Hasta La Creative!

LONDON – Regional publisher Newsquest has achieved a 21% rise across its network of websites and now reaches a unique user base of 5.16 million, according to ABC results for the period April to June 2008.

Grey Group satellite Grey West, SF announced recently that it acquired the regional BMW business, consolidating the automaker’s advertising into the WPP shop. It was previously divided among four agencies.

According to a Grey SF memo, Grey New York and Toronto played an integral part in bringing home the business. Grey NY’s ECD Tor Myhren, and President Steve Hardwick are mentioned as key players “who spearheaded (the) creative triumph and … mobilized all (the) resources to clinch the deal.”

The account, which is worth an estimated $80 million, does not include media. That aspect of the business is in review, and an agency is slated to be selected after the new year.

More: “Grey SF Cuts 12.5 Percent of Staff“

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media

To the average bear, turning 30 probably seems daunting. It’s the end of youth; time to turn in the bong and cheap beer and replace them with rolling papers and a martini shaker. And it’s no different for AdWeek, which was born back in ’78. Starting today, they celebrate their birth and the many, many agencies that have filled their pages with content through the years. Tear!

So to them we say, Congratulations; on making it this far. Here’s to 30 more years.

More: “AdWeek Gets Back to Business, Skips Election-related Coverage“

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LONDON – The Times is bringing back its ‘Books for Schools’ campaign after a four-year absence. The promotion previously ran from 1999 to 2004 and during that time more than six million books were given for free to British schools with 98% of primary and secondary schools registering with the scheme.

(TrendHunter.com) Here is one more story that proves the internet has far more unanticipated effects than anyone could ever imagine.

One of the latest solutions has been for the so-called “mentally ill”, who would once…

NBC has canceled My Own Worst Enemy, Christian Slater’s product-placement-riddled TV series, proving once again that you can’t polish a turd. Abysmal ratings put NBC in fourth place for the hour—an unacceptable situation. Four episodes have shown, and at least five more will air as NBC honors its contract with General Motors, whose Camaro and Traverse brands were “integrated” into the show. I can understand how it seemed like a sure bet. Those little BMW films with Clive Owen were brilliant, and Christian Slater is a pretty big name for network TV. The brands even marginally fit with the plot of Slater as a secret agent who is also a loving father. You may recall that the Traverse is the whipped-man-mobile, and the Camero is … well, bitchin’. But the GM promos claiming that the cars were the real stars of the show, and the heavy PR campaign touting the partnership, removed any trace of integrated, seamless product placement. Despite the show’s fall, GM and NBC remain characteristically optimistic and open to new partnerships, so don’t be surprised if the suicidal robot gets its own talk show.

—Posted by Rebecca Cullers

LONDON – UBC Media, the specialist radio group, has announced group turnover fell 15% in the six months to 30 September, as the radio industry “endured one of the most difficult periods in its history”.

Cossette’s “Run” spot for Molson Dry is cinematic and memorable, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a great commercial. It mixes ideas from Apple’s epic “1984” (athletic chick smashing the image of Big Brother on a video screen) and American Gladiators (the rolling orb) with cliched Nike-style go-go enthusiasm and the visual elan of every big-budget sci-fi flick of the past 20 years. Actually, the ad looks spectacular, and I could forgive the borrowing if the payoff met my expectations. (I try to steal every other word in my AdFreak posts from David Sedaris. Even my first name—that’s his!) Unfortunately, Molson’s ultimate on-screen message is: “Become a party legend.” It’s a big anti-climax and doesn’t motivate me, though I suppose for those who chug the suds every Saturday night, that call to action will suffice. Via Ads of the World (because everybody borrows).

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Dan Rather’s lawsuit seems to have unearthed evidence of political influence in an internal CBS investigation.

(TrendHunter.com) Wildcat’s revolutionary Skindiver is a new single-point surface piercing jewelery. It can easily be placed in numerous locations on the body, allowing for an infinite number of creative designs wherever…