Promo Magazine: Crown Royal is partnering with NASCAR driver Kurt Busch this month to remind young people of drinking age that getting home safely should be a top priority. A fleet of purple and gold Crown Royal No. 97 Ford Taurus' (replicas of the official race car) will offer bar patrons around downtown Indianapolis rides home. Some will be surprised to find the NASCAR champion Kurt Busch himself behind the …
Pineapple Baron Builds Spa
USA Today: A giant in the produce industry has planted the seeds for a ground-breaking California spa complex. Dole Food of pineapple and packaged-salad fame is building a wellness center, spa and 270-room luxury hotel on 20 acres next to its headquarters in Westlake Village, Calif. The complex, about 35 miles northwest of Los Angeles, is due to open next summer. The spa and medical facilities — a pioneering venture …
“Pick Me” And “Radical Careering”
Two new books tackle the delicate art of getting and keeping a career in the advertising industry. I haven't gotten a copy of either of these (according to Amazon, they'll be available soon) but I plan to. From the available-on-August 12 "Pick Me: Breaking Into Advertising and Staying There" by Nancy Vonk and Janet Kestin: Making it in advertising is tough. Even with a degree and a terrific portfolio, it's hard to …
Get Real. Be Real. Stay Real.
As we examine Hugh's latest creation, do we find truths neatly revealed? Or clever obfuscation? First, terms need to be defined. "Madison Avenue" is an actual place, but it's also a blanket statement for any big, powerful ad agency. There are maybe 100 to 200 such shops in the U.S., of the 10,000 agencies in business. "Real blog" is problematic, becasue what's real to one is fantasy or spoof to another. I can see …
Little League Scores Big League Sponsors
Boston Globe: When parents and baseball fans arrived at the state's Little League championship in Beverly on Sunday, they were met at the gate with a friendly welcome: Members of two Beverly baseball teams, ages 10 to 12, handed out baseballs imprinted with the Bank of America logo, packaged with peanuts and Cracker Jacks. ''Switch to Bank of America," one of the boys yelled. ''It's a better bank for better people," …
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The Old Download Hang Up
USA Today: A podcast is a digital recording of a radio-style audio program that can be downloaded from the Internet and played on a digital music player. Many podcasters think the technology could revolutionize radio as TiVo did television. Nic Harcourt of Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW Record labels worry that listeners will pirate the songs contained in the downloaded radio shows. The result: yet another …
Ready For Roadcasting?
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Just as commuters are catching up to the idea of satellite radio for their cars, former graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a next-generation radio concept that allows users to tune into music from iPods and other digital music players in nearby cars. The idea, which the students developed for an unidentified "major automaker" last year, is called Roadcasting. Using …
Too Much Hoopla Is Just Enough
I was invited to the Hadrian's Wall summer party. And I'll bet you money, Lewis Lazare was not. Nah nah na nah nah. Okay, enough of that. You've got to see how Chicago's most creative agency prepares a party invite. Go now. You'll be better for it upon your return. …
Hotlanta. Coldlanta. Whatever.
I noticed in Adweek that Creative Director, Dave Damman, left Fallon for West Wayne in Atlanta. The move reunites Damman with Bobby Pearce, WestWayne's executive creative director, who left Fallon in June to join WestWayne. The two have known each other for a decade, beginning as an art director-copywriter team at Carmichael Lynch in Minneapolis and spending the past two years as creative directors at …
Take A Rest, Pal
Robert Novak walked off the set during a live segment on CNN yesterday. He also cursed his nemesis on the left, James Carville. According to the New York Times: About two hours later, a spokeswoman for CNN, Laurie Goldberg, released a statement saying that the network had "asked Mr. Novak to take some time off." Asked later in a telephone interview whether Mr. Novak was being suspended from his work at the Cable …