Strawberry Frog's "tee-shirt test."
(click ad to read copy)Cutesy-named ad agency Strawberry Frog, "your friendly neighborhood global advertising agency" (jesus christ, what fucking pabulum), recently placed this self-promotional ad in Fortune and Business 2.0. This is their message to advertisers: "Your only chance in this kind of culture? Pass the tee shirt test." Their evidence? Their own tee shirts—which, as you can see, feature a frog wearing what looks to be an old Soviet red army beret—are so popular, they can't keep them in stock.
Wow! OK! Here's my $100 million dollar budget! Brand me!
A close reading of their website reveals that the "frogs" (this is seriously what they call each other) say nothing of substance, and nothing different than any other ad agency. We're "award-winning." We're "full-service." We're "nimble!" Not a "dinosaur!" We spark CULTURAL MOVEMENTS (caps theirs)—"a better sequence for planning communications." (which means...what?)
But, if you're willing to change your company name to Purple Lizard or Orange Toad, they'll design a logo and put it on tee shirts for you.
previously in ad agencies are stupid:
1. The Gate leads, um, nowhere...
2. Y&R thanks me for screwing you.
3. ANDYs promoted with anilingus.
4. ...the difference being his salary is about 6 bucks per second.
5. McCann, I believe that should be: Lies Well Disguised.
related on Gawker: BBDO: Neither 'B' stands for "Bloated."
posted by copyranter @ 10:20 AM
12 Comments:
http://strawberryfrog.typepad.com/advertisingblog/2007/04/a_most_honorabl_1.html#comments
Trying hard to work a Curtis Sliwa/Guardian Angels mascot reference in, but failing miserably.
Oh...I just did.
I was told to cut open a frog for my sixth grade biology class and it made me throw up.
This tee shirt and the copy has the same effect on me.
You're an adult? No pictures on clothing!
This whole concept is a rip-off from Lee Clow. What a joke.
See his article in Ad Age where he is interviewed by Bob Garfield.
Lame Frog is more apropos.
The question is not "Could your brand pass the tee-shirt test?"
But rather, "Does your full-page ad pass the too-much-copy test?"
This company is a total rip off of frog design (ID consulting firm that has been around for almost 40 years; strawberry is only 8).
Same lowercase, 2-tone logo, same "new" attitude, same sort of clients. Except, of course, strawberry is way more gay.
that ad could really use some kerning.
@copyranter..hey..if you hate so much! why wouldn't you do the rest of the world a favour..kill yourself! Or join your nations army, and let yourself be killed!
Strawberry Frog is a air castle. If you have to present creative ideas for a new client up to 6 times and still not get a blessing - there is a serious problem in the way the machine works.
It's what we call "All talk and no action."
Strawberry frog is gutsy. Not many people have the balls to start their own agency, let alone go after and compete with the big boys. They've got balls. So do the other start ups like Mother, Taxi, Anomoly - and BBH when they came to the US. They're putting their money where their mouths are. Copyranter where do you work?
I work at a place a hell of a lot smaller than SF, been here 15 years. They may be "brave," but their self-promotional sell is still bullshit.
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