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YouTube 101: class at McGill University uses video site’s Creator Playbook to...
Most professors exhaust themselves trying to get their students off of social media. Andy Nulman, however, has designed his entire class around being on it. In what’s believed to be the first syllabus...
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Prescriptions with personality: study examines humanizing of drugs
Birth control pills, judged by their ads, are the Red Bull-swilling college gal whose most committed relationship is with her Louboutins, while anti-depressants are the BFF who calls you on your...
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Harper government seeks extra $8.5 million for ad campaigns
OTTAWA — The Conservative government is seeking an extra $8.5 million in the current 2013-14 fiscal year for more federal advertising initiatives, including its “Economic Action Plan” ads,...
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Wayne Rooney signs new Manchester United contract, committing to club through...
LONDON — Less than a year after pushing to leave Manchester United, Wayne Rooney committed his long-term future to the struggling Premier League champion on Friday by signing a lucrative contract...
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How Clueless, Mean Girls and The Breakfast Club make brands better at social...
On Twitter, you follow the every move of people who don’t know you exist. On Facebook, you keep to your own crowd, seeking social validation while dodging wannabe friends. And on Instagram, you’re...
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Digital campaigning a double-edged sword, Broadbent conference warns
By Patrick Smith Ottawa Citizen OTTAWA – Political parties must beware the “dark side” of digital marketing – which can include invasive campaigns that bombard potential supporters with email, sell...
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Pride and purchases: Do these designer pants make my head look fat?
Though it’s no surprise pride is linked to luxury purchases, a new Canadian study finds the emotion takes on very different forms before and after high-end goods are acquired. While feelings of...
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Little boy blue: Why gendered products not only persist but thrive
Ladies, are those power tools putting hair on your chest? Guys, does your dainty breakfast toast carry the threat of testicular shrinkage? Fear not! From a cordless drill “designed by a woman, for a...
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Ontario’s Beer Store thinks its customers are stupid
Ontario’s beer monopoly, creatively named The Beer Store, has been on a fearmongering campaign of late to convince people not to allow a more sensible approach to alcohol sales in the province,...
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2 Las Vegas resorts get overhauls, new names in sign of Sin City’s upswing...
By Michelle Rindels THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LAS VEGAS — Two major Las Vegas resorts will be completely overhauled and rebranded in another sign that the entertainment capital is emerging from its...
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Main players in the FIFA World Cup ticket scalping case
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — An investigation into scalping World Cup hospitality tickets threatens to mar what has been a successful tournament in Brazil. Police in Rio de Janeiro conducted Operation...
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Canadians at odds with Harper gov’t priorities: Finance Canada report
By Dean Beeby OTTAWA — Public-opinion research for the federal Finance Department suggests key government policies are out of step with Canadians’ priorities, including the Northern Gateway project....
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Do Not Call List violaters fined $84,000
OTTAWA — Four Toronto-area companies have paid $84,000 in penalties for allegedly violating telemarketing rules by calling people registered on the National Do Not Call List, Canada’s telecom regulator...
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Saskatoons or Juneberries? Name debate brewing between Canada and U.S.
REGINA — A food fight of sorts could be growing between Canada and the United States over a tiny berry. A U.S. researcher with the Cornell University Co-operative Extension is suggesting Canadians use...
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Loblaws launches social network to attract more foodies
Loblaws is rolling out a new strategy to get some of that sweet, sweet foodie dough. The grocery giant has completely overhauled its marketing strategy to feed off of Canadians’ more adventurous...
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ChevyGuy’s bungled World Series presentation worth $2.4 million in media...
ChevyGuy and MadBum are the big winners of the World Series. A Chevrolet regional manager became a social media sensation last night when his bumbling presentation of a truck to World Series Most...
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Pizza Hut overhauls its menu, lets diners play mad scientist with ingredients
By Candice Choi NEW YORK — Pizza Hut is letting customers play mad scientist, giving them the freedom to make pies with honey Sriracha sauce or add curry flavour to the crusts. The reworked menu is one...
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Air Canada counters WestJet’s holiday videos with its own surprise
It’s a battle over which airline can make you cry more — but with holiday cheer, not frustration. Air Canada has countered WestJet’s popular and effective viral marketing campaign with another YouTube...
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MasterCard offers #PricelessSurprises this holiday season
Here we go again. Another major company wants to warm your holiday hearts with a new ad, of course posted to YouTube, and with an accompanying hashtag. President’s Choice MasterCards released Monday...
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Everyone calm down because no one is freaking out about that Moncton ad
So apparently everyone was freaking out about a new French-language Université de Moncton ad where there’s some — mon dieu — French kissing. A CBC story proclaimed, “Student kiss in university video...
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Why I don’t support pink-ribbon marketing
Evelyn Lauder, who helped create the pink ribbon for cancer awareness campaign, died this week at the age of 75 from ovarian cancer. First off, let me start by giving a big thank you to everyone who...
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LCBO marketing inserts. Are you talkin’ to me?
The LCBO takes another hit. Policy bashing is nothing new to the world of the Ontario liquor monopoly and it remains unfazed. A certain trash talking Queen’s Park Columnist ranted this past weekend...
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Marketing: Why did you really buy those shoes or marry that person? The...
(With files from Charlotte Haigh) Homophily is not a gay bleeding disorder. It’s a principle that explains why people will stand in line over night to buy stuff, or how we choose who we’ll marry, or...
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Canadian businesses surprisingly upbeat: survey
Business leaders have remained surprisingly upbeat despite a darkening global economic environment, finds a new survey from the Bank of Canada. While managers of the approximately 100 companies polled...
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Report: Batman movie campaign scaled down in Finland after Colorado killings
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HELSINKI, Finland — A broadcaster says the Finnish film industry has cancelled large parts of its marketing campaign for the new Batman movie because of the killing of 12 people at...
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Marketing campaign boosted oilsands image in key markets: poll
OTTAWA — An oil and gas marketing campaign has boosted the image of oilsands companies, particularly among Conservative and Liberal party supporters in target markets of Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa,...
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Newest Dragon Chilton tests his roar
David Chilton paid no more attention to Let’s Make a Deal than any other TV-viewing teenager while growing up in Sarnia, Ont. Chilton certainly never thought he would find himself saying the words...
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Robots, beavers, aliens, critters and dogs: How to sell communication in Canada
Finding an appropriate face for the kind of company that bills you for a phone connection every month can’t be easy. Which surely explains the trend in Canada to use mascots that are everything but...
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Products
Why are women so angry about products specifically coloured to target them? Why have little girls, some of whom possibly swooned over anything pink, grown up to be women who now see the colour as...
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The Movie Out Here rewrites rules of product placement
VANCOUVER – Drastic times call for drastic measures, and for beer executives looking for bright fizzy financials in a flat market, the next hit of commercial carbonation could come from a very...
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Harper minister ducks questions on plan to “authorize” water pollution
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minister in charge of protecting Canada’s fisheries does not appear to have an explanation for suggesting that the country needs new rules to “authorize” more...
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Will advertisers finally get tired of putting on fake flash mobs in 2013?...
Great news for a new year! You may never again have to hear about a “flash mob” being put on to promote a product. After all, a so-called “flash mob” turned into an ugly 200-teenager brawl last...
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The way you see yourself affects the way you see products, study finds
Victoria’s Secret might well be women’s low self-regard. A forthcoming study in the Journal of Consumer Research finds that people project an “anti-self” onto products they don’t own, perceiving traits...
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Attempting to rebrand, the National Research Council tests new logos, slogans
OTTAWA — As the National Research Council shifts its focus from “basic” science to boosting innovation in Canadian business – handing out more than 100 layoff notices to Canada’s top scientists and...
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Spokespeople are so five minutes ago — meet the ‘brand ambassadors’
At a time when celebrity scandals are as frequent as Lindsay Lohan’s court appearances, endorsement deals seem riskier than ever. But instead of pulling back, brands are going even deeper, inking...
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Feds spent nearly $54,000 on pro-oil lobbying retreat over two days in...
OTTAWA-The federal goverment spent at least $53,563.23 on a two-day retreat last February in London, England that was organized to train its European diplomats to lobby on behalf of oil and gas...
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The Great Gatsby’s multichannel marketing a sign of things to come
The Great Gatsby, which hits theatres May 10, is being called the most stylish movie ever made. It’s ironic, then, that the film’s multichannel marketing has demonstrated all the subtlety of Liberace’s...
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Poutine Soda is evidently disgusting
Poutine has come a long way. What was once humble fries topped with gravy and cheese curds is now being smothered in things like lobster, pulled pork and vegetables (blasphemy!). Canadians have...
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You are what you buy: “Belief-based consumption” changing face of retail
Just as digital life has encouraged the sharing of private information with brands, it’s now seeing consumers expect that same transparency in return (ask not if a hotel’s beds are comfortable but...
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Confusion led Foreign Affairs to alter pro-trade advertisements
OTTAWA — The Harper government altered ads aimed at helping Canadian businesses benefit from trade relationships after they fell flat in their test phase because of confusing language. The ads were...
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AT&T uses the 9/11 anniversary to sell you a phone
For some, the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is a time to reflect on the lives lost and how to honour their memories. For others, it’s just another marketing opportunity. AT&T...
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L’eggo that logo: Are brands losing lustre among youth?
Canada’s young people may know Abercrombie from Aeropostale, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they care about either. A surprising nationwide study shows big-brand fixation is eroding among students...
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Oh, Canada! Ethnic marketing giving way to “post-multiculturalism”
Now that one in five Canadians are immigrants, and nearly as many are second-generation citizens, you’d think the ethnic marketing of the last two decades would be reaching fever pitch. Instead,...
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Stephen Harper’s government spent over $50 million on ads in 2012, say records
OTTAWA — The federal government spent tens of millions of dollars in advertising in the last fiscal year led by major multimillion dollar marketing offensives from the Finance Department, and others...
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Have yourself a demonic little Christmas?
Demonic possession isn’t typically part of the Christmas canon, save for horror movies and visiting relatives who’ve had too much eggnog. This year, however, it’s given a starring role in a Sears...
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Year in a minute: Regulations for oil and gas still missing in action
OTTAWA – After eight years in power, five different Conservative environment ministers in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government have struggled to introduce regulations to crack down on carbon...
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Federal government’s proposed branding strategy for Canada still a work in...
OTTAWA — “Impossible happens here.” That could easily be a tagline for Canadian politics in recent months, amid an ongoing Senate expenses scandal, protesters getting within arm’s reach of the prime...
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Harper government used cash advance to pay for ads touting environmental...
OTTAWA — The federal government had to dip into a senior bureaucrat‘s special reserve fund for a cash advance before it could launch a $9.5 million advertising campaign that responded to criticism...
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Why Ronald McDonald still has you lovin’ it
Weakness for fast food and sugary cereals? Good news! Like everything else that’s gone wrong in your life, you can blame it on your childhood. In an unprecedented new study, researchers find the...
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Not your grandma’s Hallmark store
Is Valentine’s Day still considered a greeting-card holiday if nobody sends an actual greeting card? Though we aren’t there yet, declining greeting card sales in an increasingly digital world suggest...
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