Thanks for stopping by to read the first "Rosenfelder Index," an estimate of the cost of buying one of everything advertised during our nation's biggest tv show, the Super Bowl. I believe it shows where the ad industry thinks the country is going, or where it wants it to go.
And considering how much time has been spent talking about the ads, it seems to me the Rosenfelder Index should have debuted a long time ago, in the 90s when I first thought of it. It would have been fascinating to see the drop in price when the dot.com thing was raging, for example, but the ad business has been media fodder for a long time. It has just been accelerated. Ben Franklin would have had a sick blog!
The ads appeared in blocks of five or six, except at the beginning of halftime when there were seven or eight in a row. I was interested in the big companies that ran multiple ads with different themes but I also paid attention to the one-timers who must have been "banking heavily" on those spots getting some results. (Where are Darrin Stephens and Larry Tate right now?!)
I noticed Fox would give a glimpse of football before the last few ads to get people to slow down the Tivo as if the game were coming back on, just to show a few more spots, hopefully viewed in real time. Some of the ads were closed-captioned, but some not, another trick to get people to watch.
Looking back through my list, they sure seem uninteresting and anticlimactic compared to the game, which is unusual for the Super Bowl. As the late Dave Rubin, a frequent attendee to the games would say amid all the partying, "is there even a game today?"
Nothing advertised was particularly interesting or groundbreaking as a product. A few interesting omissions: why was American the only airline to take out a 30 second ad? Continental is the official plane of the NY Giants, but those were the only mentions of one of the country's most important businesses. There was also a dearth of soap/detergent ads -- it's understandable that there is not much thought of cleaning or primping during the big game. But there were no insurance ads!!!!!
Maybe there really is a crisis because even a music company got in on the Bowl, the Doritos-sponsored Kina Grannis performance that also tagged iTunes. Interesting considering Universal Music's support of Amazon... I suppose there is more info about that on snackstrongproductions.com. Not that terrible a song, nice placement early in the game too.
On YouTube, Kina says to vote on "crashthesuperbowl.com" I hope kids have fake names they leave on all these sites!
Chase featured "Secret Agent Man" by Johnny Rivers; Alice Cooper appeared in Bridgestone's ad near the end of the game; Justin Timberlake was pumping Pepsi and Amazon; Dunkin Donuts had a weird song "Doing Things I Like to Do," one of those records that could be popularized by a commercial -- it's just annoying enough!
The Rosenfelder Index for Super Bowl XLII (42) was: $456,000
Super Bowl Ads Divided by Sector (companies/products with multiple spots in bold):
Cars and related products:
Cadillac Escalade; Tri State Ford Dealers; Lexus GS; Ford Focus; Microsoft Sync/Ford Edge (w/Flaming Lips); Audi R8; Bridgestone Tires; Garmin navigation system; GMC Yukon Hybrid; Microsoft Sync/Ford; Ford Edge; Toyota Highlander; Chevy Impala; Nissan Murano; Cars.com; Bridgestone (with Alice Cooper and Richard Simmons); Hyundai Genesis; Ford Edge (with Derek Jeter); Acura MDX; Toyota Sequoia; Cadillac Postgame (approximately 450K)
Beverages:
Bud Light; "Aerial Coverage" from Budweiser; Diet Pepsi Max (with Macy Gray, LL Cool J, Missy Elliot and one more I am spacing); AmpEnergy.com; G2 (with Derek Jeter); SoBe LifeWater; Pepsi and Amazon.com (with Justin Timberlake); Vitamin Water; Dunkin Donuts; Coke (with James Carville and Bill Frist and then later with Charlie Brown and Underdog); Gatorade drinking dog -- can't be good for dogs; Amp Energy Drink (with car battery attached to nipples?). (One bottle of each, approximately $14)
Films:
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins; Vantage Point; Drillbit Taylor; Unhitched; Wanted; Iron Man (5/2); Leatherheads; Narnia (5/16); Wall E; Jumper; You Don't Mess with the Zohan; Semi Pro (combined with Bud Light). (Ten dollars each, approximately $120)
Opinion: I'm very pumped for Iron Man and the associated page is appropriately hi-tech.
Cosmetics/Household:
Tide (mytalkingstain.com); Sunsilk (featuring Marilyn Monroe and Madonna. Was the woman in between them Joss Stone?) near the end of the game (lifecantwait.com). (About $7)
TV Shows:
By far the most spots went to Fox themselves, with incessant mentions of Sarah Connor Chronicles (6); Daytona 500 (4); NFL Pro Bowl (3); American Idol (4 + Jordin Sparks' embedded performance of the National Anthem); House (6); New Amsterdam (1); Prison Break (1); King of the Hill (with Tom Petty reprising a great scene from the Blues Brothers) and its FX Channel. I thought the ad for Axemen on the History Channel was a spoof until it was over and didn't turn into a Holiday Inn Express commercial! (They don't take your money, just your TIME)
Banking/Finance:
Chase had four spots; E*Trade had three culminating with a vomiting baby. Prudential had a high-profile spot typical of the first half that focused on "positioning" statements, not a call to action. (Depends how much you use them -- $100/year easily)
Pharmaceuticals:
Claritin D had two ads, the second featured NASCAR driver Carl Edwards; Zantac heartburn pills showed up at an opportune time -- just after halftime (when the Doritos and beer pitched through the first half might be kicking in). (About $25 for one of each)
Technology/Communications:
Dell had two ads for the XPS One stressing its design. Service providers like Sprint, AT&T and Verizon combined their ads with devices, the Blackberry Pearl and LG's Voyager. Apple came correct with its Mac Book Air arriving in an interoffice envelope. Dell also had two values-based ads that featured a choppy song performed by Mick Jagger, promoting the Red campaign (dell.com/joinred). Toshiba threw in an ad for a cheap HD DVD player just after halftime. Does that get lost in the sauce maybe? Charles Barkley's T Mobile ad seemed to have a good story line, but I had the sound off. (About $5500)
Websites:
Overstock.com with two ads; CareerBuilder.com with three gross ones and two clever animated and inoffensive ads from salesgenie.com (and you know being salesman really sucks, so that's a nice achievement in an ad).
I'm not sure what Ideacast.net was advertising, I guess they are a (bad) ad agency? Myspace.com/superbowlads appeared on screen twice and other sites that advertised in hope of hits included GoDaddy.com (with Danica Patrick), and the Cadillac MVP voting text promotion. (GoDaddy costs $10/year)
A few other Super Bowl one-offs:
Planters Cashews making a gross woman attractive; FedEx; Ice Breakers Gum (featuring Carmen Electra, a brand Prince created years ago btw); Taco Bell and Ontario Canada. (Aside from a trip to Canada, you could spend under $50 if the FedEx wasn't too late in the day).
Apparel:
Victoria's Secret and UnderArmor had one ad each. One idealized Male and one idealized female ad -- neither brand look good on rolls of fat, maybe this is why there are hardly any clothes advertised on the Super Bowl! (About $50 each)
Public Service Announcements:
DeclareYourself.org; Parents, the Anti-Drug; The United Way; Ronald McDonald House.
You get the feeling that reality is creeping in at the end of the game as the ads start to involve more everyday concerns as opposed to the start when everything is new and optimistic. I'm glad Ontario was one of the first ads for this reason.
Monday, February 4, 2008
"Rosenfelder Index," Super Bowl Music spots
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Championship of Advertisements
Birth of The Rosenfelder Index
The Rosenfelder Index is the amount it would cost to buy one unit of everything advertised during the Super Bowl. I believe you can tell a lot about the economy and our culture by what is advertised (Remember the burst of www's around 1998? Most of those companies are gone now, even massive ones like go.com.). I named it after myself and this year's findings will be released on earbender.com on January 28.
Incidentally, during the recent LSU-Ohio State Game at the Superdome, I remembered watching the Cowboys-Broncos Super Bowl in 1979 or so when the building was pretty new, state of the art and SO huge. Who could have imagined then that it would be the site of perhaps the greatest disaster relief disaster in U.S. history?
Although I am pleased to see the Superdome back in action, I am very worried about New Orleans and what that Katrina still says about our country. My suggestion: everyone should go to JazzFest sometime in life, and why not 2008? It's an important one, there is still a lot of recovery yet to happen in New Orleans. We can all pitch in by going there and partying like a young W. (except with less coke).
Congrats to former Island artist (and close personal friend) Shelby Lynne who received a massive story in the NY Times Magazine. I'll have some further comments after I read the whole thing, but considering Shelvis was #4 most searched on Yahoo yesterday, she retains the ability to take a nerdy rock critic to the stratosphere.
Willie Nelson is about to drop a new album, coinciding with an appearance on the Super Bowl. The Bowl has been good to Willie, and with a new tour and the album getting good reviews, the run-up to his 75th birthday in April should be fun for us fans. He won't have a wardrobe malfunction but if Trigger makes a funny silhouette like Prince did last year, I'll faint. His new video "Gravedigger" was shot at the cemetery near the graves of Herman Melville and the Great Gildersleeve, and hundreds more, some with familiar names like "Ziegler," "Benson" and "Stewart." And it was a Tuesday!
Speaking of birthdays, Mike Watt sent the video below of him wailing on his 50th. Stand back, it's amazing. Like Rakim says, Watt gets stronger as he gets older!
I happened to space mentioning that earbender client Leonard Cohen made the Rock Hall of Fame. Mazel tov to say the least. Speaking of brushes with fame, vibes to WUSB founder Norm Prusslin on the passing of his friend Johnny Podres, who carried him on his shoulders in the Brooklyn Dodgers' World Series victory parade in 1955.
Also around 1955, Ian Fleming sat at his desk in Oracabessa Jamaica and wrote the incredible 007 stories. In honour of the author's 100th birthday, The UK just issued some pretty nice James Bond stamps, especially if you love vintage book cover art.
In addition to thanking everyone for visiting earbender, I was especially pleased to host our first two visitors from the Southern Hemisphere. Please come back sometime or send me a link to your site. As the man himself would say, "if watt can do it, you can do it!"
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
earbender's Best of 2007 list
2007 began with saying goodbye to the great James Brown.
While most of the news from the music world has been doom over the past year, there were some bright spots and plenty to look forward to in the future. Pete Townshend's appearance at SXSW was something to be inspired by. He basically said that he is still doing things the old way on tour with the Who, but is also into the immediacy and freedom represented by what has come to be known as "Music 2.0." I am a bit scared of his computer, but I think he has the right idea about music.
The earbender ten has always been a multi-experience list. It's not a buying guide, but a living guide.
earbender's Best of 2007
1. Curb Your Enthusiasm featuring Larry David, especially the episode where Leon recommends that Larry "become another motherfucker." I was very skeptical about this story line at the start of the season, but Larry (and especially the brilliant JB Smoove as Leon) sure taught me a lesson at the end.
2. Spider-Man 3
As part of Film Week, I attended a premiere of the latest installment in the Bronx of all places. In some ways, the movies limit my imagination compared to the comic books, but it is nice to recognize scenes from the strips, which is a nice reason to see a Spider-Man movie where I know the story already for the most part. The Sandman in the sewer was straight out of Spider-Man #36. The movies are great and I'm also very into seeing Spider-Man on billboards and other advertising. I was so blown away by the co-branding on Spider-Man 3, I almost started a special edition of The Rosenfelder Index for its debut hype.
3. Of Montreal at Sundance, in the middle of the street, performing for the kids and execs. I was very into their album "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?", so to see them chop it up on "Happy" and a few originals during soundcheck was great. Here's a bit of them doing "We Were Born the Mutants Again with Leafling." It starts out distorted but gets awesome about a minute in.
4. Kanye West "Graduation" album
5. Chanteuses: Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight for a few weeks at least, same w/new Suzanne Vega "Frank and Ava." Also from my back pages: PJ Harvey - White Chalk. Hats off to a nice result for Amy Winehouse. How often does the Winner of SXSW end up in the Top 40, let alone the cover of the NY Post, Rolling Stone, etc. Not to mention, she's English! Unfortunately it's more for her behavior than her music but at least the public and the media care about a rock star acting like a rock star.
6. Movie, Soundtrack and Concert: I'm Not There
After years of effort, Randall Poster and Jim Dunbar, along with Todd Haynes and Jeff Rosen, breathe new life into Dylan's catalog and his long and winding life story as an artist with a broad range of great artists. The concert at the Beacon Theatre and the after-party was a Hollywood night in NYC, as well. The quality and depth of the album and movie will be dissected for years to come, just like Bob himself.
7. Missed Classic Rock Reunions: The Police, Genesis, Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin. I didn't see any of these shows but I did happen to catch The Musical Box do an amazing recreation of the 1973 Genesis tour, complete w/costumes, between-song patter and a great set list. What an incredible show, in front of one of the trekkie-est audiences imaginable. Go see them if you dare!
8. Pete Townshend was inspirational at SXSW, however. His dual career direction (the conventional reunion tour with the Who and his web activities/club gigs) is a sensible approach for us old record guys too. Mark Knopfler's album "Kill to Get Crimson" is excellent, has most of his old sound and is a good example of what made him huge. The same can't be said for most of the others in #7.
9. The Robot Guitar by Gibson is a fascinating instrument, and the biggest jump in guitar technology since the Roland GR-1 synthesizer in the 1980s. It will be interesting to see how the video game generation of guitar fans will approach the real thing. I was having a blast playing Guitar Hero with Jason Hradil and Eric Molk from Sony one night and just as I thought about getting my own, I realized that I can play a real guitar. I wonder if this will create more interest in guitar and rock music over the next 5 years or so. Considering we can see Lewis Hamilton's growth documented from a remote controlled car to a go-kart to a Formula One racer in 15 years, wouldn't it be great if a generation of Jimmy Pages and Keith Richardses grew from Guitar Hero's influence? The Robot Guitar might be a nice mix of gimmick-toy and reality for them.
Speaking of guitar heroes (and innovators), one of the great moments of 2007 was witnessing a very intimate hang between Les Paul and Willie Nelson outside Annie Balliro's Hard Rock Cafe event for Farm Aid and Willie's Peace Research Institute. They had a good hang and when Les bailed for his Iridium show, Willie kept repeating "That was Les Paul."
***See you on the second generation (with another price break!): The iPhone
10. U2 Joshua Tree Reissue
The best of the best comes back to remind us how great they have were, and for how long they have kept it going. There is no U2 reunion -- they have never broken up! I am thrilled they have reunited with Eno/Lanois again and expect their next one to be great too. They announced the Joshua Tree reissue in typical U2 style, FIRST, with a promotion from iLike.com. It featured a great interview with Bono recorded on a camera phone, singing along as he described writing the lyrics to "Wave of Sorrow."
11. Missed reality shows: A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, Bret Michaels, Peter Brady, Scott Baio, Anna-Nicole, Brittney, etc.
12. Prince for all his 2.0 moves. As talented as he is as a writer, producer and performer (hello, the Super Bowl appearance was amazing), Prince has also set the pace business-wise from the earliest days of his career. London Times giveaway, shutting down bloggers... Maybe he is on Music version 3.0 by now!
13. Robin Quivers - because no one ever puts the great Howard Stern on any lists and that means Robin does even worse. I love the show but I want to give her credit for cracking me up and being pretty on tv too. I love Artie Lange a lot and had an epic hang backstage with him thanks to Amy Salit (who was doing the usual post-appearance NY guest list hang) at the benefit for Cabbie.
*** The new Bionic Woman was utterly disappointing as was Fantastic Four 2: The Rise of the Silver Surfer. Good effects, bad story and not violent/scary enough.
Farewell Phil Rizzuto. The Scooter was a big part of our lives for over 30 years and I will always remember him as the voice of the Yankees. A huge chapter of Yankees, baseball and New York City history ends with his passing.
2008 things to look forward to:
Iron Man; new u2 album; Willie's 75th birthday box set; A new US president; Amy Winehouse gets teeth
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
End of the Year/Beginning of the Year
As previously mentioned, people like lists, so I'm in the process of formulating my best of 2007, picks to click in 2008, the earbender Sports Personality of the Year award and in early 2008, the Rosenfelder Index. I also have to get some kind of Year in Review or highlight reel going.
Winter has finally come climate-wise although I can still see some leaves that hardly turned still on a tree outside my window. What would it take for Bush and Cheney to stop fighting the scientists? I wonder what kind of evidence they would need to see. If you have an opinion, type it in below.
It looks like the Vermont weather has gotten ski season off with a bang and I heard from our friend Chad Reich of KBUT the other day that Crested Butte was "badass." Someday.
A few other ski/snowboard related links you may want to checkout include Okemo's blog where they mention a great event on January 9 to help raise money for various local organizations, Reverb and Ross Powers Foundation with help from members of The Barenaked Ladies, Guster and The Dave Matthews Band.
Earbender has helped with Reverb's Campus Consciousness tour in the past and this sounds like a great event too. January 9 in Vermont is ok w/me as long as there is snow.
I am pleased to announce that "Truly" from earbender client thenewno2's recent ep, was featured in the new Warren Miller film Playground.
"Two musical giants helped revive music at Vail" this past weekend when SnowDaze took over the area. I wonder if President Ford would have loved Ludacris' song "Slap" as much as I do. It really has a John Edwards vibe to it though. It's about economic hardship, in the tradition, and here is the censored version on video.
Following up on a story below, I checked out some of the footage and info about Evel Knievel's funeral from The Montana Standard. I'm very happy he didn't go out out on Wide World of Sports. Thanks for the memories Evel!
On the 70s tip, btw, I hear Led Zep. reunited last night! Being sort of intellectual/analytical about it, I have to say, "who cares"? I think it's exciting for two reasons: one, we get to see new pictures of them, see if they can still play the old music, etc. -- like when the Stones go on tour, it's mostly about nostalgia and repeating an old experience. Today, rock is not the most important genre of music as it was at Zeppelin's peak. The genre is an underdog but a big media event like last night's show can help give some people including the band, hope.
