One out of every 32 people living in the artsy beachfront community of Venice, CA is homeless. Wong Doody aims to do something about it. To raise awareness about the problem and the dire living situations that the homeless face, the Seattle- and LA-based agency is targeting existing Venice residents with a guerilla campaign from Venice Community Housing Corp. Wong Doody posted tear-off flyers along the crowded …
Happy Customers Are The Best Ads
I'm starting to think those of us who work in advertising are forever relegated to promoting inferior products. This Wired story on Google's decided lack of advertising isn't helping. And how ironic is it that a firm which has sold $30 billion worth of ads to other companies since 2001, shuns the practice? It's not for lack of cash either. Google has remained frugal while accumulating $12.5 billion in reserves. …
Some Spice With My Panties Is What I Really Really Want
According to The Wall Street Journal (paid sub. req.) record company execs are turning increasingly to non-music retailers in hopes that they can help move recorded merchandise. The Spice Girls' U.S. label, Capitol Records, has made arrangements for Victoria's Secret to accept the 500,000 to 600,000 copies of the CD that it has ordered on a "one-way" basis. That means unsold merchandise won't get returned, greatly …
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What If…
David Goss and Phoebe Coulton are a creative team in London who like coming up with ideas. Not just advertising ideas but ideas for the real world too. Here's one: For more, see What If.... …
New Media. Same Old Sex.
French Maid TV is a series of two-five minute viral video "How To's," hosted by actresses portraying French maids. According to the site, "It's where young men learn the important things in life. Like How To Find Music You Like, How To Register a Domain and How to Barter Online." …
Will Microblog For Food
New media consulant Marshall Kirkpatrick loves Twitter. People laugh at Twitter, and they can go ahead and laugh for all I care, but I'm here to tell you that it can be invaluable. Aside from the personal connectedness and relationship maintenance it's good for, let's be honest - it's paying my rent. How is it paying my rent though? Earlier this week I was remarking (on Twitter) about how many of my recent story …
Mastering The Mix
Tim O'Reilly talks about the value of putting people from different disciplines in a room together. In thinking about the future of collective intelligence, we need to make sure that we not only think about systems that lead to convergence of opinion, but also ones that ensure divergence, and fresh inputs. The surest way I know to get this is not to pay attention to the breaking news in your own pond, but to find the …
The Dawning of Journalism Boutiques
The Wall Street Journal (paid sub. req.) is running an unassuming piece on the formation of ProPublica, a news room without all the baggage. A new venture backed by philanthropies will start publishing investigative journalism articles beginning next year, looking to fill a gap being left as newspapers cut costs amid weak advertising. The organization, to be called ProPublica, will be headed by Paul E. Steiger, who …
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