Well, Hugh said it very succinctly (see post below), but over at Fast Company, Karen Post takes a closer look at "Lying, Cheating Brands": Deception in promotional programs, communications, advertising, and customer service pollutes the entire market. Consistent integrity, not shady tactics, is the glue that bonds a brand to a consumer. If you are employing any of these deceptive practices, you may have an integrity …
Desegregation Now!
Talking honestly about race is rarely easy in America, but almost always necessary. From Ad Age: Advertising agencies remain segregated remnants of the 1950s, in effect casting multicultural agencies aside in virtual "Negro leagues," said Richard Wayner, CEO of the True Agency, during a heated question-and-answer session after a panel discussion at the Los Angeles Association of Advertising Agencies on May 6. Mr. …
You Don’t Seem To Understand The Nuances Of Our Brand Voice
Care of Hugh MacLeod …
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There Is No Hard Ad News
The Diary of Putney Swope examines the lameness of the advertising trade press and ponders who might be positioned to give Adweek and Ad Age a run for their money. It will more than likely be done by an upstart, but it would have to be one that is well financed. MediaPost is interesting, but clearly trying to just pump out tons of stories, regardless of relevance or importance, to create more advertiser space. The …
Gamers Got Game
Hollywood producers are perpetually in search of "the story." Sometimes they find it in the young writer from Iowa, sometimes on page 14 of the local newspaper. According to this New York Times piece, gamers increasingly have the story. For years, Hollywood has talked about the supposed convergence of films and video games. And for years, the primary results have been low-budget movies based on games, and uninspired …
The Greening Of Adlandia
Sustainability and advertising don't exactly fit together like peas in a pod. Yet, after hearing industrialist-turned-environmentalist, Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface, speak in Savannah two weeks ago, I know there is a place for green practices in the ad biz, just like there is at home, at school, at the gym, etc. Inspired chiefly by Paul Hawken's treatise, The Ecology of Commerce, Anderson reinvented himself and …
Fallingwater Safe From Corporate Wrecking Ball (If BMW Has Anything To Say About It)
BMW has respect for iconoclasts. According to Adweek, as part of its new "Ideas are everything" campaign from GSD+M, the German carmaker places value on the work of unconventional characters like Frank Lloyd Wright. One ad shows corporate executives crushing their employees' creative instincts with bromides such as "Choose your battles." In a spot that shows architect Frank Lloyd Wright's famous "Waterfall House" …
SGI On The Ropes
Reuters reports that nothing lasts forever, especially high flying Silicon Valley hardware makers. Silicon Graphics Inc., a struggling maker of high-performance business computers, Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after a round of restructuring measures failed, sending its shares plunging. SGI is best known for its high-powered computers that are used in creating Hollywood movie special-effects. The …
