This article in Ad Age talks about the FDA's recent decision to pull ads for Levitra and Zyrtec off the air due to misleading claims. What's interesting here is that pharmaceutical companies seem to be doing what other comsumer marketers used to do, and have been trying to get away from: make claims of superiority, or "puffery" if you will, and bash the competition in the ads. As long as pharmaceutical marketing is …
That Other Portland Agency With The Other Shoe Client
Steve Hall points to JohnsonSheen's new work for running shoe client, Brooks. But, I'm more interested in the Portland agency's self-promotional copy. SOME AGENCIES PARTY HARD, wear Armani, serve 12 kinds of martinis, and film with Spielberg's second cousin, because, well, he's Spielberg's second cousin. Not coincidentally, they make advertising that's shiny on the outside and empty on the inside. Then there's …
Continue Reading about That Other Portland Agency With The Other Shoe Client →
Robber Gets Big Idea From Ameriquest Spot
from Boston Globe: The first time he robbed a bank Timothy Connor just slipped a note to a bank teller. The next time, he slipped the note while nonchalantly talking on his cellphone, an act, police said, that mimicked a Super Bowl commercial. His technique, police said, is similar to one used in an Ameriquest Mortgage Company commercial that debuted during the Super Bowl. In the commercial, a man talking on his …
Continue Reading about Robber Gets Big Idea From Ameriquest Spot →
Graphic Novels Are Hot
from USA Today: Nancy Drew is 75 years old and still the hippest girl in town. Fresh from getting a new hybrid car and cell phone from Simon & Schuster last year, Nancy now gets her first graphic novel, one of the fastest-expanding areas in book publishing. The Demon of River Heights (Papercutz, $7.95 paperback, $12.95 hardcover) is out this week. We're living in a very visual age and kids have a lot of different …
Do Not Pass Go
Shawn points to this Associated Press story, about a SPAMer getting sentenced to nine years in prison. A man convicted in the nation's first felony prosecution for illegal spamming was sentenced to nine years in prison Friday, but the judge postponed the sentence while the case is appealed. Loudoun County Circuit Judge Thomas Horne said that because the law targeting bulk e-mail distribution is new and raises …
Playlist Sharing Opens New Window
from San Francisco Chronicle: The old adage used to be "you are what you eat.'' But with the advent of digital music and the popularity of gadgets like the iPod, now it's "you are what's on your playlist.'' Last week, musicologists and media pundits around the world had a great time trying to divine what makes President Bush tick by analyzing the songs loaded on his iPod. But playlist watching has also become a …
Coldplay Calling
Technology Review reports that Cingular Wireless launched its new ringtone service this week with the exclusive release of "Speed of Sound", the first Coldplay single from its upcoming album XY, the response from fans was immediate. "We've been floored," says Mark Nagel, director for entertainment and downloadable services for Cingular. Fans can plunk down $2.49 to purchase a 15-second song snippet that can be used …
I’ll Have Quiche With My Spritzer
Jonah Bloom of AdAge waxes poetic as he laments the retirement of Miller High Life man. That many of America …