Our Blog

Time to Get Organized

There are still 2 weeks left of Spring. In an effort to maximize the value of the season, Elarbee Media is committing to getting organized. What better way to do so than with these adorable vintage file tins.  In beautiful browns and greens, these woodgrain tins are the perfect place to stash precious keepsakes that can be filed, or to house your suite of personalized stationery. 

Celebrate the Anniversary of D-Day

D-Day June 6, 1944

“The Eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you.” Dwight D. Eisenhower

To all of those who have served and all of those who continue to serve, Elarbee Media would like to express our sincere gratitude.   

Cocktail Friday Lonestar Beer Bottle Cap #131

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media and we are back with more Lone Star Beer bottle caps. This featured quiz is from a red cap. For the uninitiated, it comes from a regular Lone Star not a Lone Star Light which is blue. Color coding within the brand makes it easy for consumers to identify product easily. It makes shelf selection more efficient in store as well. Lone Star Beer, like many other brands chooses to keep the look of the brand label consistent as much as possible. Outside of the color identifier, and a small edit to the label to swap the word Beer for Light, they maintain the integrity of presentation.

This is #131 if you get stumped and need to go to Lonestarbeer.com to get the answer.

Throwback Thursday Timex

It is throwback Thursday at Elarbee Media! Our latest ad is for Timex. We love this ad for three reasons: 1. It conveys brand dominance in the market, 2. It has tremendous visual appeal, 3. I actually talks about the product and its benefits. Crazy concepts, and ones that people may want to try to employ in the modern era.

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday -Thomas Edison on Not Failing

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”  Thomas A. Edison 

It is Wit & Wisdom Wednesday at Elarbee Media. This quote from Thomas Edison speaks volumes to us as Direct Response advertising professionals. Success is about testing. While Edison may not have been testing media to hit a target ROI, his continual progress down a path to eliminate what does not work is an eerie parallel. 

Starting with a hypothesis on what will work, you test. You fail, but you look to answer the question "Why?".  You test again with a variation on the strategy. You fail again, but continue to refine or reject what you know has not worked. If you keep repeating, and refining, you come to the point of success. 

Not everyone has the stomach for failure. For many it is the closure of the process.  For those with the courage, it is simply part of the journey. 

The Power of Imagery - Rorschach Plate III

In our continued exploration of the power of Imagery, we are on Rorschach

Plate III. Black, white and red the plate is sparing in color, but not so in impact. The addition of the red to the image is both jarring and powerful, if not extremely evocative. 

In newspaper advertising, red is often the selected "Spot Color" chosen to give pop to an otherwise plain black and white ad. It is an eye-catcher on an otherwise "flat" page. 

Red does draw attention. It is a powerful color that needs to be used wisely, but not necessarily sparingly. 

Throwback Thursday - Marlboro Man

It is Throwback Thursday at Elarbee Media. Today we are highlighting one of the most iconic advertising images, the Marlboro Man.  Cigarettes are a controversial product these days, but what is undisputed in these campaigns is that they have built a brand icon. The Marlboro Man is an image of the rugged outdoor type, a man's man. Campaigns are image heavy, with extremely limited copy. What Marlboro and their agencies never fail to execute on is the product highlight. 

There is a cowboy, there is a cigarette being smoked, and there are boxes of the product on display in the ad. Brilliant. What we like even more is that you can choose lights or regular, and still be the Cowboy. 

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday - Churchill on Listening

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” Winston Churchill

It is Wit & Wisdom Wednesday at Elarbee Media, and we are pulling a quote from one of our core inspirations Sir Winston Churchill. (The man, not the superb bar on Crescent St in Montreal)

Business leadership is a tricky thing – people look to you for direction, but sometimes it is important to set direction based on what you hear from the ground up. Stopping, taking stock and listening are often hard things for the entrepreneur to embrace. That said, listening is one of the most important things you as a leader can do. The perspective from other positions and directions is often enlightening to the point of being painful, but is always a starting point for advancement. Whether that comes from changing systems, or editing those who do not share your perspective, it is always an opportunity for progress.

Old Office Torn Down - Fresh Start

Drove by the original offices of Elarbee Media today, and they have finally torn them down. Well, that is enough reflection. On to bigger and better things!

Art Tuesday - Brent Woodside Clarity of Image

It is Art Tuesday at Elarbee Media, and we are excited to share a black and white illustration by Brent Woodside. This image immediately resonated with us, because it is so reminiscent of the Rorschach prints we have been posting. While this is a clearly defined image of a “creature and rider”, it has style elements that we see in the inkblots.

Today’s Art Tuesday selection brings up a good point about fluid images. The lack of clarity in the image is a boon in the art piece. It sets a tone, and is suggestive of detail that is never executed. Can that type of messaging with images be successful in advertising? That is a harder sell. Clarity of message is key to successful campaigns, and IMAGE is a significant part of that messaging.