Lewis Lazare of the Sun Times simply can't get cozy with the idea of a direct marketing hustler like Howard Draft sitting pretty atop venerable FCB. But that's the state of affairs today. DraftFCB's Chicago office has a staff of 1100, making it the city's largest shop. But size is not what's bothering Lazare. Like any aesthete, he's concerned with commerce's grubby hands encroaching on the arts, in this case the lost …
She’s Mighty Mighty, Just Lettin’ It All Hang Out
Senior decision makers at Yahoo appear to have a thing for old Commodores songs. Liz Gannes, a staff writer for GigaOM has this scoop for us: Yahoo is in the process of setting up an in-house incubator in an attempt to hold onto its expensive talent, sources say. The project, called Brickhouse, will be led by Flickr founder Caterina Fake. Big companies are no longer the safe havens they were during the tech bust. …
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Linguistics Lesson
Sometimes it's fun to see what the academics are up to. Since Danah Boyd is the bloatosphere's academic darling, let's take a peek at her present concerns. By employing the term "social networking sites," the media is doing a disservice to most people who participate on these sites. The connotation, especially to non-participants, is that people are running around these sites meeting strangers (... who are …
Hold On, I Need A New Razr
According to USA Today, a robotic arm inside a glorified vending machine will gently "hand" consumers high end communications devices at ariports and Macy's stores. The vending machine-like stores unveiled Wednesday will carry about 30 products, initially including 12 phones and 18 accessories, said Bob Many, Motorola's director of automated retailing. Phone customers will be able to purchase mid- to high-end …
Unsigned Bands, DIY Videos, Consumer Generated Media…This Promo Has It All
You Tube and Cingular are teaming up to provide a contest designed to bust our four "underground" bands. Not everyone is stoked about the development. One You Tube user, Cassherncritique, has this to say: What a crock? I love the tune, but what the fuck is so underground about this shit? Because they're using the word 'underground'? Because it's being uploaded on Youtube? lol... Underground my eye!! Don't make me …
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The Ongoing Migration To Word Press
Now that Tom Sherman has moved his site to the Word Press blogging platform he is angry no more. Yes, this is news. I’m not angry anymore. I’m just kind of sad. I mean, I wasted a lot of time on that Movable Type shit. I’m past the denial and the anger; I’ve quietly accepted the trial that was Running a Large Blog Using Movable Type™. I’m not angry about the 10 minute rebuilds or the 90 second post times. I’m not …
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Who Will Caretake Your Brand Narrative?
Nick Law, executive creative director at R/GA, spoke to Ad Age Digital recently. He had some rather interesting things to say about the rise of content and the importance of a well-constructed brand narrative. Ad Age Digital: That said, do you see R/GA moving more into that territory and doing the things ad agencies do? Such as TV spots? Mr. Law: We've already done a little. The question is whether those narratives …
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Quentin Tarantino Wannabes Need Not Apply
According to The New York Times, Mel Gibson will work in Hollywood again. Hollywood took another step toward America’s vast and apparently growing Christian audience on Tuesday, as 20th Century Fox unveiled a new division, FoxFaith, that will release up to a dozen religious-oriented films each year. Many of the films, with budgets ranging from about $3 million to $20 million each, will be released straight to DVD. …
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