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| Short Takes |
OK, FIRST WE HAVE TO FIND SOME JUSTIFICATION ? Here in America we have high-priced coffee, designer water, exotic chocolates and too many other
?luxury? must-have items to list, so an Israeli company has found a new niche and is going after it in a big way. Hollandia International makes
luxury sleep systems (beds, to those of us who dwell among the hoi polloi), and is marketing its new line in the U.S. The units go on sale
starting today at Philadelphia?s Marketplace Design Center, ranging in price from $10,000 to $50,000! And what exactly do you get for your
Fifty Large? ?Comprised of some of the most exotic materials in the world, the mattress is covered in special Aloe Vera fibers that offer baby-soft
comfort. Inside rich, lush, breathable latex provides perfect point-to-point support of the human body,? the company says. Oooooh. We know in our
heart it?s all sales hype but we REALLY want one! Wonder if they?ll send us a sample? Yeah, we know, dream on. See it for yourself at
HollandiaUS.com.
SPEED-FREAKS: If you want good concert tickets, you have to call the box office line the minute they go on sale, and hope for the best. That
must be what it felt like for lucky (?) buyers yesterday who called BMW at noon to buy one of fifty limited edition 2007 BMW M6 Convertibles,
featured in this year's Neiman Marcus Christmas Book. BMW says the phone lines lit up like a Christmas Tree at the stroke of noon, and a mere 92
seconds later, all the cars were sold out. At a healthy $139,000 per car, that works out to a rather rich $75,543 per second. Get yer motor
runnin??.
NUTTY AS A ? It?s become a running punchline every holiday season, so you just know the makers of fruitcakes have had to develop a thick skin.
And it looks like the folks at The Swiss Colony, makers of you-know-what, are trying their darndest to keep their product alive. This year, they?re
marketing chocolate fruitcake, knowing full well that chocolate lovers will try anything once. While we personally think anyone sending us a
fruitcake is trying to send a not-so-subtle message, too (e.g.: ?We don?t like you.?), we give Swiss Colony major props for trying. And we
especially like the offering we found on their Web site, ILoveFruitcake.com: It?s a t-shirt with a finger pointing to the person next to you. The
copy reads: ?I?m with Fruitcake.? Haw!
Eh, we?ve been called worse. Feel free to take your own best shots by sending critiques and commentary to rthompson@brandweek.com. Or if you?re
REALLY tech savvy, you can add your comments directly below the items on our new blog at http://shorttakesblog.brandweek.com. C?mon, stop by and
click in; make the boss happy.
--Rory J. Thompson, Editor, The Daily Insider
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The Children's Advertising Review Unit is having difficulty drafting new guidelines for marketers who target kids, sources said. The major sticking
point: grocery brands and certain fast-food companies have adopted positions that are irreconcilable, according to sources close to the talks.
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Donald Trump is sparing no expense in promoting the new vodka brand that bears his name. The real estate mogul is no stranger to licensing as his
name appears on buildings, Trump Mortgage and The Donald J. Trump Signature Collection of neckwear and dress shirts. And he's no stranger to
marketing.
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