Maya Reports

Our way of keeping you in the loop. You can thank us later.

December 23, 2010 • 6:13 PM 0

Advertising of the future, brought to you by BMW Germany

Forget print, banner/Internet or mobile advertising… BMW is taking the advertising to a whole new level.

BMW Germany is literally getting into consumers’ heads, by burning its logo onto the insides of their eyes.

I know, that sounds sort of freaky, but it’s actually quite ingenious.

Using pioneering new “flash projection” technology, BMW is testing a cinema spot in Germany that does not feature a visible logo. Instead, a bright photo flash occurs during the ad, and a few moments later the audience is asked to close its eyes.

At this point, the audience sees an after-image of the brand that has been created by the flash. The letters “BMW” appear before them, in the same way that you might see a bright spot if you had been looking at the sun and then closed your eyes.

Check out the spot in the YouTube video below. Obviously, you won’t get the same effect, but you’ll learn how BMW Germany put the commercial together, and see real-time reactions of the audience.

Who knows, this may be a glimpse into the advertising of the future…

Filed under: Business, Marketing, Random, Tech, World, advertising, BMW, BMW Germany, commercial, flash projection, future advertising, youtube

December 9, 2010 • 8:31 AM 0

Do not track me, at a click of a button

In response to the FTC’s call for regulation of tracking (by way of cookies), and in effort to cater to its users, Microsoft has announced that

IE9, set to debut sometime next year, will offer Tracking Protection Lists, a feature similar to current popup blockers, that can stop specified websites from tracking users’ online behavior through cookies or other methods.

Thank you Microsoft. Looking forward to this feature.

Filed under: Business, Marketing, Social Media, Tech, cookies, Do not track list, FTC regulation, IE9, Internet Explorer 9, Microsoft, tracking methods, tracking protection list, users' online behavior

December 8, 2010 • 8:19 PM 0

Product placement, Oprah style

Talk about awkward product placement…

In a lead-up to her Ultimate Australian Adventure, Oprah Winfrey last week aired Oprah’s Aussie Countdown, which featured a segment with a report by Australian TV personality Carrie Bickmore. Ms. Bickmore’s report, meant to educate the audience on Australian culture, sparked an upset when she said Australians like to spend time at “hip hangouts” called McDonald’s.

How’s that for a slap in the face? I guess Harpo execs think that their target audience is a bit slow on the uptake. Come on..really? Hip hangouts called McDonald’s??

In shocking news..

A spokesman for Harpo confirmed that McDonald’s was a sponsor for the Aussie Countdown episode, along with Qantas (an audience member received a free trip for two to Australia), Motorola (audience members received free phones) and Tourism Australia, which is covering the ground costs of the visit (no money is going directly to Harpo).

Had the production team given this a little more thought, I’m completely convinced that they could have come up with a better way to incorporate McDonald’s into the show.

Filed under: Business, Food, Marketing, awkward, Carrie Bickmore, Harpo, McDonald's, Oprah Winfrey, Oprah's Aussie Countdown, product placement, sponsor, talk show, Ultimate Australian Adventure

November 26, 2010 • 7:30 AM 3

Face, face, face, face (am I going to get in trouble now?)

You’ve probably already heard about this by now… the US Patent and Trademark Office has agreed to let Facebook trademark the word face. Specifically in these instances:

“Telecommunication services, namely, providing online chat rooms and electronic bulletin boards for transmission of messages among computer users in the field of general interest and concerning social and entertainment subject matter, none primarily featuring or relating to motoring or to cars.”

For all those who thought I was going a little overboard when I’ve previously compared Facebook to Big Brother… who looks like the crazy one now?

Filed under: Business, Marketing, Social Media, Tech, big brother, Face, face trademarked, Facebook, US Patent and Trademark Office

November 10, 2010 • 6:08 PM 1

A picture’s worth a thousand words, or so the FDA hopes

Today, the FDA unveiled 36 proposed cigarette labels.

Designed to cover half of a pack’s surface area, the new labels are intended to spur smokers to quit by providing graphic reminders of tobacco’s dangers.

Some of the warnings include: “Smoking can kill you“, “Cigarettes cause strokes and heart disease“, “Cigarettes are addictive.” I found the images pretty graphic…so you can click on the links above to view them for yourself.

I had no idea, but apparently the US was the first country to put require warning labels (Surgeon General’s..) on all packages sold.

So when does this all happen?

The agency will accept public comment on the 36 proposed labels, and expects to choose the final nine by June. By Oct. 22, 2012, manufacturers will no longer be allowed to distribute cigarettes for sale in the United States that do not display the new graphic health warnings.

I find it hard to believe that in this day and age, the general public is not aware of the dangers associated with smoking… It will be interesting to see if this has a big effect on smokers.

Filed under: Business, Health, Marketing, 36 labels, cigarette packaging warning labels, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, graphic packaging labels, regulations, smoking, smoking dangers, surgeon general

November 3, 2010 • 10:32 PM 1

What do Blagojevich, Snooki & pistachios have in common?

Paramount Farms, a unit of Roll International Corp. has hired both aforementioned controversial ‘personalities’ (for lack of a better term) to star in their $20M advertising campaign, rolling out this coming Monday.

While the spokespeople, no joke – Rod Blagojevich (former corrupt Illinois Governor) & Snooki (from MTV’s Jersey Shore) were clearly chosen for the attraction factor, the star of this advertising campaign will be a bunch of pistachios.

Filed under: Business, Marketing, advertising, advertising campaign, commercials, controvesial personalities, Illinois Governor, Jersey Shore, MTV, nuts, Paramount farms, pistachios, Rod Blagojevich, Roll International Corp, Snooki, spokespeople, wow-factor

October 20, 2010 • 10:13 PM 0

I now pronounce you husband and wife. Would you like fries with that?

And I thought that drive-thru weddings in Las Vegas were out-of-the ordinary… but apparently in Hong Kong, you can now get married at McDonald’s.

You may be thinking this is just some marketing gimmick, but actually it’s what the people want.

People said they’d dated here, or met here, and wanted to get married here…

Sadly, due to the awesome economy, we are all now living in –

“The social mobility and incomes of young Hongkongers have fallen,” said poverty researcher Chua Hoi-wai of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. “They have saved money for years and can’t buy flats when they get married.”

So what better way to celebrate your wedding?

It’s cost-effective – only $400 for the ceremony & reception for 100 guests, and it’s symbolic (you met there).

The only downside, the celebration is alcohol-free (it is, after all, a child-friendly establishment), and remains open during the festivities…yeah, you’re not THAT special. Remember, you’re only paying $400, it’s not enough to shut the place down…

Filed under: Business, Food, Marketing, Random, World, destination wedding, fast food, Hong Kong, McDonald's, would you like fries with that?

October 19, 2010 • 9:32 PM 1

Next time you’re in a noisy restaurant, wear earplugs…

… that is, if you want to enhance the flavor of the food you’re eating.

According to a recent study in the journal Food Quality and Preference, researchers found that

students [they were the test subjects] listening to blaring static rated the chips as less salty and the cookies as less sweet—even though they were tasting the same foods as the other groups.

Another study found that the students rated crunchy foods crunchier in loud noise.

Here’s a test for ya – grab a bag of pretzels, click play on the video below, close your eyes…and judge the saltiness and crunchiness yourself.