Hasta La Creative!

Maybe you’ve been wondering, “Has Mad Men infiltrated every aspect of modern life?” Well, wonder no more. Today’s episode of Jeopardy will feature a category devoted to AMC’s hit show. If you can’t catch that, there’s an entire Mad Men-themed Jeopardy game online, with categories like “Ad slogans,” “1962” and “When sexism was sexy.” (Before you get too interested, that last one isn’t real.) So, which promotional frontiers still await Mad Men‘s inescapable clutches? It seems they won’t be happy until people are walking around in Sterling Cooper trucker hats. But the odds of that are … pretty good, actually.

—Posted by David Griner

Fox Business Network has been attacking CNBC’s Mad Money host Jim Cramer for a while now. New ads take aim at his “irresponsible, sloppy commentary and wildly inaccurate predictions.” CNBC has struck back, possibly while taking brandy and cigars in the lounge, calling the ads “a predictably desperate attempt by a completely irrelevant network with ratings so pathetically small they refuse to make them public.” Nice comeback! Not that any of this sententious drabble actually matters. The economy is bobbing in and out of the tank on an hourly basis no matter whose idle speculation gets better ratings. But we’re glad the pundits are keeping themselves occupied. We’ve seen what happens when they get angry and turn on us.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Wiser’s Canadian Whisky is the drink of choice for The Wiserhood, a self-proclaimed Society of Uncompromising Men.

LONDON – B&Q is reintroducing store staff as the stars of its ads in a new TV and print campaign by JWT.

LONDON – Sir Martin Sorrrell’s WPP Group has acquired a 33% stake in the Smollan Group, a South Africa-based international field marketing agency.

LONDON – Facebook’s founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is planning a possible move into the digital music business following the launch of News Corp’s MySpace Music last month, according to reports.

Because we haven’t heard enough from Barack Obama yet, he might be sacrificing some of the MLB vote by delaying Game 6 of the World Series by 15 minutes (assuming the Series gets that far) to remind Americans how awesome he is. Possibly peeved that his beloved White Sox got bumped by the Rays, Obama is placing a lengthy ad on all four major networks on Oct. 29, the scheduled date for Game 6, in an example of what’s called “roadblock” coverage, which is a delightfully apropos term for something that’s annoying regardless of whether it’s a good idea or not. Plus, McCain’s the one shedding votes, so it really should be him butting into everyone’s fun for his own benefit. If nothing else, unopposed airtime would give McCain a chance to show America more of his goofy old-man faces.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

LONDON – The Financial Times is set to launch a new advertising campaign tailored to businesses trying to manage the global economic downturn.

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Advertising Agency: de pasquale, Brisbane, Australia
Creative Director: Lars Vester
Art Director: Daniele Milazzo
Copywriter: Jake McLennan
Illustrator: Ebony Truscott
Published: August 2008

LONDON – ITV and Channel 4 will be joining the BBC in launching HD channels on Freeview next year, after a competitive tender process to Ofcom.