Had Bad Pizza?
They'd Like To Meetz'Ya!
I ran across an ad in the local arts paper that I thought was a gag. The headline said "Reckless pizza ordering is an offense. If you've been the victim of recklessly bad pizza ordering, contact us! Warwick-Law.com" I scoured the paper for notice of a fake-ad contest, but could find none. I tore out the page with the intent to visit the website next time I was online.

The website for Warwick-Seltz is intentionally poorly designed. It looks like it was made with a lame Microsoft Front Page template. You quickly meet Attorney Royce W. Warwick. Warwick is a David Letterman look-a-like, and member of PLIS (pizza-law institution of specialists), PLAA (pizza-law association of America) and serves on the board of NAPLL (the national association for pizza law litigation). After visiting his "free live consultation" using the now oh-so-familiar interface to interact with Warwick in a "live" consultation -- it's easy to spot as a "Subservient Chicken" knock-off.

Although the execution still qualifies as 'creat-IVE', I think they stopped 'creat-ING' too soon. Here are a few features I'd like to see the ad agency add to the campaign in order to improve upon the concept and increase the effective message reach through Word Of Mouth:
1. Blog Banners
Why no Warwick-Law ad banners that people could add to their own blogs and websites? That paid placement mock-ad the advertising agency used in Columbus Alive captured my attention enough to save it until I could get in front of a computer. Why not let the public get in on the joke and add make it easy to add a Warwick-Law banner to their personal webpages. By providing cut-and-paste code, the agency could offer additional tracking and stats to their client.

2. Join the Class Action Lawsuit
Inviting people to join the "Class Action Suit" against mediocre pizza by providing their email address (and rewarding them with a coupon from the client) would allow the client to build a marketing database and provide tangible results from the campaign. There IS a "milestone settlement offer" buried a couple links deep into the site, but it's not easy to find and the offer is for only a dollar-off the regular price of the pizza. Why not give away a free personal-sized pizza?

3. Warwick-Seltz Worked For Me
Although there is a link to watch tv ads for their lawfirm (excellent parodies of those horrible ambulance-chasing ads we've all seen on television), there is no obvious way (nor invitation) to post these ads on your own website.

With the huge influx of consumer-generated advertising and the availability of a website like YouTube.com -- why aren't the Warwick-Seltz ads ON YouTube.com?? And why no invite to have people submit their own "I suffered from someone neglectfully ordering mediocre pizza and Warwick-Seltz got me a settlement" style commercials that could also be posted (and spread virally) through YouTube.com? Encouraging these video submissions by providing folks with a free pizza or sub seems an extremely easy thing to do.

4. Report An Offender
Why no 'tell-a-friend' feature? It could have been built into the masquerade by allowing people to report offenders of the mediocre pizza laws, referring other litigants for the class action suit, etc. The agency has provided no obvious way to share the link with friends (other than me physically copying the address and emailing it myself.)

5. Tales of Suffering
We've all had crappy pizza. Why is there no place to collect these testimonials of pizza-pain and suffering? A simple message board to collect the comments and war stories from site visitors would have added an additional level of interaction.

6. Cease & Desist Letters
Royce Warwick himself (during my free consultation) sported a "cease and desist" fridge magnet he created for an Aunt guilty of ordering bad pizza. Why no auto-generated lawyer letter that can be emailed to a friend or coworker? Even McDonald's on their barely less-than-lame McMornings website allows the creation of a late-to-work excuse created by the "Excuse Generator 3000." Something similar could have added an interactive and viral component sorely missing from the Warwick-Law website.

My conclusion?
In an obvious effort to create an ad campaign that the agency hopes to spread virally, they have left off every obvious avenue to help people spread the word.

Perhaps Warwick-Seltz needs to bring on another partner to specialize in mediocre ad campaigns?

Fairy Infestation
Wee folk have invaded Ann Arbor, Michigan
What started as a single curious door as multiplied to seven. Miniature, ornate entry ways have mysteriously appeared alongside the human-size portals in Ann Arbor's business district -- bringing increased business from adult and juvenile gawkers.

Illustrator Jonathon Wright is taking credit as the unofficial 'elfin realtor' and says the idea was sparked was a whimsical way to capture the imagination of the children attending his wife's preschool. The response was so great. that it prompted him to add to the pixie population by constructing more of the delightful doors.

Wright thought the struggling business district was a likely place for otherworldy urban development, Wright added doors outside the Peacable Kingdom Toy Store and the vintage collectibles shop, Red Shoes. Soon the number grew to seven, and Wright has been most surprised by the fact humans are starting to leave tiny gifts like pennies, candy, and flowers for their unseen tenants. "I'd like to see them thrive, and that's part of what I want to contribute," he says. "Something that's lasting and fun and that can maybe revitalize some interest in the downtown area."

The fairy doors are definitely on my short list of best ideas of the year, although the people of Ann Arbor should have known that fairlyland denizens could help their struggling businesses -- just ask the Shoemaker and his wife.

Jumping The Brand Shark
My favorite "Blogher", Jory Des Jardins, only recently discovered the term "Jump The Shark" used to describe the defining moment when television show has passed its peak and begins a downward descent. The term spawned from a Happy Days episode in which a water-skiiing Fonz literally 'jumps a shark.'

While I've been familiar with the term for years, Jory took the concept where my brain had not considered. What about brands that have jumped the shark? Ries and Trout might consider it death-by-line extension, or veering from an original place of Positioning in the market -- but I think Jory has modernized the situation it for a new age.

In television, shark jumping usually happens when someone at the network feels the show has grown formulaic and needs to be refreshed by introducing new characters, taking the old characters to new places, or killing them off completely -- or for that matter, bringing them back from the dead.

Mork and Mindy arguable jumped the shark when they got married and had a bouncing baby Jonathan Winters as their child. Some thought "Dallas" might have jumped when they killed Bobby Ewing, but they sealed their fate when he stepped out of the shower and declared it all a dream. Did "Three's Company" jump when the Ropers left or when Chrissy Snow moved away? Discuss it amongst ourselves...

With the idea of BRANDS jumping the shark, we can talk about New Coke; McPizza; Starbucks selling childrens music; or Google branching its services and products into almost every conceivable direction (When will the first Google Coffeehouse open?) My bet is on any company that decides to being in Ted McGinley as their spokesperson.

Jumping The Brand Shark.
The newest marketing game to play!