Benedict Advertising - Business Building Solutions

We are pleased to announce that the latest and greatest edition of the Benedict Newsletter is now out and about, probably already making its way into your mailbox. This issue contains all kinds of new stuff, including our new feature article highlighting a day in the life of one of our employees. This section will appear quarterly and will hopefully enlighten our readers as to what goes on inside of an advertising agency.

Other new items include our Best of the Best section chocked full of new stuff we’ve created for our clients, updated pictures from our Halloween contest, and a section devoted to the rare occasion when we go just a little too far with a project and it ends up in the deep end. Visit our Too Wild blog and tell us if you think the ads were too much.

If you haven’t received your newsletter or don’t want to wait for snail mail, click here to download it for your reading enjoyment.

by Donna Cooper, Jr. Copywriter

As the strike carries on into it’s 4th month, a new threat looms on the horizon. Advertisers and media buyers are looking for new ways to put their dollars to use. With the TV season looking like a sinking ship, move theaters all across America are in the sites of advertisers.

The once unspoiled domain that was the movies is the new target for developing advertising space. While it’s understandable that they don’t want their ad dollars to go to waste, it’s a touchy subject as to whether it’s a good idea to start advertising in movie theaters. The majority of moviegoers relish the fact that they can spend anywhere from 90 to 180+ minutes immersed in commercial free entertainment. Infringing upon that enjoyment with unwanted product advertisements that they try desperately to avoid using TiVo and DVR at home, will only succeed in annoying them further at the theater, what used to be a safe-haven from commercials.

Theaters in recent years, have been leaning toward using their giant screens for more than just local advertisements. Nowadays before the trailers start, you can see a wide variety of spots, but they typically have to do with the movie itself, the industry, or are sponsored by the products available in the theater lobby. But, if the strike continues and more and more buyers start looking for new ways to spend their money, we can expect to see Tide commercials at the beginning of Rocky XVII.

Even if the strike ends tomorrow, all might be lost for the untouched domain of movie theaters. Because of the prolonged state of the TV season, nobody is sure if TV is going to be a viable option for advertising anymore. With more and more people already gravitating to more interactive forms of entertainment (YouTube, MySpace, and Online TV shows)—the strike exacerbating the situation—it’s likely that people are going to turn their backs on TV.

Not only will it be likely that we will watch a series of commercial spots before the movie, but expect to see displays and interactive experiences in the theater lobby, as well.

If the strike goes on much longer, our movie going experience, as we know it might come to an end. In fact, it might already be too late.

by Donna Cooper, Jr. Copywriter

I’m not opposed to musicals. I just don’t make it a habit of watching them. It’s not at the top of my list of things to do, to say the least. I mean, I’ve seen a few musicals hear and there. Enjoyed them, even. To me, though, musicals seem to mostly be bubbly and have usually had some type of happy ending.

So, imagine my surprise when I went to the theater to see Johnny Depp singing his heart out as Sweeney Todd.

Now, my knowledge of the musical went so far as knowing he was a barber who killed people. I was surprised to learn, however, the story behind his killings and the overall darkness of the piece.

I expected there to be a comical aspect of it. Disappointed as I was, I enjoyed the unusual nature of this movie. With Tim Burton producing and directing his tag team of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, it was a great flick no matter what your thoughts were going in. Most people, I gather, were under the same veil of ignorance about the Broadway Musical and were surprised once the lights dimmed and the opening scene unfolded.

The film was dark, with beautifully designed scenes and outstanding camera work. After spending some time immersed in the scenery, the viewer is thrown into a surreal fantasy that it’s bright and colorful—which has the air of something more sinister behind it—and then thrown back into the dark reality of the movie.

One of the most compelling aspects of the film was—of course—Johnny Depp’s character, Sweeney Todd (aka Benjamin Barker). The man was wrongfully accused of a crime just so the Judge (played superbly by Alan Rickman) could steal his wife. When that didn’t work out, he took Benjamin Barker’s infant daughter instead and raised her as his ward until she was old enough to marry him.

Once Benjamin Barker was released 14 years later from his false imprisonment he returned to London as Sweeney Todd to seek out his long lost family. Only upon his return did he learn that his coveted wife was no more, and his daughter was raised by the man who ruined his life. Possessed by revenge, and encouraged by Mrs. Lovett (Bonham-Carter), Todd sets up shop and starts practicing for his intended target.

This macabre string of events turned into the ultimate tragedy when Todd realized that his all-consuming quest for revenge—and the realization that Mrs. Lovett had betrayed him—cost him everything he so desperately wanted.

With an impressive list of acting talent, this film delivered in performance and believability, to the point where you actually felt bad for all the characters—even the bad ones. Each one of us can all relate in some way to what motivated these characters—Love, Hate, Loneliness, Revenge, Envy.

Overall thoughts: Great movie, but a little hard to watch at times. Tim Burton didn’t spare us the graphic details of Sweeney Todd’s murderous rampage.

by Brenna Lewis, SUBWAY® Account Coordinator

Working in the world of SUBWAY® restaurants keeps a girl busy, with lots of interesting things.  But what is the number one question asked?

Do you get to meet Jared?

Ah, yes. Jared, The SUBWAY guy. Poor thing lost his last name in exchange for his fame. If you ask Jared if he thinks he is famous, he will tell you, “absolutely not.” Jared Fogle was just another student at Indiana University. And like a lot of students, he was over weight. Being the big man on campus was a problem for him.  At 20 years old, he had developed sleep apnea because of his excessive weight, especially around his chest and neck. This caused Jared to stop breathing in his sleep. This gave Jared the motivation to change his lifestyle, and fate would have it he lived 10 steps from a SUWBAY® restaurant. Jared walked into the restaurant, looked at the nutritional guide and devised a daily diet for himself. For one year Jared ate a 6-inch turkey, no cheese or condiments for lunch and a footlong veggie for dinner. A year later Jared had lost 100 pounds and had started walking for at least 30 minutes a day.

Another frequent question is how SUBWAY® restaurants first came to hear of Jared’s story. Despite what others may think, Jared did not contact anyone.  Jared had a friend who was writing for the school newspaper who wrote a simple story about Jared’s weight loss.  That story was picked up by a town newspaper, then a regional newspaper up to the point where SUBWAY® restaurants head quarters, in Milford, Connecticut was contacted for information on Jared. This was the beginning of the end of Jared Fogle the man and the inception of Jared, the spokesman.

Flash-forward almost 10 years later, Jared is traveling over 200 days of the year for SUBWAY® restaurants. He is just a regular guy with an irregular lifestyle now. He cannot walk into a public place without smiles, stares and being called at.  Basically, Jared knows what if feels like to be hot young girl. Witnessing the behavior of a mob of people asking for pictures, or not asking for them, makes me unbelievably grateful for my anonymity. I do get noticed occasionally when working with Jared, but the girls just want to make sure I’m not his wife and then the conversation is done. Well, at least I get asked.

I appreciate that I can dance like a fool and it wont end up on YouTube™ or that I am not satirized on South Park. Jared is a professional.  He knows his job is to maintain a brand image, which is a lot of work.  This is no 9-5 job, when you are in the public eye you are “on” and your life is a show.

The agency just brought Jared in this week to shoot a commercial for SUBWAY® restaurants, so how many of you were out and about town last night to witness the show?

Award Season is right around the corner. And while Hollywood’s Awards, shows are in mortal peril, thanks to the writer’s strike. Rest assured that other awards shows, banquets and galas are still alive and well. Especially, local ones.

The Daytona Beach Advertising Federation’s Annual Addy Awards, will take place on March 1st, 2008 and we’ve been busy reviewing the of our best and brightest creative materials from 2007. It’s been an eventful year, and we have a long list to choose from. With so many great options for multiple categories, it’s going to be hard to whittle that list down.

For those of you who will be attending we look forward to seeing you there.

Stay tuned for the results blog.

by Ashley Kelly, Executive Assistant

Up until last year I never really had a list of goals that I wanted to accomplish (other than my life long goal to save up $2.5 million and live off the interest for the rest of my life).  I mean there were those school assignments where teachers made you list a short term and long term goal and mine were always Short Term: Get an A in this class, Long Term: Graduate. (Clearly I didn’t invest much though into it.) Life changes so fast, who knows if what I want to accomplish today I’ll still want to accomplish a week from now… much less a few years from now.

So last year, with the help of a friend, I hammered out some goals that I wanted to accomplish. None that would change the world for the better, but simple things like Learn to Surf, and Get My Motorcycle License. Some I accomplished, some I didn’t, but this year I plan on adding to that list… and for that I’ve turned my sights to 43things.com. Here you can list 43 things that you want to accomplish, keep track of your progress and cheer on other people as they do the same.

I thought that finding 43 things I wanted to accomplish in life was going to take a while but I found myself reading other peoples goals and thinking “HEY I WANT TO DO THAT TOO!” I’m up to 40 and am trying to choose my last 3 wisely. I may never Drink A Guinness in Dublin #27… but here’s to trying!

by Amie Dreibelbis, Subway Account Coordinator

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Can you believe its 2008? How many of you have set goals or resolutions for the year? We all may have are own resolutions, but there are a few that we can all agree on. The most popular resolutions are losing weight, paying off debt, saving money, getting a better job, eating right, drinking less alcohol, quitting smoking, reducing stress, taking a trip, and volunteering to help others.

How many of you have made at least one of the above resolutions? I know I have…actually three of them.

Did you know 40 to 45% of American adults make one or more resolutions? Now the real question is, how long will you maintain the resolution(s) as time goes on? Research shows that 75% of people maintain past the first week, 71% past two weeks, 64% after one month and 56% after 6 months. They gradually taper off as the weeks go on. Although we tend to break them, people who make them are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t make resolutions. Only 8% of Americans say they always achieve their resolutions. I unfortunately do not fall in this percentage.

Do you?