Hasta La Creative!

Former MediaCom CEO Jon Mandel keeps elaborating on his allegation last week that many U.S. media agencies take secret rebates from media sellers without telling their clients. (It’s an allegation that at least one major media-agency leader has denied and has even been soft-pedaled by the ANA, at whose conference Mr. Mandel spoke.) In an interview with TV Week’s Chuck Ross, Mr. Mandel said a lack of kickbacks from newspapers were perhaps one reason for that industry’s suffering:

Newspapers are probably the cleanest category. As someone who is not in the newspaper business argued, that’s probably part of the reason newspapers are dying. It’s not just a leadership issue.

He also said the problem started growing as employees who worked overseas, where rebates are often totally fine with clients, came to work U.S. positions:

Continue reading at AdAge.com

O pau de selfie é uma grande sensação dos últimos meses. Inclusivo, ele permite que seu braço continue aparecendo na foto, faz caberem mais amigos na imagem e ainda ajuda a pegar um pouco melhor a paisagem de fundo. No entanto, ainda que tenha tantas vantagens, os museus andam meio preocupados com o sucesso do gadget e os eventuais problemas que ele pode causar em suas dependências.

Alguns museus bastante conhecidos, como o Smithsonian, já proibiram o uso do equipamento, por receio de que o objeto viesse a machucar algum outro visitante ou até quebrar algum artefato do museu. Afinal, esticar um pau de selfie exige um tanto de habilidade para não bater com ele em nada nem em ninguém.

O Louvre e o Pompidou, na França, já estão solicitando aos visitantes que não estiquem seu pau de selfie dentro das suas dependências, ressaltando que fotos tradicionais e selfies continuam liberadas – só não vale fazer uso do selfie stick pelo local.

Nos EUA, o MOMA e o Met, em Nova Iorque, a Galeria Nacional de Arte de Washington, o Getty Center de Los Angeles, o Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Chicago e o Museu de Arte de Seattle também já proibiram o uso do pau de selfie. A maioria alega que trata-se de uma medida preventiva, para evitar qualquer dano acidental. É exatamente a mesma razão pela qual os museus costumam impedir que os visitantes carreguem guarda-chuvas ou tripés nas suas dependências.

Mas, cá entre nós, outro fator também pesa bastante – a aglomeração para uma selfie com o equipamento preocupa a segurança, e esticar vários centímetros de um bastão na frente dos outros visitantes pode ser também bastante incômodo.

Em todo caso, os selfies continuam liberados. Portanto, se você quiser fazer sua contribuição para o Instagram ‘Museum of Selfies’, fica tranquilo que não vai dar problema não (só não esquece de tirar o flash).

Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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Goodby Silverstein & Partners launched a campaign introducing Sweetos, the first sweet Cheetos snack in the brand’s 67 year history.

The campaign introduces the item by parodying a tech launch. In “Press Conference” a representative at a “Snack Developers Conference” introduces the “revolutionary” item by claiming “We’re not just changing Easter treats, we’re changing the universe.” Goodby Silverstein & Partners continues the snack item as tech joke in “No Features,” which highlights that Sweetos doesn’t have a music player, camera or voice recognition but rather is “Just delicious.” The agency changes up the approach for “Chocolate Bunny,” which takes aim at the Easter staple for having eyes that stare back at you, ears that can hear you eat it and “weird, little feet.”

The tech parody approach, done much earlier and better by IKEA, already feels like a contender for ad cliche of the year. It certainly doesn’t help that this follows so quickly on the heels of RPA’s “Launch” for Apartments.com featuring Jeff Goldblum as “Silicon Valley maverick” Brad Bellflower, but the idea was stale long before then (the aforementioned IKEA ad came out a year and a half ago and has seen a host of imitators since). As such, “Chocolate Bunny” works far better than the rest of the bunch and the delivery of its dry humor is actually pretty spot-on. Hopefully that ad signifies the direction Goodby Silverstein & Partners will take Sweetos’ advertising in the future.

When it comes to celebrating Mother’s Day, it turns out the British royal family is just as inept as everyone else.  

That, at least, is the joke at the heart of a new U.K. ad from cosmetics company The Body Shop. Impersonators playing Prince Charles; his wife, Camilla; his son Prince Harry; and Queen Elizabeth II’s famous Welsh Corgis all fumble their way, together, through the prep for Her Majesty’s big day.

That means mangling the wrapping on the presents and burning the toast, among other misfortunes—Prince Harry and the Union Jack make a joint cameo, but are least invested in the proceedings.

Created by agency Mr. President, it’s a silly, sweet idea that pokes gentle fun at the family (Charles doesn’t take off his double-breasted suit jacket for anything) and the holiday, while also essentially pushing two somewhat contrary arguments that end up meeting somewhere in the middle—the royals are just like any other family, and any other family can treat its mom like a royal.

In other words, don’t feel bad if you’re helpless in the kitchen when it’s time to bring your own mother breakfast in bed. Though it’s pretty safe to say that she—and the queen—would probably prefer the chefs at Buckingham Palace made it. 

Via ItsNiceThat.

Y&R NY’s new Chief Creative Officer Leslie Sims started at the agency this month. The ex-McCann executive creative director will now oversee creative for clients including Land Rover, Dell, Campbell Soup Co., Xerox, Special Olympics and Partnership for a Healthier America.

Though she’s handling all of this creative responsibility, it seems Ms. Sims could have pursued quite a few other professions. She shared a few of them with us for this edition of “Six Things.”

1. She could have been a (science) contender. Her ninth grade science fair project won third place in the state. She, falsely, claimed she’d trained sow — also known as roly-poly — bugs to consistently turn right in a maze using lights and temperature variations. “It was my first recognized creative writing piece,” she said. To be fair, these were pre-internet and, apparently, pre-fact-checking days. She realized she was out of her depth upon hearing about the guy who won the Westinghouse scholarship with a robotic arm that could detect chlorophyll in outer space.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Podcasts are joining the upfront marketplace, as NPR plans its first presentation to the ad community following the success of “Serial.”

NPR said it will host what it’s calling a podcast upfront for the NPR, WNYC and WBEZ brands during the last week in April, where it will present its plans.

There’s been a surge in interest among marketers for podcasts following the success of “Serial,” which investigates the 1999 murder of a Baltimore high school student.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

(TrendHunter.com) While big data and business go hand in hand, the applications of big data for health are also proving to be incredibly valuable. With the rise of wearable technology and activity trackers, there&#…

Photographe et artiste britannique, Ellie Davies a passé les sept dernières années à transformer les forêts du Royaume-Uni en œuvres artistiques captivantes et mystérieuses. Ses installations sont de véritables explorations de nos relations avec les paysages qui nous entourent.

“Estamos aqui para falar sobre o HOJE, na?o sobre o futuro”.

Infelizmente esse insight não é meu. É do Rui Piranda, VP de criação da FCB Brasil, que eu encontrei no lobby de um dos hotéis que recebe as palestras do evento. Meu primeiro insight do dia foi “Austin no SxSW e? igual a Praia Grande no Reveillon”. Pensei nisso enquanto a gente dava uma volta enorme pra chegar (atrasado) ao Centro de Convenções.

Mas isso é porque esse é o meu primeiro SxSW, e o Rui está aqui pelo quarto ano e já sabe se livrar dos erros de principiante. E então ele continuou:

Tudo que esta? sendo apresentado aqui comec?ou a ser planejado ha? um ano atra?s. Na?o e? mais o futuro, e? o presente. E? difici?limo se focar no presente.”

A gente conversou sobre isso em uma rápida reunião de pauta entre eu, o @cmerigo e a @junascimento, Diretora de Atendimento da AlmapBBDO, que também vai escrever sobre o SxSW aqui. Ela falou de uma das coisas mais típicas do evento: “FOMO o tempo todo!” (FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out, medo de perder o que está rolando).

Essa é outra coisa típica de calouro aqui, a sensação de que você está sempre no lugar errado. Aliás, enquanto eu escrevo isso aqui, eu (e o @cmerigo) estamos perdendo Como marketeiros podem aprender com campanhas políticas, que tínhamos programado pra ver, mas não deu. Isso porque eu estava com medo de perder a chance de escrever sobre a minha conversa com o Rui. FOMO o tempo todo.

//Imagem: Notable

Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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According to scientists based at Wuhan University in China, 83 percent of lights have gone out in Syria since the beginning of the conflict there. So, with the fourth anniversary coming up on March 15th, agency Don’t Panic teamed up with production partners UNIT9 for a new PSA entitled “Afraid of the Dark.”

The heartrending video opens on a Syrian boy reading with a flashlight at bedtime, with text revealing the year to be 2011. His father tells him it’s time for bed and reassures him not to worry about the loud noises outside. Flashing forward to present day, the boy uses the same flashlight to look for survivors in a bombed out building. The video ends with the message: “83 % of the lights have gone out across Syria. Help us turn them back on.”

“It is a literal truth that 83% of Syria’s lights have gone out since the start of the war, but the darkness that afflicts them has a metaphorical truth that goes deeper,” explained Richard Beer, creative director of Don’t Panic, in a statement. “We wanted to use this shocking statistic to tell the story of just how far Syria has fallen into darkness, in every conceivable way, despite UN resolutions and international outcry.”

The video is just art of an international campaign launched by #withSyria, a coalition of humanitarian and human rights organisations from around the world, including Oxfam, Amnesty International, International Rescue Committee, and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). #withSyria launched a global petition alongside the video, calling on world leaders to “Turn the lights back on in Syria.”

Credits:

Director: Greg&Jacob

Creative: Richard Beer

Exec Producer: Michelle Craig

Producers: Gabriele Lo Giudice & Nick Rowell

Production Manager: Eamonn hearns

1st Assistant Director: Emma Pounds

Director of Photograpy: Carl Burke

Location Manager: Ben hopkins

Focus Puller: Job Reineke

2nd Camera Assistant: Barney Batchelor

Grip: Peter Muncey

Art Director: Lee Wilkinson

Assistant Art Director: Johanna Gulcz

Assistant Art Director: Carl Walters

Gaffer: Johnny Franklin

Spark: Craig Palmer

Spark: Aaron Bartlett

Sound Recordist: Frank Barlow

Sound Design: Mark Adair

Editor: Jacob Proud

DIT: Will Walsh

Colourist: Simon Astbury

Costume Designer: Jessica Lawless

Hair & Make-up: Lolly Temple-Mills

Rigger: Kevin Sterling

Storyboards: Sarah Jones

Cast:

Khalid 13:  Issac Rodriguez-Mendes

Dad:  Sherif Eltayeb

Khalid 17:  Alexander Yousri

Girl:  Yasmin Abdou

Voices:

Khalid 13: Omar Eltayeb

Khalid 17: Sami Kamir

2nd Unit:

DOP: Jonathan IIes

Focus Puller: Chris Dodds

2nd Assistant Camera: Jayson hunte

Gaffer: George Edwards

Spark: Cade

DIT: Alex Burt