Many people have seen the New Era commercial where Alec Baldwin "relieves" himself while watching a Yankees-Red Sox game:



But did you know there was a series of these commercials created? Below is another in the series I hadn't seen yet:



These commercials are another example of an attention grabbing way to bring attention to a brand or product (in this case a hat company). The off-brand humor appeals to the target market (young males), and the celebrities do a terrific job of showing passion to...
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Starbucks announced last week it will begin selling its own, branded coffee maker (called the Verismo) toward the end of this year. Interestingly enough, Starbucks does not plan on ending its relationship with Green Mountain, who produces Starbucks K-Cups for use in Keurig machines. The Verismo can be used for expresso-based drinks (which would be an additional feature compared with the Keurig). I can't find any details on whether the Verismo can be used for standard coffee as well. Either wa...
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2U3Fl5FESc

Microsoft is using Google's recent privacy policy change as a chance to remind consumers of its products and presence in the market place...pure branding (my type of campaign). This campaign, composed of mainly print ads, might lead with sentiments on putting its consumers first, but the call to action is a reminder of the main products in Microsoft's stable, all of which compete with a Google alternative..Bing, Hotmail, Internet Explorer, and Office....
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Without question, any company not looking to expand their product offerings is losing market security and possibly market share to other competitors (both current and future). I've seen the affects of breaking into new markets first hand at the two companies I've worked for since graduation, and I'm convinced through experience this is a true statement.

Starbucks recently announced an expansion of its own (or at least the testing of one). Now instead of coffee and breakfast/desert food and be...
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