That’s right!  One of the print ads we created for our client, VPI Pet Insurance, is now for sale on eBay.  And before you jump to any unethical conclusions, let me clarify:

- The above VPI ad is in fact officially, and most seriously, listed on eBay

- And NO!, Johnson Gray is NOT the seller!

It seems that someone in Phoenix, AZ is selling the print ad… and judging by their product description, they quite like it. 

First to kick off their campaign “Protect This House. I Will.” is their new Facebook page, Under Armour Women, aimed at all things women, with an extra stride towards team-oriented athletes.  This type of woman has been defined by Adrienne Lofton, head of Under Armour’s women’s apparel, as tough, intense and passionate.  A female who is competitive and confident and who plays on high school or college sports teams, or who, after college, continues to work out regularly.  Their page offers a team feature called Our House allowing women’s sports teams to create their own team page where they can upload inspirational content and strengthen their team bond.

Their campaign also features a 60: spot featuring professional women athletes completing some incredibly intense workouts.  The star athletic lineup includes: Lindsey Vonn, a 2010 Olympic gold medalist ski racer; Lauren Cheney, a soccer sensation playing for the United States National soccer team; and track and field runner, Monica Hargrove.  To learn more about what UA has planned for their “Protect This House. I Will.” campaign, read an in-depth story from the New York Times.  In the meantime, check out their TV spot:

This photo reminded me of three things:

1. Our Media Planner/Buyer, Shannon Bartholemy because of her lack of affection towards kitty cats,

2. Our incredibly creative team of designers - all of which I know would enjoy and get some giggle from this lost cat poster, and

3. This hilarious post that was recently shared with me by a fellow graphic designer.  It is a story of a woman who lost her cat and is in dire need of a lost poster, told through a progression of emails between the two individuals.  It is so funny, that I guarantee you - your cheeks will be sore after you’re through with it from laughing so incredibly hard. 

So please laugh with us and visit this link - http://bit.ly/bKQtX5

The KNVB had some Amsterdam creatives, Bas van de Poel and Daan van Dam, produce these awesome shirts for their fans to wear in support of their team.  The idea here is that whenever a goal is scored, the fans can pull the shirt up over their heads to reveal a strategically printed face of one of the Dutch football stars on the inside of each shirt – becoming apart of the team, a player of the team to be exact. 

How legit is that? 

I think we’re all wondering the same thing, Where can I get one?

Soccer’s popularity has grown exponentially in the U.S.  With social media avenues being available to soccer enthusiasts around the clock, there was unlimited access to every moment of this year’s World Cup.  That being said, it was no surprise to hear that an estimated 19.4 million U.S. viewers watched USA’s loss to Ghana on Saturday, June 26th 2010, making it the most watched soccer game ever in U.S. history.  The Nielsen Company confirms that the combined total viewership on ABC and Univision surpassed the last record high of the 18.1 million viewers who watched the 1994 World Cup final between Brazil and Italy.

It’s hard to wrap your mind around 19.4 million viewers, but Nielson lends a hand with their record keeping and comparisons of not only the most watched soccer games in the U.S., but recent sports events in general gives a bigger picture to further confirm how great of an impact soccer has had on American culture:

Record Soccer Games
1. 6/26/2010 USA-Ghana Match: 19.4 million
2. 7/17/1994 Brazil-Italy Match: 18.1 million
3. 7/10/1999 Women’s USA-China Match: 18.0 million
4. 6/12/2010 USA-England Match: 17.1 million
5. 7/09/2006 Italy-France Match: 17.0 million

Recent Sports Events
- 2009 World Series: 19.1 million (average per game)
- 2010 NBA Finals: 18.1 million (average per game)
- 2010 Final Round of the Masters: 16.7 million
- 2010 Kentucky Derby: 16.5 million

Even in comparison to this year’s NBA Finals, one of which I thought would have a much closer viewership to that of this soccer match, but with 1.4 million more viewers - there is no comparison.  The U.S. loves soccer.

With recent reports telling us that the newspaper market is consistently declining, with a 30% decrease in circulation from 2007 to 2009, no one can really argue with facts like that.  But that doesn’t mean it can’t change, especially if companies like In-N-Out keep offering incentives to new subscribers.  Right now In-N-Out is offering a $20 gift card if you order home delivery of the Los Angeles Times.  Time will tell if readers will be convinced to switch back to good-‘ol ink to get their news.

Printing Industries Association, Inc. of Southern California (PIASC) is the trade association for the graphic arts community in Southern California.  They put on an annual Printing Excellence Competition that covers all of the major Southern California markets including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Bernardino and more recently added, Nevada’s own major market Las Vegas. With PIASC being the largest graphic arts trade association in the nation, we were very honored to hear that our creative submission from our client work for Toshiba America Medical Systems won the Award of Excellence in the 2010 competition. 

This is a great win for both Johnson Gray and Toshiba America Medical Systems.  We couldn’t be more proud of our team for doing such a great job!

Here at JGA we have been delivering some award-winning healthcare advertising for our clients this year (as can be expected, it is what we do after all).  But this year specifically for our client St. Joseph Health System - Sonoma County our creative efforts have won them a National Aster Award for their TV spot, as well as a TELLY Award for their 2 year-long campaign we’ve created on their behalf.  Being that these are huge competitions with thousands of entries, the TELLY Awards alone being one of the most sought-after awards by industry leaders, with over 200 categories and submissions from all 50 states and 5 continents, we are very pleased to have won this award for our client.  Our creative team did an amazing job with St. Joseph’s “I am” advertising campaign which included print, TV, web, rich media and online banners.  Being that the campaign was so successful, we’ve included the creative as key pieces in our healthcare mailer: 

Visit our flickr page to take a closer look, and if you find yourself even more interested in what we have to offer for healthcare advertising - give us a ring 949.955.3781 and we’d be happy to mail you a copy of this mailer, as well as any other correspondence you need.