Archive for March, 2009


Vending Machines Make Fresh Pizza on the Spot

by Matthew - Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

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The real question will be: Will it be a good pie? I guess we’ll have to save up our quarters and find out ourselves sometime soon. Ah, the future. I think HG Wells predicted this one, or maybe that was just something I saw on Futurama?

Go go go go! That seems to be the sentiment of the entire world these days. We want everything quick and cheap. This is the drive-thru generation. With that mentality comes a new “invention.” A pizza vending machine!

Yes, pretty soon in the UK and later the US you will be able to walk up to a vending machine and get a pizza. Not just any pizza, a freshly made and cooked pizza. That’s right, the vending machine mixes the dough, throws on the tomato sauce, adds toppings and then, through the power of infrared technology, cooks your pizza. This all happens in a blazingly fast three minutes right before your eyes. I’m not joking, check out the video after the jump!



Keller Creative takes aim with Derringers

by keller crescent - Monday, March 30th, 2009

smfs_gun_logoRandy Rohn, senior vice president and executive creative director, Keller Crescent Advertising, has been asked to choose this year’s best mystery stories.

He has been chosen to be a judge in this year’s Derringer Awards. The Derringer Awards are the “academy awards” of short stories in the crime and mystery genre. The  awards are sponsored by the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

I’ve always been a fan of mysteries, so this is quite a thrill,” Rohn said.

Rohn is one of twelve judges picked from professionals in arts and entertainment industries to judge the mystery stories. There are four categories: 1,000 words or less, 1001 to 4,000 words, 4001 to 8,000 words, and 8,001 to 17,500 words.

The stories come from mainstream magazines, literary journals, mystery magazines such as Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and short story anthologies.

The Short Mystery Fiction Society is a worldwide group of writers, editors, publishers, and readers. It was founded in 1996. This is Rohn’s first time as a Derringer judge although he has judged many advertising contests including the Telly, regional Addys and the Webbys.

here, there and everywhere a Beatle

by Randy Rohn Executive Creative Director - Friday, March 20th, 2009

Jack Lawrence

You may not have heard of Jack Lawrence. But you probably heard his songs. One of them, “Tenderly”, launched the career of Rosemary Clooney. Another, “Beyond the Sea” was the breakthrough hit for Bobby Darin.

Lawrence died last Saturday. He was 96.

Interestingly, he wrote a song at the request of a buddy of his, attorney Lee Eastman. The song was called “Linda” in honor of Eastman’s daughter. Years later, she ended up marrying Beatle Paul McCartney.

McCartney later bought the publishing rights to the song about his wife. It’s part of the MPL portfolio of songs.

You can learn more about Jack Lawrence here!
source: newstimes.com

Time for a Brand Stimulus Package

by someone other than Keller - Friday, March 20th, 2009

Follow the 7Ps of Branding

Every day we are bombarded with numbing news about the economy: bank busts, bailouts and buyouts, rising jobless claims, more home foreclosures, declining consumer confidence, the unfolding “stimulus package”214_add_brandspeak_7p and a national budget in crisis.

In the marketing world, we endure a similar drumbeat regarding the fallout: dismal corporate earnings, company layoffs, marketing budget cuts, advertising going dark, clients and agencies and people coming and going, and a brand budget crisis. There is a sense of turbulence, malaise and a lack of confidence.

Our industry is witnessing a diminishing commitment to long-term brand building. The mission of the moment is driven by the CFO, not the CMO, and calls for cost-cutting and short-term revenue-generating activities represent the only immediate focus.

Read the full story here!
source: brandchannel.com

Celebrate! A Classic is Born

by Randy Rohn Executive Creative Director - Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

Naiyana Hardy and Lynne Mlady from Keller Crescent Advertising have come up with the Big Enduring Idea for McDonald’s.

What’s a Big Enduring Idea?



Banks That Spent the Most on TV Ads Performed the Best

by someone other than Keller - Monday, March 16th, 2009

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U.S. banks seeing the highest returns on their advertising investment are not necessarily those spending the most but instead have the heaviest TV budgets.

Read the full story here!
source: adage.com

World’s largest diamond heist foiled by litterbugging

by Randy Rohn Executive Creative Director - Monday, March 16th, 2009

diamondheistRemember the ad jingle, “Don’t be a litterbug, because every litterbit hurts“?  The mastermind of the biggest diamond theft in history can attest to the truth of these words as he spends time in an Italian prison after almost pulling off the perfect crime. This is an amazing story that is sure to make a terrific movie. It includes suspense, an intelligent caper and disarming sophisticated anti-theft devices with such household items as ordinary hair spray.

Read the full story here!
source: wired

Hanson + Cheap Trick + Smashing Pumpkins + Fountains of Wayne = Tinted Windows

by Randy Rohn Executive Creative Director - Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

Tinted WindowsOn April 21 a band called Tinted Widows will release their first album.

This is a modern-day supergroup comprised of members of some of the most interesting alternative and power pop groups from the seventies to now.  The band are: Taylor Hanson (lead vocals), James Iha (guitar), Adam Schlesinger (bass), and Bun E. Carlos (drums).

Taylor Hanson is best known as a member of Hanson, the multi-million-selling trio of brothers from Tulsa who have been recording and touring since 1992 when they topped the charts with Mmmbop. James Iha was one of the original members of the Smashing Pumpkins, and has also been a member of A Perfect Circle and a solo artist. Adam Schlesinger is in the bands Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy. Bun E. Carlos is the drummer of the legendary Cheap Trick, with whom he has played since the group’s inception in 1974.

See them  on The Late Show With David Letterman April 20th. But you can get a preview of their music here: http://tintedwindowsmusic.com/

Read more about them here!
source: rollingstone

Sales perfected

by Randy Rohn Executive Creative Director - Monday, March 9th, 2009

pama pomegranate liqueurWe now know that the hottest trend in cocktails are those made with pomegranate.  Keller Crescent Advertising and its great client Heaven Hill predicted this trend over two years ago. Not only did we predict it, we did something about it that set the cash registers ringing for our client. It’s a classic example of why clients should partner with a full-service advertising agency like Keller Crescent. When we partner with a client, we make it our business to know their brand inside and out. We sat down with them to brainstorm new ideas. We knew the trends in beverages. We knew the colors that were hot and getting hotter. Together, we came up with the idea of a pomegranate liqueur. Keller Crescent named the beverage, designed the logo and packaging, came up with a color palette to work with (silver and red) and created the trade ads introducing the product, dimensional direct mail to get the product in the right on-premise restaurants, point-of-sale, point-of-purchase, consumer ads and collateral.

Rocket scientist eats donut. Makes aviation history.

by Pat Fagan - Monday, March 9th, 2009

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There’ is something about the ad business in general and Keller Crescent in particular that makes me want to not retire at any age.

“Geez, Pat, you’re 109, you have the body of an 18-year-old, you could pass for Brad Pitt, and some distant, distant, way-distant relative, apparently a tribal chief in Polynesia, was killed by a falling coconut and left you his island and a harem of thirty-seven. What about retirement?”

“Give me some time to mull it over. Another new piece of business just walked in the door begging us to take his account – he read many of our case histories about reenergizing major brands that had lost momentum. Once I got him to let go of my leg …”

Okay, none of the aforementioned is true other than what I said about the ad business in general and Keller Crescent in particular.

I’ll give you an example.