Hollywood wasn't the only place celebrating this weekend. Our hometown of Orlando shined Saturday night with Advertising's Elite stepping out for the Orlando Advertising Federation's ADDY Awards. Yes, I said the "elite". We at Red Rocket certainly do not think of ourselves as "elite"... cool, but not elite. Therefore, our little family of creatives missed out on the festivities Saturday night. Boy was that the wrong move. Much to our surprise, we awoke to the news this morning that our shop of coolness actually took home the coveted prize. Cool, huh? We thought so! What a way to kick off our 10th Anniversary Year! Now, you may be wondering what project of awesomeness took the ADDY. Yea, so do we, so if you find out, please let us know, because we're just dying to know over here!!!

Stay tuned as I go undercover to find the answer to our ADDY quandary. Whatever project won, you can be assured it was spectacular!!! I guess we need to branch out from just being cool and step into the world of the "elite"........

The Daytona 500 is not only a battle of men and machines; it is the battle of the brands!

With Kevin Harvick’s win in both the Busch and Cup race at Daytona, and the Shell-Pennzoil brand gushing from Winner’s Circle, the loser was Sonoco – the Official Fuel Supplier of NASCAR, sporting a ten-year exclusivity deal.

Signing on with Richard Childress Racing and Kevin Harvick to sponsor both the Busch and Cup cars – Shell-Pennzoil were supposed to be promoting their oil products, but as a consumer, when I see that Shell logo, prominently displayed on Harvick’s helmet and uniform, plus a thousand Newspaper Covers across the Country - I’m thinking gas! - I’m NOT thinking oil, and I’m especially NOT thinking Sonoco.

Sparking a debate equal to NASCAR’s delay in throwing a caution at the conclusion of Sunday’s race, NASCAR is going to need to step up to the plate and figure out how to deal with conflicts-of-interest at this multi-million dollar plateau. The drivers and teams are independent of NASCAR, and fueled through corporate sponsorships. Securing sponsorships is easier said than done – and can make or break a team. So think how difficult it must be for a team to finally secure a corporate sponsor such as Jeff Burton’s (ironically out of the Richard Childress Racing stable) sponsorship deal with Cingular Wireless, only to run head-on into a conflict with NASCAR’s premier race sponsor NEXTEL, for which the series is named?

It is big stuff, and big money!

Harvick and Shell-Pennzoil may have won the Super Bowl of Motorsports, but who is going to be the real winner down the track? Is NASCAR going to throw the corporate caution, or are they going to let the brands race to the checker?

Orlando, FL- (February 12, 2007)- Red Rocket Advertising Inc. has been retained for Stirling Sotheby's latest upscale project, Global Gallery in Downtown Orlando. Initially, Red Rocket Advertising Inc. will be responsible for Global Gallery brand development. " This will initially be for design consulting, design work, copy writing, etc. that will go into designing our initial builder/developer marketing material, recruiting material, and web site for the Global Gallery. From here we will move on to other projects" says Roger W. Soderstrom Founder/ Owner, Stirling Sotheby's International Realty.

The boutique size of Red Rocket Advertising Inc. was a big draw for Soderstrom as he appreciates being able to work directly with the creative team and not through constant middle men. " This is an awesome opportunity for Red Rocket to be called in on a strategic partnership of this caliber and visibility. We are proud to be a part of a product launch of this magnitude", says Tom McCarthy, Partner, Red Rocket Advertising Inc.

Stirling Sotheby's Global Gallery will be the next generation of Real Estate Marketing focusing on sales of luxury condominiums, town homes and properties from throughout Central Florida as well as every major destination around the world. Architects, designers, interior decor studios, marketing firms, home product suppliers are partnering with Stirling Sotheby's International Realty to showcase their goods and services to clients from around the world. Visitors will actually be able to order flat screen TVs and accessories right on site at discount prices and have them shipped directly to their home at no charge. Global Gallery will be located high atop the new Plaza mixed use development on Orange Ave. in downtown Orlando in April.

Red Rocket Inc., established in 1997, is an award winning and nationally recognized strategic branding and communications agency based in Orlando, Florida. Red Rocket provides high impact marketing and advertising solutions for companies such as Central Florida Regional Hospital, Gaylord Palms Resort, Southeast Correct Craft, Sobik's Subs, Wall Street Plaza and the United Method Church. Red Rocket is also a contributing sponsor of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation and the Orlando SPCA. The mission of Red Rocket is simple, to provide bold, innovative and successful ideas for our clients, uniting strategic marketing with relevant creative. For more information on Red Rocket Inc. and its portfolio of clients, please visit the company web site at www.redrocketinc.com.

It's a slow start to the Monday after the big game, but not because of too many beers. My hangover is from big game hype overload. It's kinda like the feeling after the holidays have come and gone and and you're a little bummed because you never did get that Red Ryder BB Gun. I have that same feeling today after the lack of entertainment I really cared about.... the commercials. Now, don't get me wrong, there were a few that sparked my fancy, but not nearly the many belly laughs I was hoping for. For me, Anheuser-Busch seemed to come out on top, my fav being the auctioneer wedding. For my esteemed co-worker Alan, I believe it was the return of Robert Goulet in the Emerald Nuts Ad, however, his new favorite Goulet ring tone he discovered probably has more mileage than the actual commercial.

Even though the commercials left me wanting more, I have to be thankful for some great Superbowl XLI highlights.... The opening return for a touchdown by Da Bears.... (had to go for the Bears since I was eating and drinking on their fans dime :) the Prince halftime show (come on , it's Prince, enough said) the commraderie of friends gathering for yet another excuse to throw back some beers......but now, my greatest highlight is my new Goulet ringtone that let's me know my friends are calling..bring on Superbowl XLII!!!

It seems in today's world, we are overstimulated with brands, products and services leaving companies to ask, "How can we make a statement?" Over the years, guerilla marketing has evolved from a more cost effective way to advertise into a branding competition where the winner takes all no matter what the cost. Coming from a strong radio promotion background, we were taught as interns to get a station name out on the street. There was a certain sense of pride knowing you "stole" a particular event from a competitor or simply saw your banner on some street sign on the side of the road. If you made the evening news and your call letters were dropped, well, you hit the big time! But how much is too much? Now a days, crazy branding stunts have resulted in law suits, government involvement and sometimes even death. Most recently, the big Turner Cartoon Network Boston Bomb Scare. A branding stunt for Cartoon Network's series Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The stunt got out of control when the local bomb squad was called in and talks of "terrorism" spread. This stunt drew so much attention that the Mayor of Boston is threatening 2-5 years prison sentence for whoever installed a series of circuit board props around the city. Turner has since notified the other 9 cities in which boards were also placed.

So, this latest stunt leads me to ask... Is this really TOO much, or have we all become too PC and sensitive? I mean, if you subscribe to the old "any press is good press" then you have to push the limit at times, right? And Turner did what they set out to do, get people talking about their brand! It makes me sad to think that eventually marketing stunts will be so unethical in the eyes of the general public that we'll have to rely solely on prehistoric means of marketing and where is the creativity in that?