A very modern marriage: Cognizant's deal with Zone and a shift in balance of power

Cognizant’s purchase of Zone is symptomatic of an industry shift, as chief marketers look beyond advertising.

Ogilvy UK promotes PR chief Frohlich to CEO

Ogilvy has promoted Ogilvy PR’s EMEA chief Michael Frohlich to chief executive of Ogilvy UK, heading up all the integrated businesses.

Dish Network Set to Bring on Richards Group for Creative


Dish Network is set to bring on The Richards Group as its new creative agency, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Dallas-based agency was selected following a competitive review which was handled by Avidan Strategies, they said. Representatives from Richards Group and Avidan were not immediately available for comment.

Camp & King, Dish Network’s previous agency, declined to participate in the review. The shop declined to comment on why they decided not to compete for the business.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

A Short History of Carl Icahn, Angry Billionaire (Who's Now Mad About That Xerox-Fuji Deal)


If you were to construct a word cloud around all the coverage of Carl Icahn over the years, chances are “angry” would rival “billionaire” and “activist investor” among the terms most associated with him.

For financial journalists, the recurring question surrounding Icahnthe Ur-“corporate raider” who made his name in the ’80s with a hostile takeover of the airline TWA (R.I.P.) and was a short-lived Trump adviseris not so much “Is Carl Icahn angry?” but “What is Carl Icahn angry about today?”

The answer to that question at the moment: the proposed Xerox-Fuji deal. Icahn’s joined in his displeasure by fellow rich guy Darwin Deason; in a joint “Open Letter to Xerox Shareholders” published today at carlicahn.com, the men, who call themselves “Xerox’s two largest individual shareholders,” lay into Fuji’s proposed plan to swallow the iconic American technology company whole. Their statement begins,

Continue reading at AdAge.com

One Day You’re On Fire, The Next Day You’re Having A Melt Down

The agency business is melting down. We’ve seen this before; nevertheless, it is disruptive and there are real people suffering behind the statistics. Derek Thompson of The Atlantic notes: For the first time on record, the number of advertising-specific jobs in the U.S. is declining in the middle of an economic expansion, according to government […]

The post One Day You’re On Fire, The Next Day You’re Having A Melt Down appeared first on Adpulp.

YouTube Revamped Its Ad System. AT&T Still Hasn’t Returned.

The company, one of the biggest marketers in the U.S., hasn’t returned to the platform because of concerns that its ads could appear with offensive content.

NBC Dominated Prime Time on Sunday With Its Winter Olympics Coverage

NBC executives will be likely be content with ratings for the first weekend of its 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics coverage, particularly its Total Audience Delivery, or TAD, on Sunday. NBC Olympics posted a TAD of 26 million viewers Sunday in prime time (7 p.m. to 11 p.m.). That was down 1 percent from the first Sunday…

15 Minutes of Fame Is Too Much. Try 6 Seconds.

Giphy Studios is trying to help actors, musicians and advertisers slide into your DMs with goofy short videos. Yay for our brains!

Monday Odds and Ends

-Seattle-based agency DNA wants to kick off a “Year of Love” a “Love Starts Here” message displayed on 28 windows across the agency’s south and west walls  (video above). “Trust is at an all time low in society – trust in government institutions, business and brands. And that’s a sad commentary on where we are today,” DNA president, chief growth officer Chris Witherspoon said in a statement. “But there is also an opportunity here for brands and businesses to step forward and be a force for good.”

-Dentsu Aegis Network acquired San Francisco-based brand and design agency Character.

-Deutsch New York welcomed Husani Oakley in the newly-created role of senior vice president, director of technology.

-Superunion, WPP’s recent combination of five consultancies and design agencies into one entity, hired Sabah Ashraf as CEO, North America.

-BBDO launched a “What Matters” campaign for GE humanizing the brand’s tech.

-L’Oreal cosmetics brand Vichy assigned its global account to McCann Paris.

-Nordic-based communications group The North Alliance acquired global experience agency North Kingdom.

-Humble added comedic duo The Director Brothers to its directorial roster.

Ancestry.com: America's Greatness Comes From Everywhere

Video of America’s Greatness Comes From Everywhere

Telesoftas: Portraits

Telesoftas, a Lithuanian tech provider, decided to launch a campaign offering their services to other companies in order to help them to step forward and make a move to make life better for humanity.

With this video, Telesoftas is also communicating its own work philosophy, which is all about making a better world for every human being through technology.

Video of TELESOFTAS – "Portraits"

Blacture: Be Celebrated

Pras — rapper, Emmy and Grammy winner, producer, filmmaker and philanthropist — unveiled his vision for what he believes will become the epicenter for black culture. And he did it on the biggest stage in America: the Super Bowl. It’s called Blacture.

Video of Blacture Be Celebrated Super Bowl LII Spot

Duck Hunt: Aflac Reviews Creative Account


Creative agencies: Get ready to go duck hunting. Insurer Aflac is reviewing its creative account after a long run with Publicis and its predecessor agencies.

“We know that our creative work historically has an impact on distribution and want to ensure that as trends continue to evolve and emerge, we are delivering in meaningful, relevant ways,” said Catherine Hernandez-Blades, senior VP and chief brand and communications officer for Aflac, via email. “As the marketplace evolves and consumers are looking for different options, we want to ensure we are meeting them where they want to be met through robust distribution channels, spectacular customer service and products that are second to none.”

Hernandez-Blades told Ad Age that the process is being managed by Aflac’s Strategic Sourcing and Procurement team. She declined to disclose which agencies are competing for the business.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

To Stay Competitive, Amazon Is Building Out Its Physical Presence, While Walmart Focuses on Digital

Amazon is not known for its physical presence in retail and Walmart did not make a name for itself in ecommerce, yet recent moves by both indicate they’re eager to become more competitive by focusing where, historically, they have been weaker as they vie to ultimately become the most convenient shopping option. For Amazon, that’s…

Brands With Their Own Viewability Standards Are Causing Headaches for the Ad-Tech Industry

Four years into creating an industry standard for viewability that was meant to assure advertisers humans are seeing their online ads, brands are still fine-tuning the metrics used to gauge whether someone saw a promo. And in turn, tension between advertisers, publishers and ad-tech companies is increasing from the manual work needed to change processes….

Jeep: The Closest a Car Can Get to Mars by its Own Technology

Jeep Print Ad - The Closest a Car Can Get to Mars by its Own Technology

The Christ Hospital: #EverydayChampions

Video of #EverydayChampions

Grupo Editorial Record: Racism

Grupo Editorial Record Print Ad - Racism

Biocoop: Electric Pulse Fishing, The Party Is Over

Biocoop Print Ad - Electric Pulse Fishing, The Party Is Over

The French organic cooperative and distributor Biocoop congratulates the European Parliament for banning electric pulse fishing.

We Hear: Verizon Doesn’t Have Coverage in Location Featured in ‘Answering The Call’ Super Bowl Spot

Verizon went the emotional route with its 60-second “Answering The Call” spot from McCann New York in Super Bowl LII. The ad featured first responders to a series of natural disasters across the country. Implicating the network’s role in facilitating such communication is the line “They answer the call. Our job is to make sure they can get it” near the conclusion of the ad. Among the first responders pictured is a member Quincy, Illinois’ fire department.

The problem? It appears Verizon’s network doesn’t offer coverage in Quincy or the surrounding area.

At least that’s the assertion in a blog post from a local country station. “When I moved to this area, I had to switch from Verizon, a carrier I had been with for 10 years, because they didn’t have coverage,” the post claims.

Quincy is, of course, just one of the areas featured in the ad. But it seems at least one area resident objects to Verizon’s use of a local tragedy for what “felt like a cheap, exploitative ploy.”

It’s not the first time Verizon has been accused of something like this. A 2013 spot featured actor Donnie Wahlberg touting Verizon FiOS while on the streets of Boston at a time when the service was reportedly not offered in the city.