Q&As

I admit, I have to search widely for interactive ads that cry out for a makeover. Still, there always seems to be a plentiful supply of examples of advertising folly. And while the percentage of such ads may be small, the dollar waste is huge.

The latest example is one that I found in a recent issue of The Wall Street Journal, an ad for the worldwide chain of Mandarin Oriental Hotels. It’s presumably one of a series.

Do you know about Diet Coke and Mentos? It’s not the latest weight-loss craze. It’s a Mr. Wizard science experiment gone berserk, and it’s currently storming

IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING April the most recent period for which figures are available AOL lost subscribers at a clip of 258,000 a month. That’s twomonth.

Verizon Wireless has a chest full of interactive promotions tied to the theatrical release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, including a sweeps, mobile game and downloads. The film hits screens next week.

TV network The N is hitting the streets of New York City next week with a mobile marketing campaign under the guise of a medical examiner’s truck to generate excitement over the network’s new series Whistler.

HarperCollins is out with a new story line: curl up on a couch this summer with a lively book and a fruity glass of chardonnay.

You want to sell a Mr. Potato Head or a Star Wars toy to a kid? Buy an ad on Cartoon Network, or an ad in any mainstream magazine targeting the little nippers.

But if you want to sell a Star Wars action figure to a serious (and likely adult) toy collector, that’s a different—and more complicated—story, says Ed Kriete, senior vice president of marketing services, Hasbro.

CM Plus recently chatted with Bill Cole, president of Bill Cole Enterprises, which sells Mylar sleeves, backing boards and other preservation supplies for paper collectibles like money, magazines, and yes, funny books.

If you’re a true collector, chances are you don’t just have boxes of your object of love around your house. You probably have a bunch of magazines about the topic lying around too.