Hasta La Creative!

Consultancy ICF is set to acquire Minneapolis-based agency group Olson, the companies said Tuesday.

The deal is expected to close in mid-November, subject to regulatory approval and other closing conditions, they said.

Olson is one of the larger independent digital agencies in North America, with over 500 staffers and $93.5 million in U.S. revenue in 2013, according to the Ad Age DataCenter.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Laughlin Constable is launching its first campaign for BOD Man, Parfum de Coeur’s (PDC) popular fragrance brand for men with three new 15-second broadcast spots produced in-house.

In the ads, Laughlin Constable channels the hypersexualized approach Axe took years ago, with two of the three spots dialing up well past innuendo. In “Walk of Shame,” for example, a man walks out of an apartment complex with disheveled hair. A voiceover shares “BOD Man Tip #44?: “Never turn down the impossibly rare opportunity to double-down and turn the walk of shame into the walk of game,” as a young redheaded woman sniffs the dude and smiles at him, a sign that she’s clearly down. It’s hard to tell over the course of the ad’s 15 seconds if this is a parody of over-the-top men’s fragrance advertising or just over-the-top men’s fragrance advertising.

The other spots in the campaign take a similar tone, with one emphasizing that “What you spray on in the morning could very well determine what you take off at night,” which obviously translates to “This product will get you laid” to horny adolescent males. A third spot takes a slightly more toned-down approach, but doesn’t completely shy away from the suggestiveness. The broadcast spots will run nationally on ESPN starting today, and feature a live integration on SportsCenter. They will be supported by a large digital effort, as the campaign actually marks “a shift of more than half of the brand’s media spend into digital,” as well as social media and OOH components. (more…)

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Throughout an earnings call to discuss Omnicom’s third-quarter results on Tuesday, nearly every analyst asked about the growth potential for so-called programmatic ad buying and its impact on the agency giant, reflecting the broader thirst to understand a new way of doing business and getting paid in the advertising services industry.

Omnicom executives expressed excitement about the fast-growing and lucrative tech-driven buying process, but also tried to tamp down expectations for its immediate impact.

“While this area is relatively new and presents good opportunity for growth, and we are comfortable with our position and investment, it’s still small today,” CEO John Wren said during the call.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

BBH London has released a new spot for KFC in the UK entitled “Fans.”

In the 90-second spot, two brothers support rival footie clubs — Stirling Albion FC and Dunfermline FC — and each attends a match with one of their parents. Both diehard fans are quite serious about the match but only one team comes out on top. But in heartwarming yet predictable fashion, KFC brings the family back together, and soon the boys are bonding over the new Colonel’s Brownie Bucket. While it may not exactly be breaking new ground, it’s a cute spot and well-executed enough to not seem over-the-top. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Fred Savage will soon be the new voice of Honda. But he’s not exactly a voiceover specialist (that’s Daniel Stern you’re thinking of, Wonder Years fans). So, Honda agency RPA came up with a fun way to help him practice—by having Fred narrate your home videos first.

Anything you’ve got, feel free to throw at him. Babies, animals, vacations, weddings. Whatever you have documented on film, Fred wants to describe in his presumably dulcet tones. Just tweet your video with the hashtag #HondaPromo to get on the actor’s radar.

But are his tones dulcet? RPA says, actually, that Honda is hiring Savage because his voice stands out and doesn’t feel like a traditional car spokesperson. So, we’ll just have to see how that goes. It’s a more reasonable option, anyway, that the plea from someone on Twitter to “bring back Burgess Meredith.”

Fred Savage is the new voice of our ads & wants to practice. Tweet your video w/ #HondaPromo & he might narrate it. http://t.co/imXQLL1RNf

— Honda (@Honda) October 17, 2014