Geico Stalks People with Kash

Is it just me or are Geico's latest spots conjuring a resounding, "HUH?!" When I saw this spot a few weeks ago I was literally dumbfounded:



Geico's latest "mascot" is Kash, a wad of bills with giant googly eyes that stares at suspecting (and sometimes unsuspecting) people in random situations. He apparently made his debut back in December, but luckily I was too caught up in pre-holiday craziness to notice. This article from Adfreak and this one from Adrants explain more.

Whether you love it, hate it or find yourself indifferent to the latest from Geico, one thing's for sure: they always do a great job with brand recognition and recall. A gecko, cavemen and now Kash. What's next?



Want more? Visit Geico's Web site for other commercials they proudly display.

Facebook Edits Whopper Campaign

Facebook, in its own on going campaign for privacy has forced CP+B to edit its Facebook Whopper Sacrifice application to remove the notification feature. In other words, you can now drop those Facebook friends for a Whopper and they'll never be the wiser. I get Facebook's reaction—it's the same privacy reason there's no notification if you remove someone from your friends list normally. Unfortunately, part of the fun part of the application is now lost. I'd find it amusing to get such an email. Or I'd be more inclined to de-friend some of my really close friends just for kicks (and a free Whopper) and then re-friend them in a day—and I'd expect similar retaliation.

Right now the Whopper Sacrifice application is completely, down. AdFreak and Inside Facebook and reporting that Facebook and CP+B are figuring out the best way to modify the application to adhere to Facebook's privacy concerns. Personally, I think they should have sending the message as an option, but not necessarily a requirement. Especially since the application also has an option to send an angry message back to the person who de-friended you. I doubt Facebook would go for that, but maybe. We'll see.

Pantone Is Optomistic This Year

Or maybe they're just trying to put everyone in a cheerier mood, because the color of the year from Pantone is Mimosa, a bright, beautiful and very cheery yellow.

As we posted a few months ago, you can get Pantone stuff for your house or apartment, like wall paint and fabric. Wouldn't this be a fun kitchen color?

Ditch Your Friends For A Whopper

Crispin Porter + Bogusky is at it again. Yes, we're blogging about them once again, but it's well earned praise for their new Facebook marketing strategy for Burger King's new Angry Whopper. Burger King is offering a free Angry Whopper to anyone on Facebook who drops 10 of their friends. You simply add the Whopper Sacrifice Facebook application, drop 10 friends and they'll snail mail you a coupon. Okay, the snail mail part is rather lame when your concept is so digital, but I'm sure it's to keep it away from mass emailing. Beware though, the friends you ditch will get a message saying you've deleted them for a Whopper. Rather insulting really. You weren't worth 37 cents?


The New York Times article on the campaign is cites rave reviews from Facebook users looking to clean out their large friends lists, but really couldn't you delete anyone and just add them back after you have your coupon? I'm sure you probably could. I don't plan to participate, probably mostly thanks to a lack of fast food in my diet and that $3 worth of fatty food doesn't seem worth the effort to page through my friends list and decide who's history, but if I was still in college, broke and unhealthy, it'd be another story.

What do you think? Would go ax ten Facebook friends for a free Whopper? Are you going to?

Pizza Hut Goes Natural

Pizza Hut is continuing its hidden camera concept with its new all natural pizzas. The hidden camera aspect of the two new spots is toned down from the first Pizza Hut Tuscani commercials we blogged about a few months ago, but the idea is still there. The two new spots and extremely similar to the original Tuscani ads. Essentially the chefs serve their guests all natural pizza, then surprise them with the fact it's made by Pizza Hut.

Overall it seems Pizza Hut is really trying to reinvent themselves with all these new menu choices. While I really don't have any interest in Pizza Hut's pastas—I just don't go to a place like Pizza Hut if I'm in the mood for pasta, but the new all natural pizzas are a definite must try. Whole wheat crust? Fantastic! I haven't actually ordered one yet, but intend to the next time I'm in the mood for pizza. Has anyone tried it? Has anyone tried the Tuscani pasta?

Truth In Advertising #22

The holidays do not stop January placements and mail-by dates. As the first week back after the holidays, this week has been crazy—we'll be back posting soon!

Update: Free Dr. Pepper Delivered

We blogged about Dr. Pepper's free soda giveaway coinciding with the release of the new Guns N' Roses album back in November. Due to overwhelming traffic, the Dr. Pepper Web site was down for most of the 24-hour registration period, so I called my info into the toll-free number the following day after Dr. Pepper extended the offer.

To follow up, I received my free coupon in the mail today, so look for yours soon. It's good through the end of February. Interestingly, I also received my People magazine today and in it, a Diet Dr. Pepper ad with a coupon for a free 2-liter, good through the end of March.

(Does anyone know, are there really 23 flavors in Dr. Pepper? And what are they?)

Cold Winter? Think Beach Balls

Carnival Cruises has a fun new-ish spot running that features a couple giant beach balls bouncing around downtown Dallas. How fun is that? But did they really do this? The answer is yes. There are a few videos on You Tube featuring the actual event, which was a Guinness World Record for the largest beach balls (36 feet in diameter). The spot is really fun. The idea, the music, everything really gets you into a beach party mood. Well done.



Carnival is also running a similar Piñata spot, but it feels a bit like a 'weak sister' compared to the beach ball one. What do you think?

Happy New Year!

I came across this attractive little video on Agency Spy for European energy company Electrabel and thought it'd be a nice send off into the new year.

Happy New Year everyone!

Barbie Plays Up Nostalgia

Oh, Barbie. It's a pretty iconic brand, but seems to have dropped out of the lime light recently, or perhaps thats just because I don't pay too much attention to the popularity of various childrens toys. I was an '80s child though and Barbie was all the rage when I was a little girl.

Barbie's new ad campaign for this season is very nostalgic, aiming at those fond memories women my age and a few years older have of playing with Barbies as children. Since those blissful days, Barbie has gotten a bit of criticism for its unrealistic proportions etc. Enough, perhaps, that women might now feel a bit guilty about giving a Barbie to their impressionable young daughters. Barbie seems to be combatting those thoughts with a heafty dose of nostalgia, and I for one, think it's working.

The commercials themselves aren't anything new, but the conversational stories and vintage footage of old Barbie Dream Houses worked like charm to bring back fond memories of playing with Barbies. I absolutely adored my flimsy cardboard and plastic Dream House, complete with modern '80s plastic furniture. All it needed was the Barbie Corvette...

The spots really would have made me consider giving my child a Barbie this Christmas, if I had children of course, but I am a 26 year old single woman without children though, so while I am the target age group, I'm not entirely their target audience. Are there any mothers out there for whom these spots evoked the same fond memories? Did they work?