Hasta La Creative!

Memo to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Take a cue from the characters in those ’70s Britcoms you’ve run day and night for the past 20 years and keep a stiff upper lip! Quit whining, OK? Sure, Bush’s proposed budget cuts would halve your funding from $820 million to $420 million over the next two years. Maybe you could cut back on tote bags. Or Barney. Or Elmo. Hit up those law firms and private endowments that run ads—er, that sponsor your programming. And be glad you still get that nearly half-a-bil handout, because we in the private media sector sure don’t. And why am I never invited to appear on Greater Boston or Beat the Press? Whose kid do I have to be—Andy Rooney’s? That was a cheap shot, and I’m sorry. I miss Carmen Sandiego, that’s all. I play my Rockapella CD every day. (And please, disregard that headshot I e-mailed a while back. The Rogaine’s changed everything.)

—Posted by David Gianatasio

There’s a new metric in town.

How many times was the Super Bowl spot rewound?

According to The New York Times, in homes with the TiVo video recorder service the commercials got a higher audience than the game.

Todd Juenger, vice president and general manager for audience research and measurement at the New York office of TiVo, said, “There is rewinding and multiple viewing of the ads” on Super Bowl Sunday. It’s one of the few times it happens.”

TiVo’s list of most-watched spots was topped by one of two for E*Trade featuring a “talking” baby; in this spot, the infant spits up at the end of his spiel.

The E*Trade commercial, created by the Grey Global division of the WPP Group, was followed on the TiVo list by one featuring Justin Timberlake, for a music promotion co-sponsored by Pepsi-Cola and Amazon; a spot for Doritos created by a consumer for a contest last year; one for Coca-Cola Classic that spoofed the red-blue political divide; and a spot with Carmen Electra for Ice Breakers Ice Cubes gum.

The results “say something about the TiVo audience in terms of what works to get something rewound,” Mr. Juenger said, listing tactics like humor, celebrities and surprise punch lines.

The only hand-gun a kid should wear.
Ruckus. A nasty piece of work.

Advertising School: Miami Ad School Minneapolis, USA
Art Director: Richard W. Kluver
Copywriter: Bastian Fuhrmann
Instructor: Russ Starck

Ride it like you hate it.
Ruckus. A nasty piece of work.

Advertising School: Miami Ad School Minneapolis, USA
Art Director: Richard W. Kluver
Copywriter: Bastian Fuhrmann
Instructor: Russ Starck

LONDON – Dunning Eley Jones has revamped the look of Discovery Communications’ Animal Planet channel, to give it an edgier and more adult-focused feel for its relaunch.

Up the punx! … sutawney. Feb. 2 was the day of the annual epic showdown between Phil the groundhog and his shadow, and ad agency Red Tettemer and Pennsylvania’s tourism board documented it with Groundhog Duel. It’s quite an endearing look at one of our nation’s more ludicrous pastimes, and a slick Web site to boot. It’s just a shame that there wasn’t really, you know, a duel. Phil and his shadow rode to Punxsutawney on the same bus, did some weird mirroring routine that looked like the Hokie Pokie, and that was it—six more weeks of winter. Of course, they could have been conserving their energy for Feb. 5.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

LONDON – Sky is to offer hit Disney series Lost via its on-demand service Sky Anytime on PC on an ad-supported basis for the first time.

Your brand + artist = cred.

Absolut have been doing it for a long time and we posted about this back in April 07.

Levi’s latest effort with their Back Pocket Gallery is interesting. I would have liked to be able to purchase them as actual jeans.

It also got my thinking why don’t jean brands offer customizable back pockets. The jeans could be sold with no pockets and this is the last step in the products purchase. With jeans now running at a price tag of over $300 you can hardly say price is an issue.

Mini do this with the roof of your mini, along with hundreds of other tiny tweaks and it really make you feel like the Mini you own is unique.

LONDON – Manchester-based indie rock band International One have moved a step closer to securing $1m worth of funding, after making it through to the final round of homemade music video portal Clipstar’s best band category.

LONDON – Wonderbra is using Pancake Day as the hook for a one-off tactical campaign appearing on food website DeliaOnline today.