Walkability Affects Housing Prices

A while back I posted a link about determining your neighborhoods walkability with www.walkscore.com.  CNN Money has published a study that indicates that neighborhoods that are more walkable are worth more.  CNN even mentioned walkscore.

For those in or looking to be in the housing market walkscore would be a great tool to check out.

So, how good is your neighborhoods walkscore?

CC licensed. Flickr user iirraa

Best Buy Typo is a Public Relation Hit as TV Bargain Hunters Go Home Empty Handed

Best Buy has gotten a lot of PR buzz about their pricing error which involved a website typo offering 52” Samsung televisions for nine dollars.  Best Buy has made it clear that it will not be honoring the purchases made during the approximately one hour time the error was online.  With so many people talking about the error that Best Buy has  just earned itself a ton of free publicity.

Image from flickr user Ian Muttoo, per a creative commons license

It is my opinions that Best Buy will come out of this on-top.  I find it hard to believe that anyone who bought one of these outrageously under priced televisions would hold it against the blue big box store for not honoring the sale.

AdAge.com quotes Twitter user  dave1102 as saying “it’s a nice way to get free PR! Get everyone talking about Best Buy and then revoke the deal.”

So here’s to you Best Buy, You got lucky.  I say try not to do it again.  I wonder if there will be a lot of similar copy-cat price mix-ups in the coming weeks.

Taco Bell Dog Dies of Stroke

In what might be the biggest celebrity death since Michael Jackson, the famed Taco Bell dog that said “Yo Quiero Taco Bell” passed away Tuesday evening.  At fifteen in human years, (that’s 105 in doggy years), this Chihuahua gave the world a free Spanish lesson.

The Taco Bell dog, otherwise named Gidget, died of a stroke according to trainer Sue Chipperton who joked that caring for the retired former megastar was kind of like watching after a plant.

After Gidget, and the advertising company that represented her, were let go, she had little success.  She was featured as the mom dog in Legally Blond 2.

Taco Bell dog, here’s to you, maybe tomorrow I will go give your ailing fast food restaurant some business…

Brands adapting in the Cola Wars

For a long time Coke and Pepsi have been fighting to brand each and every message they have onto society.  It seems at the moment that more than fighting to win, they are fighting to thrive.  Based on this article I gather that vending machines are performing poorly (is that any surprise at 1.25 + a pop) http://adage.com/article?article_id=135654 Personally, I’ve cut back my soda intake drastically, not so much for economic reasons, but because its just not healthy.  I drank 1 or more 2 liter bottles of Orangette orange soda a day.  Now that I dont, not only am I losing weight, but I feel better to.  Send money if this diet trick changes your life.

Anyway, Lately,  I’ve been noticing a lot of Pepsi changes.  Namely, Gatorade, and Pepsi.  It seems they are simplifying their ads.  I dislike the new Gatorade logo; but I fall into the category of people who don’t fix things unless they are broken.

Gatorade before:

Old Busted

Gatorade now:

new....er busteder?

It seems to me that picking typography as a central theme to your add will simplify large area branding.  But…but…it looks…bad.  I’ll take my old busted gatorade logo.

Pepsi, has been doing billboards everywhere.  They are thought provoking if overly vague, including such life changing thoughts such as : Hope, and Pop.   I think Obama already got to the Hope logo.  Anyway, we know who pepsi voted for.