Hasta La Creative!

LONDON – A new standard is recommending draconian rules for the production of direct marketing campaigns to reduce their environmental impact

You would think there would be a remote sense of anticipation about the upcoming Olympic Games. I've had more anticipation over what I'm having for lunch.

No matter where you stand on Ross, you have to admit he’s memorable. The star of perhaps the most noteworthy of the 20-odd sites Anomaly recently rolled out for Converse really puts his heart into KissingWithRoss.com. Not only does Ross step right into his task, but he does so with alarming gusto. For a really long time. The site could be a new Subservient Chicken or even a Rickroll alternative. It’s gotten enough buzz that VH1’s Best Week Ever featured Ross on its blog last week, then followed up on Tuesday with its own “educational” “how not to kiss” video. Anomaly has cobbled together a response of Ross “kissing back” ­with icing. Leaving aside the questionable aesthetic value and whether it’s going to move Chucks, it’s impressive for an agency to be nimble and react to the currents in social media. Bravo, Ross, even if you’ve given us all nightmares.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

LONDON – News International has confirmed the departure of News Group Newspapers media director Mark Chippendale and the promotion of senior staff, as exclusively revealed in Media Week yesterday, 1 July.

Philly’s doing this “single-stream recycling” thing to get its inhabitants to clean up. Single-stream recycling is when you take all recyclable goods and put them in one bin.

Digital agencies remain confident about their prospects in 2008, according to research firm E-consultancy.

Devo is suing McDonald’s over New Wave Nigel, an American Idol-branded Happy Meal toy who wears Devo’s signature stupid-looking hat. (Here’s an awesome outdoorsy pic of Nigel.) The hat, which is apparently called an “energy dome,” was designed, copyrighted and trademarked by Devo bassist Gerald Casale. According to Casale, “They didn’t ask us anything. Plus, we don’t like McDonald’s, and we don’t like American Idol, so we’re doubly offended.” Further complicating the matter, New Wave Nigel also sports an orange jumpsuit, safety glasses and plays a hilarious “Devo-esque” song. The other characters in the lineup include Disco Dave, Punky Pete, Country Clay, Rockin’ Riley, Hippie Harmony, Soulful Selma and Lil’ Hip Hop. I think Rockin’ Riley bears a remarkable resemblance to Pete Wentz, and Fallout Boy totally needs to get in on this lawsuit. Time to whip it to cartoon characters infringing on copyright! Read more at Adland and Consumerist.

—Posted by Rebecca Cullers

I don’t know why everyone insists on asking me of this ad is real. Can’t you just look at the shoddy production values, the misplaced “humor” and take an educated guess?

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LONDON – Nick Simmonds, whose career included spells at major agencies in the UK and the Netherlands, has died aged 47 in Amsterdam, where he was the managing director and co-managing partner of Modernista!

LONDON – ‘Big Brother’ is pulling back the viewers for Channel 4, after a dip in ratings, with 3.4m tuning in to see the housemates nominate last night, according to unofficial overnight figures, the BBC’s ‘Criminal Justice’ pulled in almost 5m in the primetime slot.