Resistance to advertising normally comes from the consuming public, but here we have a case of a giant corporation rejecting one of their best brand advocates.

from Los Angeles Times: Albert Okura, a businessman who owns and runs Juan Pollo, a chain of Mexican rotisserie chicken restaurants in Southern California operates a quirky museum in San Bernadino. Okura built the museum as a tribute to Ray Kroc, his longtime hero. Kroc opened the first McDonald's in Des Plaines, Ill. in 1955.

The museum pays tribute to the burger empire that gave the world the Big Mac, McNuggets and the Happy Meal. Inside, visitors can see — free of charge — more than 5,000 pieces of kitschy McDonald's memorabilia, including Happy Meal toys, commemorative plates, dolls and 1950s milkshake machines and fryers. The walls are adorned with handwritten letters from a few of the first fry cooks and car hop girls at McDonald's.

The corporate keepers had this to say: "The museum in San Bernardino, which displays McDonald's historic information and memorabilia, is not in any way affiliated with the McDonald's Corporation. McDonald's has the right, by law, to protect our trademark." McDonald's officials declined to comment further on the museum, except to say that anyone looking for historical information about the company should visit the McDonald's website.

from Business Week: With rare exceptions, the women of the Ladies Professional Golf Assn. are not the sort of half-dressed hotties who fill the pages of mens' magazines like FHM. Then there's Natalie Gulbis.

Gulbis' decision to pose for FHM wasn't one she came to alone, however. A PR firm, retained by the LPGA, aided in soliciting the shoot, as it did an offer for Gulbis to appear on Howard Stern's radio gabfest. (Gulbis turned that one down.) "As our players become recognizable celebrities, more unconventional media outlets are becoming interested. If Natalie is comfortable [posing in FHM], we're supportive of the decision" says Commissioner Ty Votaw, who has been urging players to leverage their looks and charm, as well as their swings.

Gulbis and her advisers, led by her dad, John, have turned her sex appeal into one of the more impressive marketing machines on the LPGA Tour. Her deals with TaylorMade, Adidas, Titleist, MET-Rx, GeniSoy, and EA Sports will generate more than a half-million dollars this year.

Taking a page from Nick Denton's Gawker Media Empire playbook, Jake Dobkin, publisher of Gothamist has a nice little publishing business of his own. Actually, it's not so little. Gothamist receives 30,000 unique visitors a day. And the model has spread to Chicago, LA, San Francisco, DC, London and Toronto. More proof that people love tabloid-style reporting on blogs.

The technologist at rest.

Here's a recent writing sample from Chicagoist, that neatly turns a serious topic into Silly Putty:

"We don't buy any prescription drugs. We don't have health insurance. Those things are for sick people. So why do we continue to talk about prescription drug costs here on Chicagoist? Because we detest most rich people unless they give us money, provide us with entertainment or are smokin' hot. Drug companies are richies getting richer and they don't give us money. Plus, have you ever seen a sexy drug executive? No, you haven't." -Sam Bakken for Chicagoist

from New York Daily News: "Universal Music Group and cable provider EchoStar are making music together. In a first for a major record label, Universal Music is in talks with the satellite giant to start a music channel, sources told the Daily News.

The yet unnamed MTV-challenger is set to launch early next year on EchoStar's Dish Network. It will feature artists from Universal's roster - including superstars U2, Eminem and Shania Twain.

The music giant currently has five of the top six CDs on the charts."

I like the idea, but here's a better one. Start an internet radio station. It'll save a boatload of coinage and everyone in the world with a high-speed internet connection can then "get down" to the Universal catalog.

For more on what a branded internet radio station can bring to progressive marketers, see my piece on Change This.

Rebecca MacKinnon, a "recovering TV reporter-turned-blogger" is rightfully concerned about the fifth Iranian blogger to be arrested in the past two months. Honestly, I'm surprised the number is not higher. And what about China? How many emerging web voices are they prepared to extinguish?

Since this is not a political blog, I'll bring the conversation back to business. A number of bloggers, myself included, are prepared to help businesses understand blogs and readily adopt them for good purposes. My personal quest involves helping brands incorporate a blog, or other conversational media tools, into their marketing strategy. But I force myself to conduct a daily reality check and ask, "Are brands ready to let go of the message--the very message they've spent years, in some cases decades, and untold buckets of money shaping? The short answer is no, they are not ready.

The sad fact is corporate communications types and MBA-toting brand managers fear what they don't know. They are also concerned about protecting their place in this new structure (as our mainstream journalists). If brands truly do belong to the market, and not to the company in question, where does that leave professional brand caretakers? And what does it all mean?

I could pontificate for several more paragraphs, but it may be more instructive to look at a recent example from this very blog. I said last week that it was nonsense for Kobold watches, a luxury goods brand, to claim they are anti-establishment. Michael Kobold, the firm's founder and CEO didn't whine about it. He made a comment on this blog defending his position. It matters not if I agree with his retort. It matters that he's engaged in the conversation.

I have not read the book Lovemarks, which may be the reason I simply do not understand the frustration certain bloggers feel in regards to its message. Their main gripe seems to be that it's just more old-fashioned branding mumbo jumbo dressed up in a cute new outfit. Maybe it is. Until I read it, I can't say.

Here's what I can say. Kevin Roberts is no dummy. He's leads a worldwide organization of 7000 idea-generating people in 82 countries. Maybe that's not impressive enough for some contrary individuals concerned with their own lot in life. I don't mind saying I find it impressive. But let's examine some of Kevin's thinking up close, for a better read.

Kevin Roberts talking with Tom Peters: "Two-thirds of people over the age of 70 live alone; they're going to die alone. The average length of a marriage in the U.S. is seven years. One in two kids in urban America is born out of wedlock. You're seeing people not having kids.

So what are you seeing? You're seeing people hungry for relationships, hungry for intimacy. They've lost trust in all our institutions. Does anybody trust the Church anymore? You gotta be kidding me, right? Does anybody trust government? You sure as hell don't trust the company you work for, right? Because that's going to be Enron, or they're going to lay you off anyway next week and outsource you, etc., etc. So there's no trust. You can't trust the family unit because you probably haven't seen your father. People are looking for relationships, they're looking for intimacy, they're looking for bonding. They're not interested in transactions.

They're frightened shitless by the fact that we're at war, by terrorism and brutality, and who knows what's going to happen next. They are looking for a relationship, whether that's with an author, an idea, a brand, a product. If you don't give them that, you're certainly never going to be able to charge a premium. You've got to remember, brands are only invented to charge a premium. That was the purpose of a brand; it didn't have any other. 'Recognize me, desire me, have faith in me, trust me, pay more for me.'"

Like I said, this guy has chops. And if the above thinking is any indication of what's in his book, I look forward to a good read.

from Chicago Tribune: Unable to ride the growth in the popularity of artificial sweeteners, the Chicago-based distributor of Equal finds itself in a desperate fight to regain lost market share, resuscitate falling sales and come out strong against its competitors in new markets.

Last Friday, Merisant filed a lawsuit against Splenda-maker McNeil Nutritionals, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, alleging its rival's advertising is false in stating that it's "made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar." In its marketing campaigns, Splenda has focused its message and capitalized on the Atkins, South Beach and other low-carb diets.

"There is no sugar in Splenda and Splenda's taste does not come from sugar. Moreover, Splenda is not natural in any sense of the word," the company alleged in the lawsuit.

McNeil denied that it has misled consumers. "We have never claimed that it is natural, nor would we. It is a sugar substitute," said spokeswoman Monica Neufang.

In 2002, Splenda spent $20.3 million on advertising, more than triple the $6.6 million spent by Equal. In 2003, Splenda spent $21.8 million on ads, double the $11.5 million spent by Equal.

Will someone please investigate this. I'm a bit groggy this morning after imbibing on some Glögg--a Swedish intoxicant--last night. Anyway, I think this is a real product, but I'm not convinced.

Here's some anti-corporate rhetoric from the product's web site that makes things even more confusing in this era of advertising hoaxes: "ShitBegone is a joke but it is also a metaphor. The joke and the metaphor are both about transparency. Most people use toilet paper to wipe up shit, but most companies do not sell toilet paper by talking about shit. They sell it with the opposite of shit— bullshit. Fluffy bunnies and so on.

ShitBegone is about selling a product based on reality, when the competition is selling based on a made up image. In the case of shit that might be funny, but in the end it's no joke. Brands obscure the reality behind nearly everything we buy. When you buy a brand, do you know what you're really buying? What it's made of, how it's put together, who makes it? Usually not— because traditional brands are all about hiding that reality."

from The New York Times: The United Church of Christ, one of the nation's most liberal Christian denominations, accused CBS and NBC yesterday of rejecting a commercial it had produced about religious tolerance, which included an implication that other denominations did not welcome gays, because the networks feared hostile reactions from conservative political and religious groups.

The networks said they turned down the commercial for the same reason they had rejected numerous issue-oriented commercials in the past: they do not allow advocacy advertising.

In the commercial, two actors portray what looks like bouncers in front of a church. They admit only a few people, all white. They turn away a young black woman, a Hispanic-looking man and two men whom some may interpret as gay.

The commercial offers the message, "Jesus didn't turn away people and neither do we." It concludes with a panorama of people, including two young women, one of whom has her arm around the other. It never mentions the word "gay."

Ron Askew, Chief Marketing Officer at Coors Brewing--the nation's third largest brewer--is stepping down.

Askew helped shift the brewery's advertising from quaint spots featuring Pete Coors "somewhere near Golden" to quick cut music video-style spots starring the Coors Light twins. According to USA TODAY, the concept got its start when Askew, asked roster shop, FCB to create an "anthem for what guys really like."

FCB responded by writing "love songs" for guys. As Chuck Rudnick, group creative director, says: "Nobody would argue men love women, so why not two of them? That's why twins rings so true."

The bimbettes never did appeal to me, but hey I'm not a frat boy, so it doesn't matter.

Where Askew clearly excelled is in the arena of tie-in partners, which should come as no surprise given his marketing services background--Askew founded and ran Coors' promo agency The Integer Group (where this writer once toiled), prior to jumping ship to the client-side. Most notably, under Askew's leadership Coors inked deals with the National Football League and Miramax.

I mentioned before that my friend Drew Davies, owner of Oxide Design in Omaha was a judge for CA's Design Annual this year and what a major distinction that is, especially for an Omahan. I then drew attention to a remark from Davies concerning spec work. Below please find his commentary on the issue, further refined for your reading pleasure.

Thank you, Mr. Burn for your supportive comments. I was very pleased that Patrick Coyne decided to use that thought I'd shared with Communication Arts for a pull-quote. It's something I believe in very strongly, and take very seriously. I suspect all markets are like ours here in Omaha: we compete not so much against other design firms, but against the perception that design is without value, and budgeting dollars for design is just below "pretty artwork for the corporate restrooms" on the list of priorities. I truly believe the solution is simple, if a bit optimistic: if all designers stopped engaging in spec work, the problem would be reduced to insignificance. What we do has huge value. It's time for us to start believing that, and making the companies of the world believe that.

And let me be clear that I am referring to spec work here, not pro bono or donated or bartered work. The practice I am talking about is, most specifically, producing work for a client who will then decide if it is "good enough" to pay you for it. Particularly despicable is when companies ask several firms all to submit creative, and then the company decides who "wins" and gets paid. You don't see any other professionals (e.g. lawyers, accountants, etc.) engaging in this kind of devaluing behavior.

As a side note, I should make a clarification to your post: the streamlined Iowa Hawkeye logo was designed by Bill Bollman, Bill Basler and myself. It is the product of a team collaboration, not one designer.

Drew Davies
Oxide Design

While we're on the topic of Nebraska, let's examine the strange truth about one of the agency world's legendary brands. Bozell + Jacobs was founded in Omaha, and exists there to this day. I know. Shocker of all shockers. Yet, it's true.

Two newspapermen, Leo Bozell and Morris Jacobs began their advertising firm in 1921 with what became a world-famous advertisement for the Boys Town orphanage in Omaha. "He ain't heavy, Father," the ad stated, "he's my brother." The orphanage went on to be the subject of an MGM motion picture.

Another major moment in this agency's history includes the creation of "The Wild Kingdom" for insurance client, Mutual of Omaha. This is also the shop responsible for "Pork�The Other White Meat," a campaign that worked wonders for the pork producers by repositioning the meat as a healthy alternative in consumer's minds.

On a sour note, the current intro on the agency web site is misleading and beside the point. It features stock photography shot in Montana or maybe Wyoming. To worsen matters, the copy reads, "The best ideas seem to come out of nowhere, which is exactly why we live here." Not exactly the most heartwarming message for the firm's local clients or prospects. Nebraska is not nowhere, it's merely off the radar of cultural elites.

from Lewis Lazare: Minnesota food processor, Hormel Foods (makers of SPAM) is heating up New York's Times Square with a giant three-sided billboard that seeks to position cooking as an artful form of expression not unlike high fashion.

Each image on the billboard created by BBDO/Minneapolis presents fashion models in chic outfits, but each look has been accessorized with cooking paraphernalia. A checkered cook's apron, for instance, is dramatically paired with a fire engine red cocktail dress. Beneath that image is the copy line "heat things up." In another visual, a model's simple black dress is finished off with a silver belt from which hang various cooking utensils. The copy line for this get-up is "cooking is the new black."

"We wanted to liken the personal flair normally associated with fashion to cooking and the Hormel brand," said Denny Haley, president and chief creative officer at the agency.

My note: Hormel has a troupe of brand evangelists who make treks to the shrine, uh-hum SPAM Museum, in Austin, Minn. Which is cool. SPAM is classic Americana and for some, camp. Plus people everywhere eat it!

In this high-wired time of trouble for the actual word "SPAM," I see an opening for Hormel to "gain capital" by say things like "We're the Good SPAM."

from Chicago Tribune: ATA Airlines has reached an agreement in principle to fly out of Gary/Chicago International Airport. Forced to cease operations out of Midway, the deal to take four flights a day in and out of Gary would give the financially strapped airline access to the Chicago area. All flights would go to Indianapolis, for connections to 11 destinations, ranging from New York to Florida to San Francisco. The airline plans to operate 34-seat Saab propeller aircraft from the Gary airport, said airport director Paul Karas. Final talks are pending and could be affected by ATA's ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. ATA filed for bankruptcy in October, saying that it was selling most of its Chicago operations to low-cost carrier AirTran Airways. As part of the $87.6 million deal, AirTran would assume ATA's 14 gates at Midway. In a recent filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Indianapolis, the City of Chicago said any deal that includes the gates rights needs the city's OK.

"It's never too late to go straight," said David Munns, vice chairman of the music giant EMI Group, about Shawn Fanning.

An estimated 10 percent to 30 percent of job applicants lie on their résumés, according to a study by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the outplacement consulting company. And those fudging aren't just young, inexperienced workers: Top-level executives are résumé fraudsters, too.

Yep. We better create a searchable database of which creatives actually won what award and when. Dates. We need dates.

Rick Myers, President of Talent Zoo was kind enough to call earlier this week and ask, "How can we help you succeed?" More on that later.

Anyway, this doesn't happen everyday in the blogosphere, nor in life. So it's always a sweet moment to know there's someone out there and that they don't hate you.

Okay, it's later. We're going to start prominently featuring Talent Zoo ad banners on this site. And I'm preparing to write an article for Talent Zoo's "Career Center" section. It's going to be a continuation on Get Going In Advertising, a piece I wrote for Omaha ad industry event, "Meet The Pros," in 2002.

I'll be in good company on Talent Zoo, as the Atlanta recruiting firm already features one humorist in its pages. Clevelander, Danny G., has built a dedicated following with wry wit and fearless discharge of pro-reform diatribes.

BY THEODORE DECKER

Of The Patriot-News

Hot on the trail of kidnapped Krispy Kremes, Swatara Twp. police were in pursuit yesterday of a crook who -- very unwisely, some would say -- stole a doughnut delivery truck.

Police found the truck abandoned in downtown Harrisburg, but they hadn't tracked down the perp who pilfered the pastries.

"I was about to say it's a priority case, but I won't say that," Swatara Twp. Sgt. Robert Simmonds said.

It was 12:45 a.m. when Krispy Kreme deliveryman Tim Trostle stopped at the Turkey Hill Minit Market at 63rd and Derry streets.

He said he left the truck running during the delivery. In a flash, it was gone.

The back doors of the truck had been left open, and the direction of the thief's flight was no mystery. The doughnuts pointed the way.

"The report doesn't get into the head count of the doughnut population," Simmonds said. "You'd be safe to say there was a trail of doughnuts westbound on Derry Street."

The doughnut trail grew stale in Swatara Twp., but Susquehanna Twp. police found another doughnut cart on Walnut Street near the Harrisburg city line.

City police spotted the truck near a bar in the 200 block of North Street.

The thief didn't appear to have been interested in the cargo, so police suspect the motive for the theft was transportation, not appetite.

"It has a happy ending," Simmonds joked. "The evidence was brought back to the police station, and the cops are eating the doughnuts."

Acknowledging that he had indeed seen Krispy Kremes in a station conference room, Simmonds surmised, "I suspect that the manager from the Krispy Kreme might have given us a little thank you for our efforts."

THEODORE DECKER: 255-8112 or tdecker@patriot-news.com

John Moore at Brand Autopsy (not to be confused with Johnnie Moore) has started something by telling domain name registrar Go Daddy to stop trying to be Big Daddy. Moore wants the dot com to put their $2.4 mil. earmarked for a Super Bowl spot back into product development. I'd like to see user-centric design improvements, myself. Their site is not optimized for Apple's Safari internet browser. Tisk tisk.

Just as Michael Kobold of Kobold watches commented here recently when I said something only semi-flattering about his latest ad, Go Daddy's president also chimes in on the Brand Autopsy conversation. This is a positive trend. CEOs joining the discussion.

By Kathleen Sampey for Adweek

NEW YORK Donny Deutsch's CNBC show, The Big Idea, will replace McEnroe on the cable network early next year, a CNBC representative confirmed.

The cancelled McEnroe, a talk show hosted by tennis great John McEnroe, will run through the end of December, the rep said.

Deutsch, the CEO of Interpublic Group's Deutsch, hosts The Big Idea, which has been running at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and repeated on Sundays at 9 p.m.

The show, on which Deutsch discusses pop-culture topics with celebrity guests, will now run in the 10 p.m. Monday through Friday slot previously occupied by McEnroe.

The ad agency's major clients include Mitsubishi, Coors Light, Novartis, Old Navy, Monster.com and Tylenol.

from USA TODAY: "Shots foster a fraternity atmosphere. Wall Street loves them because they spice up the party, but it makes it seem like the company is encouraging people to get trashed," said Howard Givner, president of Manhattan event planner Paint the Town Red.

A survey done in 2003 of 1,500 employees by U.K. recruiter Office Angels showed that 68% of Britons dropped a conversational clunker at a holiday party.

Among the things staff remember saying to their colleagues: "I'm glad we chatted tonight because I didn't like you when I first met you" and "I've been stalking you like a lion stalks an antelope."

Bosses remember, too: 92% said they recalled their employees' remarks.

It's Sunday in Chicago. Good day for a sermon.

"The primary job of an advertiser is not to communicate benefit, but to communicate conviction. Benefit is secondary. Benefit is a product of conviction, not vice versa. Whatever you manufacture, somebody can make it better, faster and cheaper than you. You do not own the molecules. They are stardust. They belong to God. What you do own is your soul. Nobody can take that away from you. And it is your soul that informs the brand. It is your soul, and the purpose and beliefs that embodies, that people will buy into. Ergo, great branding is a spiritual exercise." -from Hugh MacLeod's Hughtrain Manifesto

Hugh is copywriter looking for work and meaning. I can identify with that. Where I begin to have trouble is with his double speak. Johnnie Moore, Tom Asaker and Hugh himself are crying out for authenticity in advertising. So what's this about the product benefit taking a back seat to conviction? Damn, that sounds a lot like Saatchi Kevin's Lovemarks to me.

For the record, I do not know Hugh, nor do I have anything against him. He's an outspoken defender of his position, like I am. That character trait gets people fired, fired up and in trouble. I can live with that and my bet is so can Hugh. So this dressing down is not meant to be personal. My interest is in the argument being conducted. Hugh detests branding and Lovemarks, but he builds brands for a living, including his own. Gaping Void, his blog, is a brand. His "Hughtrain Manifesto" is a brand. The guy's making his mark, or Godmark, as the case may be.

My message is simple. Keep it real. Lovemarks is one prominent ad guy's new buzzword about branding. Branding is not dead. Kevin Roberts knows it, and I dare say Hugh MacLeod knows it. Hugh has his own spin, as I have mine. In each case, we hope to improve the quality of the communications we make on behalf of paying clients. Call it what you will. But don't tell me it's the salvation of the ad industry. Tell me it's a step in the right direction, then, if you're so inclined, get back to work on the next step.

Thanks to TBWA Portugal for pointing us to this print ad for Bic's permanent marker, fashioned by TBWA Paris.

Adweek reports that Denver-based sandwich maker, Quiznos, is removing its account from The Martin Agency in Richmond, Virginia.

The account has not been placed into review yet, said Trey Hall, chief marketing officer for Quiznos. Discussions about future advertising failed to result in an agreement between the client and the agency, Hall said. "As we look into 2005, we weren't quite connecting."

Allow me to translate. Quiznos failed to see the wisdom in Martin's thinking. So now they're looking for someone willing to take direction. An agency like Martin, or Fallon, or Wieden can't take direction from a client if the direction is bad. Bad account direction leads to even worse work, and for an agency whose entire reputation is built on the work, it's far better to cut the wayward client loose than to do what they ask.

On another front, the Quiznos account reminds me how difficult it is for the Denver ad market to rise above total obscurity. Quiznos was once at Denver boutique, Morey Mahoney, but as the QSR grew so did their britches. For Denver to make a real name for itself in the ad market, the best shops--Morey, TDA, Karsh + Hagan and McClain Finlon--need to somehow keep these hot or "toasty" accounts at home.

from Chicago Tribune: China has banned a Nike television commercial showing U.S. basketball star LeBron James in a battle with an animated cartoon kung fu master, saying the ad insults Chinese national dignity.

The commercial, titled "Chamber of Fear," shows James in a video game-style setting defeating the kung fu master, two women in traditional Chinese attire and a pair of dragons, considered a sacred symbol in traditional Chinese culture.

The advertisement "violates regulations that mandate that all advertisements in China should uphold national dignity and interest and respect the motherland's culture," the State Administration for Radio, Film and Television said on a statement posted Monday on its Web site.

The Nike advertisement is part of fast-growing foreign efforts to cash in on the huge popularity of basketball in China and the celebrity of James and other (well-behaved) NBA players.

from AdAge: I clambered into a suspension-less, musty old cab outside the train station in Harrisburg, Pa., more in hope than expectation. The chances of my driver -- a central-casting Boo Radley -- knowing the whereabouts of an outdoor-sports store that opened its doors for the first time that morning seemed slim at best.

But Boo -- real name, Gary "Frenchy" French -- was a true gent, several steps ahead of me. "Ah yes, Bass Pro. I was there last night. It's fantastic, it'll bring a lot of business to town."

AdAge executive editor, Jonah Bloom, traveled to central PA not for a new fly rod, but to learn more about this world of sportsmen and sportswomen who occupy fly-over country. Specifically, he wanted to see how Toyota is marketing its full size Tundra trucks to the sporty set. Last April, Toyota inked a deal with Bass Pro making the Tundra "the official truck of Bass Pro." Toyota's Steve Jett said, it makes sense "to fish where the fish are."

In related news, Sidney, NE-based outdoor giant, Cabela's, is planning to open it's first retail stores near urban centers. Stores are planned for Fort Worth, TX, East Rutherford, NJ, Hoffman Estates, IL and Wheat Ridge, CO.

from The New York Times Orlando Pita, hairdresser to celebrities like Jennifer Connelly, Naomi Campbell and Kirsten Dunst, charges $800 for a haircut at his new salon, Orlo, on the third floor of a nondescript walkup on Gansevoort Street.

If that seems like an extraordinary sum to charge, consider that New York has always been the hub of the outrageously expensive coiffure. But what's different now is that there seems to be a race for the stratosphere, as if a haircut were the new It luxury item, as fetishized as a Kelly bag or a pair of Jimmy Choos.

According to a report by American Salon, the average women's haircut in the United States costs about $21 for a cut in a salon with fewer than 6 chairs, up to $44 for a salon with more than 13 chairs.

According to Chicagoist, Playboy Enterprises, Inc. will soon offer mobile phone users the ability to download adult-oriented content including Playboy-themed games, images, video clips, voice clips and ring tones.

Chicagoist wisely goes on to question the wisdom of making the famed Playboy lifestyle this public, "Do we want people to be living this lifestyle outside of their homes? For instance, living this lifestyle on the Red Line with their hands in their pants, two seats down from you?"

Le Monde is welcoming bloggers to set up shop under their brand name. Smart move. I don't think there's much question that mainstream journalists around the globe are asking, "What the hell are we going to do about the rise of citizen journalism?" Some continue to ignore the new reality, despite dwindling audience share. That's to be expected. Others are getting their feet wet by putting reporters in a position to blog. Now, Le Monde is doing what all smart marketers do when challenged with a paradigm shift. They're embracing the challengers and making them their own.

I find this particularly interesting in light of the legal troubles Jason Kottke is facing with Sony. Kottke, one of the most popular bloggers in the world, posted information about Sony's "Jeopardy" game show that the owners didn't appreciate. The lawyers called and Kottke is now taking the understandable but disgruntling position of quieting his voice. In the face of untold legal bills, it's hard to fault him.

Kottke writes, "As an individual weblogger with relatively limited financial and legal resources, I worry about whether I can continue to post things (legal or not) that may upset large companies and result in lawsuits that they can afford and I cannot. The NY Times can risk upsetting large companies in the course of their journalistic duties because they are a large company themselves, they know their rights, and they have a dedicated legal team to deal with stuff like this."

I wonder if Le Monde is prepared to defend the non-staff bloggers under their umbrella?

Retire This Year! …and Still Make More Money Than Most Doctors

You Can Do It — Once You Know the Proven Secrets to Writing a Simple Letter Like This One. -American Writers & Artists Institute copywriting course "sell copy"

Bob Bly thinks I should stop wasting my time with "this branding bullshit" and take a direct mail copy course from the provider mentioned above (yes, he's on the organization's board). This, after commenting on his new blog about being an under-employed copywriter with plenty of time on my hands. Bly claims I will make two to four times the average general market copywriter, should I follow his sage advise.

He also wants me to read this week's Business Week article on marketers' obsession with ROI and how it spells the death of you guessed it, branding. I just did that. Hey, one out of two ain't bad.

The article mostly talks about new methods to measure TV advertising. Then it ends like this: "For all the effort to bring science to marketing, the art component will never go away. Figuring out how much of a product's appeal is due to marketing and how much stems from innovative features or quality is often hard to pin down, even for individual consumers. They don't know why they like it, they just do. That's the human factor -- and so far, no one has found a way to measure that."

Which brings us back to branding. For better or worse, I'm a brand advocate. I'm not going to start writing infomercials no matter how much money is in it. It's not me. For the ROI-obsessed, I say great, do it your way. I'll continue to do it the way Nike, Adidas, McDonald's, Burger King, Bud, Miller, Coke and Pepsi do it.

Adweek reports The Martin Agency has taken a page from advertising history* by helping to develop a new cable television show for the Speed Channel.

The show, Nascar Nation, is scheduled to premiere in February on Speed Channel, a cable network dedicated to motor sports and automotive programming. The network bills the show as the most comprehensive Nascar program on television. It will air four times each week.

"This show has been designed by Nascar fans for Nascar fans," said Katherine Wintsch, senior strategic planner for the agency.

*Creating the content, not just the ads, was once a primary task for advertising agencies. Soap operas, for instance, were created to sell soap.

from AdAge: The chief executive of WPP Group, Martin Sorrell, told the Credit Suisse Conference today that 2004 "was a relatively good year." Speaking in the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel, Mr. Sorrell kicked off the "Media and Telcom Week" gathering with his 8 a.m. presentation.

He also predicted that the advertising industry's expansion will slow in 2005. Factors contributing to this, he said, include the U.S. fiscal deficit, a weak dollar and inflated prices for commodities. He also noted that retailers continue to use trade promotion to spur growth, a trend he characterized as troubling.

"The inexorable march of Wal-Mart, Tesco and Carrefour put pressure on manufacturers," he said. "We are concerned by the emphasis on trade promotion. That's a recipe for disaster in our view," because consumers become used to waiting for sales. The better approach to growth, he said, is to rely on innovation in product development and branding.

My note: Interestingly, WPP owns several of the premier marketing services shops in the industry, like Wunderman, VML and 141 Worldwide.

from Fast Company Now: Hyperion, a software company, announced this week that employees who purchase a Toyota or Honda hybrid (or any other vehicle that gets more than 45 miles per gallon) over a gas-guzzler will be reimbursed $5,000. Given that Hyperion aims to reimburse about 200 of their 2,500 employees each year, this adds up to a hearty $1 million per year to put the brakes on global warming and conserve natural resources.

from Hyperion's web site: On November 29, 2004, Hyperion launched Drive Clean to Drive Change, an initiative designed to empower our employees to take a personal step to improve the air by driving a car that goes further on a gallon of gas. Many of our employees are already interested in and already inclined to take this step. As a company, we are simply doing what we can to help. Hyperion also launched the Companies for Clean Air Consortium to help other companies create similar programs.

from The New York Times: Steven Gilliatt, president of G2 Worldwide, a leading brand development and design consulting company in New York, recently had an up-close-and-personal demonstration of the increasing power of eye appeal in retailing.

"I was buying an iPod a couple weeks ago and there was a feeding frenzy at the store," Mr. Gilliatt said, referring to the Apple Store in SoHo, where customers jostled one another to buy the special edition iPod loaded with music by the rock group U2. "I was there as a civilian, but I'd been converted from consideration to purchase," he said, borrowing jargon from marketing mavens.

Mr. Gilliatt's response to the innovative design of the Apple Store — so cool it is now being described as a "singles mecca" in The New York Post — indicates the importance of intangible elements in selling goods ranging from apparel and personal-care products to entertainment merchandise and housewares. The product's design, the packaging and even the style of the store are now weapons in the marketing arsenal, as much as traditional tactics like television commercials and print advertisements.

The goal is to generate "an emotional moment between a consumer and a brand," Erik Ulfers, senior vice president for environmental design at Jack Morton Worldwide in New York, said, adding: "It sounds a little goofy, a little abstract, if you talk about it too much. The big challenge is to dimensionalize the aspects of a brand — what a brand is, who it wants to be — and use the visuals to support the story about that brand you want to tell."

"Retailers now are the choice editors, whereas in the past the manufacturers were," said Jim Lucas, director for planning and research at Draft in Chicago, a direct marketing agency, naming chains like H&M, Ikea and Pottery Barn. As a result, a store's environment is acquiring an importance once reserved for, say, the script of a commercial to be run during the Super Bowl. (editor's note: Oh my...a direct marketer is advocating for design. Maybe there's hope for direct, yet.)

"The outside is the new inside," said Peter Arnell, chairman and chief executive of the Arnell Group in New York, an advertising agency that has branched into design. "It's all about sensory experience. The retail theater closes the deal," said Mr. Arnell, who once studied architecture with Mr. Graves.

from The Independent: Viewed from commercial America, British advertising looks like something bent out of shape by a culture so consumed with embarrassment it can't look a salesman in the eye when he's making a pitch, particularly if that pitch is laden shoulder high with emotion - love of country, family or God. From a mainstream US perspective our quirky elliptical leave-them-guessing advertising approach is kind of charming, but kind of unworkable too in America, with its fragmented audiences and ethnicities, its raging sensitivities and, above all, its huge risks. American advertising is risk averse because there's so much at stake with those huge clients and their mega-spends. It means everything is researched to death so all backs are covered.

In the US giant agencies things work differently. The client is God for a start. You work with him; you get to know his business and you give good meeting, meetings at which consensus is reached to an almost Japanese degree. It is very process driven. In Britain, everything, but everything is secondary to the creative work.

In America, advertising isn't that socially glamorous - they've got Hollywood after all - and its practitioners aren't so famous, but they make millions and it's an acceptable career choice for a decent MBA graduate who thinks creativity is something best left to window-dressers.

Thanks to PSFK for the pointer.

from Lewis Lazare: Though the ad industry itself is in a bit of the doldrums here in Chicago, the business of advertising still packs a wallop in terms of its economic impact locally, according to a new study by Global Insight on behalf of the Advertising Coalition.

The coalition is made up of nine advertising trade organizations, included among them the American Advertising Federation and the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

According to the new study, the total revenue impact of advertising spending on the city in 2005 will reach $182 billion -- about 22.5 percent of the city's projected total $805 billion economic activity.

That ad spending figure includes $86 billion in direct impact on area sales, a $42 billion impact on supplier economic activity and another $53 billion in inter-industry spending.

The study also revealed that some 737,971 jobs are supported by advertising spending in the city.

The Poetry Center of Chicago and corporate sponsor Lightology are bringing poetry to the masses this holiday season, with an outdoor board located at the corner of Chicago and Wells.

Chicagoist reports that the poem, "Farewell," is by Chicago poet Li-Young Lee. He wrote it specifically for the occasion, "a non-commercial message Chicagoans could look forward to seeing throughout the holiday season." According to the organization's press release, "The Poetry Center and Lightology believe this to be a brilliant message during the holiday season and the darkest part of the year."

Yet another new marketing term has entered the lexicon: Podcasting. I admit, I had no clue what it meant, at first. I also admit that I do not own an iPod--I know, bad form for an Apple evangelist. Now, Steve Rubel kindly makes things clear for those who want the scoop on this new audio-gathering activity.

In his article, "Pondering Podvertising Possibilities," Rubel says, "A podcast is a time-shifted audio program that can be created using a simple microphone-equipped PC. It is distributed to subscribers via RSS. Users who subscribe to a program’s feed receive new episodes on their Mac or PC as they are released. The audio file is then subsequently automatically synched to an iPod or equivalent MP3 digital music player, allowing the subscriber to listen to the time-shifted program at their convenience."

Here's the my translation: Podcasts are audio segments available for download (like MP3s) and synching with an iPod or other handheld player.

Rubel continues, "While many of the more popular programs -- such as the hilarious Dawn and Drew husband and wife show -- are homespun creations, the mainstream media is getting into the act as well. Seattle’s KOMO radio, the BBC Radio and Minnesota Public Radio have all started to make some of their programming available in podcast form."

from New York Post: NBC hopes to turn "Must See TV" into "Must Buy TV." The Peacock Network says it will start offering products for purchase that are seen on some its top shows like "Will and Grace" and "Las Vegas."

Among the items may be the pink pajamas with turquoise polka dots worn by Debra Messing, who plays Grace, and the faded denim, five-pocket jeans worn by Eric McCormack, who portrays Will. Merchandise will be available online or via phone.

The shows participating in the offering are all owned by NBC Universal, and also include the daytime soap opera "Passions" and Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."

The deal is part of a partnership NBC has with Delivery Agent, a San Francisco company that operates "Just Seen On," which has already partnered with ABC to hawk promotional products tied to shows like "Alias," "Desperate Housewives," "Lost," "All My Children" and "The View."

"After consistently receiving viewer inquiries about products seen in our shows, we welcomed Delivery Agent's solution to connect viewers with products," Stephen Andrade, of NBC Interactive Development said.

Paul Woodhouse of The Tinbasher Blog has been called out by direct marketing mouthpiece Bob Bly. The two are set to meet in a "teleconference debate" over at Deb Weil’s place to argue the merits of business blogging.

Woodhouse, who actually operates a business blog claims, "I learnt quite a while ago how to totally befuddle an American. The key is to thicken the old Lancashire accent and watch the colour drain from their cheeks."

Get him Paul.

from USA TODAY: From 1965 until 2002, Jimmy Dean was the president of his own sausage company. Having butchered his own meats growing up, Jimmy knew how to make sausage, from the piglet to the table. His company became so successful that Sara Lee Foods bought it and later forced him out. Dean laid out all the details in his new autobiography, Thirty Years of Sausage, Fifty Years of Ham: Jimmy Dean's Own Story.

"They talk about the age factor, saying I'm too old for the customer. A couple of really tactful executives from Sara Lee said to me, "You're not going to live forever, you know." They were preparing for me to die! Can you believe that?! I think Wilford Brimley does good work for what he does, though I don't know how they get him up on a horse. They're still using Colonel Sanders in ads and he's been dead for years." -Jimmy Dean

Broken Type has posted a wicked funny piece on word-of-mouth run amok, as a response to the recent NY Times article on Boston-based w-o-m advocate, Bzz Agent--an article that has several marketing bloggers buzzing.

Here's an excerpt from the Broken Type piece: "I showed up to the office Christmas party with a festive array of Al Fresco Chicken Sausages strung around my neck like a lei. I wrote an open-source manifesto about Al Fresco Chicken Sausage and distributed it under a creative commons license in PDF form. When telemarketers would call I’d say: 'Hey, can you hang on a second, I’m just cooking up some Al Fresco Chicken Sausages.' Then I’d make frying sounds and go 'mmmm.' I called this technique 'Swimming Up Stream' or 'Forcing the Ball Though the Bottom of the Hoop,' and it worked so well the president of the Hive sent a message to everyone telling them how great my idea was, and encouraging them to do the same."

I believe the main problem with paid word-of-mouth is that it looses all authenticity. Ad execs will tell you, "There's nothing like word-of-mouth." I say it frequently myself. But the reason we're enamored with this medium is precisely because we can't control it. It's beyond our sphere of influence. Sure, we can have an impact on a brand in such a way as to spur word-of-mouth, but that's something altogether different than paying "people on the street" to talk up a product or service.

Globe and Mail has a thoughtful piece on the emerging trend whereby bloggers are paid to pimp a product. To me this new activity is another form of paid word-of-mouth; therefore, it presents some issues worthy of further investigation and contemplation.

Vancouver, BC content management company, Marqui, is currently offering $800/month to a select group of bloggers who agree to mention Marqui on their media properties, or blogs. Marqui lists the bloggers on their site, so they're getting the transparency thing right.

Marqui's CEO, Stephen King knows it has to be fully transparent to be taken seriously. Marqui promises to pay even if bloggers say bad things about the company and its services. "I think this is extremely risky," Mr. King says. "In a traditional marketing sense, what you try to do is control your message. And what we're saying is that the world's changed and a company with integrity has to go out there and let the world discuss its products."

I agree with King's sentiments whole-heartedly. It's the execution that concerns me. A better executional idea might be to let these bloggers contribute to Marqui's blog.

Thanks to Greedy Girl for pointing to Dove's new Campaign For Real Beauty.

Greedy Girl says, "I’m quite horrified by this 'celebrate reality not ideals' meme that floats around some circles. Effective advertising is about making people envision a positive future for themselves, not about making them look in a mirror under fluorescent lights."

Of course, advertising (effective and not) has been about projecting false realities for as long as anyone can recall. All the more reason to salute Dove for taking this path less traveled. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and advertising's collective eye observes but one body type--the waif. As more and more people demand authenticity in all its forms, it's good to know at least one marketer is prepared to provide it.

from Ad Age: Once again, ad agency executives can be thankful for car dealers. According to a new national poll, the image of advertising professionals has deteriorated in the last year when it comes to honesty and ethical standards.

Only 10% of those polled by the Gallup Organization rated ad people's ethics as "very high" or "high," just ahead of car salesmen, the perennial last-place finishers, who scored 9%. Ad professionals were slightly behind lawyers, at 18%.

Nurses topped the poll again, with 79% of the vote, followed by grade-school teachers (73%), and pharmacists and military officers (72% each).

Given that I'm off to a slow start this morning do to a wave of comment spam (on Burnin' All Illusions), I wonder where spammers rank. I'm not in the mood for a rant, but blogware providers need to intervene on our behalf. I use Apple's Mail program and it catches 95% of all unwanted solicitations. Why can't pMachine, Moveable Type and Word Press provide the same levels of filtration? And what about domain name registrars and hosting providers? Do they not have a responsibility to intervene? According to BetterWhoIs, this "Texas Holdem" perp manages his domains at GoDaddy.

Adweek reports Minneapolis-based Buffalo Wild Wings is flying south to West Wayne with their $2 million account. West Wayne has offices in Tampa and Atlanta.

West Wayne is also the agency famed Minneapolis copywriter, Luke Sullivan, fled to a few years ago. I'm not exactly sure where Mr. Sullivan, author of Hey Whipple Squeeze This, is today. I want to say GSD+M in Austin. Maybe a reader can verify that for us. Whatever the case, here's a sample of West Wayne's current print work for Museum of Science and Industry.

Steve Rubel points to an interesting spec spot for Apple's iPod Mini. The spot was created by George Masters in order to pimp his considerable motion graphics skills. Nice work, George.

from Indianapolis Star: A food fight broke out at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, with justices considering whether the government can force ranchers and farmers to pay for ad campaigns with catchy phrases like Beef: It's what's for dinner" and billboards featuring milk mustaches on celebrities.

Farmers are challenging the multimillion-dollar beef promotion program, saying they shouldn't have to pay for ads they disagree with. The eventual ruling could jeopardize more than 100 federal and state campaigns for other products.

Beef producers are required to pay a $1-per-head fee on cattle sold in the United States, which generates more than $80 million a year for ads, research and educational programs. Federal officials oversee how the money is spent.

Producers get back $5.67 for every dollar they contribute in increased prices because of the program, supporters contend.

Is it any wonder the CA Advertising Annual arrives during the holiday season? Mine arrived today via the postal service. Same cast of characters as always. You don't even need to study it. Put the $24 (newstand price) towards some whiskey, is my advise. Or beer, if you favor malt beverages.

Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Fallon, TBWA Chiat/Day, Arnold, Carmichael Lynch, DeVito Verdi and Wieden + Kennedy are the big winners (with more than five citations). Volkswagon, Porche, Harley-Davidson, BMW, Mini, Apple, Nike, Citibank, Molson, Miller Brewing, Mt. Sinai Medical Center and Time are the some of the clients said agencies did award-winning work for.

Lately, I've noted what an echo chamber the blogosphere can be. The same is true of advertising. When a judge sees an ad for Volkswagon he or she knows it's great, just like they know it's from Arnold. To not vote for it would be blashphemy. Plus, the judge has friends at Arnold. It's awfully nice to reward one's friends.

In all seriousness, I do like one of the Volkswagon ads immensely. The visual is a pile of ticket stubs for Widespread Panic concerts. The "Drivers Wanted" tag is almost lost in the layout, which is intentional, of course. "MAKE THE LOGO SMALLER," I can almost hear Ron Lawner saying. Anyway, this ad reminds me of the VW bus crying a tear for Jerry Garcia ad, which ran in 1995 when he passed.

Thanks to Fallon's New York office, one p.c. term for the holidaze has been replaced by another much longer and more difficult to say p.c. term.

To support Virgin Mobile, Fallon whipped up the "Chrismahanukwanzakah" moniker, appealing to all religious sects in one multiple syllable word.

The seasonal campaign features greeting cards, designed by British illustrator Fiona Hewitt. The cards depict a reindeer with a menorah for antlers, an African angel holding a dreidel, and a Hindu Santa Claus.

This week, Virgin Mobile, with U.S. headquarters in Warren, N.J., had costumed roller skaters hand out the greeting cards and chocolate coins to pedestrains in New York City.

The campaign was pure Virgin, Wayne Best, ACD at the agency, said. "They tackle tricky issues with a sledgehammer."

Team value in millions

1. L.A. Lakers $510
2. New York Knicks $494
3. Dallas Mavericks $374
4. Houston Rockets $369
5. Chicago Bulls $368
6. Detroit Pistons $363
7. Phoenix Suns $356
8. Philadelphia 76ers $342
9. Boston Celtics $334
10. Sacramento Kings $330

Apparently, owning the real estate you play in and playing in a big market builds market valuation. According to the Forbes report, three of the most valuable teams--No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers, No. 2 New York Knicks and the Bulls--have ownership interests in their buildings. The bottom three teams--the No. 27 Orlando Magic, No. 28 Seattle SuperSonics and No. 29 Milwaukee Bucks--play in smaller markets and also lease their buildings.

source: Chicago Tribune

from The New York Times: Rap star Jay-Z has agreed to become the president of Universal Music Group's Def Jam Recordings label.

The appointment puts the hip-hop label in the hands of one of rap's biggest-selling artists. Universal, part of Vivendi Universal, will give Jay-Z, who has little corporate experience, the vacant top job at one of its biggest divisions, granting him authority over everything from album production to marketing strategies, and an artist roster that includes stars like LL Cool J and Ludacris.

"I think it sends a great message out to artists," said Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter. "If you put enough work in and pay attention, maybe one day you can run a company."

"That I'm the president of the company may take some g