Greenwashing – a dangerous habit?

Stimulansbloggen has a good post on ‘greenwashing’ which seems to be increasignly popular in advertising. It never fails to annoy me to see ads doing the green thing put out by a company or shilling a product that clearly isn’t.

The danger of greenwash is that when companies use unsubstantiated green claims, they confuse consumers who want to do the green thing. This confusion might turn into a reason for consumers to do nothing at all. If everything seems green it becomes unreasonably hard to find the “real” green alternative.

Stimulansbloggen also points to the usful greenwash guide put together by ad agency Futerra (and where the image on the left is from).

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Just Don’t Call Her ‘the New Yael Naim’


The best/worst thing about this ad from H&M is that the visuals don't quite live up to the audio. We're all for svelte females mucking themselves up in sand in the name of fashion, but this little song really deserves better.

Focused Content, Targeting and Research Key Elements to Hispanic Marketing

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Delivering the opening keynote ay the Miami ad:tech Conference, SMG Multicultural CEO Monica Gadsby shared some findings regarding the Hispanic audience online.

Jerry Della Femina is still Crazy after all these years – induction into the One Show Creative Hall of Fame

Mary Warlick, Chief Executive Officer of The One Club, has announced the induction of the newest member of its Creative Hall of Fame: Jerry Della Femina. This is the first time since 1972 that the One Show has bestowed this honor to a solo recipient.

This legendary creative genius will be honored with a retrospective of original Jerry Della Femina work on June 10 at The One Club Gallery. On view will be 40 years of advertising from Jerry Della Femina & Partners, Della Femina Travisano & Partners, Della Femina McNamee, Inc., Della Femina McNamee WCRS, Inc., Jerry Inc., Jerry & Ketchum, Della Femina Jeary & Partners and Della Femina Rothschild Jeary & Partners. “Still Crazy After All These Years” will be on display at The One Club Gallery, 21 East 26th Street, through June 18.

“To capture Jerry’s funny, irreverent and maverick self and also honor his contribution to changing the face of advertising, The One Club felt it was important to honor him in a unique way,” said Warlick. “We are thrilled to discover that Jerry is ‘still crazy after all these years.’ What better way to acknowledge his genius than with a first time ever gallery exhibit of his work on the same night he’ll be inducted into the One Club Creative Hall of Fame?”

If you are in New York City the Jerry Della Femina exhibit will be up until July 18th at The One Show gallery: open to the public Mon-Thurs from 10 am to 5 pm and Fridays 10 am-1 pm.

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What Lobster Dunks Can Teach Us About Marketing to Emotions


My encounter with youth culture reminded me that I practice marketing a long way from the primal realm of pure desire.

Do Bossfriends Create Great Employees?


A question for agency owners: Are you a bossfriend? And if you are, is that a good or bad thing for your business?

Yahoo! had planned to reject Microsoft’s bid

SAN FRANCISCO – Yahoo! made plans to reject a takeover offer from Microsoft months before the software giant had even tabled its $44.6bn (£22.6bn) bid in January, according to company documents made public this week.

Ziggurat revamps Gatorade packs for UK launch

LONDON – Ziggurat Brands has redesigned the packaging for sports drink Gatorade prior to its full-scale launch into the UK last month.

Sky sponsors Tony Blackburn show

LONDON – GMG Radio has secured Sky as year-long sponsor for Tony Blackburn’s Weekend Breakfast show on Smooth Radio London, which will be networked nationwide on five Smooth stations from Saturday.

Kinko’s Vanishes In The Night

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FedEx Corp. plans to stop using the Kinko’s name on its copy and office service stores.

The company said it will change the name of its FedEx Kinko’s stores to FedEx Office over the next several years.

“The FedEx Office name better describes the wide range of services available at its retail centers and takes full advantage of the FedEx brand long recognized for excellent customer service, quality and reliability,” says spokesman Jess Bunn.

[via Associated Press]

TradeDoubler hires Wood as MD

LONDON – TradeDoubler has hired former Vizeum managing partner Ben Wood to become UK managing director – the latest change in a senior management reshuffle at the digital agency.

On absolute fire for WALL•E

The more I see of what is sure to be the next Pixar blockbuster, the more I like. Including this oustanding, very sticky website. Games, downloads, widgets, build your own bot and more. Go WALL•E.Walle_4_3

Best signed up as Kangaroo ad chief

LONDON – Project Kangaroo, the video-on-demand joint-venture being developed by BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4, has hired a consultant to head up its ad sales.

British Eurosport in deal to sponsor The Sun Online

LONDON – British Eurosport has signed a six-month agreement with The Sun Online to sponsor the site’s motorsport section.

OMD UK wins HMV affiliate account

LONDON – OMD UK has strengthened its grip on HMV’s £3m digital account by picking up the music retailer’s affiliate marketing account.

What Good Is a Golden Pencil?


Here are my thoughts about some of the more common reasons I've heard about why we don't need awards, and why, perhaps, we really do.

ITV1 snaps up exclusive rights to Nelson Mandela concert

LONDON – ITV1 has secured the rights to exclusively broadcast the Nelson Mandela concert in London’s Hyde Park, which will feature performances from Amy Winehouse, Sugarbabes and Queen.

Big Boss Man Woman

Ad Age released its list of 2008 Women to Watch in advertising, marketing and media.

Two of the women I took note of are Karen Kaplan and Pam Hamlin, president of Hill Holiday and Arnold, respectively.

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Kaplan’s rise is particularly noteworthy.

In an industry where shop hopping is the norm, Karen Kaplan has ascended from receptionist to agency president in the past 26 years all under the same roof. To boot, she lives in the same ZIP code where she grew up, in North Boston, with her husband of 25 years, a son and a daughter.

She joined Hill Holliday in 1982 with a B.A. in French literature from the University of Massachusetts. “The year that I spent on the reception desk proved to be very useful, because it was the perfect place to study people and figure out what I wanted to do next,” she says.

“She truly did it the old-fashioned way: She earned it,” says Jack Connors, chairman emeritus of Hill Holliday and Ms. Kaplan’s former boss.

Ad network launch targets sought-after Asian sector

LONDON – Online publisher People Group has become the second company to launch an ad network aimed at Britain’s estimated one million-plus South Asian internet users.

Taking It Easy on Granny’s PC


Web design has experienced a sort of arms race in recent years. As agencies and brands vie to demonstrate their digital prowess, websites have become showier. You know the kind. Audaciously long pre-loaders and processor-punishing animations are now the cost of entry into the interactive elite. Sometimes the pomp is warranted and other times it's just showing off. The quality of the experience is the test. I suspect that much of the time the audience doesn't care as much as the agency does.