I used to work on the Coors account and one place we absolutely could not go, creatively speaking, is to college campuses. The lawyers in Golden would have struck it down like lightning from on high. Apparently, the lawyers in St. Louis were convinced otherwise by their peers on the Bud Light team who are presently struggling to avoid the brand's first drop in sales ever. If you watched the Fox News segment (above) …
TV To Talk About
Tim Surette of TV.com seems to enjoy (or at least respect) the raw honesty of cable channel, The CW. CW, you're a breath of fresh air in the broadcast television industry. While other networks pretend to be things they aren't, you're like a 300-pound woman in a tubetop with her thong sticking out -- you are who you are, and that's beautiful. And what you are is pure sensationalism. 90210, Melrose Place, Gossip Girl …
Sport Some L.A. Gear, If You’re Game
Chicago's Sol Design teamed up with Gertrude (another ad agency with a funny name) to bring back a limited edition line of sneaks from L.A. Gear. Find out more at The Battle for the 2008ies. …
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Listening Is Hard For Anyone, But Terribly Difficult For Big, Broadcast-Centric Brands
Two weeks ago Slate's Seth Stevenson favorably reviewed Bob Garfield's new book The Chaos Scenario. Garfield, a critic in the employ of Ad Age, believes today's media kings (the one's that are still standing) are about to fall. It all portends chaos for the television industry. But Garfield foresees equal tumult in store for the big-time ad agencies. He predicts the gradual demise of the classic, 30-second TV spot, …
Déjà Vu
The Wall Street Journal wisely turned to Terry Teachout, its drama critic, for an important lesson in media history. Americans of all ages embraced TV unhesitatingly. They felt no loyalty to network radio, the medium that had entertained and informed them for a quarter-century. When something came along that they deemed superior, they switched off their radios without a second thought. That's the biggest lesson …
The World According To Twitter: Twisdom of Crowds
I imagine that somewhere, in some library or most likely in some pop culture junkie's basement, lies a stack of books that were very 'of the moment': Such tomes as The Official Preppy Handbook, Life's Lessons From Melrose Place, The Rules, and Joe The Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream. Now, add to that David Pogue's The World According To Twitter. The book's premise is very simple: Pogue throws question after …
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Coming To The Big Screen This Fall
On the 40th anniversary of the Internet, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC tells the story of the effect it is having on our society as seen through the eyes of the greatest Internet pioneer youve never heard of, visionary Josh Harris. Award-winning director, Ondi Timoner (DIG!), documented his tumultuous life for more than a decade, to create a riveting, cautionary tale of what to expect as the virtual world inevitably takes …
Yet Another Facebook (and MySpace) Story: Sorry Substitutes
Newsweek is reporting that one in four Americans feels lonely. Sad as that is, widespread use of smart phones and MyFaceSpace aren't helping matters much. Social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace may provide people with a false sense of connection that ultimately increases loneliness in people who feel alone. These sites should serve as a supplement, but not replacement for, face-to-face interaction. For …
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Reawakening The Pirates
You rarely hear publicly from people who've recently left high-profile ad gigs. At least, they don't talk about their most recent position or agency. But Al Kelly, who recently left TBWA\Chiat\Day, wrote about the agency's famous "pirate" spirit, using an old "we lost a pitch" ad the agency ran in the 70's. The place is legendary for good reason: the visionary leadership of a single unflinching, uncompromising …
Evasive Moves Are Part of the Job
M&C Saatchi's new spot for ANZ makes its singular point well understood--typical bankers are hard to pin down. Of course, this spot also resonates in that duplicitous bankers need to be chased through the streets today. …