Bryant launches Brooklyn Brothers in the UK

LONDON – George Bryant, the former managing partner at Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, is launching a joint venture start-up with the New York hotshop Brooklyn Brothers.

Klein and Orr step up at Engine

LONDON – The Engine Group has unveiled a new management structure that will see Debbie Klein, the chief executive of WCRS, promoted to the joint chief executive of Engine.

Lowe nets Electrolux task

LONDON – Lowe has won the £25 million pan-European advertising account for Electrolux, the Swedish household appliance producer, following a pitch against Bartle Bogle Hegarty and BBDO.

Govt plots pre-6pm ad ban for alcohol

LONDON – The Government is considering a ban on alcohol advertising on television before 6pm.

Cossette to launch second digital shop

LONDON – Cossette Communication Group is finalising plans for a digital start-up that will open its doors this summer.

Learning LatAm By Osmosis: Three Different Sermons for the Price of One!

latam-speaker.jpg

Each ad:tech Miami session I’ve seen follows the same painful format: a moderator introduces himself, then steps aside as each panelist gives a mini-presentation.

Six Flags Readies ‘Fun Park’ Video Game


LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) — Six Flags CEO Marc Shapiro announced in April that he would attempt to turn the world's biggest chain of theme parks into a content company akin to Disney. This week, the first of Mr. Shapiro's efforts has emerged: "Six Flags Fun Park," a casual game for the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 2 consoles that will debut in November.

stopthesealhunt.ca – dead seals in ice, ambient Canada

The Canadian government authorizes the slaughter of around 270,000 harp seals in their annual commercial hunt. Now that global warming is thinning the ice, hunters can’t get close enough to the seals and use rifles from a distance. It’s hard to achieve a clean kill with a gun, so 50% of seals escape injured only to get trapped under the ice and die. Saatchi & Saatchi Paris embedded images of bloodied seals under the ice in ice rinks. The trapped seals were accompanied by a poster stating the number of mortalities and the IFAW website.

read more

It Was Obama’s Night, but Not on Broadcast


MINNEAPOLIS (AdAge.com) — History was made in the nation last night. But TV viewers had to turn to cable channels to see Sen. Barack Obama claim his party's presidential endorsement on the stage of the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

Compromise Kills

I’d like to share with you with some thoughts about an evil in our midst. An evil I know all too well.

Compromise is the way of the world, and totally unavoidable in many circumstances. Begrudingly, I’ve learned to accept this fact of life. But I also know what a destructive force it can become. If you let it, compromise will eat you alive, cell-by-cell until there’s no you left, just a vacant shell that looks like you.

In the political arena, Bill Clinton gave compromise a decent name. He had to get things done, one way or another. So he moved his party to a centrist position in an already stifling corporate atmosphere. The nation may, or may not, recover from his practical approach.

On the environmental front, compromise leads to all sorts of compound problems. For instance, otherwise sane people are currently arguing for more nuclear power and the use of clean coal (an oxymoron, if there ever was one). I don’t believe we can stand much more compromise when it comes to the health of our planet.

In the ad industry, where client-service–not content, nor concept–is king, we eat compromise for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And snack on it too. We are so full of compromise that it’s no longer separate from us, it is us.

Snoop Dogg Pulls an Al Green for Marie Claire Australia


According to Best Ads on TV, this ad wasn't paid for by the Catholic Church, as you might have presumed upon first glance.

Picnic Wrestling

picnic_wrestling.jpg

This new site Picnic Wrestling for Picnic is great. Plays on the ugly theme quite well. Although I got up too early in the morning to find anyone online to play. The art direction is fantastic. And the voice acting is spot on.

I’m not sure on the agency behind this?

Haworth: Acupuncture

Haworth: Acupuncture

Advertising Agency: Ursa Communications, Sydney, Australia
Creative Director: Denis Mamo
Art Director: Kon Marinis
Copywriter: Geoff Fischer
Photographer: Andreas Smetana
Retouching: Electric Art
Published: May 2008

Tabasco: Bus

Tabasco: Bus

Advertising Agency: Duval Guillaume, Brussels, Belgium
Creative Director: Katrien Bottez, Peter Ampe
Creatives: Davy Caluwaerts, Kristof Vanderbeke

Ramrod / Ultratec Gamepro Spotlights: Hyena

Ramrod / Ultratec Gamepro Spotlights: Hyena

Ultratec Gamepro, the ultimate in night game viewing.

Advertising Agency: DRAFTFCB, Johannesburg, South Africa
Executive Creative Director: Rob Mclennan
Creative Director: Grant Jacobson
Art Director: Errol Lepono, Ryan Dupen
Copywriter: Jason Murison

Kraft Easy Mac: Fork

Kraft Easy Mac: Fork

Get ready for the big cheesy taste.

Advertising Agency: DRAFTFCB Melbourne, Australia
Creative Director: Scott Lambert
Art Director: Chris Shoolman
Copywriter: Miriam Sleiman
Illustrator: Anita Xafier
Photographer: Andreas Smentana
Published: May 2008

Kraft Easy Mac: Bowl

Kraft Easy Mac: Bowl

Get ready for the big cheesy taste.

Advertising Agency: DRAFTFCB Melbourne, Australia
Creative Director: Scott Lambert
Art Director: Chris Shoolman
Copywriter: Miriam Sleiman
Illustrator: Anita Xafier
Photographer: Andreas Smentana
Published: May 2008

Herbert Richers dubbing services: Godfather

Herbert Richers dubbing services: Godfather

Advertising Agency: Publicis Brasil, São Paulo, Brazil
Creative Director: Guilherme Jahara
Art Directors: Nelson Costa, Ricardo Gurgel
Copywriters: Gabriel Sotero, Gustavo Alves
Photographer: Manolo Moran

Herbert Richers dubbing services: Rocky

Herbert Richers dubbing services: Rocky

Advertising Agency: Publicis Brasil, São Paulo, Brazil
Creative Director: Guilherme Jahara
Art Directors: Nelson Costa, Ricardo Gurgel
Copywriters: Gabriel Sotero, Gustavo Alves
Photographer: Manolo Moran

Herbert Richers dubbing services: Princess Leia

Herbert Richers dubbing services: Princess Leia

Advertising Agency: Publicis Brasil, São Paulo, Brazil
Creative Director: Guilherme Jahara
Art Directors: Nelson Costa, Ricardo Gurgel
Copywriters: Gabriel Sotero, Gustavo Alves
Photographer: Manolo Moran