Kardashian's Turn To Help The Burmese

Myanmar, the nation formerly known as Burma, is in the news this week, as its military regime has seized United Nations food shipments in the wake of the devastating typhoon that has killed thousands of the nation's citizens.

Fanista--a community for entertainment enthusiasts--is running a 30-day campaign, Burma: It Cant Wait, with the hope of "raising a million voices of support" for Burma.

Their campaign is one part disaster relief and another part pro-democracy advocacy. The Kardashian sisters, Sarah Silverman, Eddie Izard, Julie Benz and others are appearing in the campaign.

[via Make the Logo Bigger]

MyData Goes AllSpace

MySpace said Thursday it will enable users to quickly share profile data with Web sites operated by Yahoo Inc., eBay Inc. and others.

"There's this concept that social networks are walled gardens," said Amit Kapur, MySpace's chief operating officer. "We're taking those walls down."

MySpace will roll out the new feature in the next several weeks. Among other things, MySpace users could have their default photo and music interests appear in Yahoo Instant Messenger or enrich their eBay profiles to improve exchanges between buyers and sellers.

"By injecting MySpace data, you're able to get a little bit more context about that person. As a result of that, you can make a more informed purchase decision," Kapur said.

[via Wired]

Online Display Space Heating Up

Microsoft wasn't willing to pay a premium for Yahoo, a company that would have helped them compete against Google, but the Redmond software titan still intends to move aggressively into online advertising.

BusinessWeek has the story :

It may be impossible to catch Google in search advertising. The company dominates the market, taking in 77% of the revenues from those little text ads that show up alongside the results for Internet search queries. Microsoft, after years of trying, is at 5% of U.S. search revenue, according to search marketing firm Efficient Frontier.

But Microsoft has a fighting chance on several other fronts. Perhaps most important is display advertising, the colorful banner and video ads that run at the top or along the side of Web pages. Microsoft is among the leaders in the fragmented field, while Google is a bit player. Although the display market is smaller than search, it's expected to grow faster over the next few years because of a surge in video ads. Market research firm IDC (IDC) figures that by 2012 the display market will double, to $15.1 billion; revenue from search will reach $17.6 billion.

"We're very persistent," said Ballmer at a wireless conference last year, "If we don't get it right, we'll keep coming and coming and coming."

Engagement Mapping is one of the better tools in Microsoft's shed.

The technology anonymously tracks cookies, those digital footprints left on PCs by Web sites, to see if a consumer saw display or video ads within a month of making that ultimate click. Then it places values on each related online ad, weighting things like videos more heavily, since they're likely to have more impact.

Ben Winkler is a believer. He's director of interactive media at the Ingenuity Media Group, part of ad firm The Martin Agency. He's been testing the Microsoft technology for one of his clients, wireless provider Alltel. The technology, he says, shows that display ads have an impact that had never been clear before. As a result, he plans to advise clients to spend a greater share of their ad dollars on display vs. search ads.

Are Digital Accounts Headed For More Consolidation?

This Ad Age article about Subaru caught my eye:

Subaru of America is moving its digital account from one of the industry's hottest specialists, R/GA, to its Interpublic Group of Cos. sibling, Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis.

The business moved without a review and was part of a consolidation. Subaru had no issues with R/GA, a spokesman for the automaker said, noting that it makes sense to have the entire account in one place. Subaru handed Carmichael Lynch its estimated $150 million national media and creative account without a review last fall.

The spokesman said Carmichael Lynch wasn't equipped to handle the digital account a year ago, but it is now.

Are we going to see more of this? Will digital specialists like R/GA have trouble holding onto accounts if more general market agencies get their act together? Does it make sense to keep the entire account at one agency for integration purposes? Or can digital agencies start beefing up strategic thinking and take the lead on brands?

Look into your crystal ball and tell me what you see.

Fat Tires Are Raised In Cheer As Salmon Return

Before I went into advertising, I worked on Capitol Hill for American Rivers. So, this ad from New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins appeals to me. It's the work of Cultivator Advertising & Design in Denver.

Here's more information on the decommissioning of Condit Hydroelectric Project.

[via The Denver Egotist]

The Kind of Content Consumers Seek Out And Share

Louis Vuitton and Ogilvy Interactive won a Webby for their "Countless Journeys" site, which is also supported in print and TV. The video above is content from the site. Catherine Deneuve shares her Paris with us, seducing us into thinking we'll need Louis Vuitton luggage when we arrive at Charles De Gaulle.

Lindsay Lohan Drinks Pepsi, Yo

Coolspotters is a new site that caters to the celebrity and brand obsessed. Pepsi is running ads under an exclusive argreement. Tech Crunch is saying nice things. And the firm's CEO is blogging.

Coolspotters is new. The launch is beta. Features will come and go, parts of the site will change - all of which will be the result of feedback and ideas that we receive directly from you. Things on the site might even occasionally break. The point of all of this is: we will be working constantly to improve your experience.

Brier Dudley from the Seattle Times says, Coolspotters is "an outrageously materialistic online shopping/celebrity/social networking venture that could make a bundle for its Seattle investors." He adds, "It's like a reality TV show that leaves you wondering if the producers are being ironic."

Free-Range Burritos for PBS Lovers

According to Ad Age, "On the Road Again ... Spain," a new show from PBS starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Mario Batali, New York Times food critic Mark Bittman and Spanish actress/singer Claudia Bassols, will be sponsored by Chipotle Mexican Grill. The deal marks Chipolte's maiden voyage into TV.

Jim Adams, the chain's exec VP-marketing, said it was important Chipotle's sponsorship be more of an alignment of marketing messages than an effort to make any of the stars shill for the company. "We've been very careful not to do celebrity endorsements. We've been approached by a lot of sports figures, and we don't want to put anything on one person. No one's talking about Chipotle in this show, so it's sort of a reverse on that."

"On the Road Again" does, however, mark Chipotle's first venture into TV advertising, a medium the brand has strategically avoided in favor of local-store marketing and user-generated ad contests on YouTube. "Most of our marketing is to spur on word-of-mouth, whether that means an outdoor board that prompts discussion or a radio ad you can sing along to," Mr. Adams said. "We knew this show was a way for us to sort of dip our toe into TV. Even though it's public television, it could possibly prepare us for future forays into more mainstream TV."

Send Better Ads Right Over

MoveOn.org is sponsoring Obama in 30 Seconds, a contest for its members.

I'm not sure I totally buy the implied message or ending of this (and I'm an Obama supporter), but I really like this spot:

Very, very clever.

Viewers Not Watching Ads? Make the "Ads" Better.

According to The New York Times, MTV is having a lot of success with “podbusting,” sponsored content that is almost indistinguishable from the entertainment programming.

“The results are amazing,” Hank Close, the president for sales at MTV Networks, said. “In many of these messages we’re seeing 100 percent retention.”

“We are increasingly being asked by advertisers to create messages for audiences in our own voice,” Mr. Close said.

Examples of MTV's podbusting moves include a short chase movie called “Get Moe,” sponsored by Mountain Dew and a series of shorts called “Men of Action” which promotes the virtues of KFC and Kay Jewelers.

Dario Spina, who runs the integrated marketing division for MTV’s entertainment channels like Comedy Central and Spikea said, “good commercial content is good content.”

Fake Ads That Really Matter

Over at Nerve.com, you can dive into The 50 Greatest Commercial Parodies of All Time.

Granted, most of them are from Saturday Night Live, but there are some others, too.

What's your favorite?

Yet Another Facebook Story: Sell Now Before The Game's Up

Earlier today, Valleywag reported that participation in Facebook's developer forum is down, most likely due to Facebook's new restrictions on Facebook-application spam. Valleywag praised these new rules, saying Facebook won't miss its lousiest apps.

Now an executive from a major, well-funded widgetmaker says:

Your post misses the point. FB's valuation is driven by the perception it can serve as a platform (or launching pad) for derivative businesses. Without that perception, FB is a $3-5 B company. Period. When developers lose enthusiasm for the "platform," every FB employee has their net worth cut by 67%.

When Zuck announced to the ad industry last winter that his company was ushering in a new day, I knew Facebook was in trouble. It seems to me that Zuck and Co. are living inside a gigantic bubble, a bubble so big it doesn't appear to be a bubble at all. Rather it's simply the rarefied atmosphere of a well-endowed Silicon Valley startup. For now.

Outstanding Mission Statements: 10th in a Series

Sean Howard, Director of Strategy and Innovation at Lift Communications, a brand experience studio in Toronto, Canada, has an interesting new mantra for his personal site, Craphammer.

I am not for sale.

Is not everything for sale? Does not everyone have their price?

I have a job yet no company owns my soul. I am paid for my insight yet not even I control my muse. I am paid to speak, yet my voice can remain free.

This online space is a privilege and a refuge for me. It is a place of others and more than me and my words. It is a conversation and as such it is not mine to sell.

There are those who wish influence and desire a candy coated portrayal of reality. This is not the place for these people. This is where I share how I see the world and that, like me, is not for sale.

I admire Sean Howard's purity. Almost as much as I covet the earnings of someone like Heather Armstrong, who allegedly makes $40,000/month from her site.

Today In Twitterverse: Toxic, Toxic and Toxic

David Burn is the editor of AdPulp, and a writer with a plethora of caustic tales to tell.