Creativity Top 5

See this week's five best ads as chosen by Creativity Magazine.

NY Agency Has a Big Idea. Detroit Big 3 Hasn't a Clue.

Ad execs from Madison Avenue agency Kelmenson, Davis & Associates have been trying for a year to put together a nonprofit domestic auto-industry forum that would make Americans aware of Detroit's importance to our nation's economy and culture.

KD&A think $50 million would do the trick in turning US auto buyers around (full disclosure, my wife and I bought a Ford Escape Hybrid last September - we love it!).

But the corporate jet boys from Motor City don't seem to get it and would rather claw each other to death. Have you seen the Chevy truck spots with Howie Long making fun of the dopey features of competitive vehicles? Yow! These guys may be doomed.

Move Over "Mad Men," TNT's Got A Big Idea

The critical acclaim for the ad-industry soap Mad Men on TMC has not been overlooked elsewhere in CableTVland.

TNT is about to debut an advertising drama called Trust Me on January 26th. This one - unlike Mad Men - is written and produced by a pair of actual ad veterans.

Here's today's story on AdAge's Madison+Vine.

Expect a critical appraisal here on January 27th, shortly after my 8:30 am class. And let me know what you think.

A Product Demo That Changed The World

But almost no one heard of these devices for 15 years and it took another 5 for people to notice. Now 40 years later these things are taken for granted.

Here's the story - and a video of parts of that presentation - as told by Scott Berkun, author of The Myths of Innovation. On todays' Harvard Business Weekly.

Don't Read This!

MediaPost's MediaDailyNews reports this morning that Fact Or Fiction, Americans Blame Media For Economic Friction in a study by Opinion Research Corporation.

It's the MEDIA, don't read it. It'll scare you shitless. I mean it! It'll make you think things that you don't want to think. And stuff like that...

The Vagaries of Research - and the Language It Uses

If you're a current or recent student, and if you're interested in advertising or marketing as a career, demographers have a name for you. Actually more than one.

You're probably post-Generation X (those born, it's pretty much agreed, between 1974 and 1980) so you'd be GenY or Ygen or Millennials or iGen or more. Here's a good overview about this confusion - from Wikipedia.

But that's not today's topic. Here are three studies published yesterday or today that deal with your attitudes about the economy that seem to disagree.

First, a Research Brief of a study done under the aegis of Pepsico, in concert with Lipton Tea and Starbucks, is headlined by the Center for Media Research Millennials Anxious Now, Optimistic About Future - and which uses the "born 1980 to 1990" to define "Millennials."
Note well that this research was conducted for the Pepsi Optimism Project by Strategy One, a subsidiary of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide.

Contrast it with these two studies, Fiscal Crises Shape Gen Y's Views Of Marketing and Economy Sours Gen Y On Marketing, both conducted by Media Logic.

I suspect that there is a difference in methodology between Strategy One and Media Logic. Or is it simply how they present the data?

What do you think it would be? How would you confirm this suspicion?

Coca-Cola Red Turns Green

Many marketers who've jumped on the "Green" Wagon have regarded it as a fad - something to be followed until the public drifted elsewhere (see "greenwashing").

Coka-Cola Enterprises chairman and CEO John Brock seems to be saying that Big Red has a Green Soul, and means every word of it. Read on (free registration) in this interview of Brock by Knowlege@Wharton (School of Business, University of Pennsylvania). There's also an audio link at the top of the article.

And when you get done there, see this about Coke's commitment to green advertising.

From this morning's American Advertising Federation SmartBrief.

What's The Future of Video?

Well, it's probably all about:
1) quality content
2) availability on demand.

While that may or may not spell "The End" of TV as we know it, here's the Big Kahuna of Hulu.com to explain it to us.

Is it just me, or does this guy seem to be a little too earnest? I keep waiting for him to talk about the fun of connecting with the Hulu brand, but instead we get a combination of a business plan backed by his impressive resumé. Almost sounds like a bad press release.

What do you think?

(From this morning's MediaPostNews Online Media Daily.)

Is It a TV Spot Or a Video Game?

It's a spot for Veuve Amiot, and Ad Grabber says it's an "Ad So Weird It Comes With A Quiz."

I agree.

First, the quiz:
(My orientation question)
From who's point of view is the spot shot?
(The rest from Steve Hall/AdGabber)
What's for dinner?
What's the woman in the mirror doing?
What's that liquid in the metal tub?
What creature is on the body builder's shoulder?

Then, the TV spot produced by Amsterdam ad agency THEY:



Answers?

Why is it always the same hands?

Look here for more video from THEY...

Purina, Marley and Media!

My household is between dogs right now. While all of our canines "belonged" to my wife, the late, great, Grace chose... me.

Which was way cool.

Me, I had my own dog! For the first time, ever. Drop by my office to see a picture.

She died last spring and I'm still not ready to replace her. My wife asks me monthly if "it's time yet." Not yet.

Marley and Me is a book that's becoming a movie about a man and a bad dog that became a good dog - his dog.

I don't think I'm ready to either read or watch it, but Purina is all over it!

Here's the story on today's adage.com

Opinion: Back to Basics

Pete Blackshaw, EVP of Nielsen Online Digital Strategic Services writes in this morning's adage.com that 2009 is a good time for the ad industry to review our options.

Copywriting Tip: use less words

Susan Gunelius, who's written advertising and marketing copy for 15 years "for some of the worlds biggest companies," has words of advice for you, beginning copywriter.

Also works for non beginners. From this morning's MSNBC/Entrepreneur.com

San Francisco's Levi's Hires Nike's Agency for Creative Work

Wieden + Kennedy, longtime agency for the Nike brand has been hired by the once-great Levi's brand for creative work in the US, as seen in today's ADWEEK.
Undoubtedly, Levi's would like to regain some of its greatness and W+K has done incredible work for Nike over the past 20 years or so, building the brand into "the one to beat" in the product category.

Sure You Share Music On-line. Soon It Might Be Legal.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has the latest in preventing YOU from being the target of a lawsuit.

Tell your mother she can stop worrying.

University Will Launch Progam To Study Emerging Media

Indiana's Ball State University - famously the Alma Mater of David Letterman - has raised $17.7 million to fund a center intended to serve as "an area of academic excellence for the media industry."

This morning's MediaPost News Online Media Daily has the story.

Ball State, also famous for its "BALL U" t-shirts, is named for the Ball brothers who made their fortune manufacturing Ball Mason glass jars used in home canning of fruit and vegetables. Mason jars can still be seen today in supermarkets used as packaging, for example, Classico Pasta Sauce (though these jars are manufactured by the Atlas Glass company).

NYTimes Spoof Creates Laughs... and At Least One Howl

Web site joker.com - which is in the domain name registration business - recently launched a parody of a New York Times online edition (dateline "Saturday, July 4, 2009") that includes plenty of lefty new utopian "news" and "ads."

An American Apparel ad, for example, features the usual scantily clad woman (with breasts tastefully covered) in an ad that says "We've been very, very Naughty. But now we're unionizing our employees." At which point the model suddenly has a picket sign in hand that cries "I have a Voice, too!" And an ad for a Manhattan dermatologist says "for the price of the best tattoo removal in NYC, you can now rebuild a classroom in Iraq."

Well, not all of the satire is appreciated, apparently. DeBeers, those wonderful folks who bring us diamonds from (some think) African trouble spots, seems to have little sense of humor. MediaPost has the whole story on the DeBeers cease and desist order.

Meanwhile, Electronic Frontier Foundation (full disclosure, I'm a member) has it's lawyers on the job arguing against censorship and for free speech.

Why Advertising People Will Never Get Elected. But why do lawyers?

This morning's MediaPost Over the Line: a lighthearted look at advertising features an article Madmen = Badmen.

According to a recent (November 7 to 9, 2008) Gallup Poll, advertising practitioners are among the least well rated for honesty and ethics. The MediaPost article speculates that the over-the-top booze, butts and babes hijinks paraded on the AMC TV series Mad Men might have down-skewed the numbers for us ad folks. If the 'truth in advertising' bit in the article amuses you, you might want to rent the movie Crazy People.

As for the poll, I remember previous editions usually had us in the cellar, too. Once again we're nestled right in there with some of our clients, including business execs, car dealers, stock brokers (even Sam Waterston can't change that image) and, as always, lawyers.

Surprisingly, bankers are still in the middle range - sandwiched between journalists and building contractors (aren't those the guys that start the job and then don't show up for days?) - even in light of current events. I'm wondering if shadowy mortgage conspirators are seen by most people as having little or nothing to do with their friendly and rock-steady local ATM.

Top o' the heap: nurses, druggists, high school teachers, MDs, cops, clergy - in that order.

(Yeah, cops over fire fighters and ad people. Go figure.)

Tivo to Deliver Almost Immediate Gratification

Let's say, you're watching sports on TV. A commercial for Domino's Pizza spot reminds you that you're hungry. Used to be you'd have to dial the phone and wait to put in your order.
More recently, if you're a "heavy user" you might have the number in your cell phonebook and think that's innovation.
Got a Tivo? Soon all you'll do is punch a few keys and your favorite peperoni-topped favorite is on its way. Here's how.
Thanks to MediPost for the article.

Young Film-maker Says "Wassup!" for Obama

Charles Stone III made a short film in the late 90's titled True, in which he and a few old friends greeted each other with a hearty, and goofy, "Wassup!" Ever so True in that guys who are friends do things like this.

The film caught the attention of Anheiser-Busch agency DDB/Chicago who licensed the concept for a well remembered Budweiser TV spot directed by Stone, who still owns the intellectual property that is the film, the TV spot concept and the use of "Wassup!" as depicted therein.

Stone and friends are now shouting "Wassup!" in an online video for Obama that is still True, but with a far less goofy edge:



For your reference, here's the original Bud spot that caught America's eye in Super Bowl 2000.



Here's the whole story from the Wall Street Journal Online.

First There Was Speed-dating, Now it's gone Mass Media

I just got back from Washington DC to find this.

A former ad agency professional is looking for a mate, and is collecting donations to buy a Super Bowl ad, in order to snag one.

A little creepy? Yes. Bound to get attention? You bet! Note the "charity" aspect of this campaign - and she's already appeared on NBC's Today Show.

Looks more like PR than advertising to me.

From this morning's LA Times.