DETROIT (AdAge.com) — American Suzuki Motor Corp. has tapped independent agency Siltanen & Partners Advertising, Marina del Rey, Calif., to handle two vehicle projects later this year.
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — You can't say that word on TV — or can you? No one on broadcast TV is supposed to be able to use the four-letter profanity that starts with the letter F and signifies sexual intercourse. Even on basic cable, the word is often edited out of movies and usually not inserted into original scripts. In short, when it comes to that word and TV companies who wish to court mainstream advertisers and audiences, healthy distance is usually helpful. Some networks, however, are cleverly dodging the issue.
The water sure looks pretty in this U.K. commercial from Amnesty International, until it hits the prisoner’s face. Amnesty rep Kate Allen tells the Daily Telegraph: “Our film shows you what the CIA doesn’t want you to see—the disgusting reality of half-drowning a person then calling it ‘enhanced interrogation.’ †Read more at unsubscribe-me.org. In related news: If you were planning to use waterboarding as part of a corporate team-building exercise, don’t.
—Posted by Tim Nudd
NEW YORK – Omnicom Group, the world’s largest marketing services company, has reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with net income up 14% to $208.7m (£104.8m) year on year.
In order to effectively connect with today's Hispanic consumer, we must understand that there are sub-segments united by common interests that make the whole. Let's say there are niches within the niche.
The Barbarian Group launched a new self-promo site. It’s good.
Rick Webb, Co-Founder and COO, explains:
Taking six months to make a website is pretty ridiculous, but we were doing several things during that time. building a whole publishing platform. This site has a full, rails-based custom, multi-level blogging platform. Each employee has a blog, and then posts are bubbled-up to the Barbarian Blog, and the most important information is elevated to the Barbarian Homepage. We’ve also introduced a whole topical-taxonomy thing, aggregating content around various topics to give many different windows into our content. Finally, the site is fully integrated into our sales, production and staging systems. Finally, finally, after six years, no more entering the same data into multiple databases. We are now running on a fully-integrated, custom-built project management platform.
Webb also says he almost cried when he saw Modernita’s new minimalist “site,” but that approach would not have worked for Barbarian. “We’re more than an idea shop, more than a branding shop, we actually have to execute some pretty serious stuff, so our website needs to be representative of that.”
[via Ken Wheaton]
(TrendHunter.com) Sega is getting into the summer Games action by featuring Olympic athletes in upcoming video games. The new Beijing 2008 Olympics video game which drops on June 24th, simulates over 35 Olympic competitions and some of them feature USA medal hopefuls Amanda Beard, Tyson Gay, Nastia Liukin and Reese H…
(TrendHunter.com) Locking up your bicycle with style just got better and a lot smarter. The Street Cuffs from Master lock ensure nobody runs away with your trendy two wheeler as the lock doesn’t provide a point of leverage for the thief.
It provides virtually no space for jacks and the heavy gauge steel provides ma…
Ad agencies are increasingly unhappy over the performance of online media owners, according to a survey released today.
LONDON – Information commissioner Richard Thomas has urged organisations to see the importance of protecting staff and customers’ personal data after continued ‘unacceptable’ security breaches since the Revenue’s loss of child benefit data.
The New Mexico Department of Health’s anti-teen-smoking campaign features the exceedingly basic theme “Bad things can happen.†In the ads, bad things do indeed happen, but they don’t make a lot of sense. In the spot above, one guy sprouts antlers, while another guy turns into a lion. In another spot, a third guy suddenly grows sausage-link arms. What’s more, it’s the smokers’ friends, not the smokers, who find themselves afflicted. None of which seems to offer a persuasive argument against lighting up.
—Posted by Tim Nudd
Coinciding with the release of the much awaited movie version of Sex And The City, Bare Necessities has created the Cosabella Lingerie Collection ($22-$162), inspired by the fearsome foursome. Each of the characters Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte or Miranda, has their own collection. So you can choose …
According to The New York Times, gasoline prices surpassed $3.50 a gallon nationwide for the first time and oil jumped to a record high on Monday.
Given the intense price pressure on consumers, it’s interesting to note this article in Ad Age about consumers buying gas on brand preference, not price.
Karen Wildman, brand and communications manager of the Shell brand at Shell Oil Co., said the industry hasn’t done a good job in the past five to 10 years of educating Americans about their fuel products.
She said the $35 million she spent last year for the gas brand’s “Passionate Experts” campaign was a good investment and is spending the same amount this year to continue the effort.
Ms. Wildman said Shell’s quarterly research shows that consumers’ perception of the brand’s gasoline has improved dramatically since the campaign began running, though she declined to provide specifics. She credits improvement partly to the simple message that Shell gasoline can “stop gunky buildup” in engines.
Personally, I don’t purchase gas from Exxon/Mobil, nor Shell.
(TrendHunter.com) This stainless steel lounge table from Intelligent Forms Design combines tech with eco0friendly luxury and is a true conversation piece. It has built-in Bluetooth and allows you to hook up your MP3 player or recharge your laptop or cellphone while getting a sun tan.
With the tempered glass silicon…
LONDON – UK retailers are at best “ambivalent†about future of gift cards and could be missing out on a potential growth area says US voucher guru and president of Paybefore Marilyn Bochicchio.
LONDON – The UK voucher industry is in danger of limiting the growth of pre-pay gift cards by making them too complicated, according to manager for Sainsbury’s business direct Yvonne West.
A great "green" campaign might move your client up the ladder in the eyes of the socially conscious. And yes, companies and businesses are thinking about ways to "reinvent themselves" by changing to energy-efficient light bulbs and starting a recycling program or committing to a Corporate Social Responsibility program. But how are you truly helping your clients conserve energy, reduce pollution and waste to help to make their (and your) business operations more environmentally friendly?
According to this site, AC has only 12% more cussing than other blogs that took the same test. While I think that’s a respectable mark, I fucking know we can do better people.
Tip o’ the hat to Jaffe Juice
Advertising is tough to get into. The application process is often subjective and sometimes creative directors want to make sure that your personality is match for the company. With the economy slowing down, it’s even harder to get an interview. So how do you break into the business? Unfortunately, I don’t have great advice. But, here’s what some high ranking ad and brand people from companies like R/GA, Yahoo, Google, JWT and Crispin had to say. These folks are members of VCU Brandcenter’s board of directors talking directly to grad students getting ready for the ad biz. If you pay close attention, there’s even some Yahoo/AOL buyout banter.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
