thrive » advertising

Credit Card Companies & Card Names

Ryan — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:15:00 +0000

I’m really trying to understand these credit card companies and the names they give their credit cards. Names like “Motiva” and “All-Access” and “Platinum” and “Preferred Gold” – my sense is they are all trying to create the impression of empowering the card holder. That, or they are feeding on tribal instincts and the need to be part of a club. But then this year AMEX released Blue from American Express right around the same time Barclay’s launched their Visa Black Card and my head started spinning. Black? Blue? What do these colors have to do with credit cards? I guess colors are one of the strongest associations we have as human beings, vision being the most vivid sensation. But still, this all seems a bit odd to me. What if my favorite color is yellow, not black or blue? What if black depresses me? What if blue reminds me of that time when I almost drowned as a kid. Obviously the card makers don’t care about my individual experience. They are projecting over the entire population. But still, I can understand Platinum -> exclusive club. But with black and blue, maybe they are running out of ideas?

monetizing social networking sites

Ryan — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:30:46 +0000

It was funny reading this post from 2 years ago on social networking in the light of TechCrunch’s latest report on MySpace’s MyAds success.

How credit card commercials play with ou …

Ryan — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:50:00 +0000

How credit card commercials play with our minds.

Ever wonder how to create powerful adver …

Ryan — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 23:29:31 +0000

Ever wonder how to create powerful advertising? Here’s a guide.

Patrick Gavin of Text-Link-Ads is now bl …

JD — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:49:44 +0000

Patrick Gavin of Text-Link-Ads is now blogging. Interesting: The history of TLA.