Cool Marketing Thoughts » Humor http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com Sat, 05 Jun 2010 18:54:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Marketing Interview And Such http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2008/02/08/marketing-interview/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2008/02/08/marketing-interview/#comments Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:15:24 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2008/02/08/marketing-interview/ There’s a super cool site I tend to visit a few times a week, just to browse through their archive and laugh myself silly with their hilarious geek jokes. The site’s called XKCD, and they publish a new toon every few days. If you’re not on track with this one, you’re missing out on some great fun!

Marketing Interview
Online Package Tracking
90s Flow Chart

This is just a tiny selection of their 300+ archive, and all I can say is: you’ve just got to go check it out… so many memories and ‘aha-erlebnis’ moments.

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2008/02/08/marketing-interview/feed/ 2 Japanize Yourself http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/12/06/japanize-yourself/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/12/06/japanize-yourself/#comments Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:10:37 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/12/06/japanize-yourself/ A fun thing (it’s been aaaages since I posted one of these) to kill some time: what would your name be if it was ‘Japanized’ :)

Thanks for the pointer, Ben

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/12/06/japanize-yourself/feed/ 7 Consumers With A Voice http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/12/03/consumers-with-a-voice/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/12/03/consumers-with-a-voice/#comments Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:21:02 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/12/03/consumers-with-a-voice/ I got this hilarious picture in my email (thanks Arns) which is a pretty cool example of what happens if you have a bad campaign and leave the window open for customer feedback. I mean seriously :) No driver likes it when cops are doing speed checks, and yes I know it is necessary but that is not the point in this discussion so put that thought aside for a second. In this example, the advertizer asks a question, and they give the consumer a large white space to answer that. No wonder some frustrated soul or practical joker gladly takes the opportunity to express his opinion. And then, yeah, this is what you get.

Donuts

Comes to show: never give your audience a box of rocks if you live in a glass house.

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/12/03/consumers-with-a-voice/feed/ 0 Hummer http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/11/13/hummer/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/11/13/hummer/#comments Tue, 13 Nov 2007 11:07:58 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/11/13/hummer/ Arnaud sent in this grassroots anti Hummer campaign that’s being sent around on the innerwebs. It’s quite funny, because in some cases it’s true. Contra-branding, a nice hobby for the modern hippies. Let’s see if there are any others alike. Feel free to send in your goodies.

Hummer

Thanks, Arns :)

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/11/13/hummer/feed/ 11 Problem: Milk Moustache http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/11/01/problem-milk-moustache/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/11/01/problem-milk-moustache/#comments Thu, 01 Nov 2007 11:23:53 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/11/01/problem-milk-moustache/ Let me picture it for you. You’re between the age of 4 and 12 (16 for some). You had to shove in your breakfast because things had to move fast. You drank too fast and now you have a milk moustache. You pick up your things and you’re ready to go and then you hear your mom calling: “hey, hold on a sec”. She sees the milk moustache, licks her thumb and starts cleaning with some spit… And then you’re off. This could also very well be the case for instance for a little stain of toothpaste on your shirt and dozens of other examples. Eventually your mom stops doing these things. You move out. And now what ? Well: here’s what:

Momspit

Momspit (inspired by the original) is the universal no-rinse cleanser. It’s not a sanitizer and does not contain any alcohol. In fact, it’s gentle enough to use on your face. Momspit foams for easy application, eliminates dirt and grime, and leaves skin moisturized and yummy smelling. It’s the perfect thing to throw in your purse, place on your desk, or keep in your car. To use: Apply a small amount on hands or face and rub in completely. No rinse needed.

Order yours today!
Via Crafty Hope

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/11/01/problem-milk-moustache/feed/ 0 The Last Day At Work http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/10/30/the-last-day-at-work/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/10/30/the-last-day-at-work/#comments Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:08:24 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/10/31/the-last-day-at-work/ So, you’ve decided you hate your job and want to explore new roads. Somewhere out there is that perfect job, the one you’ve dreamt of for all these years. Maybe you already have a new job in sight. Just one tiny detail left: making sure they let you go fast. You need to get out of that old company without further ado. So. Here’s one way to do it: proceed to your average normal lunchroom/company restaurant. Sit down with your colleagues, and make it a lunch to remember. :-)

Thanks, Dave

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/10/30/the-last-day-at-work/feed/ 3 8 Unfortunate Logos http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/10/27/8-unfortunate-logos/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/10/27/8-unfortunate-logos/#comments Sat, 27 Oct 2007 08:27:00 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/10/27/8-unfortunate-logos/ Arnaud sent me some logos of companies from around the world. Big deal, you’d say. I think these ones are ’special’. Either the designer was really pissed off and wanted to screw over the customer, or the sales rep is a very very good storyteller and convinced the client they would really work. I’m still undecided but I don’t think that any sane person would ever agree upon having his/her business being represented by an unfortunate logo as the ones below. What do you think?

Funny Logos 1

1. Institute for Oriental languages

Funny Logos 2

2. Kids furniture and clothing store

Funny Logos 3

3. Italian fashion brand

Funny Logos 4

4. A pediatric center

Funny Logos 5

5. Dental clinic

Funny Logos 6

6. Drugstore specialized in back injuries

Funny Logos 7

7. Hot-Dog Boutique

Funny Logos 8

8. PC repair store

Thanks, Arns

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/10/27/8-unfortunate-logos/feed/ 94 Will It Blend -iPhone http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/07/12/will-it-blend/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/07/12/will-it-blend/#comments Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:05:06 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/07/12/will-it-blend/ Last year in November I already mentioned the freakish powers of The Total Blender. They’ve been blending all sorts of crazy things in the past time but their recent clip really kicks it big time. They’re blending an iPhone. Pretty neat stuff. I haven’t really written about the iPhone here before, and it’s not because I work for Microsoft. It’s because I think the device is way too limited and has nothing to offer that I can use. I’ll give you some examples of why this fashionable device will (at this time) not be on my wishlist:

  1. It doesn’t support SD (micro)memory cards, no slot present
  2. I can’t install other software (TomTom navigation and so on)
  3. I can look at movies but I can’t record any
  4. I don’t use iTunes, nor an mp3 player function and I don’t care for music support or YouTube videos
  5. The battery is sealed-in so no hard reboot if the device locks (by removing and replacing the battery)
  6. Got to hand in the phone at Apple store for x days if battery breaks
  7. Not ready for over-the-air content delivery (3G and so on)
  8. Sealed deals with operators that require minimum sign-up periods
  9. I don’t store pictures on my phone, don’t have time to show off pictures either, I just use it for work-related things, not during coffee breaks
  10. Compared with Nokia’s N95 5 megapixel snapshot maker, the iPhone has a rather crappy image quality

So, apart from the very cool design and touch screen navigation, there really isn’t much in it for me. I just need a device with easy access that allows me to install what I want, that allows me to chose any provider I like and that improves my mobile experience. And for what it has to offer, I think it is way too expensive. There is no technology progress. A slick interface doesn’t make me happy if the functions behind it don’t live up to the expectations. But yeah, that’s just my humble opinion. What it does pretty well though, is blend!

Video: Will It Blend? iPhone [source]

By the way, you can bid for the blended iPhone on eBay :-) It’s already at $430.

iPhone Expectations
]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/07/12/will-it-blend/feed/ 6 Power House http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/04/25/power-house/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/04/25/power-house/#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2007 22:40:52 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/04/25/power-house/ I totally like this idea. It’s actually a shirt people would love to wear when they’re going out for a drink in town, especially when they carry around the accumulated result of many beers and they’re proud of it. I know quite a few people with a tummy full of love who’d be totally overjoyed when they got this as a gift. Other than that… if you really are looking at it from the dark side, you could find some sarcasm in this and be offended, but the ‘funny’ approach is very present. Could also be interpreted as: Power House helps you deflate
(or something).

Power House 1

Power House 2

Power House 3

Agency unknown
Via: 24

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/04/25/power-house/feed/ 0 A House Or Champagne 2 http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/04/21/a-house-or-champagne-2/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/04/21/a-house-or-champagne-2/#comments Sat, 21 Apr 2007 09:59:48 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/04/21/a-house-or-champagne-2/ UPDATE 21st of April, 10.59 am: Hilarious !!!

While Jan is working for BBDO and Johan from LG&F made the spoof (and Michael from Duval Guillaume E sent it to me), now the guys over at TheseDays came up with their spoof, and they turned the spot into a commercial for Spotter.be / Any other agencies want to give it a go?

There’s a lucky guy named Jan. He works at an ad agency and has a beautiful wife and family. They live in a wonderful house and they’ve been having the time of their lives there. But.. the time has come to move on and now they’re selling the house… on YouTube. However, Jan’s ‘neighbors’ have noticed the clip on YouTube and decided to post their response… and now the bet is: if the response has more views than the original, Jan will buy bubbly wine for ‘the neighbors’. Other than that, it’s pretty cool to use YouTube to sell your house, but instead of showing just the house and the rooms and all that you add a story to it, you make the material thing come alive. And that’s so awesome.

Jan's House

See the original clip here, but please make sure you see the spoof twice, so Jan has to share the booze ;-)

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/04/21/a-house-or-champagne-2/feed/ 1 A House Or Champagne http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/04/19/a-house-or-champagne/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/04/19/a-house-or-champagne/#comments Thu, 19 Apr 2007 22:25:26 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/04/19/a-house-or-champagne/ There’s a lucky guy named Jan. He works at an ad agency and has a beautiful wife and family. They live in a wonderful house and they’ve been having the time of their lives there. But.. the time has come to move on and now they’re selling the house… on YouTube. However, Jan’s ‘neighbors’ have noticed the clip on YouTube and decided to post their response… and now the bet is: if the response has more views than the original, Jan will buy bubbly wine for ‘the neighbors’. Other than that, it’s pretty cool to use YouTube to sell your house, but instead of showing just the house and the rooms and all that you add a story to it, you make the material thing come alive. And that’s so awesome.

Jan's House

See the original clip here, but please make sure you see the spoof twice, so Jan has to share the booze ;-)

UPDATE: Hilarious !!!

While Jan is working for BBDO and Johan from LG&F made the spoof (and Michael from Duval Guillaume E sent it to me), now the guys over at TheseDays came up with their spoof, and they turned the spot into a commercial for Spotter.be / Any other agencies want to give it a go?

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/04/19/a-house-or-champagne/feed/ 2 Ricky Gervais For Red Nose Day http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/03/23/ricky-gervais-for-red-nose-day/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/03/23/ricky-gervais-for-red-nose-day/#comments Fri, 23 Mar 2007 05:00:09 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/03/23/ricky-gervais-for-red-nose-day/ On March 16th, Comic Relief – The Big One – raised a massive £40,236,142 million – the biggest ever total on a Red Nose Day night and the money is still pouring in! The mammoth seven hour show on BBC ONE, featured the biggest line up of presenters ever including Jonathan Ross, Russell Brand, Lenny Henry, Davina McCall, Graham Norton, Paul O’Grady, Fearne Cotton, Kate Thornton and Chris Evans, who was overwhelmed by the success of the show, saying ‘This is by far the most exciting Comic Relief night I’ve ever been to – it’s the best comedy ever’. One of the most memorable highlights was Ricky Gervais’ special ‘appeal film’ starring Sir Bob Geldof, Bono, Stephen Merchant, Jamie Oliver and Andi Peters. It’s brilliant :)

Video Link

Via Tales Of Drudgery & Boredom

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/03/23/ricky-gervais-for-red-nose-day/feed/ 3 Educational Pocket Money http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/03/05/educational-pocket-money/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/03/05/educational-pocket-money/#comments Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:15:45 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/03/05/educational-pocket-money/ Okay, this is for the student readers who are short of educational small change and need to get educational drinks from an educational vending machine. I love social engineering :) It brings out the rebel in all of us. These skills are for educational purposes only, for instance if you want to help your friends learn how to be educational as well.

Video link

Thanks, Arnaud

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/03/05/educational-pocket-money/feed/ 1 Le Bureau http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/02/27/le-bureau/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/02/27/le-bureau/#comments Tue, 27 Feb 2007 14:30:04 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/02/27/le-bureau/ Looks like our French neighbors have adapted Ricky Gervais’ concept and they started making ‘Le Bureau’ last year. The setting is Villepinte, a business park in the northeast suburbs of Paris. The series stars François Berléand as Gilles Triquet, France’s version of David Brent. Another notable actor, Jérémie Elkaïm, also stars in the series playing the French version of Tim Canterbury. Filming with the French cast was completed in early February; the series began airing on May 25. A second season is already in the works and the writer-director duo of Nicholas and Bruno say at least one show will focus on a French perennial: strikes.

Rest of the episodes I found:

See the official Canal+ site

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/02/27/le-bureau/feed/ 1 Suicide Ikea http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/02/27/suicide-ikea/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/02/27/suicide-ikea/#comments Mon, 26 Feb 2007 23:01:15 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/02/27/suicide-ikea/ I got an email with a load of Russian ads in it, and one of the weirdest in the series was without any doubt the one pictured below. This must be some sort of mock-up by a twisted mind because I have my reasonable doubts about the fact IKEA would ever approve this sort of advertising. Too bad my Russian is still what it used to be: totally worthless, so I have no clue at all of what’s written in the text boxes. If anyone can fill in with a translation, please do. The rest of us can wonder about this in silence.

IKEA Suicide
]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/02/27/suicide-ikea/feed/ 4 Post-It StopMotion http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/02/25/post-it-stopmotion/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/02/25/post-it-stopmotion/#comments Sun, 25 Feb 2007 12:40:30 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/02/25/post-it-stopmotion/ If it’s true that companies should embrace the consumer generated things people do and publish while using their product, the way Coca-Cola and Mentos embraced the geyser effect, then I think these guys are entitled to a life-long stock of free Post-it notes. It’s not the best stopmotion ever, but it’s fun to see what you can do with a pack of simple sticky notes and a large window.

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/02/25/post-it-stopmotion/feed/ 1 Ricky Gervais On The O&A Show http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/02/13/ricky-gervais-on-the-oa-show/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/02/13/ricky-gervais-on-the-oa-show/#comments Tue, 13 Feb 2007 12:06:57 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/02/13/ricky-gervais-on-the-oa-show/ Four parts of goodiness with Ricky Gervais and Opie & Anthony. Totally. The movies are short, and basically Opie & Anthony just interview Ricky Gervais, but it’s good laugh :) – Take a 15 minute break to learn a little more about David Brent, the enfant terrible of middle management and the man behind him.

Video Link

Video Link

Video Link

Video Link

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/02/13/ricky-gervais-on-the-oa-show/feed/ 3 Global Warming Can Be Amusing http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/02/13/global-warming-can-be-amusing/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/02/13/global-warming-can-be-amusing/#comments Tue, 13 Feb 2007 00:37:15 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/02/13/global-warming-can-be-amusing/ Looks like Al Gore teamed up with Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons and Futurama. On a side note, who else thinks Troy McClure looks a bit like Al Gore? I can’t believe I never saw these :) They’re so inconveniently funny, and so true.

link to movie

link to movie

Via: Jason Schramm

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/02/13/global-warming-can-be-amusing/feed/ 1 DIY Person Of The Year http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/12/28/diy-person-of-the-year/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/12/28/diy-person-of-the-year/#comments Thu, 28 Dec 2006 11:27:56 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/12/28/diy-person-of-the-year/ Last year they had Freddy the hamster over at i-merge which they used as an interactive greeting card (read more about that little rodent here) but this year they mashed up the Times Person Of The Year thingy and made that into a DIY tool. Kinda funny to try it out and really cute to surprize your co-workers or friends. All you have to do is upload a picture (or take a snapshot with your webcam) and you get a return page that features your photo on the Times cover. Here’s an example of how that looks like:

Times Person Of The Year

You can get yours on personoftheyear.be

One thing I miss, without nagging on the concept, is the fact that the word ‘You’ can’t be replaced by a name. That would have made the end result a lot better, especially if you want to surprize someone. But now it looks exact like the Times cover, and I think that was the main idea. Still… it would’ve been super swell.

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/12/28/diy-person-of-the-year/feed/ 2 The Office US, Season 2 http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/12/26/the-office-us-season-2/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/12/26/the-office-us-season-2/#comments Tue, 26 Dec 2006 13:10:05 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/12/26/the-office-us-season-2/ Allrighty, here is the entire second season. I couldn’t pospone the searching, I just had to have my daily dose. There’s something odd about all the episodes though. NBC’s list is only 19 episodes long, but when I look around, I find way more then the ‘official’ list lines up. Pretty weird and quite hard to figure it out, so I’ll just add ‘the extras’ after the ones I could place based on the episode archive from NBC. Also, unfortunately, there’s a two second delay in the second episode. That’s too bad and I haven’t found an alternative file online… The Valentine’s episode, in case you haven’t already watched it, has a nice twist I think. And I really laughed a lot with ‘The Injury’ as well. These guys did a very good job, I’m glad I finally got to watch the entire series, all at once. Oh, and FYI, the gift Dwight has gotten from Angela for his Valentine Day is on sale in the NBC store. Have fun :)

The Office US

All episodes and extras, after the jump. –

Season 2, Episode 1: The Dundies

Season 2, Episode 2: Sexual Harassment

Season 2, Episode 3: Halloween

Season 2, Episode 4: The Client

Season 2, Episode 5: Performance Review

Season 2, Episode 6: Email Surveillance

Season 2, Episode 7: Christmas Party

Season 2, Episode 8: Booze Cruise

Season 2, Episode 9: The Injury

Season 2, Episode 10: The Secret

Season 2, Episode 11: The Carpet

Season 2, Episode 12: Boys And Girls

Season 2, Episode 13: Valentine’s Day

Season 2, Episode 14: Dwight’s Speech

Season 2, Episode 15: Take Your Daughter To Work Day

Season 2, Episode 16: Michael’s Birthday

Season 2, Episode 17: Drug Testing

Season 2, Episode 18: Conflict Resolution

Season 2, Episode 19: Casino Night

Office Olympics

The Fight

The Fire

Season 3 on Marketing Thoughts
Season 1 on Marketing Thoughts

Info on NBC
Picture galleries
Bios of the characters

Also: Thanks Picard102 for the links :) Too bad I only saw them after I had put this list together, they ended up in the Akismet spam for some reason… but I really appreciate the efforts you made!

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/12/26/the-office-us-season-2/feed/ 13