Tag: marketing

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 19, 20237:50 pm

Audacious Advertising

While driving our car to the auto shop for routine maintenance, today, I passed an intriguing billboard along Adams Avenue in San Diego neighborhood Normal Heights. Sentiment “People Matter” makes perfect sense. But not too long ago, and perhaps still, “all lives matter” was taboo response to the “black lives matter” crowd. Does this advert push boundaries? Is “people matter” all that different from “all lives matter”—regardless the different context? You tell me.

I am a big fan of offending people, of pushing their buttons, so to speak. We all need to feel uncomfortable from time to time, so that we think. So if “people matter” offends you, good! And because everyone matters, why should inclusivity of all colors be bothersome? Now, let’s get to the context, which is nothing about race relations.

Photo by Joe WilcoxNov 7, 20229:57 pm

Adventure Advertising

Unless mistaken, my wife and I saw this pull-trailer promoting GoCamp, which rents camper vans, parked on Florida Street here in University Heights. I perused the company’s website: Including duplicates, 46 vehicles are available from San Diego to the destination of your choice.

Based on interior—exterior, not so much—I rather fancy Van Luca: Mercedes-Benz Sprinter or Gia, which “is a 2009 Ford Econoline 150 Chariot hi-top conversion”. They are available for $179 and $145 per night, respectively. Neither can be driven one-way; got to bring them back. The Benz burns diesel, which is something of a liability because of high costs; the Ford is a gas-guzzler.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 24, 202210:04 pm

New Poster Child for the Pro-Choice Lobby

As Halloween approaches, decorations proliferate and some become quite elaborate. This caged kid in a tree had me chuckling, earlier today—for elaborate staging and opportunity for me to be snarky. Disclaimer: My sarcasm is sure to offend somebody. If that’s you, please accept my no apology.

Pro-lifers are giddy as a bear slopping honey from a fallen beehive, following the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v Wade. They aren’t too bothered by stings from swarming Pro-choicers, who are losing their minds over the 6-3 decision. Since they are absolutely crazy—uh, crazed—let’s pretend this shrieking girl is their marketing maven—warning about the horror show progeny that you could produce because you can’t legally have a doctor cut it out.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 12, 20229:41 pm

Serve One Up for Linus

Shouldn’t September 12 be considered a wee bit early for Halloween? Can we not wait until October? But marketing seasonal spicy drinks knows no bounds. The sign stands on the corner of Alabama and Mississippi, outside Mystic Mocha, which is an iconic coffee shop and eatery in my San Diego neighborhood.

The Featured Image comes from Leica Q2, today, but I first saw the advert on the eighth. I made shots at two different apertures and fiercely debated with myself about which to share. In the end, I prefer the wider depth of field of the narrower aperture, which keeps the University Heights sign and storefront in the range of focus. Vitals: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/400 sec, 28mm; 1:02 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 13, 20228:02 pm

Mystic Mocha Marketing

One of University Height’s fixtures is Mystic Mocha, which through change of ownership survived the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 shutdowns mandated by California Governor Gavin Newsom and also San Diego County health authorities.

Today, as my wife and I walked by the place, we happened upon a sign at the corner of Alabama and Mission. I pulled around Leica Q2, knelt down low, and shot the Featured Image. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/8, ISO 100, 1/320 sec, 28mm; 11:39 a.m. PDT.

Society by Joe WilcoxMay 25, 20219:24 pm

I Won’t Go Soft on Hard Seltzer

Before the Wilcoxes relocated to California from Maryland some thirteen-and-a-half years ago, I generally replaced soda with a couple tablespoons of apple juice mixed with a 12-ounce can of seltzer (e.g., carbonated water). But finding the bubbly proved to be really challenging in SoCal. A few stores stocked seltzer in quart-size plastic bottles but no cans and for considerably higher price than what we paid back East.

Then came LaCroix’s bold brand turnaround early in the last decade. Packaging makeover and consumer rage against sugary soda won over mainstream Millennials, ultimately leading to a seltzer surge—whether measured by increased number of brands, flavors, or sales. That’s good for me, now a drinker of straight seltzer; no juice added by my hands or artificial flavors by bottlers.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 1, 20219:07 pm

A Bible Story Revisited

On this Good Friday eve, when according to the Biblical account Jesus shared with his disciples the Last Supper, I follow up the personal story from Jan. 21, 2021—buying with, and for, my wife the Thomas Nelson-published, Leathersoft “classic verse-by-verse, center-column, reference Bible” (New King James Version). Five days later, when an online video referred to Matthew 18:1, Anne asked about the narrative text being in red and Christ’s words in black. I looked. That’s not right.

So I perused and found that on some pages Jesus’ quotes were the expected “red letter”, while on others text was swapped black with the rest. Mmmm, what to do? I considered calling the Christian bookstore from where we purchased the Bible. But given how negatively SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns have affected small businesses and being a printing error, I contacted the publisher.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 31, 20218:04 pm

Thank-you, Leica!

April 1, 2021, tomorrow, Leica raises the prices on most of its digital cameras, including mine. This post offers earnest appreciation for making what I own more valuable. I don’t plan on selling anything, but […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 27, 20218:38 pm

She’s Still Here

Last year’s ruckus about product names with actual, or presumed, racist roots led some companies to retire (e.g., disavow) established, and even iconic, brands. I had thought Aunt Jemima was one of them—and apparently she […]

Society by Joe WilcoxMar 3, 20218:50 pm

Everything You Need to Know About Facebook in One Popup

On Feb. 23, 2021, a news story from BBC Online about an explosion following the collision of a freight train and 18-wheeler riveted my attention. An early version of the report offered video footage embedded from Facebook (additional media is available in the linked version that you can click). I tapped the play icon on my tablet, which got the video going but also an overlaying message requesting permission for the social network “to use cookies and website data while browsing BBC.com”. Hell no, FB CEO Mark Zuckberg’s zombie-bots aren’t allowed to track my activity. Give blanket permission for all the Beeb? Eh, no.

Dirty bird! Pressing “Don’t Allow” stopped the video playing. Not once, but every time—and I confirmed the behavior on my laptop browser today. If you think the Internet is free, I got some swamp land in Florida to sell you right now. I don’t own it and you wouldn’t want it, but if you’re gullible enough to think social networks and other content-rich sites give you something free without taking something more, let’s you and I make a swamp deal. You are tracked, your browsing behavior is catalogued, and advertisements are targeted based on your online activities. That’s the Facebook Way.

Living by Joe WilcoxJul 7, 20191:14 pm

Do It, Dunkin’

Some adversarial-marketing opportunities are just too tasty to ignore. Are you listening, Dunkin’? Starbucks has presented its rival grand opportunity to tap into longstanding stereotypes about cops and donuts in a positive way. Hey, Dunkin’, put potential slogans into a dozen box and eat up the green-and-white logo demon by giving it a bigger boot-in-the-butt than it gave some of Arizona’s finest.

The Tempe Officer’s Association took to Twitter to explain the incident I allude to: “On Independence Day, six Tempe police officers stopped by the Starbucks at Scottsdale Road and McKellips for coffee. The officers paid for their drinks and stood together having a cup of coffee before their long 4th of July shift. They were approached by a barista, who knew one of the officers by name, because he is a regular at that location. The barista said that a customer ‘did not feel safe’ because of the police presence. The barista asked the officers to move out of the customer’s line of sight or to leave. Disappointed, the officers did in fact leave. This treatment of public safety workers could not be more disheartening”.

For sure!

Mobility by Joe WilcoxOct 17, 20189:35 pm

Google’s Newest Pixel Phone Color: Not White

Perhaps you know that the newest Google Phones come in “Not Pink”, as a third color choice. I discovered a fourth today when receiving a Pixel 3 XL “Just Black” instead of the smaller Pixel 3 “Clearly White”. Three support calls—spanning more than two hours—later, Google Store specialists struggled to resolve the order error. In their database, my “Not White” XL shows up as a retail model, based on the IMEI, which in no way resembles the number for the device supposedly shipped (and, of course, wasn’t). I did receive Pixel Stand, as expected, so that’s something right.

There is an absurdity about Google making me prove the error by providing photos of the shipping label, phone, and product box because they’re “vital for our investigation”. I obliged about the label, because the correct order number is on it. Request for phone pic came later, and to that I balked. The IMEI should identify model and color, but the image is necessary to truly confirm color is black—or in Joe’s new parlance “Not White”—a store shipping specialist explained. That’s not my problem. Truth will be confirmed when the phone is received, right? Wrong.