Hasta La Creative!

Hey Adbusters,

I struggle almost daily with the state of our species. Of course this is nothing new but it is singular to me and my existence on this rock. I often wonder, is it just me who carries this darkness inside and is so fucking fed up and pissed off with the human race… all that we have failed to do for another? I remind myself that I am not alone in this darkness—every time I receive my current issue of Adbusters I read these amazingly open and honest letters and articles that remind me there are many who struggle to be free, to be happy and to find peace. The power structure that has evolved through centuries and now is personified by the capitalist/corporate/authoritarian ignorant elite is truly horrid and abysmal. They have managed, in what really is a short period of time, to brainwash the masses via advertising, media, propaganda and the educational system etc. into forgetting ourselves.

I admit that I struggle with my own part in this tragic play: I have a great job that pays very well, I work in an industry that, although is known as “recycling,” is just as capitalistic and corporate as Nike. Everyday feels like the movie Groundhog Day—rinse and repeat. I SCREAM inside at myself to break the cycle—to wake up and tell everyone at the office, “Fuck it I’m done with this shit.”—I SCREAM inside at myself to do something! I’m so fucking tired. I look at my 21 year old punk/anti-establishment son and have hope but I look at the Machine and I am in awe of its control and power. I will continue on with my daily struggles, as we all do, and hope that I can become a braver and fiercer version of myself.

Thanks to all the passionate and aware readers of Adbusters and the crew that puts it all together.

— Jeff Todd, Victoria, B.C.

FROM

Adbusters #129

The Year of Living Dangerously Pt. 6

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The post My Personal Machine appeared first on Adbusters | Journal of the mental environment.

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Add Cadillac to the list of marketers using an ad in an attempt to bridge political divides. In a TV spot that will run during Sunday’s Academy Awards, the luxury auto brand seeks to dispel the notion that America is a nation divided — a tall task given the continuous acrimony on cable news shows and public demonstrations against the Donald Trump administration.

The ad, called “Carry,” begins by showing street protests before transitioning into scenes of humans helping other humans, like soldiers assisting a wounded compatriot and a man being airlifted from a flooded neighborhood. The General Motors brand then makes an attempt to remind viewers of its historical presence with old scenes of celebrities and their Caddys, including Muhammad Ali and Marilyn Monroe. Publicis, New York handled the ad.

The ad is “neither a political or social statement,” said Melody Lee, Cadillac’s director of brand marketing. “It is simply a celebration of the incredible American spirit, and of a country that when united, inspires, enables and achieves. As a brand that has served as the embodiment of this, the American Dream, Cadillac hopes to remind the country how great we can be if we carry each other forward.”

Continue reading at AdAge.com

-The Harmon Brothers are back with another spot for Chatbooks entitled “This Mom Gets Real About Why We Don’t Get in Photos.”

-LBB chats with recently-appointed Leo Burnett Chicago executive vice president, creative innovation Suzanne Michaels about “being a ‘benevolent provocateur’ and the tension that still surrounds data-driven creativity.”

-A bunch of tech companies are issuing statements in opposition to Trump’s decision to roll back transgender students’ bathroom rights in public schools. Your agency may do the same. Or not.

-Please don’t explain what “pop-under” ads are. We really don’t want to know.

-Riley Hayes of Minneapolis promoted Nikki Moretto to account director. She will lead Delta, Nuvectra and Health East.

-Toronto-based production company Partners Films added Daniel Sheppard to its directorial roster. 

-New York’s LightHouse Films signed director Romain Quirot (who has worked on a bunch of French movies) for commercial representation.

–Executive creative director Gary McCreadie is leaving TBWASydney to join M&C Saatchi Sydney.

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Hyatt consolidated its creative account across its brands by naming MullenLowe as its global AOR nearly a year ago.

Now the agency is launching a new campaign for Hyatt with a 30-second anthem ad entitled “For A World of Understanding.” Set to a version of the oft-covered Burt Bacharach/Hal David-penned “What The World Needs Now Is Love,”originally a hit for Jackie DeShannon in 1965, the spot opens with a woman wearing a hijab sitting across from a blond woman on a train. While the blond woman initially appears skeptical of the woman, if not silently judgmental, they smile warmly at each other when the woman hands her a scarf she dropped on the floor. Similar small moments of understanding are highlighted throughout the effort.

“For A World of Understanding” will make its broadcast debut during the Academy Awards on Sunday, which are guaranteed to have a political tinge this year. The spot manages to promote travel as a means of cultural understanding, a relatively noncontroversial statement that still sees the brand attempting to make a stand for multiculturalism. Adweek recently asked, “Will Brands Risk #Boycott With Socially Conscious Ads This Awards Season?“and Hyatt seems find a way straddle the line with a socially conscious stance that should be mild enough to avoid any major backlash.

The brand is supporting the message with a new initiative in partnership with Afar on a curated trip to Tokyo (from New York) and sponsorship of a charitable education program allowing youth from Chicago to experience a trip to Costa Rica.

(TrendHunter.com) Some would argue that one of the problems with existing technology products is that they look far too much like technology and subsequently somewhat foreign in the home. This notion is targeted with…

Baseado numa ideia de mostrar o Facebook como uma ferramenta que conecta as pessoas espalhadas ao redor do mundo, a rede social habilitou a inclusão de bandeiras na foto de perfil. Já tem algum tempo que a rede social permite aos usuários fazer personalizações temáticas no avatar, seja em datas comemorativas ou como homenagem à […]

> LEIA MAIS: Facebook habilita opção para incluir bandeiras na foto de perfil

The Chicago office of FCB has hired a big group of senior-and-above level creatives after winning some new business and expanding its relationships with other clients.

The most senior new employee is VP, group creative director Julia DeVos, who will oversee all of the office’s healthcare accounts including Allergan, Biovertiv and Janssen. The art director joins IPG after working as director of creative services at Chicago-based retirement living company Enlivant, but she previously held top creative roles at JWT and DDB, among others.

Jon Clarke will work under her as senior copywriter on Invega Trinza, an antipsychotic medication primarily used to treat mood disorders like schizophrenia. He previously held copy roles at mcgarrybowen, Ogilvy, Critical Mass and Epsilon.

The office also recently won retailer Academy Sports + Outdoors and hired new creatives to work on foods giant J.M Smucker. FCB won work on the Big Heart Pet Brands business (Meow Mix, Milk Bone, etc.) in 2015 before Smucker—which sent its digital work to Razorfish Chicago late last year—acquired the company and effectively inherited the FCB relationship as well.

On Smucker, senior copywriter Morgan Richter joins FCB from TracyLocke, where she worked on S.C. Johnson. Former Cramer-Krasselt art director Jaime Flynn and copywriter Jen Stopka have also come to FCB after working on such clients as Porsche, Google, Citibank, Jim Beam, and VISA. Moving forward, they will work across Smucker, Valspar and Academy Sports.

John Potter arrives at FCB after spending time at the Chicago offices of Ogilvy and BBDO. The senior copywriter will be part of the Smucker and Academy teams.

Senior art director Alan Kwon will work on the State Farm account after working as a freelancer; he was formerly art director at the now-deceased Gawker Media.

Finally, FCB hired Salvatore Russomanno as its newest creative director. The Italian native spent several years in Germany with agencies like Jung von Matt before moving to the U.S. in 2015 to work at 360i.

Packaged-goods marketers now spend more on digital than all forms of traditional advertising combined, according to a new study by Cadent Consulting Group. Yet the firm’s online survey of 600 brand marketers, retailers and shoppers finds the latter two groups give digital lower marks for effectiveness than any other marketing option something that could cap that growth in years ahead.

The survey also finds shopper marketing, long one of the hottest areas of CPG spending, has plateaued and even started to decline as a share of budgets.

Trade promotion remains the industry’s biggest marketing line items, accounting for 46.2% of spending, according to about 100 manufacturer respondents. But that’s down from more than 49% in 2012, and marketers project they’ll cut it further to around 43% in 2017.

Continue reading at AdAge.com