Gamespot reports on the latest brand to be swallowed up by the rave scene. A series of postings by club-goers on a forum uncovered by Kotaku reveal that Xbox 360 pills are making the rounds at underground events around the central British city of Northampton. The quality--and precise chemical content--of the Xbox 360 pills was the subject of some heated debate on the forum. However, one entity that won't be joining …
The North Face Finds A Place For Their Brand Story
Outdoor gear purveyor, The North Face, is delving deep into content. According to Media Buyer Planner: The North Face and Pace Communications have launched a new online publication, Epic, penned by world-renowned climbers, alpinists, long-distance runners, skiers, snowboarders and others. Epic unites the adventure-sports industry across multiple disciplines, featuring advice, trends and coverage of events and …
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Rather/Cuban Combo To Score Points This Fall
Ad Age reports on Dan Rather's imminent return to broadcast news, albeit on a satellite channel with a scant 3 million subscribers. Only three weeks after his bitter break with CBS, Mr. Rather and HDNet announced that he will produce and host a weekly news program, "Dan Rather Reports," beginning in October. "As a team player I intend to give Mark and HDNet all of the hard work, loyalty and fearless, high-quality …
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Third Coast Not Coastal Enough
In his column today, Lewis Lazare, examines the short six-month tenure of Michael Folino as DDB/Chicago's Chief Creative Officer. According to Lazare, Folino is moving to Wieden + Kennedy, where he will be a copywriter. Folino's early departure also is sure to cast a dark shadow over Anderson and Scarpelli, who opted to go with an agency outsider in hiring Folino, a risky move at a creative department not used to …
Content Is Catching On
According to Ad Age, the big guys are recognizing the need for content, not advertising. Branded-entertainment veteran Doug Scott is moving to Ogilvy & Mather North America, where he'll develop the agency's content offering. His mandate is to bring together the wide variety of Ogilvy's disciplines, from ads to promotion and PR, to develop and execute nontraditional ideas across a wide range of media. Mr. Scott's hire …
Medium-Sized Omnicom-Owned Shop (Where I Once Toiled) Is Now Better Than Good, According To An Institute That Knows
Great Place To Work Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management named The Integer Group 9th best medium size company to work for. They also named Bridge Worldwide 9th best small company to work for. Matt Bergantino, a contributing writer here, and a friend, works for Bridge. I used to work for Integer, twice. The old Battleship on 6th Ave. First, allow me to congratulate Matt for working at a great …
Social Networking Site Looks Askance At Enormous Wad Of Cash
Jim Scheinman, Bebo's "deal guy," now has a story he can tell his grandkids someday. For he just left $552 million U.S. dollars on the table. TechCrunch says the MySpace look-a-like (okay, Bebo looks a little better) rejected the offer from a British Telecom a few weeks ago. Bebo has 25 million registered users and 3 billion monthly page views. Myspace, for comparison, has 70+ million users and nearly 30 billion …
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Kind Company’s Blog Not Sustainable
I was pleased to learn Seventh Generation, the nation's leading brand of non-toxic and environmentally safe household products, is blogging. Then I read their "About" copy, and found it hard to go much deeper. The Inspired Protagonist is Seventh Generation's voice, reaching out, to inspire the few who will inspire the many, bringing wealth and well-being to all who live and are about to live (seven generations) on …
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How’s Your Narrative Coming?
Ad Age has a piece on storytelling's place in the marketing wheel. Storytelling in a business context is not about telling stories just for the sake of it. Rather, as rational and physical features are becoming easier to imitate, authentic storytelling is becoming a growing source of competitive power. All companies have authentic raw material: genuine, real-life episodes that can be used in the continuous …
New Jersey Mayor Says “No Me Gusta” Spanish Language Ads
From The Newark Star-Ledger: The mayor of a small Bergen County town is calling for a McDonald's boycott if the fast-food chain does not take down a Spanish-language billboard advertising iced coffee. Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan said the advertisement is "offensive" and "divisive" because it sends a message that Hispanic immigrants do not need to learn English. "The true things that bind us together as neighbors and …
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