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Commercial Alert Doesn’t Like All The Buzz It Hears
Today, Commercial Alert, an organization that keeps an eye on excessive commercialization, today sent a 6-page letter to the Federal Trade Commission requesting an official investigation into the various forms of "buzz marketing" that have appeared in the last several years. Commercial Alert’s letter urges the FTC to thoroughly investigate Proctor & Gamble’s Tremor, which has enlisted about 250,000 teenagers in its …
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Consumption And Production
Danah Boyd has been thinking about the practice of remixing, or repurposing, content (something we do a lot of here): A huge part of the identity process is to consume culture, mix it and personalize it, and share that with our friends because it has identity implications. Why can't we consume for identity, for culture, for life? Why can't we recognize that remixes are active consumption where we've made culture …
Luxury Brands Rub Indian Ruler Wrong Way
Web India 123: Irked by Cartier watches and Gucci glasses, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked party colleagues not to flash their wealth and not to waste tax payers' money. The stern warning went out from her office recently after she noticed that some party leaders who called on her were sporting expensive luxurious items and travelling in luxury cars. A Congress source said Gandhi was visibly irritated and …
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Bud Tries To “Private Label” Beer Pong
The Gainesville Sun: This past summer, Anheuser-Busch unveiled a game it calls Bud Pong. The company, which makes Budweiser, is promoting Bud Pong tournaments and providing Bud Pong tables, balls and glasses to distributors in 47 markets, including college towns like Oswego, N.Y., and Clemson, S.C. Bud Pong may soon expand into more markets, said Francine Katz, a spokeswoman for Anheuser-Busch. "It's catching on …
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Smart Guy Speak
Brand strategist, Marc Babej, speaking with Tom Asacker last week: Conventional branding wisdom assumes that “emotional” and “rational” are somehow mutually exclusive, or opposed. That’s a false dichotomy. In reality, the two are very much intertwined. Save for a few image-driven categories, an emotional connection is the result of delivering against a tangible – call it “rational” benefit. By any standard, mileage …
What’s Ad Age Up To?
Ad Age editor, Scott Donaton, wants more industry leaders like Carat Americas CEO David Verklin. I can't really say why. Maybe so he can have more interesting luncheons. Maybe he likes throwing a little cheerleader in with his journalistic critique. Maybe he's genuinely moved by the guy. You tell me. …
Trumpet Rising
Adweek: Nearly six weeks after evacuating New Orleans to escape Hurricane Katrina, the Trumpet advertising agency returned to its headquarters at 839 St. Charles Monday with job openings and additional work, the agency said. Trumpet founder Robbie Vitrano and other members of the staff have been working in space donated by Blattner Brunner/SRC in Atlanta. The host agency's co-managing director Frank Compton cleared …
A Dollop Of Sophmoric Humor
Beans: The Musical Fruit from Liggett Stashower in Cleveland is ostensibly a chili party invite, but it's meant to double as a viral. Farts are fun. To a point. …