I read an investment book once that contained the following advice: When it comes to money, be an owner, not a loaner. Being an owner in that case meant owning a home versus renting, or owning stocks versus loaning a bank money in the form of a Certificate of Deposit, etc. Good advice, I think. Especially when it comes to the ownership of creative content. Those who own what they create can live off the proceeds for …
Making Something Savory With Spam
We received an e-mail this moring from Rich Siegel, author of Tuesdays With Mantu, a "nonfictional work of fiction" that chronicles the e-mail correspondence between Siegel and the Nigerian spammers famous for promising millions of dollars to millions of Americans. "It isn …
Read All About It
Copywriters: You know that book about advertising you always wanted to write? The one that takes all the things you hate about the way most big ad agencies operate and exposes them for the waste of client money that they are, then offers up sound business solutions that would fix nearly all of it? Well, you're too late. Mark Silveira beat you to it. Read this excerpt, then buy a copy and send it to a Brand Manager …
Abstinence And The City
From CNN: Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens said on Tuesday he would push for applying broadcast decency standards to cable television and subscription satellite TV and radio. In the wake of Nipplegate, Congress is seeking to increase the fines for indecency on broadcast TV and radio. But if Stevens got his wish, Howard Stern would still have to watch his mouth when he moves to Sirius Radio. "The …
The Punk Rock Of Product Placement
Former Talking Heads star David Byrne has a new book, available to people who stay in hotels and motels across America - for free. His tome, The New Sins, has been distributed to cheap roadside hotels, where it will be placed in bedside drawers next to Gideon's Bible. Byrne admits he was surprised how easy it was to get the book placed in hotel rooms. He says, "You just ask them. You don't ask them to pay for it. …
Sugar No Longer Sweet
from Brandweek: PepsiCo revealed today that the company has enacted self-imposed advertising restrictions "in response to rising levels of obesity in the U.S. and Europe." Among other moves, PepsiCo will no longer place advertising for its flagship cola brand in outlets that directly reach children under 12. The Purchase, N.Y.-based company has also placed limits on the portion sizes of products such as Doritos sold …
Free Don’t Come For Free
from Promo Magazine: Direct mail promising "free" products could be outlawed under radical new European Union legislation, according to wire service reports. The move, which follows intense lobbying by consumers' groups, is set to be confirmed by the European Parliament (EP) next month, after months of deliberation by Brussels officials. Most likely, the EP would establish a general prohibition within its Unfair …
Letting The Actors Act
from Lewis Lazare: A new campaign for Sierra Mist from BBDO/New York that broke Sunday night on the Academy Awards telecast is refreshingly different for several reasons. For one thing, the campaign employs a different approach, using an ensemble of sketch comedians in a series of improvised commercials that are positioned as "sitcommercials." And it's great to note the work is -- for the most part -- intelligent in …
