Adverganza's Super Bowl hype begins ...

OK, so as of today Adverganza is finally succumbing to Super Bowl hype. Amazing that I've been able to hold out until three days before the Big Game before even posting a Super Bowl ad, but all good things must come to an end. Now I'm going to be a Super Bowl ad whore, posting anything that has the remotest thing to do with the Super Bowl, so there! Still looking for candidates to live blog the game with me. But I won't take just anyone. Email me at cathyptaylor@gmail.com, if you're, well, game.

Yes, it will blend picket signs

And now, the special writers' strike edition of Blendtec's "Will It Blend?"

One place where the red wig lives

In case you're feeling nostalgic already for the Wendy's red wig campaign, it continues to live. for now, at Wendys.com.

My lazy take on Quizno's vs. Subway

I'm a little late to the party on this Quizno's vs. Subway fracas, wherein Quizno's asked its fans to do the attacking for them--by having them shoot anti-Subway videos and, more to the point, post them. Subway has not been pleased. The one above, may or may not be part of the official contest. I guess I picked it to stream because it's one of the more recent ones posted on YouTube and, at least at the beginning, it has a Led Zep soundtrack. Maybe they should solve this whole thing by streaming a wrestling match between the Quizno's mascot in this vid and Jared. I dunno.

Zucker on why NBC won't do an upfront show

So NBC's Jeff Zucker gave the keynote yesterday at NATPE, and talked about what why the network, in all likelihood, is not planning a glamorous upfront presentation this year, and he did so--at least if you look at the snippets here on the Ad Age site--without once mentioning how the writers' strike might leave a network with not a lot to show. Zucker talks about the upfront presentation as a thing of the past. Why does this seem like a trendlet that we'll see for a few years rather than the end of an era? I guess it's 'cuz ad execs sure like their TV stars.

My interview with new 4As CEO Nancy Hill

It's official. Nancy Hill has been named the new president-CEO of the 4As.
I had a chat with her yesterday, and came away thinking that she will bring a decidedly different spin to what has been, by almost all accounts, a pretty staid organization. I admit that in a post on her expected appointment last week, I didn't realize she had tech experience. In fact, she's worked on a raft of tech accounts, and explained to me that it taught her not to separate digital advertising from traditional advertising. "I was never allowed to separate the two because the technology clients wouldn't let you separate the two," she explained. That said, she's obviously thought a lot about the digital divide—not the one that separates the computer-haves from the computer have-nots, but the one that separates the traditional advertising people from the digital ones. The traditional side, she said, focuses on ads as solutions; the digital side focuses on applications as solutions. "I think where the 4As can help is that we can help bring the conversation together." Digital vs. traditional is my personal bailiwick, but we also talked about other topics of concern to the ad populi.
One was the 4As Management Conference, which, Hill admitted, is ranking fairly low on the relevancy scale. "It has been a management conference where agency heads have stood up and talked about what was happening at their own agencies," she observed. After last year's conference, she and some other ad execs got together all by themselves and brainstormed what the conference should be; her thought was that it should "look outside the industry" at other creative industries who have adjusted to change. She'd like to bring in people like Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, who have managed to sustain and grow a partnership through a rapidly-changing landscape in their own business. That doesn't mean they're on the agenda; Hill had to disengage from the project once she was under consideration for the 4As job. I checked out what the 4As Web site has to say about this year's conference, by the way, and it has been renamed the 4As Leadership Conference. It also promises to deliver, "CEOs from major digital companies, a global media agency CEO, a major architect, a Hollywood producer, a venture capitalist, a major package goods advertisers and the legendary Lee Clow, worldwide creative director, TBWA\Chiat\Day." (Hey, I thought Lee recently changed his title to Master of the Dark Arts, or something. No wait, I had that a little wrong.)
Anyway, perhaps we'll soon be able to say goodbye to the 4As conference as we've known it, which is great, as long as it keeps being at high-end resorts and includes many beverages, of course. Some things should never change.
So anyway, we also touched on the industry's sorry record when it comes to diversity and how the 4As could do more to make it, well, less white bread. (My words, not hers.) Hill feels many minorities have trouble picturing themselves in the ad industry, which is among the difficulties in making the industry more diverse. "How can we position the industry as attractive to all constituencies?" she asked. "I think that starts before somebody gets out of school."
And, of course, no interview of an incoming 4As CEO would be complete without talking about Advertising Week, which, although it pales in importance next to the changing media landscape and diversity, somehow seems to lead to the most 4As headlines. Although she applauds the passion that the late Ken Kaess, and Ron Berger will continue to bring to it, it isn't front-and-center for her right now. She confessed, "My perspective on it is cloudy at this point be honest with you." Given the substantive issues facing the ad industry right now, that's not a bad thing.
If you're surprised that you're reading her comments on a blog, so am I. But Hill wanted to communicate with the blogosphere as well as the usual ad media suspects. As none of them have posted any interviews with her yet, do me a favor and remember that you read it on Adverganza first.

And now the new Wendy's work from Kirshenbaum

Now that we've laid the red wig campaign to rest (see below), let's examine the new Wendy's work from Kirshenbaum + Bond, which you can see here at the Ad Age site. (These people sure work fast, don't they?) You can see the tag at right, which says Wendy's is "waaaay better than fast food" well, maybe. As for the whole commercial, which focuses on its version of the Filet-o-fish, it's very product-centric. And it's also exceedingly boring.

Wendy's red wig, we hardly knew ye

Red wig campaign from Saatchi for Wendy's: Jan. 29, 2007 - Jan. 28, 2008.
Yep, it lasted just about a year.

Adverganza's Monday morning picks, 01.28.08

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

From Advertising Age:

—All about that National Association of Realtors campaign that says now is a great time to buy. As a real estate agent myself, I shall refrain from commenting.
—People will watch the Super Bowl into the fourth quarter, this story predicts. Yeah, but what about the focusing problems of the drunks?
—Mac people really are arrogant, says study. But, no, they don't all date Drew Barrymore.
—Hundreds of thousands of people embrace Dewmocracy.
—Colt 45 ads feature cartoon-like characters and the tag, "Works Every Time." Would you believe some people are offended?
—More insight into the appointment of Nancy Hill to head the 4As.
—Bob Garfield doesn't like the aforementioned real estate spots. But he dislikes Realtors even more. Hey, Bob, we're not all the same. (OK, I commented.)

From Adweek:

—Toby Gabriner goes to Adzilla.
—To promote her new book, Nina DiSesa talks about how advertising is till a boys' club.
—Nielsen to use its Hey! Nielsen! site to see what people really think of this year's Super Bowl ads.
—Complete pre-game analysis of this year's Super Bowl advertising, in case you haven't gotten enough hype yet.
—Interpublic says there's still life in Magna Global.
—People don't really agree on what the second best Super Bowl spot ever is.
—Barbara Lippert goes bottom-fishing, critiquing Super Bowl ads for GoDaddy and SalesGenie.com.

From Brandweek:

—Are sales of import beers in a recession-induced stupor?
—Nike to launch a new line of performance trainers, and another brand that I've never heard of, may be threatened. Maybe I don't work out enough.
—More Super Bowl hype, and the demise of consumer-generated Super Bowl ads. I'm liking this year's crop of spots better already.
—Why the new Subway Feast sandwich isn't a natural fit for the chain that made a name for itself out of Jared's jeans.
—A new video feature, "Marketing Wakeup Call," talks about crappy social networking campaigns.
—Tiger Woods cosies up to the Buick Enclave, and the timing couldn't be better.

From Mediapost:

—Dunkin' Donuts launches a CGM contest on YouTube. Well, I guess CGM isn't entirely dead.
—Super Bowl advertisers' stocks beat out the S&P 500, according to some egghead professor guy.
—Imus gets sued for criticizing a commercial for Gerald Ford's book a full year ago, saying that the publisher ""have been waiting for him to croak so they can unload these."
—Blame the writers' strike: people are actually watching "Celebrity Apprentice."

What we hear from The Delaney Report:

—Hershey's is closely examining its marketing and advertising, though it seems too early for use of the "R" word.
—"Green" car Tesla might be getting off the ground. Might want to check around on when it'll need an agency.
—Tom doesn't like BBDO's new Monster.com spots.

From The New York Times:

—Advertisers are partying like it's a ... recession.
—On Fox, it'll be SuperBowlTuesday, or SuperTuesdayBowl, or something like that.
—Target doesn't care about bloggers, and bloggers can get really, really mad (registration required).
—Scientology's been very, very good to Gawker.

From The Wall Street Journal (alas, subscription required unless otherwise noted, from here to eternity):

—Here's its round-up of the Super Bowl ads, and lucky you, it's free.

Biegel vs. Dentsu to go forward

Looks like the judge in the Steve Biegel vs. Dentsu suit today denied Dentsu's attempt to dismiss the case. If this sounds like something you've heard before, it kind of is—but not entirely. From what I understand, the earlier ruling by the judge not to dismiss was made pending the delivery of more information about the sexual harrassment to the court by Biegel. As of a hearing today, the judge is saying she's satisfied with the evidence presented and that the case can proceed. Biegel's side didn't comment. Haven't heard back from Dentsu yet but will update when I do.

Levy, Sorrell fight about Google

Remember how I said the other day that I wondered what Sir Sorrell was thinking about Publicis' cozying up to Google? Well, none of us have to wonder anymore. Seems Sorrell and Publicis chief Maurice Levy had at it at Davos. Read this Reuters story and you'll see what I mean. Funniest of many funny soundbites, from Sorrell: "Next time I meet with (Google CEO) Eric Schmidt I think we'll send out a press release." Via Adscam. UPDATE: I originally forgot to put the Reuters link. It's there now.

DDB bloggers are blogging! A little

Having posted about Sir Martin Sorrell's Davos blog yesterday (no new post up today, tsk, tsk), reminded me that I haven't caught up with the bloggers of DDB recently. When we last visited DDBlogs, our bloggers weren't exactly coming down with carpal tunnel from all their endless ranting. They still aren't, but some actual discussions have broken out about topics like creativity (Bob Scarpelli), communications trends for 2008 (Jeff Swystun), and vodka (Frank Palmer). Still, Scarpelli and Palmer haven't posted since just after Thanksgiving, and the lack of discreet links for any of these posts is a killer if this site has any aspirations to be viral.

Short Sony ad does nothing for bunnies

If you haven't already seen it on TV, here's the 30-second U.S. version of the Sony Bravia "Bunnies" ad from Fallon London. (Well, in the U.S. it advertises a different Sony brand.) As a :30, it's better than most commercials, but this is also a good demonstration of why some commercials are better delivered virally so they can exist in long form. The shorter version lacks the momentum of the minute-and-half-long original, and without the crowd shots of people wondering what the hell is going on while they watch the shoot, there's not so much awe—plus they edited out the massive red bunny. OK, rant over. As you were. Via Bestads.TV.

Hill to climb to top of 4As hill ... ha!

The news that former Lowe and BBDO exec Nancy Hill is in all likelihood going to be the next head of the 4As came out of left field for me. I've never met her, but I guess the 4As has so long epitomized the ad industry's old-boy network that it never even occurred to me that the person replacing Burtch Drake would be a woman. This seems partially a step in the right direction. If I had a personal wish list, however, on what the next chief of the 4As should have on his or her resume, it would be substantial digital street cred, and, far as I know, Hill doesn't have that.

Sir Martin Sorrell's Davos blog

Little did we know that, when he's not musing about Google's market cap, Sir Martin Sorrell is a blogger. At least for this week, as he is currently blogging for the Daily Telegraph on his trip to Davos. You can read all about it here. So far, he hasn't said a thing about Google; his main concerns seem to be, in no particular order, the weather, the crowds and the economy. Via AgencySpy.

'Adweek' launch party invite

Someone slipped me a copy of the invite to Adweek's relaunch party on Feb. 5, the day after the new Adweek debuts. Don't bother going. You're probably not invited. And neither am I.

Another viral from the Dove Self-Esteem Fund

Just found this rather poignant video on YouTube from our friends at the Dove Self-Esteem Fund in Canada. Someone posted it earlier today. No women in it this time; just a lovelorn male teenager. It's certainly not as, well, in-your-face as "Evolution" or "Onslaught" but is refreshing for its pubescent male take on what's attractive. Assume this is the work of the usual suspects at Ogilvy Toronto. If anyone knows more please write in.

Chronicle of a Google relationship foretold

Wonder what Martin Sorrell is thinking now that Maurice Levy, David Kenny and other members of Publicis are making nice with Google, actually letting Google engineers into Publicis offices and vice versa in a warm, cozy collaborative relationship. Is he jealous or does he think they're chumps? Hard to say, though his Google obsession is well-known, along with his classification of Google as a "frenemy." Anyway, the Google/Publicis lovefest was foretold by Google ad sales chieftain Tim Armstrong at last month's UBS media conference, where Armstrong said, "If you sat in a room with us when we're meeting with them, I think you would see a very symbiotic relationship. So I think, in essence, the companies that are saying friend or foe, I think they're not as focused on where we see the future going, which is basically see[ing] this digitization where the agencies actually play a very central, hub role." So there!

Monster.com spot makes world go 'round

Wow, this new commercial from Monster.com is certainly, well, memorable. And certainly odd. My what big thighs that guy has! According to this story in Adweek, the spot was directed by Rupert Saunders, who also shot the cool, if really fetishistic, Halo 3 "Believe" campaign featuring dioramas of the fictional Halo war. To me it looks a little Terry Gilliam. Via BBDO.

More from 'Adweek' on Dentsu suit

Sorry not to post at all on Wednesday, but, hey, sometimes actual paying gigs intrude. OK, so now that I'm scanning the headlines, no real surprise that Adweek waited until Dentsu filed a few more court documents to cover the Steve Biegel vs. Dentsu suit again.