When Coca-Cola’s globetrotting team of “happiness ambassadors” visited the United States, New York City was probably the only place that would do their energy and enthusiasm justice. Tony, Kelly and Antonio — the three who make up the Expedition 206 team — have brought happiness, excitement and creativity to each of the 145 countries they’ve [...]

You know what’s the cat’s meow? Design that embraces user-created content. I was reminded of how kick-ass this concept is at yesterday’s AIGA Geek Girls Guide luncheon on how to embrace user-created chaos. What’s exciting about designing for user-created content is that it’s not just about allowing fonts to get bigger on websites or creating [...]

As Minnesotans revel in Favre-a-palooza, the sequel, sports fans in another state are watching a sports circus with a more disturbing ending. On Monday, an Arkansas radio reporter was fired for wearing a Florida Gators hat to a press conference with University of Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino. Renee Gork, a Florida alum, drew Petrino’s ire at Saturday’s [...]

HBO is back in the cable package at the Broberg home and I’ve spent the last few nights catching up on the current season of “Entourage.”  It’s still a light, entertaining show even though you have to sit through some bad acting from the countless celebrities making cameos (like Adrian Peterson at a high-end auction [...]

Of course, we like to think we’re doing something pretty unique and innovative over here at what we sometimes affectionately refer to as The Pony. But it’s awfully nice when others seem to “get it” as well. We recently had the privilege of sharing our story with Nancy Eike at Minnesota Business. Our summer intern [...]

This is John Reinan’s weekly marketing column for MinnPost.com. See also Mike Keliher’s earlier take on the Old Spice campaign. Retailing tycoon John Wanamaker famously said that half the money he spent on advertising was wasted — he just couldn’t tell which half. A century later, a shirtless stud has once again prompted debate on [...]

  They’re everywhere! I’m talking about the Nice Ride Minnesota bikes, which I always think of as “do bikes,” because they have the logo of the longstanding “do” campaign on them. I’ve seen them all over the city in recent weeks, from the river parkways on the east to the greenway out by St. Louis Park [...]

McDonald’s recently entered new territory by launching a line of “real fruit” smoothies to expand its already super-sized menu. And in what may be considered a calculated retribution, Jamba Juice is fighting back with the launch of the Cheeseburger Chill Smoothie. Check out the commercial: The beauty of this campaign: the product it is advertising is fake. It’s [...]

This is John Reinan’s weekly marketing column for MinnPost.com. To view the original, go to http://bit.ly/9ENk03. The Shirley Sherrod saga highlights the vulnerability of a reputation in the Internet era — and the lessons apply to companies as well as individuals. For anyone who was asleep last week: Sherrod, a federal agriculture official, was vilified, [...]

There’s been a lot of buzz recently about Justin Bieber becoming the king of YouTube, surpassing Lady Gaga for most viewed video ever. The music videos for Bieber’s “Baby” and Gaga’s “Bad Romance” have each hit 250 million views – an astounding number – and those aren’t the only music videos currently in YouTube’s all-time top [...]