Have you checked out @bmorrissey yet?

Getting around to letting you guys know that there's a new blog in town containing "thoughts on branding and advertising" from my former Adweek colleague Brian Morrissey. How Brian is finding the time for this, I don't know, but since he started the thing on December 31st, he's managed to post ten times. More importantly, his posts, like his tweets, tend to be heavy on the insight. In a post yesterday on what Brian calls "Advertising's (over) consumption problem," he sees the layoffs currently going on in the ad industry as being not just a byproduct of the lousy economy, but something much, much deeper. "While layoffs get the headlines, the real story is advertising itself is in uncharted territory," he observes. Keep up the good work, Brian, until your hands seize up from too much keyboarding.

Honda ads: Making Bernie Madoff's investors feel better

OK, I'm checking out this 8-minute Honda "Failure: The Secret of Success" video and know that there's no way in hell I would watch the thing if it weren't for that I have an advertising blog. Or maybe, I'd find inspiration in it if I'd, like, invested with Bernie Madoff and was feeling as though investing with him was the worst thing I ever did. I guess other people are feeling the same way, as, despite being featured in The New York Times the other day, the video has only 980 views on YouTube. Yeah, call me a curmudgeon. What the hell.

Apple threw "MacWorld Expo Under the Bus"

As you know, I'm a bit obsessed with Apple's mishandling of everything on and around Steve Jobs' health issues. Loved this interview by Simon Dumenco of Ad Age with Jason Snell, editorial director of Macworld. Lots of good sound bites, but this one, about why Apple made that weird announcement about Jobs' non-participation in Macworld Expo, really stands out:

"My personal opinion is that for whatever reason it was decided that Jobs couldn't or wouldn't give the keynote, and given the recent speculation about his health, a simple announcement that Jobs wouldn't be giving the keynote would lead to massive speculation that he was very sick. By changing the story to be about Apple throwing Macworld Expo under the bus, Apple deflected attention from Jobs' absence. It worked for a couple of days, but in the end the speculation machine left Expo and turned back to Jobs' health, which led to the health statement he released."

Adverganza's Monday morning picks, 01.12.09

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

From Advertising Age:

—Things that will be hot in '09. The list includes online video and, of course, beer.
—Raising $50 million for a campaign to promote the U.S. auto industry is just as hard as it looks.
—New product pipeline slows down.
—Obama-mania, round 2.
—NBC taps into its girl power, featuring Meredith Vieira, Tori Spelling and Shelly Lazarus.
—Will the Army billing scandal at Burnett hamper the agency's new business efforts.
—Microsoft and Intel will invest more in the downturn. Woo-hoo!
—January: it's a time for diets, and this year, a time for discounts on diet plans.
—Nat Ives' guide to dead magazines.
—Unreality TV: The networks refuse to give advertisers price concessions.
—Will Oprah blaming her weight on the blue chips hurt sales of the blue chips?
—3-Minute Ad Age: Jonah Bloom thinks that the paid model for content is coming back.

From Adweek:

—How the recession may change spending habits for years to come.
—Anthony Viceroy named president, global operations and CFO at Porter Novelli.
—So-called "echo boomers" have rosy future financial outlook. Easy, when your retirement is at least three decades off.
—Having spent 73 pages criticizing agency diversity, the NAACP and law firm Mehri & Skalet will now pressure advertisers to pressure agencies to change their hiring practices.
—Mike Wehrs is new head of Mobile Marketing Association.
—Guess what!? You can market to the Hispanic market on the Web! (Facetiousness completely intended.)
—Barbara Lippert critiques Alex Bogusky's new diet book, asking: "If a diet isn't presented as a diet, is it still a diet?"
—Advertisers contracting with bloggers to cover their products. Yes, I'm available.
—Checking in with Universal McCann CEO Matt Seiler.
—Just as much new business in 2008, if you don't look at the dollar amounts.
—Greg Stuart asks if people in advertising hate advertising on their cell phones, how will mobile advertising grow?
—As agency personnel get laid off, Joseph Jaffe asks whether the ad industry is having a watershed moment.
—In a new Adweek feature, Freak Week looks at the strange occurrences that go on over at AdFreak.

From Brandweek:

—More advertisers whine to the National Advertising Division about comparative ads.
—Olay's Professional Pro-X goes after women who used to buy department store skincare brands.
—Q&A with Kimberley Gardiner, national marketing and communications manager for Scion.
—You're not doing enough with bleach.
—Humans acting like geckos for Geico.

From Mediapost:

—OfficeMax wants your cubicle to look better. I do, too ... I just can't launch a bunch of new products to help you.
—Cars.com's best and worst Super Bowl ads of all time. Guess where the Celine Dion/Chrysler commercial came out?
—The all new world of the Air Jordan.
—Hollywood comes to the rescue of Super Bowl advertising.
—You should be feelin' the luv for Philadelphia.
—Computer gaming organization says its members really aren't computer potatoes. Sure.
—Yelp defamation lawsuit gets settled out of court.
—Arbitron CEO Stephen Morris steps down. New CEO is Michael Skarzynski.
—Radio revenue drops 8 percent in Emmis' fiscal Q3.

From Mediaweek:

—Football still beats the Golden Globes and Jack Bauer.
—Digital buyers suspicious of Microsoft's ad mathemeticians.
—Elle partners with CAA to extend its brand.
—It doesn't look like anyone wants the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Has anyone knocked on Bill Gates' door yet?
—Yeah, single copy magazine sales are down too. Maybe what the business really needs is for Britney Spears to have another meltdown.
—Alan Frutkin talks with "24" executive producer Howard Gordon.


From The New York Post:

—Kathie Black gets three-year contract extension at Hearst, even though the company has "no digital strategy."
—CBS about to sign retrans deal with Verizon FIOS.
—Hollywood finding that 3-D isn't all its cracked up to be. For one, those glasses are still freakin' goofy looking.
—CBS looking to turn TV.com into a Hulu competitor.
—You think you never go to any AOL sites, but you probably do.
—Honda launches Webisodes from RPA this week.
—David Carr would love to see the launch of iNews.

From The Wall Street Journal:

—In case you were watching football, who won at the Golden Globes. Free.
—Spend money on software and save money, says Microsoft. Subscription required.

That's all for today.

Adverganza's Monday morning picks, 01.05.09

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

From Advertising Age:

--Guess what? In 2009, auto ad budgets will continue to suck wind.
--Marketing execs more interested in trade deficits than your silly Web 2.0 marketing idea.
--Social media valuations might not be what you think.
--Boy Scouts invest in new brand, GPS.
--David Berkowitz looking to kill the word "viral." Here, here!
--Outgoing NBC guy tells CBS and ABC their video search sucks.
--While you were on vacation, CMO Mark Jarvis left Dell.
--Below, Bob Garfield's 11th annual Bobbys.



From Adweek:

--U.S. agency of the year: Crispin, Porter + Bogusky. (You knew that, didn't you?)
--Global agency of the year: TBWA.
--Media agencies' 2009 mantra: ROI.
--Barbara Lippert thinks the Pepsi spot below, from TBWA/Chiat/Day, got watered down.



--2009 is gonna hurt.
--Dag Soderberg puts Bono in the bible.

From Brandweek:

--From the editors of Brandweek, a new blog, BrandFreak.
--Nielsen CEO John Burbank on why Web advertising isn't memorable.
--All about the digital transition.
--We'll learn a lot about the power of brands this year.

From Mediapost:

--Agency of the year: Mediavest.
--Retail marketer of the year: WalMart.
--Food marketer of the year: Campbell Soup.
--Automotive marketer of the year: Subaru.
--Financial services marketer of the year: ING.
--Technology marketer of the year: HP.
--American Pie's Seann William Scott to MC a sports show on Heavy.
--Where the VC money might go this year.
--Google diggs for mobile product ideas.
--Q&A with Television Bureau of Advertising president Chris Rohrs. He's not all that upbeat.
--Aegis Group looking for those so-called "strategic alternatives."
--Viacom apologizes for those "Why Is Dora Crying?" ads.

From Mediaweek, lotsa depressing forecasts:

--2009 might hurt less if you're in digital, but it's still gonna hurt.
--You don't want to be in network TV right now.
--Good news! Cable might not experience the "concussive trauma" this year of some other media sectors.
--Independent magazine entities are headed for a lot of pain.
--Local TV and radio looks to diversify.
--Advertisers still liking out-of-home in '09.
--TV production is going to be awful in 2009.
--The ups and downs of Knight Rider.

From The New York Post:

--Steve Jobs says he has "hormonal imbalance."
--Which retailer will fold next?

From The New York Times:

--Superheroes came to the rescue of Hollywood in 2008.
--You knew things were going to go a cropper with Kathy Griffin on CNN.
--The surprising strength of theWB.com.
--In magazines, being down in ad pages by single digits is the new up.
--Book publishing business so bad that conferences are being held via Webcam. Boo-hoo!
--More people get their news on the Web than newspapers. Duh.

From The Wall Street Journal:

--Ads to be less "lavish and glamorous" this year. Duh. Subscription required.
--Are TV and the Internet finally getting hitched? Free.
--New York Times sells ads on its front page. The horror! Free.

Glad that's over. Very depressing. Uh, happy new year?

Can we just quit with the ad spending predictions?

Awoke this morning to closed schools and a prediction by Barclays that ad spending would be down by 10 percent next year, a revision downward from a prediction a mere two months ago of a 5.5 percent decline. At this point, having read so many of these spending predictions, I feel like we're all trapped in a game in which the winner is the advertising analyst who can predict the most doom-and-gloom. Maybe next week, ZenithOptimedia or someone will come out saying ad spending will be down 11 percent next year. Do I hear 12? Who's gonna predict 12?

The problem with these predictions of ad spending declines, of course, is that they're self-fulfilling. That has always been the case, but this time it's worse. Predicting that ad spending will be down by 10 percent seems to cause many to cut ad spending by 10 percent, like there's some unwritten rule they must follow along. I'm not saying things aren't bad out there: they are. But this is getting ridiculous. Thus, I hereby declare a moratorium on all ad spending predictions for 2009. We can pick up the topic again about a year from now.

Happy Christmas from AKQA

Enjoy. And heat up some soup while you're at it.

Sorry not to be posting so much!

Hi, loyal readers. You may wonder why Adverganza has been oddly quiet of late. The answer is that I've had a tsunami of work, which (all together now) especially in these troubles times, is taking priority. That doesn't mean I'm not posting at all, but that it's certainly more intermittent than I'd like.

Rothenberg says, "c'mon everybody let's simplify"

While I could have been at the Interactive Advertising Bureau audience measurement conference, or at the UBS Global Media Conference watching the world crumble around me, I've been sitting at home these last few days. Actually, maybe that's not such a bad thing. However, had I gone to the IAB meeting, I could've heard IAB chief Randall Rothenberg decry the increasing complexity of online measurement. Sounding an alarming note, Rothenberg said: "What if [medical research] got so complex that doctors didn't know how to do operations? ... that's kind of where we're heading in interactive media and interactive media research." Citing a McKinsey & Co. study in which 80 percent of marketers admitted that much of their media decision-making was either guesswork or based on the previous year's numbers, Rothenberg said that there are only three conclusions which can be drawn from that fact. No. 1 was "All marketers are stupid," No. 2 was "All marketers are lazy." To see what no. 3 was, watch the clip above from 3 Minute Ad Age. You can guess which one Rothenberg chose.

Adverganza's Monday morning picks, 12.08.08

Wherein I scan the Monday morning headlines as quickly as humanly possible because I've got a lot to do today.

From Advertising Age:

--You can read this Ad Age white paper on how to make it through the recession, but it's gonna cost ya.
--Even Nascar is facing a slowdown.
--30,000 fewer of us are now working in media.
--The connection between Walmart's strong sales and lower gas prices.
--Media owners getting run over by Detroit.
--Microsoft's new online services prez, Qi Lu, isn't just another pin-headed engineer. Really.
--What media companies are worth buying.
--Four Olympics sponsors no longer Olympics sponsors.
--Not the greatest of times at JWT Chicago.
--Will NBC have to lower the price of a Super Bowl ad?
--Crispin and BK want a Whopper Virgin backlash.
--True fact: L'Oreal spends more in advertising than General Motors.

From Adweek:

--Predicting ad spending declines is all the rage. Most depressing estimate so far: ZenithOptimedia's 5.7 percent drop.
--Hmmm. New Geico commercials featuring "Kash." Commendable use of Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me", but don't know if they've got the execution quite right yet. Take a look:



--What we really think about our healthcare.
--Looks like we're suffering from apps-athy.
--Barbara Lippert feels sorry for the Whopper Virgins. If you've missed this latest Crispin marketing stunt, one of the spots is below.



--Mark Wnek loves data.
--Chuck Brymer lobbies for the chief community officer.
--Clients continue to consolidate with one holding company.
--Auto ad spending prepares to suck even further.
--Diet Coke mixes sponsorship and digital distribution; hopes to produce fizz.
--New in-store ad network launches, giving consumers customized ads.

From Brandweek:

--Here's to guerrilla marketers, and, no, I'm not talking about Cadbury.
--Q&A with Del Monte CMO Bill Pearce.
--Heinz mashed potatoes are hot.
--Saving money more important than buying organic.
--Lions Brewery gets its 15 minutes of fame on "The Office."

From Mediapost:

--Jameson Whiskey ad actually stalks you!
--Faith Hill, the fragrance.
--Bristol-Myers launches campaign in Mandarin to tell Chinese-Americans about hepatitis B.
--You, yes, you can be a hostess at Talbot's.
--CMOs blame their own companies for their inability to reach some customers.
--Major media agencies still predicting that online ad spending will be up in '09.
--Times exec Denise Warren gets GM post at nytimes.com.
--Brightcove forms the Brightcove Alliance among those that use its services.
--C3 ratings don't decline as much as live program ratings.
--ESPN.com wants feedback on beta version of its new site.
--A dozen let go from The Hollywood Reporter.
--Newsday cuts 100 jobs.

From Mediaweek:

--More bad news about the media economy.
--It's a buyer's market in the magazine industry.
--So much for innovation in online marketing from the car companies.
--Ex-Newsweek president Greg Osberg goes mobile.
--Mike Shields on the firestorm that followed his "death of display" story about online display ads. (Sorry. Can't find the original story.)

From The New York Post:

--If you work at an ad agency, don't be surprised if the new year greets you with a pink slip.
--Will Walmart be offering a $99 iPhone?
--Bob Pittman part of $1.5 million investment in Wowowow.

From The New York Times:

--The new "Meet the Press."
--All those media channels are making us feel really bad.
--Christie Hefner to step down from Playboy.
--More on why what sucks for Detroit sucks for the ad biz.
--If you care about the future of TV Guide, read this.
--The New York Times Co. plans to borrow against its building. Now there's a home equity line for ya.
--Is McClatchy looking to sell the Miami Herald?

From The Wall Street Journal:

--Ouch. Tribune Co. might file for bankruptcy. Free.

That's it for today. Depressing, huh?

Axl Rose says Dr Pepper violated his rights. Sure.

So, how hilarious is it that now Axl Rose is asking Dr Pepper to apologize for hijacking the Guns n' Roses brand in the name of free soda? If you've been living in a dumpster, maybe you don't know that Dr Pepper years ago said it would offer everyone in the U.S. a can of free soda if the band ever released another album, which it did last week, 17 years after the last one.

Now, according to Ad Age, lead singer/procrastinator extraordinaire Rose had his lawyer send Dr Pepper a letter which " ... stated that Dr Pepper's campaign had exploited the singer's reputation and the 'eagerly awaited' album, and stated that payment would be sought for the unauthorized use of the Guns N' Roses brand." Sheesh. Axl, I got some news for ya: you exploited your own reputation by setting a new world's record for length of time between albums. The soda didn't make you do it.

Apparently the letter goes to great lengths to portray the Dr Pepper promotion as a failure because it was actually hard to get the free can of soda. True. But I still think the lovely loopiness of the promotional idea outweighs the frustration on the part of some consumers. It was sheer genius, marred by an executional hiccup. From what I've read, the album, "Chinese Democracy," doesn't rise to the same standard.

Adverganza's Monday morning picks, 12.01.08

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

From Advertising Age:

--Yes, you are seeing the same ads over and over and over again.
--Bob Garfield asks: "Whatsa matter with widgets?"
--Time more popular with college students than People, allegedly.
--Don't expect Tiger Woods to do another car endorsement deal soon.
--Unilever moves to producing less colors for its packaging. If that's not a sign of an economic downturn, I don't know what is.
--Even life at the Google-plex isn't as fun as it used to be. The search giant cuts back, a little bit anyway.
--First came Black Friday; then Cyber Monday. But what about Mobile Tuesday?
--Q&A with American Airlines' VP-corporate communications and advertising, Roger Frizzell.
--Japanese way into the crowd-sourcing.
--What your response to logos has to do with your nucleus accumbens.
--Down with the economy, up with smartphones.
--This holiday season, you may find that Jameson really, really speaks to you.
--What brands will die in a GM bailout.
--Regis Philbin upset with Commerce Bank merger with TD.



--Hispanic market feeling the economic crisis blues.

From Adweek:

--Still not many people of color and other ethnicities in the ad business. Not that you should be falling over with shock.
--Adweek asks if marketers can be the savior of the holidays.
--CEO Robert Lerwill leaves Aegis.
--Deutsch lives to work again with Sports Authority, winning the media planning and buying biz.
--The return of barter to buy ads.
--Barbara Lippert finds that Macy's endorsers aren't exactly dripping in Christmas cheer. See what she means.



--Q&A with Robert Rasmussen, executive cd of innovation at Bartle Bogle Hegarty, New York. (Question: Shouldn't all cds be on top of the innovation thing?)
--Benjamin Palmer asks if impressions are really just views.
--Ad of a Couple of Days Ago: American Express embraces Dave Matthews, Gwyneth Paltrow, Brian Grazer and Tina Turner (who even make a side reference to that Ike guy).
--WPP's Team Detroit gets an assignment that isn't Ford, which is a good thing.
--Online ad spending stable, with direct response ads leading the way.
--More evidence that ad guys will never lose their movie-mogul aspirations.

From Brandweek:

--What really happens to the advertising and marketing business during a recession. Good news for ad agencies; more bad news for CMOs.
--Procter & Gamble uses "What Not to Wear"'s Stacy London to change its strategy for Pantene again.
--Food companies associate themselves with a rodent, an animated one.
--P&G launches brandSaver Live!, a coupon event, at 57th and Sixth.
--Recession means marketers won't go mobile next year.

From Mediapost:

--Holiday shoppers say screw the economic crisis!
--People liking the car-buying process. Maybe because it's full of deals, deals, deals!
--7-Eleven launches its own packaged-goods line.
--Banks find a new use for direct mail: resurrecting their lousy image.
--Digitas Sweden opens.
--AOL opens gamesavvy.com, which helps us dumb parents figure out what the hell we're buying for our kids. I'm heading over there now.
--Will the recession make people even more likely to watch free content? You betcha!

From Mediaweek:

--HBO thinks consumers will pay $54.95 for Saturday's Oscar De La Hoya-Manny Pacquiao fight, but is giving out coupons which offer discounts too.
--Out-of-home says it will fully recover in 2010 after a tough 2009.
--More of us watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year. Was it the performance by Rick Astley? No, that was a surprise.
--Why aren't publishers using more widgets?

From The New York Post:

--Lenny Dykstra discovers publishing a magazine is harder than it looks.
--Ad sales for the Super Bowl are described as "sluggish."

From The New York Times:

--CNN nudges in on the AP's turf.
--Turns out U.S. media companies didn't enhance the country's international image in the post-9/11 world.
--Pity the aging local news anchor.
--Stuart Elliott asks 20 questions, including: "Will Citibank have to change its slogan, 'Citi never sleeps,' because it now suggests that anxious executives, worried about solvency, are staying up all night?" Good one.
--Time publishes high-end Time Style & Design magazine. A company spokesperson says it put the issue together in October, when things were just lousy instead of super lousy.
--David Carr says the news media is partly to blame for the death of that Wal-Mart worker.

From The Wall Street Journal:

--Axe men's haircare products launch. Subscription required. Because I know you're dying to see it, here's one of the ads (though in the pantheon of great Axe commercials, it's a little disappointing):



-"Four Christmases" does well at the box office, while no one cares about "Australia." Free.
--Cable: panacea for a recession-plagued populace. Subscription required.

That's it. Oy, that first Monday back from Thanksgiving is rough.

Adverganza's Tuesday morning picks, 11.25.08

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

From Advertising Age:

--Looks like we won't see any obnoxious ads with huge bows on cars this year. Silver lining to economic crisis!
--In case you hadn't heard, GM decided it wasn't worth paying Tiger Woods all that endorsement money.
--"Redemption" doesn't totally redeem Sunday night.
--At least GM is no. 1 in something: it's got the lead spot on the Parents Television Council list of worst advertisers.
--3 Minute Ad Age: Macy's Christmas windows still draw a crowd, but, c'mon, they're free.

From Adweek:

--IDC is up with social media traffic; down with its ad revenue.
--BBDO wins Starbucks, thus advertisiing new caffeine infusion device.
--Mediacom makes some senior appointments.
--Ad of the Day: xBox 360 from T.A.G. and starring Burt Reynolds. It's below.



From Brandweek:

--Adidas to launch commercial for Adidas Originals starring David Beckham, DMC, Method Man. T'ain't on YouTube yet so I can't stream it for you.

From Mediapost:

--Buy a Subaru, have the company send a charity a $250 donation. Awwww.
--83 percent of retailers doing a holiday price promotion.
--The talking tub is back for Parkay margarine.
--Times Square goes down the toilet with Charmin.
--Apple sues a wiki. Not that wiki.
--We're watching even more TV.

From Mediaweek:

--American Association of Hispanic Agencies is not pleased with Arbitron.
--Time Inc.-ers! You have one week left to take that buyout offer.
--Is anyone watching new shows from Sony's Crackle.com?
--USA Today looking for 20 volunteers to walk the plank.

From The New York Times:

--Will Sumner Redstone sell off his movie theaters?
--Fox gets rid of Saturday morning cartoons.
--Advertisers starting to give away cold, hard cash.

From The Wall Street Journal:

--First Bailey's campaign from JWT. Subscription required, but a stream of the ad is below.



That's it. The Thanksgiving news slowdown is upon us.

Adverganza's Monday morning picks, 11.24.08

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

From Advertising Age (couldn't find the cover online, which I know is a massive disappointment):

--A guide to deceased magazines. Personally, I think we can still go on to lead productive, happy lives without Luxury Spa Finder.
--We're still lured by in-store displays.
--Wal-Mart, unlike Motrin, woos the Mommy bloggers.
--This year, your gift card could also be a camera.
--Film at 11! Big Three automakers may cause Madison Avenue to make cuts!
--How Michael Phelps, avowed McDonald's lover, wound up pitching Subway.
--Bob Garfield is pissed at Pepsi for dumping BBDO.
--Chinese ad auction global financial crisis-proof.
--Ben Silverman, good for a lot of things, but not NBC's ratings.
--DraftFCB gets an assignment that lives up to part of its name.
--Watch out for Henry Waxman.
--Yet more dissection of l'affaire Motrin.
--3 Minute Ad Age: See that massive Walgreen's Times Square billboard.

From Adweek:

--DraftFCB, Initiative, Kinetic win MillerCoors media.
--Angela Steele leaves Publicis for The Hyperfactory.
--This Christmas, even the kids are getting scrooged.
--Q&A with new JWT creative chairman for Latin America and Continental Europe, Fernando Vega Olmos.
--Nielsen creeping onto Arbitron's turf.
--Ad of the Day: Awww. It's a down-homey commercial for Musselman's applesauce.

From Brandweek:

--V8 courtin' the old folks. Decided it would be in poor taste to make a joke about this being a dying market, even though it is.
--New spot for T-Mobile's Fave5 featuring Yao Ming. Funny. See below:



--BestBuy getting warm and fuzzy this holiday season, too.

From Mediapost:

--Zero percent financing is back in a big way. Somehow not surprising that Toyota was the only one smart enough to license "Saved by Zero."
--Now, via JC Penney, you can put your s.o. in the doghouse for giving lousy gifts. Not that warm and fuzzy, eh? The doghouse site is here, created by Razorfish.
--The third phase of Sharp's Aquos campaign. Does anyone have the patience for a three-phase campaign anymore.
--What the world needs now is another performance-based ad network.
--Actually, what the world needs now is a public education campaign from Consumer Reports about the perils of debt. And we've got one!
--The AP, Newspaper Guild, plan to cut their staffs.
--ESPN.com asks users to pay up.
--Change.org and MySpace team up to keep the electorate engaged.
--Radio ad revenue down 9 percent last quarter.
--Vijay Ravindran named Washington Post Co.'s chief digital officer.
--Here's a new way to close a magazine, courtesy of SI Latino: say it's on hiatus.

From Mediaweek:

--Will the recession kill the online display ad?
--IGN.com launches a video channel. Guess you can watch when your thumbs get tired.
--NBC's "Crusoe" moves from Fridays to Saturdays, which sounds like the blueprint for a death spiral to me.
--Long-term Wall Street is bullish about the entertainment industry. Personally, I think we will all need some escape from this.
--At least Infiniti is spending; it upped its sponsorship deal with "The Colbert Report."
--Mr. TV discusses really horrible TV shows.
--Video: Marc Berman interviews Gene Simmons. Turns out he's a cock-eyed optimist. Seriously.



--There are also interviews with this year's Mediaweek All-Stars here.

From The New York Post:

--Delta Air Lines can't commit; signs deals with both Mets and Yankees.

From The New York Times:

--Late link: totally forgot to put this in. "Multiscreen Mad Men" interview, in which R/GA's Robert Rasmussen, AKQA's Lars Bastholm and Barbarian Group's Benjamin Palmer give Katie Couric a makeover.
--This year, hold back on the candelabras on the heads.
--All about Mary Berner's Reader's Digest.
--We've already spent about $200 million on "Obamabilia."
--The Kaiser Family Foundation gets into the journalism business.
--Typepad introduces The Typepad Journalist Bailout Program. The name of the program is in upper-lowercase, so it must be real.

From The Wall Street Journal:

--"Twilight" scores more than $70 million in ticket sales. Free.
--Monster, CareerBuilder in Super Bowl ad matchup. Subscription required.
--NFL! In 3D! Yeah, but you will you have to sit in your living room wearing those dopey glasses? Free.

Woo-hoo! Done by 10:15. Have a good day.

Adverganza's Friday morning picks, 11.21.08

Wherein I scan the Friday morning headlines so you can prepare for the weekend.

From Advertising Age:

--Michael Phelps pitches Subway, but Jared, he's not.
--Vhat to do about "Valkyrie."
--No, really, this economy is an opportunity.
--The relationship between Linda Kaplan Thaler and her assistant is much longer than many marriages. I don't wanna know but it's via Forbes.com.
--The growth curve in interactive advertising stops being so much of a curve.
--Management changes at Anheuser-Busch, now, depressingly, a unit of InBev.
--3 Minute Ad Age: Will the alternatively-powered Chevy Volt give new power to GM?

From Adweek:

--Hey, news media junkie, here's your fix: breakingnews.com.
--Wanna pitch Wedgwood?
--Good god no! Crispin sponsors Mr. Internet. See below:



--Check out this guy's faux-hawk. Then ponder that he's moving from R/GA to BBH.
--Ad of the Day: Commercial for Gold's Gyms from McKinney. I could care less since my exercise comes strictly through Pelham Rec.

From Brandweek:

--Kmart the latest store to get cozy again with the layaway.
--The NFL wants you to vote on its Super Bowl ad.
--Buy a video game at 7-Eleven.

From Mediapost:

--Motrin's pain already going away.
--Film at 11! The Organic Trade Association promoting cause of organic food.
--Which book retailer saw its sales drop 4.4 percent in the third quarter?
--Everyone's lovin' the Blackberry Storm.
--400,000 people download the MySpace Blackberry app, a new record.
--T-Mobile gives a thumbs-up to Yahoo mobile search.
--Renegade gets out from under Dentsu.
--In a shocking development, the head of the Versus network doesn't think the NHL would be better off being with ESPN, the much bigger, more powerful network.


From Mediaweek:

--Up with interactive advertising, according to Q3 numbers released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
--NBC News tests your iCue on Facebook.
--Go to the gas pump, see if you're ready for digital TV.
--Two Wall Street analysts downgrade Arbitron stock.
--The AP could lose 10 percent of its staff next year.
--McClatchy numbers suck.

From The New York Post:

--Memo from a disgruntled ex-Time Inc. employee.

From The New York Times:

--The Times cuts its dividend.
--Whatever happened to the Beijing ad bounce?

From The Wall Street Journal:

--Disney duels pirates, but not the ones off the coast of Africa. Free.
--Life & Style, In Touch lower audience promise to advertisers. Subscription required.

Au revoir until next week.