Should this campaign be considered something incredibly innovative or creepy? While I personally thought it was an interesting concept and an awesome way to gain brand awareness on a small budget, is there anything unethical about stalking someone to push a product’s awareness?

If I die seemed to be incredibly proud of how much attention it garnered through its cryptic crank calls, even catching the eye of major news outlets like CNN. Although, most of the people targeted in this campaign were clearly willing to make their locations public knowledge, problems start to rise as people move away from check-in apps, like Foursquare, and start using geofencing-based apps. Geofencing will essentially allow people to opt into an app that continually reports their location, allowing for marketers to then better target consumers and provide them with relevant information. At first, this may seem like a good idea, but it raises the question of how far advertisers should be able to go with such information.  While the campaign that If I die ran seemed harmless enough, I feel that viral campaigns like this need to be put under greater scrutiny because of the pervasive knowledge that is being used.

I would like to take a moment to congratulate all the brave souls who have spent countless hours tweeting and tagging people on Facebook this week.  You social media crusaders have been pushing onward so fervently the past few days, but don’t think that it has gone unnoticed. This week is for you, this week, is social media week.

If you clicked through on that last link you probably realized that this week has less to do with your favorite social media and more about the progress of responsible social media. While slightly less exciting than a Facebook relationship status update, I think that it is incredibly important to hold open discussions like this one to clearly define our rights as consumers of social media.  As concepts like privacy continue to get blurred by new ways to engage the world at large, it is essential to understand the pitfalls of what these new public forums bring.  While not entirely centered around advertising, it is definitely a page worth spreading to the next generation of advertisers working with these new mediums.

Sadly, if you are anything like me then you probably haven’t even heard of this event until recently, but this ad by Entrinsic makes we want to pump life back into my twitter and start spreading the word.

How many times a day do people use their smartphones for something other than just making calls or texting? Personally, I can rarely think of a day that I don’t slip away out into the digital cloud. And while I will admit that seeing advertisements on my phone has rarely set a smile to my face, what if those advertisements actually start turning out to be useful?

Mobile advertising is growing and Gigaom.com points out 5 trends that are shaping the way the industry looks at mobile advertising in the near future. Two of the biggest factors talked about are more sophisticated ways to target specific consumers and a greater focus on how to make ads interactive. Some advertisers are even working to integrate advertisements with mobile gaming, but instead of annoying pop-ups the advertisements correlate directly to in game items. Mobile advertising creates such a unique opportunity for creativity to flourish because the medium is right in the hands of the consumer.

Adweek even describes advertising on mobile devices as more of “a brand extension of an individual.” Mobile advertising allows consumers to foster a relationship with their brands in a way that feels not only interactive, but also personal on a whole new level. As mobile advertising ramps up in the coming year I am sure that more small agencies will begin to pick up on developing quality creative mobile ads.

*For those of you who have yet to get a smartphone or just want to see what a tip in the right direction looks like, you can check out a great case study by Critical Mass on their mobile advertisements for Nissan.

** Photo credit toettoet via Flikr

How well do you think you can pick your logos out of a lineup? If you were anything like me you may have been shocked at your ability to subconsciously choose the right one.

It is amazing to think how much information can be conveyed in an obscure image once it’s slapped onto a coffee cup or on the back of your laptop. Whether they are right in front of us or seen during an advertisement on TV, logos stand as the little symbol with a big message. A logo gives people something to focus on and remember throughout diverse and changing campaigns, creating a better sense of brand loyalty through familiarity. While I know that logos change over time, their consistency is one of the key attributes that help form an emotional connection between a brand and its consumers.

I am not entirely sure whether I should feel happy for this kind of brand recognition or weep, but it was definitely entertaining to watch…

This phenomenal campaign shows how creativity and compassion meld to form a great advertisement. If you were hoping to start up your own account on Tyrannybook you’ll see the website has been taking down, but Amnesty International left a nice note in its place.

But they will probably forgive you if you write them a check.

In case you start wondering why your next friend request is brought to you by Pepsi or why the next few people who message you are brand ambassadors hoping to get your input on Dr.Pepper 10 (it sucks), then you probably haven’t heard about Facebook’s $5 billion IPO.

What does going public have to do with soda? Well for starters you have to realize just how much money advertising has produced for Facebook so far, which is about 85 percent of its revenue in 2011 according to Adweek, you would realize that investors may want to keep that going. What’s worse is that many people feel that advertising hasn’t even come close to reaching its full potential yet. While I know that it would be impossible to keep Facebook ad free, I am just praying that the industry shows mercy and doesn’t go Rambo and kill off anything likeable about Facebook.

Despite the many pitfalls that may come with this IPO, I feel that this is also a great opportunity for the advertising industry to find a creative and engaging way to raise the bar on how they operate within social media.