Giant Carrots and Antenna Shish Kebabs

Clearly, it's a promotion done for the Farmer's Market. With summer in full swing, I have nothing but the utmost appreciation for this promotion. There's nothing better than some fresh fruit and veggies. Trees were turned into giant carrots and car antennas were made to be shish kebab skewers. I would enjoy seeing an assortment of fruit stress balls and vegetable stress balls available in various places around town as well. I'm sure the imprint would look excellent on an avocado stress reliever or perhaps a corn stress reliever.

That's Some Large Storage Ikea

For the most part, I'm not a fan of Ikea. If you've ever been in the store you know that there's really no easy exit, except to follow the arrows. The first time I went in there, I was unaware of this and promptly got frustrated when I couldn't find the exit easily. Everyone else likes it because of the cheap prices, and some people even like it because of the furniture they have. Well, as of this morning my views have changed.

Ikea painted the balconies of this building to look like various storage containers that they offer. Now this is a really unique way to get attention for a department store. So, I have to give them credit. I also have to give them credit for being eco-friendly. They have instituted a new policy that if you are going to take a plastic bag, it's going to cost you a nickel and that nickel goes to American Forests Global ReLeaf Fund. When I saw that sign at the register, I got very excited. My only problem was that the woman behind the register automatically added the nickel to the order and put Keri's stuff in a plastic bag. She didn't ask if she wanted it in a bag, nor did she offer Keri the opportunity to purchase one of their eco-friendly shopping bags. I was happy that American Forests got a nickel, but I was frustrated that this woman did this as if she was on auto-pilot.

Regardless, Ikea should be applauded for their eco-friendly efforts, as well as their cool balconies. I want the wicker basket!

A Promotional Pillow for Professionals

One of the best parts of working in the promotional products industry is seeing the creative designs developed by clients come to fruition on the products that they've chosen. Sometimes, it's not that exciting for us because we're surrounded by these promotional products all day every day. Sure, there's the occasional logo on some promotional pens that will be extremely eye catching and the design will truly stand out. But for us, it's seeing the creative and inventive ideas that people have that excites us.



For example, this promotional pillow was created in Brazil, for the company Radio Banda B. The design fits well so that when someone lays on the pillow it looks as if they're wearing headphones. Radio stations generally feature promotional items such as promotional bumper stickers, promotional t-shirts, and promotional hats. It's unique to see a promotional pillow being used to promote radio. It's also always refreshing to see another advertising medium using promotional products. It just goes to show that there's really nothing better.

Feeding the Hungry has Never Been Easier

That's the tag line for this inventive, compelling campaign done in South African supermarkets. Promotional decals were at the forefront, (aren't they always) and they were placed in the bottom of shopping carts. Anytime you put anything in your cart you see a sad child begging. It's not loud, it's not obnoxious. It's straight and to the point. It's brilliant.

Promote Yourself...And Spell Correctly

One of the things that we here at Motivators stress most when placing an order is the importance of proof reading. Always make sure that your company name is spelled correctly, and that all the information that is going to be printed on your product is just as you want it. It's happened before where someone will reverse two letters or numbers. That same person will receive the proof and approve it, after only a quick glance. And then they'll receive their products and notice the typo that they made, except instead of just being on the computer screen it's on about 150 promotional bike bottles. It's something that happens to the best of us, and we all have things that we spell wrong. For instance, I consistently type "taht" instead of that. I know how to spell it, but when I'm speeding through a blog post or an article, I often type it too fast. I catch it before it's published, but only because I proof read.




This promotional pencil is a great example of a creative use of promotional products in advertising, and I really enjoy that it's promoting a proof reading service.

Time to Change the World's Water Jug...

Once again, it's time for the brilliant use of a regular every day item as an advertising medium. The Natural Resource Defense Council is responsible for this one, with the creative use of promotional decals. Water jugs were fitted with large promotional decals imprinted with continents on them. The powerful message read: "World's drinkable water supplies are running out. Stop Global Warming."



There's really not much to be said, except bravo.

America _________ on Dunkin'.

Advertisements require intense brain storming, hands-on collaborating, and thousands of dollars. But when effective- they are well worth all the time and money spent. Likewise when looking into promotional products you must spend time figuring out what will work best to promote you company and entertain your client.

Recently I found myself enormously entertained by the popular Dunkin' Donuts slogan, "America runs on Dunkin'" And while the words themselves are bold and memorable- it was the art that really had me going. While sitting around my dining room table and eating munchkins with friends, my sister pointed to the box and repeated the phrase, "America runs on Dunkins'."

I replied to her, with my eyes glued to the orange box, "No, no, no. America dances on Dunkin'." Within a few moments my friends and I had blurted out such phrases as, "America jumps on a pogo stick on Dunkin'." "America splits in half on Dunkin'. And, "America gives high fives on Dunkin'." The art work for their slogan leaves it open to interpretation. What a brilliant concept. Of course whether or not the advertising agency wanted that, I'll never know. But that advertisement is forever imprinted in my mind now.

So when looking into promotional products look outside of the box. Custom imprinted pens are always a great way to go, but could you expand on that idea?

Perhaps an imprinted measuring tape pen that can travel with a construction worker. Or a promotional USB pen that can carry a gig full of work and information anywhere you go.

But don't stop there...make your slogan unforgettable. What's being printed is just as important as what it's being printed on.

Be bold. Think creatively. And remember that America doesn't just "run" on Dunkin'.

A Promotional Monet...

To advertise their latest exhibit, the Utah Museum of Fine Art decided to go in a different direction. The exhibit featured the works of Monet and Picasso, and the tag line for the ads was "See the world through the eyes of Picasso and Monet." So that's what they did.



Using special glass, the ad agency created a window into the world of Monet. Images were blurred, making them look like they would if they were painted by Monet himself. Similarly, they used a special mirror to distort reflections, making them appear distorted, as if Picasso had been responsible for their reflections.



We have some beautifully artistic promotional calendars and several promotional picture frames, but we can't compare to this one.

Promotional Coffins + Dead Termites= A Super Gross Promotion

I'm not a fan of bugs in any way shape or form. The only ones I can tolerate are lightning bugs and that's only because they are the only "cute" bug that I've ever seen. Spiders and I don't like each other. Bees especially hate me. And this one large bug with several legs that I ran into in my college dorm room and myself particularly didn't get along. That's why, even though I'm a fan of unique promotional products, I'm not a fan of this coffin promotion. The coffins themselves are made of termite resistant wood since they were done to promote said wood. And the coffins were filled with...dead termites. Actually, the dead termites were only for builders that Hyne (the company taht makes the termite resistant wood) had a good relationship with. I really wonder if my relationship would continue to be as strong if someone I cared about sent me a box of dead insects. Maybe if they had sent some promotional Purell Hand Sanitizer with it, or really any type of anti-bacterial stuff, but generally I would not do well with a box of dead bugs.

Oh Natural Resource Defense Council...No.

Originally, I liked the idea of this promotion done for the Natural Resource Defense Fund by the Miami Advertising School in Brazil. Continents have been printed on the cup with temperature sensitive ink that changes color when a hot liquid is added. It's not the first time a promotion like this has been done except it's never been proposed for Starbucks. My only concern with this promotional cup (aside from the fact that printing any eco-friendly message on a non-recycled cup with a plastic lid kind of kills the point) is that the explanatory message is placed right in the center of the cup. Now I don't know about you but if I get a hot beverage at Starbucks I make sure to grab the cardboard sleeve since those cups get hot pretty quickly. If my Starbucks addicted memory is serving me correctly that means that the message will be covered by the cardboard sleeve.




Personally I think if Starbucks really wanted to promote an eco-friendly message they would sell something similar to the Eclipse Global Tumbler. You can promote the same message and you're using a reusable travel tumbler. Everyone wins!

I found a $20 bill!

I'm a scavenger of the streets. Even if I pass a penny, I will pick it up and add it to my collection of stranger's lost change. Of course, the reason I scan the ground and pick up pennies is because I feel that one day, if I keep searching, I'll be lucky enough to spot a a big bill. I did find a ten on the sidewalk outside of Ikea once...but at a conference in Canada, some found fortunes greater than $10 bills. Or so they thought.

An advertising agency for the SAIT Polytechnic College in Canada randomly dropped what appeared to be $20 bills at the 2008 Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education conference. Those who found them turned over the bill to reveal the words, "Apparently, you have a knack for finding money. Interested in a career in fundraising?" The goal was to find new candidates for the fundraising positions at the college. What an innovative way to find employees.

Companies are constantly looking for new ways to promote themselves. This fake $20 would serve as a light-hearted promotional product. Anyone will accept free money. Perhaps, if you were to collect enough fake money you could use a nifty custom imprinted money clip.

Lego My Business!

Brilliance thy name is lego. Rather than building some structure out of legos to advertise the Lego Education Centre in Australia, the company took the ads in a different direction. Instead of utilizing their product, they utilized items that looked like their product. Safety mats like the one seen above were painted to look like legos. Normally, I'm not a fan of ground-vertising, but this one is inventive and the bright colors will attract attention. Now if they only had people handing out lego stress building blocks on the street corner.

Make me laugh and I'll be your loyal consumer.

In the world of advertising, you need to know who you're targeting. You aim, you shoot. And if you're not focused on what's current, smart, and witty, chances are you'll miss.
The same thing goes for promotional products. If you're at a trade show handing out promotional shoe laces- well you might as well tie it all together and sling yourself out of the convention center window. Because you're not going to attract crowds with your shoe lace. Think hip. Promotional USB memory sticks are something that everyone can use. They're fitting with the technological advancements of the time and they're especially attractive to workers on the go.
Likewise, the advertisement Sirius Satellite radio has released is also hip. Satellite radio is making its mark in the world of radio. And with more choices they're attracting more people.
But what links USB memory sticks and Sirius Satellite radio? Humor.

I found a memory stick in the form of a robot. And as insignificant as one may think a robot is in the large scale of things...in the moment a robot makes me chuckle.
Likewise the advertisement that Sirius has launched was created to make people from all over join together in laughter.

Everyone in our crazy world has unique interests. Clearly the man in this ad fancies Radio Disney, Court TV Radio, and Strobe disco. Knowing that there are many options to choose from, and realizing that the people behind Sirius Satellite Radio have a sense of humor, I would be interested in joining their listener fan base.

And if I was at a trade show and saw a robot USB flash drive with your company's name on it- I'd take it. And I'd look forward to doing business with you.

Get Lost

Everyone in the Motivators' offices loves Lost. Well, I shouldn't say everyone because I don't, but that's not for everyone else's lack of trying to get me to watch it. I just can't get into it. However, if I had run into this promotion, I really might have.

The Madrid train station in Madrid Spain boasts a beautifully designed indoor garden that is a spectacle to anyone who sees it. However, just prior to the season 3 premiere of Lost, the flowers looked slightly askew. Perhaps it's due to the giant piece of a plane that's sitting in them?




The advertising agency responsible for Lost created a life size version of Oceanic Flight 815 (the plane that crashes in the show) and built it among the jungle-like atmosphere of the tropical garden.

Promotional products aren't usually used with an advertisement of this magnitude. Seeing as how the ad got over 100,000 daily impacts at the station and Lost premiered number 1 in it's timeslot, I guess that's ok.

Now that business card is stylin'...

I blame that punny title on the switch from Starbucks to Dunkin Donuts on this hot and humid Tuesday morning. Delicious, but really not enough of a boost. I can't complain though, because at least it is caffeine. See this post on our company blog about my recent caffeine addiction withdrawl.



Coffee related things aside, I am truly enjoying this business card this morning. It's a unique way for a hair stylist to promote herself and everyone will remember it. It'll stand out when inserted in business card files and business card cases. The only downside that I can possibly see is that the "teeth" of the comb might rip off. It's simple and effective. It's no promotional hair brush, but it'll get the job done.

Breast Cancer Awareness Direct Mailing

Let's face it, there's no shortage of awareness months. Every cause has it's own "national month" and some are more well known than others. For example, did you know that June is National Adopt a Cat Month or that April is Stress Awareness Month?

The one awareness month that almost everyone knows is Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. There's plenty of breast cancer awareness promotional products that charities and organizations use to promote the cause. We've got hundreds of pink ribbon giveaways so when I come across something unique I have to highlight it.



This direct mailing was sent to doctor's offices to advertise a new breast cancer drug. Thirteen straws were inserted into the ad, with one being shorter than all the rest. The copy reads:

"There's no way to predict which of your patients will have recurring breast cancer. So it makes sense to treat all patients as women with some risk."

It's a unique way to highlight the drug and the fact that 1 in 13 breast cancer patients will have a recurrance.

Next Friday is Hawaiian Shirt Friday...

Who wears flip flops in the rain? This morning the resounding answer was "Anyone who works at Motivators." There's nothing I hate more than wet feet in flip flops, but there was no way I was coming to the annual Motivators luau in anything else. Since my hula skirt was at the dry cleaners (see note), I really had no other option but to brave the puddles and get to work.

I'm sure certain individuals received stares if they had stopped anywhere before work. Maybe certain people thought our company was like that company from Office Space and that this Friday was Hawaiian shirt day. I’m sure had one certain individual stopped anywhere before work they would have wondered if he was even employed at all. I won’t name names though.

And while sit here in my flops, with my lei eating my fruit I wonder if this is all some sort of trickery because it’s Friday the 13th. I’m sure the joke will be on me, when I don’t win any of the awesome raffles including a beach chair, a BBQ set, a 1 gig USB drive, or several other promotional gifts. Oh well, whatever the outcome it’s a fun luau so far! And keeping with the luau theme, only a few more hours til Happy Hour at the local tiki bar!

Note: I don’t have a hula skirt.

Fire Bus

My stomach is running today's blog. Normally, I use my keen knowledge of marketing and promotional products, but when hunger hits, it takes over. It's been a long morning and everyone in my general area is hungry. My Starbucks Mocha latte didn't cut it. And thanks to this promotion, I want some buffalo chicken pizza.

The ever famous Tabasco sauce proved that they're "hotter than ever" with this promotional bus. A typical city bus was designed to look like a fire truck with a giant picture of Tabasco's widely recognizable bottle on the side.

There doesn't really need to be anything else to say, except "It worked." And with that I'm off to go get some lunch.

I've been shot. Nope, Just kidding.

Amnesty International has often been recognized for it's creative use of promotional products. This promotional decal was created to look like a gunshot wound, and was used on National Human Rights Day to raise awareness about the use of the death penalty in Hong Kong. According to the case study on Ads of the World, significant awareness was raised within 3 hours, because all the gunshot stickers had been taken. The message of the powerful ad seems to be lost when the stickers are removed from the posters. And then there's this man, who appears to be ridiculously happy that he has been shot.

Quit Smoking Already!

I'm not a smoker, so it's easy for me to say that. I know that quitting smoking is a very challenging task and I've seen many people try and fail. But it's well worth it in the long run. Usually anti-smoking ads are troublesome and have a high shock value, but those are usually too disturbing to look at. This promotional lighter, however, says so much with just a few words. The very powerful message is a simple statement that ties into both the product and the danger of smoking.

Here Kitty, Kitty

I wonder if Fresh Step will work for tigers. This giant promotion was done by science world, as part if they’re “We can explain” series. Note the promotional sign that says “We can explain. Apparently tigers can use litter boxes. I can see that. First of all, tigers that are raised in captivity can usually be trained by humans. We’ve all seen those adorable pictures of the tiger drinking out of the baby bottle. Secondly, tigers are cats. Yes, they’re bigger and getting a scratch from a tiger isn’t the same as getting a scratch from a Calico, but they’re still cats. Therefore, I don’t think this really needs much explanation. Except maybe, what is in that litter box that is supposed to be poop? Because if I were walking by…that would disturb me. This works wonderfully with the fact that June is National Adopt-a-Cat month too. I would adopt a baby tiger if it would stay little and cute. And if I had monkeys to help me feed it, too. I really don't think the process would be the same without the monkeys.