Blog mafia vs. Mafia Wars

Our friends in the local blogging community have been busy posting on the viral/littering ad campaign on our streets by Zygna, a San Francisco game developer based with investment from the locally owned Union Square Ventures. I'm sure you've seen those fake dollar bills plastered on sidewalks and other surfaces, particularly on Second Avenue

East Village Feed has been contacting Zygna and Union Square Ventures... Also, NYC the Blog has contacted the city about this. Per NYC the Tumblr:

Just got off the phone with the Sanitation department. They were not pleased to hear about the latest advertising campaign in Manhattan for Mafia Wars, by Union Square Venture backed Zygna.

In addition to requesting the locations of the illegal ads, (I gave them two I was sure of) Sanitation wanted the name and number of the company responsible.

Anyway, East Village Feed reports now that Zynga’s agency, Davis Elen, has responded and has committed to clean up the Mafia Wars campaign within a week.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Behind the East Village "blog mafia" joke

[Photo via East Village Feed]

New Armani Exchange campaign captures exactly the mood of how we look, feel, live

Spinning into DVD

"Spinning into Butter," a racial drama starring Sarah Jessica Parker, was released last Friday, showing locally at the Sunshine on Houston. The film had reportedly been sitting on the shelf for nearly four years and was unceremoniously dumped on the market. The marketing campaign consisted of putting up the Worst Movie Posters Ever on Houston and Avenue B and East Fifth Street near Cooper Union. And probably a few other places.

According to Variety, the film grossed $5,534 during the March 27-29 weekend. It played at four theaters in the country. That's good for a $1,384 per screen average. So let's see if my arithmetic is any good. It played six times a day at the Sunshine; 18 times then for the weekend, we assume. So divide the $1,384 by 18. That's roughly 77. So 77 people saw the movie over the weekend at the Sunshine. Tickets are $12.50 each. So, 77 divided by 12.50.... so that means, on average, six people saw each screening.

By the way, "Spinning into Butter" is no longer playing at the Sunshine.

Starbucks to run expensive ad campaign to show that its coffee isn't expensive

AdAge.com has it:

Distressed that Starbucks has become the "poster child for excess," CEO Howard Schultz said the coffee company plans to run an ad campaign proving its coffee isn't expensive.

"There's a myth out there that there's this $4 cup of coffee at Starbucks," Mr. Schultz told shareholders at the company's annual investor meeting earlier today. "For whatever reason, Starbucks Coffee Co. has become the poster child for excess, and if you want to be really smart, you should cut out that $4 cup of coffee."

Next, perhaps Mr. Schultz could create a campaign that improved the taste of their coffee, something that doesn't taste like, oh, dusty tar.