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+a woman's fantasy, done by a man

Here is an article at Times Online about Karl Lagerfeld’s latest project 'The Eva Herzigova Room Service story'. He has created the woman’s perfect fantasy, for  Dom Pérignon's latest branding campaign.

“I spend my whole life with women and I know quite well what goes on in their minds,” Lagerfeld says, his rapid, accented English mumbled through fascinatingly fleshy lips. Occasionally, he gives a delicate flutter of his hands, encased in grey fingerless driving gloves that match his signature Hedi Slimane gear. He laughs like Dracula. His eyes are hidden behind visor-like bespoke shades. He revels in political incorrectness, denouncing fat (or “volume”, as he now tactfully calls it) and appending highbrow answers to lowbrow questions with the coda, “But I don’t think you are well informed enough to make a discussion with me about this.” In short, he is a thoroughly evil genius, a piece of fabulous fashion gothic.

The Eva Herzigova Room Service story, as he calls it, is his second project for Dom Pérignon. The first had a title — 7 Fantasmes of a Woman — so unequivocal as to suggest that Lagerfeld thinks he knows precisely what women want. Featuring a then 36-year-old Helena Christensen and a cast of other beauties, men and barely legal boys, Lagerfeld’s scenes depicted some pretty suggestive situations. “I don’t say that she did it,” he says, “but in her mind — why not? Perhaps she never went with another girl, perhaps she never had two boys at the same time, perhaps she had never tried any very young boys either.”

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+25 years of mtv

With MTV celebrating 25 years, here is a look at some of their accomplishments.

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+nike air

Check out the new Nike Air site...very cool.

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+it's not easy being green

Now that it's all about the environment, organic food or 'good-for-you' living, marketers are having a hard time breaking through the clutter. With everyone jumping on the bandwagon and saying their green, consumer are becoming very skeptical and don't really know who is green. Not only that, according to a new study by branding firm Landor Associates,  fifty-eight percent of the general population surveyed considers itself "Not Green Interested."

The study found that 64% of those who responded couldn't name a "green" brand; even 51% of those who considered themselves to be environmentally conscious were unable to name one. "As much as the term has been tossed around, many people . . . are unclear as to what it means," the study reported. "Eco-friendly, fuel efficient, biodegradable, natural and organic are used in different categories to emphasize green, but can confuse and cloud the mind of consumers."

The noise in the green marketing space has grown louder in recent months. Dow Chemical's "Human Element" campaign, via FCB, Chicago, addresses environmental concerns in the "global community." Shell Oil launched a $30 million marketing campaign in June, via JWT, Houston, that trumpets its higher quality fuel, which emits less pollution. General Electric continues to build on its "Ecomagination" effort, which it launched in 2005 with work done by BBDO, New York, "to address challenges such as the need for cleaner, more efficient sources of energy, reduced emissions and abundant sources of clean water.

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+go beyond

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+french wine marketing

With new world wines grabbing market share, the French are being forced to start marketing  their products.

“Wine increasingly is becoming a consumer good, not a cultural exception,” said Pierre Courbon, international marketing director at OVS, a French company that was created to sell a new wine brand, Chamarré, which it intends to go head to head with consumer favorites from Australia, California, Chile and elsewhere. “Beer, spirits, vegetables, dairy products and even bread is branded. Why not wine?”

Until recently, such words might have been considered heresy in France, where many winemakers have an almost religious attachment to the idea that wines must reflect the specific attributes of the land on which they are grown, not the global characteristics of a brand. French law requires quality wines to be labeled accordingly, listing details like the region, the vineyard and the producer. But many consumers in markets like Britain and the United States now prefer to choose their wines according to the grape variety, like cabernet sauvignon or Riesling, rather than the name of the region where they were grown, like Bordeaux.

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+free ad services

Here is a post at Ad Age Small Diary by Noelle Weaver discussing the disturbing trend of free spec work. With the rise in VC backed Web 2.0 companies and boutique agencies, it appears this trend is back in vogue. I agree with Noelle 100 percent.

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+branding underground

Although this is not an entirely new idea, it is a new spin. Several marketers in the UK are holding small, intimate events in London's hip neighborhoods. Marketers such as T-Mobile and Tiger Beer are holding "Street Gigs" throughout the city. These gigs typically have 50 to 500 people attending while the marketer provides the entertainment (band or boxing match), drinks and food.

T-Mobile
"We're trying to put bands you wouldn't expect in really surprising venues," says Karen Harrison, brand and communication manager at the firm's UK arm, which has opted for low-key, intimate shows.

"Music has become a little bit too corporate," says Ms Harrison. "It's not about us ramming T-Mobile down people's throats because there's no need.

Tiger Beer
"Our branding at the events is very subtle. That you have to look for it means you have a better recall of the brand and makes it more effective."

But Tiger Beer is less of a niche drink than it used to be, which poses a quandary for the brewer.

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+grups: part ii

It appears New York Magazine's term "grups" has crossed the pond. Here is a recent article in the International Herald Tribune highlighting this movement in London.

"The crucial difference these days is that the older generation aren't consuming to appear younger, they just aren't growing old like their parents," said Dylan Jones, editor of British GQ magazine. "We are already seeing 60- something men who buy the same clothes, listen to same records, see the same films and browse the Web in exactly the same way as 20-somethings."

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+online developments

Here's an interesting flickr photoset entitled Online Developments. The user has collected various, quotes, stat's, and conversations about the changing media landscape.

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