Adverganza's Friday morning picks, 11.07.08

So where the hell was I on Thursday? On a field trip with my 10-year-old. Tried to do a post to that effect from my Treo but it didn't quite post, obviously. So, I'm back doing Friday headlines now, and hope a day off didn't ruin everything.

From Advertising Age:

--Microsoft hires ex-Time Inc. exec Robin Domeniconi as head of U.S. ad sales.
--If your brand is in "Slumdog Millionaire" you might want to rethink that.
--Watch out for Henry Waxman and regulation on DTC advertising.
--Can Burger King mandate that its franchisees stay open longer?
--Carat's Adam Cahill tells Barack Obama how "to extend the social-media foundation he built as a candidate and transform it into something even more powerful."
--3 Minute Ad Age: Getting all hyped up about the Corn Refiners Association new ad campaign about high fructose corn syrup.

From Adweek:

--Disney sets a record for its revenue, but sees dark clouds on the horizon.
--Obama win sets Election Night records: 71 million of us watched.
--Which Detroit ad agency just laid off 22 percent of its staff?
--Borrell Associates predicts local interactive advertising to grow--much less quickly.
--Do you have your Obama keepsake yet?
--News Corp. blames the ad business for its woes, which is actually accurate.
--Film at 11! DVR impact on TV viewing outpaces impact of VCRs.
--If you care, Lowe wins Outback Steakhouse.
--Ad of the Day: Havas' Arnold puts a huge pinata in Philadelphia for Carnival Cruise Lines. Don't know why, but man! The buzz!

From Brandweek:

--Blu-ray is going to spend $25 million to tell us all what the hell it is.

From Mediapost:

--October retail sales are lowest since 1969. Even Costco got hurt although, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and B.J.'s did not.
--GM to announce third quarter results today. They won't be good.
--Sears launches "Grant a Wish" campaign, as in "Don't just give a gift, grant a wish." Here's the 60-second version of the spot, via Young & Rubicam.



--Timberland admits that Mother Nature can suck. Here's a commercial from this new campaign, via Leagas Delaney.



--Time-shifted viewing of primetime this year is at 16 percent in the 18-49 demo, per Magna.
--Stephen Friedman named general manager of MTV.
--Ten percent of voters admit that "SNL" political skits influenced their voting, with six percent saying it made them pick Obama, and four percent saying it made them pick McCain. Don't know as I'd ever admit to that.
--Havas Digital's Stuart Epperson unveils ad trading system that will operate, eventually anyway, like the Wall Street futures marketplace.
--Craigslist to put limits on prostitution ads. Sorry to ruin your weekend.
--Is Facebook looking to Dubai?
--Here is Fox's Q1 2009 prime-time line-up.
--Marc Berman's Programming Insider: "Dancing with the Stars" rules.

From Mediaweek:

--Brian Lawlor named chief of E.W. Scripps' TV division.
--Adult Swim throws life preserver to "King of the Hill."

From The New York Times:

--Agency layoff round-up story. Read it if you dare.
--Money magazine managing editor Eric Schurenberg leaves as part of overall Time Inc. shakeup.

From The Wall Street Journal:

--Moscow confronting billboard pollution. Subscription required.

That's all. Have a good weekend.

More to come ...

Adverganza's Monday morning picks, 11.03.08

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

From Advertising Age:

--Even in an election and Olympics year, media spending is down in the first three quarters.
--Oprah kindles interest in the Kindle.
--Kohl's upping its holiday spending to focus on value.
--What it will be like when Conan O'Brien helms "The Tonight Show."
--The future of print.
--Speaking of which, according to a few sources, Macy's has cut all of its print budget for the first half of 2009.
--Your viewers skipping ads on TiVo? Not to worry ... make sure they can't skip on broadband.
--Wal-Mart buying up national radio, some cable nets.
--AOL's Randy Falco says it's all digital's fault.
--Eric Hadley leaves Heavy, amid tough times for laddie sites.
--The Brits embrace "one downmanship." If you don't know what that is, you'd be surprised to know you're probably doing it, too.
--You might want to know about digital divas.
--What does media M&A activity look like in a downturn? It doesn't look entirely comatose.
--3 Minute Ad Age: It isn't just the lack of money; media companies just aren't green.
--Admitted Phillies fan Bob Garfield reviews ads he saw during the playoffs.

From Adweek:

--Yeah, we kinda knew this already, but agency holding companies are cutting back. Don't be surprised if you get cut out of that trip to L.A.
--Keeping it all in the family, DDB gets AT&T's b-to-b business.
--Arnold lets go eight percent of staff at its Boston headquarters.
--Hold that thought: OMD, not Zenith, gets Levi's media business.
--Video blogger/sports rapper wears Timberland's on his hands, raps for Timberlands. Too much going on here for me to parse, but here's the dude's MySpace page.
--NYSE Euronext proves hot for Havas.
--Razorfish buys Spain digital shop called wysiwig. Who knew that wysiwig meant the same thing in Spanish?
--"Just asking" asks people who should know how Obama and McCain's marketing might have been better. It's all water under the bridge now.
--DraftFCB goes to Sydney; picks Michael Simons to be its New York CCO.
--How Saatchi, Pampers moved away from Sally Struthers, teaming on an effort to fund one tetanus shot in developing countries for every pack of Pampers sold. Cool. Here's an ad from the campaign:





--The political ad career of former Fallon creative Bill Hillsman.
--Alan Wolk diagnoses the agency community with Nascar blindness, dismissing Nascar, "some bizarre redneck affectation akin to eating squirrel meat." Cool.
--Paul Cappelli gets into trouble in Italy, but maybe wins that tourism account anyway.
--Adweek video: The International Advertising Association's Michael Lee on creating a, well, global global warming campaign.





From Brandweek:

--Can you use the skills of designers to tackle business problems? Those who say yes call it "design thinking."
--Q&A with Laurine Garrity, senior vp/CMO of TD Ameritrade, on the opportunities the company sees in the current market.
--Eco-friendly cleaning products company Seventh Generation gets serious.
--Purina drooling all over Christmas flick, "Marley & Me."
--White Gold makes an appearance at beauty salons.

From Mediapost:

--Denis Leary for the Ford F-150. Hey, it gets 21 miles per gallon!
--Oh no! Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa for the new TD Bank.
--Non-smoking groups tell Philip Morris they own the color pink.
--Psssst. Want to know how to make it through the recession? Go into digital out-of-home media.
--Nielsen says that Internet users are also big TV watchers. They're also sloths.
--New York AG Andrew Cuomo starts an investigation of Arbitron, and, yes, it ties back to the Portable People Meter.
--JP Morgan downgrades its online advertising estimate for the second time recently; now it predicts it will only grow by 13 percent in 2009. That other media could be so lucky.
--The Rubicon Project says online advertising will be up too.
--AOL aggregates morning show content into "The Morning Rush."
--MySpace, MTV in ad insertion deal when people upload MTV content to YouTube.

From Mediaweek:

--Clear Channel's outdoor digital billboards will stream news on election night.
--Conde Nast's direct response group goes bye-bye as company cuts.
--Fox's "King of the Hill" will tumble after more than 250 episodes.
--Marc Berman's Programming Insider: "30 Rock" benefits ... somewhat ... from the Tina Fey bounce.
--John McCain pulls in the "SNL" ratings.
--A roundup of how each medium will fare in the downturn.
--Why are all those respected brands showing up on racy gossip sites anyway?
--How broadcast TV buyers would change the broadcast lineup.
--The ups and downs of the CW.
--Meredith's "Better" gets picked up by more stations.
--Jim Cooper on being a political news junkie during a heated election.

From The New York Post:

--Costco is the new Nordstrom's.
--Music-themed video games may hit sour note.
--Editor-in-chief Steve Adler says no more cuts at BusinessWeek this year, after the magazine shuts down its TV show, that is.

From The New York Times:

--The political campaigns and Web 2.0.
--Trying to drive local ads to local newspaper Web sites.

That's it, folks. One day until the election. Thank God.

More to come ...

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.

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.

Adverganza's Thursday morning picks, 10.23.08

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

From Advertising Age:

--I'll just quote the headline on this one: "Cockroaches and New Balance in Rotterdam."
--Oh, God, no! Another review in which a client (in this case Hewlett-Packard's Technology Solutions Group), tries to pick the fairest holding company of them all.
--Recession blues? Go eat a Big Mac. Everybody else is.
--3 Minute Ad Age: More on that Ivanka Trump/Healthy Choice weirdness.
--Guns 'n' Roses ready to release its album. Dr Pepper all around!
--George Lois rants about Esquire, The New Yorker and Ad Age.

From Adweek:

--Bartle Bogle Hegarty won't unzip its jeans to defend the U.S. Levi's account.
--Some folks get hired by Amalgamated.
--What the hell is Reverse Radical Strategy? And what does it have to do with advertising? Maybe you should read this.
--Ad of the day: the U.S. Dept. of Treasury and the Ad Council tells teens to stay out of debt. So. where's the campaign targeted toward Wall Street execs?

From Brandweek:

--Grey gets the Green Earth Technologies CPG account. Wonder what Procter & Gamble thinks about this, or maybe those old-school conflict issues are, well, too old-school.
--Kimberly-Clark sees earnings dip but still wants to spend money on marketing.

From Mediapost:

--Five percent decline in holiday spending predicted. At what point does all of this become self-fulfulling?
--Wii Music goes on sale this week!
--Isn't it comforting to know that Chevrolet can still manage to advertise on the World Series? This time, it's to promote the Traverse.
--LinkedIn launches a B2B market research network.
--Who knew? 18-to-34-year-olds allegedly pay attention to marketing messages in emails. Sounds fishy to me. Sorry.
--Whole buncha companies, including Facebook, join the Advertising Research Foundation.
--Second year of C3 ratings shows cable up 10 percent.


From Mediaweek:

--Telemundo does a product placement deal for the Chevy Malibu.
--The Webisode lives: CBS and Saturn partner on a Web series called "Novel Adventures." It's about women in a book club, who, presumably, drive. Get it?
--Marc Berman's Programming Insider: on Tuesdays, it's between Fox and CBS.
--Yet more scanning of the brain, this time sponsored by Google and MediaVest.

From The New York Post:

--AIG hires Burson-Marsteller. What? Does it have an image problem?
--Are Wenda and Martha having trouble getting along?

From The New York Times:

--The New York Times Co. third quarter numbers are in, and they ain't pretty: print advertising revenue down 18.5 percent; 51.4 percent decline in profit; online ad revenue up only 2.5 percent.

Looks like that's it for the picks today. See ya.

Adverganza's Wednesday morning picks, 10.22.08

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

From Advertising Age:

--Ya-boo-hoo. Yahoo to lay off 10 percent of staff.
--It's not really a gPhone, but have you heard the gPhone is launching tomorrow? Here's a stream of the Publicis-created ad (and a link because the stream isn't working well), from WSJ.com (if you understand it, please write):



--Barack Obama is a BMW; John McCain is a Ford. Barack Obama is Google; John McCain is Wal-Mart. Barack Obama is Target; John McCain is AOL. OK, you do the rest. (blank) is a winner; (blank) is a loser.
--3 minute Ad Age: Here's what happens when political marketers, sellers of other goods, scan your brain.

From Adweek:

--The aforementioned reorg.
--Is Levi's jumpin' out of BBH? Well, it's putting the business in review anyway. (Yes, readers, I know that "Jumpin' In" was done by Cutwater, but liked it as a headline anyway. So there!)
--What recession? Omnicom Group's third quarter net income rises 6 percent.
--Trojan starts online campaign featuring shareable content.... hmmmm ... condoms ... shareable content.
--Boston's MMB goes into the movie business.
--For some reason, Adweek has done a 150th anniversary package about Macy's. Couldn't get the PDF to download but maybe you can.

From Brandweek:

--Even though Paul Newman is no longer with us, his brand very much is. Introducing all-natural Newman's Own pizza.
--Who knew Zima was still alive? Well, it's dead now.

From Mediapost:

--A guy actually takes the job of CEO at Hummer.
--You know times are tough when Coach cuts back on the number of handbags it's selling.
--AdMob closes on $15.7 million in funding from Sequoia Capital. In case you don't get it, in this market, that's impressive.
--Teens, not just cranky old boomers, search for health information online.
--More on that Adweek reorg.
--Jack Feuer tells us what disgustuing means, and how it relates to the ANA conference.

From Mediaweek:

--SI Kids in 3D.
--"Dexter" gets re-upped. Never watched it; just heard of that viral thing-a-ma-bob.

From The New York Post:

--Apple sells more iPhones than RIM sells Blackberrys.

From The New York Times:

--Bat Boy is back! And this time he's an LLC! (What I mean is the Weekly World News is back in action. Check out the Web site, where Bat Boy endorses Obatma, Obama's half-brother.)

From The Wall Street Journal:

--Film at 11! Broadcast network viewing down!

That's all she wrote. Or I wrote. Or something.

Adverganza's Monday morning picks, 10.20.08

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

From Advertising Age:

--More jumping on the bandwagon: I'm not talking about Colin Powell endorsing Barack Obama, but rather Ad Age already naming him Marketer of the Year.
--Pepsi doing quite a bit of hanging out with Peter Arnell.
--Guess what? There just might not be enough ad revenue to go around for all those Web 2.0 companies.
--How would a General Motors/Chrysler merger affect the marketing industry?
--Life sucks if you're a Quiznos franchisee.
--Joost tells Madison Avenue why it should still care.
--LeBron James could use a ring.
--Radio listening up; advertisers not listening.
--Will people pay $175 for a bottle of Canadian Club?
--R/GA 'fesses to seeing resumes from Wall Street, but it's probably not alone.
--3 Minute Ad Age: What a waste--the story behind Nike's shoes made out of trash.
--Bob Garfield on Hyundai's widget. Does anybody care when the world is imploding? Bob does, a little.

From Adweek:

--Comedy Central looks into leveraging live entertainment.
--Mother now lead agency for New Balance; BBDO still does some stuff.
--How we really feel about the presidential and vice presidential candidates' race, gender and age.
--The subtle differences between Hispanic, and general market, ad campaigns.
--Digital agency chiefs still bullish, at least on the surface.
--Barbara Lippert on why Sarah Silverman's "Great Schlep" had her "at douchenozzle."
--A lot of marketers planning to cut their budgets in Asia. Is there any safe haven? Apparently not.
--Profile of Acme Brand Co.'s David Caruso. No, not that guy on CSI.
--Ad of the Day (well, of Friday): "Mixed Signals" from Circuit City via Euro RSCG Chicago.
--What might happen with that iBeer vs. iPint lawsuit. Wouldn't it be nice if the parties involved could resolve this over a real beer?

From Brandweek:

--Pharmaceutical marketers fearful of social networking.
--Say goodbye to the "Big Bang" automotive launch (except for an upcoming campaign for the F150).
--Craft beers pose a challenge for those upstart imports.
--ANA attendees optimistic as they convened in the mystical world of Orlando.--
--Sure, it may aspire to taking over the world, but Google, nonetheless, tops the 2008 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Leaders List. For the full report, click here.
--Toys 'R' Us pitches itself as "where kids are a big deal."

From Mediapost:

--What Hewlett-Packard has learned from its social media efforts.
--Five lessons from outgoing Procter & Gamble CMO Jim Stengel.
--Film at 11! The National Retail Foundation sees a "price-obsessed" Christmas season.
--Nothing like financial turmoil and a presidential election to up that Web traffic. So I'm not the only one obsessively hitting the refresh button on financial sites.
--T-Mobile gets into the advergaming.
--Mygazines buys the farm.
--Heavy says it is "strongly positioned" for hard times in the ad business, while laying off 14 percent of staff.
--Now UBS cuts its ad spending estimate for 2009, by six percent.
--Murdoch says Fox Business Network is ready to be a "formidable challenger" to CNBC. All I know, is you can't get it where I live, or if you can, no one has noticed.
--NBC wants to cut its budget by $500 million, which for it is a mere three percent.

From Mediaweek:

--What will happen to the ratings of MSNBC, CNN and Fox News Network after the pre-election surge?
--Univision is beating the broadcast nets in Fridays for the 18-34 demo. How come advertisers aren't really noticing?
--Well, some say that the news this year has turned many of us into online news junkies for life.
--Nine months after he joined, Tom Beusse out as chief of Westwood One. CFO Roderick Sherwood III takes over.
--Appearance of Sarah Palin drives "Saturday Night Live" to its highest ratings in 14 years; ever since Nancy Kerrigan hosted. If you want to see it (Gov. Palin, I mean) click here.
--The slow pace of the magazine industry's new measurement initiatives.

From The New York Post:

--Will Sumner Redstone have to sell Viacom?

From The New York Times:

--Google could learn a thing or two from Microsoft when it comes to Washington.
--“It’s very easy now to panic, and we cannot panic,” and other quotations from the ANA conference.
--HSBC buys up New York (the magazine, for one issue, not the city). Though the way things are going, that may not be far off.

From The Wall Street Journal:

--Yahoo expected to announce layoffs, maybe more than 1,000. Subscription required.
--Paramount delays debut of two films. Isolated business decision or sign of a Hollywood pullback? Subscription required.
--Oliver Stone's "W" places fourth at the box office. I'm guessing we're just all sick of politics. Subscription required.

That's it gang. Have a good one.