Clearly, the promoters of the soon-to-be-revived cult classic “Arrested Development” did not “make a huge mistake” when they organized yesterday’s NYC giveaway of “Bluth’s Bananas”, a frozen treat featured on the show.

Diehard fans waited as long as 30 minutes in lines that stretched nearly two blocks for a chance to get their own chocolate-dipped frozen bananas from the authentic-looking replica of the Bluth family’s stand.

“I am such a major fan,” 21-year-old Sharah Stanley told the New York Daily News as she waited in line. “When I found out it was going to be here, I raced up. I hope the line doesn’t take too long because I’m on my lunch break.”

Stanley is not alone in waiting on bated breath for new episodes of her beloved show. Arrested Development, which originally ran from 2003 to 2006, will be reborn with a new season scheduled to be released by Netflix on May 26.

Coke has long associated its brand with happiness — even dedicating entire websites to the philosophical meaning of the word, and calling the contents of a can of cola “140 happy calories.”

Now, the company is taking advantage of a happy coincidence — the fact that part of its logo happens to look like the Danish flag — to welcome people to Denmark, recently voted the “happiest country in the world” by the United Nations.

In honor of the Danish tradition of greeting arriving visitors by waving flags, Coke’s local agency, McCann Copenhagen, created an interactive airport ad that dispenses flags. Coke says it’s purpose is to “let Coca-Cola and Denmark spread happiness together.” The below video of a case study shows people’s reactions to the machine.

Little kids and elderly people jubilantly waving flags as loved ones rush to greet them, all made possible by Coke. We’d categorize this as a highly creative branding win.

Well, we’re happy to report that our ears are working just fine today. How do we know? Because we couldn’t make it through a few seconds of the below ad without scrambling for the “mute” button.

The clever spot, created by Draftfcb Toronto for the Union Hearing Aid Centre, actually appears to be a vision test, displaying letters in ever-shrinking fonts. When viewers reach the end of the commercial, they are informed that if they can read the final tiny line of print, then their “eyesight is fine”, but that (surprise!) they may want to invest in a hearing test at Union, as a “really annoying, really loud high-frequency sound” has been playing throughout the ad; those with good hearing would have likely found the sound too intolerable to make it through to the end.

Like we said — clever. We just wouldn’t recommend playing it at full volume at work…or a dog park.

Photo via Imgur

Fans dressing up as their favorite movie characters while attending opening weekend film showings is nothing new. However, costumed moviegoers who partnered with Capital 8 Theatres in Missouri to promote the premiere of Iron Man 3 recently caused a panic, for which the theater is now apologizing.

Had the cosplayers been dressed as Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, we imagine no one would have been particularly alarmed, but some group members donned S.H.I.E.L.D agent costumes — complete with fake firearms — which, given last year’s tragic shooting at an Aurora, CO movie theater (and the current high-alert mentality when it comes to guns), might not have been the best idea.

Moviegoers, understandably frightened by the sight of people dressed in what appeared to be body armor and carrying assault rifles, called the local police. Once the dust settled, the complaints began rolling in and the theater was skewered on social media, some even accusing Capital 8 of intentionally causing the kerfuffle as a publicity stunt. In response, the company issued the following apology:

Read more

Think your mom wants a dozen roses, a box of chocolates or a hand-made card? Think again! What Mom really wants — perhaps all she’s ever wanted — is express dominion over your decisions and life trajectory — in other words: POWER.

Not sure how to wrap a ribbon and bow around control? Don’t worry; ad agency Mother New York has you covered! In its latest spot released in celebration of Mother’s Day, the holiday during which Mother New York is generally expected to be on its game, the agency introduces the “Momtract“, a (fictional) legally binding contract that allows you to bestow complete and unquestionable power over a single aspect of your life (whichever aspect you choose) upon the adoring woman who raised you.

Since you’re all grown up and she can no longer ground you or send you to your room, restore her sense of authority by giving her the power to sue the pants off you in the event that you fail to heed her loving advice. “It’s time you legally enforced your love for your mom,” says the promo. The agency’s website even walks you through the process of creating and sending the gag gift directly to Mom.

Watch the video here. Enjoy, and Happy Mother’s Day!

Havas Worldwide announced the appointment of Tim Maleeny as chief strategy officer, Havas Worldwide New York, where he will be responsible for all aspects of strategy at the New York flagship agency. In addition, Tim will share the North American chief strategy officer responsibilities with James Lou, who is chief strategy officer of Havas Worldwide Chicago. Maleeny is one of the industry’s leading strategic thinkers, running the largest planning department in the country as head of strategic planning at Ogilvy New York before joining Havas Worldwide. In his new role, he will be overseeing the New York strategy department. Maleeny will also serve on the New York agency’s executive committee. (Release)

Nearly three years after joining up with BBDO New York as executive vice president/group planning director on the AT&T account, Jeff Kenyon has been appointed head of planning for the agency. Kenyon joined BBDO after serving as group planning director at Ogilvy on campaigns including IBM’s “Smarter Planet” and “My Life, My Card” for American Express. (AgencySpy)

Cookerly Public Relations recently welcomed Keith Bowermaster as vice president. Bowermaster joins Cookerly with more than 20 years of success in healthcare, non-profit, educational and agency communications. He has served as a vital member of senior-level teams responsible for creating and implementing communications and marketing plans to audiences on a local, national and global level. As vice president, Bowermaster will be responsible for issues management, media relations and marketing communications for clients in healthcare, technology and financial services, among other industries.Prior to joining Cookerly, Bowermaster served as director of public relations for WellStar Health System, the largest not-for-profit health system in Georgia. (Release) Read more

We always knew we didn’t belong in Abercrombie; being accosted by overpowering cologne while dodging deer antlers and shelling out a year’s worth of allowance on a sweatshirt never particularly appealed to us. But then again, we weren’t blonde, lead cheerleader, and built like, well, we usually say “an Abercrombie model”, so we were pretty sure A&F didn’t want our business anyway.

Turns out, we may have been right.

When speaking with Business Insider last week, Robin Lewis, co-author of The New Rules of Retail, claimed that A&F CEO Mike Jeffries “doesn’t want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people. He doesn’t want his core customers to see people who aren’t as hot as them wearing his clothing. People who wear his clothing should feel like they’re one of the ‘cool kids.’”

So what exactly deems a kid cool enough to earn the privilege of wearing the A&F brand? In a 2006 interview with Salon, Jeffries said, “In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids…We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”

So who’s automatically excluded from this “cool” group? Girls above a size 10, apparently. Abercrombie doesn’t even list women’s XL or XXL on its size chart. According to Lewis, the only reason Abercrombie offers XL and XXL men’s sizes is likely to appeal to beefy athletes. Read more

We told you on Monday about the FDA‘s investigation into foods with added caffeine, the organization’s  main concern being that the current proliferation of caffeinated foods on the market (drinks, energy shots, candy, snack mixes, etc.), may be causing people, especially children, to consume unhealthy and potentially unsafe amounts of the stimulant.

Wrigley‘s newly released Alert Energy caffeinated gum, which contains roughly 40mg of caffeine per piece, found itself in the hot seat in light of the new FDA probe. The company initially insisted that its product was intended for (and marketed to) adults, saying, “Millions of Americans consume caffeine responsibly and in moderation as part of their daily routines,” but after discussing the issue with the regulatory body, Wrigley has changed its tune.

“After discussions with the FDA, we have a greater appreciation for its concern about the proliferation of caffeine in the nation’s food supply,” Wrigley North America President Casey Keller said in a statement to the AP. “There is a need for changes in the regulatory framework to better guide the consumers and the industry about the appropriate level and use of caffeinated products.” Read more

According to a new Accenture Interactive report, Turbulence for the CMO, four in ten top marketing executives feel they are unprepared to meet their objectives due to a lack of funding and inefficient business practices. In light of these challenges, 70 percent of the executives polled believe that corporate marketing will undergo a dramatic shift within the next five years, and that in order to keep up with changing expectations and an increasingly complicated customer environment, their organizations must focus on digital marketing and analytics.

“Marketing executives are growing increasingly concerned that tight budgets and the lack of a clear strategy for implementing digital technologies are hurting their company’s ability to compete in the digital age,” said Brian Whipple, global managing director of Accenture Interactive. “There is a clear performance gap between the demands of the marketplace and the ability of marketing organizations to apply the digital technology talent required to be more effective.”

This shift in focus is translating into changes in two major areas: increased investment in digital capabilities, and improved collaboration between in-house and agency marketing and communications efforts. Here’s how the results of the survey break down regarding those two major categories:

Increased Investment in Digital Capabilities:

• 66 percent of marketing executives said they will allocate at least one quarter of their budget to digital marketing next year.
• 23 percent said that more than half of their spending will be dedicated to digital marketing.
• 48 percent said they would spend more on managing customer data.
• 40 percent will increase spending on web analytics.
• 39 percent will spend more on marketing analytics.
• Half of the executives polled said they plan to initiate an internal reorganization to become more digitally focused, while over half said they plan to hire more people with the necessary digital skills.

Improved Internal and Agency Collaboration:

• 55 percent of marketing executives said they were satisfied with the level of collaboration with their outside agencies. However, the rest of the results indicate a less positive experience.
• Only 36 percent said that their agencies execute flawlessly.
• 36 percent said that the agencies are not able to deliver what they promised.
• Only 44 percent said that agency partners help marketing executives transform their marketing organization.

This indicates that greater collaboration between in-house and agency efforts may help smooth the transition to digitally-focused marketing. Read more

Mercury announced the addition of renowned journalist Ben Feller to its New York office. Feller, who most recently served as the chief White House correspondent for The Associated Press, has joined as a managing director leading media strategy efforts for the firm’s public affairs division. Ben served as the chief White House correspondent for The Associated Press—a premier role in journalism—during which he became a trusted leader of the Washington press corps. In more than six years of covering the administrations of President Barack Obama and President George W. Bush, Feller was twice honored for his excellence in reporting on the presidency. (Release)

Nuñez PR Group announced the addition of Amanda L. Ray as vice president. Ray has more than 20 years of professional strategic public relations experience with more than nine years of client service supporting a Fortune 50 company. She will lead key accounts, such as Famous Footwear, as well as new business opportunities. Her experience includes communications for consumer and business-to-business products and services, technology, telecommunications and wireless, energy and nonprofit organizations. At Nuñez PR Group, Ray’s main responsibilities include strategic direction for integrated marketing, media relations and social media engagement. They also include executive support and national campaign management. (Release)

Marketwired has promoted COO Jim Delaney to CEO weeks after it rebranded from Marketwire. Michael Nowlan, who served as chief executive of the company for the past 14 years, will remain on its board of directors and continue to provide strategic oversight. In his new role, Delaney will focus on “leading transformational change in the traditional distribution industry” through new products and services, new relationships with social networks, and growing market share and revenue, according to a statement. Delaney joined Marketwire as COO last August from Dun & Bradstreet. At the time, the company created the position with the intention of grooming the next CEO, it said in a statement. (Release) Read more