Is it too late to apologize?

I have to admit that, when I first tried them, I really liked them. I am aware that my taste sometimes fails to appeal to the mainstream. But when I first tried Maynard's Milkies, I actually thought they were O.K. Maynard's Milkies are "milkshake" style gummies with flavors like vanilla, strawberry and banana. The consistency and flavor are pleasant, but they were different. They were a new twist in the old gummy.
So I went about my life thinking how tasty this gummies were, and how I thought they may do really well in life. One day I "accidentally" wondered into a dollar store. I was browsing through the candy aisle when I realized that, between all the dated candy, were my Milkies. The only one product from the Maynard's new line of gummies that had landed in the dollar store. Maybe it was there for consumer product rehab. Maybe it was a sign that this product was sheer crap. But yours truly failed to notice anything more than a good deal. The sad part is that I decided against purchasing a large bag of Maynard's Milkies for $1 because of my health conscious behavior.
The final blow came a few weeks ago, when my insider source at Cadbury arrived at my home. She does not know that she is my insider source yet, but she will be aware of it soon. But that is not the point, what I am trying to say is the following; when she arrived to my place and I told her about my respect for Maynard's Milkies. She looked stunned and said "I have a whole truck filled with that stuff, nobody wants them" I decided to drop the topic immediately (and did not even ask for a free bag of gummies)
The whole point of this story is that you need to have your own well inform opinion. I was ready to give this product a good review, but the general population gave them the boot. There has to be a product development manager, somewhere in an Maynard's Product Development office, sitting behind his desk thinking about this issue. Just like I am doing right now and I am sure we are thinking the same: "Is it too late to apologize?"

Try This: Vivani's Bitter Chocolate with Chili

Life is full of surprises. When you think you have it all figured out, in a second something happens. Then you realize that you do not really have anything figured out and life gets a little brighter.
This weekend I came across Vivani's Ecuador Bitter Chocolate with Chili. This is truly an amazing and indulging product. The experience begins when you first notice the product. The packaging is exotic; it announces that this is an organic chocolate that was made with cocoa beans from Ecuador. This indulges your mind by inviting you to travel to an exotic destination by trying this product. The packaging is inviting you to connect with a distant and exotic place. If you choose to accept the invitation, the product does not fall short of any expectations. The chocolate is dark and bitter without being too violent to your mouth. The taste is natural, raw and has the perfect combination of bitterness with a bit of sugar that makes for the perfect dark chocolate.
It is when you think that you have this chocolate figured out that something happens. In a second, a mild trace of chili appears. It is strong enough to be noticed, but not strong enough to bother your senses or make you want to do any of those crazy things people do when eating spicy foods. This chocolate is truly remarkable. It takes you somewhere exotic and in an instant, it reminds you that life is full of surprises.

Sweet Gray Skies

Clouds of gray. The world sits still for a day. Everyone wonders when the sun will come back again. In days likes this, I enjoy drinking coffee and wearing sweatpants. It is cloudy and rainy and all I want is comfort.
I find my refuge from the gray world in coffee; some other people find it in chocolate. If you like comfort through chocolate, then you are going to love Cadbury's Burnt Almond Dark Chocolate. The flavor is rich and comforting. The sweet and bitter taste of dark chocolate is contrasted with the near neutral taste of almond. What results of this mix is both soothing and comforting. Perfect for a rainy day like today. So next time you find yourself trapped under gray skies, pick one of this sweet chocolates up.
We all seek comfort in different ways; some people find it in coffee and sweats and some others find it in chocolate. But ultimately, all we are hoping for is the next sunny day.

Drivers Just Want To Have Fun

I am in love with the new "Musical Chairs" Kia television ad. Here is a link to the ad, if you have not had seen it yet. Everyone is free to disagree with me, but I think this is a great ad. These are my reasons why:

- We all know about safety. We have been bombarded with ads emphasizing safety.

- We all have seen a car crashing into something and a dummy bouncing happily off an airbag.

- We have seen a car driving through a curve at a race car track.

- We are tired of the "We are family" Ford car ads. Who wants to be part of a family facing near bankruptcy, with quality issues and that needs to be replaced every three years?

The "Musical Chairs" Ad is relaxed. It takes driving off the road and takes it to the parking lot. It does a good job at showing the car in many angles and a great variety of colors. Furthermore, It also shows the handling of the vehicle in tight places, a parking lot, without having to emphasize it with a voice over. Best of all, It is also fun to watch! As Consumers, we are aware that cars come with safety devices and that tests are performed to measure and regulate the safety of a car when it is involved in a collision. These are all very important issues and I am not trying to ignore them. All I am trying to say is that it is time for drivers to have more fun.

Skip this: Blitz - worst tasting energy - Gum

When I first saw this product, I was intrigued. Blitz Energy Gum - Original Flavor claims to be a high energy gum. My eyes were instantly drawn to the metal packaging; the metal was shining and it stood out from any other gum around the store. It caught my eye. Maybe the shinny metal is designed to hide one major flaw in this product: it's taste.

High energy gums are being slowly introduced to the market. Their goal is to compete against the high energy drinks. I am not sure how many high energy gums are out there, but Blitz Energy Gum is the most advanced product until now. While the rest of the energy gums pack all the caffeine in the hard shell, which only delivers caffeine once (when you first eat the gum) Blitz has caffeine packed directly into the gum. Therefore the product delivers a constant dose of caffeine that lasts longer and is more effective than a one time delivery.

Priced at $2.76 for four servings (8 pieces of gum), this is definitely more expensive than regular gum. However, this is way cheaper than having one energy drink. Also, for about the same price than one energy drink (one serving) Blitz Energy Gum gives you four servings. This is a more economical alternative than a high energy drink.

Blitz Energy Gum has two major downsides. First of all, it cannot be mixed with alcohol! A large section of the "high energy products" consumer uses these products to get them through a night of partying and drinking. This is a big downside... I am not impressed.

The second, and a huge downside to this gum was it's flavor. Blitz Energy Gum - Original Flavor has a horrible taste, it is strong, sour and very very unpleasant. When I first started chewing the gum, the strong taste hit me like a wall. It was disturbing, but I decided to waited out. The strong taste lingered, my patience did not. I ran to the closest garbage can and disposed of the nasty gum. My mouth was numb and the taste stayed in my mouth. It was so strong that I had to have some water and another better tasting gum. Unbelievable.

Next time that you are feeling short on energy, skip this horrible tasting product and go to the energy drink fridge. You will not regret it.

Car Ad Evolution, Part V: Right here, right now

So we have finally reached the end of the Car advertisement evolution. This very unsuccessful but highly entertaining (at least for me) series set out to educate the world in the art of car ads.
I chose this car ad from Saturn because it highlights the main trends affecting the car industry today: The high price of oil, the pressure to reduce pollution and safety. It is also a very emotional ad; but this ad is not using the "pleasure of driving" appeal, the ad reflects on the history of Saturn. It also dwells their desired to evolve; to move forward and to design cars that look pretty. No mention of quality control ( lemons everyone?)

exit note: Friday! You will have to excuse me, but my brain seems to have gone partying and I cannot concentrate. Let us all hope for the brain's safe return next Monday; freed from anything that might come back and make Tuesday a very, very complicated day. Have a great weekend.

Making Smart Decisions About My Munchies

I was at the supermarket when I came across the intriguing green bag. I would like to say that I am the type of person that skips the chips aisle, but I am not. I love that aisle and I walk by it every week. The green bag happened to be a new product, Muchies Snack Mix - Reduced Fat.

Before I get into the details; I want to explain that, when a new product becomes relatively succesful, people start thinking about ways of adding new products under the succesful product's name. The goal is to create a product line that is benefited from the original product's success. Munchies Snack Mix is the perfect example. The original product was very successful; it is now a basic item at any of my parties. Due to that success, now we are seeing new types of Munchies, including the BBQ flavored mix and the Reduced Fat mix.

Munchies Reduced Fat Mix has 25% less fat than the regular munchies. The bag has a logo indicating that this is a "Smart Selection" . This is part of the Smart Spot campaign designed by PepsiCo to assist families in making smarter and healthier decisions about food. It is also a way of riding the health trend happening all across North America. But how healthy are these chips? Let's be honest, chips are not healthy and Munchies Reduced Fat is no exception.


This little bowl of chips contains one serving, or 50 grams. It has 9 grams of fat, 230 calories and 34 grams of carbs. It does have a little less fat than regular chips, but it is not healthy by any means. So if you plan on buying Munchies Reduced Fat because they are healthy, you are better off enjoying your favorite chips. One serving (50 grams) of your favorite chips will have about 10 - 15 grams of fat, but the rest of the contents would be very similar. My point is, do not be fooled by products claiming to have reduced fat, the difference is minimum. If you want to eat healthier, just skip the chip aisle next time.

How about taste? Munchies Reduced Fat taste pretty good! The mix contains Sun Chips, Baked Cheetos, Pretzels and Quaker Oat Squares (which are these tasty cheese flavored oat squares) Overall, the dominant taste is cheese and salt. If you like the taste of the regular Munchies, you will definitely like the reduced fat version. Just remember, you are not making any healthy, smart choices by eating this so called reduced fat chips. If you want to be a healthy eater, skip the junk food aisle and spend more time hanging around the produce department.

Car Ad Evolution, Part IV: 1990's price equation

Car Ad Evolution, Part III: USA 1985

So far we have only looked at Korean cars. I was wondering what the Americans were up to those days. That is why I decided to include the 1985 Ford Tempo ad. It is interesting to see the similarities between the Korean and American ads. They both seem to emphasize the driving experience in different weathers. Both ads have shots of the car driving through a curve. It is also funny to see how little things have changed throughout time; the 1985 Ford Tempo comes with a "5 year Duraguard warranty at no extra cost!" American cars now come backed by the "best warranty ever", a 4 or 5 year powertrain warranty. The only twist in the 1985 Ford Tempo ad is that we have the voice of an expert. Jackie Stewart supports this car. He is a 3 times world champion driver. He must know a lot about cars. He is telling me that he likes the car; that it is "A real driver's car" Once again, this ad is appealing to a person's emotional side. The pleasure of driving (backed by Jackie Stewart)

Jackie also touches on quality, he says that he is impressed by the quality of the car. And well, since he was won a world championship race 3 times, he must have seen a lot of cars. Never mind the fact that Ford paid him to appear in the ad. No pressure there.

To Learn To Say No

For the first time, I found myself in a position where I am not under pressure to make decisions. For a long time, I had to keep the end goal in mind, as someone very special once told me: "Begin with the end in mind". It was necessary for me to keep going, to sacrifice my likes and dislikes for the long term plans. To let things slip and ignore those little insults life brings. I am sure we all had to go through times like this. A few weeks ago, I realized that I did not know how to decline an offer, I had to learn to say no.
I spent two weeks preparing my resume and some cover letters. The goal was to land an internship in an advertisement agency in Vancouver. My first interview landed faster than expected, a lady that owns a very small agency sent me an email. A one liner that said "Come meet me ASAP, let me know when you can come in". No hello, no introduction, just one line and the prefabricated email signature. I was not impressed.
I arrived early to the interview. I waited for a few minutes and the one-liner lady came in, introduced herself and started asking me questions. All the questions she asked had one thing in common. All those questions could have been answered if she had read my cover letter and resume. Clearly, she did not bother to look at them. Once again, I was not impressed. But still, I took the internship.
Things happened, I started receiving one-liners from this woman at 10:00 pm, 11:00 pm and midnight. And I was not even officially her intern! There was one email that would become my lesson. I had to learn to say no and this email facilitated that. The email had a bunch of data, details about a plan that someone else had sent to the one-liner lady. As usual, I had the one-liner email with the prefabricated signature. This one-liner had the form of "Organize it as a workback plan" I had no idea what a workback plan was. I did some research online and I failed to find any relevant information. So I replied to her email, asking for a template or an explanation about what the hell she wanted. The one-liner lady did her thing and replied: "Google It" This was my lesson. I had to learn to say no. So I replied to her email, I told her that I was no longer interested in being her intern. I said no. It felt so good. I can do better than a one-liner woman agency. I will do better than that.
We all need to say no sometimes. Even in the smallest decisions. Take Trident's Splash Apple Raspberry. You should all say no to this one. The combination of fake apple flavor and sour raspberry does not perform. I do not like the fake apple flavor, it lingers in your mouth for a while, leaving your mouth feeling far from clean. I said no to the one-liner lady and fake apple flavor. Would you?

Car Ad Evolution, Part II: 1985

This is an ad for the 1985 Hyundai Pony Excel. The ad first shows the car's mechanical advantages, then moves on to show the new style and spacious interior. The last bit of the ad depicts a group of Hyundai Ponies running on the racing track. This is an emotional appeal directed at a driver's heart, it is the pleasure of driving a Pony.

Update on the Nissan Rogue

Ever since that lovely afternoon when a film crew rolled into my neighborhood, I have developed a bond with Nissan's new SUV, the Rogue. The crew visiting my street was filming an ad for the Rogue and I was lucky to have a living room with a window facing the shoot. In an instant, a bond was created. I am excited to announce that, according to the Toronto Star, the Nissan Rogue will be replacing Nissan's Ugly Stick, oh sorry, I mean Nissan's X Trail (please see below for picture) It seems that we will be watching the Rogue's debut on TV sometime soon. I am definitely keeping an eye out for the commercial; and when it arrives, you will be sure to find an excellent ( and unbiased) review about this amazing new vehicle.

Car Ad Evolution, Part I: 1974

Car advertisements have barely changed throughout the years. Technology has played a great role by allowing creative teams to design eye appealing imagery. But besides that, not very much has changed when it comes to car ads. They seem to emphasize safety, technical advantages and well, of course, the pleasure of driving. I decided to come up with a brief advertising timeline for car ads. Lets have a look at a 1974 Hyundai Pony commercial. I do not speak Korean, but I am assuming they are promoting safety in accidents since they are showing a crash test of their "latest" (in 1974) model. They also have a few seconds of the car driving in snow, which is probably promoting safety during winter driving conditions (but this is just my opinion).

Try this (if you haven't yet): Trident Splash Strawberry with Lime

Trident Splash Strawberry with Lime was one of the first flavors to arrive on the shelves. It was an innovation. I cannot recall when It was first I noticed the gum sitting on one of the impulse buy shelves at any grocery shop. Strawberry with lime is probably the most popular flavor within the Trident Splash line; this is partly due to the fact that it was the first one to arrive. The product is very attractive: the bright red and green packaging is eye catching and the gum's flavor meets the expectation. The flavor is a bit sweet and sour, strawberry dominates the scene and the lime takes the background. It makes for an amazing combination. So if you have not tried this gum yet, I suggest you do so.