The catchphrase of The Lorax — "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better" — can mean a lot of different things depending on one's perspective when it comes to the marketing of Universal's record-breaking new #1 movie.

To purists, it means that unless consumers speak up, Hollywood's commercialization of Dr. Seuss, including signing a cross-promotional sponsorship deal with an automaker, the movie's environmental message is for naught. To Mazda, the brand that's ponying up for The Lorax tie-in, it means that unless some consumers care an awful lot, sales numbers are not going to get better.

But is the outrage about Mazda's Lorax partnership making "perfect" the enemy of "good" — and overlooking ?Continue reading...

100 likes, 857 dislikes. That's the YouTube tally for the Mazda tie-in commercial for Dr. Seuss' The Lorax movie, based on the animated version of the kids' classic environmental-themed book that's hitting cinemas on March 2nd.

The comment "I'm absolutely disgusted with this! The REAL Lorax would never work with the Onceler. Mazda, stop using Dr. Seuss's material, it's only going to make your company look bad and downright stupid" has been voted up 28 times. Another irate comment, "Consider the movie and car both boycotted. WTF were you thinking?" is par for the course.

The shame of it? It all could have been avoided.Continue reading...

IHOP celebrates its seventh annual National Pancake Day across the U.S. today, hoping to raise up to $3 million for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and other local charities. Laura Kaeppeler, the 2012 Miss America, is one of the celebrities (with NFL Hall of Famer Steve Young) helping to give away a short stack of Buttermilk Pancakes in one of America's biggest annual customer appreciation and corporate philanthropic efforts. 

Children's Miracle Network showed its appreciation for IHOP's fundraising efforts (nearly $8 million raised since 2006) on its blog today, where it comments that "we always hear about the warm feeling IHOP visitors get when they make a donation to our U.S. hospitals before heading back out for their day."

IHOP also is giving kids free seeds as part of its sponsorship of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, which is likely to be the new #1 movie after this weekend:Continue reading...

Visitors to Target's Facebook page will notice a Seussified version of the brand's iconic bullseye logo, tied to the retailer's cross-promotional marketing for Dr. Seuss' The Lorax movie, which opens on Friday. Look a little closer, and they'll also notice a tab that promotes group gift-giving.

The pitch for the just-launched FB app, called Give With Friends: "Going in on a group gift? It’s easy peasy with Target’s “Give with Friends”. Just choose an eGiftCard, invite people to pitch in, and surprise someone with something fun from the whole gang. Best part: You never even have to leave Facebook!"

The app is powered by ShopIgniter, a social commerce developer, which aims to create social buying experiences. Kevin Tate, ShopIgniter's CMO, told brandchannel the goal is “bringing ‘commerce’ to the conversation and content that brands have spent the last few years developing on the Social Web. We see Commerce as a key vehicle for these brands to monetize the (significant) investments they've made in their social presence."Continue reading...