What’s the Most Viral Moment in Pop-Music History?


A couple months back when Ad Age's staff began working on our Music Issue, I started to obsess about the inextricable link between music and viral media. Think of a pop-cultural moment that's "gone viral," and chances are pretty good it's music-related. (Unless, of course, it's a cat video. Then again, Keyboard Cat was nothing without his Yamaha.)

Was it possible, I wondered, to pin down the most viral moment in music history?

I also wondered about what, exactly, constitutes historical virality. It's obviously easier in a post-YouTube/Facebook/Twitter world to quantify buzz. But then again, you might argue that in a pre-social world with way fewer entertainment options — and more of a tendency toward monoculture — what we collectively were all buzzing about routinely had a lot more scale (like when the series finale of "M*A*S*H" drew more than 100 million viewers).

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Watch the Weird Pro-Obamacare Video Starring Jennifer Hudson


If you thought the recent anti-Obamacare ads starring a creepy Uncle Sam were unfunny, just wait until you see the pro-Obamacare head-scratcher titled “Scandalous with Jennifer Hudson,” which went live on Funny or Die today. While the Uncle Sam videos were part of an effort by Generation Opportunity, a Virginia-based group trying to convince young people to opt out of the Affordable Care Act, “Scandalous” is a Funny or Die production inspired by Obama administration outreach to the creative community. Scroll down below the video for more context.

As the Los Angeles Times’ Maeve Reston reported earlier this month, Mike Farah, president of production at Funny or Die, is spearheading a volunteer effort at the comedy shop to use celebrities in humorous pro-Obamacare videos:

Farah’s drive stems from a series of White House meetings, culminating in a July session in the Roosevelt Room in which the president asked for help promoting the law from a conference table full of artists, entertainers and creative executives including Farah, Amy Poehler, Jason Derulo, Michael Cera and Jennifer Hudson.

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Skeletal Disney Photographs – ‘Zombie Studio’ Tells a Skeletal Cinderella Story in ‘Hora do Horror’ (GALLERY)

(TrendHunter.com) ‘Zombie Studio’ goes all out for Halloween and creates a graphic image closely related to the Cinderella story. A slipper is held up to a foot that is brutally wounded with tendons and…

Stevia’s ‘Breaking Bad’ Boost


For those of you who haven’t seen the “Breaking Bad” finale and don’t want spoilers… it’s probably too late. Last night’s episode put the spotlight on stevia, a sweetener that is fast growing in popularity, stirring talk is social media that was hard to avoid.

That said, spoilers follow below.

Truvia, the best-known stevia-based sweetener, also took to Twitter to acknowledge the buzz around the finale.

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AMC’s ‘Breaking Bad’ Finale Draws 10.3 Million Viewers


AMC’s “Breaking Bad” finale on Sunday was watched by 10.3 million viewers, apparently enough to top all other programming except “Sunday Night Football’ and beating its penultimate episode by nearly four million viewers, the network said Monday.

That’s a 255% jump over the finale of season four and a 56% increase from last week’s episode, which attracted 6.6 million viewers and was the show’s most-watched episode to date.

The episode also beat out the return of broadcast series like ABC’s “Revenge” and “Once Upon a Time,” which brought in 8 million and 8.5 million viewers, respectively, and CBS’ “The Mentalist,” which was watched by 9.7 million people.

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Do they fight in the same category? / L’originalité est un combat

boxing2010 boxing2012
THE ORIGINAL? 
Everlast Boxing Equipment – 2011
Source : Cannes Archive, MyMinicom
Agency : Euro RSCG Düsseldorf (Germany)
LESS ORIGINAL 
Astra Zeneca « Fight for life » – 2012
Source : The Global Awards Winner
Agency : Sentrix Health Communications (Italy)

Advertising Watchdog Concerned About Native Advertising


The National Advertising Division’s first official look into sponsored content determined that an article series running on Mashable earlier this year was appropriately identified, the group said Monday.

An NAD spokeswoman said the months-long examination into a campaign from Qualcomm for its Snapdragon processor chip was part of the group’s routine monitoring program. The NAD is the marketing industry’s self-regulatory body, backed by agencies and marketers.

The campaign had come to the NAD’s attention after Mashable removed the “sponsored by” label that ran with a 20-article series Snapdragon had sponsored. The removal is what prompted the NAD’s examination of the campaign, according to Laura Brett, staff attorney at NAD.

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Century 21 Sells Walter White’s House in the Only Worthy Brand Tie-In to the Breaking Bad Finale

Many brands tried to ride the Breaking Bad bandwagon for last night's series finale, with results that were generally clumsy or worse. The exception was Century 21's inspired listing of Walter White's Albuquerque home for sale on Craigslist. The house is "fit for a king," says the promotional copy, which had lots of fun little plot points worked into it. Don't get sucked in, though—it might actually be in worse condition than the listing would indicate.

The stunt was dreamed up by Mullen.

UPDATE: OK, this Monday-afternoon tweet from Truvia isn't bad. A little late, but then, it takes a while to get ricin jokes through the lawyers.

Full text of Century 21's Craigslist listing below.

3BR/2BA Albuquerque ranch is fit for a king. In-ground pool with lovely patio, perfect for grilling with family. Two-car garage for a Pontiac Aztek, Chrysler 300 or both. Water heater replaced in 2009. Secret crawl space great fun for kids. Near airport. Great local schools with dedicated teachers who take an interest in students. World-class local hospitals. Perfect for outdoorsmen, with first-rate area camping and RV spots. MOTIVATED SELLER. MUST BE OUT BY SUNDAY, 10:15 PM. MAKE AN OFFER TODAY.


    

Brands Come Together Through Logo Mashups

When the Tumblr community isn't misunderstanding social justice or letting alcoholic grad students explain themselves via TV-show GIFs, they're mashing things up. Logo Mashups, for instance, takes two somehow related brand logos and puts them together, which is funny when the two brands have little in common. The IHOP/Playboy pairing gave me the best/worst idea for a Hooters-style pancake house, but there's not much else to say about projects like these beyond "here are some logos." That's the problem with mashups; even the clever ones are just reminders of someone else's creative work.


    

Why Marketers Need to Reevaluate Radio, the World’s Most Popular Medium


Benjamin Palmer

Over the past few years, digital marketers have been so focused on display, better ad-tech and creating experiences on the ever-expanding list of social platforms that we’ve managed to largely ignore a traditional medium that’s becoming increasingly sophisticated right under our noses (well, our ears): radio.

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Shrinking List of Video Games Is Dominated by Blockbusters

As video game players’ tastes shift toward smartphones and tablets, more and more of the money spent on console games goes to a small number of blockbusters.

    



Campaign Spotlight: By the Light of the Silvery Spoon, Ads Propose Using Coffee as Creamer

A Maxwell House International Café campaign aims for a humorous, romantic effect.

    



Sobre essa exigência velada (mas obrigatória) da superficialidade

Alegar que a rotina existe por pura comodidade é fácil. Mas vê-la como parte de um processo para o aprimoramento da qualidade de um trabalho, uma visão ou até mesmo uma doutrina profissional, não. Sair da rotina – ou como dizem, “se reinventar” – todos os dias tornou-se exigência no curriculum vitae. E não parece nenhum absurdo. Afinal, as pessoas flexíveis tem maiores chances nesse mundo tão dinâmico e articulado.

Toffler (autor do livro “Future Shock”) afirmou:

“Os analfabetos do futuro não serão os que não sabem ler ou escrever. Mas os que se recusarem a aprender, aprender e aprender novamente.”

E segundo a dúzia de profissionais veteranos que vi sendo descartados de suas empresas nos últimos anos (por motivos aparentemente banais, como não saber usar tão bem determinada ferramenta), nos faz acreditar que ele acertou em cheio sobre a forma de reação deste novo mercado.

Sem percebemos o conhecimento se tornou um commodity. E as empresas já não buscam estagiários para o aprendizado e aperfeiçoamento. Ele tem que falar inglês, espanhol, além de dominar Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, After Effects, Premiere, Audition, ser pontual, pró-ativo, dinâmico, não-fumante, sociável, com nota fiscal, carro próprio e disponibilidade, se necessário, nos fins de semana.

Overclocking mental impede o compromisso de poder “não ter um compromisso”

E assim, assoviar chupando cana passou a ter mais valor do que a experiência e a especialização – palavra praticamente morta. Criando assim um verdadeiro picadeiro mercadológico, onde os mais jovens (que buscam estagiar para crescimento e aprendizado, ao invés de acumular trabalhos de um veterano, ganhando pouco) não possuem as exigências “mínimas” das vagas, enquanto os mais calejados “ganham demais” e “são muito viciados na metodologia de trabalho”. “Não servem.”

Minha amiga (e editora do B9) Amanda de Almeida disse algo muito interessante sobre isso: “As empresas tem medo de investir na formação de um profissional e, finalizando o estágio, ele mudar de emprego. Parece que o estagiário passa a dever a própria alma depois de ter ganhado uma oportunidade. Como se a dedicação e vontade não contassem em nada.”

Muito se fala sobre “dobrar faturamento”, “triplicar prêmios”, “quadruplicar rentabilidade”. Mas “aumentar a satisfação dos clientes, com a qualidade da nossa entrega” parece utópico (ou conversa pra boi dormir). E sem romantismo, sabemos: números valem mais do que qualidade. “Future Shock” foi premonitório também sobre este novo ritmo das empresas e pessoas, inclusive alegando que essa sobrecarga de metas, conhecimento e informações nos deixaria mais desorientados, desligados e estressados. E vou além: superficiais, também.

Justamente por esse overclocking mental ser tão alto, muitos anseiam por aquele momento de “não pensamento” em algum minuto da semana. E pelo compromisso de poder “não ter um compromisso”.

Toda essa dissonância cria um ambiente instável, onde as pessoas não tem mais tempo para se dedicarem ao aprimoramento daquilo que fazem de melhor, mas vivem uma assimilação continua por algo novo. E, como já disse meu amigo Ronaldo Tavares (DM9) em um Braincast:

“… um oceano de conhecimento, com um palmo de profundidade”.

Brainstorm9Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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Phone Book Sculptures

Focus sur l’artiste italien Gemis Luciani qui compose des sculptures en partant d’éléments étonnants tels que les annuaires téléphoniques, différents magazines et flyers. Des créations originales à découvrir sous diverses formes avec une sélection d’images dans la suite de l’article.

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Virgin Media launches interactive online series

Virgin Media has launched an interactive online series called ‘On The Line’ through its Virgin Media Pioneers website.

Acclaimed Documentary Director of ‘Jiro Dreams of Sushi’ Turns Out Weird Spot for Papa Murphy’s

If you’ve already burned through Friday Night Lights, Parks and Recreation, New Girl, Bob’s Burgers, The League, Orange Is The New Black, and basically any other TV series worth watching on Netflix, set phasers to the documentary section for the 2011 film Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Directed by David Gelb, the movie is a portrait of 85-year-old world-renowned sushi master, Jiro Ono, who’s dedicated (literally) almost every waking moment of his life to perfecting his craft.

The film goes to great lengths to show how far Jiro strives to make the most perfect sushi in the world while simultaneously begging the questions, “What if your entire life was dedicated to only one pursuit? How would that affect your personal relationships? How do you then define success, if the concept of ‘success’ is even an ascertainable goal in your mind?” It’s as troubling a portrayal as it is fascinating, causing the viewer a level of introspection that few other films can achieve. It only made sense, then, for Gelb to follow-up his documentary on the world’s best sushi by filming its American equivalent, Papa Murphy’s Take and Bake pizza, for a new campaign from Wong, Doody, Crandall, Wiener.

It’s clear that Gelb employs some Jiro Dreams of Sushi-style camera work here. However, whereas his documentary focuses on getting to know the people behind the food, his spot has no time to do so. So, we instead get some creepy anonymous hands, kneading pizza dough in slow motion. We get some mom feet, with a mom arm shooting into frame from above to half-hug her child. Finally, we get some assorted family hands, each reaching out of nowhere to grab pizza slices (again, in slow-motion). All of this while creepy piano-plinking plays menacingly in the background.

While watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi, I was nervous that perhaps someone in Jiro’s immediately family would comment on his coldness, or his chef-before-father mentality. While watching this spot for Papa Murphy’s, I was worried that someone would be murdered. Credits after the jump.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

De Niro to Replace James Gandolfini in HBO Drama

Robert De Niro, the Oscar-winning actor, has agreed to take over the part played by Mr. Gandolfini in the pilot of “Criminal Justice.” Mr. Gandolfini died in June.

    



Google paid just £12m corporation tax in 2012

Google paid only £11.6 million UK corporation tax during 2012, despite revenues of £560 million during the period, according to accounts due to be published by Companies House this week.

Road Traffic Safety Department of Latvia: SMS from the Future

In order to prevent drunk driving during the biggest Latvian Midsummer celebration we created a simple tool: send a text to your drunken friend if he/she attempts to drive while intoxicated. By entering friend’s name and phone number the recipient got the SMS from his/her future self.

Advertising Agency: !MOOZ, Riga, Latvia
Creative Director: Eriks Stendzenieks
Copywriters: Eriks Stendzenieks, Janis Jonevs
Account Director: Didzis Paeglis
Published: June 2013

Coca-Cola’s Neil Bedwell Hones Real-Time Strategy for the World Cup


Oreo’s Twitter response to the Super Bowl blackout was brilliant, but it’s also indirectly responsible for a tidal wave of ill-conceived real-time content that’s come since.

“We know that positive, optimistic brand stories aren’t always welcome at that kind of time,” he said.

Mr. Bedwell joined Coca-Cola two years ago and leads digital for the “content excellence” group, which he describes as being akin to a creative agency inside the company. He previously worked at agencies, most recently as VP-strategy director at Isobar San Francisco. As a soccer fan since he was a child growing up in the U.K., he said the prospect of working on digital strategy for the World Cup was largely what drew him to Atlanta.

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