Hasta La Creative!

LONDON – German market research firm Gfk nows says there is no certainty that it will launch a bid to rival WPP Group for TNS.

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — ConAgra has already established a stable of iconic brands — but it has also let them languish. Dave Linne, who took over as senior VP-advertising, global market strategy, said his job will be to make them more top of mind, with advertising that reinvigorates the likes of Pam cooking spray, Reddi-Wip, Egg Beaters, Chef Boyardee, Hunt's tomato products and Orville Redenbacher.

So in reaction to that stupid move Boing Boing pulled deleting content published on the site by Violet Blue, Playboy thought they’d cash in on the media frenzy by hosting a hottest blogger contest including, of course, Violet Blue herself and Boing Boing’s Xeni Jardin among others.

LONDON – Tim Collison, the former EMEA marketing partner at Mediaedge:cia, has joined Initiative in the new role of director of worldwide marketing communications.

LONDON – Mobyko, the online back-up service for mobile phone address books, has become the official mobile backup partner for lastminute.com.

For 16 years, Wal-Mart used a star in its logo to separate the Wal from the Mart. Now, it renders its name as a single word with an asterisk at the end that reminds me of the “asshole” symbol Kurt Vonnegut drew in some of his books. He was a great writer. An asterisk usually denotes an explanatory notation, but the Wal-Mart (Walmart?) version is followed by nothing but white space. At the very least, the retailer could have added a note further down to explain what happened to its Smiley Face icon that disappeared last year. I think I saw him working at Denny’s last weekend. Read more reactions to the new logo over at Ad Goodness.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

With this anti-binge-drinking commercial, DrinkWise Australia has found a pretty cool way to dramatize the campaign’s tagline: “Kids absorb your drinking.” But as with any campaign like this, the question remains: What exactly constitutes binge drinking? And how, specifically, does one go about drinking “responsibly”? The DrinkWise Web site has some ideas, warning parents of children aged 7-12 that “laughing about drunken behaviour in yourself or others” sends the wrong message. So, have a good time, but please draw the line at laughter. The guys in the commercial should be worried not only about their drinking but also about their facial hair. That mustache at the beginning was not grown sober. Read more about the campaign here.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

The Republican National Committee has dropped $3.4 million to blast Barack Obama’s energy policy on television in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Brad Todd, with the firm OnMessage Inc., created the spot and said it would air through next week.

Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan slapped back, saying McCain promises to “continue the Bush approach of trying to drill our way out of our energy crisis.” Obama, he said, is offering “historic investment in alternative energy development.”

[via Los Angeles Times]

Another day, another Denny’s initiative that mixes audacity and lack of creativity in a sauce as thick and gooey as any food metaphor I could cook up. This time, Denny’s has launched B-FST 2G0 (that’s youngster-friendly text-speak for “breakfast to go”), featuring the “Denny’s Dome,” a contraption designed to keep take-out food fresh. “Breakfasts that wilt on the drive home, no more!” crows the release. This would appear to be an effort to get some promotional mileage out of … plastic packaging. Oh, Arby’s, why didn’t you think of it first? This supports my theory that Denny’s will try any strategy in the hope that something gains traction: rock ’n roll campaigns, presidential look-alike contests, domed containers—it’s all good! But it does beg a question: How was Denny’s packaging its take-out food previously? Was it spooning scrambled eggs and ladling syrup directly into customers’ hands?

—Posted by David Gianatasio

LONDON – UKTV has named its new entertainment channel Watch.