Anyone who knows me knows I’m not an ultra-religious person and I definitely have never blogged about religion before. However, I’ve been noticing a trend lately regarding big brands, their holiday ads and the response these companies are getting from some of the public…and it’s really bugging me.

First, David Teicher blogged about how The American Family Association is asking consumers to boycott Gap Inc. and its brands (Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic) because Gap’s “Cheer Factory” campaign features a group of cheerleaders donning Gap apparel and calling out a bunch of different holidays that are celebrated this season — and not just Christmas. Which apparently means they’re censoring the word “Christmas”? (Check out David’s blog for that whole story.)

And then I read yesterday on TechCrunch that Best Buy has come under fire for mentioning both Thanksgiving and Eid Al-Adha, the Muslim festival of sacrifice, in its Black Friday ad. See it here:

It honestly took me a minute to even find said holiday reference…but a lot of other people apparently saw it right away.

Here’s an example of a comment in the Best Buy community regarding the above ad:

Among my major purchases from BB over the years were a plasma big screen, a fridge and a laptop. No more. In 2006 you discontinued the use of ‘ Merry Christmas’ in your “holiday” messages.

Yet one of your ad inserts wishes your customers a happy “Eid Al Aldha” ( a Muslim goat throat slitting festivity) . Clearly the liberal/ PC culture in your corporate offices is biased against Christians and traditional American values. So, in 2009 I discontinue Best Buy. Good riddance.

Hello A m a z o n

- A proud patriotic Christian American.

I’m sorry, but people need to get over it. Guess what? Christianity is not the only religion in the world and brands cannot be expected to neglect all other holidays just to make Christians happy! Give brands a break!

I’m Christian, I celebrate Christmas, and yet it doesn’t bother me at all that a brand gives well-wishes to someone who celebrates something else. In fact, I think it looks good that they acknowledge other holidays! America is a big melting pot of people, ethnicities, religions, etc. and companies can’t be expected to ignore everyone who isn’t Christian!

In fact — according to CNN, 75% of Americans call themselves Christian.  That means a whole 25% of people who might be watching these Gap ads and reading the Best Buy ads ARE NOT Christian. Do you really expect these big brands to outcast 25% of the population?!

Really, I don’t understand what people want brands to do. If someone doesn’t budge, there is NO possible way to make everyone happy! And I don’t think it’s the brands that need to budge!

What do you think? Do you agree with me? Disagree? If you disagree I’d love to hear what you think brands should do during the holiday season…let’s discuss!

As a lot of people, I’ve been reading over the past week or two about the legal battle between AT&T and Verizon.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s the gist: Verizon made the “there’s a map for that” ad showing AT&T’s poor 3G coverage, and AT&T started crying and tried to sue Verizon. Here’s the ad in case you missed it:

Honestly, personally I didn’t even like the ad at all and paid about 0% attention to it until AT&T started whining about it…thus drawing attention more to it. Way to go, AT&T!

But then Verizon came out with this one which I actually do really like:

…and then Verizon issued a 53-page rebuttal that said, “AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon’s ‘There’s a Map for That’ advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon’s ads are true and the truth hurts.”

Yeah, Verizon! Way to stick to your guns!

Anyway, the reason I’m on Verizon’s side here is because I really am a fan of controversial ads when they’re clever and true – which this campaign is (the clever part being more about the Misfit Toys ad). Verizon and AT&T are competitors and no one can fault Verizon for calling out AT&T’s faults. It’s the nature of competition.

Instead of spending time and money trying to sue Verizon for ads that depict the truth, maybe AT&T should work on getting better 3G coverage and proving Verizon wrong — but that’s just my opinion.

What do you think?

Oh yeah, just to update you on the situation: Verizon won in round one of the legal battle. You can read about it on AdAge.

(Also, it’s important to note that I’m not a Verizon OR an AT&T customer…so I’m pretty unbiased here. I’m a T-mobile girl myself)

Now let’s discuss…

Subaru and Snuggie are two of American’s Hottest Brands of 2009, so it’s pretty cool that they’ve been “united” in this Subaru commercial from Canada:

Does anyone else love this ad as much as I do?! I think it’s clever and it really grabs your attention! It really drives home the message of the Subaru brand and shows the Outback as a fun, outdoorsy car for adventure-loving people. Plus, it’s apparently really working for Subaru!

According to AdAge, “Ted Lalka, VP-product planning and marketing at Subaru Canada, told Marketing magazine that the spot is driving more visits to dealerships and that it’s led to a 213% sales increase in October.”

Anyway, what do you think? Love it or hate it? I’d love to see some comments!

Dear YellowBook,

Why – year after year – do you insist on leaving your thousand-page book on my doorstep? Do you understand that I don’t use you anymore (and haven’t since I was calling my middle school friends)? After all, we have the internet now!

And how many trees do you kill each year to do this? Isn’t there a better way?

I mean, does anyone still use you honestly? I understand maybe a few older folks, but not my generation!

I understand that now I’m in a house in a neighborhood, so now you might think I need you. But isn’t there a more efficient way to make sure you’re not wasting so many? I mean, I’ve been given a YellowBook every year I’ve been on my own! And do you really think leaving them in college dorms and at college apartment complexes is appropriate?

At best, you’re a good door stop. So please — find a better way to distribute your big book of numbers!

Here’s an idea — how about you send a postcard asking us to request a YellowBook if we need one? Sure it might someone 3 seconds to check “yes” and walk it down to the mailbox, but I think that’s 3 seconds well spent! And then the rest of us can stop filling our garbage cans with phone books!

And who are you conning into giving you money for ads still?! I wish I could show these people the light! What a waste!

Anyway, YellowBook, your wasteful ways are no longer working for me in this tech-savvy world! Please evaluate your business plan!

Sincerely yours,
Nicole

I’m sure you’ve all seen the ads for Verizon/Motorolla’s new phone, Droid.

If not, enjoy (and then continue reading below):

Droid took off the gloves, imitated an iPhone commercial, and called out the top smart phone for what it doesn’t do — doesn’t have a real keyboard, can’t multitask, can’t take 5-megapixel pictures, can’t take pictures in the dark, doesn’t customize, can’t run widgets and can’t interchange batteries…

…and I love it!

We got into a little debate today at the office about why the commercial is good or bad. Of course, I drink the Apple cool-aid on the day-to-day. HOWEVER, I’ve been pulling for the underdog since I got my G1 last year. And aren’t they saying Android is going to take over in the next few years?

But IMO, the ad is brilliant! First, it makes you believe it’s an iPhone commercial and then it kicks the iPhone where it hurts. Maybe that’s a low-blow, but I think ads like this create buzz and get people talking — and that’s a good thing! Plus, when you’re going after the big dog, you gotta come out swinging!

What do you think? Love the Droid commercial or hate it? Is it too low of a blow?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about sponsored blog posts, blog advertisements and sponsored tweets, and I want to know what you think!

Love ‘em or hate ‘em? Will you stop following a blog or a tweep just because they’re partaking in this activity? Do you even care?

Voice your opinion in the poll below…and if you have more to say, let’s chat about it in the comment section!

Next month is National Breast Cancer Month, so what better way to catch some attention and shed some light on breast cancer and its prevention than with some provocative ads?

While these ads have caught some controversy, I personally LOVE them! I’ve criticized how other companies have used sex to sell, but this is the PERFECT example of how to do it right!

These ads have caught everyone’s attention, and they’re making the message a little more real for a younger generation that really doesn’t feel like breast cancer can or will affect them. While they may be a little racy, they are powerful because they’re putting “sex sells” to good use and for a good cause.

PRDaily ran the story yesterday, and  a woman by the name of Andrea posted a comment that truly proves these ads hit the nail on the head:

I was 33 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was shocked and stunned at the diagnosis, for many reasons, not the least of which because I always thought that breast cancer was a disease of women much older than me.

In the sensibility of these new ad campaigns, let me recast that statement: I thought breast cancer was a disease of women whose boobs were obsolete: not for breast-feeding, not for fitting in bikinis, not for being ogled or adored.

These ads are great and have their place, not only because they are funny and they demystify breast cancer (shh, we don’t talk about things like that in polite society), they also demonstrate that young, beautiful, sexy, energetic, smart woman CAN AND DO GET BREAST CANCER!

I had a double-mastectomy with a bi-lateral reconstruction. Sounds pretty fancy, huh? Not really. In fact, it’s quite horrifying. When I catch men looking at my chest, it’s like, “Oh, yeah? You wanna see these? You think you’re man enough??” Like the guy from the movie The Twilight Zone: You wanna see something REALLY scary?

Above all, sometimes you gotta be able to laugh and poke fun at yourself. For example, though I was happy to exchange my boobs for my life (so far, 8+ years), I think the one who has lost the most is my husband. He will readily admit that breasts are his favorite part of the female anatomy. As I always say, “Thank God he wasn’t a leg man!”

But what do you think? Are the ads working? Or are we loosing the message in all the sexiness?

In an effort to try and stamp out eating disorders, French politicians want to place a “health warning” on photographs of models that are Photoshopped to make them look more attractive.

According to Reuters: if the law passes, all enhanced photos must be accompanied by a line that reads: “Photograph retouched to modify the physical appearance of a person.”

And the fine if you don’t use the disclaimer? 37,500 euros ($54,930), or up to 50 percent of the cost of the advertisement!

When I read the article, I was curious to see what other marketers thought of the general idea of this disclaimer. Of course, in an agency setting, we’ve all used Photoshop (or seen it used) before, so would we be opposed to this disclaimer? What about our clients?

IMO, I assume most people KNOW that ads are altered. However, we also should know that coffee is hot and cigarettes will kill you, but coffee cups and cigarette packages are required to carry a disclaimer. So maybe altered ads should too?

In addition, eating disorders are very serious…so it would be morally right to do everything we can to help curb the problem, right? However, will adding a disclaimer to an ad really fix someone’s psychological problems?

Of course, I can’t pretend to have the answers. Rather, this story just created a lot of questions in my mind. I’m torn on the subject, so what do you think?

Should altered ads be required to carry a disclaimer? Will it even help stop eating disorders? What will your clients think?

Wanna know what I think about this ad? Head on over to Sasha Muradali’s Little Pink Book to read my guest post about Burger King’s controversial new ad…