Happy Holidays!  In celebration of the season, and the entrepreneurial spirit, Growthink has created a video holiday card which you can view below:

 

Sounds like a lot of territory to cover in such a short amount of time, doesn’t it? Surprisingly, it wasn’t. I managed to do it all… within one square mile or less.

The wonder of being in LA and having clients all over the world is that there’s one particular destination to which everyone is drawn.  In addition, it’s fairly central to travelers doing business in the western half of the U.S.

No, it’s not Fresno.

Las Vegas is a desert Mecca of entertainment, gambling, and business.  The latter is conducted everywhere from conference centers and meeting rooms, to poker tables, bars, restaurants, music halls, and nightclubs.  Low and behold, I found myself in precisely such a scenario last week, accompanied by two Growthink colleagues and a handful of Brazilian clients.  I knew, immediately, that this trip would be ripe for a sitcom episode.

My associate, Tristan, and I must have been dreaming when we thought we could fly in and out of Vegas for a day-long meeting.  “We’ll have a productive day,” we thought, “and then we’ll just have a cocktail or two and head to the airport.”

Cut to 8p.m., when the entire gang of us could be found at Red Square – the infamous Russian destination in Mandalay Bay that features a plethora of caviar and spirits.  Flights of sample wheat and potato, flavored and un-flavored vodkas were delivered to our table; and we relished in tasting each and every one, discussing the bouquet and the lingering effect of the smooth liquor on our palettes.  In the midst of an amplified discussion, Tristan and I announced our impending departure and were immediately harangued into calling Southwest to arrange morning flights.

How can one argue with a handful of handsome Latin American men? Well, that was my excuse, at least – I can’t speak for Tristan!

After securing two seats on the 10:45a.m. flight to LA, we settled back in at the table and proceeded to talk about everything: politics, music, travel, the state of the economy… no subject was left untouched, and no better time was had.  A singer by training, I was urged to perform for the group – which I did, right in the middle of the restaurant!  Only in Vegas would no one give a second thought or a glance to a gal belting out an impromptu showtune.

Carrying on with the cabaret vibe, I suggested we continue the party at Forty Deuce – a burlesque club reminiscent of old Berlin: bawdy but glamorous; fishnets and feather boas; red leather seats and bottle service.  Having worked for the owner prior to joining Growthink (I led corporate development initiatives for the parent company), I was able to secure the best VIP seats adjacent to the stage.  The next two hours found us smiling, dancing, watching the show, and having an all-around amazing time that would not have happened if we weren’t in a place like Vegas.  It inspired a camaraderie, which already existed from prior meetings but was enhanced by an environment of slightly daring opportunity.  I mean, how many times does a one-day business trip turn into a 36-hour excursion?  

When we finally shut our eyes that night, able to find last-minute rooms thanks to the down-season hotel occupancy rates, we knew we had solidified a long-term client relationship.  More than that: we had developed friendships.

The next morning we gathered for coffee in the lobby before heading to board our plane.  Bleary-eyed and tired, but anxious to proceed with our combined business-planning project, we all laughed, shook hands, and bade each other farewell until the next meeting in 2009.

The best part?  That one’s in Brazil.

Stay tuned for a blog about Carnival!

Every now and then, a commercial comes along that really makes you stop and take notice. This year we saw a good amount of those, and entertaining ads from companies like Geico and Dove made us smile, laugh, and think about our culture at large. Then there were the commercials that annoyed us. Badly.

Some of the following ad spots were a good laugh the first 400 times we saw them, but then we began to pick them apart. Some of them just stunk from the beginning. Regardless of the reasons, here are the commercials we'll be glad to forget about in the new year.

 

 

12) Burger King - Whopper Freakout

If there is one thing old men, housewives, and emo kids can agree on, it's that the whopper freakin' rocks. This fact, however, didn't stop Burger King from having a little "fun" at the evangelists' expense.

Apparently, their game plan was:

 

1. Cease sales of the flagship product
2. Place hidden cameras to capture the reactions of the most loyal and frustrated customers
3. Use the footage to set up a website and craft a national advertising campaign

 

If that doesn't say "we love our customers," what does?

 

 

 

11) Apple - iPod Nano

Leslie Feist was one of our favorite indie musicians in 2007. For those of you who've been out of the loop, indie songs are supposed to be approximately 50% cool and 50% catchy. That is the balance Apple was looking for when they enlisted "1, 2, 3, 4" to help hawk their new iPod line. Unfortunately, this tune ended up being too catchy, and then, painfully annoying. Now, Feist's microscopic-yet-highly-choreographed prance in tight Canadian spandex is the lone redeeming value to these commercials.

 

 

 

10) Volkswagen - Eos

This is when the otherwise-pleasant Wilco-scored Volkswagen ads jumped the shark. No dude, you are NOT the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

 

 

 

9) Astelin - Doo Wop Allergens

"Don't let allergens or irritants do you in..." Gee, thanks docs! Oh wait, you're not doctors. You're a barbershop quartet that sings about allergy medication! Hmm, well you do have the Astelin logo unevenly dispersed across your sweaters, so you must know what you're talking about...

 

 

 

8) Coke - Grand Theft Auto Parody

How dare they emasculate Grand Theft Auto with this garbage?

 

 

 

7) Axe - Bom Chika Wah Wah

There were a handful of similar ads from Axe this year, but this one was especially heinous. This girl's mother must be so proud.

 

 

 

6) Target - Hello, Good Buy

Target's commercial featuring the Beatles song "Hello, Goodbye," which repositions the song as "Hello, Good Buy," is the worst thing to happen to John Lennon's music since Yoko Ono. On the other hand, McCartney probably had to make a move to prepare for those gargantuan alimony checks that'll be fueling Heather Mills' checking account: And honestly, who has time to write a song called, "Hello corporate ignorance Licensing Fees, Goodbye Artistic Integrity!"

 

 

 

5) I Know Who Killed Me (Movie)

Um, What? Not only do we not know what's happening in this commercial, we don't want to know what's happening in this movie. Fortunately, neither did the rest of America.

 

 

 

4) Snickers - Super Bowl Commercial

While the goal of a Super Bowl commercial is to grab the attention of the masses, this spot is just slightly less controversial than: "Don't Be Gay. Eat a Snickers."

The agency that put this commercial together did wonders for the Snickers brand, which will now and forever be associated with chest hair antics and mild homophobia. Good job, gang!

 

 

 

3) HP - The Hands of a Seinfeld

Jerry Seinfeld is an American Treasure. There is no amount of celebrity, however, that makes it ok for him to repeatedly drench us in a river of shameless self promotion. Ok, we get it: You're wife has a cookbook and you made an animated movie about bees. You're life is awesome.

All we're saying is, next time Seinfeld is on screen for more than a minute, it better be as part of a Seinfeld reunion show.

 

 

 

2) Redenbacher - Orville returns?

Really? A dead guy with an mp3 player... selling popcorn? That it seemed like a good idea to anyone, let alone a team of people is the surprise of the year. We got chills every time we saw this creepy, creepy ad. To say that it was in poor taste is a gross understatement.

 

 

 

1) Cingular - IDK, My BFF Jill?

Cingular's commercial was pretty funny for a week or two. If we hear one more person say "OMG", "INBD", or "IDK my BFF Jill," though, we just don't know what might happen.

 

 

 

As 2007 draws to a close, we can only hope to say farewell to the Astelins, Whopper withdrawal, and overhyped bodysprays. Who knows what the New Year will hold for us in commercial land? There will undoubtedly be branding faux-paus, moments of poor taste, and scantily-clad attempts to seperate us from our hard earned dollars. Just remember advertisers: we'll be watching.

 

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Want to make sure that your campaign is a success?  Speak with a Growthink business plan consultant today! 

Everyone makes mistakes. When big business makes mistakes, however, it’s typically after they’ve spent millions of dollars on marketing campaigns to let us know about their flawed products. Here we present the advertisements for ten of the most infamous product failures in history.

 

Over the past several weeks and months, we've put together some entertaining "Just For Fun" articles related to business planning, marketing, and general business topics.

Here are links to those articles -- Enjoy!

10 Famous Product Failures and the Advertisements That Failed To Sell Them

7 Most Embarrassing Celebrity Business Plan Failures

Heisman Winners Who Achieved Business Success

The Most Annoying Commercials of 2007

5 Miserable Business Failures of 2007

Business Plans and Endorsement Ideas for Washed Up Celebrities

5 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Drink Too Much At Your Office Christmas Party