An email from the Dominican Republic

Here’s an email I’d like to pass along, from Erica Monteith, sister of my office mate Ian.

We spend a lot of time worrying about business issues that seem overwhelming. Once in a while reality intrudes with a gentle tap on the shoulder. To better appreciate your circumstances and blessings, read this:

Tackling a real marketing challenge: Major League Soccer

Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer are one of the year’s big marketing success stories. An expansion team, they’ve sold every available seat and then some; they sold a huge number of season tickets; they’ve become the hot ticket in Seattle. They’ve created a compelling atmosphere inside the stadium. Paying special attention to the on-the-field product, they’ve made the playoffs and may well set even more records.

Yet Major League Soccer hasn’t enjoyed the same success everywhere.

The league has lost significant attendance in some markets, beyond what you might expect from the economic downturn. They’ve experimented with marketing plans that focus on youth soccer players, on Latinos and on young adults, with spotty results. And some of the product is, frankly, disappointing.

What type of marketing effort should the league make in this day and age?

Does it connect?

The words of David Kennedy, co-founder of Wieden + Kennedy: We’re really not in the business of making ads. Our job is to make a connection.

Sometimes you can tell if ads or other marketing efforts connect just by looking.

More often, all you can tell is the quality of the design and writing. Yet well-written, well-designed work often misses the mark.

So for each sample here, I’ve given some context.

To view the work, click the images above or the links on the left.

For updates on Twitter,  follow at: @barrettrossie

Update on Bank of America’s bad advertising

From the Drudge Report today: Bank of America posts $2.24 billion in losses on home loan defaults.

Maybe their borrowers defaulted because they took BofA’s advice, and bought pizza to make dough?

If you’re going to make bad advertising, why not make it REALLY bad?

That’s a pretty cute headline I saw in the lobby at my local Bank of America the other day. “Buy Pizza, Get Dough.” Get it? Don’t worry, not many other people do, either.

Tabletop poster with flier, at a Bank of America branch

It made me think of some less cute headlines that have been in the news lately:

• BofA to Get $20B More From TARP, Plus Backstop on $118B
• TARP Will Likely Be A Money Loser For Taxpayers: Fortune
• Bank of America Gives Bailout Money to ACORN
• CEO Lewis Under Fire As Bank of America Probe Grows Personal

Is it too much to ask BofA to be less jovial about their schemes to stockpile more of our money — especially when they’re back-dooring fee increases on things like safe-deposit boxes and giving Merrill Lynch executives huge bonuses?

A few BofA headlines I’d like to see…

Stan Richards is a smart man

Richards, founder of The Richards Group, says his agency is a better, happier place for long ago adopting a policy of not defending existing accounts in agency reviews, according to this article in Ad Age.

Just for fun, which of these commercials do you like better?

Two Western-flavored TV commercials for two western-flavored hamburgers.

One from Burger King, the other from Jack in the Box.

Your thoughts?

Hootie sings of burgers

Jack sings of burgers

Which Wieden+Kennedy do you prefer?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know they’re built for different purposes. But which do you prefer: The Wieden+Kennedy official site, or the blog from the Portland office?  And why?

Personally, I like the blog infinitely more. My guess is that the fancy corporate site has outworn its welcome. The days when figuring out what a website is supposed to do, what it’s supposed to represent and how it’s supposed to work are long gone.

What do you think?

“5 reasons you no longer need an ad agency”

This post by Sean X Cummings covers a favorite topic: the evolution of the ad agency business. There’s plenty to agree and disagree with in Sean’s post. If you’re currently with an agency, or own one, maybe you’ll agree with the post, and at the same time think: He’s talking about OTHER agencies… We’re different.

The Martin Agency loses UPS; picks up Expedia, Sun Life Financial

Just a reminder of what a tough industry this is: Last week, The Martin Agency withdrew from its bid to retain UPS as a client — a client for which it has created stellar and effective work.