Ads Gone Wild: More antics in Boston

Well, I already posted my opinions on the city of Boston's overreaction to the Aqua Teen Hunger Force guerrilla marketing campaign that led to the city practically shutting down a few weeks ago.

However, a new advertising tactic has again agitated Boston officials.

BOSTON (AP) - Less than a month after highways and bridges were shut down during a bomb scare touched off by an advertising stunt, a new marketing scheme has led angry city officials to shut down a historic site.

A clue in a Dr Pepper promotion suggested a coin that might be worth as much as $1 million was buried in the 347-year-old Granary Burying Ground, the final resting place of John Hancock, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and other historic figures.

After contestants showed up at the cemetery gates early Tuesday, the city closed it, concerned that it would be damaged by treasure hunters.

"It absolutely is disrespectful," Boston Parks Commissioner Toni Pollak told The Boston Globe. "It's an affront to the people who are buried there, our nation's ancestors."

OK...I have to side with Boston in this case.

Cadbury Schweppes PLC, the makers of Dr. Pepper soda, should have known better than to hide a valuable coin in a cemetery, especially one serving as the burial site to some of the founding forefathers of the United States. The company should have worked with City Hall on this one.

That being said, I also think Turner Networks/Adult Swim should have informed the cities involved in the Aqua Teen campaign of the plan before implementing it. However, I still say Boston overreacted to that one.

Remember Apple's "Think Different" campaign?

Apple used an advertising slogan of "Think Different" back in the late 1990s...and it actually still pops up from time to time. However, as a fan of the company and its products, I must admit that Apple has never really been thinking different(ly). It would be more apt to say, "Think Cool."

Apple just does things in a cooler fashion than the rest of the industry. The products are great, but they don't really produce anything that is so different than what's already out there. The genius lies in CEO Steve Jobs' "Barnumesque" showmanship skills, clever marketing strategies, and a brilliant design team.

OK...so why am I bringing all this up? Well, about a year before the "Think Different" campaign started, the first issue of MacAddict magazine showed up in 1996 with this graphic (source: AppleGazette.com):

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HEY! That looks an awful lot like:

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See...it's not about thinking different(ly)...it's all about making things look cool.