The Energizer Bunny

The Energizer Bunny is the marketing icon and mascot of Energizer batteries. It is a pink rabbit wearing sunglasses and blue sandals that beats a bass drum. It has been appearing in television commercials since the 1980s. The Energizer Bunny does not appear in Europe and Australia where the rival Duracell Bunny is seen instead. In Australia and the UK the mascot for Energizer is a muscle-bound anthropomorphic battery. The American Energizer commercials, produced by DDB Chicago Advertising, originally began as a parody of TV advertisements for rival Duracell. In the Duracell ads, a set of battery-powered instrument-playing toy pink rabbits gradually slow to a halt until only the toy powered by a copper-top battery remains active. In Energizer's parody, the Energizer Bunny then enters the screen beating a huge bass drum and swinging a mallet over his head.

GM Shares predicted to hit Zero!

A Deutsche Bank analyst came out on Monday and downgraded shares of General Motors Corp. to sell from hold, saying the automaker was on the path to bankruptcy before the end of the year unless the U.S. government agrees to a bailout. Deutsche Bank then places at price target of Zero on the stock. That's right people, 0. They predict the common stock of the company will be worthless less than 12 months from now.

Shark Week Anyone?

Check out this ultra cool piece of marketing promoting a Shark series on National Geographic Channel. These marketers came up with a unique concept that makes the bus look like its swallowing up any passenger that steps on board. Very cool piece of marketing.

Lamborghini Ad Campaign

This new ad campaign 'Welcome to Sant' Agata Bolognese, Home of Lamborghini,' is the brain child of German advertising agency, Philipp and Keuntje. This 'Feels Italian Wherever You Are' campaign, the marketers make fun of international stereotypes and lets you know how easy it is to spot the Italianess around the world as long as the view is from the drivers seat in your Lamborghini. In this particular ad two guards at normally stuffy and strict Buckingham palace assume a relaxed slump against a building and communicate more with hand gestures and body language than with words. Buckingham Palace guards are famous for maintaining a straight face with minimal body movement while standing straight up like a soldier at all times while on duty. The typical Lamborghini client is well versed in travel and cultures of established economic countries, mainly because in order to afford this 500+ horsepower monster, he/she would probably have to have a global business. Simply put, The Lamborghini customer knows what they want and are willing to pay for it, regardless of price. It is truly the specialty product of specialty products. Yea...I want one.

Nike's Failure

The words NIKE and successful marketing for years have been synonymous. Until recently it looked as though NIKE could do no wrong. Thirteen years after acquiring Bauer, and making bold promises that it would transform the business of hockey, Nike has put its Nike Bauer unit up for sale, a rare bit of comeuppance for one of the world's powerful brands. Nike put is logo on the popular hockey brand and customers didn't go for it. NIKE apparently has a chink in its armor.

Obama Wins! Obama Wins!

History has been made. Priceless!

Vote! Election Day! Vote!

Today is the day! Get out and Vote! With so much talk about which candidate will be better for the economy and business lets take a moment to review the history of the stock market during election years. If history is any guide, the 2008 national elections won’t provide the kindling for a major stock market boom.
Since 1949 -- the first year of Democrat Harry S. Truman’s only elected term -- the best possible political outcome in Washington for investors of stocks has been a Democratic president and a Republican Congress.
During these eras the Dow Jones industrial average has posted average annual gains of 19.5%, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. That compares with an average annual gain of 8.7% for the entire 1949-2007 period.
In other words, Wall Street historically has liked that particular form of political gridlock, with two competing parties pushing against each other. The problem for investors is that the chances for such an outcome are slim this year. The political alignment with the second-best stock market record since ‘49 — is a Republican president paired with Republican control of the House and Senate, which yielded a 14.1% average annual Dow gain. That probably isn’t in the cards either since the Democrats out number Republicans in congress. Its important to note that
since 1949 there hasn’t been a scenario where a Democratic lived in the White House while control of Congress was split between the Democrats and the GOP, so there’s no track record to go by there.
The most likely scenarios of this year's election are not looking great for the stock market. In the past when a Republican president ruled with either a Democrat-controlled or split Congress, the Dow notched average annual gains of 6.7%. And the set-up of a Democratic president and Democrat-controlled Congress fared the worst of the six possible combinations, although only slightly, with a 6.6% average annual gain in the Dow.
But who says any of that matters anyway. I feel that unless there is a big change in the leadership of this country that the stock market will be the least of our worries. Go Obama!