To help with your New Year weight loss resolutions… Ad Age decided to throw some vomit-inducing terms at you today – “New Media Chatter,” “Trending Topics” and “Microblogging.” Great! All in the same piece explaining how completely random Coke and McDonald’s campaigns are somehow credited with Avatar’s box-office success. Let’s review…

On one level it was fun to hear that David Brent marketing speak again, years after The Office (UK) stopped making new episodes. It was also hysterical to see Ad Age credit non-existent Coke Zero for Avatar’s success. A brand we similarly haven’t seen around in years. Best of all though, are the totally random McDonald’s TV spots that are supposed be  “tie ins,” with the following winning copy…

“Experience a movie like no other, with a taste like no other.”

After watching the 70-minute YouTube searing of the The Phantom Menace, it became clear that Avatar isn’t exactly like “no other.” It’s essentially the new Phantom Menace, in that it should take about another 10 years before the media or anyone else can admit it sucks.

To counter the proposition that Avatar’s marketing budget of $150 million was well used in generating “new-media chatter,” we’d like to offer the following rebuttal…

You are full of shit!

$150 million budgeted to advertise a sure thing? The Phantom Menace is famous for barely doing any Read the rest of this entry »