I'm an unabashed Apple fan and Mac user, but this column on Wired News by Leander Kahney is quite an interesting read, talking about Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, their success, their charitable works, and their images. Gates is the cutthroat capitalist. A genius maybe, but one more interested in maximizing profits than perfecting technology. He's the ultimate vengeful nerd. Ostracized at school, he gets the last laugh by …
When Blogs Are Little More Than Chatrooms
Flickr founder, Caterina Fake, defends Yahoo (her employer), while perfectly summing up the frustrations I too feel around various aspects* of an open system media. I've been watching all the blathering about Yahoo! giving up search dominance to Google, which, I might add, is bullshit. Quotes taken out of context by company executives do not an overarching business strategy make. This is exactly the kind of thing …
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Beer Ads Have To Play By Updated Rules
I'm so glad they've cleared this up. From Ad Age, although it's a subject that seems ripe for The Onion: It’s now officially OK to show people drinking and people flirting in beer ads. The Beer Institute, as part of its move toward industry-self regulation, is modifying its advertising code for the first time since 2003. The changes allow brewers to show drinking and “romantic interactions,” within limits, in …
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Throwing Down The Gauntlet On Creativity For Creativity’s Sake
Marc Babej has skills. Few people have ever interviewed David Ogilvy, Rosser Reeves and Bill Bernbach in one sitting, and no one has done so posthumously. Until now... Babej: What do you think of advertising that sells lifestyles or attitudes? Bill Bernbach: “The magic is in the product… No matter how skillful you are, you can’t invent a product advantage that doesn’t exist. And if you do, and it’s just a gimmick, …
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Thanks Nike, Buick, Am X, Accenture, Tag Heuer, etc.
Golf Today: Tiger Woods, 30, has agreed to buy a 10-acre oceanfront estate on Jupiter Island, Florida, for 38 million dollars. Woods, a 10-time major golf champion, led all US athletes with 89.4 million dollars in endorsements and prize money in 2004 and set a record sale price for a property in what Forbes magazine calls the nation's "Most Expensive ZIP Code." The 400 block of South Beach Road that Woods would own …
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What’s A Man To Do?
I wonder if the mucky mucks at Avon read Beauty Dish, "true underground adventures of an Avon lady." If they read it today they'll see that men have a hard time navigating Avon.com. My Turkish friend, Ulak, called me early this morning. "Birdie! I need more of that cologne!" His voice sounded husky, swollen with sleep. "The Avon. Please, Birdie. I need it now. The RPM cologne." I inhaled, watched my youngest son …
Apples In Albuquerque
Bart Cleveland, of McKee Wallwork Cleveland, sounds like a good boss. One of my daily goals is to take a walk around the agency and talk to everyone. I really just want to observe how they’re feeling. I want to encourage an excitement within each of them to do something great. Going from good to great is like growing apples, you have to prune and fertilize and water and wait. The waiting part is really hard for me. …
Dallas Secedes From Bible Belt
Brandweek: The Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau wants to get the word out that the Texas city welcomes everyone unconditionally. The bureau's new Web site launched this week, glbtdallas.com, features content for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender travelers including GLBT TAG- (Travel Alternatives Group) Approved hotels—now standing at 16 properties—and other gay-friendly restaurants, art museums and cultural …
AOL Added To List Of Heathens
Adfreak's Tim Nudd points to AOL's new instant messaging campaign, which makes use of the phrase, I AM. Clever, right? Maybe. But it's none too appealing to the devout, who listen to the thunder shout, "I AM!" World Net Daily: AOL customer, Ian Millar wonders if any of AOL's marketing and planning directors ever went to Christian Sunday school or attended Jewish services. He points out to AOL executives that "I AM" …
Bay Area Blogerati
Average humans who start a blog load the software to their server, or if that's too complicated they sign up for one of the hosted services. Then they commence posting. And that about wraps up the startup. the Trotts Nick Denton and his Gawker crew are an entriely different beast. When they launch a new media prop, it's drinks for everyone. Everyone that's anyone, that is. …
