I used to live in Salt Lake City, where I worked for a Mormon-owned and run ad agency*. Not for long, mind you, but long enough to get a solid glimpse, and an understanding that the faith is loaded with advertising, PR and marketing talent. Now, as two Mormon candidates are making a run for the Oval Office, The Washington Post is on the story. The Mormon public relations machine goes back more than a century, …
Do You Have The Moves To Join The Material Girl On Stage?
Smirnoff, the world’s No. 1 vodka, is partnering with Madonna, the world's No. 1 celebrity chameleon and endurance athlete, in a partnership that kicks off with an international contest to find the best dancer in the world to join her next tour. To enter, hopefuls must submit a 60-second dance video between August 18, 2011 and October 10, 2011 to Smirnoff.com. Semi-finalists will be flown to audition in front …
Continue Reading about Do You Have The Moves To Join The Material Girl On Stage? →
Sometimes The Ad Industry Gets An “F” In Decorum
After this week's Ad Age article on GM CMO's Joel Ewanick and his grading of Goodby, I started wondering about how everything in advertising seems to be pubic knowledge -- and how we love to air our dirty laundry. Is it appropriate? I know that if I were the management at Goodby, I’d be pissed to read that in a leading industry trade publication. If I were a copywriter on that business and saw that assessment of …
Continue Reading about Sometimes The Ad Industry Gets An “F” In Decorum →
Facebook No Place For Free Speech
Facebook Pages are all the rage these days, but that doesn't mean they are pro-rage pages. No, a rage page can get you arrested in a hurry. According to Voice of America: A British court has sentenced two men to four years in prison for their failed attempts to use the social networking site Facebook to incite rioting during last week's unrest in the country. Jordan Blackshaw, 20, and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, …
Everything Is A Remix…Some “Things” More So Than Others
Goodby Silverstein & Partners launched a revised identity recently. Now, people inside the agency and out are questioning its provenance. According to Adweek, GS&P's new logo looks suspiciously like one used a century ago by some (now-defunct) company called S & Co. "Making something old new again was my full intention and I'm very happy with the outcome," Rich Silverstein argued in a memo acquired by …
Continue Reading about Everything Is A Remix…Some “Things” More So Than Others →
You Want Hockey Ads? Pass The Puck To The Team From Minnesota
A professional sports franchise is a local favorite, but not necessarily a local brand. Depending on the team, the brand may indeed be a global brand like Manchester United or the New York Yankees. So it should come as no surprise that The Phoenix Coyotes went outside their home market to hire Minneapolis-based Fallon. Rich Nairn, senior communications director for the Coyotes, told Phoenix Business Journal …
Continue Reading about You Want Hockey Ads? Pass The Puck To The Team From Minnesota →
Another Example of Brand As Producer
Format Perspective is a new documentary film about skating produced by Carhartt WIP, the rugged wear brand's European line extension. Here are three promotional spots for the film: Why another film about skating? Because European riders, graffiti writers, and MCs adopted the brand in the 1990s. A film about the scene is an acknowledgment of that fact and note of gratitude from the brand. One that …
Continue Reading about Another Example of Brand As Producer →
Feed Your Dog What’s Real
Unlike some natural pet food companies, Nutro carefully selects natural ingredients from farmers and ranchers they know and trust, and they make their food in family-owned facilities in the U.S. So, I want to like them. Unfortunately, this spot does little to help me come Nutro's way. That's a pretty weak trick. Dogs deserve better. Agency: BBDO/San Francisco …