A DAY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Wait a day, spare the air: That's the message Grand & Toy is spreading with its “What a Difference a Day Makes” campaign, which challenges businesses to consider 48-hour delivery over next-day service.

Grand & Toy serves 200,000 customers and delivers to 6,000 businesses a day. By moving to 48-hour delivery, the company is able to shorten routes and put fewer trucks on the road, which lowers its carbon footprint.

The campaign consists of advertisements in a major national newspaper, online marketing and an online “Green Meter” tallying customers signing up for the option.

Read More >> Because it's Friday, something fun.



This short film, created by London animator Chris Gavin, was shot using stop-motion photography of old-style pegboard letters.

Read More >> Slate's Farhad Manjoo joins the swarm of reviewers of Microsoft's new search engine--but as always, his article has a depth and intelligence that few quick-wristed bloggers share.

And, as with David Berkowitz's Ad Age evaluation, Manjoo finds a lot to like.

Read More >> You've probably heard about Bing, the new search engine that Microsoft hopes will give Google a run for its money.

David Berkowitz, director of emerging media for 360i, put Bing through the paces for the benefit of Ad Age readers.

Overall, he seemed to like it. But he doesn't consider it an engine per se.



Read More >> "The Globe and Mail and Torontoist yesterday announced a content-sharing agreement that will see information from the popular city blog featured in the Globe's new Toronto web hub," reports Media in Canada.

"The Globe's new local news hub will prominently feature Torontoist's daily Urban Planner, which lists events happening in the city along with Newsstand, a roundup of the top news stories affecting Torontonians. In addition to these regular features, the Globe will spotlight some of the best of Torontoist's coverage of life, arts, culture, news and politics from around the city."

Read More >> Jennifer Wells writes about contextual advertising in television shows. In Created, she looks at a clever campaign by the Brainstorm Group that's promoted with the help of "a $40,000-off coupon for creative services rendered." In Noted, Wells reports that "Peter Arnell's contentious redesign of the Pepsi logo is at last rolling into Canada through television spots and billboards and more..." And in Quoted, she brings us a new ad for Comcast starring Shaquille O'Neal and Ben Stein along with outtakes from the shoot.

Read More >> MOVE OVER, KILLER TOMATOES: THE LIME Invasion is here! Almost 50,000 limes invaded five Canadian cities recently to promote the arrival of Bud Light Lime, which hit shelves on Monday. Street teams in lime-coloured shirts handed out limes with a sticker reading, "You asked Canada, now it's here--YouTube.com/LimeInvasion

The YouTube site features videos, product info and an invitation to become a Bud Light Lime fan on Facebook. Fans who recruit 300 new members to their Facebook group will have the chance to host the ultimate Bud Light Lime launch party in their hometown.

Read More >> Because it's Friday, something fun.



To find out how Jorge Columbo created this image, read the short accompanying New Yorker piece. For more about the artist, see the press page on his website.

Read More >> An old-style format is being resurrected by savvy media suppliers.

According to Media Life magazine, stand-up cutout figures are being used in a variety of campaigns, from yoga school promotions to efforts to encourage the acceptance of public breastfeeding.

"An upcoming campaign for a yoga school in Charlotte, N.C., features a large board with a woman standing on one leg and holding the other up behind her and grasping it with her hands," Media Life writes.

Read More >> The Institute of Communications Agencies recently held their annual Future Flash conference and, as you might expect, the tone was a little different from that of recent years.

Media in Canada was there, and reported on what ad industry bigwigs had to say about the unique challenges we currently face.

Among those bigwigs were ICA CEO Gillan Graham, Coca-Cola's SVP, creative excellence, North America, Pio Schunker, co-author of Brand Immortality Peter Field, Jeff Swystun, chief communications officer, DDB Worldwide NY, and our own Phillip Crawley, The Globe and Mail's publisher.

Read More >> Jennifer Wells interviews TBWA's worldwide chief digital officer Colleen DeCourcy. In Created, Wells chats with Paul LeBlanc, who recently expanded his Extreme Group agency from Halifax to Toronto. In Noted, she reports on the Quebec Lab, "an incubator for global brand teams looking for a robust, diverse market in which to test marketing initiatives and media strategies from A to Z." And in Quoted, Wells brings us Daniel Morel, global CEO of Wunderman, who's been touring the agency's charitable initiatives in Asia on his Harley.

Read More >> CANADIANS TRUST SECRET DEODORANT and Mr. Clean to keep things smelling fresh, a survey on brands reveals.

Reader's Digest magazine commissioned Harris/Decima to conduct an independent survey to rank our most trusted brands within 18 product categories, ranging from airlines to SUV manufacturers.

WestJet was selected most-trusted airline while TD Canada Trust took top honours for banking. Toyota, Dell, Canon, Maple Leaf and Duracell were also chosen as trusted brands.

The full survey is in the June issue of Reader's Digest and S�lection magazine.

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