Hasta La Creative!

Multiple sources tell us this morning that McDonald’s has finally resolved its agency review after more than 4 months by consolidating its ad business with Omnicom. That means DDB will be creative agency of record on the account moving forward.

According to our sources, Leo Burnett got the word this morning that it would no longer be working on McD’s immediately before DDB received a call confirming the win at approximately 10:45.

The timing of the decision confirms reports we received last month stating that the client would notify the agencies involved at the very end of August/beginning of September.

Kantar Media’s data indicates that McDonald’s spent approximately $820 million on U.S. measured media in 2015. That number marks a slight decline from 2014’s $936 million total.

Representatives for McDonald’s, DDB and Leo Burnett have not yet responded to our requests for comment. This post will be updated throughout.

“Betty B. goes to my school. This is my school.”

In “Betty B.,” a PSA written, directed, shot and edited by Matt Bieler, a crisp young voice recounts her relationship with a girl from school. As she describes how Betty B. courted her trust, from saying hello to teaching her how to put lipstick on, we see flashes of the places and objects around which their friendship bloomed. 

“I like having a friend,” our protagonist muses, as she adds Betty B. on Facebook.

Halfway through the film, the narrative starts over. Same images, different relationship dynamics. See how it all plays out:

read more

In “Patient H.M.,” the journalist Luke Dittrich questions his grandfather’s role in an infamous case of a patient with permanent amnesia.

Category: Beyond Madison Avenue
Summary: BuzzFeed is going all-in on video.

Vice is openly talking about being a $50 billion company.

Bill Simmons has a new show on HBO.

These seemingly disparate media brands have a few things in common. They are primarily digital entities. They have enormous scale and an attractive audience.

IBM is launching new TV ads this week during the U.S. Open, showing how artificial intelligence and cloud-based computing are technologies that are here today and transforming businesses.

The tech giant is rolling out six new ads under two separate campaigns: “Watson in the World” for its artificial intelligence, or cognitive computing technology; and “IBM Cloud” for its cloud platform systems.

“We want to position IBM as a cognitive solutions and cloud platform company, and show examples of how IBM is working with real clients today,” said Ann Rubin, VP-branded content and global creative at IBM.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

IBM is launching new TV ads this week during the U.S. Open, showing how artificial intelligence and cloud-based computing are technologies that are here today and transforming businesses.

The tech giant is rolling out six new ads under two separate campaigns: “Watson in the World” for its artificial intelligence, or cognitive computing technology; and “IBM Cloud” for its cloud platform systems.

“We want to position IBM as a cognitive solutions and cloud platform company, and show examples of how IBM is working with real clients today,” said Ann Rubin, VP-branded content and global creative at IBM.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Earlier this year, an ad agency in Japan brought on a robot to work as its new creative director. Then in June, said robot came up with its very first ad, which attempts to sell breath mints by telling the tale of a shaggy dog who learns how to fly as glittering, minty-fresh dog breath spews from his mouth. While the “hiring” has attracted mockery, the situation is also eerily prescient — the creative director role is growing more indebted to technology every day. I predict that in ten years, we’ll still have people who technically have the creative director title, but the job itself will look entirely different.

Today, most ad agencies are still stuck five to ten years in the past when it comes to the creative director role. Creative directors continue to do things the way they’ve always done them: mapping the brand’s identity, putting together Photoshop comps that demonstrate a couple of different variations on an ad, and then dusting off their hands.

But that’s simply not enough for today’s marketing reality, and it certainly won’t be enough in five to ten years. Both the skillset necessary for the job and the conceptual ground covered by the job are shifting, and fast.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Any parent who has ever heard the phone ring in the middle of the night will identify with Subaru’s commerical breaking tonight: it’s your terrified teen calling to say he or she wrecked the car.

The emotional new spot is one of two that the automaker is airing on cable and network TV to back its safety message, but the other is vastly different in tone. The second uses humor to make its point, showing a succession of kids — who are trying to walk off with potentially dangerous things like razors, sledgehammers, skis, chainsaws and ill-advised boyfriends — being told by parents, “You’re not taking that.” At the spot’s conclusion a teen asks to take the Subaru and is told yes.

The more serious commerical shows shaken teens telling their parents they are sorry they wrecked the car, greeted with relief by parents that their children are O.K.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Adbusters is proud to present the online premiere of The Boombox Collection: Boots Riley.

“The Boombox Collection” series is born out of a deep appreciation for the unsung pioneers of “working class” Hip Hop. Artists who have shaped our attitudes and perspectives of the world for nearly 20 years. Artists who have been steadfast in their choice not to rap about “money, power, and bitches”, and instead share their knowledge, wisdom, and life through themes that cut against the oppressive voice of the money-hungry, suit-and-tie controlled world of mainstream rap.

Boots Riley represents the everyman. He lives modestly, check to check, and will strike up a conversation with anybody. His presence reminiscent of a rock star, his music dressed in the code of the streets, but with a substance that can hold up against any textbook. Through his group, “The Coup”, he has taught his audience more about the roots of wealth inequality, the perils of capitalism, and the struggle of the working class than they’ve learned in most classes or books. His music crystallizes within many of us a core belief: that the greatest vote you have, especially in a capitalistic economy, is not at the ballot box, but where you chose to spend your dollar.

There’s not a better person to introduce “The Boombox Collection” with than Boots Riley: a radical, a revolutionary, and above all a master of his craft.

The film and series was created by Mohammad Gorjestani and Malcolm Pullinger of Even/Odd Films, you can view the full video here.

Forward written by Mohammad Gorjestani (@mogorjestani). Adbusters is pleased to be collaborating with the film’s creators on the online release of this project.

Production Co. : Even/Odd Films
Director: Mohammad Gorjestani
Executive Producers: Mohammad Gorjestani & Malcolm Pullinger
Editor: Malcolm Pullinger
Director of Photography: Michael Gioulakis
Sound Design and Mix: Max Hirtenstein
Associate Producer: Pedro Javier Hill

The post The Boombox Collection: Boots Riley (Video Premiere) appeared first on Adbusters | Journal of the mental environment.

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Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump have not allowed the press corps to travel with them on their campaign airplanes, suspending a tradition that had lasted more than 50 years.