Barclays, the British financial services company claims to be a "proud partner in Brooklyn's renaissance." According to The Wall Street Journal, the well-heeled Brits are dropping $300 mil on the naming rights for the future home of Nets basketball. Barclays Center, at the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, is scheduled to be completed by the start of the 2009-2010 National Basketball Association season. Robert E. Diamond, …
Opportunity Knocks
Ad Age takes an accusatory tone in an article about top level creatives leaving one shop for another. McGarryBowen has been stealing Walt Disney Co.'s theme-parks creative work away from Leo Burnett, and now it's swiping some of Burnett's Disney creatives as well. The independent New York-based agency has hired Ned Crowley and Jonathan Moore as executive creative directors. The two held similar positions at …
Identity Theft Goes Maxx
This seems to be becoming a weekly occurrence. From The New York Times: The TJX Companies, the retailer that operates the T. J. Maxx and Marshalls discount clothing chains, has joined the ignominious list of companies that have had sensitive customer financial data pilfered by identity thieves. Yesterday the company, based in Framingham, Mass., said that as early as 2003 and during most of last year, an intruder had …
Ze Frank Goes To Hollywood
Spencer Morgan's New York Observer article on internet video star Ze Frank is highly informative. Here's some of what I learned by reading the piece: Mr. Frank has high powered Hollywood agents and will soon have a deal. United Talent Agency owner Nick Stevens said to him, "We’ll do this, we’ll do that, we’ll pump that area." DreamWorks is laden with waterfalls and free ice cream. In March of 2001, Mr. Frank was an …
Razorfish Extends Global Reach
Can interactive shops continue to grow and challenge traditional ad agencies for ownership of the big idea? Are I-shops capable of leading creative or merely executing and implenting it? If you're rooting for interactive, good news came today when Avenue A/Razorfish announced that it has secured a 19.4% stake in a Japanese interactive shop called Digital Palette, which is part of Dentsu, Japan's biggest ad agency. …
From A City Of Idealists Comes An Agency With Attitude
According to Ad Age, Shine Advertising of Madison, Wisconsin, could not simultaneously meet Bob Parson's creative demands and live with themselves. A little more than a month after winning the GoDaddy.com account, independent Shine Advertising has resigned, citing irreconcilable creative differences. The shop also renounced responsibility for the GoDaddy work that will appear during the Super Bowl. What might have …
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K-Fed’s “Rappin’ Patty” On Superbowl Sunday
The Wall Street Journal (paid sub. req.), in what may be a first for the paper, is running a piece on K-Fed. Nationwide Mutual Insurance has tapped Kevin Federline, soon-to-be ex-husband of pop star Britney Spears, to star in its 30-second Super Bowl spot, a move that guarantees the insurer acres of free publicity. The spot, which will run in the game's third quarter, is set up to look like a rap video featuring Mr. …
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Soft Minded CEOs Rule The Roost
"If I only had a little humility, I'd be perfect." -Ted Turner USA Today is running a feature today on the thickness of CEO skin. PsyMax surveyed 13,000 employees, including 242 CEOs, to determine which ones were resilient, thick-skinned and good at taking criticism. PsyMax called it being tough-minded. Among non-management workers, 83% had those qualities. Among those promoted to supervisor or foreman, 78% had those …
