What Can a Trip to China Teach Twitter’s CEO?


Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo is visiting China this week to learn about the local tech scene. And there’s a lot to study up on, since every day brings new partnerships, experiments and competition in the sector.

While investors worry about Twitter’s lost momentum and Facebook’s flagging appeal for younger teenagers, these are exciting times in China, which has 618 million internet users and potential for more. Less than half the country is online.

A few big Chinese players, especially the smartphone-savvy ones, have overcome their copycat roots and are pioneering innovations in payments, online finance and mobile commerce.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Mike McAvoy, President of The Onion, on His Most Successful Campaign So Far

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The Onion.com, known for its deadpan humor and mock-news network, has been expanding beyond its namesake site. Onion Inc. now boasts The A.V. Club, its entertainment-based sister site and Onion Labs, its advertising/marketing layer.

Onion Labs has created campaigns for everyone from Microsoft to Ford to Home Depot. Mike McAvoy, president of The Onion, recently talked with Mediabistro about this new branch of the company. McAvoy says: “It became our pitch really as a business [to] evolve with the whole native-advertising movement, as well as advertisers’ decision to change how they tried to reach millennials.” McAvoy talks about the most successful campaign they’d had so far:

I think we’ve had quite a few that have been good and have gotten good plays. We haven’t had the Old Spice viral campaign just yet, you know, where we’ve gotten 100 million [hits]. But we’ll let you know when we do. I think our most successful piece, our most viewed piece was [an] April Fool’s joke for YouTube [last year about the social-media site selecting the best video on YouTube], which has been seen by [over 11 million people]. We do a lot of work that is behind the scenes, white label or work for hire, where we’re creating content for a brand and the audience, or the world, doesn’t know it.

To hear more from McAvoy, including how he deals with native ads on his own site, read: So What Do You Do, Mike McAvoy, President of The Onion?

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Star Sognid’oro: Don’t drink and drive


Film
Star

The new Camomille Sognid’oro spot provides the viewer with a delightful story narrated in a way that can be said to be truly serene and peaceful. Warm evening lighting and a lullaby from a music box cradle the viewer as the camera reveals a tipped-over house plant, a twitching toy robot lying on the floor and an overturned car with the wheels still turning. And our little hero fast asleep on a rug. The camera continues to reveal product and claim “Don’t drink and drive”. Directed by Igor Borghi and produced by Filmgood, the single-take spot is clearly not a road safety PSA but an encoragement to enjoy the relaxing properties of Camomille Sognid’oro, the natural way to prepare for relaxation at the end of the day, for business executives as well as for a child who has just finished playing with his toy car.

Advertising Agency:DLV BBDO, Milan, Italy
Executive Creative Director:Stefania Siani, Federico Pepe
Creative Director:Andrea Jaccarino, Emanuele Viora
Art Director:Andrea Jaccarino, Federico Pepe
Copy:Emanuele Viora
Account:Ilaria Castiglioni
Production Company:FILMGOOD
Executive Producer:Emanuela Cavazzini
Producer:STEFANO RENOLFI
Director:Igor Borghi

BBDO Nabs CVS Biz

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You’ve heard it, we’re sure, but just a week after taking on Wells Fargo, BBDO has been appointed as the creative lead on pharma chain, CVS. Here’s a statement from CVS Caremark CMO, Rob Price. “As we look ahead to exciting challenges for CVS Caremark as a leader in a quickly evolving health care marketplace, we have the opportunity to amplify our purpose of helping people on their path to better health.  BBDO is well-positioned to partner with us in this journey and bring our message to life with all stakeholders.” BBDO has won out following a new creative agency of record for its enterprise and retail businesses, “concluding a national search that began in January and included a number of outstanding agencies.”

The incumbent on the CVS account, in case you were wondering, was Arnold.

 

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Branding Behind Bars: Check Out These Ads Made by Federal Prison Inmates

There's an ad blog called Creative Criminals, but here's the real thing—federal prison inmates who are trying their hand at copywriting and art directing thanks to a program called Concepting With Convicts, launched by two interns at DigitasLBi in San Francisco.

Ben Pfutzenreuter and Pat Davis used prison pen-pal websites to contact the inmates and get them involved in the program. The inmates provide either the copywriting or the art direction on each ad. "We realized that if we could contact convicts themselves, maybe we could also show them that their creative talents can translate into a real career on the outside," Davis tells PSFK.

On the website, Pfutzenreuter and Davis say of the initiative: "We hope it proves two things: that creativity can be a career, and that good ideas can come from anywhere."

Check out the whole project at con-cepting.com.


    



29 Delicious DudeFoods Dishes – From Conically Reshaped Sandwiches to Pasta Bacon Taco Hybrids (TOPLIST)

(TrendHunter.com) The motto ‘go hard or go home’ rings true when it comes to these DudeFoods dishes. It takes culinary experimentations to the next level. With the slew of cooking shows on television…

Administration Plays to Young in Health Push

The Obama administration is taking its mission to radio shows, churches and YouTube to urge people to buy health insurance ahead of the March 31 deadline.

    



100 Innovative Shoe Designs – From 3D-Printed High Tops to Self-Healing Living Sneakers (TOPLIST)

(TrendHunter.com) Innovative shoe designs are constantly emerging, even when you think that everything that could be done with shoes has been done. One of the most impressive technologies when it comes to shoemaking…

Bacardi Gives New Life to ‘Good Spirited’ Barrels

Bacardi has launched “Good Spirited: Building a Sustainable Future,” described as an “environmental initiative for sourcing, packaging and operational efficiencies across the entire Bacardi family of premium spirits brands.” The new initiative builds on existing programs and efficiencies in an attempt to “reduce water and energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.”

One aspect of the in-house campaign, highlighted in the above online video, is recycling of oak barrels used for aging Bacardi rum. Bacardi ages their rum in American white oak barrels, in some cases for many years, to instill their product with “richness, aroma and smoothness.” Usually these barrels are used continuously for about 20 years or so until they are retired. But even at this point, they haven’t become useless. At the Bacardi Corporation in Puerto Rico, “old barrels are ground into woodchips that are then spread as mulch for landscaping.” This commendable recycling effort helps beautify Bacardi’s 127-acre campus, while also supplying employees with nutrient rich mulch for their own lawns and gardens. “If we didn’t recycle, our barrels would eventually go to a landfill, which is not the best option for a small island like Puerto Rico,” explains Lissette Sepulveda, environmental health & safety coordinator for Bacardi Corp.

The “Good Spirited” campaign is built around specific goals in three areas: responsible sourcing, global packaging, and operational efficiencies. Bacardi pledges to source “all raw materials and packaging from sustainably sourced, renewable or recycled materials while maintaining or enhancing the economic status of growers and suppliers,” to “use eco-design to craft sustainability into its brand packaging and point-of-sale materials,” and has pledged to reduce water use and greenhouse gas emissions — with a “2017 goal to cut water use by 55 percent and GHG emissions by 50 percent.” To learn more about Bacardi’s “Good Spirited” campaign, head on over the the campaign website and check out the video above for more on their barrel recycling efforts.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Friendship Between a Young Girl and a Dog

Rebecca Leimbach a photographiée la belle relation entre sa petite fille et son bouledogue anglais. La petite fille a fait de son chien un véritable compagnon de jeux, il accompagne toutes ces activités, le diner, la toilette, les sessions de déguisements etc. Un duo inséparable et émouvant à découvrir.

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Veikkaus Finnish Lottery: Dreaming can change your life

Advertising Agency: TBWA, Helsinki, Finland
Art Director: Jenni Zetterberg
Copywriter: Laura Hukkanen
Director: Jalmari Helander
DOP: Kjell Lagerroos
Production Company: Mjölk
Post Production: James Post
Additional credits: Micke Nordman, Steve Brown, Milla Leisti
Published: May 2013

Aldeia Nissi: Too late, 3

For 93% of Angolan orphans it’s too late. Adopt an older child.

Advertising Agency: Revolution Brasil
Director: Vitor Barros
Executive Creative Director: Emerson Braga
Creative Director: Edson Rosa
Art Director: João Sousa
Copywriter: Luisa Chequer
Producers: Clarissa Matos, Leila Santos
Photographer: Diego Freire

Aldeia Nissi: Too late, 2

For 93% of Angolan orphans it’s too late. Adopt an older child.

Advertising Agency: Revolution Brasil
Director: Vitor Barros
Executive Creative Director: Emerson Braga
Creative Director: Edson Rosa
Art Director: João Sousa
Copywriter: Luisa Chequer
Producers: Clarissa Matos, Leila Santos
Photographer: Diego Freire

Aldeia Nissi: Too late, 1

For 93% of Angolan orphans it’s too late. Adopt an older child.

Advertising Agency: Revolution Brasil
Director: Vitor Barros
Executive Creative Director: Emerson Braga
Creative Director: Edson Rosa
Art Director: João Sousa
Copywriter: Luisa Chequer
Producers: Clarissa Matos, Leila Santos
Photographer: Diego Freire

CVS Names BBDO Creative Agency of Record


Drugstore giant CVS Caremark has named BBDO its creative agency of record after a review that began in early January.

“As we look ahead to exciting challenges for CVS Caremark as a leader in a quickly evolving health care marketplace, we have the opportunity to amplify our purpose of helping people on their path to better health,” said Rob Price, chief marketing officer, CVS/pharmacy, in a statement. “BBDO is well-positioned to partner with us in this journey and bring our message to life with all stakeholders.”

The company spent $76.7 million on measured media in 2013, according to Kantar Media.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

How we’re adapting to The Guardian’s sudden global growth

As the global media landscape continues to change, David Pemsel, deputy chief executive at Guardian News & Media, gives his take on how to grow a global audience.

KFC: Big Boss

Advertising Agency: Grip Ltd., Toronto, Canada
Agency Producer: Katherina Villa
Senior Copywriter: Jeff Collins
Art Director: Anton Ratinsky
Director: Matt Pittroff
Production Company: Code Film Inc.
Published: March 2014

Op-Ed: Confessions From a SX Virgin

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We will conclude any and all SXSWi 2014 coverage with this final installment from Randall Stone, director of experience innovation at NYC-based brand strategy/design shop, Lippincott. Here’s yet another view from the grounds at the event in case you missed out on the affair. Take it away, sir.

Wow. “South By”, as I quickly learned to refer to it as, was a true experience. And, why shouldn’t it be? It combines intelligence and brilliance with casual unsophistication. It is a dynamic event unlike any other – an intellectual party of sorts – most definitely not a conference, yet way more substantive than drinks with strangers. It uniquely combines relevant and just plain interesting insights, the Austin backdrop and thousands of people who care about what you do.

You don’t “do” SX. It’s too big, too sprawling, too diverse. You experience it. You have to come to Austin, let go, and hand yourself over to friendly people with whom you enjoy talking. You can’t attend. You have to participate. And, isn’t that what any great experience is? A two way encounter of surprise and delight. Our world is not siloed or linear. We like liked-minded people, but none of us are exactly alike.

Despite running on empty, you keep running. And, why not? Inspiring sessions from the most unlikely sources keep you stimulated, unique brand experiences keep you on your toes, food trucks keep you satiated, Lone Star keeps you hydrated and the parties and networking keep you social and awake. At SX, be prepared to be entertained to the point of feeling guilty and to embrace a spirit of sharing, networking and learning unlike any other.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Pink Caravan: Feel for the signs

Advertising Agency: JWT, Dubai, UAE
Published: October 2013

KFC: Wish bucket

Advertising Agency: Blink, Mumbai, India
Creative Director: Dooj Ramchandani
Art Director: Yogesh Shirke
Director: Joe John