Steve Ellwanger

Articles by Steve All articles by Steve

• COVID-19 Snapshot: One Year In At Conagra in CPG FYI on 01/22/2021
  

  CEO: Conagra is experiencing "the acceleration of product trial that in normal times would take years and hundreds of millions of dollars."

• Vital Farms Campaign Broadens Sustainability Positioning in Marketing Daily on 01/21/2021
  

  New spots from the Preacher agency feature a Vital Farms employee addressing ethical food production practices and animal welfare claims.

• Snickers Peanut Brownie: 'Comfort' For Awkward, Everyday Moments in Marketing Daily on 01/20/2021
  

  Spots use edgy humor -- like showing a potential threesome on a couch.

• Orgain, Rxbar Leverage Content Marketing, Influencers in Marketing Daily on 01/19/2021
  

  Orgain, which markets plant-based protein powder, is providing 30 days of free, customized wellness content via influencers.

• As Dining Preferences Shift, Denny's Will Roll Out Virtual Concepts in Marketing Daily - Top of the News on 01/19/2021
  

  More than half of the chain's approximately 1,500 U.S. restaurants have signed on for rollout of the virtual brand The Burger Den.

• More CBD-Infused Products, Edible Sales Rise: Spotlight On Cannabis, CBD Trends in CPG FYI on 01/15/2021
  

  Meanwhile, the patchwork quilt of advertising choices began to shed across the marijuana-marketing landscape.

• Bodyarmor Lyte Seeks Broader Appeal With Endorser/Investor Carrie Underwood in Marketing Daily on 01/14/2021
  

  It's the first national television campaign for Bodyarmor Lyte, and will run through the summer.

• Milkadamia Brings 'Blind' Product Sampling To Zoom in Marketing Daily on 01/13/2021
  

  "Just One Taste LIVE" campaign was developed to replace in-person sampling sidelined by COVID-19.

• Pilgrim's Pride, Tyson Settle Broiler Chicken Price-Fixing Claims in Marketing Daily - Top of the News on 01/13/2021
  

  Pilgrim's Pride said it will pay $75 million to settle, while Tyson did not disclose the amount of its settlement.

• As Sit-Down Restaurants Struggle, Burger King Rolls Out Brand Refresh in Marketing Daily - Top of the News on 01/12/2021
  

  Product wraps show visual brand revamp, with retro look symbolized by a swirly typeface that evokes the 1970s.

Comments by Steve All comments by Steve

• Thoughts From A Laid Off CBS News Employee: Media Conglomerates Are Killing Journalism by Anna Phillips (Publishers Daily on 09/22/2020)
  

  Excellent Anna. I admire your courage in going public.

• It's Time -- Literally -- To Move On by Thom Forbes (Marketing Daily - Top of the News on 08/31/2020)
  

  It's been a pleasure working on the same team Thom. Our journalism careers have intersected twice so who knows what the future will bring.

• Obit: MRI Co-Founder Alain Tessier, Dead At 85 by Joe Mandese (MediaDailyNews on 09/04/2018)
  

  Alain essentially helped me go into business when MRI became one of my first clients in 1997. I am blessed to still represent GfK MRI but Alain was one of a kind and he will be dearly missed. Such a class act.

• Star-Spangled Speaking: Sarah Palin, Unplugged by Barbara Lippert (Mad Blog on 01/21/2016)
  

  Romans got bread and circuses to distract them. Don't know about the bread but we sure do get circuses.

• FTC Says Native Ads Must Carry Clear Disclosures by Wendy Davis (Daily Online Examiner on 12/22/2015)
  

  Okay, this might be overly simplistic, but if we just went back and called all of them "advertorials" wouldn't the world be safe again? Publishers get revenue, consumers aren't fooled.  Life would proceed as before. 

• What A Great Time To Remind You That Football is Stupid by George Simpson (Online Media Daily on 01/30/2015)
  

  I think you nailed the issue with the "controlled" gladiator. Because there are rules to football, its violent nature--people continually and purposely crashing into each other, and doing so voluntarily--and its attendant consequences can be overlooked in the spirit of the game. If all high school kids were forced to play football and endure the intense physicality, you might have more people in your end zone with this column.

• What Happened in Vegas? by Stan Mack (Real MAD on 01/19/2015)
  

  Wearable drones...

• Longtime 'NYT' Ad Columnist Stuart Elliott Retires, Successor TBD by Joe Mandese (MediaDailyNews on 12/03/2014)
  

  Can't say enough good things about Stuart. Class act, great guy.

• Comedians Fighting For Control In Cars: Is Jerry Seinfeld Hyper-Aware? by Barbara Lippert (Mad Blog on 11/20/2014)
  

  Barb: Thanks for this review. I will check out the interview with SJP. Watched the first few of Seinfeld's Coffee videos and didn't go back because Jerry would often cackle ceaselessly about things that were not remotely funny. Wonder if I'm the only one who thought that.

• The Few, The Proud, The Uber by Barbara Lippert (Mad Blog on 08/28/2014)
  

  Without taking sides here, the Boston Globe recently did a fantastic three-part investigative series on the taxi industry in Boston. Drivers working for slave wages while the person who owns the majority of the city's medallions made millions, had dubious insurance for his cars, fruitless lawsuits by people involved in accidents with those cars, a complete mess. The police department was supposed to be preventing all of this but it wasn't. The mayor and various pols vowed to create a commission to investigate and change things. Of course, this has yet to happen... http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/03/30/spotlight/9eVWW7Y6RaOIqII62n2XlI/story.html

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