idea blog

Marketing commentary for better. Or worse.

10 Feb '14

Which Companies Are Winning Marketing Gold At The Olympics – And Which Are Losing Big.

The Olympics: a time of superhuman athletic prowess, inspiring global unity, and epic marketing wins – and fails. And during a particularly controversial Olympics, tread lightly, o corporate giants – lest you incur the wrath of LGBT people (& allies) everywhere. Or, in this case, don’t just tread lightly – take a freaking stand. Here are a couple…

Read More
23 Jan '14

Redefining “Real Beauty,” Part II.

More on redefining beauty, from Dove. And it’s local! (The film was shot in Great Barrington, MA, and directed by Smith alum Cynthia Wade.) And then there’s this, from Hungary:

Read More
22 Jan '14

To Airbrush Or Not To Airbrush? Redefining “Real Beauty,” Part I

There’s been a lot of buzz in the air lately over airbrushing. After Jezebel reportedly offered $10,000 for un-retouched photos of Lena Dunham’s Vogue photo-shoot, it suddenly turned into a referendum on female beauty standards and the ethics of this kind of image editing (and marketing). Not that we haven’t been here before. But Lingerie company…

Read More
20 Jan '14

Why Spike Jonze’s “Her” Is Actually A Movie About Marketing

So, I saw Spike Jonze’s “Her” on Wednesday, at the AMC Loews in Boston.  If you haven’t heard about the movie, it’s that one where the guy falls in love with his computer. (Actually, it’s his new operating system – the “OS1.”) And the operating system is played – or, more accurately, voiced – by Scarlett Johanssen….

Read More
30 Dec '13

2013 Year-End List Fever!

It’s the last Idea Blog entry for 2013, so guess what? It’s YEAR END LIST TIME. Without further ado, our list of…best year-end lists. From the marketing world. 5. Best Print Art of 2013. More art than marketing, but wholly awesome. We had fun looking at these. 4. 5 of the most innovative campaigns. From shareable…

Read More
23 Dec '13

“Misunderstood”: Apple’s New Holiday Ad

This holiday season, Apple has cast itself as a sensitive, misunderstood teenage boy. Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImlmVqH_5HM There have been a lot of reactions to the ad, both positive and negative. Here in the office, we have to admit, we were all kind of moved by it. But did we still want our son on his iPhone all…

Read More