Cherryflava

The week that was…

Posted on 29. Sep, 2006 by Jonathan Cherry.

Summary of stories this week:

Jetstreaker:

Ms. Hilton endorses canned wine while driving under the influence
Borat and Brad Pitt team up???
Schumacher sprays MUMM on a reader

Cherryflava:

BusinessWeek’s ‘Best of the Web’
Have you reserved your space for the Joburg geek winefest?
NYC fashion goes pornvertising

And a big thanks to this week’s Cherryflava blog network advertisers – Virgin Money SA and 7’s.

World chart of web design

Posted on 29. Sep, 2006 by Jonathan Cherry.

We’re hearing the voice of Eon de Vos again.
Found – the world chart of the world’s very best in website design. This is the Top 40 Design Sites as judged by merely 3 sites… Designaside, Dope Awards, Website Design Awards.

We have a feeling that some South African’s were involved with the design of this week’s no.19 – the Coke side of life.

Check them out here - and make gunfire sounds with your mouse. [via Notcot]

Xbox 360 hits South Africa at midnight

Posted on 29. Sep, 2006 by Jonathan Cherry.

Tens of thousands of gaming geeks south of the Limpopo have been counting their sleeps in anticipation for today.
Plasma cannons are at the ready, unholstered – to deliver a resounding volley of celebratory fire into the air.

Midnight tonight, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is finally officially available in South Africa.
Just in time for Father Christmas to snap one up before the malls start getting hit by gangsters looking for theirs in the holidays.

The console kit is set to retail at
R3 699 and includes a 20GB hard drive,
wireless controller, ethernet cable, HD AV cable and headset.

Now…we’re not gaming experts.

We have a dog-eared PS2 that gets a controller thrown at it once in a while, and a couple of well used game titles. But this Xbox console is going to have to make tea and warm up a doughnut in the morning for that price.

Even that swirling, hypnotic graphic on the clean, white attractive packaging is not going to make us pad on down to Reggies to spend a tenth of a car payment – just to be hip.

But with the PS3 SA launch delayed, console brand wars are set to wage.

Xbox 360 invades South Africa next month – Joystiq ([yawn] as always – entertaining anti-SA political comment flame war follows in this post)

Tunnelvertising

Posted on 29. Sep, 2006 by Jonathan Cherry.

Interesting, yet rather dodgy Axe deodorant tunnel billboard. Our Portuguese is a little rusty, but we gather the line translates to ‘The Axe Effect ‘. [via]

Nasty, but perhaps spot on for the target market [if its not a Photoshop job].

Amazing how similar this ad, is to this one….for a brand of lubrication gel….[via]

Coincidence?

That tunnel ad is just begging to get tagged.

Stockbroker goes Web 2.0

Posted on 28. Sep, 2006 by Jonathan Cherry.

In South Africa, its really only the Brett Kebbles’ George Porretts’  Shabir Sheiks’ super rich that can really afford to trade shares on the JSE. Commission is the killer. Unless you’re throwing at least R10 000 at a counter, you might as well just get a saving account at an ordinary bank.

But maybe the web will change that.

A former Merrill Lynch vice president – is set to open a zero-commission online stock trading portal, funded by Google Adsense.

Jeroen Veth said that Zecco.com will sustain itself through
advertising. "We run a lean operation, use the latest technology and
rely entirely on word of mouth, guerilla marketing, viral campaigns and
public relations to get the message out," he said in a statement.

The Zecco business model has taken more body blows than Mike Tyson in his last fight, but remember when everyone thought there was no money in search.

The Zecco model is an ambitious one. Whether the website will generate enough traffic to run the entire operation from Adsense revenue alone is doubtful. But maybe with enough buzz and support a unique path will be discovered.

Let’s seriously hope that the Zecco model works – and if it does, its only a matter of time that banks and other financial services brands change their tunes.

Website: Zecco.com
Zecco has a hard road ahead – TechCrunch

Burger King uses rugby to promote burgers

Posted on 28. Sep, 2006 by Jonathan Cherry.

Kiwis are so crazy about life’s simple pleasures of rugby, the beach, horses and bikinis (all done at the same time) that just combining them all in a Burger King ad makes for a good commercial.

This just makes us realise – that if Kiwi woman are able to play rugby, sporting bikinis on horseback – what real chance have we ever got of winning the World Cup next year when their national team is doing nothing but playing rugby? [via Adrants]

Brands from the 70s to make a comeback

Posted on 28. Sep, 2006 by Jonathan Cherry.

The more things change – the more everything goes backwards in time.

Fans of the mucho 70s, will be squealing like girls on a rollercoaster  when they find out that their favourite brands from the retro ‘Saturday Night Fever decade’ are set to hit the shelves again.

Old-school brands like Brut and Cinzano may have died a while ago, but kids of today have never heard of these brands and there’s the opportunity.

A report by trade magazine The Grocer found that people between the
ages of 30 and 45 have a sentimental fondness for brands of their
childhood.

"Manufacturers have recognised that trades are cyclical and there is a gap in the market for old favourites.

"Moreover, there is an opportunity to improve on those old
favourites — whether by enhancing the product itself or its image,"
the report said.

With kids using peer-to-peer networks to rediscover music from Led Lepplin to Black Sabbath – it makes sense that they’d also want smell like a greasy, bell-bottom, gold chain wearing playboy.

Get ready for Fray Bentos, Fortis, the National Party, Magnum PI, Mr Men, Rupert the Bear, Iron Maiden and Right Guard.

Brands from the 70s make a comeback at the checkout – Brand Republic
70s naff set to make a comeback - this is london

Beach billboard

Posted on 28. Sep, 2006 by Jonathan Cherry.

Advertisers call this form of communication ‘Ambient’ communication.

Nothing too ‘ambient’ about having giant speach bubbles screaming at you on the flippin’ beach.
Awful, bad…please don’t try this here.
Imagine authorities did the same thing on the mountain.

‘BEWARE: Muggers are known to requent this hiking trail. Enjoy your walk.’

[...]

Airshow

Posted on 27. Sep, 2006 by Jonathan Cherry.

An Aerospace and defence expo is a rather strange concept.
Arms ‘brands’ from around the world display their wares to the general public, dish out brochures detailing product specs and showoff their ranges in an attempt to lure you to purchase a tank or a submarine.

If you’re planning to start a war its handy, but lost a bit on us.

Check out our outdoor pics from the show.

Airshow

Posted on 27. Sep, 2006 by Jonathan Cherry.

Pictures from the Africa Aerospace and defence expo recently held in Cape Town.

Last shot is a top secret weapon being developed by the Zimbabwean defence force.
Relatively silent, cheap to operate, but difficult to control.