When the advertising industry decide that insulting their customers is a good idea? Maybe it is that I saw this ad so shortly after the kissing mechanics Superbowl Snickers ad that showed two auto mechanics accidentally kissing while eating the same candy bar and then ripping out some chest hair to do something “manly.”. How can Snickers watch that ad and not think that Joe small-brain male American would not be turned off by the sight of two men kissing? And then how did they think that gay Americans wouldn’t be pissed off at having that act be portrayed in such a negative light? They managed to piss off all of their customers – so who are they trying to sell to?…
Stephen Gates, Sprint decides screwing up their brand isn’t enough

That got me thinking maybe Bono and the Product(red) group were none to happy with the people at Sprint. Also, that my first article wasn’t to far off the mark. So, they are fine with the fact that sex sells but don’t tell the world that is what you are doing they might get insulted.

AJSPS

P.S. If anyone can find this commercial please send it to me. I think it is great that a company would come out and say exactly what we all think.

Technorati Tags: Bono, Product(red), Sprint

If you haven’t notice yet U2’s Bono has started (red) which spawned product (red). This campaign colors all america’s over priced merchandise red tells you it’s sexy, I’ll get to this in second, and tells you that you are doing good for the world. And in turn you can feel great about yourself and let everyone else know how great you feel about yourself. Not only that but let everyone know how sexy you are. Check out GAP’s campaign. Oh and don’t forget to tell them how bad they should feel for not wearing red. Now don’t get me wrong this a great way to con a bunch of self-centered brats to giving to a good cause and to spread broader awareness. But please don’t get all warm and cuddly about these big brand companies who give half of their profits, keyword there is profits people not half. These companies have a million ways to measure production costs include all the wonderful ads. Also, don’t forget how much more money they are going to make with the jump in sales and free word of mouth advertising. So, if you want to feel good but don’t want to pay GAP for their crappy T-shirt or brag to rest of world and rather donate 100% of your money. Then go to where they are sending the money they drum up The Global Fund and donate direct. Oh, finally the point of the title of this article I find it humorous that they are using the cause of AIDS, sex.. granted unprotected, to raise money to defeat it over there. Which could potentially spread it over here, granted highly unlikely and have no data to back that up just one and one makes two. I mean think about it red is the color of lust all the red products they going be selling. You think somewhere in america somebody in a night club isn’t going to catch some ones eye. One thing leads to another and … Think about it.
AJSPS

P.S. You don’t have to sell designer merchandise or sex to make a campaign like this work look what the LiveStrong campaign was able to do with nothing but yellow band.

P.S.S. This article was brought on by the great Sprint ad with Ron Livingston. Smart. So by all means if you are buying an iPod or Razr any ways buy the red one and don’t let my snide remarks influence your purchase. I won’t think less of you honest.

Technorati Tags: AIDS, Bono, GAP, LiveStrong, Product(red), Sprint, The Global Fund

For two weeks I have been avoid writing about a certain topic that has just been annoying me to no end. Today it reached its boiling point thanks to something from the political sphere. Just before the Conference Championships there was a mention, on one of the sports show that I listen to or maybe it was one of the pre-game shows, that if both the Bears and the Colts were to win not only would it be the first time an African-American head coach would take a team to the Super Bowl. It would also be the first time two African-American head coaches would face each other in the Super Bowl. My first reaction to this was surprise that there hadn’t already been a black head coach in the Super Bowl, I guess I was thinking Art Shell had accomplished this feat. Anyways at this point I got the feeling this was a semi-historic moment deserving of the recondition it was getting. But then the Colts and Bears did win and the flood gates opened, and every ESPN analyst and their mother was talking about it. They brought on Marcus Allen, Doug Williams, Warren Moon, and every black athlete that was a guest on any of these show were asked by these analyst the same inane questions about its significance. Now I am your typical Caucasian/European mix but I found this terribly offensive as if it was a surprise that these coaches made it this far. These are two of the best coaches in football. It was only a matter of time until one of them, or if not them Marvin Lewis, would make it to the Super Bowl. Quite frankly Dungy should have been there a while ago but he was scammed out of it when Tampa Bay let him go and he had to watch Gruden take his team to the promise land. What as Gruden done with that team since. Now at this point I had had it but then I listen to an interview with Doug Williams. He brought up whether this issue was getting to much attention, let me stress he brought it up the analyst just followed the same typical line of questioning. He talked about his experience coming through Grambling and compared that to Warren Moon’s experiences, in reference to a collaboration session they had with the creators of the book “Third and a Mile.” Basically, I saw his point of view, decided (internal dialogue): “what does this white kid know anyways,” and pushed the thought to the back of my brain. Watched the Super Bowl, as die hard Marino fan, was happy to see Peyton get his Super Bowl. Victory was great the moment had past.

Yesterday on the The Big Show though, Dan Patrick decided to stick his nose in the goings on of the political scene, as he often does with Keith Oberman. The issue was senator Joe Biden’s failed attempt to compliment his competition, senator Barack Obama. Basically they were talking about the different words that we use when talking about different races and how a normal complimentary word comes out as condescending. The fact Biden called Obama “clean” as if expecting something different from a person in his position; when was the last time you heard someone describe a white politician as clean. While that was the extreme example of this, it was the same feeling I got when they were talking about Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy and grilling every black athlete that came on the different shows.

I agree this was a significant moment but, the way the media was beating it over the head, I felt was highly disrespectful and just furthers the racial gap. We need to look to the future and congratulate these coaches for what they have accomplished as coaches not keep tying us to the past by magnifying a difference which should be looked upon no different than the color of their eyes. While this maybe a very optimistic stance pessimism will never get us there. We have to create a culture where there isn’t differences otherwise the next generation will grow up with the same preconceived ideas.

AJSPS

Technorati Tags: Dan Patrick, Doug Williams, ESPN, Joe Biden, Lovie Smith, Racial Issues, Super Bowl, Tony Dungy