DDB/NY was on the receiving end of unexpected news last week. Their $150 million car account peeled out and punched it to Minnesota without prior notice. According to Stuart Elliot, "executives at DDB were told of Subaru’s decision to dismiss them over a lunch meeting today at the agency, which had been scheduled previously to discuss creative plans." The reason behind the change is a desire by Timothy J. Mahoney, …
Carving Out New Kingdoms
Richard Huntington, Planning Director at United London, has some interesting things to say about advertising's capacity to hold truly big brand ideas. It is not the global shortage of quality ideas that concerns me most. It is the role that advertising plays in serving those ideas. In short, while a brand idea can never be too big, it may well be too big for advertising. Advertising has always liked to see itself as …
Digital’s Rising Star
Does the name Mauro Alencar roll off your tongue the same way Jeff Goodby does? Publicis certainly hopes so. Ad Age reports that Alencar, 32, who formerly worked at Organic and AKQA before that, is now executive creative director of Publicis Modem West. "Mauro's ... portfolio boasts some of the best-known and most highly awarded creative in the business," CEO Martin Reidy said. "When a talent of Mauro's level joins …
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.... …
Legendary Brand Architect Says CGC Is “Like Pulling Your Own Teeth”
Adweek talked to Phil Dusenberry, the 71-year-old former chairman and chief creative officer of BBDO North America, who is being inducted into The One Club Creative Hall of Fame this week. Here's a selection of his thoughts on the state of advertising today: Q.What do you think of the state of copywriting, given that we have user-generated content and consumer influence in the creative process? A. As far as …
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Saatchi ECDs Quit
Saatchi & Saatchi/NY ECDs Jan Jacobs and Leo Premutico have left the agency, according to Best Ads on TV. These are the guys who did "Hot Juicy Burgers" for Wendy's and won a platoon of awards during their 2-year stint at the agency. My two cents on the Wendy's spot is that it works too hard and feels strained. But the "Happy Morning" viral they did for Folgers is genuinely odd and inventive. (Too bad the online …
Roy Spence—American Populist
“What you stand for is as important as what you sell.” -Roy Spence Roy Spence is a character. He's also the "S" in GSD&M, one of America's premier advertising agencies. Roy is presently away from Idea City. Yet his ideas are flowing. He's on a 20-plus miles a day walk across America, where he's seeking to connect with the goodness that is America. At the heart of America is the central truth that when we are our …
A Two-Fer Of Columns
Looking for some very light reading for the weekend? Check out A Carbon-Neutral Pile of Manure, my new column on Talent Zoo which takes a look at brands desperate to greenwash themselves. Why? Money is green. Or vice versa. If you live in Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, or other Midwest cities, you can head to the bookstore and grab a copy of Create Magazine, whose Sept/Oct Midwest edition has a column of mine entitled …