Advertising Is Good For You

Turn junk mail into mulch

Get Rich Slowly  has posted some guidelines for turning junk mail into garden mulch. I think I may try this in my flower beds.
 

Directions for making paper out of junk mail

Everything you need to know is at The New New.

How to recycle bills and junk mail

Design Sponge has directions on how to recycle security envelopes by turning them inside out. One could do this with plain window envelopes, too, but without such visually interesting results.

Spending on direct mail advertising totaled $58.4 billion last year.

And it's expected to climb to $70 billion by 2011.

That's according to a study released by the Chief Marketing Officer Council and reported by Media Post's Center for Media Research.

Image: Kenn Christ

Happy Chinese New Year

To celebrate the Chinese New Year last year, DDB International, Kuala Lumpur mailed the following greeting to its clients...

The mailing contained four pairs of chopsticks; the headline said: Great strength lies in numbers. With unity comes the belief that nothing can easily break us.

Source: ads of the world

A previous example of ad agency self-promotion: Guerrilla Hookers
 

Never forget, the purpose of a direct mail envelope is to entice people to open it

I really like this idea, although I think the open rate would have been higher if the envelope had been blind -- that is, if the envelope had not included the name of the sender.

Advertising agency: Marshall Fenn, Toronto

Source: Ads of the World

That's one freakin' strong paper towel

When Duval Guillaume, Antwerp, needed to communicate to restaurant owners the strength of Scott paper towels, the advertising agency came up with this great B2B direct mail idea: a mailing printed on a paper towel, folded, stamped and mailed to restaurant owners.

Source: Ads of the World

Paintings from junk mail

The advertising creative behind the blog Yonder Ponder has fulfilled his New Year's resolution to turn into art his collection of fake credit cards.  You know, the fake ones that came in direct mail solicitations?

I love this idea and may try it myself. If the result isn't total crap, I'll post it.

Direct Mail Trivia

In the parlance of credit card junk mail, the fake credit cards that come in the mail are referred to simply as fauxs.

Star Trek Trivia

The last credit card painting looks as though it was inspired by the black ooze monster that killed the original head of security on Star Trek Next Generation. (You can only imagine how embarrassed I am to be able to make this connection.)

Best use of a window envelope by a direct mailer

Vienna advertising agency DRAFTFCB KOBZA created a direct mail solicitation for Amnesty International that turns the glassine window of the outer envelope into prison bars. Very nicely done.

Click image to enlarge.

Source: I Believe In Advertising

When life gives you direct mail, make a hat. Or a chair.

Chrissie MacDonald  is a UK artist who's used shopping catalogs as a sculpture medium.

To see more, visit Chrissie MacDonald's website.