Getting anti-social over social!

In an age where we are constantly told about how customers are supposedly begging to engage brands it strikes me as strange that so many companies are both laying off people while increasingly promoting themselves through social media. A good example of this was the news today that telecom Sprint will be laying off 8,000 employees. The No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier, which continues to hemorrhage subscribers, said it will lay off 14 percent of its work force by March 31 as part of a move to cut annual costs by $1.2 billion.

The bad news was accompanied by the usual bullshit positive spin across various social media from CEO Dan Hesse, the kind of stupid exercise that is now invariably greeted with cynical scoffing: "Labor reductions are always the most difficult action to take, but many companies are finding it necessary in this environment. We continue to improve the customer experience and these improvements are reflected in much higher levels of satisfaction in customer surveys and in independent performance tests. Our commitment to quality will not change."

Does Sprint think that they can increase their customer service amid layoffs? It just shows that in common with far too many other companies, their loyalties are to the balance sheet first while their customers will have to continue putting up with poor service.

And what about their commitment to their employees?

Yeah, I know... Dumb question.

Happy Birthday MAC!

In case you've forgotten, this week was the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Apple Macintosh. It's also the 25th anniversary of the Chiat/Ridley Scott, 1984 TV spot that featured the girl in the red shorts running through a bunch of agency account executives dressed as zombies to defeat Big Brother — supposedly IBM. It aired Jan. 22, 1984, during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII.

Two days later, Jobs, who in those days favored natty suits and bow ties rather than grungy jeans and black polo neck sweaters, strode onto the stage at the Flint Center at De Anza College in Cupertino, recited a few verses from Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin','' then pulled the first Macintosh out of its canvass carrying case.

Jobs inserted a floppy disk, and the small computer began to speak: "Hello, I am Macintosh. It sure is great to get out of that bag! Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking, I'd like to share with you a maxim I thought of the first time I met an IBM mainframe: Never trust a computer that you can't lift!"

The rest is history... Or not quite. What people forget is that Apple had launched the Lisa computer two years earlier with the exact same features that later made the Mac so popular. With one big difference, it had a price tag, that in today's money was about fifty thousand dollars. You could have bought a used IBM mainframe for less! It quickly died. The rest is history.

Super Bowl sayonara for the Bud gee-gees!

I'm getting sick and tired of hearing all the ad pundits here going on and on about how the up-coming Super Bowl will, once again be the Super Bowl of advertising. Something we are repeatedly told that has consumers watching the game for the ads, rather than the football.

Considering that the 60 minute, playing time, game usually last for about four mind numbing hours, you're talking about a hell of a lot of ads. Interestingly, they still haven't sold out the complete inventory of 30 second slots at $3 million a pop. So, there's lots of discounting going on.

As usual, Anheuser-Busch, is the biggest advertiser, with four and a half minutes and three spots featuring their famous Clydesdales. But as I have written before, now that Bud belongs to the Belgians, after the Super Bowl, the Gee-gees will be Brussels bound to be turned into Bud-Burgers. Hey... Times are tough!  

The great Zune melt down!!

Apparently the Zune 30 is in some kind of implosive state! It started the day before New Years eve here in the States when thousands of the game stations started freezing up exactly at midnight. Of course, because of the holidays, Microsoft support lines were closed down... Don't these people know that gamers are freaks, who play 24/7/365, barely coming up for food and sitting on commodes for natures call.

When Microsoft got back from the hols this was their answer to the gamers... "We are aware that customers with the Zune 30GB are experiencing issues with their Zune device. We are actively working now to isolate the issue and develop a solution to address it. We will keep customers informed on next steps." Meantime serious gamers are receiving counseling in an attempt to prevent them causing harm to themselves.

With the impending mass layoffs that will undoubtedly take place this month, out of work ad people should start brushing up their sudoku and crossword skills. Either that, or buy a Nintendo. Happy New Year.