From The Wall Street Journal (sorry, you'll need access to the entire article): Cojones is a Spanish word that means, literally, testicles. In the U.S., however, it's a sort of catchall term for daring. That's approximately what Volkswagen was going for in a blunt black and white billboard featuring its GTI 2006 model accompanied by two words in big, bold letters -- "Turbo-Cojones." But the campaign has boomeranged, …
Is The Web Hitting A Wall?
Working in advertising, I can't imagine a life without Internet. And in the process of moving cities recently, any time I spent without a fast connection nearby gave me panic attacks. Seriously. So this BusinessWeek article about Internet growth and resistance is fascinating to me. Many people are non-Netizens for obvious reasons. They can't afford service or live in remote areas without hope of affordable …
Saab May Be “Born From Jets,” But Al Ries Wants It Dead
Al Ries, once again fixing the ad world's problems all by himself in his Ad Age column, has a couple of suggestions for GM: Hummer: Scrap the brand. Hummer sales last year represented only 1.3% of GM's unit volume. A company GM’s size shouldn’t be marketing niche vehicles. Saab: Scrap the brand. Saab sales last year represented less than 1% of GM's unit volume. I don't know if Chainsaw Al wants GM to sell off Hummer …
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Was Burnett Done In By A Lame Super Bowl Spot?
I've said it before that clients who run Super Bowl spots are the ones who really pay close attention to how the spots rate in contests like the USA Today Ad Meter. Now AutoBlog is suggesting that Cadillac's poorly received Super Bowl spot, done by Leo Burnett's Detroit office, may have been the catalyst for Modernista's new assignment. Cadillac’s Liz Vanzura was reportedly disgusted with the brand’s Super Bowl spot …
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Copper Advertising Closes
Maybe our friend Dean over at Black Lab Five can shine some more light on this, but Copper Advertising, formerly known as TraverRohrback and a shop that has done good work that got some national attention, has closed its doors. I know they always tried to lure good creative talent there (I say that, ever so humbly, because more than one creative recruiter over the years called me about them.) This story in the …
Were Cruise Ships For Hurricane Victims An Out-Of-The Box Ad Idea?
Ric Cooper is the President of Cooper DDB in Miami, whose longtime clients include Carnival Cruise Lines and the Florida Lottery. You don't service clients like those without having a little political savvy. Seems he may have had a role to play in getting Carnival ships rented to the government in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina--which turned out to be a $236 million contract. Now that's a business-building …
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Could Smaller Planes Make Flying Fun Again?
With Delta in bankruptcy and Northwest headed for a possible strike, this New York Times article on tiny jets sounds like good news to me. In its annual aviation forecast, the F.A.A. projected sharply higher levels of non-airline flights in coming years because of the new planes, called "very light jets," which will seat four to six passengers. The new planes can fly almost as fast as an airliner, and at even higher …
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127 Addys for Tampa Agency, Retirement Delayed
I don't know how much entry fees are at the Tampa ADDYS, but local Tampa agency Pyper Paul & Kenney hauled in 127 ADDYS this year. Someone must've sold a boat or two to pay for all those entries, but nevertheless, congrats to the folks there. That's a sweep and a half. PP+K's honors included 63 gold, 55 silver and seven of the 13 Best of the Bay awards, the judges' prize for copywriting and overall best of show. The …
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