Let me EAT YOUR DIRT, DRINK YOUR SWEAT!

I am amazed by how far a marketing campaign could possibly go to attract new audience. Jones Soda Co., a Seattle-based bottled beverage company, is launching a limited edition Seattle Seahawks's collectors pack of five new football-inspired flavors:

1. Dirt Soda;

2. Sports Cream Soda;

3. Perspiration Soda;

4. Natural Field Turf Soda;

5. Sweet Victory Soda

I couldn't figure out the rationale behind the launch of such terribly named soda drinks. Well, obviously, I am not an industry-expert and know little about bottled beverages market. However, I do know from a fact that US consumers aren't looking for artificially flavored or colored drinks these days. They are all going after the natural or organic tea.

“Throughout their career, the average NFL player will spend 2 years of their life in the gym, eat 3 pounds of dirt and perspire 10,000 gallons of sweat. These players must withstand incredibly tough conditions to be ready for every game, which is why we thought we’d bring the fans the full experience in a bottle,” says Peter van Stolk, President & C.E.O. “Now, you can enjoy all the sweat and dirt an NFL player experiences, along with the ultimate taste of Sweet Victory.”

Hmmm....I love watching the game but I certainly don't have a fetish on some football player's dirt and sweat. I enjoy an action-packed game while drinking beer and eating peanuts, but certainly not smelling someone's dirt or drinking someone's sweat.

I guess it's a great marketing gimmick because it does generate a lot of buzz and attention in the public. I am sure a die-hard Seahawks fan would pre-order a pack at https://ssl.jonessodastore.com/seahawkspack/code/?#buynow. I won't be surprised if it becomes a collector's item on eBay in the near future.

But again, who would love to eat someone's dirt or drink someone's sweat? Leave a comment if you know or if you are such a person.

Bubble Bar in Hong Kong

Trust me, this could possibly work in Hong Kong for 3 months before the fad is gone. You can sip water like gold there.

Address: Marco Polo Prince Hotel, G/F, Harbor City, Kowloon

The Simpsons Movie

The Simpsons Movie was finally out last weekend. I ended up watching it on Saturday morning. It was so funny and hilarious and I love it so much. I actually didn't take this picture on the day of opening but I saw this yesterday at the Century Theatres in San Francisco Westfield Shopping Center. I was tempted to sit upside down like Bart in the picture but there were a few people at the theatre entrance.

Anyway, Victoria snapped this picture with me sitting next to Homer Simpson! I wonder what it would actually be like to live in such a family!

Macys's Customer Service

I have had one of the best shopping experience I had at the Macys in Valley Fair today. I was browsing the men's department and had my eye on a pair of Ralph Lauren swimming trunks. I saw the sign saying that it's 50% off. I was excited to try it on and ended up getting it. When I took it at the check-out counter, it rang up at the original price. I told the store assistant that I got it from the discount rack at the RL counter.

Instead of just brushing me off and saying that the item was placed on the wrong rack, he actually went to the rack with me and saw the 50% off sign right next to it. He said he would give me the 50% discount even though the sign was probably put at the wrong place. He took the sign off from the rack and walked back to the check-out counter with me.

I thought he would just proceed with taking 50% off the original price. Instead, he took an extra $10 off for the inconvenience. When he rang up the item again, I showed him that the price on the tag ($44.99) was different from the one shown in his system ($54.99). You can guess the end of the story.... I ended up getting that pair of RL swimming trunks for around $12!

That's what I call good customer service! Instead of just following what's in the computer system, the store assistant actually rectified the error on spot by removing the 50% sign from the rack and honored the discount.

I will definitely be going back to that Macy's store in the future.

Simpsons Kwik-E-Mart

Pictures from the actual 'Simpsons' Kwik-E-Mart store in Mountain View, CA.

Simpsons Kwik-E-Mart

7-Eleven turns into Kwik-E-Mart

I was reading news online this morning and am excited to learn that twelve 7-Eleven stores have turned into Kwik-E-Marts from Simpsons. I think it's one of the best marketing campaigns I have seen for movies in recent years.

They actually changed the names of those 7-Eleven stores into Kwik-E-Mark and stocked each re-decorated store with products you can see in Simposons. You can get the famous Squishee, Buzz Cola, Pink Donuts, KrustyO's Cereal, even a Radioactive Man Comic Book! You can check out the list of Simpsons-inspired products at http://www.7-eleven.com/sip.asp.

This marketing campaign actually transforms your day-to-day shopping experience into a special one that you feel that you are actually living in the same town as the Simposons in Springfield, IL. Most movie-related marketing campaigns only have movie-inspired products for sale in supermarkets or some lucky draw for you to win some special limited edition products. Therefore, cognitively, it's impossible for a shopper to fully immerse themselves in the a pseudo experience and feel the urge to see the movie and buy the products. I am sure the sales of those Simpsons-inspired products will be excellent. Trust me, you will see them showing up on eBay very soon!

Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die!

Amazing Lexus Multimedia Ads

I saw the above ad displayed on the windows on a vacant storefront on Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco. As a person who is deeply interested in createive arts and advertising, I think it's an excellent design!