Toyota Ads for Yaris

Click here to go to the site which contains the actual video for the Yaris ad along with some comments on the believed psychology and confusion about it. I believe the ad is simply stating that the Yaris will run on small change/pennies since it gets great gas mileage.

Since I'm finally, hopefully picking up my new, ordered Yaris this week I thought I'd post an ad on this cute car! It is interesting because aside from specifically searching on Google while I've been waiting for the car to arrive from Japan, I have seen ZERO ads on t.v. or from other media sources. Guess it just shows how things that have a large demand don't need heavy advertising. Certain options are hard to find so you have to order the car through your dealer and then it is built in Japan and then it's still a mystery when it will get done and arrive as Japan seems to leave the dealer somewhat in the dark. But since so many people see the Yaris and fall in love, many settle for the one on the dealer's lot. I've been posting to a forum on Edmunds.com for months so I hear what other Yaris finatics have experienced. I put a deposit down at the end of this past August and was told at first the car would be built in October, then November, and finally December! I was really bummed because they didn't expect it in until January. Last week the dealer called and said it was due in early December! Today he called and said it will be in this week!

Butterball Turkey, on your iPod

http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3623932

This article is talking about how Butterball Turkey, who every year around this time, has something called a TurkeyTalk helpline, where people can call in to find out the answers to the hardhitting thanksgiving questions, such as "how do I thaw my turkey?" This year, for the first time, Butterball says that they will be offering a podcast version of TurkeyTalk, downloadable on iTunes.

This seems like an odd step to me. I can see why a company would want to reach out to a younger audience and maybe try to allow them to become familiar with the brand early in hopes that it will stay with them for life, but for something like this, it seems silly.

But then again, hey, maybe not. I'm sure there are a lot of younger people who have their own place for the first time this year and are going to try their hand at Thanksgiving and maybe this might seem like just the right way to go about finding the help they need.

Either way, it was an interesting move on the part of the company and I'd love to find out how many downloads there have been after the holidays.

Japanese version of the new Apple commercials

Apparently the Mac vs PC approach is part of a global campaign. Here's the Japanese version.

Soccer around the world

I thought this was a very interesting Ad is shows the different ways that soccer teams are viewed around the world. Do you think it is stereotyping in anyway or do you think this is exactly how people view these teams? What do you think? check it out http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8494958746887443788&q=ads+around+the+world

Google selling ad space in newspapers

Here is an article about a trial run that Google will be partaking in. It supposedly plans to sell advertising space to about 100 of its advertisers from the Web to newspapers "owned by The New York Times Company, Gannett, the Tribune Company, the Washington Post Company and Hearst". I think this is a good idea, as the article states, because the Internet has significantly reduced newspaper reading. I like reading something "hands on" but like many, I also love having the power to instantly look and find information with the stroke of a few keys on my computer keyboard. Google will be doing a trial period of about 3 months to see how the concept flies. Since it is already the biggest online advertiser I don't think it has anything to worry about.

The terms for it's advertisers to place ads within the proposed newspapers are interesting. They can bid size of the ad, placement in the newspaper as well as what day to run the ad and the newspapers can accept as many or as few bids as they choose. Google is hoping to target an audience of smaller businesses and retailers and the newspapers hope to gain some readers back. This aspect of receiving news is important as I think the credibility of information in newspapers is moreso than online at many sites (or used to). Also, growing up with a journalist for a mom saddens me to see such a decline in newspaper reporting quality as well as the number of readers.