milk *an advertising agency

E-Z Bake Bus Shelters

Kudos to Caribou Coffee and its agency for this wonderful idea to promote Caribou's hot breakfast sandwiches. These bus shelters not only resemble ovens, but they also include real heaters, which keep commuters warm as they wait for the bus. Yes, we are aware of our own hypocrisy here considering the post below about the calories in fast food. But come on, they put heaters in bus shelters that look like ovens! That's hot.

‘Tis the Season – A Charlie Brown Ad Agency

It’s that time again when every agency fusses and frets over the most important assignment of the year: the agency holiday card. You have total creative freedom but oh so little time. There have been a lot of agency holiday card spoofs, but for our money nothing beats this one. Check it out.

$5 Dollar Doughboy - What's a Brand to Do?

First, Subway spokesman Michael Phelps gets caught smoking a bong, and now the brand's miracle dieter Jared Fogle looks like he got a heavy case of the munchies. These indiscretions aren't nearly as bad, or costly, as Tiger Woods', but for Subway and Fogle, both of whom have raked in a lot of money off his weight loss, it isn't good. According to industry reports, Subway is going to turn this into a positive by having Jared slim down again and train with co-spokesmen Michael Strahan. Smart move. But like Woods, this again brings to light the peril of so closely associating your brand with a celebrity, especially one you created. The rewards typically outweigh the risks (pun intended), but it's still risky. What's your take?

He Set The World On Fire - Phil Dusenberry

We recently discovered this 2005 book by the late great Phil Dusenberry and can't put it down (Ok, we work 23 hours a day, but hour 24 is devoted to reading). Then We Set His Hair on Fire contains many of the stories from a hall-of-fame advertising career that included work for some of the biggest brands in the world such as GE, FedEx, Pepsi, Visa, Gillette, Pizza Hut and HBO. But it's his advice on discovering insight that is so invaluable. It's not just a great advertising book. It's an essential business book from the man who also happened to co-write The Natural, one of the greatest sports movies of all time. Want to know how to create a brand that really stands for something? Grab this book then join us during hour 24. Check it out.

It Occurred To Us...

On September 1st we posted about the advertising documentary Art & Copy and referenced that advertising great Lee Clow bore a striking resemblance to the late great Jim Henson - but we didn't provide proof. Our bad. We'll let you guess who's who.

Inspiration or Imitation? – The Credit Debate

American Express is running a new commercial to promote its purchase protection service. The spot uses a series of images featuring everyday objects or scenes that resemble a sad face or happy face (see the screen grab above.) It’s a nice spot. Simple and well executed. But here’s the rub and the reason for this post. When we viewed it on YouTube we saw a comment from someone accusing AmEx of ripping off the concept of a site called Faces in Places and failing to credit the site and its contributors. As you might imagine, FacesInPlaces.com is a site that features images of faces in everyday places. It's a lot of fun. Maybe AmEx’s agency knew of this site. Maybe they didn’t. But let’s assume they did and it inspired them or they simply “lifted” the concept. Do they owe the site credit? Is the act of recognizing the image of a face in a pumpkin suddenly the intellectual property of FacesInPlaces.com? No. AmEx is not going to use a second of its sixty to say, “Thanks FacesInPlaces.com!” Nor should it. Just as every movie with a Cinderella story doesn’t credit every Cinderella story that came before it. We understand that person’s beef, and it’s a debatable issue, but man would never have flown without seeing the birds first. What’s your take?

Brew Ha-Ha - Dunkin' T's Starbucks

Back in June we posted about the storm brewing in the coffee category when McDonald's went all-in with McCafé. Well the pot is boiling over. Have you seen this t-shirt from Dunkin' Donuts? It reads, "Friends don't let friends drink Starbucks." Not sure who would pay $14 for it, but DD has spunk for doing the kind of direct competitive messaging we've seen recently in this lagging economy. Dominoes taking on Subway's toasted subs comes to mind. In fact, so does a poster ABC ran about ten years ago to promote its prime time shows. It read, "Friends don't let friends watch Friends." We love a good fight.

Maximum Exposure - Pepsi Max and CBS Video Ad

To promote CBS' new fall lineup and Pepsi's diet drink Pepsi Max, the two brands teamed up to take advantage of a new technology from Los Angeles-based Americhip, features a paper-thin interactive video player. It is being unveiled in an insert packaged with a co-branded ad that will appear in Entertainment Weekly's annual fall TV preview issue dated Sept. 18. Cool idea. Let's hope the quality lives up to the hype.

Brand Statement - Ben & Jerry's

We don't know what side of the issue you're on, and we're not here to play politics, but rarely do you see a big brand make such a positive statement on an issue as polarizing as gay marriage. So kudos to Ben & Jerry's for taking a risk few brands would. The company has changed the name of its iconic flavor Chubby Hubby to Hubby Hubby in support of Freedom to Marry. Get the full scoop here.

The Maddest Men of All - Art & Copy

Many years ago, American Express ran a print ad featuring Lee Clow, an ad man who looks a lot like the late Jim Henson. It would be fair to say 99.9% of the people who saw the ad probably said, "I thought Jim Henson was dead." But to the .1% of us who know Clow and what he has meant to our industry and brands like AMEX, the man is a legend. That's why we at The Boathouse can't wait to see Art & Copy. The film "reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time -- people who've profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising's "creative revolution" of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation." You'll definitely want to check this out.