Come to Papa: Founder gets Camaro, not everyone gets pizza

Now and then: Papa and his Camaro (source: Papa's Pizza)

John Schnatter, founder of Paper John’s Pizza, hit upon a great idea. Why not marry American’s love of pizza with their love of automobiles? The result was Papa’s Roadtrip, a publicity stunt that followed Schnatter and his search for the 1972 Z28 Camaro he sold in order to start building his pizza empire.

Join me in the gallery in this link as we take a look at some of Papa's John's pizzas that you won't be getting for free. Just remember to hold the olives!

The car was found, stories were written and free pizza’s were promised to all Camaro owners.
Well, not so fast there Mr. Slickdeals. According to Consumerist.com, not everyone who showed up with their Camaro got a free pie. As with any promotion, the franchisee has to buy into the idea and there were apparently a number of stores that didn’t seem to feel that giving away free pizza was in their best interest.

This is by no means a KFC scale debacle and many a free slice was munched. However, I know the cold shoulder of rejection well as my local DQ does not honor my Blizzard Fan Club coupons.

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Kia: Hamsters will not define us! Forte sedan will not feature rodents

No Energizer bunnies: Kia Hamsters are 1 and done

While Kia has received a mountain of favorable press for its Kia Soul hamster spot created by the David&Goliath agency, the only hamsters you’ll be seeing in the brand’s new Forte sedan are the ones that customers have chosen to transport.

Click this linke for a slideshow of 2010 Kia Forte images, both inside and out.

Michael Sprague, vice president of marketing for Kia USA, told BNET Auto “We didn’t want the hamsters to become the spokesperson for our brand. We wanted to be a more serious brand.”

Because that’s what you buyers want, more seriousness? While Kia undoubtedly doesn’t want an Energizer bunny on its hands, using a playful character that has resounded with buyers doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. Have you seen the actual 2010 Kia Forte commercial? It’s a bit of a snore fest.

It's a Kia, people, not a Mercedes, so why not keep it fun and friendly?

For more info: Vist Kia Motors online.

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Grab a martini and escape from Cash for Clunkers! Vintage automotive advertisements

Something is missing from today's ads compared to the past.

Yesterday this author was bemoaning the fact that Kia has chosen not to use its hamsters in future commercials. I loved the Kia Soul commercial so much that I had to write an article about it.

I have been critical of some ads, such as Acura's TSX debacle and supportive of new ventures such as Ford's Fiesta Movement. However, I really got a little teary-eyed when Jim Norris retweeted a link to Well Medicated's " 50 Inspiring Vintage Advertisements" post. This is Mad Men quality stuff in the gallery (click link to enjoy). I can almost hear Don Draper's voice right now!

Somehow, even when I look at the best of the best from today's agencies, there was a certain magic captured by these advertisements that I'm not sure we can ever recapture. Companies were confident and boastful and we believed them. Today I think we are far too cynical to fall for such prose (well, perhaps ED medications are the exception to that).

For more info: Enjoy the gallery and if you like what you see, consider checking out Well Medicated's post.

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Flower Power No Match for Regulatory Power

Britain's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has trash canned an from Royal Dutch Shell that portrays the outline of an oil refinery with flowers sprouting from its chimneys. According to the authority, the ads may mislead consumers. The ad, pictured above, was headlined "Don't Throw Anything Away. There is No Away." It showed the outline of an oil refinery, which had chimneys producing flowers. Part of the ad read: "We use our waste CO2 to grow flowers, and our waste sulfur to make super-strong concrete. Real energy solutions for the real world."

Groups such as Friends of the Earth filed the U.K. complaint against the ad. The complaint alleged the ads implied that Shell used all of its waste CO2, or carbon dioxide, to grow flowers, whereas the group believed only 0.325 percent of Shell's emissions were used to grow flowers, and the waste sulfur claim implied all Shell's waste sulfur was used to make concrete.

"In the absence of qualification, most readers were likely to interpret the claim 'We use our waste CO2 to grow flowers,' especially in the context of the image and the headline claim 'Don't throw anything away there is no away,' to mean that Shell used all, or at least the majority, of their waste CO2 to grow flowers, whereas the actual amount was a very small proportion, when compared to the global activities of Shell," the ruling said.

Regarding the waste sulfur claim, the authority said "readers were likely to interpret the claim 'We use ... our waste sulfur to make super-strong concrete' to mean that Shell used all, or at least the majority, of their waste sulfur to make super-strong concrete."

Wow, what would the ASA do with some of our country's infomercials? You can read the full story about the flower power signs here. You can find the Wikipedia article on the ASA here.

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