"We are moving away from phones as tools to phones as companions," Elise Levanto, Nokia's senior consumer vision manager told Business Week. This may be true in Helsinki, but companions need to be alive, at least where I come from. I'm getting a bit chafed by all the "let the brand be your friend" rhetoric I'm hearing. Brands are not friends. Friends are friends. This is a pretty sweet looking phone, however. …
Folgers Does The Microsite/Viral Video Dance
If I'm reading the New York Times right, viral videos are no longer cool. They've been adopted by one marketer after another, and now they've even caught on in Cincinnati. For decades, the Procter & Gamble Company was perhaps the most staid and traditional national advertiser, rarely approving advertising that deviated from tried-and-true formulas. Now, as Procter begins exploring the wild world of so-called viral or …
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Is the Ad Industry Ready For Nielsen Ratings For TV Commercials?
Ad Age takes a closer look at changes that are coming to TV ad spending: Come November, Nielsen Media Research will begin delivering average commercial ratings per program with measurements backdated to the start of the season. The figures will be in a format buyers can crunch much more simply than the minute-by-minute data available through Nielsen systems. "Agencies and clients have charged us with proving that …
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The Important Work Of An Adman
I like when people get excited about the business: To be a winner, you have to believe. No, not just believe. If you're going to win, you have to totally and completely give yourself over to the cause of your client. You’re not a shill. You’re a communicator. You’re not selling...or even simply entertaining. You’re showing people how to improve their lives. Ultimately, the client’s product is the answer. It’s up to …
Living A Virtual Life
In today's New York Times, (you may need to register to see this), Theodora Stites writes about the vast array of online social networks she belongs to. I log on to my Friendster, Facebook, MySpace and Nerve accounts to make sure the mail bars are rising with new friend requests, messages and testimonials. I am obsessed with testimonials and solicit them incessantly. They are the ultimate social currency, public …
ABC Wants Cat Put Back In Box
According to c|net News.com, Mike Shaw, ABC president of advertising sales, is so hungry for days gone by, he's willing to make idioctic utterances to journalists eager for just that type of thing. "I would love it if the MSOs (multi-system operators), during the deployment of the new DVRs they're putting out there, would disable the fast-forward (button)," he said in an interview Wednesday. Whether he gets his wish …
Crispin, The Book: Coming Soon To Every Mediocre Agency CEO’s Desk
Back when Cole & Weber was on a hot streak, I interviewed at an agency whose CEO said, "We want to be the next Cole & Weber." Of course, he had no idea what that meant or what it would take to make that a reality. So you can bet that when Warren Berger's book Hoopla: A Book about Crispin, Porter & Bogusky hits the streets in September, folks running mediocre agencies across the land will rush to get a copy and tell …
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Here’s A Great USP For Waterfront Property: No Hurricanes!
Over at BusinessWeek's Hot Property blog, Peter Coy tells of Liberty Harbor, a residential community being built in Brunswick, GA. Brunswick is on the coast, but to make the community really appealing, here are a few of the marketing pitches: "Because it sits nearly 100 miles from the Gulf Stream, Brunswick is in a geographical sweet spot that is protected from the hurricanes that have affected so many coastal areas …
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Wal-Mart Review Pits Brother Against Brother (Or Sister Against Sister)
Over at Adweek they've printed the 10 finalists in the Wal-Mart review, said to be worth approximately $570 in billings per year. In addition to the two incumbents, GSD&M and Bernstein-Rein, the others include...are you ready for this? WPP Group's Ogilvy & Mather and JWT, both in New York; Publicis Groupe's Publicis and Saatchi & Saatchi, both in New York, and Leo Burnett in Chicago; and Interpublic Group's Draft FCB …
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Pfizer F’s With Your Dreams
Last month the FDA approved Chantix, Pfizer's new smoking cessation drug. According to Pfizer: Chantix is unique because it ... partially activates the nicotinic receptor and reduces the severity of the smoker's craving and the withdrawal symptoms from nicotine. Moreover, if a person smokes a cigarette while receiving treatment, Chantix has the potential to diminish the sense of satisfaction associated with …