John Cheek

I’m Mad This is a Ciroc Watch

John — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:13:41 +0000

TweetCheck out this clever partnership between Casio G-Shock watches and Diddy-endorsed vodka, Ciroc: Not only is it a watch, but also a breathalyzer, perfect for striking up a conversation with some drunk chicks at your frat’s next house party, bruh. Or make responsible driving decisions. Beyond that, it’s a pretty nice looking watch, though. [...]

Samsung: Come On, Jake. No Really.

John — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:37:39 +0000

TweetNothing like a worn-out, corny punchline to announce a consumer electronics innovation: If you’re somewhere you can’t click on the video or just have something better to do with 30 seconds, the spot is for a Samsung refrigerator with a sparkling water dispenser in the door. Pretty cool, right? It opens on a shot of [...]

Cheerios Didn’t Lose Their Head Over Youtube Comments

John — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:35:38 +0000

TweetLast week, everybody from AdWeek to Larry O’Donnell was abuzz about the new Cheerios ad, which features…gasp…a mixed race family. I thought they were cool for doing it. Plenty of mixed marriages exist (my parents come to mind), and they’re becoming more common all the time. But Americans aren’t always so good at dealing with reality, and advertisers are [...]

PayPal Wants to Be Your Cash Register

John — Thu, 16 May 2013 05:46:36 +0000

TweetBlame my stint selling point of sale terminals for the soon-to-be Icahn Computer Corp., but I’ve had a dorky interest in how people pay for things for a while now. I don’t mean how consumers can afford things or anything like that, but the systems they use to check out at retail outlets, and how [...]

I Do…Not Have $27k to Spend on a Wedding

John — Sat, 11 May 2013 23:39:27 +0000

TweetConsumer insights sometimes come from places you don’t expect them to, and this one is pretty interesting. Blogging on The Dish, which is edited by gay conservative, Andrew Sullivan, writer Patrick Appel pointed out an interesting counterpoint to some common wisdom on marriage. The original point, as laid out by another conservative writer, is that [...]

CISPA: Not This $&#^ Again

John — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:30:29 +0000

TweetIn the early days of this blog, I posted about SOPA, a bill that threatened to take a sledgehammer to the open internet to protect the intellectual property of a few organizations. While many of us may or may not have a pirated mp3 or a burned copy of a DVD lying around, the problem [...]

Live from the Forrester Forum

John — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:02:38 +0000

TweetToday, I’m hanging out at Forrester’s Forum for Marketing Leaders. I’ll be live tweeting throughout the day: Tweets about “#forrforum @johncheek” Tweet me! Tweets about “#forrforum from:johncheek”

Go Home, Firefox. You’re Drunk.

John — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 06:41:32 +0000

TweetDear Mozilla, I like you guys. Before the slick beauty that is Chrome, before the geeky elegance of Opera (at least before I knew about it), you were my original liberator from Internet Explorer. Your expandable add-ons always struck me as a forerunner to the app ecosystem that made the modern smartphone possible. Before Google [...]

Are Brands Finally Figuring Out How to Handle National Tragedies?

John — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 04:43:19 +0000

TweetLet me begin by extending my sympathy and best wishes to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, their loved ones, and the residents of Boston. Such trying times often bring out the best in individuals and communities, but all too often, they bring out the worst in brands. From tone-deaf attempts at timely promotions [...]

New Era: Hats Off to Jackie Robinson

John — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 05:00:48 +0000

TweetAs I sit here watching my Dodgers struggle to come back against the Padres (I know. Shut up.), I’m reminded that today is a special day in Dodgers, sports and American history: 56 years ago, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier to make his MLB debut. The annual tribute is amplified this year by the [...]