Adverganza's Friday morning picks, 11.14.08

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

From Advertising Age:

--Mainardo de Nardis named CEO of OMD Worldwide, replacing Joe Uva, who left in about the 1970s, I think.
--First the VW Routan made fun of pregant women; now it's making fun of soccer moms, see the results below. Actually, I think these are funnier than the ads featuring Brooke Shields. Major League Soccer players drinking juice boxes! Funny.



--Retailers embrace movie ads.
--WPP on how to get through a recession. (Pssst! Digital).
--Which two magazines starting with "E" both laid off a total of 30 people?
--Throwing doubt on the popularity of those Nike/Kimbo Slice viral videos. For your viewing pleasure, I've posted one below.




--3 Minute Ad Age: Verizon learns the hard way.


From Adweek:

--Which Paris-based agency holding company posted organic growth of only 1.5 percent in Q3?

From Mediapost:

--Wal-Mart: safe harbor in an earnings storm.
--This year, make it a Dunkin' Donuts Christmas. Why? Because it's cheap.
--Alpo has a restaurant on Newbury Street in Boston. For dogs. Really.
--People hate renting cars at airports.
--Gartner guy says the pressure is on for social sites to make money. Uh-oh.
--Digitalsmiths gets second round of financing. Much bigger deal than it would've been, say, two months ago.
--Publicis' VivaKi does a deal with a company called Mobile Discovery. It's all about "holistic, end-to-end solutions." Blah.
--Magazine layoff roundup!
--Initiative names Michael Hayes evp, managing director, digital, and Amy Auerbach to senior vp, director, digital.

From Mediaweek:

--Everyone's watching CBS.
--More readers are making more money.
--Phil Boyce becomes president of Talk Radio Network.
--Bye, bye "Lipstick Jungle" and "My Own Worst Enemy." At least Brooke Shields has those Routan ads to fall back on.
--ESPN gets the British Open, as expected.
--Gannett stock is in the tank, but it's buying a social media company, Ripple6.

From The New York Post:

--Time Inc. cancels its holiday party.

From The New York Times:

--GM can't even get lucky in product placement. Two of its cars were featured on "My Own Worst Enemy," canceled after four episodes and a zillion promos on the Major League Baseball.
--NBC, Fox stations in Philadelphia to pool news video.

From The Wall Street Journal:

--Here's your recession silver lining: luxury goods are getting marked down. Free.
--Snapple redesigns its label. Subscription required, but here's what it looks like:








That's it. Have a good weekend.

AT&T aids celebrity stalkers

Haven't been able to figure out what the deal is with the ShareATT channel on YouTube. It's completely random. This latest video, "How to Handle a Celebrity Sighting" works in Gawker Stalker and a cell phone, for obvious reasons--oh, and a Paris Hilton look-a-like. Given the way obsessive fandom goes these days, the timing isn't great.

Can't the NAA think up a new campaign

If you've been perusing the ad trade sites lately, which I have, you may have seen that the Newspaper Association of America is running its ad campaign again, touting newspaper as "the multi-medium" and linking to this site, full of facts and figures that, we can only assume, assure the reader that newspapers, in fact, rock. The good news is that the campaign considers a newspaper to be not just the paper it's printed on, but the entire product, including digital. The bad news is that with newspaper armageddon all around, it would be reasonable to launch a campaign that everyone hadn't already seen before, and this campaign is at least a year old. My first response to seeing it was, "Oh, that campaign again" and then I realized that the newspaper has to find something new to say. I assume the data you get at the click-through is updated from last time the NAA ran this campaign, but most of us don't have the time or inclination to find out.

Adverganza's Thursday morning picks, 11.13.08

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

From Advertising Age:

--Another HP review, this time for the media business at ZenithOptimedia.
--Decline in DTC spending for second year in a row means less blather about side effects. Yeah!
--Droga5 runs with Puma.
--Smart phones will be a big new market for video games. Duh.
--3 Minute Ad Age: Antonio Neves is growing a beard. Oh, and social media continues to rock despite the nasty economy.

From Adweek:

--Google to put video ads tied to search results on YouTube.
--Cannes adds PR Lions. Get your nominations in for best press release.
--If you care, here are the five finalists in the BMW media review.
--Cadbury Adams hands the media goodies over to Horizon, Cossette.
--Razorfish's Shiv Singh says that social media is going to mean you ad types are going to have to get cozy with academia.

From Brandweek:

--Citizens Bank is expanding its Green$ense program, where it gives you a dime for every electronic transaction you make. ATM, with paper receipts, not included.
--MTV sending young people to the Philippines. Sort of.
--How nice. NBCU and the NFL are holding "Green Week" and it has nothing to do with "Mean Joe" Greene.

From Mediapost:

--That cheeky Gen "Y" makes its own investment decisions says Scottrade. But after the last six weeks, do you think they still will?
--Which department store currently celebrating its 150th anniversary just posted a $44 milion loss for Q3?
--We're starting to love our Vespas.
--Which electronics retailer saw its same-store sales decrease by 7.6 percent last month? Hint: it's not Circuit City.
--Don't read this if the windows in your office actually open: Nick Denton says ad spending could be down by as much as 40 percent. The full post from his blog is here.
--Someone actually suing Classmates.com because of those emails which say you're going to connect with your former classmates. Has he never seen an ad before?
--Here are the most socially responsible corporations. Surprisingly, no oil companies make the list.
--TV nets all over the Consumer Electronics Show.
--As of asset swap with WPP, Nielsen says it now provides 75 percent of the TV measurement in the world, and probably the universe. Unless Martians watch NBC.
--Katz moves to pick up some Interep assets.

From Mediaweek:

--Well, at least Outcast is booming.
--The Arbitron portable people meter now includes Internet radio ratings. New Yorkers listen the most.
--Turner Sports decides it doesn't need the British Open.
--Film at 11! Online shopping is mainstream!

From The New York Post:

--Conde Nast cancels its holiday party.
--Which well-regarded British magazine is cutting 5 percent of its U.S. staff?
--Dell spokesperson says, "There's no correlation between Casey Jones' departure and our commitment to Enfatico." Let's revisit this comment in a few months.

From The New York Times:

--Cheer up! "Elf Yourself" is back!
--The Times maintains straight face over fake Times. C'mon guys, lighten up.

From The Wall Street Journal:

--Hedge fund Quadrangle closes its media fund. I wonder why. Subscription required.
--Bottled water producer Nestle warns people against drinking soda. No self-interest there. At all. Subscription required.
--This year's J.C. Penney holiday campaign is all about price. Here it is, but it's nothing compared to last year's spot, which is, like, the best commercial ever. Free.



That's all for today.

Alright, already, I get that you're a PC

If the WindowsVideo channel on YouTube is any indication, looks like Microsoft is splicing and dicing the "I'm a PC" footage they're getting, sixteen ways to Sunday, but no matter how you slice it, the idea gets old after awhile. Don't you like the way I can stick with a metaphor?

Obama still supplying his YouTube channel

Much has been said over the last week about how Barack Obama might use all of the social media channels he opened during his campaign in the service of his presidency. One inkling of his commitment to continuing to use them is on YouTube, where the president-elect has posted his trip to the White House and his acceptance speech. (I know he's there late at night with his laptop, hitting the "Upload" button. Sure.) There's much more he could do with it. I'll keep watching.

Adverganza's Wednesday morning picks, 11.12.08

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

From Advertising Age:

--Dentsu snaps up McGarry Bowen.
--Hilarity ensues as Casey Jones, Dell's vp/global marketing and overseer of Dell-only shop Enfatico leaves the company!
--Will consumers be leery of plugging into bankrupt Circuit City over the holidays?
--Don't look for cable to start Hulu-ing.
--Television Bureau of Advertising now predicting national spot to be down 11.5 percent in 2009.
--3 Minute Ad Age: Cable shouldn't just be about content, but about context.

From Adweek:

--DDB is latest agency to name a diversity chief. The name's Minerva Garcia.
--Asset swap between WPP and Nielsen. If you can follow it, you're a better woman than I.
--Citi Investment Research predicts a 3.6 percent ad spending decline next year.
--Because they couldn't think of what else to name it, ANDY Awards calls its new category "Category Next."

From Mediapost:

--Burst launches network of people who intend to buy cars, which is pretty easy, since no one is intending to buy a car.
--Jarvis Mak to head research at Havas Digital.
--Clear Channel says Obama outspent McCain in radio 5-to-1.
--First, we stop eating at restaurants.
--And this study showed that nearly half of those surveyed have cut back on fast-food restaurants.
--Sarah Palin's favorite consignment shop has to change its name.


From Mediaweek:

--Which digital arm of a major private publishing company just laid off staff?
--Vivian Schiller, senior vp/general manager at nytimes.com, joins National Public Radio as president/CEO.
--Rodale says its revenue declined five percent compared to last year's third quarter.

From The New York Post:

--GM pulls out of the LA Auto Show. That's how bad it is.

From The New York Times:

--Low-budget ad campaigns for itty-bitty banks.

That's it. Lost a few items this morning somehow that I coulda sworn I added, but got to move on.

Adverganza's Tuesday morning picks, 11.11.08

Wherein I synopsize as many headlines as I can before the off-from-school kids take over.

From Advertising Age:

--Starbucks profit down 97 percent, but CEO Howard Schultz thinks the worst is over.
--Maybe Crestor does do some good.
--30 percent of online retailers say they are cutting their marketing budgets.
--Now is the time for real innovation. At least this guy thinks so.
--3 Minute Ad Age: Charles Schwab CEO loves her commercials from Euro RSCG.

From Adweek:

--If you're turned off by the regular show or have no time, watch the "Heroes" microseries! Oh, yeah, sponsored by Sprint and worked on by Mindshare.
--Adweek's take on Bob Isherwood's exiting stage left at Saatchi.
--Omnicom CEO John Wren and ESPN sales and marketing prez Ed Erhardt to receive Reisenbach Award.
--Here's Adweek's story on Agency.com's suit against iCrossing and its ex-CEO Don Scales, who is now, of course, the CEO of iCrossing. More importantly, here's the complaint. Read on the Twitter yesterday that it cites stories written by Adweek's Brian Morrissey.
--Marketers target the obese, and not with Doritos.

--From Brandweek:

--Pull your TV commercials and embrace the power of swag.
--Feature on Starbucks' "Wake Up Call."
--Ads with a one-man target: president-elect Obama.
--Order online from Pizza Hut and receive 75 eMusic downloads? That rules!

From Mediapost:

--Liberty Mutual debuts ad in its "Responsibility Project", even though its earnings suck.
--Click here if you want to know what Kid-Adult Fusion is.
--According to this show, sponsored by Ocean Spray, it's going to be a "Cranberry Christmas."
--Land Rover is sponsor of KBB Mobile.
--Not as good as the Pizza Hut free downloads, but you can get four free downloads at this Tic Tac site.
--Mindshare signs social network ad deal with Lotame.
--Users sue NebuAd.
--iPhone now most popular mobile in the U.S.
--Now Conde Nast is all over Brightcove.
--Wired executive editor Bob Cohn to head Web site for The Atlantic.
--Here's how much it cost Publicis to buy Performics from Google.
--Invidi gets more traction as an addressable advertising solution.
--Which newspapers just laid off a total of almost 500 people?
--Charlie Collier named president of AMC.
--Which newspaper company saw third quarter revenue decline by 10 percent?
--Susan Whiting named vice chairperson of Nielsen, as part of the office of the CEO.

From Mediaweek:
--Which radio company saw its Q3 net revenue decline by 10.9 percent?
--Which major magazine publisher is asking for at least 83 buyout volunteers?
--Which radio and outdoor company had a basically flat Q3?
--CNET launches show called "The Apple Byte" for you Steve Jobs cultists.
--Marc Berman's Programming Insider: Broadcast nets are down compared to last year.
--Lifetime acquires something called Roiworld from Korea.

From The New York Times:

--Hmmm. Webcasts from Iraq will sell people on the Army? I guess.
--Film at 11! Book industry nervous about the holiday season. They must have been reading the headlines or something.

From The Wall Street Journal:

--Advertisers are reconsidering their Super Bowl ad buys. Certainly, this is the sign we've been waiting for to prove that the economy is in tatters. Free.
--Close-up on the rollout of Facebook's engagement ads. Free.
--As an experiment, Ticketmaster drops the so-called convenience charges. Convenient for who, I ask? Subscription required.
--Which satellite radio company posted a $4.88 billion loss in Q3? If you can't get this one right without clicking, you're hopeless. Subscription required.

That's all she wrote. Yesterday the headlines weren't so miserable, but not today!

Adverganza's Monday morning picks, 11.10.08

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

From Advertising Age:

--Worldwide CD Bob Isherwood leaves Saatchi.
--Levi's asks agencies in review to unzip more of their fly than they should.
--What will Obama do with his three-million people database?
--Looking at Blackberry's Election Day launch.
--Las Vegas hotels spending, even as tourism slips.
--The audacious Barack Obama.
--Obama and the relaunch of Brand America.
--Simon Dumenco thinks McCain's brand suicide was all about Sarah Palin.
--Except post-Election Day, Obama hasn't helped Chicago newspaper circulation at all.
--Meet Team Obama.
--Bob Garfield gives the McCain campaign one star. Maybe he was feeling generous.
--Fast food giants get into text, Facebook orders.

From Adweek:

--Mediacom gets its arms around reorganization, "value reengineering" whatever that is.
--Tod Seisser, Steve Landsberg, start creative consultancy, Grok.
--Finalists in Home Depot review to present this week, if you care.
--Vanguard calling a review. Hey, get on the stick!
--Finally, someone takes a closer look at Honeyshed.
--"Just Asking: What Impact Did Ads Have on the Election?"
--A car company that's advertising! Cars.com will start $200 million campaign on Super Bowl.
--Former head of ad sales at Fox Interactive Media, Michael Barrett, joins startup AdMeld as CEO.
--Profile of Cameron Death, vp of NBC Universal Digital Studio. (BTW, it's pronounced "Deeth".)
--Barbara Lippert on why "traditional political ads have never seemed so irrelevant."
--Joseph Jaffe gives you 10 reasons why you should start a blog. (As long as it doesn't compete with Adverganaa--but what could?--it's OK with me.)
--StrawberryFrog's Scott Goodson and Chip Walker think it's a time of opportunity, and appear to have been stone cold sober when they wrote this column.
--Ad of the Day: Mark Dolliver likes this Hyatt commercial about its exceptional service except for that part at the end where it uses the word "humbly" which " ... does introduce a bowing-and-scraping note that the spot has otherwise avoided."

From Brandweek:

--Are the changes Obama is promising bad for the marketing community?
--Interview with Church & Dwight vp/marketing James Daniels about that Trojan campaign, below, in which men actually are pigs. (I admit I never saw it before.)




--Yet another Simpsons/Burger King promo.
--Cold remedy makers tout their latest innovations, i.e. the ones private-label makers haven't ripped off yet.
--Hennessey continues its partnership with Habitat for Humanity.
--Todd Wasserman interviews Steinski, the 57-year-old Jewish hip-hop legend who works in advertising. Yes, you read that right.

From Mediapost:

--Your chance to read more depressing things about GM.
--Credit card promotions apparently continue, if this new music-themed one from Citi is any indication.
--When it comes down to saving money vs. buying organic, saving money wins.
--Compaony touts an alternative to pre-roll and overlay video ads.
--Search advertising still immune to economic slowdown.

From Mediaweek:

--Integration? Schmintegration! Magazines cut back on those integrated packages.
--ABC News wins the election.
--Elvis Costello, Sundance get sponsors.
--Which media company just laid off its recently-promoted chief innovation officer?
--A report from CNN's Election Night shindig.
--Which cable net saw its revenue increase in Q3?
--Now that Googlehoo is dead, is it time to reinstate Microhoo, or Yasoft, or whatever?
--Do other newsweeklies want to be The Economist?
--Obligatory political ad spend wrap-up.
--So much for Nielsen's out-of-home report.
--Richard Beaven of Initiative is Mediaweek's Media Exec of the Year. The rest of the list is here.
--Marc Berman's Programming Insider: It was a good weekend for ABC and CBS.

From The New York Post:

--Those Time, Newsweek Obama covers are selling out.
--Circuit City cozies up to Chapter 11.
--Will the lousy economy cause agencies to rethink their business model?

From The New York Times:

--"Goodbye Seduction, Hello Coupons." The headline says it all.
--Finally figuring out who the hell Nate Silver is.
--YouTube snares MGM deal.
--Book publishers get into that digital thang.
--Rescuing "Heroes."
--Guy titles his book, “A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can’t Win”. Oops.
--New MSNBC tag: "Experience the Power of Change." Are they taking credit or something?
--Video gamers not sure about this Obama guy.

From The Wall Street Journal (long story, having to do with how much Internet Explorer sucks, but you'll have to find out yourself whether this content is free; for the record, I'm devoted to Firefox):

--You probably don't want to be in the radio business right now.
--Agency.com sues iCrossing, accusing its former CEO Don Sciales with "raiding" the agency.
--Shari Redstone walks away from Midway Games.
--Cable results good, broadcast bad.

That's it kiddos. The news isn't as depressing as usual, but the week's still young.