Thursday, October 30, 2008

Adverganza's Halloween picks, 10.31.08

Wherein I scan the scary Halloween headlines so you don't have to.

From Advertising Age:

--Bargain shoppers, are you ready for Black Sunday? Kmart is, and it's coming, this Sunday.
--Right after announcing a major layoff, Time Inc.'s Ann Moore appears at the Audit Bureau of Circulation conference. Cliff Notes: Scrap the five-year plan if you're not smart enough to have scrapped it long ago.
--More people watched the Obama infomercial than "America's Next Top Model." Phew.
--Apparently, fashion no longer rocks.
--Hey, PC makers, hit Control C and do this.
--If Men's Vogue is published only two times a year and is no longer available newsstands, does it make a sound?
--Hank Close, president of ad sales at MTV Networks, to leave at the end of the year.
--3 Minute Ad Age: Social networks rule at Hewlett-Packard.

From Adweek:

--Barbara Lippert tells you what she really thought of the Obama infomercial, though she has her doubts about "the amber waves of grain" at the beginning. If you didn't see it, part 1 is posted below, and the rest can be accessed here.



--Ad of the Day: Saying thanks to Maimonides Medical Center.

From Brandweek:
--For its holiday campaign, Macy's channels Santa Claus' Virgina, and maybe Tug McGraw. (Don't think it's online yet. If it was, I'd show ya.)
--Is your room horrible? Call HGTV and Stanley Steemer.

From Mediapost:

--Gen Y must be getting old, because now it wants safe vehicles.
--Avon's not scared of the recession.
--Is this the right time to promote a tequila brand with the tag "Live notoriously well"?
--Moveon.org gets over 9 million people to share a customizable "get out the vote" vid.
--Procter & Gamble asks girls to name their favorite innovations, in the name of a revolutionary advancement in ... drumroll please ... feminine protection products.
--Nielsen unveils first ranking of mobile Web sites. Yahoo's on top there too.
--Thrillist to relaunch its Web site.
--IAB unveils plan to make online media less of a logistical nightmare.
--Judge bans Google AdWords campaign from Chevron aimed at telling its side of a lawsuit using the plaintiff's name as a keyword.
--Omnicom launches The Mobile Behavior Agency. Guess what it does?
--Meebo to host Comedy Central's user content during election night.
--More earnings: Hearst-Argyle flat; Liberty Media revenue increases two percent.

From Mediaweek:

--More detail on the Time Inc. restructuring.
--Conde Nast's Portfolio goes to ten issues per year, which means more down time, if you keep your job.
--Marc Berman's Programming Insider: apparently people like watching the last three innings of a World Series game.
--ComScore tries to measure the audience for "content that travels all over the Internet."

From The New York Post:

--Keith Kelly's take on the Conde Nast cuts. Whew! Alliteration!
--Displaying angst over online display ads.

From The New York Times:

--Can Tony Bennett make people shop for Christmas?
--OK, if not Tony Bennett, can Tinker Bell make people buy stuff?
--CBS's third quarter earnings. I'd say more but it's quarter of 11 Thursday night and I'm tired.

From The Wall Street Journal:

--Former Procter & Gamble chief marketer Jim Stengel's start-up is all about "purpose-based marketing." Time to study up, people. That's the second time in a few days, I've seen this term. Subscription required.
--Tainted toys are back, only this time, they're probably not tainted.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Adverganza's Thursday morning picks, 10.30.08

Wherein I scan the Thursday morning headlines so you don't have to.

From Advertising Age:

--Ad Age wants to know what you thought of the Obama infomercial.
--Procter & Gamble cut its ad budget by $67 million in the first two months of the quarter, with TV taking the biggest hit.
--And you thought what Pepsi was doing on the packaging front was dramatic. McDonald's CMO Mary Dillon is calling Mickey D's repackaging initiative its "biggest packaging initiative in the history of the brand." Kind of reminds me of what Burger King does.
--Ken Wheaton says that a certain Subway ad was " ... stupid, lazy, completely lacking in creativity and -- possibly -- disrespectful to the long-dead Abraham Lincoln. But racist it was not." If you want to know how he really feels, click here.
--3 Minute Ad Age: Finally getting under the hood of Honda's musical road.

From Adweek:

--Sir Martin Sorrell thinks next year's gonna suck too.
--So major media agency honchos think this recessionary media climate could last for a couple of years. Time to take that sabbatical.
--What's red and green and good all over? Starbucks' new partnership with (Red).
--Adidas launches global campaign from 180/LA featuring NBA stars who adopt young players. I've posted a 4-minute vid from the campaign below. There's also footage available at adidasbasketball.com.

--Is it just me, or does this revamp of Sony's Crackle sound a lot like Hulu?
--Ad of the Day: A Travelers Insurance commercial from Fallon. Since it's not posted at the Adweek site, I've done so below.


From Brandweek:

--Hey! Good news! Earnings are up at Kellogg's, Kraft and Procter & Gamble! And it's partly due to advertising!
--Embarq, a phone company I've never heard of, willing to give consumers 48 seconds of fame on YouTube. I think the company could use it.
--More on McDonald's: it's corporately responsible.

From Mediapost:

--The new Nissan "Z" to launch first in the game "The Need for Speed: Undercover" from Electronic Arts.
--The book "The Age of Conversation" featuring contributions from 237 marketing bloggers, is out. No one asked me, so I'd suggest you not buy it.
--Well, there's some good news at General Motors. It set sales records in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America last quarter.
--The future of online video from the OMMA Video conference.
--In case there was any doubt, Nielsen says MySpace is the no. 1 online destination for 15-to-24 year olds looking for info on new movies.
--AOL discovers social networking.
--Another layoff roundup. Read it if you dare.
--Meredith's revenue declines in its fiscal Q1 2009, down 6.7 percent in broadcast and 9 percent in publishing.
--Guess I missed that there's now an Oprah Winfrey Network. Anyway, former Lifetime exec Maria Grasso is now svp/programming.


From Mediaweek:

--Ready for the Out-of-Home Advertising Bureau?
--Comcast posts strong earnings; CEO Brian Roberts attributes to his father having lived through the Depression.
--Marc Berman's Programming Insider: CBS won Tuesday, au revoir Cloris.

From The New York Post:

--Everyone must be cutting back if Google has closed down its afternoon tea on Tuesdays.
--Had to run the picture at right of the Post's take on the Obama informercial.

From The New York Times:

--TiVo and Netflix together at last.
--Teen Vogue creates a hangout at the Mall at Short Hills.
--This group called The Beatles in a deal with MTV's Rock Band.

From The Wall Street Journal:

--Gee. They're having trouble marketing the movie "Zack and Miri Make a Porno." Free.
--Online video getting easier to search. Free.

That's it for today. Bye all.

Pepsi 's video about its new look


Saw this short video on Pepsi's morphing into a new brand idea on YouTube today while writing my Social Media Insider column. Whaddya think?

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Adverganza's Wednesday morning picks, 10.29.08

Wherein I scan the Wednesday morning headlines so you don't have to.

From Advertising Age:

--I'm dreaming of a private-label Christmas.
--FDA tells Bayer that aspirin plus dietary supplements is a no-no.
--So, after all of the other attempts at creating buzz for Microsoft, here's the new idea: consumer-generated media! Here's a look at an "I'm a PC" ad, complete with amateur direction:



--Are you ready for Pomegranate Iced Coffee? I'm waiting for MADD to get all over one of the lines in one of the ads, which is: "Yes officer, I'm completely buzzed."
--So HBO decides to launch a "Sopranos" wine now?
--3 Minute Ad Age: A close-up of those video billboards planned for the sides of buses, because having video in cabs and in your pocket isn't nearly enough.

For Adweek:

--Obama will probably appear live at the end of his infomercial tonight, where he'll sell the latest skincare products developed by Cindy Crawford's French dermatologist. Kidding!
--From frenemy to friend: WPP and Google team up on academic research about online marketing.
--Like it or not, online video ads have reached critical mass.
--Shocker! Children actually see less ads online than you do.
--Interpublic numbers improve, but will they stay improved with that icky economy and all?
--Publicis numbers not so bad either. As far as next year, Maurice Levy's cup appears to be half full. Of what, I don't know.
--Levi's may have picked Zenith to handle its media.
--Univision remembers about the Zune.

From Brandweek:

--Here's to the value meal.
--Coors, now with a two-sided cold activated label.
--Are you interested in McRib-related content on your mobile? Neither am I.

From Mediapost:

--Karl Greenberg talks to Michael Sprague, the new head of marketing at Kia. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Scottie Pippen and Spike Lee -were also there.
--So, senior marketing executives don't understand the value of their brands.
--The rich are still different than you and me.
--Carmakers like events in a tight economy.
--It's not just food, it's functional food.
--For better or for worse, "White Gold" is back. Here's the new clip, "Is It Me Or Do You Love My Hair?
--Depressing read of the day: a roundup of magazine layoffs.
--Should I care that Verizon is now offering ABC content on Verizon?
--Jack Feuer thinks we're about to be attached by brand-attached maniacs, and they are us.



--The Charmin port-a-potties are back.
--Nike rolls out eco-friendly products in all its divisions.
----If you've never understood VivaKi, here's your chance for enlightenment. David Kenny explains it all.
--Razorfish says consumers actually act on social media ads.
--Report says that lots of advertisers use keywords that are three or more words. In the search world, that's big time sophistication.

From Mediaweek:

--As part of major reorg, Time Inc. will layoff hundreds of employees. Also, Ed McCarrick, worldwide publisher of Time Inc., will retire.
--McGraw-Hill to cut 140 people in its Information & Media unit, which includes BusinessWeek.
--The Christian Science Monitor closes its daily print edition in favor of that thing called the Web.
--Group of Northeastern newspapers has met to talk about sharing content. Screw you, Associated Press!
--Hold that thought. Interep is still with us ... for now.
--CBS cancels The Ex List, which, I must admit, I never heard of.
--Marc Berman's Programming Insider: ABC wins the overnights.

From The New York Post:

--Holly Sanders' take on the earnings results from ad holding companies.
--Keith Kelly gives you the skinny on the Time Inc. layoffs.
--Wal-Mart re-opens its MP3 store, offering songs for only 74 cents. Take that, Steve Jobs!

From The New York Times:

--David Carr on print's problem, and it isn't an audience problem.
--The NYT pegs the Time Inc. layoffs at 600, or six percent of the workforce.
--Gannett to layoff 10 percent of the workforce, but no one at USA Today.
--So how is Hulu doing?
--Doubleday Publishing lays off 10 percent of staff, but it's only 16 people (though, aCheck Spellingdmittedly, it would suck if you were one of them).
--Ad revenue in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's publishing division declines by 18 percent. Ouch.
--Dealbook tells Steve Ballmer it's just about time for Microsoft to buy Yahoo.

From The Wall Street Journal:

--The Obama ad by the "Whassup" guys. If you haven't seen it, here it is:



That's it for today. If you read to the bottom, it's a depressing one.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Adverganza's Tuesday morning picks, 10.28.08

Wherein I scan the Tuesday morning headlines so you don't have to.

From Advertising Age:

--More bad news about the newspaper industry. Today's downer? Almost universally crappy circulation figures.
--Google says that lots of people pick their carrier at least partly based on the handsets they offer ... which in its case better mean that everyone is flocking to T-Mobile.
--TD Ameritrade, E-Trade say its high time to look for new, beleaguered customers.
--MTV launches a site that is pretty much an homage to Hulu. Check out the MTV site here, and Hulu here.
--3 Minute Ad Age: Is China the new Cannes? Well, Terry Savage just showed up at the China International Advertising Festival.

From Adweek:

--The idea behind GSD&M Idea City: purpose-based branding.
--Jeffrey Davidoff named CMO at Orbitz. Used to work at Whirlpool. You know ... airline tickets, dishwashers ... it's all just marketing.
--MDC Partners' Miles Nadal goes on a bit about innovation.

From Brandweek:

--Less gift cards predicted in your stocking this year. Sorry.

From Mediapost:

--Macy*s partying to celebrate its 150th birthday like its 1929.
--Big marketers adopt new "Smarter Choices" nutritional label for the front of packages. Do products like Doritos get a "Dumber Choices" nutritional label? Won't this be hell on those carefully-designed packages? And furthermore, what do I know?

From Mediaweek:

--Heads rolls at Wenner Media, but, hey, the layoff is only two percent.
--ABC makes budget cuts. No heads roll, but there goes the holiday party.
--Tiffany's goes downscale. I meant more affordable.
--The people at Kia must be cursing the weather in New York today. Does anyone want to play basketball outdoors in this?
--Aegis, Interpublic and Publicis high on digital going forward as they release their quarterly earnings.
--On the other hand, online display may be down by as much as ten percent, says an RBC analyst.
--Now that Dolly Parton is all over this white space issue, it finally got my attention.
--Yesterday Brightcove snagged The New York Times, today it's AOL.
--What Dr Pepper fans like to listen to. It's not Guns 'n' Roses.
--Obama's 30-minute infomercial now slated to air tomorrow night on CBS, Fox, NBC and Univision. Why no ABC? Because otherwise millions of Americans would miss "Pushing Daisies."
--Top digital exec at HGTV, Freddy James, named head of program development and production.

From The New York Times:

--Joel Moss Levinson, who has won $200,000 in cash and prizes for making user-generated commercials, is crowned Mr. UGC! (By me, anyway.) An example of his handiwork, which inexplicably won him free nights at Best Western, is below. Get me David Lubars, stat! Or maybe not.





--Missed this from yesterday. Times' readers favorite portrayals of Madison Avenue. Hmmm ... "Putney Swope"?

From The Wall Street Journal:

--Missed this from yesterday: Twitter for Dummies. Free.
--Here comes the shakeout in online ad networks. Subscription required.
--Mitch Williams: broadcaster, salsa maker, goat. Free.
--Who said there's no good news out there? These days you can get a tattoo at the mall! Free.

I'll report back on today's outing. A trip to Taco Bell for Steal-a-Taco Day.

Cat Power gets spacey for the Lincoln MKS


If you haven't seen it, this Lincoln MKS commercial is worth watching, or maybe just listening to, just for the Cat Power cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity." I did a search for it and discovered a lot of other people think so too. Not surprisingly, someone asked the central question anyone who likes this version would ask, "Is there a full version of Cat Power cover of Space Oddity?" The answer is yes.

That other tagline for Colombia


Seeing that The Wall Street Journal did a story today about Colombia's "Colombia Is Passion" tourism campaign reminded me to post this short film that has been airing in 30-second format recently as part of it. "Colombia Is Passion" is a pretty boring tag next to the line the film sports, which is: "Colombia, the only risk is wanting to stay."

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Adverganza's Monday morning picks, 10.27.08

Wherein I scan the Monday morning headlines, so you don't have to.

From Advertising Age:

--Attack ads! They're all the, um, rage! And we're not talking about McCain vs. Obama!
--Will anyone care about so-called "pundit sites" after Nov. 4th? Not a problem I have. My problem is more whether anyone will care about my blog, ever.
--It may have cost hundreds of millions to implement Pepsi's new logo. Am I the only one that finds logo redesigns much ado about nothing?
--If you had to drop something, what would it be: cable TV or your land line?
--Another story on that digital-agencies- as-AOR trend.
--Stop the presses! Internet not as cluttered with ads!
--See what not having any advertising gets you?
--Ad Age does a Walt Mossberg on the iPhone vs. the G1.
--Film at 11! You mean the broadcast ad model doesn't work?
--Bob Garfield gives three stars to "Mamas for Obama."
--3 Minute Ad Age: All about NYC & Co.
--Rance Crain's perspective on the ANA conference.

From Adweek:

--Not that I've really been paying attention but the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers has agreed to meet with the mediator. Get excited if that's your deal.
--So, like, Goodby is going to get to sell us some oatmeal.
--Is this an oxymoron? Lowe wins creative duties for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Get it? Accounting firm ... creative duties, blah.
--Maybe social media hasn't done much to help your mega-brand, but it's a dream come true for Bacon Salt.
--A Q&A with the head of U.S. advertising and marketing for India's Mahindra, which plans to launch next year in the U.S. It's a car in case you don't know. Would you want this job right now?
--Ideocracy looks to expand its reality show.
--Joe Cella's life after Interpublic.
--Finally, an answer to the question "Why Do Clients Deserve the Advertising They Get?"
--Barbara Lippert analyzes HSBC ads during this apocalyptic financial era. Or should I say error? Anyway, here's the commercial. If you understand it, write back:



--Ad of the Day: a four-minute video from Conservatives for Change from Deutsch. Guess what? They're for Obama. Here's the video.



From Brandweek:

--Sorry, but Hispanic marketing execs aren't feeling your pain.
--Boost offers "all you can talk for one dollar"!
--Cheese rules.

From Mediapost:

--OK. So now McCain is Diet Coke, and Obama is Nokia. It will be great when the election is done and we can get all these loopy analogies over with.
--Just in time to help finance your Starbucks habit: the Gold Rewards program.
--Corningware chasing younger women.
--Olay markets Professional Pro-X: skincare products just as pricey as department store brands.
--What me worry? Sonic plans to spend $200 million in advertising over the next year.
--Digital out-of-home will weather the storm, says analyst.
--David Yovanno leaves ValueClick for CEO's post at Gigya.
--Brightcove snags video deal with The New York Times.
--Christopher Cardell resigns as president/COO of Jupitermedia.
--Nielsen puts off a plan to measure Internet usage of some of its television "currency" panel, whatever that means.
--Bravo debuts "Project Runway" ripoff, called "Fashion House". Take that, Heidi Klum!


From Mediaweek:

--Lisa Granatstein's farewell column.
--Thanks for playing, Interep.
--In case you haven't heard, Radar has shut down yet again. American Media goes and buys the Web site.
--Having gone to Harvard ain't what it used to be. So long, 02138.
--Bravo and Oxygen, now together in one happy pro-girl package!
--Westwood One looking to revamp. You would too if your stock dropped to 16 cents.
--Time Inc. looks to This Factory Built House.
--Forbes to integrate Web and print operations soon.
--Real Simple divides women's media consumption habits into five simple categories.

From The New York Post:

--Requiem for the American consumer.
--Rob Walker on Billy Mays, the OxiClean guy.

From The New York Times:

--How digital start-ups are trying to avoid dot-com bubble 2.0.
--David Geffen leaving Dreamworks.
--40 percent of the Newark Star-Ledger's newsroom staff is saying bye-bye.
--You probably don't want to be in the Web radio business.

From The Wall Street Journal:

--"Colombia Is Passion," or so says its new tourism slogan. Free. Couldn't find the ads though.
--A remembrance of Hal Kant, the lawyer for the Grateful Dead, who helped turn the band into a marketing powerhouse. Free.
--It isn't as easy as it looks for McDonald's to sell coffee. Subscription required.

That's all I wrote.