GSD&M Idea City has recruited and entrusted their top creative post to industry powerhouse Mark Taylor. Taylor comes to GSD&M Idea City from Crispin Porter + Bogusky where his work as creative director won wide critical acclaim. His accomplishments include the re-creation of the King and the interactive-sensation Subservient Chicken for Burger King, the launch of the MINI, and work for Miller Highlife, Nike and VW …
Soc Net Fatigue Sinks Click Rates
The Web self tends to be a marketed version of the real thing, more an example of how thoroughly we've all internalized the branding process than an outbreak of revelation. -Rob Walker in Fast Company Spike Jones at Brains on Fire picks up on Walker's FC piece on online identity and has this to add: The lesson to be learned here? Before you sink your precious marketing budget dollars into that social networking …
RU n The Biz?
Yesterday, Variety, in association with Jobster, launched The Biz, the first social networking website for the entertainment business. The Biz seeks to serve as on online community for media professionals who can, among other things, search for jobs, pitch projects and exchange ideas. It also will serve as a venue for job recruiters who will be able to find candidates based on specific interests, skills and levels of …
Have Story, Will Sell
Lewis Lazare ran an item in his Sun Times column on Feb. 8 about research indicating the three most-liked commercials in the 2008 Super Bowl of Advertising were all story-driven. This led legendary director, Joe Pytka, to send Lazare a note. I have been lobbying for years to change the way advertisers think, and the results of the commercials I directed that were mentioned in your column reinforce this notion. I've …
Not The Denver Omelet
In an article on alternative agency compensation models, Adweek introduces me to another strangely-named Los Angeles agency. Omelet in Los Angeles is aiming for an even split between traditional client and agency ventures within the next five years, said Mark Vega, founder and partner, and a former intellectual property and entertainment lawyer. The ratio is currently 80 percent client work versus 20 percent in-house …
Ristretto Is Passion
I noticed that New Yorker, Fred Wilson, used Gridskipper to find Blue Bottle Coffee in San Francisco this weekend (while looking at colleges with his daughter). I learned to drink coffee in San Francisco, so the topic is one I have passion for. So does San Francisco lifestyle book, 7x7. 7x7, in effort to provide context for what it calls "the third wave" in coffee culture, quotes Joel Pollock, head roaster at …
Bravely Forging New Paths Into Media Universes Unknown
"For the first time in its history, advertising must earn its own audience to make an impact." -The Escape Pod In order to draw me to their website and interest me in their story, The Escape Pod did not send a lame press release. They FedExed a framed poster of this self-promo ad instead (on a national holiday, no less): The ad is running on page 55 in the March issue of Fast Company, which also came in the box …
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Sacrilege Pays Off Big for Absolut
Since abandoning their legendary bottle campaign for their new Absolut World campaign, Absolut has seen global case shipments jump 9%, and increased market share in the crowded and competitive U.S. market. According to Ad Age, Absolut is the No. 2 U.S. vodka brand, trailing only Smirnoff. Absolut broke the 5 million case mark last year for the first time last year -- a status shared with only Bacardi, Smirnoff, …
AKQA’s Mobile Capabilities Bring Business And Accolades
AKQA is getting some nice press. Fast Company recently named them 48th most innovative firm in the world. Now, Adweek is putting the Digital Agency of the Year crown on their head. Let's look a bit closer at some of what AKQA is doing right. While AKQA undeniably excels at Web projects, it also has been especially effective in bringing together clients with emerging digital channels. The agency's global orientation …
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It Was The Best of Times, It Was The Worst of Times
The New York Times looks at the importance of storytelling in the workplace. Of all the repetitive, mind-numbing jobs in the late 19th century, cigar-rolling was special. Unlike sewing clothes, mining coal or forging steel, it was blessedly quiet. And thus cigar workers, whether in Chicago or Havana, were the first ones in their time who managed to introduce that vital commodity — distraction — onto the work …
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