milk *an advertising agency

Breaking Soon - Real Estate Book TV

We're putting the finishing touches on two commercials for The Real Estate Book, the print and online real estate tools that millions of buyers and sellers turn to daily. We're blast them out soon. Stay tuned.

Kate Inc.

Back in June of '09 we predicted that Kate Gosselin would become a brand. All the signs were there that she would be the one with the successful solo career once the band broke up. We're not 'hatin'' as the kids like to say. We're just fascinated with the genesis of brands. Kate's got a new look (her extensions cost a reported $7k) and her own deal with TLC for a show that does not include the kids. This is the reality of reality branding. Fame can be yours. No training required. It's the end of Jon & Kate and the beginning of Kate Inc. Now the real fun begins.

You're a Saint, Nick

On Saturday, September 26, cable network Nickelodeon held its Worldwide Day of PLay and shut down for three hours. That's right, it aired no programming at all and instead broadcast a message encouraging kids to go out and play. Good for you, Nick. Here's hoping that other networks follow suit.

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?

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.

New Danbury VW TV Coming Soon!

We're polishing up our latest TV commercial for Danbury Volkswagen. It will air this month during NFL telecasts and other select programming in the Connecticut area. If you didn't see our last Danbury VW spot, you can always catch it in the "Our Work" section of our site, or on the Danbury VW site, where you'll also find the best deals on a new V-dub. Check it out.

What Are We Really Learning Here?

This isn’t a soapbox post. Or maybe it is. That’s for you to decide. But what are we learning from The Learning Channel’s (in case you forgot what TLC stood for) Jon & Kate? Forget about the “8” for a moment (everyone else seems to be), because right now it’s all about Jon and Kate – or more specifically, Kate. She’s cute, she’s scorned, she’s…marketable! The tabloids are making a ton off of her. And pretty soon, she will become a fully realized brand. Can’t you just see her having her own show or a semi-regular spot on The View? This is a lesson about how you can literally pluck people off the street and turn them into branded celebrities in the digital age. This is not voyeuristic silliness like awkardfamilyphotos.com; this is serious. There are eight kids to think about. TLC’s slogan is “Life surprises.” Are any of us really surprised anymore?

Why So Grumpy, Neil? – Fork in the Road

We love Neil Young. Great musician. Belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of singer-songwriters. But it seems like Neil has a bee in his bonnet about Apple, the iPod and iTunes. Did they ruin the music business? Is Apple evil? Maybe. Maybe it was the Internet. But Apple didn’t invent MP3 players or file sharing. They just made it better. And the last we checked, no one steals music from iTunes. The record industry thrived for decades because you had to buy the whole disc to get the one or two hits on the disc. Now you don’t. No more moving the needle. No more fast-forwarding. We love you, Neil. Great video. Check it out.

The Last Lecture. One Year Later.

Today (September 18) marks the one-year anniversary of the day Randy Pausch gave his inspirational Last Lecture at Carnegie Mellon. It has since become something of a phenomenon. If you have not had a chance to see it, do yourself a favor and watch. There’s nothing earth shattering here. Nothing you may not have already heard from any secret-to-life self-help guru, or even in your house of worship. But coming from a regular guy who knows that he has a few months to live, the simple message of “don’t be a jerk, be good to yourself and others” - a message we all still struggle to follow - carries far more weight. And Professor Pausch delivers it beautifully. Check it out.