Back in the home skillet of NYC. My trip to Chicago was wonderfully quiet. I picked a hotel in the middle of nowhere so as to avoid people; I didn’t want to risk running into the paparazzi and all! Twas quite enjoyable getting away from the masses. There are far too many people here for my taste and in all honesty, I’m rather sick of ‘em all up in my snuffaluffagus everywhere I turn. Time for the Sabs to 23 skidoo? Perchance to dream…
On a completely unrelated topic, I’ve been increasingly interested in the Subway/Quiznos showdown. Who hasn’t suffered from the Subway’s $5 foot long jingle ear worm? Impossible to exterminate! 
Subway is the recognized leader in this market and Quiznos’ attempt to stake claim on a piece o’ that market share pie is a coy lil’ marketing campaign promoting their Toasty Torpedo, “12 inches of flavor” promised by a smoky-voiced toaster that asks a chef to “Put it in me.”
This is a little too close to when George Costanza tried to mix food and sex and “flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami“, “combining food and sex into one disgusting uncontrollable urge”… Hotness.
$@bs
Refresh Everything (Including Your Campaign)
I had seen the campaign everywhere: outdoor postings, subways, posters, etc. It was weeks until I finally figured out what the hell was being promoted: Pepsi. I thought the logo looked familiar, but I also thought it had something to do with the inauguration since this campaign features a re-designed corporate logo that mimics the distinctive Obama “O” campaign logo, and refers to the president-elect as “the man who is about to refresh our nation.”
The ads also feature single words or phrases such as “Optimism,” “Yes You Can,” “Together,” and “One for All.” The re-designed Pepsi logo replaces the “O’s” in the words on the ads, shares similarities to Obama’s 
presidential campaign logo. For a second I thought maybe Obama was doing Pepsi ads…
This was a major mistake in my opinion and one that happens a lot: marketers relying too much on brand recognition and getting the message lost in translation.
Another example: Who can forget the “Be Kanye” campaign, when taking just two pills turns you from a white honky into a cool black rapper? I really wondered how many people knew that was an Absolute Vodka campaign?
$@bs
