Hasta La Creative!

-Ogilvy & Mather Singapore tells viewers “The Most Important Upgrade Is You” for SkillsFuture Singapore (video above).

-Adam&eveDDB launched “Moz the Monster,” the latest annual John Lewis Christmas spot, directed by Michel Gondry.

-Vice’s resident anti-emo person didn’t know what to make of the ad.

-72andSunny New York created a hotline for you to share parenting tips with busy moms (so they don’t have to hear it) for Yoplait.

-Campaign looks back at John Lewis Christmas ads from previous years.

-Domino’s appointed VCCP as its lead digital agency for the U.K. and Ireland.

-Possible senior writer Carla Sparks explains “why I’m pulling my head out of my ass to help others in the industry succeed.”

We can agree the world is going to hell, yes? But what if our deepest divisions were actually bridgeable after all? What if there were something we could all agree on? Something upon which we could collectively focus our energy, and find common ground in channeling our darkest impulses? Perhaps there is. Perhaps it’s advertising!…

HBO removed Louis C.K.’s comedy specials from its on-demand service and said he won’t appear as planned on an upcoming program, a response to a New York Times report on the entertainer exposing himself to women.

Louis C.K. will no longer participate in “Night of Too Many Stars: America Unites for Autism Programs” on Nov. 18, HBO said in a statement. His specials for the network include 2005’s “One Night Stand” and 2007’s “Shameless.”

The Times on Thursday quoted several women who described Louis C.K. masturbating in their presence without their consent. The comedian’s publicist, Lewis Kay, said the comedian wouldn’t comment on the allegations.

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When Publicis announced in Cannes earlier this year that it would be opting out of entering advertising awards shows in 2018, the company threw a spotlight on the industry’s growing awards fatigue. As the contests have expanded and proliferated, so have complaints about too many categories and too much money spent chasing accolades. But now one organization has made a dramatic move in trying to address the bloat: The International Andy Awards, run by the Advertising Club of New York for more than 50 years, has revamped the way it’s giving prizes, eliminating categories as a whole, all 75-plus of them, to celebrate the best creative ideas, period.

The organization announced the change in an open letter Friday morning. Entrants will now only need to submit campaigns only once — no need to enter the same thing multiple times to be considered in multiple categories. And the show will cull the number of juries deciding winners to just one.

The number of awards, as usual for The Andys, remain unfixed, given out to as many honorees as the jurors see fit.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Welcome to Ad Age’s Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital-related news. What people are talking about today: A former writer for “Mad Men” has accused the show’s creator, Matthew Weiner, of sexually harassing her. Kater Gordon, who rose from a job as Weiner’s assistant to being an Emmy Award-winning writer on the show, says that one night when they were working late, Weiner told her she “owed it to him to let him see her naked,” The Information reports (paywall). A year after the alleged incident, she and Weiner shared the stage in 2009 to accept an Emmy, and weeks after that she was let go from the show, a high-profile departure that led Gawker and other to publications to speculate on what went wrong. A rep for Weiner, meanwhile, says “he does not remember saying this comment nor does it reflect a comment he would say to any colleague,” according to Variety. Gordon has not worked in TV since her “Mad Men” days; she is reportedly now starting a non-profit to change perceptions about sexual harassment.

Also: The New York premiere of Louis C.K.’s movie “I Love You, Daddy” was canceled, as was his appearance on CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” after The New York Times reported that five women had accused him of sexual misconduct. FX is conducting a review following the news, and HBO has axed him from a charity show, CNN reports.

True confessions

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Today’s heated political environment is putting brands in a tough spot. Even if they don’t want to get involved, one ad in the wrong publication can lead to a massive boycott and scads of angry posts in social media. Many brands are making efforts to spare their reputation by erring on the side of caution — which, today, typically means steering clear of right-leaning sites.

While that may be the right path for some brands for which politics are inextricably linked to the essence of the brand, it’s not necessarily the best direction for most brands to take. For starters, consumers come in all political flavors and, generally, brands don’t cater to that aspect of their behavior anyway. After all, you don’t see “Charmin for Democrats,” or “New Libertarian Laundry Detergent!” Additionally, let’s not forget the independents, whom often fall into both Democratic and Republican buckets. There’s little opportunity to gain new customers based on their political leanings, but a lot to be lost by targeting away from them.

Opportunity lost

Continue reading at AdAge.com

On Equal Pay Day, the day that marks the point in the year when women effectively stop being paid, industry leaders are focusing on how to close the gap.

It’s time to wake up to the world’s biggest shopping day, and no, it’s not Black Friday

Unruly applauds John Lewis for once again showing it understands emotional advertising in with this year’s Christmas ad, “Moz the Monster”