On a recent shopping trip to Mitsuwa, a chain Japanese grocery market in California, Christy found an interesting group of products that occupied a good portion of the local Japanese retail shelf. Promising to deliver an ‘authentic’ drip cup of coffee right to your desktop was a small, thin package no larger than one and a half inches wide and six inches tall. We thought it just might be brilliant idea!

We bought a box of five packets for eight dollars to try it out (click above for the step-by-step process). The most transformative part of the whole experience occurred when we bent the filter horizontally and ‘bam!’ the ground coffee, previously hidden, was revealed. The manufacturer tastefully glued the filter seam so it stays closed during transportation and ‘pops’ open when you bend it. The rest of the process was actually very intuitive as we added hot water and watched coffee come straight through the filter. It was a very good cup of coffee that may have been a bit expensive, but the experience rocked!

Are you on Facebook? Do you like hamburgers? You’re in luck.

Burger King has put forth its latest viral marketing experiment – The Whopper Sacrifice. The challenge asks you to ditch ten friends, and in turn, you receive a free Whopper. With the quick installation of the application on your Facebook profile, the Sacrifice is on.

In typical Facebook style, when you defriend someone, your friendship merely dissolves into cyberspace – no one is notified. Here’s the kicker with the Whopper Sacrifice: the name and likeness of the friend you ditch shows up in your feed, noting, for example, “John sacrificed Joel Kaplan for a free Whopper”.

While it’s a noteworthy concept, it’s also an ethical dilemma, reminiscent of high school days when, as Heidi Klum would say, “One day you are in, and the next, you’re out.” The campaigns tagline reads, “You like your friends, but you love the Whopper.” Over 230,000 have been sacrificed thus far.

While this creates a buzz around Burger King, the real question remains: is inflicting public humiliation really worth saving a couple bucks on a burger?

Stunningly handsome, wickedly fast, and equipped with plug-in hybrid technology, Henrik Fisker’s newest creation, the Karma, is paving the way to a cleaner future for the performance-luxury market. Fisker, whose résumé includes the Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vantage, is hoping to capitalize on what the company is calling the ECO-CHIC sensibility: environmentally conscious, futuristic, and uncompromising in quality. Delivering on that ideal, the Karma is an astonishing feat of automotive design. The proprietary technology, Q DRIVE, delivers an initial 50 miles of gripping, ultra comfortable travel with zero emission. And a full-length solar roof allows for cord-free charging and self-contained cooling for the interior, while the car is parked.

The flagship Karma will be priced around $80,000 with additional models to follow. For Americans who aren’t willing to trade their Maserati for a Prius, the Karma will be music to their ears.

Here is an exercise for you. Match up the following celebrities and the brands you think they endorse.
(See answers below.)

Recently, the latest Lord & Taylor radio advertisement captured my attention. In the ad spot, style expert and TV personality, Robert Verdi interviews young women about their shopping experience at L&T. While not everyone will recognize Verdi’s name, fashion-conscious listeners will likely respond to the confidence and enthusiasm in Verdi’s voice as he appraises shoppers’ looks. As executives attempt to revitalize Lord & Taylor’s brand, the introduction of Verdi may be a wise choice.

Consider Applebee’s. Wanda Sykes may not be a gourmet, but I bet you know her voice and her now unforgettable line “Get it together, baby!” Let’s face it, you’re probably not going there for the fine dining anyway, but Wanda Sykes makes lunch at Applebee’s sound like fun.

How about Sam Waterston? When you hear his voice you will likely trust him even if you don’t know his name. Why? For many years Waterston has portrayed the noble Jack McCoy on NBC’s Law and Order. He sounds kind, honest and fatherly. Wouldn’t you take his advice? TD Ameritrade hopes you will.

And what about a Bud with George? I’m in.

(Answers: 1. D, 2. H, 3. G, 4. F, 5. C, 6. B, 7. A, 8. E)

Last weekend, my mom spontaneously announced: “I have a treat for you,” as she handed me a new pair of Lululemon reverse groove yoga pants.

“And the best part is,” she gushed, “The bag. It’s reusable! And super-cute, right?”

“Absolutely,” I told her, though I didn’t have the heart to inform her I already had four of the same red bags, covered in inspiring messages, sitting in a pile at home.

***

The next day, my sister approached my mother, sister-in-law and me with an ear-to-ear grin and an I-have-a-secret-behind-my-back posture. She quickly revealed four reusable bags–one for each of us–and of course, one for her.

The bags featured black and white fashion shots and a sign-off of Ovations for the Cure of Ovarian Cancer, a foundation close to our hearts, as a dear friend of ours had passed away after a nine-year battle just days before.

***

Last night, I dined with a friend who had just returned from Disney World. She carried a real-live plastic bag (gasp – are we still using these?), which revealed an adorable Mickey Mouse reusable tote. Complete with artfully frayed edges and those signature mouse ears, the tote gave the look of reused materials, perfect for the shabby chic tree hugger.

***

After dinner, I tossed my oh-so-adorable bag behind the passenger seat in my car and watched it float to the top of an already brimming pile of super-convenient, ultra-green reusable bags. I couldn’t help but wonder: could there be such a thing as too many reusable bags? (This coming from a girl who can’t say “no” to anything in the handbag genre).

Now that even Mickey is getting in on the action, will each American home acquire an overabundance of the very thing that was meant to minimize paper and plastic bag consumption?

Have we out-greened ourselves and flopped back over to the standard American tenet of “more is more”, wasting energy and material (which surely is not all recycled), and landing exactly where we didn’t want to end up?

***

For now, I’ll switch off my bags daily, tote their messages with pride, and pray for less generous friends and family. Just doing my part.

Hilton housekeeping says, “Hello.”

None of the coolio hotels we like for our New York getaways could accommodate four guests in one room, but the Hilton on 53rd St fit our family and our budget.  Leaving our room on the first morning, we got a nice big “Hello” from every member of the housekeeping staff whom we passed in the hallway.  These employees were busy doing their work, but not too busy to look up, share a smile and wish us a good day.  By the end of our stay, we got to be fairly chatty together.  I don’t know if Hilton trains all of its employees to stop their work and greet the guests or if these folks were just personally inclined to put something extra into their job.  I do know that it made a difference for me.  Rule #3 of great service: Say, “Hello.”

Our good friend and colleague Lewis Gordon Pugh, an explorer and environmentalist, has launched yet another awe inspiring expedition to the North Pole. You may recall that Lewis was the first human to swim the North Pole, completing a 1km (0.62 mile) swim, in minus 1.7°C water. As he continues to raise awareness about the environmental and political threats in North Pole, his newest expedition, kayaking from Spitsbergen, Norway to as far North as possible, will certainly be just as impressive.

The purpose of Lewis’s journey is to document the loss of sea ice due to global warming and to remind the world of the crucial role that Arctic regions play in our ecosystem. As the ice depletes, new shipping routes are being created, further opening up this fragile region for oil exploration. Political tensions are also escalating, as many nations are staking claim to the newly exposed territory. To keep up with Lewis’s expedition, please check out the Polar Defense Project.

Lewis also spoke at our last Green Design Event here in Boston. Check out the video of his presentation here.

By now most of us are somewhat familiar with the Obama campaign “sun-rising-over-the-field-of-flag” logo.

But did you know that the Obama campaign has tweaked their logo specifically for different populations. You know, Arab Americans, environmentalists, kids, women, etc.

Here are a some of my favorites…

Can you figure out which one is which?

See them all at:
http://www.barackobama.com/people/

Good politics is good branding. Is this good branding?

The Sartorialist creator and fashion blogger extraordinaire, Scott Schuman, is one of the newest faces of The Gap.

Shooting images of fashion inspiration on the streets of the world’s chicest cities and shooting from the hip with spot-on commentary, Schuman dominates the fashion blogging scene, reporting on trends for the common folk and the fashion elite.

With names like Bergdorf’s and Saks under his belt, Shuman’s shift to hawking the more mass-appeal Gap brand could represent the reality of the economic downturn for the catwalk set. But this time, he’s not behind the scenes styling or opining; he’s a subject of the fall ’08 advertising campaign.

From avant-garde fashion designers to underground DJs, The Gap has shifted its spokesperson focus from celebrities to cutting edge style makers. Is the khakis-and-tees crowd ready for a more fashion forward campaign with edgier, behind-the-scenes faces? Is the blogosphere even shopping at The Gap, or will this campaign miss the mark by leveraging these scarcely known (but widely read) names to a mainstream crowd? Only sales will tell.

Shuman may be one of the biggest influences in the fashion information super highway, but in the wake of competitor Zara taking the lead over the Gap as the world’s largest fashion retailer, the stakes are higher and the real question remains: can bloggers sell jeans?

AMC’s acclaimed TV series, “Madmen”, is an interesting comparison to today’s Ad agencies and Brand Consultants. If you’ve never seen the show, it’s set in 1960s New York and follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising. On the recent Episode 4, the execs of Sterling Cooper Advertising are preparing for a big pitch to American Airlines. I was struck by something that Don Draper, the lead creative exec, asked his team: “Did you design the menu yet? Did you pick out a china pattern?”. Really? I thought. Did Ad agencies get into those types of touchpoints? It seems that Sterling Cooper was selling more than just an ad campaign, and actually an immersive brand experience.

In the 1960’s, there were no “brand consultants”. As the market became more saturated in the 80’s & 90’s, more firms began to specialize in areas outside of advertising (identity, packaging, environments). This caused companies to divvy up their brand touchpoints and assign them to several different firms. Now we’re in a time where a holistic brand image is more valuable than ever. Perhaps Sterling Cooper’s integrated approach can teach us that blurring the lines between Advertising and Brand Experience is crucial to a Brand’s success.