This week in advertising history, Apple apologized for making an ad that people did not like. In other news, Liquid I.V. worked with its creative agency of record, Anomaly, to develop the new brand platform, “TEAR POUR LIVE MORE,” which highlights "the magic of extraordinary hydration." https://youtu.be/HdeBHr9tZYM?si=JJoIyG_bB0z8bDLv The spot benefits greatly from its soundtrack—the gospel song “JOY …
When Content Degrades and Distracts, Advertising Suffers Too
Advertising is a parasite that depends on the blood of its host—news and entertainment content—for its survival. When the body or in this case the media industry is sick, the parasite too will suffer. This is the conclusion, although not the language, of Mike Follett, managing director of eye-tracking company Lumen Research (and a former agency-side account planner). He spoke to Nathan Heller of The New …
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Need to Improve Your Mood? Drive the New IONIQ 5 N from Hyundai
To launch Hyundai’s all-electric, high-performance IONIQ 5 N, Hyundai Motor Europe and Innocean set a unique challenge for the car: beat the winter blues in one of Europe’s darkest cities. IONIQ 5 N is not a traditional car; it’s an everyday sportscar with racetrack capabilities and features such as N Drift Optimizer and N Grin Boost, which allow for peak performance and driving pleasure at the touch of a …
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Is LLMO the New SEO?
Two Harvard professors looked into the future of AI's impact on the world wide web and what they saw wasn't pretty. Judith Donath, a fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, and Bruce Schneier, a fellow and lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School published their projections in The Atlantic. Here's a short passage from "It's the End of the Web As We Know It," SEO will morph into LLMO: …
Did Stephanie McCarty Just Say What Other CMOs Are Thinking?
Stephanie McCarty is chief marketing and communications officer at Taylor Morrison Homes, a home builder based in Scottsdale, Arizona. McCarty is top of mind for a lot of agency leaders at the moment, because she used her LinkedIn page to speak some hard truths about the agency business. When her LinkedIn post went viral, Adweek commissioned an article. In the Adweek article, McCarty makes it clear that "the whole …
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The Loss of Freedom Is Never Obvious at First
"Trust the Free Press. Not Pretty Words." That's the message from Reporters Without Borders Germany. To commemorate the group's 30th anniversary, Innocean Berlin in collaboration with Stink Films Berlin produced a series of moving films, plus posters, digital out-of-home, and social media. The three films in the campaign are powerful cinematic expressions of what's at stake today. It takes truth to grow freedom, …
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Flashback Friday: Lone Star Beer
This vintage TV campaign from Lone Star Beer reminds me that computer generated images (CGI) have been in use by advertisers for years. It reminds me of popular TV shows from that time. The Dick Van Dyke Show and Bewitched, in particular. It reminds me that making outrageous product claims has a long tradition. For example, "Something wonderful happens when you pour a cold Lone Star." It's just a beer, but a beer …
Medium Separates from the AI Pack
Medium is taking a stand on AI-generated writing. An email from Medium arrived in my inbox a few days ago describing changes that are coming to the publishing platform. Beginning May 1, 2024, stories with AI-generated writing (disclosed as such or not) are not allowed to be paywalled as part of Medium's Partner Program. Accounts that have fully AI-generated writing behind the paywall may have those stories …












