Truth be told, pens are not the most exciting category in the world. But OfficeMax and DDB Chicago teamed up to get consumers pumped up about this category, and specifically OfficeMax’s new exclusive line of TUL pens with the launch of www.tul.com. Visitors to the site can get their handwriting analyzed and learn more about the TUL brand.
“The TUL pens are cool. There is a certain vibe to them. And so we wanted to do something that would be equally as cool. At first we presented magazine ads, and then we had this idea at the last minute,” explained Vinny Warren, creative director at DDB Chicago. “Because it was pens, kind of a low-interest type of category–people aren’t thinking about pens too much–you kind of have to make them think about them. We came up with the idea of online graphology, because while people may not be interested in pens, they are interested in themselves.”
Visitors to the site, produced by the Barbarian Group, Boston, are greeted by renowned Internet graphologist Dr. Gerard Ackerman, who is actually Andy Bobrow, writer for the television show Malcolm in the Middle. He invites people to learn about the history of graphology and participate in the handwriting analysis by answering a few questions on the site. Then he personally delivers the diagnosis based on slant, size, spacing and individual letters of the participant’s handwriting. As he explains what their handwriting reveals about their personalities, childhoods and romantic prospects for the future, his dry, comedic delivery and sometimes nonsensical comments are a red flag that this site doesn’t take itself too seriously–although Warren pointed out that they did talk to a real graphologist before creating the site.
“We actually consulted a graphologist so the bits of info that we give you are graphologically correct. Some people don’t get that it’s a joke at first, which is good, but the people who get it really get it.”
Warren said the site wouldn’t have worked as well without Bobrow. When thinking about who could play the graphologist , he remembered Bobrow from an online film he did called the Old Negro Space Program. It was a short “mockumentary,” done in the style of a Ken Burns documentary, that ridiculed the strict racial segregation in the first half of the 20th century in the United States by claiming there was a separate space program run by blacks who had been excluded from “White NASA.”
“It’s hilarious. He played a character in that, a professor of African-American studies, and his character was sort of this pompous academic. We didn’t want to just get an actor and feed him lines. Andy kind of came with the character preloaded in him, we just tweaked it a bit,” Warren explained. “He does a lot of digressions and brings his own life into it.”
Since Bobrow is not a professional performer, Warren was worried about his stamina. “We had to shoot variations for every response–two or three for every characteristic of your handwriting, but the surprising thing was the guy was indefatigable,” said Warren, adding that the creative team chose not to use a director because they felt like he or she would complicate something that was very simple.
Consumers can also participate in the handwriting analysis by completing and mailing in a print ad postcard that introduces OfficeMax’s TUL Pen Graphological Initiative in the October issues of Wired, InStyle, Esquire, Metropolis and Dwell, placed by media partner PHD. After completing this process, all participants receive an e-mail with a Web video link to a personal analysis by Dr. Ackerman, who also recommends what style TUL pen would be best for each participant.
Warren said they’ve received 8,000 postcards and have had 50,000 visitors to the site since it was launched in September.
“When introducing this new proprietary brand we wanted to interact with each consumer, providing a place to not only learn about our new TUL line but offer a personal experience consumers could interact with and be entertained by,” said Ryan Vero, OfficeMax executive VP and chief merchandising officer. “The graphology site allows us to do just that, while establishing a brand and memorable personality for this product line designed for our customers.”
A Closer Look At Proposed Measures Designed To Curb Google’s Search Monopoly
U.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade.
The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google's business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser and syndicating its search data to competitors. Even if the courts adopt the blueprint, Google isn't likely to make any significant changes until 2026 at the earliest, because of the legal system's slow-moving wheels.
Here's what it all means:
What is the Justice Department's goal?
Federal prosecutors are cracking down on Google in a case originally filed during near the end of then-President Donald Trump's first term. Officials say the main goal of these proposals is to get Google to stop leveraging its dominant search engine to illegally squelch competition and stifle innovation.
"The playing field is not level because of Google's conduct, and Google's quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired," the Justice Department asserted in its recommendations. "The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages."
Not surprisingly, Google sees things much differently. The Justice Department's "wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision," Kent Walker, Google's chief legal officer, asserted in a blog post. "It would break a range of Google products — even beyond search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives."
It's still possible that the Justice Department could ease off on its attempts to break up Google, especially if President-elect Donald Trump... Read More