Is That Sand On My Page Takeover?

espn_new_ford.jpg

While advertising-fueled website page takeovers are nothing new, they don’t usually integrate quite so intricately as this one does for the Ford F-150 on the new ESPN site.

Oh Boy, Your Packaging is The Same as Theirs!

Fragrance collage.jpg

As if it isn’t bad enough that the movie Twilight has been whored into submission (from a marketing standpoint, that is), but it was revealed recently that a fragrance bearing the film’s title has been packaged in the same bottle as another perfume. Gasp. Yawn.

The original is by Nina Ricci &#151 and it annoys us that someone, somewhere though nobody would notice. See bottle, general color, crappy leaves, et al.

Source

More:Rapp Collins’ Doppelganger in AT&T Spot

Comments (View)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media

Body Painting Evolved

Une superbe galerie et des exemples très parlants de body painting par l’artiste australienne Emma Hack. Entre illusion et images de nu apparent, elle met en scène des motifs fusionnant avec le corps humain.

Gov’t Runs out of Funds for Coupons for DTV Transition


WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) — In a new challenge for consumers facing the transition to digital television, the government's program offering $40 coupons for a TV-converter box is out of money, weeks faster than anyone expected.

ESPN and F-150: Together at Last

2501.jpg

To help launch the new ESPN Web site, the sports news company teamed up with Ford and our favorite spokesman, Mike Rowe, for a front page take-over that actually works. Check it out here.

Thanks Denver Egotist, The.

Comments (View)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media

Happier New Year

Sent by Marcelo Pliger (www.pliger.net)

Advice On Hiring From Agency Insiders

6a00d83451c6af69e200e54ff4306d8833-150wi.jpg

Over on the ad layoff blog, Please Feed The Animals, a new section kicked off to help jump start your new year. Agency insiders are giving their two cents to the blog on the state of hiring in the industry. The first insider to be in the hot seat is Ernie Schenck, author, creative director and Contributing Editor for Communication Arts. He’s got some nice advice, but our stand-out line was:

“If you get in, put your head down, do amazing work, entrench yourself in the culture, entwine yourself in the success of your clients, and for God’s sake, go beyond the assignments.”

Hell yeah.

More: More Job Hunting Tips

Comments (View)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media

Bright Ones: Julia Roy Lives the Digital Lifestyle

I met Julia Roy on Twitter over a year a go. I somehow saw a tweet or two from her and decided she was interesting enough to follow. But that wasn’t all that caught my attention.

Looking Back: Canadians on Gay Marriage

A few weeks ago we asked you if you know which agencies (if any) are serving the GLBT community. You responded, including in your comments names like McKinney in North Carolina, YesDesign Group in Los Angeles and Tiffany Hughes, a CD at Metric Interactive. What we noticed about your responses is that they were devoid of names like BBDO, CP+B, JWT and those other big agencies we sometimes talk about.

So from this we gather that either very few agencies want to tap into this financially viable community or, what is more likely, no single shop is dedicated to serving just that market. Case in point, Zig, which produced the campaign you see above (and after the jump). Their very short ads point out how different gay couples are from “the rest” (tongue in cheek of course). But the campaign was a one off &#151 fuel for future GLBT related work, but not a direction, per se (nothing wrong with that in any way, shape or form). Click play.

Anyway, we’re kind of amazed that an agency hasn’t formed to serve this highly lucrative market. A report sponsored by the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce found that the GLBT community has $712 billion in buying power. So much for “untapped” markets, eh? This reminds us of that time when you guys realized teens spend money. Remember that?

Before we get our undies in a bunch about the ever-present need to change with the market, let’s take a look at what’s already there &#151 a group of people with a lot of money who probably wouldn’t mind seeing a lady propose to another lady in a Zales spot. Just sayin’.

More:The Soup Wars: Campbell’s Targets $650 Billion GLBT Community

continued…

Comments (View)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media

Martin Sorrell Is A Derty Cow

dertycow.jpg

There have been some changes to Martin Sorrell’s wikipedia page. Apparently, Sorrell’s real name is “Martin Derty Cow Sorrell.” Who knew? Tribble has a fullscreen shot since the changes to the page have, in true Wikipedia fashion, have already been deleted. However, notice that the image file was named “human trash.”

Oh boy and dear gawd. Perhaps laid off staffers or soon to be laid off staffers have found a new way to take out their ire? If so, come on… you could have done better than “derty cow” right?

More: WPP’s 60% Rule Staggeringly Obvious: How ’bout Some Exec. Level Redistribution?

Comments (View)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media

For What It’s Worth — One Agency’s Plan for 2009


No predictions for me. I couldn't have guessed in a million years what 2008 would bring, although I'll be forever grateful that my meager savings didn't end up in Bernie Madoff's hands. Instead, let me offer up what's on my agenda for the next year. If nothing else, you'll see how one agency is getting ready to launch into 2009.

Levy Holds Steady In The Face Of The Economic Black Swan

14ad265.jpg

As the advertising sector continues to reel its way through these first few days of 2009, Maurice Levy, head of Publicis and ardent Obama supporter, is interested in holding steady.
He’s sitting at the poker table placing his bets and they align with the strategy he kicked off in 2006 and the purchase of Digitas. Levy is pretty positive that online ad spend is only going to continue to increase as we head into 2010. At the same time, he has invested heavily in emerging markets such as Latin America. Some say these are risky moves, but Levy is sticking to his guns.

“We have other negotiations under way in China; we have contacts in India,” Lévy said just the other day, alluding to the possibility of more small purchases. Still, he’s not planning any huge acquisitions like say of Aegis or anything, despite the rumors. He sounded pretty sure in the International Herald Tribune that large agencies such as Publicis and boutique shops would weather the storm just fine if they held the course.

Perhaps, but the idea of online ad spend holding steady is one that is under heavy contention right now. Those quants of our business are saying that there will be anywhere from an 8.9% to 5% increase in online ad spending in 2009. Anyway you cut it, that’s 16% to 11% down from 2008, but hell… it’s still an increase, right? The real truth is that no one knows what’s going to happen. No one. We are in a full red blooded recession and the effects of such a “black swan” event have yet to really unfurl. Predict all you want, but the ball is firmly up in the air.

More: The Dark Battle To Stay In The Black: Publicis Vs. WPP

Comments (View)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media

Razorfish Picks up TravelChannel.com

nearnudebourdain.jpg

The Travel Channel, which hosts one of our favorite shows (No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain) has selected Razorfish New York as their interactive agency &#151 as such, the shop will rebuild travelchannel dot com, which currently sucks.

The win should help offset the recent embargo on Razorfish’s work for Conde Nast mag Details. And though the agency hasn’t revealed how much they’re bringing home with this win, they do plan to, “refocus the website while delivering a state-of-the-art interactive experience for all visitors. Razorfish plans to create a sense of consistency and ease of navigation, highlight television extensions, and promote the recent incorporation of interactive offerings on TravelChannel.com.”

Great, now only if they would add something about getting a discount on food from Les Halles, Bourdain’s French steak house, which is stellar btw. Fingers crossed!

Image

More:Inside Conde Nast’s ‘Ancillary’ CutBacks: Details & Razorfish

Comments (View)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media

The Difference Between Building a Business and Building a Brand


Are you building a business? Or are you building a brand? Silly questions, you might be thinking. Naturally, you are trying to do both. But that might be a mistake.

New York Times Sells Front-Page Ads


NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — The New York Times unveiled a display ad on its front page, despite decades of fear that advertising there could contaminate the journalistic product or brand.

The VW Ad That May Be Too Violent for Britain

The Advertising Standards Authority is investigating whether an ad from the Volkswagen Golf featuring a "Matrix"-style fight is too violent for children. So far the ad has sparked more than 100 complaints.

Is Frank Miller Working on Monkey Projects?

If the promo site for Animal Planet's "Dark Days in Monkey City" doesn't make you think of "300" and "Sin City," then nothing will.

Love It Or Hate It: The New Effort From Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos

Dunkin’ Donuts new ad campaign launches today. The effort cost $100M and comes with the new tagline, “You Kin’ Do It.” Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos is the agency responsible for all this new work. Check the video above for a broadcast spot that focuses on encouraging people to get done mundane tasks. It’s very, um affirmative. Oprah would be proud.

Do you love it or do you hate it? Personally, I have no feeling about it whatsoever.

More: Hill Holliday Gets Some More Dunkin’

Comments (View)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media

Lesser Energy Hogs by 2011

44327425

There is no law that prohibits any consumer to buy a flat screen TV. Hence, if controlling the energy consumption problem is the real issue, then state regulators are best left going after the manufacturers and setting down laws that require a certain degree of energy consumption to help curb energy hogging due to the vast purchase of electronic items.

By 2011, such regulations will be set. The gadgets will still be around but hopefully improved. Retailers have to make the necessary adjustments as early as now or else risk the chance of manufacturing their product line that will be shelved permanently.

Mike McMaster, president of Wilshire Entertainment Inc., worries that a rush to impose TV efficiency standards “would be basically the end of our business.” His locations in Thousand Oaks and Valencia employ 54 people and specialize in sales and installation of custom home theater systems centered on extremely large TVs.

(Source) LA Times

Muller hands £5 million Corners business to VCCP

LONDON – VCCP has won the £5 million Muller Corners advertising account following a pitch against TBWA\London, the incumbent, and The Red Brick Road.