Thanks to this latest development from Verizon, cell phone users on their network are now primed to be distracted not just by calls, text, games and the mobile web, but by banner advertising. The New York Times has the story. Beginning early next year, Verizon Wireless will allow placement of banner advertisements on news, weather, sports and other Internet sites that users visit and display on their mobile phones, …
Iron Mike Dabbles In Vinyl
Lewis Lazare reports that former Bears coach Mike Ditka--a man with many business interests--has started a record label. The label's first release contains Frank Sinatra songs performed by crooner John Vincent. Chicago's DiMeo & Co. was tapped to assist with marketing, Web site design and CD label design. …
National Rifle Association Invests In The Art Of Propaganda
Wonkette unearthed a "super-secret advance copy" of the gun lobby's latest propaganda piece. As the GOP learned last month, and you need some Grade A propaganda to get people riled up again. Let no one accuse the NRA of shirking its duty. Freedom In Peril: Guarding the 2nd Amendment in the 21st Century, is a spectacularly beautiful graphic novel. Here, for example, is one of the biggest threats to the white suburban …
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Internet Traffic Is Flattening
Some intelligent people are discussing "the de-portalization of the Internet." The image below--care of Edgeio--is a graphic representation of the changes currently underway. Fred Wilson, a.k.a. "A VC" says: Back in the first Internet era, it was all about amassing as large an audience as you could on your website. But the first Internet era was at time when consumers weren't that comfortable with vastness of the …
Rotten Dusenberries
If jolly ol' Saint Nick stuffed your stocking with an Amazon or Borders gift certificate, our friend George Parker has a word of caution of you. Seems that last year, BBDO veteran Phil Dusenberry released a book of memoirs called "Then We Set His Hair on Fire: Insights and Accidents from a Hall of Fame Career in Advertising." That book has now been re-released in paperback, with a new title: "One Great Insight Is …
Highly Localized Lifestyle TV
Wall Street Journal takes a look at Plum TV, a startup television network focused on local television in high-end resort markets. Plum TV broadcasts on six TV stations in some of the most exclusive resort areas in the U.S.: Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, the Hamptons in New York and the Colorado ski towns of Vail, Aspen and Telluride. Soon to come: stations in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Miami Beach, …
Bebo Bonanza
According to Google, "a year’s worth of search speaks to our collective consciousness." If this is true, our collective consciousness is particularly concerned with social networks. Here are the top ten search terms on Google for 2006: 1. bebo 2. myspace 3. world cup 4. metacafe 5. radioblog 6. wikipedia 7. video 8. rebelde 9. mininova 10. wiki Numbers 4, 8 and 9 are new to me. How about you? Did you search for Bebo …
Talkin’ ‘Bout Brands
Promo Magazine breaks down some word-of-mouth numbers, revealing just how brand-centric our culture has become. Americans make about 4.5 billion brand impressions a day just through conversation. In fact, a mere 15% of the population makes 1.5 billion brand mentions to friends each day, according to new research on word-of-mouth marketing. The study, conducted by research firm Keller Fay Group, is the first to …
False Advertising: Faux Fur It’s Not
LA Times reports on the fashion industry's unconscious sourcing of raw materials. Macy's has pulled from its shelves and its Web site two styles of Sean John hooded jackets, originally advertised as featuring faux fur, after an investigation by the nation's largest animal protection organization concluded that the garments were actually made from a certain species of dog called "raccoon dog." "First these jackets …
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Santa’s Come A Long Way, Baby
No wonder he likes chimneys. Courtesy of a bunch of auctions on eBay, you can see that Santa used to shill for all sorts of cigarette makers: …