gordo v. wee

Researchers told consumers the regular and sale prices of a product, asked them to repeat the sale price to themselves, and then, a few minutes later, told them to estimate the size of the discount in percentage terms. Products with “small-sounding” sale prices (like $2.33) seemed like better deals than products with “big-sounding” sales prices (like $2.22).

In another experiment, the researchers used a pair of sale prices — $7.88, which sounds “big” in English, and $7.01, which sounds “small” — but are the other way around in Chinese. Chinese and English speakers had opposite perceptions of the products’ relative value.

The results of a study by Keith Coulter of Clark University and Robin Coulter of the University of Connecticut regarding a long known "symbolic connection between speech and size: back-of-the-mouth vowels like the 'o' in 'two' make people think of large sizes, whereas people associate front-of-the-mouth vowels like 'ee' with diminutiveness". Reported in today's New York Times.

go miniman go

Video: Go Miniman Go

Lego's 30 years old.
Come. See. Get a Tee.

you are what you eat

Illus: Yes Pecan! from Slate's Trailhead

He has more of the arugula vote.

Microtargeting expert (and former Clinton chief strategist) Mark Penn, author of Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes, commenting on Obama’s slice of the voter base in this morning’s New York Times' piece: What’s For Dinner? The Pollster Wants to Know.

Fun piece -- or unnerving, depending on your perspective -- on how microtargeting, a technique used to great effectiveness by direct marketers, is being used to shape our candidates’ political campaigning. The piece also observes:

Dr Pepper is a Republican soda. Pepsi-Cola and Sprite are Democratic. So are most clear liquors, like gin and vodka, along with white wine and Evian water. Republicans skew toward brown liquors like bourbon or scotch, red wine and Fiji water.

When it comes to fried chicken [Matthew Dowd] said, Democrats prefer Popeyes and Republicans Chick-fil-A.

“Anything organic or more Whole Foods-y skews more Democratic,” Mr. Dowd said.

No word on Mountain Dew. Based on my own informal research I’m guessing the Dew base skews Libertarian.

Other correlates from the piece include:

Obama
Bear Naked granola
The Cheesecake Factory
Arugula
Starbuck’s
Panera Bread
grass-fed beef
Izze sparkling juice
Kettle Chips
Lara Bar
Olive Oil
“intensely dislike vanilla wafers”

Clinton
Odwalla Super Protein drink
Boca Burger
Go Lean breakfast cereal
Newman’s Own pretzels
Luna Bar
Red Lobster
Krispy Kreme
“an affinity for fruit-filled cookies” like Fig Newtons
white wine
butter

McCain
SoBe energy drink
corn-fed beef
Fiber One breakfast cereal
Sun Chips
Power One bars
Chips Ahoy
Fuddruckers
Hardee’s
bourbon
Stuffed Crust Pizza

creepy research re subliminal branding

A joint study from Duke University and the University of Waterloo suggests subliminal messages work for established brands like Apple and Disney.

One study gave 341 students a "visual acuity test," where they were asked to track a multicolored box on a screen while keeping a tally of numbers that appeared in the center, reports CNET.

Unbeknownst to them, the students were sometimes exposed to either an Apple logo or an IBM logo for 30 milliseconds before the box appeared.

After the test students were asked to list all the uses for a brick they could think of. Those who saw the Apple logo were more prone to give creative responses than those who saw the IBM logo.

Researchers also tried a test with logos from The Disney Channel and E!, a celebrity channel. Those that saw the Disney logo behaved more honestly than those who saw the E! Channel logos.

From Subliminal Branding Can Alter Behavior, Study Finds in MarketingVox

so busted.

Video: Dove Onslaught Exposed

like Mark Spitz

Clearly Dr. Bronner was crazy in that wonderful way that only America makes possible. An endearing elder uncle, shilling product and philosophy with the best billboard available to him -- the label of his soap bottle -- squeezing every little ounce out of that sacred marketing real estate with statements like these:

1st: If I'm not for me, who am I? Nobody! 2nd: yes, if I'm only for me, what am I? Nothing! 3rd: If not now, when? Once more: Unless constructive-selfish I work hard, like Mark Spitz, perfecting first me, absolute nothing can help perfect me!! 4th...

Yes, there's more. Getcher self a bottle to read it all. Or just check out the label blow up here »

You may notice a not altogether faint resemblance to the cover of John Hodgman's book, Areas of My Expertise »



We used Dr. Bronner's soap when I was growing up as a hippie kid, and I got turned on to it again when we stayed at the uber-hip Hotel San Jose in Austin this last spring, and the bath was stocked with it. I've been back on the bottle ever since and, truthfully, it does the job right.

But if you take up the cause you'll want to be sure not to tote it with you when you're driving your girlfriend to an AA meeting in Orange County wearing a furry Russian hat -- as Dan Bolles of the Germs found out the hard way »



Video: Trailer for the recently released documentary, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox »

coda

From page A3 of today's New York Times (read: beaucoup bucks to run this puppy): A Saks Fifth Avenue ad for a "Printed Led-Zeppelin zip-front hoodie, $145"

so. wrong.

secure advertising

It creates a cleaner, smoother, more professional process.

TSA Spokesperson Ellen Howe commenting on the TSA's decision to allow advertisers to run ads in the bottom of those little airport security bins -- the ones used in airports for funneling shoes and coats and laptops through the xray devices -- in exchange for providing new bins, carts and stainless steel tables to the airport. As reported on the front page of today's USA Today.

Anyone remotely associated with a business driven by advertising dollars can tell you why this is a bad idea -- just as anyone who's passed through security at the airport can tell you that the clusterfoo that is airport security post 9/11 needs the attention of efficiency experts so that it can be redesigned to swiftly move folks through who are in various states of undress and disembowelment.

If the ad guys get in on the act there's no good reason to straighten out the mess because long waits means longer exposure to the ads.

We might even see acts of subterfuge designed to further snarl things up and further compound the wait time -- much the same way that placing the dairy case at the back of the grocery store ensures that folks who want to buy a gallon of milk will take a little longer to make their purchase, spend more time in the store, and spend a little more money.

But of course the airports stand to make millions from this promotional technique, so we can expect to see it implemented soon and without a lot of fuss.