According to The New York Times, the intertubes is a time machine that one giant marketer is riding back to the 1940s and '50s. The company that brought soap operas to radio, then television, Procter & Gamble, is trying the same strategy online with “Crescent Heights,” a new show intended to reach young viewers where they watch the most — their PCs and cellphones. The series, which is more sitcom than soap, focuses …
Life In The Ad Trenches
I like to follow a link and find something fresh there that looks and feels like a discovery. I clicked into such a world this morning, when I followed a link to the daily (ad) biz. The anonymous writer of this blog doesn't like New York people, the Yankees, Yankees fans or men with earrings, but he did move to Manhattan (mainly because neither Crispin nor Wieden would hire him). He writes funny posts about things …
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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How Stuff Makes Money
How Stuff Works, the "not yet profitable" web property owned by investor Carl Icahn and others, will be acquired by Discovery Communications for $250 million. The deal highlights how established media companies increasingly are expanding on the Web through targeted acquisitions instead of building their own sites, a strategy that largely has failed. "We're way behind in new media and digital," says Chief Executive …
Nike’s Investing In Experiential. Big Time.
“We’re not in the business of keeping the media companies alive, we’re in the business of connecting with consumers.” - Trevor Edwards, Nike’s corporate vice president for global brand and category management This is a great time to be in the marketing services business. The inverse is also true—it's not such a great time to be in the TV commericals-making business. Nike spent just 33 percent of its $678 million …
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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 …
Nice Lurk
It's time for yet another entry in the "If you're thinking it, someone's already doing it" category. I had this idea a while ago that I could conduct the operation of this blog from a coffeeshop around the corner from Wieden's Northwest Portland compound. It would be like a modern day sit in, minus the politics. I'd blog as I always do everyday, but I'd also remind our readers that I was in fact lurking. Well, …
Portrait of a Dream Client (Too Bad She’s Fictional)
Mad Men's Rachel Menken, as portrayed by Maggie Siff, exudes confidence, intelligence, taste and other attributes one might like to find in a business partner. This is how Siff describes her character to her alumnae magazine: "Rachel is intelligent and thoughtful, very direct — a truth-teller — and also very in touch with her sexuality. She is a powerful, attractive woman who is articulate in defending her right to …
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